The Enterprise and The Boxer
The USS Enterprise and the HMS Boxer met eight miles off the shore of Maine, midway through the War of 1812. The Enterprise was captained by Lieutenant William Burrows while the Boxer was commanded by Samuel Blyth. The ships were well-matched and the captains committed, maneuvering for six hours before engaging in close combat. Blyth was killed by cannonball in the early fusillades, while Burrows suffered a mortal musket ball wound to the thigh. When the Boxer eventually submitted, Burrows directed that Blyth’s ceremonially-surrendered sword be returned to the British captain’s family. After the ships arrived in Portland, the two captains were buried adjacent amid public ceremony in the city’s Eastern Cemetery.
The battle is the subject of the ballad Enterprise and Boxer, and is referenced in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “My Lost Youth”.
