England scolded herself red in the face while the saucy _Argus_ captured twenty-seven ships and took her pick of their valuable cargoes.

Her course could be traced by the blazing hulls that she left in her wake and this was how the British gun brig _Pelican_ finally caught up with her.
Although the advantage of size and armament was with the _Pelican_, it was to be expected that the _Argus_ would prove more than a match for her.

The American commander, Captain Allen, had played a distinguished part in several of the most famous episodes of the navy.

As third lieutenant of the _Chesapeake_, in 1807, he had picked up a live coal in the cook's galley, held it in his fingers, and so fired the only gun discharged against the _Leopard_ in that inglorious surprise and surrender.

As first officer of the frigate _United States_ he received credit for the splendid gunnery which had overwhelmed the _Macedonian_, and he enjoyed the glory of bringing the prize to port.