It was a great moment for the young lieutenant of the _United States_, who had been assigned this duty, when he announced his mission and, amid the cheers of the President, the Cabinet, and other distinguished guests, proudly exhibited the flag of another British frigate to decorate the ballroom! Meanwhile the _Constitution_ had returned to sea to spread her royals to the South Atlantic trades and hunt for lumbering British East-Indiamen.
Captain Isaac Hull had gracefully given up the command in favor of Captain William Bainbridge, who was one of the oldest and most respected officers of his rank and who deserved an opportunity to win distinction.
Bainbridge had behaved heroically at Tripoli and was logically in line to take over one of the crack frigates.

The sailors of the _Constitution_ grumbled a bit at losing Isaac Hull but soon regained their alert and willing spirit as they comprehended that they had another first-rate "old man" in William Bainbridge.

Henry Adams has pointed out that the average age of Bainbridge, Hull, Rodgers, and Decatur was thirty-seven, while that of the four generals most conspicuous in the disappointments of the army, Dearborn, Wilkinson, William Hull, and Wade Hampton, was fifty-eight.

The difference is notable and is mentioned for what it may be worth.
Through the autumn of 1812 the frigate cruised beneath tropic suns, much of the time off the coast of Brazil.

Today the health and comfort of the bluejacket are so scrupulously provided for in every possible way that a battleship is the standard of perfection for efficiency in organization.
It is amazing that in such a ship as the _Constitution_ four hundred men could be cheerful and ready to fight after weeks and even months at sea.
They were crowded below the water line, without proper heat, plumbing, lighting, or ventilation, each man being allowed only twenty-eight inches by eight feet of space in which to sling his hammock against the beams overhead.