On paper Essex could throw about 640 pounds from her carronades at close range, more than the carronade broadsides of Phoebe, Cherub, and Essex Junior combined. Phoebe reversed that comparison with long guns, whose broadside exceeded the long-range weight available to all three other vessels together. The numbers therefore described two different battles rather than a single ranking of firepower. Porter needed to reach a short-range crushing fight, while Hillyar needed only to preserve enough distance for Phoebe's long guns to keep working. This distinction explains why speed and range control mattered more than the headline weight of Essex's broadside.
Notable Point · 1:31:09-1:33:59
Broadside weight mattered only inside effective range
Essex's carronade broadside outweighed the other ships' short-range fire combined, while Phoebe's long guns produced the stronger useful broadside before Essex could close.