Local Royal Navy officer discovers the U.S built their frigates differently

During the War of 1812, Captain John Surman Carden of the British frigate HMS Macedonian reportedly bet a beaver hat that his ship would defeat the American frigate USS United States if they ever met in battle. This was not an unreasonable bet from his perspective. The Royal Navy was the largest navy in the world at the time, and British officers generally assumed American frigates were comparable to standard British 38-gun frigates. On 25 October 1812, the two ships finally encountered each other in the Atlantic. But the problem for Carden was that American 44-gun frigates were not normal frigates. The USS United States carried 24-pounder long guns, heavier than the 18-pounders used by Macedonian. The American ship also had a heavier hull and stronger construction, allowing it to absorb more damage, and its broadside weight was significantly larger. The result was predictable. After about 90 minutes of combat, the HMS Macedonian was dismasted, heavily damaged, and forced to surrender. Casualties also showed the imbalance. United States: 5 killed, 7 wounded, HMS Macedonian: 36 killed, 68 wounded. The British ship was captured, sailed to the United States, and even commissioned into the U.S Navy. As for the famous beaver hat bet, Carden reportedly never paid it, having left it ashore before the battle.

The United States Ship United States?

Didnt they still lose the war fairly badly? I.e. they started the war by invading Canada, but ended up with Washington & the White House burning and a desperate defence of New Orleans.

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