They are chiefly made up of natives of the country; and a deserter from the British would be here no acquisition. In the United States, every man may hunt or shoot among the wild animals of the forest. The young peasant or back-woodsman carries a a rifled-barrel gun the moment he can lift one to his shoulder, and woe to the duck or deer that attempts to pass him within fair range of piece. To collect these expert marksmen, when of a proper age, officers are sent into the western parts of the Union; and to embody and finish drilling them, a marine barrack is established near the city of Washington, from which depot the ships are regularly supplied. "No one act of the little navy of the United States had been at all calculated to gain the respect of the British. First was seen the Chesapeake allowing herself to be beaten with impunity by a British ship, only nominally superior to her. Then the huge frigate President attacks, and fights for nearly three quarters of an hour, the British sloop Little Belt. And, even since the war, the same President at the head of a squadron, makes a bungling business of chasing the Belvidere. "While, therefore, a feeling towards America, bordering on contempt, had unhappily possessed the mind of the British naval officer, rendering him more than usually careless and opinionative, the American naval officer, having been taught to regard his new foe with a portion of dread, sailed forth to meet him with the whole of his energies roused. A moment's reflection assured him that his country's honour was now in his hands; and what, in the breast of man could be a stronger incitement to extraordinary exertions? "Thus situated were the navies of the two countries, when H. M. ship Guerriere, with damaged masts, a reduced compliment, and in absolute need of that thorough refit, for which she was then, after a very long cruise, speeding to Halifax, encountered the U. S. ship Constitution, seventeen days only from port, manned with a full compliment, and in all respects fitted for war.' Bravo! and yet cruel Blue and Buff gives you the bastinado! Was ever such a story as this told before! The Americans had decoyed our seamen away; they had got backwoodsmen put up into their tops; the cankerworm of neglect had been preying upon our poor navy; British oak had become scarce; ours were contract ships; they had been built in haste; with soft wood and light frames. We had seven hundred and fortysix ships in commission, but manned chiefly with impressed men, raw hands and small boys, a great number of both of whom were foreigners! Shocking state of things! the long war had made us forget how to fight; our officers as well as men had contracted the habit of inattention. We had lost our skill, our discipline, our strength of body, and our every thing that was good. According to you, Mr. James, " Corinna, pride of Drury Lane, for whom no shepherd sighs in vain," was not in a worse plight when she waked in the morning : "A pigeon pick'd her issue peas, "And flock her tresses fill'd with fleas." I will quote no further; but this strolling st rumpet does not, according the poet's ac count, appear to have been in a more miserable, destitute, forlorn, disordered, rascally, and rotten state, than that which yon give us as the state of the British Navy. But, impudent liar; foul toad-eater; why did you for get to state, that this rascally, rotten thing, cost, at the very time you speak of, upwards of twenty millions a year! Verily, an historian worthy of Blue and Buff! Then, from this poor old rotten thing; this worn-out, this battered, this dejected thing, you turn our attention to the half dozen nice American frigates, "constructed upon the most approved principles both for sailing and for war!" These were, surely, not those "half dozen of fir frigates with bits of striped bunting flying at their mast-heads,” of which Mr. CANNING talked in that very year, 1812! We had seven hundred and forty-six ships in commission; but what were these to the six frigates of the Americans! Constructed as they were upon the most approved principles! Bless us! Six dreadful frigates! We had seven bundred and forty more than they to be sure. But, then, we had no backwoodsmen to place in the round tops. Oh! backwoodsmen are the devil! and the worst of it is, that we shall never be able to get any backwoodsmen; so that, as far as this goes, we are sure to be beaten. Such was your preface to the defeat of the Guerriere. As to the defeat itself; it produced a still more melancholy description. The Guerriere's powder was damp; her mainmast had been struck by lightning some months previous to the action; she sailed very much by the head; but, the great thing of all appears to have been, that "HER BREECHINGS WERE ROTTEN," and she had no ropes left to repair her breechings! Shocking state to fight in! The strings of the waistband broken, and no tape to make new ones with! Look, then, compassionate reader, look at the poor GUERRIERE, with her breeches about her heels, and the CONSTITUTION laying on upon her hip and thigh! It is impossible to be serious upon such a subject. Such pitiful, such miserable excuses never were offered before. Amongst these excuses, there is, however, one worthy of particular notice. You say, or rather you ask: "Were it possible that the Constitution ship's company could have been inspected by the officers of the British navy, how many, besides the commissioned officers, and the riflemen, who would have proved to be native Americans ?" You mean to insinuate that a large part of the crew were British seamen; but, Mr. James, suppose this to have been the case, yours were all British seamen; and what then is the conclusion? Why, that the victory was gained in consequence of the Constitution having American officers. You insinuate a falsehood, Mr. James; but, if it were a truth, it would only bring additional dishonour upon Blue and Buff. This, therefore, is a very bad excuse; not quite so ridiculous, but certainly much more suspicious, than the breaking loose of the guns, owing to the rottenness of the breechings. I must notice here a circumstance well worthy of the reader's attention. - It discovers to us a species of meanness which I believe to be without parallel previous to this disgraceful war. Captain Dacres, while a prisoner at Boston, said in his official letter to Admiral Sawyer, "I feel it my duty to state, that the conduct of Captain Hull and his officers to our men, has been that of a brave enemy, the greatest care being taken to prevent our men from losing the smallest trifle, and the greatest attention being paid to the wounded." This is what Captain Dacres said at Boston. When, however, he came before the court-martial at Halifax, he accused these same American officers of breach of promise; and you, Mr. James, are pleased to add, that the English sailors were robbed by the Americans of the contents of their bags! You produce no proof of this; it is your bare assertion; and, I dare say, that one more false never was made. The like of this meanness, however, happened in several instances. While prisoners with the Americans, great gratitude was frequently expressed for the kind and generous treatment which those prisoners received; but, at subsequent periods, these acknowledgments were retracted; and, in most cases, with very ungrateful accusations. And, bere, (having omitted it before,) let me say a word or two on the manner of conducting the war. You decline to do this; and well you may; for the contrast is not such as would have suited your purpose. When the war broke out, we had on board of our ships a great number of Americans, whom we had pressed in the manner in which James Tompkins and his three brave associates were impressed. We had, by the usual well-known means, compelled the poor fellows to serve us. We have recently seen an instance, in which it was sworn that one of them had a pistol placed to his temple, to compel him to fight against his own countrymen. But what did we do with them generally? Why, WE MADE THEM PRISONERS OF WAR! Answer that, Mr. James. We took them off the decks of our own ships, where many of them had been compelled to serve ns for years, where many of them had been wounded several times; we took them from those decks and SHUT THEM UP IN OUR PRISONS, and kept them there to be exchanged against our people that the Americans might take in war. The world never saw the like of this before. I, who am an Englishman, despise and detest an American who pretends that he can forgive this; and, were I an American, I would destroy such a wretch as soon as I would destroy a toad or an adder. It is a thing that never will be forgotten or forgiven. The Americans are all humanity and generosity towards prisoners that fall into their power; but they never can forgive this; they never can pardon England for this unpardonable offence against them. Many of the American prisoners, who had been taken from serving us on the decks of our ships of war, were imprisoned at DARTMOOR. They endeavoured to make their escape; and MANY OF THEM WERE SHOT BY OUR SOLDIERS! And, do you believe, Mr. James, that this is forgot ten in America? Foolish man are you, and foolish men are your patrons, if they believe this. In thousands of houses in America, the names of the men shot at DARTMOOR are written and put upon the walls, and written 28 ATHENEUM VOL. 2. 2d serics. too, in human blood! Such things ought to be remembered. It argues a want of justice to forget them, and not to resent them. How did the Americans treat their prisoners of war, lawfully made prisoners? I believe that they never put any of them into prison at all. I believe that it was mere nominal imprisonment. Barracks, jails, dungeons, make no part of their system. They went no further, I believe, than what is called parole of honour. Poor Lord Liverpool, in a speech in the House of Lords, during the war, told the House that the Americans treated our people whom they had prisoners of war, more like friends and brethren than like enemies, whence that sagacious nobleman concluded, that the American people disapproved of their own Government for going to war with us, and that they were desirous "of placing themselves under the protection of his Majesty's government !" And it really required the beating which our people got at Lake Champlain and Plattsburg, to convince the profound premier of his great mistake. The Americans do not wreak their vengeance on prisoners of war. They inflict vengeance on haughty foes that are in arms. And now I think of it, Mr. James, what sort of prisoner were you in America? The first sentence of your book tells us that you were a prisoner there, and the third sentence tells us that you effected your escape. In a hundred parts of your book you accuse the Americans of falsehood and of foul dealing: it would not have been amiss, therefore, if you had explained to us in what kind of imprisonment you were in the United States. This explanation was fully due to a public, before whom you were placing yourself as an accuser-general of the American naval historians, and as a vouchergeneral for facts which directly contradicted the official statements of the American commanders. In many of the cases, you tell us that there is no British official account of the battle. This is particularly the case with regard to the memorable victory (so painful for an Englishman to think on) gained by the single frigate CONSTITUTION over the LEVANT and CYANE. You, with all the assurface imaginable, contradict the American commander, upon what you call the authority of "British officers engaged," but you take special care not to name any of those officers! This you do in many of those instances, and particularly in the case of the British defeats. In the instance of the St. Lawrence beaten by the American ship CHASSEUR, you say, no British official account has been published: but unofficial accounts state;" and then you go on with your own story. It is you, therefore, whose accounts we receive; it is upon your authority that the contradiction is given to the American official accounts. It became you, then, sir, before you attempted to pass your word for so much, to tell us what kind of prison that was, from which in the United States, you" effected your escape,"---whether it was a prison made of bricks, mortar, and bars, or a prison formed only by your parole, or word; and if the latter, how you contrived to effect your escape from it without doing that which is commonly called breach of parole. If this was the way you effected your escape, you ought when you 66 come forward to vouch for facts in opposition to the American official statements, to bring somebody to vouch for yourself. But, besides the treatment of their prisoners of war, how great was the difference in the manner of the two countries in conducting the war! It will be very long before the conduct of the English at Hampton will be forgotten. The visit to the old man upon his death bed, will long be remembered in the United States. You complain bitterly of the publication of private letters by authority of the Captain of the Chasseur. I well remember the publication of those private letters, and that they discovered scenes and motives of meanness, selfishness, low cunning, base greediness, such as I do trust in God no man with one drop of English blood in him is capable of being guilty of. The Captain of the Chasseur performed a duty to his country, to our country, and to the world. Those letters would have become shop-lifters in London. Such people can never uphold the glory of a country. A country must sink if they bave any thing to do with her affairs. You give us an account of the military operations at Washington, and of those at Alexandria. Your pretext is, that the fleet had something to do with those operations. But, had not the fleet also something to do with the affair at New-Orleans? Did not the fleet assist in achieving that inextinguishable defeat and disgrace? Did not the COCHRANES and COCKBURNS assist to gain for us that which Paddy would call "father of a beating?" Yet not a word do you say about the affair of New-Orleans. You suppress it altogether; and those who read your history, without having heard of the thumping at New-Orleans, must be unable to believe it possible that such a thing ever took place. This is your way of writing impartial history! There was one thing, however, which, one would suppose, you could not have omitted. Your gallant countrymen (of whom more another time) took away a parcel of negroes from Virginia. Strange that you should not mention this achievement! You dwelt with great minuteness on their exploits at Washington; but say not a word about this negro expedition; which expedition, by-the-bye, WE HAVE YET TO PAY FOR. Whether the sum will be hundreds of thousands of pounds, is more than I can say ; but, in a short time, we shall have the comfort of knowing what it is. Yet, not a word do you tell us about this part of the achievements of the navy. In short, you suppress every thing calculated to give us a true impression of the naval occurrences of which you profess to be the historian. Before I dismiss these remarks, I will give the public a specimen or two of your manner of apologizing for Blue and Buff. When the schooner St. Lawrence was beaten by the Chasseur brig, which were, as nearly as possible, of equal force, the former was carrying despatches from Cockburn, or Cochrane, to some other cominander, about the peace; the American attacked her, and took her in about fifteen minutes. Now let us hear the apology. "Men are not in the best trim for fighting, just upon hearing the news of peace; sailors are then dwelling upon their discharge from servitude, the sight of their long absent friends, all the ties of their homes and families!" Shocking! Despicable! A navy has come to a pretty pass indeed, when such apologies can be offered for its defeats, and fast falling is the nation that can accept of such an apology. I shall give one more instance of your miserable apologies. The CONSTITUTION American frigate was attacked by two British ships, the Levant and the Cyane, the former carrying 34 guns, and the latter 21. The American frigate appears to have mounted 56 guns, but then, as every one must see, the two ships had greatly the advantage. Indeed, they were aware that they should have the advantage! for you yourself say, that they resolved to attack her, and she beat and captured them both! And let us hear your crying account of this affair. "On the 20th of February, 315, H. M. ships Levant and Cyane, were proceeding in company, a few days out from Gibraltar, bound to the Western Islands. About 1 o'clock in the afternoon a strange sail was seen by the Cyane, upon her weather bow; her consort, the Levant, Captain Douglass, then hull down to leeward. The Cyane stood on until about 4 o'clock; when, having ascertained the character of the stranger, Captain Gordon Falcon bore up to speak the Commodore. At about quarter past 5, the two ships passed within hail of each other. Captain Douglass, the senior officer, resolved to engage the enemy's frigate, in hopes, by disabling her, to prevent her intercepting two valuable convoys, that sailed from Gibraltar about the same time as the Levant and Cyane. Both Commanders, at this time, fully believed that she was the American frigate Constitution: having received intelligence, before leaving port, of her being in their intended track. "The two ships now tried for the weathergage, but, finding they could not obtain it, they bore up, in hopes to prolong the engagement until night, when, by manœuvring in the dark, they might effect their object, The superior sailing of the Constitution, however, defeated that plan also; and, at 45 minutes past 5, the Levant and Cyane, hauled to the wind on the starboard-tack. No British official account of this action has been published; therefore, the details are taken, partly from the American accounts, and partly from the information of the British officers engaged. "The Constitution had previously fired her bow-chasers at the Cyane, without effect, her shot falling short; and, now, baving the two British ships under the command of her main-deck battery (they being at a distance from her of full three-quarters of a mile) she commenced firing her broadsides. Both ships returned her fire; but having only carronades, their shot fell short, while the Constitution's 24 pound shot were cutting to pieces their sails and rigging. As the British became gradually disabled, the Constitution shortened her distance; and, by her superiority in sailing, and working, frequently raked both her opponents. "It is stated in the American Minutes of the Action,' that, when the firing commenced, the contending ships were about 300 yards distant. According to the posi→ tive testimony of the British officers, examined at the court-martial, the distance was, as stated before, nearly three quarters of a mile. The object in framing this assertion, is evident. It is to show that the British had the use of their carronades from the first; and that the Constitution did not keep out of range, until she had crippled both ships. "At about 35 minutes past six, was without a brace or a bow-line, except the larboard fore-brace. Yet, seeing her consort exposed to a heavy raking fire, owing to the Constitution having fired across her, she gallantly stood in between them, and received the broadside. The firing continued at intervals for a few minutes longer, when the Cyane turned the bands up to refit the rigging. Before that could be accomplished, the Constitution had taken a position on her larboard quarter, within hail. Being now totally unmanageable; with most of her standing and running rigging gone; main and and mizzen-masts tottering, and other principal spars wounded; several shot in the hull, pine or ten of which were between wind and water; five carronades disabled, chiefly by the drawing of the bolts and starting of the cheeks; and the Levant having bore np to repair damages, since 6 40, and being now two miles to leeward, still bearing away; the Cyane fired a lee-gun, and hoisted a light as a signal of submission (see p. 433;) and, soon after seven, was taken possession of by the Constitution. "At 8 15, which was as soon as the Levant had rove new braces, the gallant little ship again hauled her wind, to ascertain the fate of her companion, as well as to renew the desperate contest. On approaching the two ships, Captain Douglas, with a boldness bordering on rashness, ranged close alongside the Constitution, to leeward, being unable to weather her, and the two ships, on opposite tack, exchanged broadsides. This, by the American account, was at half past 8. The Constitution immediately wore under the Levant's stern, and raked her with a second broadside. At 9 30, Captain Doug las, finding that the Cyane had undoubtedly struck her colours, put again before the wind: in doing which, the Levant received several raking broadsides, had her wheel shot away and her lower masts badly wounded. To fire her stern-chase guns, and to steer at the same time, was impossible, owing to a sad mistake in the construction of this new class of vessels! Seeing the Constitution ranging upon the larboard quarter, the Levant, at 10 P. M. by the American, and 10 40 by the British account,struck her colours to the gigantic enemy.' "One could almost cry out, shame! shame! at the Constitution firing successive broadsides into such a ship as the Levant. It is surprising that she did not sink her, Had the Levant, on first bearing away, continued her course, she might have escaped; but that would have appeared like deserting her consort; and personal consideration in battle was never the characteristic of a DOUGLAS. and ten minutes apart; yet, says the former, both of which, after a spirited action of FORTY MINUTES, surrendered to the ship under my command!' After this a compliment to British gallantry could not be er pected; yet the advance of the Levant, at half past eight, and her ranging close up, and exchanging broadsides, with such an adversary would have elicited admiration from the breast of a Turk! "The Levant lost 6 seamen and marines, killed, and an officer, and 14 seamen and marines wounded. The Cyane had 6 killed, and 13 wounded; total, 12 killed and 39 wounded. Captain Stewart, to make the complements of the ship appear greater than they were, states 23 as the killed, of the forbecome a stale trick, and scarcely deserves mer ship, and 12, the latter. This is now notice. The smallness of the Bsitish loss in had already began to relax in their discithis action shows clearly, that the Americans pline. The Constitution's fire, considering the disparity of force, falls far beneath the very worst of ours. "Old Ironsides, as, from her strength and compactness she is very properly called in the United States, was too successful in keeping out of carronade-range, to allow many shot to reach her. Some, however, lodged in her sides; and a few others, it may be presumed, found their way through; or we should not hear of 6 men killed and mortaland slightly. That both British commanly wounded, and 6 others wounded, severely ders had drilled their men at the guns, is proved by the precision of their fire, during the short period that their carronades could reach. "The Levant mounted 21 guns; eighteen carronades, 32-pounders, two long 9. pounders, and a 12-pound lanch carronade. Her established complement was 135 men and boys; but she had in the action 115 men and 16 boys; total, 131. Her marines were young raw recruits, that scarcely knew how to handle their muskets; and, although considered as men, would all have vice. been rated as boys in the American ser "The Cyane was a deep-waisted or a frigate-built ship, and mounted 33 guns, twenty-two carronades, 35-pounders, upon the main-deck, eight carronades, 18-pounders, an 18-pound lanch carronade, and two long 9-pounders, upon the quarterdeck and forecastle. Not another gun did her an additional 18-pound carronade, and she mount; yet Captain Stewart has given two long 12's in lieu of 9's; and, in the "Sketches of the War," all her thirtyfour guns' are described as 32-pound carronades! "The established complement of the Cy. ang was 191 men, and 24 (including 12 supernumerary) boys: total 185. But on the morning of the action, she was defi cient, in petty-officers and able seamen, 16, and had a surplus of two boys; making her "The reader has, no doubt, already discovered the important variation between Captain Stewart's official letter (App. No. 108,) and the "Minutes of the Action,' "complement, in this action, 145 men, and (No. 109,) by some unaccountable blunder of the Americans, published along with it. According to the latter, the two ships were captured at successive periods, three hours 26 boys; total, 171. Of this number, 4 men were sick and not at quarters. In computing his prisoners Captain Stewart has committed a mistake; which, added to that respecting the killed of the two British ships, making their united complements appear greater than they were by 34 men. "Three of the Cyane's men deserted to the Americans; but, generally, the two crews resisted the repeated offers to enlist with the enemy. It was stated by the British officers, at the court-martial, that the crews of the two ships were, for three weeks, kept constantly in the Constitution's hold, with both hands and legs in irons, and there allowed but three pints of water during the 24 hours. This, too, in a tropical climate! It was further proved, that, after the expiration of three weeks, upon the application of Capt. Douglas, one third of the men were allowed to be on deck four hours out of the 24, but had not the means of walking, being still in irons; that, on mustering the crews when they were landed at Maranham, five of the Levant's boys were missing; that, upon application and search for them, two of them were found locked up in the American captain of marines cabin; that a black man at Maranham was employed as a crimp and enticed one of the Levant's boys to enter the American service. Upon these facts, let the reader employ his own thoughts: if he possesses a British heart, he will need no prompter." "British heart," indeed! Where was the British heart when James Tompkins and his comrades were impressed! Where was the British heart when they were so treated day after day? But who is to believe this story? It is nobody's story but yours; it is your own miserable story; and entitled to no belief. You have no British official account of the action. Does not this speak volumes! Would there not have been such official account of the action, if a good excuse could have been made out for this defeat and capture! You take your details, you say, partly from the information of the British officers engaged. Why do you not name one at least of the number. You talk of Capt. Douglas, and you say, with a species of national vanity that deserves not only beating but kicking, that "personal consideration in battle was never the character of a DOUGLAS." A Douglas indeed! Why not of a Douglas, you ridiculous coxcomb? Sad experience has taught me that roguery in collecting money is characteristic enough of "a Douglas," for "a Douglas" once robbed me in this way of a pretty many thousands of dollars. This, however, is a specimen of the nauseous flattery which you never fail to bestow on every Scotch officer that comes in your way. Your story about the breast of a Turk might do well enough, if we could possibly believe the fact that you state; but upon what ground are we to believe you? You are flatly contradicted by the American official account; and there is no English official account. Were not the English Government pretty good judges of what they ought to do in such a case? If they did not publish their official account, had they not their reasons for it, think you? In short, Captain Stewart says that he captured the two ships in forty minutes; and what ground is there for disbelieving him? You are exceedingly offended at the boastings of the Americans. You have forgot all Dibdin's songs, I suppose? You have forgot all the songs, and all the odes, and all the plays, of all the pensioned parasites? You have forgot Neptune coming in his watery car to surrender his trident to that wonderous hero, King George the Third? You have forgot, doubtless, all the disgusting, all the sickening, all the loathsome, all the literary, vomit-producing flattery incessantly poured forth upon our navy, and all connected with it? Of all the boasters upon the face of this earth, we have been the greatest, the most shameless, the most contemptible and ridiculous. ter. However, it was not until 1814, that this boasting assumed a regular official characThen it was that the victory of the Serpentine River came to crown all the boastings of this nation of boasters. You complain that Capt. Stewart, after capturing the two English ships, "was welcomed at Boston by federal salutes ; that he landed under a salute; that he was escorted to the Exchange Coffee-house by troops, amidst the repeated cheers of citizens of both sexes, who filled the streets, wharves, and vessels, and occupied the houses, while a band of music played national airs." You are exceedingly offended at this, and seem to curse the manager of the play-house for having craved leave to announce, that the gallant Captain Stewart and the officers of the Constitution would, in their full uniform, honour the Theatre with their presence. You seem to be enraged at this enthusiasm of the people, and at this little trick of the play-house men; and yet not one word did you say about the victory on the Serpentine river! On that famous sea in Hyde Park, the two fleets met, in order to give the foreign sovereigns, their whiskered followers, and the enlightened people of this royal Wen, ocular demonstration of the superiority of British skill and valour. The Yankees were superior in number of ships, and guns. Long and obstinate was the fight, but, at last, as the newspapers told us, "the shouts of half a million of people communicated to the sky that Britannia still ruled the waves!" The citizens of Boston were very soon afterwards taking their turn; but, they had something to boast of. One of their ships had taken two English ships, which, every man must allow, ought to have taken her. There was really something to boast of. If you had been there, indeed, to explain to them, as you have done to me in pages 466 and 467, that the Levant was " built of fir;" that the Cyane's "timbers were rotten," that her "breeching bolts drew out ;" if you had been present at Boston to explain all this, as nicely as you have explained it to me, how you would have set the |
