manded these vessels, as well as their officers and seamen, would favorably compare with the same class of military men in any army or navy in the world.

The following captains of privateers and letters-ofmarque I knew personally, both at home and abroad, and some of them I was proud to acknowledge as intimate friends:

I cannot at this moment, call to mind many other captains of privateers and letters-of-marque, who figured conspicuously in the trying conflict for the liberty of

the seas.

All the persons here enumerated were captains in the

merchant service, and were consequently thrown out of employment by the war, and obliged to command these vessels, or remain inactive spectators on shore. They, no doubt, like most other men, had a double motive in the contest, viz., to be remunerated for their p vations, and to serve their country in distressing the enemy, who strove to drive them off the ocean. Can any man of common sense, imagine that these worthy men would risk their lives and reputation, for a mere mercenary hire, without an ardent love of their country, and a desire to revenge themselves upon the tyrants of the seas, who had insulted and abused the most of them for many years? On the contrary, they were, with hardly an exception, a dashing, brave set of disinterested men, and an honor to their country. Many of their wellfought battles and hair-breadth escapes, will favorably compare with our most brilliant naval engagements.

Contrast the relative inducements of the officers of the United States navy and of the captains of privatearmed ships and vessels. The former are cherished and supported by the whole nation; have fame and honor meted out for every meritorious act. If wounded, they receive pensions, and are provided for in sickness and old age. Now look at the other side of the picture : What had the captains and officers of privateers and letters-of-marque to expect from their country? Nothing; and from the enemy, nothing but hard knocks, prison-ships, and free lodgings in Dartmoor. Notwithstanding the disadvantages here enumerated, we have

often seen them engaging the enemy's ships-of-war, where they had nothing to hope for but revenge for past injuries, or for the honor of the flag under which they sailed, and their ardent attachment to their beloved country. In many instances we have known their prospects of a cruise broken up and ruined because they would not fly from their haughty foe until they had inflicted a severe punishment on his boasted superiority. It is well known to those Americans who lived through the war of 1812, and to all the reading portion of our extensive country, that the privateers and letters-of-marque were the great thorn in the side of our inveterate enemy, that they harassed and annoyed their adversaries in every quarter of the globe, yes, and even at the entrance of their own ports, in old England itself. They fought and captured ships and vessels off the North Cape, in the British and Irish Channels, on the coasts of Spain and Portugal, in the East and West Indies, off the Capes of Good Hope and Horn, and in the Pacific Ocean. In a word, they were harassing and annoying British trade and commerce wherever a ship could float, Yes, they took and destroyed millions of property, and were, beyond all doubt, the happy instruments under God, in bringing about a permanent peace with a proud, haughty, overbearing nation. And now is it not astonishing how soon the services of these brave and gallant men are forgotten, and how lightly their heroic acts are appreciated by our general government? While Congress has given thousands and tens of thousands of broad acres to all those individuals who fought,

or were mustered into service in all our wars since 1790, as a reward for their services to their country, not one foot of land, or any other compensation has been given to privateersmen, and those who served in private armed vessels in the war of 1812, or to their widows and orphan children.

No wonder that the present generation does not appreciate their services, or cherish their memory when the Congress of the United States neglects to notice their claims on the nation.

I complain not at what the government has given to all those who have served in any war for their country's honor or interest, but I do complain of the gross and palpable injustice of the government of the United States towards those brave men, and their widows and orphan children. Many of the privateersmen, and those who served in letters-of-marque, suffered severely in their private fortunes, many were killed and wounded, and not a few were confined in filthy English prisons. And, what is the reply to all their petitions? Why forsooth, these men were engaged in cruising for prizemoney and not for the interest of the country. That assertion is not true, on the contrary, it is a base slander upon the good name and fame of these worthy and gallant defenders of their country's rights and of its honor and glory. "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon." The writer of these pages asks nothing for himself, for, thank God, he has, through his industry, prudence, and economy, sufficient to live on in a modest, unpretending way, and wishes it to be

clearly understood, that this appeal is in behalf of the few remaining individuals who have survived the war, the tempest, and the storm, and who are now tottering on the brink of the grave. Yes, it is for them and their widows and orphan children, that I make this strong and last appeal to the Government of the United States, to do justice to these much injured men and their families.

When the peace was made with England, the officers of the navy used to say among themselves, that they were looked upon by the people as pillars in war, but as caterpillars in peace. If such was the case with them, with what redoubled force will it apply to the Captains of Privateers.

I deem it unnecessary at present to add any more on the subject of the unrequited claims of privateersmen and those who served in private-armed vessels, but hope and trust that the Congress of the United States will, ere long, reflect that it is unwise and unjust to exclude those worthy and deserving patriots from an equal participation in the public bounty, which has been so liberally bestowed upon all other classes of citizens, who have served their country in any of its wars during the last sixty-five years.

With these closing remarks, I will now proceed to enumerate a few of the many wrongs and abuses practiced upon our commerce and country by British shipsof-war, for a period of at least six or eight years. For it is well known that they took and captured from us more than a thousand ships and vessels bound to France