82 CAPTAIN ZACHARY G. LAMSON 



selves to making a demand for deserters, 

 should such a case occur, on the naval of- 

 ficer in command, and, in case of refusal, 

 refer the question to the home government. 



The number of cases of impressment 

 was greatest in the early years of the 

 French wars, and diminished after the 

 French fleets were driven from the sea and 

 the pressure on England had lessened. 



In 1796, the instructions given by the 

 Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, to 

 Rufus King called on him to present our 

 side of the question of impressment to the 

 English government, under five heads. He 

 was first to claim that American ships made 

 American seamen, that is, no impressment 

 by the British on the high seas. If this claim 

 was negatived, as it undoubtedly would be, 

 he was to demand that foreign sailors on 

 American vessels should not be impressed, 

 and that certificates of citizenship should 

 not be demanded, since they proved no- 

 thing and were frequently lost. He was 

 then to request that the British government 



