88 CAPTAIN ZACHARY G. LAMSON 



The witnesses who appeared before this 

 committee were of the highest character, 

 typical representatives of our New England 

 merchants. They included such names as 

 Joseph Peabody and William Orne of Sa- 

 lem, Israel Thorndike of Beverly, William 

 Gray, Theodore Lyman and Eben Parsons 

 of Boston and Mr. Story of Marblehead. 

 These men stated in substance that they 

 had employed on the average, for the pre- 

 vious twelve or fifteen years, 1560 seamen 

 annually. This would give an aggregate of 

 21,840 employed by them since 1799. Of 

 this number, to the best of their knowledge 

 and remembrance, thirty-five men had 

 been impressed. Of the thirty-five, twelve 

 were Americans and twenty-three foreign- 

 ers. Of the twelve Americans nine were 

 discharged, one escaped and two had not 

 returned. Of the twenty- three foreigners, 

 six were discharged. 



The whole number of cases reported by 

 all witnesses, including cases they had 

 heard of on good authority, amounted to 



