68 Naval War of 1812 



names in the list. It could not well be otherwise, 

 as the United States navy was not officered by 

 Indians. In looking over this same Navy List (of 

 1816) it will be seen that but a little over five per 

 cent of the officers were born abroad a smaller 

 proportion by far than would exist in the popula 

 tion of the country at large and most of these had 

 come to America when under ten years of age. On 

 p. 155 James adds that the British sailors com 

 posed "one third in number and one half in point 

 of effectiveness" of the American crews. Brenton 

 in his "Naval History" writes : "It was said, and I 

 have no reason to doubt the fact, that there were 

 200 British seamen aboard the Constitution." 8 

 These statements are mere assertions unsupported by 

 proof and of such a loose character as to be diffi 

 cult to refute. As our navy was small, it may be 

 best to take each ship in turn. The only ones of 

 which the British could write authoritatively were, 

 of course, those which they captured. The first one 

 taken was the Wasp. James says many British 

 were discovered among her crew, instancing es 

 pecially one sailor named Jack Lang; now Jack 

 Lang was born in the town of Brunswick, New 

 Jersey, but had been impressed and forced to serve 

 in the British Navy. The same was doubtless true 

 of the rest of the "many British" seamen of her 

 crew; at any rate, as the only instance James men- 

 facts it would appear that James was somewhat hasty in con 

 cluding that the omission of the birth-place proved the owner 

 of the name to be a native of Great Britain. 

 8 New edition, London, 1837, Vol. II, p. 456. 



