Naval War of 1812 69 



tions (Jack Lang) was an American, he can hardly 

 be trusted for those whom he does not name. 



Of the 95 men composing the crew of the Nau 

 tilus when she was captured, "6 were detained and 

 sent to England to await examination as being sus 

 pected of being British subjects." 9 Of the other 

 small brigs, the Viper, Vixen, Rattlesnake, and 

 Syren, James does not mention the composition of 

 the crews, and I do not know that any were claimed 

 as British. Of the crew of the Argus "about 10 or 

 12 were believed to be British subjects; the American 

 officers swore the crew contained none" (James, 

 "Naval Occurrences," p. 278). From o to 10 per 

 cent can be allowed. When the Frolic was cap 

 tured "her crew consisted of native Americans" (do. 

 p. 340). James speaks ("History," p. 418) of "a 

 portion of the British subjects on board the Essex'' 

 but without giving a word of proof or stating his 

 grounds of belief. One man was claimed as a 

 deserter by the British, but he turned out to be a 

 New Yorker. There were certainly a certain number 

 of British aboard, but the number probably did not 

 exceed thirty. Of the President's crew he says 



9 Quoted from letter of Commodore Rodgers of September 

 12, 1812 (in Naval Archives, "Captains' Letters," Vol. XXV, 

 No. 43), inclosing a "List of American prisoners of war dis 

 charged out of custody of Lieutenant William Miller, agent 

 at the port of Halifax," in exchange for some of the British 

 captured by Porter. This list, by the way, shows the crew 

 of the Nautilus (counting the six men detained as British) 

 to have been 95 in number, instead of 106, as stated by James. 

 Commodore Rodgers adds that he has detained 12 men of the 

 Guerrilre's crew as an offset to the 6 men belonging to the 

 Nautilus. 



