Naval War of 1812 



his sword, with a letter as complimentary to him 

 as it was creditable to the writer. 36 



As has been already mentioned, the Americans 

 possessed a large force of gunboats at the begin- 

 ning of the war. Some of these were fairly sea- 

 worthy vessels, of 90 tons burden, sloop or schooner- 

 rigged, and armed with one or two long, heavy 

 guns, and sometimes with several light carronades 

 to repel boarders. 37 Gunboats of this kind, to- 

 gether with the few small cutters owned by the 

 government, were serviceable enough. They were 

 employed all along the shores of Georgia and the 

 Carolinas, and in Long Island Sound, in protecting 

 the coasting trade by convoying parties of small ves- 



36 The letter, dated June i3th, is as follows: "Your gallant 

 and desperate attempt to defend your vessel against more 

 than double your number, on the night of the i2th instant, 

 excited such admiration on the part of your opponents as I 

 have seldom witnessed, and induced me to return :you the 

 sword you had so nobly used, in testimony of mine. Our 

 poor fellows have suffered severely, occasioned chiefly, if not 

 solely, by the precautions you had taken to prevent surprise. 

 In short, I am at a loss which to admire most, the previous 

 arrangement aboard the Surveyor, or the determined man- 

 ner in which her deck was disputed inch by inch. I am, 

 sir," etc. 



87 According to a letter from Captain Hugh G. Campbell 

 (in the Naval Archives, "Captains' Letters," 1812, vol. ii, 

 Nos. 21 and 192), the crews were distributed as follows: ten 

 men and a boy to a long 32, seven men and a boy to a long 

 9, and five men and a boy to a carronade, exclusive of petty 

 officers. Captain Campbell complains of the scarcity of men, 

 and rather naively remarks that he is glad the marines have 

 been withdrawn from the gunboats, as this may make the 

 commanders of the latter keep a brighter lookout than 

 formerly. 



