74 Naval War of 1812 



including the second lieutenant and a master's mate, 

 wounded; "besides which the launch was captured 

 and the crew made prisoners." I do not know if 

 this means 37 wounded, besides the wounded in 

 the launch, or not; 66 of the prisoners captured 18 

 were wounded and 10 unhurt, so the loss was either 

 28 killed, 55 wounded, and 10 unhurt prisoners, or 

 else 28 killed, 37 wounded, and 10 prisoners; but 

 whether the total was 93 or 75 does not much mat 

 ter. It was a most desperate conflict, and, remem 

 bering how short-handed the brigantine was, it re 

 flected the highest honor on the American captain 

 and his crew. 



After their repulse before Baltimore the British 

 concentrated their forces for an attack upon New 

 Orleans. Accordingly a great fleet of line-of-battle 

 ships, frigates, and smaller vessels, under Vice-Ad 

 miral Cochrane, convoying a still larger number of 

 store-ships and transports, containing the army of 

 General Pakenham, appeared off the Chandeleur 

 Islands on Dec. 8th. The American navy in these 

 parts consisted of the ship Louisiana and schooner 

 Carolina in the Mississippi river, and in the shallow 

 bayous a few gunboats, of course without quarters, 

 low in the water, and perfectly easy of entrance. 

 There were also a few tenders and small boats. 



66 I think James does not include the wounded in the 

 launch, as he says 28 wounded were sent aboard the Saturn; 

 this could hardly have included the captured. 



