196 Naval War of 1812 



of the revenue-cutters and gunboats can fairly be 

 considered to be counterbalanced by the capture or 

 destruction of the various British Royal Packets 

 (all armed with from 2 to 10 guns), tenders, barges, 

 etc., which would be in the aggregate of at least 

 as great tonnage and gun force, and with more 

 numerous crews. 



But the comparative material loss gives no idea 

 of the comparative honor gained. The British navy, 



ample, the " Grow ler and Hamilton, upset in carrying sail 

 to avoid Sir James's fleet"; it would be quite as reasonable 

 to put down the loss of the Royal George to the credit of 

 the French. Then he mentions the Julia and Growler, 

 which were recaptured: the Asp, which was also recaptured; 

 the "New York, 46, destroyed at Washington," which was 

 not destroyed or harmed in any way, and which, moreover, 

 was a condemned hulk; the "Boston 42 (in reality 32), de 

 stroyed at Washington," which had been a condemned hulk 

 for ten years, and had no guns or anything else in her, and 

 was as much a loss to our navy as the fishing up and burning 

 of an old wreck would have been; and 8 gunboats whose de 

 struction was either mythical, or else which were not na 

 tional vessels. By deducting all these we reduce James' 

 total by 120 guns, and 2,600 tons; and a few more alterations 

 (such as excluding the swivels in the President's tops, which 

 he counts, etc.) brings his number down to that given above 

 and also affords a good idea of the value to be attached to 

 his figures and tables. The British loss he gives at but 530 

 guns and 10,273 tons. He omits the 24-gun ship burnt by 

 Chauncy at York, although including the frigate and cor 

 vette burnt by Ross at Washington; if the former is ex 

 cluded the two latter should be, which would make the bal 

 ance still more in favor of the Americans. He omits the 

 guns of the Gloucester, because they had been taken out of 

 her and placed in battery on the shore, but he includes those 



