The Battle of New Orleans 263 



officers stated that she measured about 1,400 tons; 

 in reality she tonned 1,576, American measure. 

 Still more singular was the testimony of the officers 

 of the Argus, who thought her to be of about 350 

 tons, while she was of 298, by American, or 244, by 

 British measurement. These errors were the more 

 excusable as they occurred also in higher quarters. 

 The earliest notice we have about the three 45-gun 

 frigates of the Constitution's class, is in the letter of 

 Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddart, on Dec. 

 24, 1798,* where they are expressly said to be of 

 1,576 tons; and this tonnage is given them in every 

 navy list that mentions it for 40 years afterward; 

 yet Secretary Paul Hamilton in one of his letters 

 incidentally alludes to them as of 1,444 tons. Later, 

 I think about the year 1838, the method of measur- 

 ing was changed, and their tonnage was put down 

 as 1,607. James takes the American tonnage from 

 Secretary Hamilton's letter as 1,444, an d states 

 (vol. vi, p. 5), that this is equivalent to 1,533 tons, 

 English. But in reality, by American measurement, 

 the tonnage was 1,576; so that even according to 

 James' own figures the British way of measurement 

 made the frigate 43 tons smaller than the American 

 way did; actually the difference was nearer 290 

 tons. James' statements as to the size of our vari- 

 ous ships would seem to have been largely mere 



1 "American State Papers," xiv, 57. 



