290 Naval War of 1812 



APPENDIX E 



In the last edition of James' "Naval History of 

 Great Britain," published in London, in 1886, by 

 Richard Bentley & Son, there is an appendix by 

 Mr. H. T. Powell, devoted to the war of 1812, 

 mainly to my account thereof. 



Mr. Powell begins by stating with naif solemnity 

 that "most British readers will be surprised to learn 

 that, notwithstanding the infinite pains taken by 

 William James to render his history a monument 

 of accuracy, and notwithstanding the exposure he 

 brought upon contemporary misstatements, yet to 

 this day the Americans still dispute his facts." It 

 is difficult to discuss seriously any question with a 

 man capable of writing down in good faith such a 

 sentence as the above. James (unlike Brenton and 

 Cooper) knew perfectly well how to be accurate; 

 but if Mr. Powell will read the comments on his 

 accounts which I have appended to the description 

 of almost every battle, he will see that James stands 

 convicted beyond possibility of doubt, not merely of 

 occasional inaccuracies or errors, but of the sys- 

 tematic, malicious, and continuous practice of every 



