80 CASE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



wood and water of which they were m need, but this was denied by 

 the British officers making the seisure. °- 



The Reindeer and the Ruby were seized on July 6, 1824, at anchor 

 m Two Island Harbor, Grand Menan, charged with being within three 

 miles of the shore without justification. On behalf of these vessels 

 it was alleged that they had gone in for the purpose of procuring 

 wood and water of which they were in need, which was denied by 

 the British officers making the seizures.^ 



^Vhile the Reindeer and the Ruby were on their way to St. Andrews 

 N. S., in charge of a prize crew they were boarded and rescued by 

 two American fishing vessels, the Diligence and the Madison, which 

 had put out from Eastport, Maine, for that purpose. According to the 

 British accounts of tliis incident, the rescuing party numbered about 

 one hundred men with muskets and fixed bayonets, headed by Mr. 

 Howard, a captain of the United States militia, and it was asserted 

 that as the vessels approached shots were fired at the British crews 

 in charge of the seized vessels.*^ According to the American account, 

 on the other hand, the rescuing party numbered about twenty-five 

 in all, twelve on board the Diligence and ten men and two or three 

 boys on the Madison, and not a shot was fired until after the boats 

 were retaken, when the American colors were hoisted and saluted by 

 a discharge of muskets.'^ It appears that Air. Howard, who is referred 

 to as the leader in the British reports, was a boy of seventeen or 

 eighteen who had never been a captain in the militia but had trained 

 a company of boys at Eastport with wooden guns and swords. It is 

 further stated in the American reports that the British officer in 

 charge of the prize crew went on board the Madison after the rescue 

 and drank the health of the rescuing party, saying that "we were 

 good fellows for having retaken them ; he took them according to his 

 orders but without any provocation and w^as glad we had got them." « 



The Pilgrim, wliich, as above noted, was seized on June 16th, escaped 

 on the same day by sailing off with the prize crew, but was afterwards 

 retaken by the Dotterell on August 29th, and on the same day the Madi- 

 son, which had taken part in the rescue of the Ruby and the Reindeer, 

 was seized by the Dotterell on that ground. Both of these seizures 



a Appendix, pp. 339, 342-344, 348, 356-359, 377, 385-392. 

 b Appendix, pp. 336, 339, 350, 354, 366, 378, 397-406. 

 c Appendix, pp. 349, 350, 398, 401. 

 d Appendix, pp. 354, 355, 367-371. 

 « Appendix, pp. 369, 355. 



