1812	Guerriere and Constitution	107

creditable to captains " John Shaw," " Daniel T. Patterson," and " John Orde Creighton," that they were ashamed to tell where they were born. Of the 22 masters commandant, one only appears to have been born out of the United States, and that is " George C. Read," of " Ireland ; " the same, no doubt, mentioned by Captain Brenton, as the third lieutenant of the Constitution in August, 1812. Of the 160 lieutenants, there appear to be only five born out of the United States; of which five, " Walter Stewart, " " William Finch, " and " Benjamin Page, jun. " are stated to be of " England, " and " James Ramage, " of " Ireland. " To 17 names, all English and Irish, appears no birthplace. We shall pass over the surgeons, their mates, the pursers, chaplains, and midshipmen ; among whom we find, besides a few blanks, only eight of England and Ireland. As we descend in the list, the blanks in the column of " Country where born " increase surprisingly. Now, as the native American seaman usually carries about him his certificate of citizenship ; and, as scarcely any man is to be found who, if he can speak at all, cannot answer the question, " Where were you born ? " we must consider that the birthplace is purposely omitted, because, being a native of Great Britain or Ireland, and probably a deserter from the British navy, the fellow is ashamed or afraid to avow it. Hence, out of the 83 sailing masters, we find eight born in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Bermuda, and 15 without any birthplace assigned to them. Among the 20 boatswains, one is stated to have been born in England, four in the United States, and the rest nowhere. Of the 25 gunners, three appear to have been born in the United States, one in Germany, another in Portugal, and the remaining four fifths in some nameless country. Of the 18 carpenters, 11 sail-makers, and four master's mates, 33 in all, five only have been able or willing to enable the Washington state-clerk to fill up the important blank.

Can any one, after the analysis we have given of this curious American state-document, entertain a doubt that, during the late war between Great Britain and the United States, one third in number, and nearly one half in point of effectiveness, of the seamen that fought in the ships of the latter were bred on the soil, and educated in the ships, of the former ? This may appear very discreditable to British seamen, considered as a body ; but it should be recollected, that the total of the seamen belonging to the American ships of war formed only a small portion of those employed in the British navy. Moreover, a large proportion of the deserters and renegades, that entered the service of the United States, were Irish Roman Catholics. It is for this reason, that an American captain can sometimes assert, with no great degree of untruth, that he has few " Englishmen " among his crew.

There were, it appears, on board the Constitution, so many

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