CHAPTER XX. THE STRUGGLE FOR COMMERCIAL INDEPENDENCE

[17] In New England the ruin of commerce made the war most unpopular, and it was because of this that the British did not at first blockade the New England coast. British goods came to Boston, Salem, and other ports in neutral ships, or in British ships disguised as neutral, and great quantities of them were carried in four-horse wagons to the South, whence raw cotton was brought back to New England to be shipped abroad. The Republicans made great fun of this "ox-and-horse-marine."

[18] For a description of the scenes in Washington, read McMaster's History of the People of the U. S., Vol. IV, pp. 138-147; or Adams's History of the U. S., Vol. VIII, pp. 144-152; or Memoirs of Dolly Madison, Chap. 8.

[19] Read Holmes's poem Old Ironsides.

[20] This battle was fought on a clear moonlight night and was full of dramatic incidents. A storm had lashed the sea into fury and the waves were running mountain high. Wave after wave swept the deck of theWasp and drenched the sailors. The two sloops rolled till the muzzles of their guns dipped in the sea; but both crews cheered heartily and fought on till, as the Wasp rubbed across the bow of the Frolic, her jib boom came in between the masts of the Wasp. A boarding party then leaped upon her bowsprit, and as they ran down the deck were amazed to see nobody save the man at the wheel and three wounded officers. As the British were not able to lower their flag, Lieutenant Biddle of the Wasp hauled it down. Scarcely had this been done when the British frigate Poictiers came in sight, and chased and overhauled the Wasp and captured her.

[21] Of all the British frigates captured during the war, the Macedonian was the only one brought to port. The others were shot to pieces and sank or were destroyed soon after the battle. The Macedonianarrived at Newport in December, 1812. When the lieutenant bearing her flag and dispatches reached Washington, he was informed that a naval ball was being held in honor of the capture of the Guerrière and another ship, and that their flags were hanging on the wall. Hastening to the hotel, he announced himself and was quickly escorted to the ballroom, where, with cheers and singing, the flag of the Macedonianwas hung beside those of the other two captured vessels.

[22] In October, 1812, the frigate Essex, Captain Porter in command, sailed from Delaware Bay, cruised down the east and up the west coast of South America, and captured seven British vessels. But she was captured near Valparaiso by the British frigates Cherub and Phoebe in March, 1814. In January, 1815, the President, Commodore Decatur, was captured off Long Island by a British squadron of four vessels. In February the Constitution, Captain Stewart, when near Madeira, captured the Cyane and the Levant.

[23] Some idea of the difficulty of travel and the transmission of news in those days may be gained from the fact that when the agent bearing the treaty of peace arrived at New, York February 11, 1815, an express rider was sent post haste to Boston, at a cost of $225.

[24] The states of Vermont and New Hampshire sent no delegates to this convention; but three delegates were appointed by certain counties in those states. When Connecticut and Rhode Island chose delegates, a Federalist newspaper published in Boston welcomed them in an article headed "Second and Third Pillars of a New Federal Edifice Reared." Despite the action of the Hartford Convention, the fact remains that Massachusetts contributed more than her proportionate share of money and troops for the war.

[25] The report is printed in MacDonald's Select Documents.