"Well, I was in that little brush," said Haines, "and I can probably tell you a good deal more than you know about it.
"I went down the coast from New York to the Potomac River along in the early part of February, 1807. When we got to Washington the crew of the coaster was paid off and discharged; the captain said he was going to lie up there, he didn't know for how long. I went to looking around for something, but there wasn't a craft I could ship on, leastways, not a merchant craft. I heard that the Chesapeake, thirty-eight guns, which was then lying at Washington, was going to be sent out to the Mediterranean to fight the Barbary coast pirates, and sure enough, she was put into commission on the 22d day of February.
"Captain Gordon was put in command of the ship, and Commodore Barron was selected to hoist a broad pennant in her as commander of the squadron. As soon as the orders had been issued they began enlisting a crew, and I was one of the men who enlisted. They had a good set of officers all around, and no doubt the crew was a good one, but it was very green when we dropped down the Potomac about the 4th of June and anchored in Hampton Roads. When we left the navy-yard at Washington we had only twelve guns on board and a part of our stores, and we stayed in Hampton Roads about three weeks completing our armament, and taking on provisions, water, ammunition, and other necessary things."
"You seem to have taken things very leisurely," I remarked, as Haines paused for a moment.
"Yes, that's so," was the reply; "but then in time of peace you don't do things in a hurry on a man-of-war. Although the ship was put in commission on the 22d of February, it wasn't until the 22d of June that we got underway from Hampton Roads, bound to the Mediterranean.
"I must go back a little and say that, while we were enlisting the crew, the British minister complained to the navy department that we had taken in three deserters from his Majesty's ship, Melampus. The Melampus had been lying in Hampton Roads, and they claimed that three of her men got away from her and enlisted on the Chesapeake."
"Didn't our government do anything about it?" I asked.
"Yes," Haines replied; "they told Commodore Barron what the British minister had said, and the commodore told Captain Gordon to look into the matter and report."
"Did he find that they really had three British deserters enlisted for the Chesapeake?"
"Well, yes, they did," said Haines; "the three men were actually deserters from the Melampus, but they all claimed to be impressed Americans who were serving unwillingly on the British ship, and had taken the first opportunity that offered to escape from their unjust and illegal detention.