Captain John Crane, 1800-1815

by Thomas Wallace Knox

Yes, we had one experience that I ought to mention; we were overhauled by a British man-of-war in the South Atlantic Ocean, and compelled to submit to a search for British deserters. Several times during the voyage we saw men-of-war, and ran away from them, but this one caught us when we were becalmed, having sailed close to us during the night, while we were enveloped in a fog. When the fog lifted the wind had gone down, and we lay helpless, within easy range of her cannon.

She sent a boat on board, and the officer who came in it was inclined to take away two of our crew, alleging that they were Englishmen. They showed their protection papers, which set forth that they were American citizens. The lieutenant was about to disregard these when our captain told him that, if he took those men away, the case would be reported to the American government, and he added, "I will spend every dollar that I possess to see that justice is secured. These men are Americans, and I have known them both from their boyhood. If you take them from this ship you will find that they are not without friends."

I expected that this would only make the lieutenant more determined to carry the men away, but to my surprise he yielded, and said he would go back to his ship for instructions. He went, and just as he did so a breeze came up, and we speedily drifted out of gun-shot of the British ship. As they did not try to follow us I presume they were not specially in need of men at that time. If they had been short-handed there is little likelihood that they would have hesitated.

To show you how impressed seamen were treated on board British ships-of-war let me give you the testimony of two men, both natives of Ulster County, New York State. One of them, Richard Thompson, testified that he was impressed on board the British ship-of-war Peacock, in 1810, and he was not allowed to write to his friends. When he and two other impressed American seamen heard of the declaration of war they claimed to be considered prisoners of war, and refused to do duty any longer.

They were ordered to the quarter-deck, put in irons for twenty-four hours, then taken to the gangway, stripped naked, tied, and whipped. Each one received eighteen lashes, and was then put to duty. When the Peacock went into action with the Hornet they asked the captain to send them below, so that they might not fight against their countrymen. The captain called a midshipman and told him to hold a pistol at Thompson's head, and blow his brains out if he and his companions did not do service. They were liberated on the capture of the Peacock by the Hornet.

The other man from Ulster County was named James Tompkins, and was impressed, with three others, on the British ship Acteon, in April, 1812. When they refused to do duty they were whipped, five dozen lashes each; two days afterwards they received four dozen lashes each. They still refused, and after being whipped again they were put in irons, where they were kept three months.

When they arrived in London they heard of the capture of the Guerrière by the Constitution. They made the American colors out of a shirt and handkerchief, then hung it over a gun, and gave three cheers for the victory. For displaying their patriotism in this way they received two dozen lashes each.

Great Britain always claimed that she was entitled to take from American vessels on the high seas any of her own subjects voluntarily serving on American craft, but she constantly gave as a reason for not discharging from her service any American citizens, that they had voluntarily engaged in it. She used to take her own subjects from the American service, although they had been settled and married and naturalized in the United States; but at the same time she constantly refused to release from her ships American seamen who had been pressed into it, whenever she could give as a reason that they were settled and married in her dominions. In other words, when marriage or residence could be pleaded in her favor, she availed herself of the plea. When marriage, residence, and naturalization were against her, she paid no respect whatever to the plea.

I made several coasting voyages, and also another voyage to China; the last time as first mate of a ship as large as the Aurora. When I came home from this voyage to China, in the latter part of 1811, the owners of the ship expressed themselves as entirely satisfied with my services, and said they should give me command of a ship as soon as possible. The reader can imagine my elation at this news. I wanted to go away somewhere alone and call myself captain, just to see how it would sound; and, as good luck would have it, on that very day when I was notified of my promotion, my friend David arrived in port and received the same information. We congratulated each other, and then proceeded to find Haines and Herne, and tell them of the good news. Not only did we tell them of our promotion, but we notified each of them that we wanted him to go with us whenever we went to sea, Haines on my ship and Herne on David's—no, stop a moment! Mr. Haines on Captain Crane's ship, and Mr. Herne on Captain Taylor's, as we intended to make officers of them.

My promotion to the rank of captain was not of as much importance as it might have been, owing to circumstances which were quite out of my control. American commerce was paralyzed by the state of affairs then prevailing. British insults to our flag continued; British war-vessels were numerous on our coast; and the impressment of American sailors under the pretense that they were deserters from the British service were of almost daily occurrence. Things were rapidly growing from bad to worse, and war between the two countries seemed inevitable.