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.