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Saturday, January 30

A new member, to wit, from North Carolina, William Kennedy, elected to supply the vacancy occasioned by the death of Gen. Thomas Blount, appeared, was qualified, and took his seat.

Constitution and Guerriere

The engrossed bill providing compensation to Captain Hull, and the officers and crew of the frigate Constitution, for the capture and destruction of the British frigate Guerriere, was read a third time.

[The bill authorizes a grant of $50,000.]

Mr. McKee opposed the passage of the bill, on the ground that the President has no authority to expend the public money in gratuitous grants to individuals.

Mr. Sawyer stated, that he wished to make some remarks in reply to Mr. McKee, but, from the lateness of the hour, and an indisposition with which he was oppressed, it was not now in his power. He therefore moved an adjournment, which was carried – ayes 54.

Monday, February 1

Mr. Seaver presented a petition of Benjamin Waterhouse, medical doctor, of Boston, stating that he is willing, and wishes to undertake the inoculation of the army of the United States with the "kine-pock inoculation," and praying the aid and patronage of Congress in that undertaking. – Referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Constitution and Guerriere

The House resumed the order of the day on the bill making compensation to the officers and crew of the Constitution for the destruction of the frigate Guerriere. The bill being on its third reading —

Mr. Sawyer spoke in support of the bill, and in reply to Mr. McKee.

Mr. Dawson. – Mr. Speaker: The bill which is now on your table, and which I hope will soon receive your signature, was drawn from a resolution, or rather the part of a resolution which I had the honor to offer you at the very commencement of the session.

When I offered you that resolution, I did hope, and I did believe, that it would have received the immediate attention and unanimous approbation of this House; that regardless of those punctilios which too often shackle the best intentions, and do injury to the best causes, and in compliance with the sentiments and feelings of the nation, we should have immediately expressed our own, thereby giving force to that expression, and have rendered that tribute which is justly due to undaunted valor, and to modest merit; that we should have declared our admiration, and the high sense we entertain of the gallant conduct of the defenders of their country's flag, and the defenders of her rights, and while we gave to some testimonials of our approbation, we should have yielded to all that which is justly due.

In this expectation I have been wofully disappointed; doubts, difficulties, and delays have taken place; commitment has succeeded commitment, and so many amendments, or rather alterations, have been made to the original resolution, that I can scarcely call it my own; it has received the fostering care of so many stepfathers that I am almost constrained to disown it as illegitimate; but as it is natural to protect that which we call "our own," although all the features do not please us, so I shall vote for that bill although all its provisions do not please me.

Some gentlemen, with a liberality which I neither envy, nor shall I imitate, are willing to load those brave tars with all the praise, with all the applause, which the pride of language can bestow, or which a resolution written on paper gilded with gold can confer; and, becoming their own judges, they think that ample compensation for all the hardships they have suffered, for all the dangers they have encountered, for all the wounds they have received. With all the respect which I feel for these honorable gentlemen, and the high value which I set on their good opinion, I do not think it ample compensation to the brave and indigent tars who have boldly fought your battles, and generously sacrificed their interest for your good; they merit some more substantial stuff than air; they have acquired for you, sir, they have given to your enemy, something more substantial.

Others there are, who are well pleased to bestow on the brave officers who have distinguished themselves, some testimonials of our approbation – some insignia of their merit. With these gentlemen I most perfectly agree, and most cordially voted in favor of the bill for that purpose. But, while I remember the gallant captain who proudly steps the quarterdeck, I will not forget the sailor boy, "who whistles o'er the lee," or the aged mariner who fathoms the deep, and on whom, when the battle rages, danger has no more effect than the foaming surge which surrounds him has on the hard rock, when it dashes and breaks against its side; they all, sir, are entitled to your applause and gratitude; they all demand your justice; and to render that justice is the object of the bill now on your table, as I will presently show, and which had it passed at an earlier period of the session, as I did expect it would, your "Constellation" would not have lain for weeks within your view for the want of men, and is still, I believe, in your waters, but would long since have been at sea, and would have added new trophies to those already won.

The Secretary of the Navy, I mean the late Secretary, in whose veracity and integrity I have the highest confidence, who carries to his retirement the best wishes of my heart, and under whose auspices this gallant exploit was achieved, and Commodore Hull, whose disinterestedness seems only equalled by his valor, have informed us that "the Guerriere" when she went into action was worth two hundred thousand dollars, and that she had articles on board to the value of one hundred thousand dollars. She was one of the finest frigates in the British navy, well manned, and commanded by one of their most experienced and gallant captains! This ship, our frigate, "the Constitution," of equal force, attacked, vanquished, and captured, after a short, though one of the most brilliant actions recorded in the naval history of any country; thereby giving certain presages of future glory, and a character to our rising navy, coeval almost with its existence, and setting an example which other officers and crews, equally emulous of fame, have since imitated, and have obtained the same laurels, which will never fade.

Agreeably to the act for the better government of the Navy of the United States, the ship, with all articles on board her, became their prize; they might have used it to their best advantage; they might have brought her into port, and divided the whole among themselves; but apprehensive that from the crippled state of the prize she might again fall into the hands of your enemy; nay, sir, that your own frigate might be endangered in protecting and convoying her, they with that liberality, with that magnanimity which marks the character of the sailor, determined to destroy her, thereby sacrificing their interest for your good.

And here, Mr. Speaker, let me ask what other class of men in our society can you find who would have acted thus nobly? I fear, sir, we shall search for them in vain. I am sure, sir, that we shall not find them among those who daily violate your laws, relieve your enemy of his surplus manufactures, or supply him with your provisions, and then come here and receive indemnification, remission for the crimes which they have committed.

And, sir, what is the mighty boon which these brave and indigent tars ask from you? or rather was it that I, in the name of justice, demanded for them? – it is one-sixth part in value of that property – of their property, which they have sacrificed for your good, rather than it should fall into the hands of your enemy. And will you refuse it? No, you will not, you cannot, you dare not. You will not, because every consideration of policy, and the best interest of our country, forbid it; you cannot, because every feeling which ennobles the human heart, and I think I know yours, forbids it; you dare not, because justice forbids it; and you dare not do an act so flagitious.

Mr. Speaker, during the very lengthy discussions which have taken place in this session, I have remained silent in my seat; this has not arisen from a supineness of disposition, or from an inattention to the public business, or the public welfare, but in the hope, that when gentlemen had exhausted all their eloquence, they would have permitted us to progress, and to place our country in the situation demanded by the crisis; and I should have indulged that disposition which I have to be silent, had not an attempt been made to deprive the brave and needy tars of that which is justly due to them; but under these circumstances I could not restrain my feelings, and have to regret that I cannot give to them that utterance which the occasion calls for.

[The argument against this bill was, that it would be setting a precedent which would be considered authoritative in future cases; that it was giving a donation for an act of duty only, though gallantly performed. It was rewarding a service, which, had it been rendered on land, would have received no remuneration, as experience had proved in the case of the Tippecanoe expedition; and that it was contrary to justice to confer pecuniary rewards on one class of our citizens in exclusion of others. In favor of the bill it was stated that the captured vessel, if she had been brought into port, would have produced six times the amount now proposed to be allowed to her; and that the captors ought not to incur a total loss from the destruction of the vessel, which the fear of her falling into the hands of the enemy had rendered necessary to the public service. It was urged, that if any city in the United States had to legislate on this subject, five times as much would have been awarded as is now proposed. All the gentlemen who spoke, offered the tribute of their respect to the gallantry and conduct of the officers and seamen of our public vessels.]

The question on the passage of the bill was decided in the negative – yeas 55, nays 59.

Wednesday, February 3

Virginia Military Bounty Lands

The House then proceeded to consider the report of the Committee of the Whole on the report of the select committee touching the claims of the officers and soldiers of the Virginia line of the Revolutionary army to military bounty lands.

The question was then taken to concur with the Committee of the whole House in their disagreement to the resolution recommended by the select committee, which is as follows:

Resolved, That provision should be made for securing to the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army of Virginia, on State establishment, in the land or sea service of the said State, the bounty lands which were promised to them, either by a law or resolution of the said Commonwealth, out of the lands not otherwise appropriated, and lying on the northwest side of the river Ohio, within the Virginia cession, to be of good quality, according to the true intent and meaning of the promises made on the part of Virginia, and that, if a sufficiency of good land within the meaning of the aforesaid engagement cannot there be found, that their bounties shall be satisfied out of any other public land of the United States, not heretofore otherwise appropriated:

And was determined in the affirmative – yeas 66, nays 41.

Friday, February 5

Encouragement to Public and to Private Armed Privateers

On motion of Mr. McKim,

Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of relinquishing, in favor of the officers and crews of the public armed ships of the United States, a greater portion of the value of prizes than they are now by law entitled to; and, also, to inquire into the expediency of providing further encouragement to equipping and employing private armed vessels of war against the ships and commerce of the enemy; and that the committee have leave to report by bill, or otherwise.

Wednesday, February 10

A message was received from the Senate informing the House that, owing to the indisposition of Mr. Gaillard, the Senate have appointed Mr. Franklin the teller, on their part, at the counting of the votes of the Electors for President and Vice President of the United States.

Counting of Electoral Votes

The hour of 12 having arrived, the Senate entered the Hall of Representatives, preceded by their President, Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Doorkeeper, and proceeded to seats prepared for them – the members of the House having risen to receive them, and remaining standing until all had entered. The President of the Senate took a seat which had been prepared for him at the Speaker's right hand, and the Secretary of the Senate was placed beside the Clerk of the House. The Tellers – Mr. Franklin of the Senate, and Messrs. Macon and Tallmadge of the House – were seated at a table in front of the Speaker's chair.

The President of the Senate then proceeded to open and hand to the Tellers the sealed returns from each State, which were severally read aloud by one of the Tellers, and noted down and announced by the Secretaries of each House.

The votes having all been opened and read, the following result was announced from the Chair, by the President of the Senate, viz:

RECAPITULATION OF ELECTORAL VOTES.

The President of the Senate, in pursuance of the joint resolutions of the two Houses, then announced the state of the votes to both Houses of Congress, and declared "That James Madison, of the State of Virginia, was duly elected President of the United States, for four years, to commence on the fourth day of March next; and that Elbridge Gerry was duly elected Vice President of the United States, for the like term of four years, to commence on the said fourth day of March next."

The two Houses then separated, and the Senate returned to their Chamber.

Thursday, February 11

A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have appointed a committee, on their part, to join such committee as this House may appoint on their part, to wait upon the President of the United States, and to inform him of his re-election, for four years, to commence on the fourth day of March next.

Regulation of Seamen

The House resumed the consideration of the bill excluding foreign seamen from the service of the United States.

Mr. Pitkin's motion to strike out the first section of the bill, for the purpose of inserting a proposed amendment, being still under consideration, considerable discussion took place on it, but it was eventually withdrawn to give way to the following motion.

Mr. Ridgely moved to strike out of the first section all the words in brackets, as follows:

Sec. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That from and after the termination, by a treaty of peace, of the war in which the United States are now engaged with Great Britain, it shall not be lawful to employ as seamen, or otherwise, on board of any public vessel of the United States, or of any vessel owned by citizens of the United States, or sailing under their flag, any person or persons, except natural born citizens of the United States, or citizens of the United States at the time of such treaty being made and concluded, [or persons who, being resident within the United States at the time of such treaty, and having previously declared, agreeably to existing laws, their intention to become citizens of the United States, shall be admitted as such within five years thereafter in the manner prescribed by law.]

After some conversation, the motion was negatived by yeas and nays – for it 40, against it 80.

Saturday, February 13

Encouragement for Privateering – Bounty for Prisoners

Mr. Bassett, from the Committee on the Naval Establishment, made a report relative to the expediency of affording greater encouragement to privateering. The report is as follows: —

That, in relation to the first inquiry, they find that, by the British statutes of the 13th and 27th of George the Second, the whole prize of each and every public armed vessel is given to the officers and crews making the capture; and they find this principle published by British proclamation, in relation to the present war with the United States. The laws of the United States, vol. 3, page 360, direct that, if a capture be made by an American public armed vessel, of equal or superior force, the capturing vessel shall have the whole; in all other cases of capture, one-half is distributed to the officers, and the other half is paid to the Commissioners of the Navy Pension Fund, pledged, first, for the payment of pensions, and the surplus to be disbursed for the comfort and benefit of seamen. This fund for Navy pensions amounts to something more than two hundred thousand dollars, yielding an annual interest of fifteen thousand dollars; and the amount of pensions is from seven to eight thousand dollars; leaving a yearly balance of seventeen thousand dollars in favor of the fund, and this without the addition of the prizes made this war, which are known to exceed one hundred thousand dollars, and will probably amount to two hundred thousand dollars, so as to double the fund; while only four persons have been added to the list by the war, to receive twenty-one dollars. From the above it appears, that, from the old pension list, the amount of pensions is little more than three per centum on the amount of prizes. Were five per cent. from the future prizes, to be added to this fund, on past experience it would promise an adequate sum for the payment of pensions. Your committee, however, concluded that it would not do to rely conclusively on past experience, and, on the ground of certainty, deemed it best for the fund to remain as established for another year, when more experience would give more confidence to the decision. As this report is intended to bring the subject under the view of the House, with the hope that it will not be lost sight of at the next session, it will be proper here to add, that, with some of the committee, the idea was entertained that ten per cent. should be withheld from distribution, viz.: five per cent. for the pension, and five for the navy hospital fund; in which not only the imbecility of decrepitude, but the imbecility of infancy should always find an asylum. On the other branch of the inquiry, your committee give their fullest attestation to the utility and importance of privateers. If, at other times and in other countries, the effect of individual exertion has been distrusted, the unexampled gallantry of our citizens, in that way, since the declaration of war, assures us that, with Americans, even the individual arm can make an efficient impression on the foe. The mode, however, of giving encouragement, they found not free from difficulty. As least liable to objection, they recommend that a bounty be paid for every prisoner brought in; and, that this proposition may be regularly before the House, they report a bill.

Mr. Bassett, from the Naval Committee, then reported a bill allowing a bounty to privateers. [Allowing a bounty of – dollars for each person they bring in.] Twice read and committed.

Additional General Officers

On motion of Mr. Williams, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill authorizing the appointment of additional general officers in the Army of the United States.

[The bill provides for the appointment of – additional Major Generals, and – Brigadier Generals.]

The following letters from the Secretary of War were read:

Adjutant General's Office,

Washington, December 23, 1812.

Sir: Before I reply to your question, "how many major generals and brigadiers are necessary for an army of thirty-five thousand men?" it may not be amiss to state what is believed to have been the proportion of officers of these grades in the Revolutionary army, and what is understood to be the proportion, at this time, in European armies.

In the first army of the Revolution, raised in 1775, we had a commander-in-chief, four major generals, and eight brigadiers. In 1776, five brigadiers were promoted to the rank of major generals, and twenty-three brigadiers appointed. In 1777, six brigadiers were promoted to the rank of major generals, and three major generals and eighteen brigadiers appointed.

The loss of papers in the War Office, by fire, in 1800, renders it impossible to say, with precision, at what particular periods many of these general officers left the service; but it is within my recollection that, on the 28th of June, 1778, fourteen major generals, and sixteen brigadiers, were actually in service of the United States. Yet, by referring to the official letters of General Washington, in 1778 and 1779, it will be seen that a further increase of general officers was often and warmly recommended.

The main army, under the immediate command of General Washington, it is believed, never amounted to thirty-five thousand men, and it is by no means certain that this number was ever in service at one and the same time, in the whole of what was designated "the continental army." Yet, at no period, between the first of May, 1777, and the close of the war, had we less than thirty general officers in service.

It was deemed necessary, in the Revolution, and it is understood to be the general practice in Europe, at this time, to have at least one brigadier general for every two thousand men, and one major general for every four thousand.

In this country we have never had a grade between the commander-in-chief and that of major general; hence it was found necessary, in the "continental army," to give to the senior major general the command of the right wing, and to the next in rank, that of the left, which, from the limited number of general officers, often left a division to a brigadier, a brigade to a colonel, and a regiment to a subordinate field officer; but, in Europe, this difficulty is obviated by the appointment of general officers of higher grades.

From the best information I have been able to obtain on this subject, I have no hesitation in saying that eight major generals, and sixteen brigadiers, to command the divisions and brigades of an army of thirty-five thousand men, is the lowest estimate which the uniform practice of France, Russia, and England, will warrant, and that this is much below the proportion of officers of these grades actually employed in the army of the Revolution.

As you have not required my opinion whether it be necessary to have a higher grade than that of major general, I have not deemed it proper to touch this subject, and have confined myself to the number of major generals and brigadiers deemed necessary to command the divisions and brigades of an army of thirty-five thousand men. It may not, however, be improper to remark that, if it is intended to have no higher grade than that of major general, their number should be increased to eleven; so as to give one for the chief command, one for each wing, and one for each division of four thousand men.

I am, sir, very respectfully, yours, &c.

T. H. CUSHING, Adj't Gen.

The Hon. Secretary of War.