THE AMERICAN WAR, 245 CHAPTER XIII. THE AMERICAN WAR, 264 INDEX, 306 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. WINDSOR CASTLE—CAPT. ROGERS, COMMANDER, _frontispiece_ RUSSELL’S WAGONS, _to face page_ 10 H.M. PACKET, MARLBOROUGH, 128 PRIMROSE—MARLBOROUGH: COMMENCEMENT, 274 PRIMROSE—MARLBOROUGH: CLOSE, 276 HINCHINBROOKE AND AMERICAN PRIVATEER, 282 CHAPTER I. FALMOUTH IN THE OLDEN TIME. No nation can afford to forget its past history; and England, of all others, whose power is so deeply rooted in sea-fights, should not be careless of her naval records. After many generations of almost ceaseless warfare, there has been a long breathing time of peace, an interval which could not be better spent than in collecting and recording the actions of those brave men whose struggles ensured our ease, and preserving them for our own benefit, as well as for that of posterity. This task has been accomplished long ago as regards the great sea-battles; and most of even the lesser fights in which the ships of the Royal Navy were engaged have been sufficiently described. But there remains a service distinguished over and over again, an ancient service, highly useful to the public, and associated with a great department of State, whose history has been left untold till all the officers connected with it have passed away, and the personal recollections which are the lifeblood of such a narrative are lost to us irretrievably—I refer to the Post-Office Packet Service.