TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book. A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example ESQ^R. The warship USS _Syren_ is referred to as _Siren_ throughout the book (except for the title page); this has not been changed. Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. THE MAGAZINE OF HISTORY WITH NOTES AND QUERIES Extra Number--No. 9 COMPRISING THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME, OR A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK: BEING THE EXPERIENCE OF SAMUEL LEECH. WILLIAM ABBATT EAST 25th STREET, ⁂ ⁂ NEW YORK 1909 [Illustration: THIS REPRESENTATION OF THE U. S. FRIGATE UNITED STATES, STEPHEN DECATUR ESQ^R COMMANDER, CAPTURING HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S FRIGATE MACEDONIAN, JOHN S. CARDEN ESQ^R COMMANDER _Is respectfully inscribed to Captain Stephen Decatur his Officers and Gallant Crew by their devoted humble Servant_ James Webster.] THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME OR A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK BEING THE EXPERIENCE OF SAMUEL LEECH WHO WAS FOR SIX YEARS IN THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN NAVIES: WAS CAPTURED IN THE BRITISH FRIGATE _MACEDONIAN_: AFTERWARDS ENTERED THE AMERICAN NAVY, AND WAS TAKEN IN THE UNITED STATES BRIG _SYREN_, BY THE BRITISH SHIP _MEDWAY_ :: :: :: :: BOSTON PUBLISHED BY TAPPAN & DENNET 114 WASHINGTON STREET 1843 NEW YORK Reprinted WILLIAM ABBATT 1909 (Being Extra No. 9 of THE MAGAZINE OF HISTORY with Notes and Queries) PREFACE I have often been solicited, by my personal friends, to commit the incidents of my life to paper. It was thought that they contained sufficient interest to command public attention. At any rate, there is a novelty in the fact of an unlettered sailor’s appearance before the public, detailing the secrets of the naval Main Deck. The Quarter Deck has long and often told its own story, and has given its own coloring to naval life. Here, however, is a voice from the main deck, revealing life in a man of war as it appears to the sailor himself. As such, this work has some claim on the attention of the public.