"The author, born in Milford, Connecticut, went early to sea in the West Indies trade during the period of naval difficulties with French and British privateers. In 1804 he entered the navy, serving on the frigate “John Adams” on service in the Mediterranean, where he was eventually drafted for service on the “Constitution” with the fleet in the war against Tripoli and Tunis. He also served on the “Essex” and returned to America in the “Constitution” in 1808. On a trading voyage to the Mediterranean his ship was taken by the British ship “Shannon” and Durand sent to Plymouth. From 1809 he served as an impressed man in British vessels, taking part in the blockade of Napoleon, privateering in the West Indies, and eventually against the United States in the War of 1812. He was on the British ship “Pactolus” during the attack on Stonington, Connecticut, in 1814. He served for some time in Long Island Sound and along the Atlantic Coast. He was finally discharged in September, 1815, after the capture of Napoleon in Bordeaux River where his ship was stationed at the time." (Goodspeed Catalog, 1939). An early Rochester imprint and one of the rarest books on the War of 1812. Scarce, no copies appear in the auction records since 1967.