The Naval War of 1812. Theodore Roosevelt
arrived at by comparing the total amount of tonnage the country possessed at the outbreak of the war. Speaking roughly, 44 per cent, of it belonged to New England, 32 per cent, to the Middle States, and 11 per cent, to Maryland. This makes it probable (but of course not certain) that three fourths of the common sailors hailed from the Northern States, half the remainder from Maryland, and the rest chiefly from Virginia and South Carolina.
Having thus discussed somewhat at length the character of our officers and crews, it will now be necessary to present some statistical tables to give a more accurate idea of the composition of the navy; the tonnage, complements, and armaments of the ships, etc.
At the beginning of the war the Government possessed six navy-yards (all but the last established in 1801) as follows: 27
| Place | Original Cost | Minimum number of men employed |
| 1. Portsmouth. N. H., | $ 5,500 | 10 |
| 2. Charleston, Mass., | 39,214 | 20 |
| 3. New York, | 40,000 | 102 |
| 4. Philadelphia, | 37,000 | 13 |
| 5. Washington, | 4,000 | 36 |
| 6. Gosport, | 12,000 | 16 |
In 1812 the following was the number of officers in the navy:
28
12 captains
10 masters commandant
73 lieutenants
53 masters
310 midshipmen
42 marine officers
——-
500
At the opening of the year, the number of seamen, ordinary seamen, and boys in service was 4,010, and enough more were recruited to increase it to 5,230, of whom only 2,346 were destined for the cruising war vessels, the remainder being detailed for forts, gun-boats, navy yards, the lakes, etc. 29 The marine corps was already ample, consisting of 1,523 men. 30
No regular navy lists were published till 1816, and I have been able to get very little information respecting the increase in officers and men during 1813 and 1814; but we have full returns for 1815, which may be summarized as follows: 31
30 captains,
25 masters commandant,
141 lieutenants,
24 commanders,
510 midshipmen,
230 sailing-masters,
50 surgeons,
12 chaplains,
50 pursers,
10 coast pilots,
45 captain's clerks,
80 surgeon's mates,
530 boatswains, gunners, carpenters, and sailmakers,
268 boatswain's mates, gunner's mates, etc.,
1,106 quarter gunners, etc.,
5,000 able seamen,
6,849 ordinary seamen and boys.
Making a total of 14,960, with 2,715 marines.
32
Comparing this list with the figures given before, it can be seen that during the course of the war our navy grew enormously, increasing to between three and four times its original size.
At the beginning of the year 1812, the navy of the United States on the ocean consisted of the following vessels, which either were, or could have been, made available during the war. 33
| Rate (Guns) | Name | Where Built | When Built | Tonnage | Cost |
| 44 | United States, | Philadelphia, | 1797 | 1576 | $299,336 |
| 44 | Constitution, | Boston, | 1797 | 1576 | 302,718 |
| 44 | President, | New York, | 1800 | 1576 | 220,910 |
| 38 | Constellation, | Baltimore, | 1797 | 1265 | 314,212 |
| 38 | Congress, | Portsmouth, | 1799 | 1268 | 197,246 |
| 38 | Chesapeake, | Norfolk, | 1799 | 1244 | 220,677 |
| 32 | Essex, | Salem, | 1799 | 860 | 139,362 |
| 28 | Adams, | New York, | 1799 | 560 | 76,622 |
| 18 | Hornet, | Baltimore, | 1805 | 480 | 52,603 |
| 18 | Wasp, | Washington, | 1806 | 450 | 40,000 |
| 16 | Argus, | Boston, | 1803 | 298 | 37,428 |
| 16 | Syren, | Philadelphia, | 1803 | 250 | 32,521 |
| 14 | Nautilus, | Baltimore, | 1803 | 185 | 18,763 |
| 14 | Vixen, | Baltimore, | 1803 | 185 | 20,872 |
| 12 | Enterprise, | Baltimore, | 1799 |