Thirty Years from Home, or A Voice from the Main Deck. by Leech, Samuel - (1843)

Boston: Charles Tappan, (1843). Leech was a veteran of both the British and American navies. He had the distinction of being captured first by the frigate "United States" in 1812, when he was a young boy serving as a powder monkey in the British frigate "Macedonian." He then joined the American Navy, serving aboard the American gunboat "Syren," when he was captured again, this time by the British ship "Medway." Leech was an intelligent observer and a good writer. He gives us a rare view of the War of 1812 from the forecastle in both British and American warships. See Howes L-224. Harbeck p. 20. Smith II 1275. Occasional spotting in text. Attractively rebound in quarter green morocco over marbled boards.. 15.5 cm. xvi-305, (1 publisher's ads) pp. b/w frontispiece and wood-engraved plates