ABSTRACT
The data on the heights of the seafarers in the Dartmoor sample is accurate enough and extensive enough to allow comparisons between subgroups of men who have achieved their full growth. The heights of the older men from about age 44 on are generally significantly lower than the mean height of the younger full-grown men. This chapter considers the physical stature and race of the seafarers. The American records are the Philadelphia Seamen's Protection Certificate Applications in the US National Archives. The Dartmoor records can in most respects be considered a random sample from the population of 85,000 American seafarers of the time, inasmuch as each vessel had a roughly equal chance of being captured. The British records are the prisoner of war files kept during the War of 1812, particularly the General Entry Books for American Prisoners of War for the prison depots in England, which are located in the Public Record Office in London.
