Isaiah Thomas Broadside Ballads Project

Verses in Vogue with the Vulgar

Cash in hand, occasioned by the capture of the British packet Swallow, by Commodore Rodgers With 260,000 dollars, in gold and silver on board

Cash in Hand is the story of Commodore John Rodgers’s second cruise, on which he took Swallow and $175,000, not “$260,000” as the headline claims (see also A Happy New Year to Commodore Rodgers). The selection of “Yankee Doodle” as a tune puts a somewhat comic spin on the entire affair, which was safe to do as there were no casualties and the British came away with egg on their face. The final pun sums up the narrative:

Doctor Rodgers will give pills
The British cannot SWALLOW.

The chorus is the same throughout, focusing on the money, of which each member of the crew received a share.

Additional Metadata

Date

1812?

Place of Publication

Boston.

Publisher

Coverly, Nathaniel, 1775?-1824, printer.

Subjects

Rodgers, John, 1773-1838
Prizes (Property captured at sea)
Naval battles
Sailors
Ships

First Line

Come all ye jolly seamen bold.

Identifiers

BIB ID: 293919
OCLC Control No.: (OCoLC)ocn191264414
OCLC Control No.: (OCoLC)ocn191479075
Shaw, R.R. American Bibliography, 28088
AAS General Catalog URL: http://catalog.mwa.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=293919
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Physical Dimensions

30 x 22 cm.

Transcriptions

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Citation

“Cash in hand, occasioned by the capture of the British packet Swallow, by Commodore Rodgers With 260,000 dollars, in gold and silver on board,” Isaiah Thomas Broadside Ballads Project, accessed December 10, 2023, https://www.americanantiquarian.org/thomasballads/items/show/280.