I was at the museum today and there was an exhibit on the American Age of Sail, with a focus on the War of 1812. There were two paintings in particular that got my attention: USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere and USS United States vs HMS Macedonian These were the first two American naval victories during the War of 1812. In both instances, the Americans took the survivors as prisoners of war. The Guerriere was sunk off of Nova Scotia, while the Macedonian was defeated and captured 500 miles south of the Azores, far from any American port. How did the Constitution go about feeding and caring for their prisoners? Would a ship have carried additional supplies to account for anticipated prisoners? If not, how were existing supplies managed until the ship could make port? In the case of the Macedonain, where it can be assumed supplies remained on the captured ship, it would be weeks before both ships would make it to the US. Were there any guidelines or expectations for the captains of the Constitution and United States in terms of prisoner welfare?
Would a ship have carried additional supplies to account for anticipated prisoners? If not, how were existing supplies managed until the ship could make port?
Not in particular, no. Almost all sea-fights took place near coasts or harbors, where trade routes crossed and ships could reliably be found; there was really only one large battle out of sight of land during the classic age of sail, and fighting hard enough to capture a ship and its crew would almost inevitably force the winning ship into harbor. In both your examples, the winning ship returned quickly to port -- Constitution to Boston and United States and Macedonian to Newport -- to land prisoners and wounded, get supplies and to effect repairs. But in both cases, the ships had been stored for a long voyage, so extra rations were not an issue.
Were there any guidelines or expectations for the captains of the Constitution and United States in terms of prisoner welfare?
The overall convention was that officers who gave their parole (that is, swore not to fight until exchanged) would be allowed some freedoms on board ship, while common sailors would be offered a chance to join the winning navy, and imprisoned otherwise. Sailors were often imprisoned upon prison-hulks, often unfortunately hotbeds of disease, until exchanged for their opposite number; for strategic reasons, many nations worked all sides of the prisoner exchange process to their own advantage.
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