historic newspaper articles postings

[AON]

I stumbled on the following letter printed in 1799 that I thought was quite interesting.  It relates to the nicknames of ships...

[AON]

Also found an article from 1790 listing every ship in the British Navy, where it is, and who was the commander.

I suppose this made the spy's job easier.

Edited January 28, 2020 by AON

[uss frolick]

No grog! 😂

[AON]

here is one you wouldn't think of.... dated 1799

[AON]

and this poor bugger had to live in the shadow of his brothers sacrifice. (1798)

 

[Mark P]

Thanks for those Alan;

 

One of the reasons why shipwrights remained at the Royal dockyards, rather than seeking the more highly-paid and sooner-received wages for work in the merchant yards (dockyard wages could be four years in arrears) was that there was a chance of retirement and a pension, if one's service was thought worthy of it, once work became too hard. The same applied to the warrant officers serving on sailing ships. Greenwich Hospital also took in distressed sailors in old age, who had no other resources. 

 

This all dates back for at least three hundred years. In a time when life was precarious and hard for so many, any chance of some assistance in old age was greatly valued. The Navy was more paternalistic than popular modern legend, obsessed with flogging and sodomy (not necessarily at the same time) would have us believe.

 

One reason for Nelson's success as a commanding officer was that he cared deeply for all his men's welfare, and tried hard to make some difference wherever he saw the need. He saw command as carrying an obligation towards those commanded, and not just as a means to personal glory or success. Not all saw things in this way, of course (and still don't!)

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

 

 

[druxey]

All very interesting excerpts! Thanks for these, Alan.

[AON]

 

11 minutes ago, Mark P said:

 The Navy was more paternalistic than popular modern legend, obsessed with flogging and sodomy (not necessarily at the same time) would have us believe.

(Not sure if this warrants a warning but... ) Which reminds me of a joke:  Did you know that the Navy invented sex.... it was the Army that introduced it to women.

 

[paulsutcliffe]

2 hours ago, AON said:

Also found an article from 1790 listing every ship in the British Navy, where it is, and who was the commander.

I suppose this made the spy's job easier.

 

We'd like to have that many ships in the navy now I'll bet

[AON]

I believe 414 ships listed.

I cannot imagine the sight of that many sails.

Good time to have shares in wood, cloth, rope and gun barrel businesses.

[mtaylor]

8 hours ago, Mark P said:

One reason for Nelson's success as a commanding officer was that he cared deeply for all his men's welfare, and tried hard to make some difference wherever he saw the need. He saw command as carrying an obligation towards those commanded, and not just as a means to personal glory or success. Not all saw things in this way, of course (and still don't!)

 

Nelson gets a lot of credit for that but throughout history (both sea and land warfare) you'll find commanders who acted like him.  Not all were Bligh's (or at least colored that way).  Treating the men well, gets better results than daily floggings or just ignoring them.  It still works that way, but many in the military and in the business world tend to forget it with often disastrous results.  Couple that with excellent strategy, and you have  Nelson.  

[allanyed]

Thanks for those postings Alan! 

There are a lot of great documents out there but finding them is not so easy at times.  One of my favorites is the following that I stumbled on when studying Captain Blackwood as part of the Euryalus project.  

 

TO CAPTAIN THE HON. HENRY BLACKWOOD, H.M. SHIP, EURYALUS.

[From " Blackwood's Magazine" , for July, 1833.]

Victory, October 10th, 1805. 

My dear Blackwood, Keep your five Frigates, Weazle and Pickle, and let me know every movement. I rely on you, that we can't miss getting hold of them, and I will give them such a shaking as they never yet experienced; at least I will lay down my life in the attempt. We are a very powerful Fleet, and not to be held cheap. I have told Parker, and do you direct Ships bringing information of their coming out, to fire guns every three minutes by the watch, and in the night to fire off rockets, if they have them, from the mast-head. I have nothing more to say, than I hope they will sail to-night.

Ever yours most faithfully, NELSON &BRONTE.

Cadiz East 13 Leagues  

[Gregory]

22 hours ago, AON said:

here is one you wouldn't think of.... dated 1799

Son of a gun!

[AON]

Possibly a little top heavy in upper management???  1794

[druxey]

The more things change....

[AON]

Speaking of Captain Bligh.... I wonder what ever happened to him after the mutiny and he was cast afloat by the crew?

 

Well he became an Admiral of course!

[bruce d]

... and upset the locals in Australia. Really annoyed them. He was arrested and, if I recall correctly, nearly lynched.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bligh

 

 

[thibaultron]

As bad as Bligh's reputation was, the captain of the ship that was sent to round up the muteniers was far worse. He, accidentily, ran the ship aground after catching the ones who stayed on the original island, and left them locked in the brig as the ship sank! One of the crew released them, against orders, as she went down!  He then left them expossed without shelter, until the crew was rescued. I think only one was not hung, after all the rest testified that he had not been one of them, but was left, as the boat Bligh was set adrift on was too small to hold him, as well as the others.  Bligh sailed the boat to a settlement, while accurately mapping the areas he sailed through. I believe the ship, sent to get them, was the "Pandora". The crewman who was spared, eventually returned to the island, to find that his native wife and children had died from one of the diseases brought by the other ships that had come later.

[jud]

Much newer copy. Roll your own.

[lmagna]

And the battle continues. Another mutiny? As far as I can determine it is still not completely resolved in 2020.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/23/descendants-of-bounty-mutineers-defend-their-island-home-from-au/

 

While I am not familiar with the ship Jud, I have seen what a couple of pods of 2.75 rockets can do. Impressive firepower for a short time. Definitely capable of wrecking someones day, even though a couple of M-61 Vulcan's may have been even more impressive. All they would have had to do was drive a couple of M-113s with Vulcan mounts on board and light them up when it was party time.

Edited January 31, 2020 by lmagna

[AON]

Ship returning home fires a salute to the town and takes off one mans arm, opens another's chest, and kills one other.

I wonder what happened to that Captain?   1798

Edited January 31, 2020 by AON

[jud]

On 1/30/2020 at 10:09 PM, lmagna said:

And the battle continues. Another mutiny? As far as I can determine it is still not completely resolved in 2020.

Another example of outsiders fixing something that the affected people do not consider broken. 

 

[AON]

It is in the thick of the fight, the Battle of the Nile (1798), guns booming, smoke and fire all around you, wood exploding and splinters fill the air.

All the Officers around you on the quarterdeck are killed, the Captains wounded and taken below.

What do you do.....

 

Assume command until an adult shows up of course!

[lmagna]

12 hours ago, AON said:

Ship returning home fires a salute to the town and takes off one mans arm, opens another's chest, and kills one other.

Not the only time that a salute caused a death and injuries.

http://frogstorm.com/daily/2016/12/12/john-kendricks-final-salute

 

[Louie da fly]

On 1/31/2020 at 11:12 AM, bruce d said:

... and upset the locals in Australia. Really annoyed them. He was arrested and, if I recall correctly, nearly lynched.

Actually, the people he upset were the corrupt officials and landowners and members of the New South Wales Corps - the so-called Rum Corps, supposedly tasked with maintaining order in the penal colony but effectively gathering all power to themselves and their friends -  "under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, deposed the Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh. Afterwards, the military ruled the colony, with the senior military officer stationed in Sydney acting as the lieutenant-governor of New South Wales until the arrival from Britain of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie as the new governor at the beginning of 1810." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_Rebellion)

 

The Rum corps and its ex-officers (such as Macarthur) had a very cushy position, having pretty much monopolised all the good land, kept the population in subjection, and bribery and corruption were rife. In the absence of a proper currency, rum (the production of which was under their control) was used as a medium of exchange. Bligh tried to stop the corruption but was was overthrown by a conspiracy of the Rum Corps.

 

When Macquarie came out from England he brought in his own Scottish regiment, disbanded the Rum corps, introduced a silver currency taken from Spanish coinage (a disc was cut from the centre of each coin - the central disc being one value and the remainder, called a "holey dollar" was a different value. It was in his term of office that the colony really got properly established on a firm footing.

 

Steven 

[AON]

Being anywhere near ships not a sea was dangerous.  (1787)

Broken collar bone

Broken leg

[druxey]

Chatham was obviously an unhealthy workplace. Where was Health and Safety?

[AON]

Ach, it's nothing but a flesh wound.

Throw some leeches on it and walk it off.  

[Louie da fly]

"I've had worse . . . "

[AON]

Assuming you're not referring to the leeches.  Yikes!  

I'll bet they would have preferred medicine and care from the late 20th century or now (21st century.

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by AON