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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJ94m-5HfCDwt_EyTxMUdysLUZal5D2EiCR29qKScCymBoljQY4TuzzqlAoiXMlmIXbRZ-jpKsHeat72HQesVVUoC5S_TnZO7Y1BaY6MhsDVyaHjqvAP-A3hvJBmPHLatbiGntufIp5To/s1600/jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJ94m-5HfCDwt_EyTxMUdysLUZal5D2EiCR29qKScCymBoljQY4TuzzqlAoiXMlmIXbRZ-jpKsHeat72HQesVVUoC5S_TnZO7Y1BaY6MhsDVyaHjqvAP-A3hvJBmPHLatbiGntufIp5To/s320/jones.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Paul Jones circa 1781<br />by Charles Wilson Peale.</td></tr>
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<b>On 1 November 1777, Captain John Paul Jones set out across the Atlantic in command of the 18-gun sloop-of-war <i>Ranger</i>. As Jones had recently written to the Marine Committee, "I have before me the pleasing prospect of being the welcom Messenger at Paris of the Joyful and important News of Burguoyne's Surrender &c &c. I have received dispatches from the Council of the Massachusetts for the Commissioners & Express. -I shall not therefore go out of my Course Unless I see a fair Opportunity of distressing the Enemy and of rendering Services to America."</b><br />
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<b>Approximately halfway across the Atlantic, <i>Ranger </i>nearly rolls over in the aftermath of a heavy gale; her tiller rope parted and she very nearly broached to, rolled nearly onto her beam ends. Fortunately, <i>Ranger </i>righted herself, having confirmed Jones's initial opinion that she was over-sparred and top heavy...he would never stop tinkering with <i>Ranger's </i>rigging and trim during his time in command.</b><br />
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<b>The remainder of the passage goes smoothly until <i>Ranger </i>is approaching Land's End off the British Isles. A lookout sights seventeen sail, and Jones promptly orders his crew to give chase. It isn't long before the crew discovers this is a homeward bound merchant convoy, escorted by the 74-gun ship-of-the-line HMS <i>Invincible</i>. Ranger's crew, once eager for prize money, now finds themselves terrified for their lives. In no circumstance could an 18-gun sloop-of-war expect to engage an enemy 74. Fortunately, though, Jones keeps his cool. As one of <i>Ranger's </i>crew later writes, "Our Captain took a very wise Step, which was, to heave to with the Convoy, and there lay with our Prizes, 'till the Commodore of the Fleet made Sail, which was in about two Hours; we then made Sail with the Convoy and tarried with them until almost Night, and then tackt Ship to the Southward, and got clear." <i>Invincible </i>was apparently none the wiser at having escorted a rebel cruiser for several hours. While Jones was disappointed at not having the chance to take any merchantmen from the convoy, he apparently used the episode as an excuse to exercise his men in night operations.</b><br />
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<b><i>Ranger </i>arrives at the port of Nantes, France on 2 December 1778, apparently one day after another American vessel had arrived and spread word of the victory at Saratoga. </b><b>Upon arrival in France, Jones expected to be granted command of the frigate <i>Indien</i>, recently built in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, British officials learned of the intended sale of the vessel, and pressured the Dutch to back out of the deal and maintain their neutrality; <i>Indien </i>is sold to the French, but several years later ends up in American service as the <i>South Carolina</i>. In late December, Jones travels to the suburbs of Paris to meet with American commissioners and share his ideas for the next year of the war, from planned raids along the British coast to prisoner exchanges.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"First Recognition of the American Flag by a Foreign Government."<br />Painting by Edward Moran circa 1898.</b></td></tr>
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<b><br />On 16 January 1778, Jones is issued orders to cruise with Ranger "in the manner you shall judge best, for distressing the Enemies of the United States, by Sea or otherwise, consistent with the Laws of War, and the Terms of your Commission." Given Jones's plans to raid British ports and coastal towns, the American commissioners warn him not to return directly to France after such expeditions, so as not to damage their neutrality. (The alliance between France and the United States had yet to be formalized at this point.) He spends the next few weeks adjusting Ranger's masts, rigging, and trim, and taking her on several problematic shakedown cruises in Quiberon Bay. </b><br />
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<b>While on one such cruise on 14 February, Jones fires thirteen guns in salute of a French warship, and receives nine in return. Jones proudly reports "this was the first salute received by the American flag from any sovereign power." This applies only to the Stars and Stripes, officially adopted by the Continental Congress in June of 1777. The Grand Union Flag, while never officially adopted, had <a href="https://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2018/12/hoisting-flag-of-freedom.html" target="_blank">received its first salute aboard the brig <i>Andrew Doria</i></a> from the Dutch in November of 1776.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A Whitehaven statue depicting Jones</b><br />
<b>spiking the guns in April 1778.</b></td></tr>
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<b>The summer of 1778 would be an active season for the crew of <i>Ranger</i>, at least one attempted mutiny notwithstanding. Jones would lead a raid on the port of Whitehaven on 23 April, when his two lieutenants claimed to be "too fatigued to perform their duties." The raid did little actual damage beyond the harbor guns being spiked and several ships being set afire, but it alarmed British citizens up and down the coast that the American Revolution had come to their very doorstep. The following day, <i>Ranger </i>would defeat the sloop-of-war HMS <i>Drake </i>near Carrickfergus in Ireland. Avaricious sailors from Ranger would plunder the Earl of Selkirk's family silver when the nobleman himself proved so inconsiderate as to not be home so he might be abducted. These actions, along with numerous merchant captures by Jones and crew during 1778 and 1779 would cause insurance rates to skyrocket, and cement Jones's reputation as a pirate among the British populace. (One engraving would represent John Paul Jones as a reincarnation of Blackbeard himself.) These are, of course, stories for another day.</b><br />
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<b>Sources:</b><br />
<b>1. Crawford, Michael, ed. <i>Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volumes 10 and 11</i>. (Washington: Naval Historical Center, 1996 and 2005.)</b><br />
<b>2. Thomas, Evan. <i>John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy</i>. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.)</b></div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-71690795134531135382019-01-11T20:05:00.003-05:002019-01-12T19:59:57.941-05:00The Navy's First Prize<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<b>With the 1794 "Act to Provide a Naval Armament," the construction of six frigates was authorized by the U.S. Congress to protect American merchantmen from the depredations of the Barbary Pirates. In 1796, construction on the frigates was halted once a treaty was struck with Algiers. Through the influence of President George Washington, construction was permitted to continue on the three frigates closest to completion: <i>United States</i>, <i>Constitution</i>, and <i>Constellation</i>. The first vessels of the United States Navy would soon be called upon to fire their first shots in anger...not against corsairs from the Barbary Coast, but against corsairs from France.</b><br />
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<b>Following the outbreak of war between Great Britain and Revolutionary France, tensions between the United States and their former mother country ratcheted up once again over issues such as impressment and the rights of neutral merchant vessels. The 1796 Jay Treaty did much to alleviate these tensions (temporarily at least), but had the unfortunate consequence of aggravating the French Directory. In turn, the French began aggressively policing neutral merchant vessels (especially American ones), and threatened to seize any vessel that did not provide a list of their crew's nationality on demand. The United States sent a delegation to Paris to resolve these difficulties, but they immediately returned home following their refusal to pay $220,000 before even being allowed to meet with French officials. French privateers then began seizing and condemning American merchantmen, especially those in the Caribbean Sea. In the Caribbean alone, French privateers had taken some 300 vessels between July 1796 and March 1797. </b><br />
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<b>A new Naval Act dated 1 July 1797 empowered the president to man, outfit, and employ the three frigates named above to protect American shipping against the growing threat. In addition, completion of the frigates President, Congress, and Chesapeake was authorized, construction of additional smaller vessels was begun, merchant vessels were converted for military use, and numerous vessels of the United States Revenue Service were transferred to the newly formed Navy Department.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Stephen Decatur, Sr., USN.<br />Revolutionary privateer turned<br />captain of USS <i>Delaware</i>.</b></td></tr>
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<b>Among the merchant vessels brought into the nascent United States Navy is the <i>Hamburgh Packet</i>; after bring armed with 16 nine-pound and 4 six-pound cannon, she is commissioned as the sloop-of-war <i>Delaware </i>and placed under the command of Stephen Decatur, Sr. Decatur had previously served at sea as a privateer captain during the American Revolution, and his son Stephen Decatur, Jr. would soon rise to prominence during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.</b><br />
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<b>On 6 July 1798, the American merchantman Alexander Hamilton is making a voyage between New York and Baltimore when she is stopped by <i>la Croyable</i>, a French privateer schooner of 10 guns. She was apparently a Baltimore schooner of new construction, and likely one of the many American vessels recently seized in the Caribbean. <i>La Croyable </i>chooses not to take <i>Alexander Hamilton</i> as a prize, instead plundering her of a portion of her cargo (wine, brandy, sweetmeats, etc.) worth some $140 and sending her on her way. The incensed American crew soon meets the <i>Delaware</i>, relates their story, and tells Captain Decatur where <i>la Croyable</i> and several of her prizes might be found. Sure enough, Decatur comes up with four schooners the next day.</b><br />
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<b>Not certain which of the four schooners is <i>la Croyable</i>, Decatur played the part of a fat, lazy, merchantman (a function <i>Delaware </i>had served in the past), and affected alarm at the possible sighting of armed vessels. <i>La Croyable</i> takes the bait and sets off in pursuit. The privateer sees through the ruse as she draws closer, noting that <i>Delaware </i>is somewhat over-manned for a merchantman and armed to boot. Not yet realizing that the United States has established a naval force, the French captain mistakes <i>Delaware </i>for a British man of war, and bears for coastal waters in the hopes that the Royal Navy would not violate American neutrality by capturing a vessel in their territorial waters. Naturally, <i>Delaware </i>keeps up the chase, and after firing several shots, compels <i>la Croyable</i> to surrender.</b><br />
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<b>As Boston's <i>Columbian Centinel</i> reports on 8 August, "The Captain of the French privateer, taken a few days ago, seemed </b><b>astonished when he went on board of Capt. Decatur's sloop of war, </b><b>at his being taken by an American vessel, and said he knew of no </b><b>war between the two republics. Decatur observed that the French </b><b>had been making war upon us for a long time, and it was now neces</b><b>sary for us to take care of ourselves. The Frenchman seemed to be </b><b>vastly mortified at seeing his Colours hauled down, and wished he </b><b>had been sunk. Decatur told him he should have been gratified if </b><b>he had stood on board his vessel and fought her!"</b><br />
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<b><i>La Croyable</i> is purchased by the American government and enters the United States Navy as USS <i>Retaliation</i>. Now armed with 4 six-pound and 10 four-pound cannon, she is placed under the command of Lieutenant William Bainbridge as part of a small squadron operating in the Caribbean under Captain Alexander Murray. </b><br />
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<b>Unfortunately, <i>Retaliation's </i>service would be brief; on 21 November 1798, <i>Retaliation </i>and her consorts retake the <i>Fair American</i>, a merchant ship recently captured by a pair of French privateers. The two privateers make for the shallows, pursued by USS <i>Montezuma </i>and <i>Norfolk</i>, while <i>Retaliation </i>is left to protect the prize. The next morning, Murray in the <i>Montezuma </i>notices <i>Retaliation </i>and <i>Fair American</i> in the distance being pursued by two large frigates. He moves closer and hails Bainbridge, who insists they are two British warships the squadron had sighted the day before. Murray raises British recognition signals but gets no response...just then, the two French corsairs try to break from the shallows, so <i>Montezuma </i>and <i>Norfolk </i>resume the chase. They look on in consternation as the two frigates come up with <i>Retaliation </i>and open fire, quickly leading Bainbridge to strike his colors. It is not until the <i>Fair American</i> sneaks away and rendezvouses with Murray that he learns the two frigates are the French warships <i>la Volontaire</i> and <i>l'Insurgente</i>. The first prize taken by the United States Navy has also become the first ship taken from it.</b><br />
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<b>Believe it or not, the beleaguered schooner's story is not over. The French re-christen her <i>la Magicienne</i>, arm her with 12 guns of their own and a crew of 163. On 28 June 1799, she runs afoul of Captain Moses Brown commanding the 28-gun USS <i>Merrimack</i>. As Captain Brown notes in his journal, "Gave chase fir'd 23 Shott at her at 1/2 past 5 came up with her & </b><b>gave her part of a Broadside which obliged them to hall down </b><b>their colours." <i>Retaliation </i>was back in the U.S. Navy, performing convoy duty in the Caribbean until returning to Philadelphia in August. She would be sold out of the service on 29 November 1799.</b><br />
<b><br />By that point, the French Directory had been overthrown, and Napoleon Bonaparte established as First Consul of France. Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord reopens negotiations with the United States, resulting in the Convention of 1800 and an end to the Quasi-War. While the new United States Navy still had room to grow, they had proven moderately effective during their first days at sea.</b><br />
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<b>Sources:</b><br />
<b>1. Palmer, Michael. <i>Stoddert's War: Naval Operations During the Quasi-War with France, 1798-1801</i>. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1987.)</b><br />
<b>2. Swanson, Claude (Publication Ordered By). <i>Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France, Volumes 1, 2, and 3</i>. (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1935 and 1936.)</b></div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-40444294312107994472018-12-03T06:51:00.000-05:002019-12-01T09:09:35.919-05:00Hoisting the Flag of Freedom<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>John Paul Jones circa 1780</b><br />
<b>as engraved by Moreau le Jeune.</b></td></tr>
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<b>John Paul Jones is often called a father of the United States Navy, along with John Barry and John Adams. In late 1775, he is a little known merchant captain who had traveled to Virginia several years earlier to escape murder charges after killing a would-be mutineer. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, he is quick to journey to Philadelphia and volunteer his services to the newly formed Continental Navy. Jones is initially offered command of the 12-gun sloop <i>Providence</i>, but he declines given his inexperience sailing fore-and-aft rigged vessels. Instead, he accepts a billet as first lieutenant of the new Continental flagship <i>Alfred </i>(earlier that year, as the merchantman <i>Black Prince</i> under John Barry's command, she had logged the fastest day of sailing in the 18th century) slated to be commanded by Captain Dudley Saltonstall.</b><br />
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<b>As a loyalist informant reports to Lord Dartmouth, the "Continental Flag" was raised aboard the <i>Alfred </i>moored at Philadelphia on 3 December 1775. Nearly four years later, John Paul Jones recounts his role in the event in a letter to a Dutch admiral: "I had the honour to hoist with my own hands the Flag of Freedom, the first time it was displayed, on the Delaware; and I have attended it with veneration ever since on the ocean."</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Continental Ship <i>Alfred </i>(1775-1778), by W. Nowland Van Powell<br />(U.S. Navy Art Collection)</b></td></tr>
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<b>The flag being raised aboard <i>Alfred </i>was likely the Grand Union Flag, also occasionally called the Continental Flag or the Cambridge Flag. This was being flown over General George Washington's encampments at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was also raised at prominent locations in Williamsburg, Virginia celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. (Even now, guests to Colonial Williamsburg see this flag flying at the entrances to open sites.) The Grand Union Flag features thirteen red and white stripes representing the United Colonies with the King's Colours of Great Britain in the canton.</b></div>
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<b><i>Alfred </i>was part of a squadron consisting also of the Continental vessels <i>Colombus</i>, <i>Cabot</i>, <i>Andrew Doria</i>, <i>Providence</i>, <i>Fly</i>, <i>Hornet</i>, and <i>Wasp </i>under the overall command of Esek Hopkins. The squadron attempts to set sail in January 1776, but their departure is delayed for some time by the icy conditions in the Delaware River. Initially, Commodore Hopkins is given orders to take his squadron into Chesapeake Bay to attack the forces of Virginia's erstwhile Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, and then range along the Carolina coastline to do what damage to the British he can. Rather than engage the British directly, Hopkins takes advantage of a discretionary clause in his orders to proceed to the West Indies in search of gunpowder and other military supplies. After capturing several small sloops in the region, the squadron stages an attack on New Providence in Nassau to seize the gunpowder being stored there under supposedly light defenses. While the Continental squadron was discovered early enough that the British were able to move a significant amount of supplies, a large amount of gunpowder and numerous cannon were successfully captured to serve the patriot cause.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Captain Nicholas Biddle of the<br />Continental Navy</b></td></tr>
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<b>Not long after, Hopkins' squadron would suffer a particularly ignominious episode when it <a href="https://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-continental-navy-vs-hms-glascow.html" target="_blank">engages HMS <i>Glasgow </i>on 6 April 1776.</a> The battle served to illustrate rather starkly the inexperience of the Continental crews when five ships of the squadron could not capture or destroy a single 20-gun warship. Nicholas Biddle, in command of the brig <i>Andrew Doria</i> at the time, writes to a sister rather glibly on 26 April, "In the beginning of April one very fine morning we exercised Great Guns and small Arms and had two men hurt by it." On 2 May, he is a little more adamant to his brother Charles, "A More imprudent ill conducted Affair never happend." While patriot newspapers initially hyped the action up as a resounding victory for the Continental Navy, Commodore Hopkins' lack of organization and fire in command during the battle led to his eventual relief from command. Captain Biddle, however, would command <i>Andrew Doria</i> until the autumn of 1776, when he would be selected to command the Continental frigate <i>Randolph</i>.</b><b></b><br />
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<b>By October of 1776, <i>Andrew Doria</i> had been placed under the command of Captain Isaiah Robinson, under whom another important first for the Grand Union Flag would take place. Robinson was under orders to sail to the Dutch island of St. Eustatius to purchase and bring home a cargo of gunpowder and other military stores, and also has a copy of the new Declaration of Independence on board. On 16 November 1776, <i>Andrew Doria</i> fires a 13-gun salute while approaching Fort Oranje, which the Dutch return. This is the first time a flag representing the United States of America was saluted by a foreign power while being flown aboard a ship of war.</b><br />
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<b>On 14 June 1777, the Continental Congress would resolve "That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." This basis for the American Flag that we recognize today would receive its own first salute from a foreign power on 14 February 1778, when the sloop-of-war <i>Ranger </i>under the command of John Paul Jones entered the French port of Brest. On occasion, an early 13 star flag (based on the design of Francis Hopkinson) has been seen flying from the Capitol at Colonial Williamsburg as well.</b><br />
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<b>Just like our current American Flag, the Grand Union and Hopkinson Flags alike have flown over pivotal moments in our nation's history. We would do well to study and remember these events as we write the next chapter of our history in the days to come.</b><br />
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<b>Sources:</b><br />
<b>1. McGrath, Tim. <i>Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. </i>(The Penguin Group, 2014.)</b><br />
<b>2. Thomas, Evan. <i>John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy</i>. (Simon and Schuster, 2004.)</b><br />
<b>3. Van Powell, W. Nowland. <i>The American Navies of the Revolutionary War</i>. (Putnam, 1974.)</b><br />
<b>4. "Original Correspondence of Paul Jones," <i>The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany</i> (August 1817), 14-20.</b><br />
<b>5. Clark, William Bell and Biddle, Nicholas. "The Letters of Captain Nicholas Biddle," <i>The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography</i>, Volume 74 Number 3 (July 1950), 348-405.</b></div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-3502710584004770442018-11-14T07:23:00.000-05:002018-11-14T07:23:57.642-05:00Birds of a Feather Ship Together<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<b>The inspiration for today's post comes from a favorite scene in the 1934 film adaptation of <i>Treasure Island</i>. Long John Silver (for the moment keeping his piratical past a secret) has just signed on aboard <i>Hispaniola </i>as the ship's cook, and is having a friendly discussion in the galley with Jim Hawkins. Captain Flint swings innocently from her perch.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper star in 1934's<br /> <i>Treasure Island</i>, though several scenes were<br />stolen by Captain Flint.</b></td></tr>
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<b>Jim Hawkins: "I'm glad you like Doctor Livesey."</b><br />
<b>Long John Silver: "He's a pretty smart man, Jim."</b><br />
<b>JH: "He's not a sailor of course, but he can cut you open and sew you up again."</b><br />
<b>LJS: "Well that sewing up must be pretty difficult."</b><br />
<b>JH: "So's the cutting up part."</b><br />
<b>LJS: "Well, experience, Jim."</b><br />
<b>JH: "I couldn't do it."</b><br />
<b>LJS: "Oh no, neither could I. Mmm...I'd swoon like a lady of quality, I would. I guess I'm kinda sensitive-like..."</b><br />
<b>Captain Flint: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" *squawk squawk*</b><br />
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<b>Numerous sources describing the Age of Sail suggest that nearly every sailing vessel had animals of some form aboard. A lot of these tended to be livestock like chickens and cattle, but a few were kept as mascots and pets by the crew. The esteem'd blogger Kyle Dalton of <a href="https://www.britishtars.com/2018/10/pets-afloat.html" target="_blank">British Tars</a> recently wrote a post on dogs and cats at sea, and my own post treats on birds and other animals.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Cochrane,<br />
10th Earl Dundonald</td></tr>
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<b>Thomas Cochrane, Napoleon's "Sea Wolf" and the eventual 10th Earl Dundonald, takes the time to describe one ship's pet during his time as a midshipman aboard HMS <i>Hind</i>: </b><br />
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<b>"On board most ships there is a pet animal of some kind. Ours was a parrot, which was Jack Larmour's [the first lieutenant's] aversion, from the exactness with which the bird had learned to imitate the calls of the boatswain's whistle. Sometimes the parrot would pipe an order so correctly as to throw the ship into momentary confusion, and the first lieutenant into a volley of imprecations, consigning Poll to a warmer latitude than his native tropical forests. Indeed, it was only by my uncle's [Captain Sir Alexander Cochrane] that the bird was tolerated.</b><br />
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<b>One day a party of ladies paid us a visit aboard, and several had been hoisted on deck by the usual means of a 'whip' on the main-yard. The chair had descended for another 'whip,' but scarcely had its fair freight been lifted out of the boat alongside, than the unlucky parrot piped 'Let go!' The order being instantly obeyed, the unfortunate lady, instead of being comfortably seated on deck, as had been those who preceded her, was soused overhead in the sea! Luckily for Poll, Jack Larmour was on shore at the time, or this unreasonable assumption of the boatswain's functions might have ended tragically."</b><br />
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<b>At times equally as boisterous as parrots, different species of poultry could be found aboard ship as well. Mainly to serve as provisions for the officers (eggs, fresh meat, etc.), these birds were kept in coops that could be carried on deck during the day. Historian Janet Macdonald mentions several instances where these coops were broken during battle, allowing the birds to go free. During the action on the Glorious First of June in 1794, a rooster was said to have gotten free of his coop, and found a prominent perch from which he crowed defiantly throughout the battle...perhaps being promoted from the wardroom bill of fare to a billet as mascot.</b><br />
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<b>Parrots as well as monkeys tended to be popular shipboard pets when vessels touched at ports in the West Indies or South America, where these animals could be found. In 1724, a somewhat macabre account describes a wrecked vessel having touched at Brazil because of the monkeys and parrots washing ashore. While struggling with miserably cold and wet conditions sailing off Newfoundland in 1785, Samuel Kelly had the care of two white-faced monkeys tied up near his berth. Apparently, these enterprising creatures would rub tobacco smoke and onion skins into their fur whenever it was presented to them, conceivably to combat the fleas.</b><br />
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<b>On rare occasions, even more exotic animals could be found aboard ship. While serving as a midshipman aboard the celebrated USS <i>Constitution </i>in early 1815, Pardon Mawney Whipple writes:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR3bsJ3teWLYJIiThtUa5iSOtM1Id5y70KnHtO09-x02xuFt7NWjN4PZpCzl7flZenNbiegAA3qUiLhyISQSQ7X92JQ-hs2qBcfWOGR9_-oXNhF6vd8-QOdNvnX31vGU4i1iost7q6EHXN/s1600/tigers01.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR3bsJ3teWLYJIiThtUa5iSOtM1Id5y70KnHtO09-x02xuFt7NWjN4PZpCzl7flZenNbiegAA3qUiLhyISQSQ7X92JQ-hs2qBcfWOGR9_-oXNhF6vd8-QOdNvnX31vGU4i1iost7q6EHXN/s320/tigers01.png" width="320" /></a><b>"We next made a capture on the coast of Portugal which we man’d & sent in & have now just reaped the golden fruit, which is much the sweetest part of Warfare, unfortunately however not without the ruin of a fellow being, who was a jolly scotchman, & got most gloriously drunk the night after the capture & consoled himself with the common remark that it was the fortune of war – on board of this vessel we found two fine young Tigers, which had been in some measure domesticated & were of great amusement to the Sailors."</b><br />
<b><br />Many authors describing life aboard sailing ships mention intense boredom and monotony broken up by the occasional battle or foul weather. One imagines that the occasional pet or mascot did much to brighten an otherwise dreary world.</b><br />
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<b>Sources:</b><br />
<b>1. Cochrane, Thomas. <i>The Autobiography of a Seaman</i>. (Endeavour Compass, 2016.)</b><br />
<b>2. Macdonald, Janet. <i>Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era</i>. (Frontline Books, 2014.)</b><br />
<b>3. Kelly, Samuel. <i>Samuel Kelly, an eighteenth century seaman, whose days have been few and evil, to which is added remarks, etc., on places he visited during his pilgrimage in this wilderness</i>. (Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1925.)</b><br />
<b>4. USS <i>Constitution</i> Museum. <i>Pardon Mawney Whipple's Letterbook,</i> <a href="https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/library-and-manuscript/logs-and-journals/whipples-letterbook/" target="_blank">https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/library-and-manuscript/logs-and-journals/whipples-letterbook/</a>. (Transcribed 2014).</b></div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-78679122859676871342018-08-11T11:53:00.001-04:002018-08-11T11:53:55.936-04:00Lexington vs. Edward<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Portrait by an unspecified artist<br />believed to be of a young John Barry.<br />(Navy History and Heritage Command)</b></td></tr>
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<b>The <i>Wild Duck</i> was originally a sloop constructed in Bermuda which was converted to a square-sail brigantine in New York. After evading the sloop <i>Edward</i>, a tender of the British frigate <i>Liverpool</i>, <i>Wild Duck</i> reached Philadelphia on 9 March 1776 with a cargo of gunpowder sorely needed by Continental forces. The Marine Committee wasted no time in purchasing <i>Wild Duck</i> for service in the Continental Navy. She was taken to Wharton's shipyard for refitting, placed under the command of John Barry, and rechristened <i>Lexington</i>. </b><br />
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<b>Captain Barry had already spent many months supervising the outfitting of multiple Continental Navy vessels that were placed under the command of other officers. (His last merchant command, <i>Black Prince</i>, became the <i>Alfred</i>, flagship of the squadron commanded by Esek Hopkins.) While Barry was always efficient and conscientious in carrying out such tasks, he was eager to get to sea; <i>Lexington's </i>refit was completed in two weeks. <i>Lexington </i>was 86 feet long with a 70 foot deck and 25 foot beam, rated at about 140 tons. She was described as having a "square-tuck stern painted yellow, and a low, rounded stem painted lead colors, black sides, and yellow moldings." </b><b>She was armed with sixteen four-pound cannon and twelve swivel guns, and could carry a complement of 110 men, though Barry's first lieutenant would only be able to enlist 70. </b><b>Little did anyone know that the brigantine was soon destined for another encounter with HMS <i>Edward</i>.</b><br />
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<b>After multiple delays in acquiring small arms and powder, Lexington departed Philadelphia in the small hours of the morning on 28 March 1776. Barry was accompanied by four Pennsylvania row galleys tasked with ridding the Delaware River of a number of an as yet unknown British warship and her tender. When it was discovered that the tender serviced the 44-gun HMS <i>Roebuck </i>(more than a match for any Continental vessels in the area), Barry ordered the row galleys to remain in the relative safety of Reedy Island. As <i>Lexington </i>moved downriver, Barry repeatedly exercised his crew as the guns, likely stopping short of live fire to conserve ammunition. The <i>Roebuck </i>was sighted near dawn on 31 March, and the brief chase was on. Well acquainted with local waters, Barry took the shallow-drafted <i>Lexington </i>through shoal waters known as the "Overfalls," successfully evaded the much heavier British warship and got out to sea.</b><br />
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<b></b><b>Following several days of cruising the New Jersey coastline, followed by a brief return to the Delaware to convoy a group of merchantman past the usually watchful Roebuck, Barry steers south for the Virginia Capes. The Continental Navy squadron under the command of Esek Hopkins had initially been ordered to the region to fight the naval forces employed by Virginia's Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, but the new squadron's "Commander-in-Chief" was reluctant to engage any organized British forces. <i>Alfred </i>and her consorts headed instead for New Providence, raiding the powder magazines there, before returning north to fight a <a href="http://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-continental-navy-vs-hms-glascow.html" target="_blank">running engagement with HMS <i>Glascow</i></a><i> </i>on 6 April.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuBVzqSRDvJydJ1VeCzwLuQbS-tjTI0veMbLGNGLUq9pauwhM3M3uRpoJ8gwEhOA1xGWUtOs8njn9JFNMasZEpFeunux0VoPM6LWpsE2aAL9XmU7ZLTTjtccWAAxnkJqFJSjPtZmMfdzl/s1600/LexEd02a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuBVzqSRDvJydJ1VeCzwLuQbS-tjTI0veMbLGNGLUq9pauwhM3M3uRpoJ8gwEhOA1xGWUtOs8njn9JFNMasZEpFeunux0VoPM6LWpsE2aAL9XmU7ZLTTjtccWAAxnkJqFJSjPtZmMfdzl/s1600/LexEd02a.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Lexington </i>battling HMS <i>Edward </i>by William Nowland Van Powell.<br />(U.S. Navy Art Collection)</b></td></tr>
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<b>On the afternoon of 7 April, <i>Lexington </i>is just off Cape Charles at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay when an unknown sail is sighted. Barry immediately sends his crew to quarters, but keeps his gunports closed and colors lowered to draw the possible enemy in closer. The approaching vessel was HMS <i>Edward</i>, quickly recognized by the old hands from the <i>Wild Duck</i> days. The sloop was armed with six three-pound cannon and a number of swivels, manned by 29 British tars under the command of Lieutenant Richard Boger. While <i>Edward </i>was both outmanned and outgunned, her crew was battle tested and much more experienced than the men aboard <i>Lexington</i>. <i>Edward </i>charged straight towards her intended prey, when Lieutenant Boger soon hailed Barry with orders to heave to and identify himself. Barry boldly identified the <i>Lexington </i>as the Grand Union shot up the mast, the brigantine's gunports flew open, and her crew unleashed their first broadside.</b><br />
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<b>While <i>Edward </i>was surprised by the <i>Lexington's </i>fire, Barry's inexperienced crew did little damage. Lieutenant Boger changed course to head back into the Chesapeake Bay, hoping to find assistance from one of Lord Dunmore's vessels, and sustained another almost ineffectual broadside from <i>Lexington </i>for his trouble. <i>Edward </i>soon returned fire, sending shot tearing into <i>Lexington's </i>bulwarks to kill two men and wound another. What followed was a running engagement about an hour long as the two small warships blasted away at one another. As the engagement progresses, the Continental gunners become more accustomed to the way of things, and <i>Lexington's </i>fire steadily becomes more effective. Finally, Barry was able to cut across <i>Edward's </i>stern and rake her. The <i>Lexington's </i>fire smashes into <i>Edward's </i>stern at and just below the cabin, killing one man and causing the sloop to take on water. The smaller British crew is unable to successfully maintain the fight, sail the sloop, and plug holes below the waterline, so Lieutenant Boger is forced to strike his colors.</b><br />
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<b>Following the surrender, Barry's crew quickly boards <i>Edward </i>to assist in repairs. After plugging holes and repairing rigging, <i>Lexington's </i>prize is seaworthy enough for the voyage to Philadelphia. With a prize crew under the command of one Lieutenant Scott aboard, <i>Edward </i>sails in company with <i>Lexington </i>to the Delaware Capes; Barry diverts to Little Egg harbor for repairs, while his prize is sailed triumphantly into Philadelphia. John Barry was soon as popular with his crew as any Continental Navy captain could be: with a new reputation for victory in battle with few casualties and likely prize money to boot, future for the crew of <i>Lexington </i>looked bright.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeI8bYpLSwFfvjqgV43J81tSW0IvxLt9Sf6E9we8_02Or1-DmlRbXsjidyo4YPAwvwp1R7-9lGUvU6QOHIKIrTMWadWO1qk8PK9WTjVecS6dyrVTDccCSc3oZybxcSeu9ZwxwP5Hlv03N/s1600/Gazette.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="370" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeI8bYpLSwFfvjqgV43J81tSW0IvxLt9Sf6E9we8_02Or1-DmlRbXsjidyo4YPAwvwp1R7-9lGUvU6QOHIKIrTMWadWO1qk8PK9WTjVecS6dyrVTDccCSc3oZybxcSeu9ZwxwP5Hlv03N/s400/Gazette.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>An excerpt from the <i>Virginia Gazette </i>for 4/27/1776 </b><br />
<b>describing the battle. Note that Lieutenant Boger </b><br />
<b>is identified as Lieutenant "Boucher."</b></td></tr>
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<b>Numerous mentions of the battle soon appear in Dixon and Hunter's <i>Virginia Gazette</i>. Barry's initial letter reporting the action is brief and to the point, "In sight of the Capes of Virginia, April 7, 1776. Gentlemen, I have the pleasure to acquaint you, that at one P.M. this day I fell in with the sloop <i>Edward</i>, belonging to the <i>Liverpool </i>frigate. She engaged us near two glasses. They killed two of our men, and wounded two more. We shattered her in a terrible manner, as you will see. We killed and wounded several of her crew. I shall give you a particular account of the powder and arms taken out of her, as well as my proceedings in general. I have the pleasure to acquaint you that all our people behaved with much courage. I am gentlemen [&c.] John Barry." </b><b>Biographer Tim McGrath describes this battle as the first time a British warship surrenders to one of the Continental Navy. It is certainly the first in a string of exploits that will result in Barry being referred to as a "Father of the American Navy."</b><br />
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<b>Sources:</b><br />
<b>1. Clark, William Bell. (Ed.) <i>Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 4</i>. (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969.)</b><br />
<b>2. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. <i>Lexington I (Brigantine)</i>, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lexington-brigantine-i.html" target="_blank">https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lexington-brigantine-i.html</a>. (July 29, 2015.)</b><br />
<b>3. McGrath, Tim. <i>John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail</i>. (Westholme Publishing, 2010.)</b><br />
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-77117633775891815812018-05-31T22:30:00.005-04:002018-05-31T22:30:44.042-04:00The Barron of Boston<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl411kBbydeRmw0-8uMrRfZaig6kBl7wNolsbe60Y9jICgxB16oMiQxJXqnb5IErbzXeEWnbOZSue8gbMjCILZX81Jsb1E-2DPEcR8p_N2iQ3MPPvMI_mQWDccTG1xdiMkzV3k1izCcOn/s1600/boston03.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="740" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl411kBbydeRmw0-8uMrRfZaig6kBl7wNolsbe60Y9jICgxB16oMiQxJXqnb5IErbzXeEWnbOZSue8gbMjCILZX81Jsb1E-2DPEcR8p_N2iQ3MPPvMI_mQWDccTG1xdiMkzV3k1izCcOn/s400/boston03.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continental Frigate Boston, (1777-1780):<br />
painting by Rod Claudius, circa 1962.</td></tr>
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The "Web-Footed Barrons" of Hampton, Virginia have a proud tradition of military service crossing several generations. Samuel Barron I commanded the detachment at Fort George (near the site of Fort Monroe today) until it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1749. His sons James and Richard would serve valiantly in the Virginia Navy during the American Revolution. His grandsons Samuel and James (the Younger) got their feet wet in the Virginia Navy before both eventually were appointed Commodores in the early United States Navy. Today's post is about William Barron, another son of Samuel I, formerly of the Continental sloop <i>Providence</i>, who was serving as First Lieutenant of the Continental frigate <i>Boston </i>in early 1778.<br />
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<i>Boston </i>was a 24-gun frigate that had been launched in June of 1776. She was initially under the command of Captain Hector McNeill, who was relieved of his command and eventually dismissed from the service for failing to support the Continental warships <i>Hancock </i>and <i>Fox</i>, thus allowing their capture. McNeill was replaced by Captain Samuel Tucker, who in February of 1778 was ordered to convey John Adams (and his ten year old son John Quincy) to France as one of the American commissioners alongside Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee. While Tucker was instructed to ensure Adams' safety and conceal his guns within French waters, he was also authorized to engage any British vessels he encountered along the way. Foul weather and manpower difficulties delayed <i>Boston's </i>departure well into February. In a somewhat ignominious episode, Lieutenant Barron falls overboard while trying to fish an anchor, but manages to catch himself by clinging to its flukes. <i>Boston </i>would finally depart on February 17, and was in for a busy Atlantic crossing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Adams circa 1766,<br />
portrait by Benjamin Blyth.</td></tr>
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Almost immediately upon their departure, <i>Boston </i>is plagued by foul weather, much to the discomfort of Adams and the other passengers. At one point, several crewmen are injured when Boston is struck by lightning; one unfortunate man has a hole burned in his head, causing him to go mad before his death three days later. Seasickness may well have colored his judgement, Adams does not speak well of the frigate's crew in the beginning: Barron had to go ashore at least once to retrieve attempted deserters, and very few aboard knew how to handle either sail or cannon. By March 7, however, <i>Boston </i>is in much fairer weather away from the coast, and Adams notes the crew is working diligently at the guns: "Mr. Barron gave the Words of Command, and they Spent an Hour, perhaps in the Exercise, at which they seemed tolerably expert." Adams eventually discussed William Barron at greater length, "Mr Barron our first Lt. appears to me to be an excellent Officer-very diligent, and attentive to his Duty.-very thoughtfull and considerate about the Safety of the Ship, and about order, (Economy and Regularity, among the officer, and Men-He has great Experience at Sea.-Has used the Trade to London, Lisbon, Affrica, West Indies, Southern States &c-" During this time, several 'frolics' take place aboard, including one where the crew are powdered all over with flour and doused with water...Adams seems unsure whether this is intended to conjure up a prize or trick the men into washing away vermin and changing their clothes.<br />
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<i>Boston </i>won't be alone on the ocean for long. Strange sails are sighted on several occasions, during one of which, Adams refuses to take Captain Tucker's suggestion that he go below when the order is given to beat to quarters...the future President of the United States takes up his musket and insists he will fight alongside the crew. (Fortunately, the vessel strikes its colors without a fight.) Another incident takes place on March 11, when <i>Boston </i>takes the British Letter of Marque <i>Martha</i>. As Captain Tucker reports, "I fired a Gun & they returned three and then down Collours." Adams writes in his diary that, "One of her shot, went thro our Mizen Yard.-I hapened to be upon the Qr deck, and in the Direction from the ship to the Yard so that the ball went directly over my Head-We upon this turned our broadside which the instant she saw she struck." Apparently, Adams wasn't about to hide himself away for this action, either. <i>Martha </i>carried 14 guns, and had a cargo valued at £84,000 (provisions, 142 chests of tea, bale goods, and assorted merchandise), and her 34 man crew was taken prisoner.<br />
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The good fortune does not last. On March 14 <i>Boston </i>sights another strange sail, and once again, John Adams records events in which he plays a prominent role: "Mr Barron our 1st Lt. Attempting to fire a Gun, as a signal to the Brig. the Gun burst, and tore the right Leg of this excellent Officer, in Pieces, so that the Dr was obliged to amputate it, just below the Knee. I was present at this affecting Scaene and held Mr Barron in my Arms while the Dr put on the Turnequett and cut off the Limb. Mr Barron bore it with great Fortitude and Magnannity.-thought he should die, and frequently intreated me, to take Care of his Family.-He had an helpless Family he Said, and begged that I would take Care of his Children.-I promised him, that by the first Letters I should write to America, I would earnestly recommend his Children to the Care of the Public, as well as of Individuals. I cannot but think the Fall of this officer, a great Loss to the united States.-His Prudence, his Moderation, his Attention his Zeal, were Qualities much wanted in our Navy." Unfortunately, the shock of his wounds and the subsequent operation bring about Barron's death on March 25. Adams' diary describe the funeral service held the next day, "He was put into a Chest, and 10 or 12 Pounds shot put in with him, and then nailed up-the Fragment of the Gun, which destroyed him was lashed on the Chest, and the whole launched overboard through one of the Ports, in Presence of all the Ships Crew.-after the Buryal service was read by Mr Cooper."<br />
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<i>Boston </i>sights the coast of Spain just a few days after William Barron's burial at sea, and the Continental Navy has lost an experienced and, as we learn from the diary of John Adams, very fine officer. Though he never achieved any level of fame or notoriety, William Barron is one of many early Americans who sacrificed his life for the dream of an independent nation.<br />
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Sources:<br />
1. Crawford, Michael J. (Editor). <i>Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 11</i>. (Naval History Division, Department of the Navy, 2005.)<br />
2. McGrath, Tim. <i>Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. </i>(The Penguin Group, 2014.)<br />
3. Plodding through the Presidents. <i>John Quincy Adams' Life in 9 Boats</i>, <a href="http://ploddingthroughthepresidents.blogspot.com/2017/07/john-quincy-adams-life-in-9-boats.html#more/" target="_blank">http://ploddingthroughthepresidents.blogspot.com/2017/07/john-quincy-adams-life-in-9-boats.html#more/</a>. (July 11, 2017.)<br />
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-39183775698687932422018-04-08T20:42:00.000-04:002018-04-08T20:51:55.489-04:00The America That Could Have Been<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continental Ship-of-the-Line <i>America</i>,<br />
Naval History and Heritage Command</td></tr>
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The Journal of the Continental Congress for November 20, 1776 contains a momentous entry regarding the strength of the Continental Navy:<br />
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"The Marine Committee to whom was referred the bringing in a plan for increasing the navy of the United States, brought in a report, which was taken in consideration; Whereupon, <i>Resolved</i>, That there be immediately undertaken, In New Hampshire, 1 ship of 74 guns,..."<br />
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The resolution also calls for the construction of two other 74's, five 36-gun frigates, an 18-gun brig, and a packet boat in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The New Hampshire vessel referenced above is the ship-of-the-line <i>America</i>, the largest warship to be constructed in the Western Hemisphere up to that point, but sadly one destined for a brief and undistinguished career. <i>America's </i>keel was laid in May 1777 at John Langdon's shipyard on the Piscataqua River. Almost immediately, the would-be 74's construction was plagued by budget difficulties, scarcity of seasoned timber, and a lack of qualified tradesmen to work on such a massive vessel. According to John Langdon's papers, the "Dimentions of a 74 Gun Ship" include a length of 147' at the keel, 49' across the beam, and a height of 7' between decks. A Colonel James Hackett was appointed master builder under Langdon's supervision, and work plodded on for two years or so.<br />
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Difficulties in building notwithstanding, <i>America </i>would have two of the top contenders for the title of "Father of the United States Navy" as her prospective commanding officer. Captain John Barry (already famed for his command of the Continental warships <i>Lexington </i>and <i>Raleigh</i>) was appointed to the command on November 9, 1779, with instructions to "hasten, as much as will be in your power, the completing of that ship." Almost immediately, Barry would defeat a proposal to reduce America to a 54-gun razee (a ship-of-the-line that has had her top deck removed, essentially making her a heavy frigate), but little else would be accomplished in the coming months. On March 23, 1780, Barry applies for a leave of absence from Continental service and commands a short privateering cruise. Barry returns to the Continental Navy that September to assume command of the frigate <i>Alliance</i>, where he will, preside over the court-martial of Pierre Landais, <a href="http://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2017/12/may-27-1781-alliance-and-sloops.html" target="_blank">defeat two British vessels at once,</a> and eventually fight the final naval action of the American Revolution.<br />
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For the better part of another year, little to no work was done on <i>America</i>. Then on June 26, 1781, Captain John Paul Jones would be appointed to the command. Jones was ecstatic; still riding the waves of adulation from his storied victory over HMS <i>Serapis </i>and miraculously preserving the frigate <i>Ariel </i>through a massive storm on the Bay of Biscay, Jones thought command of a ship-of-the-line meant promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral was not far behind. He would be sorely disappointed on that score, but Jones threw himself into the assignment nonetheless. Finding money to pay for the construction plagued Jones just as it plagued Barry and Hackett before him, but he was determined to overcome. Jones himself paid workmen out of his own pocket, and even tried his hand at crowdfunding. Ever hopeful to get America to sea, Jones suggested to his friend Gouverneur Morris in Philadelphia, "a voluntary contribution of the public spirited ladies of Philadelphia, especially under the guidance of Mrs. Morris...I should hope also to give the ladies a ball on board soon afterwards at Philadelphia." When not studying tracts on naval tactics to prepare himself for flag rank, Jones repeatedly butted heads with Langdon regarding different details of <i>America's </i>construction, just as they had during the fitting out of the sloop-of-war <i>Ranger </i>several years prior. At one point as <i>America </i>stood vulnerable on the stocks, Jones received word of a rumored raiding party from a British frigate that planned to burn her. Jones immediately posted guards and repeatedly stood watch himself; there were scattered reports of boats with muffled oars in the night, but no attack came. John Paul Jones would be praised in a letter by John Adams (yet another "Father of the United States Navy"), who wrote, "The command of the <i>America </i>could not have been more judiciously bestowed, and it is with impatience that I wish her at sea. Nothing gives me so much surprise, or so much regret, as the inattention of our countrymen to their navy. It is to us a bulwark as essential as it is to Great Britain."<br />
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In the defense and Jones' and Adams' countrymen, they were essentially bankrupt. The Continental Congress had bills and debts piling up across the board, with the war continuing to drag on. When the French ship-of-the-line <i>Magnifique </i>was wrecked trying to enter Boston harbor on August 11, 1782, a way of crossing off one expense presented itself. Instead of worrying how to arm, provision, crew, and maintain a 74-gun ship, Congress decided to gift <i>America </i>to the French as a replacement for <i>Magnifique</i>. Jones was quite disappointed to say the least, but dedication to duty kept him moving forward; <i>America </i>was successfully launched on November 5, 1782. She would depart for France on June 24, 1783 commanded by M. le Chevalier de Macarty Martinge, late of the <i>Magnifique</i>. Her service in the French navy would be brief; an inspection revealed extensive dry rot (the direct result of building the ship with mostly green timber) in <i>America's </i>frame, and she was broken up in 1786. It was probably just as well: armed with a main battery of 18-pound cannon supported by 12 and 9-pounders for an estimated broadside weight of 513 pounds, <i>America </i>was woefully under armed for her rate. On the other hand, HMS <i>Bellona</i>, launched in 1760 as the prototype for the iconic British 74, was armed with a main battery of 32-pounders supported by 18 and 9-pounders, had an estimated broadside of 781 pounds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end of the beginning: the USN's first ship-of-the-line<br />
USS <i>Independence </i>as a receiving ship circa 1890.</td></tr>
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It would take thirty years and another war with Great Britain for the United States to launch another ship-of-the-line, this time to keep. On June 22, 1814, the Boston Navy Yard would launch USS <i>Independence</i>. While rated as a 74-gun third rate ship-of-the-line, <i>Independence </i>was immediately armed with 90 32-pound cannon and assigned to protect the approaches to Boston Harbor (and be blockaded therein by the British) alongside USS <i>Constitution</i>. While Old Ironsides <a href="http://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-letter-from-mr-midshipman-whipple.html" target="_blank">would break out of Boston for one last cruise,</a> <i>Independence </i>would not put to sea until after the War of 1812 had ended. In the interim, the Barbary Coast states (following British claims that they would sweep the oceans of United States vessels within six months) had once again begun raiding American vessels. USS <i>Independence </i>was to be the flagship of Commodore William Bainbridge and lead an American fleet into the Mediterranean to combat Barbary piracy yet again...only to discover that a squadron dispatched earlier under Commodore Stephen Decatur had already secured a new peace treaty under threat of military reprisal. <i>Independence </i>would eventually be razeed and become a 54-gun heavy frigate, albeit one of the fastest in the United States Navy. She would cruise to Europe, the Mediterranean, off South America, and into the Pacific as far as the Hawaiian Islands before being decommissioned for the last time on November 3, 1912 at the Mare Island Navy Yard.<br />
<br />
At the height of the Age of Sail, the strength of a nation's navy was often measured by the number of ships-of-the-line they had in service. Ships-of-the-line were large and powerful, intended primarily as force projection. While frigates tended to be more versatile and served a variety of purposes in the Continental Navy and early United States Navy, the development of American ships-of-the-line was a strong step towards making the United States a world renowned naval power.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Morgan, William James. <i>Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 7</i>. (Naval History Division, Department of the Navy, 1976.)<br />
2. Naval History and Heritage Command. <i>Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: America I</i> and <i>Independence II</i>, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html" target="_blank">https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html</a>. (June 16 and July 21, 2015.)<br />
3. Thomas, Evan. <i>John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy</i>. (Simon and Schuster, 2010.)<br />
4. Wikipedia. <i>HMS </i>Bellona <i>(1760)</i>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bellona_(1760)" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bellona_(1760)</a>. (January 18, 2018.)</div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-75601569243265842842018-03-31T17:36:00.000-04:002018-03-31T17:36:14.318-04:00Chronometers, Almanacs, and Computers<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFaGEzGLtSQG7u8D3U4svMP3a6ySevSSVmN40wOdEzZCE369wJ2t5ILwreqJYiideomyD7057B6PMV1ZAZsUmVbq3pZe_WfIIqJ4V4e0Z7dsJvSIpual9jS3EzAwQynjakQ7qr0bmVWJu/s1600/wreck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1024" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFaGEzGLtSQG7u8D3U4svMP3a6ySevSSVmN40wOdEzZCE369wJ2t5ILwreqJYiideomyD7057B6PMV1ZAZsUmVbq3pZe_WfIIqJ4V4e0Z7dsJvSIpual9jS3EzAwQynjakQ7qr0bmVWJu/s400/wreck.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An engraving depicting the destruction of Admiral Shovell's <br />
flagship HMS <i>Association </i>off the Scilly Isles in 1707.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On October 22, 1707 (November 2 by the modern calendar), a British fleet under the command of Sir Cloudesley Shovell was sailing home, following several successful actions in the Mediterranean. The return was plagued with constant squalls and poor visibility. Shovell and his senior officers believed they were just entering the English Channel, in a position to safely weather Ushant...unfortunately, the fleet was nearly 60 nautical miles off course, and bearing straight for the Scilly Isles. The error was not realized until the last moment, when four ships smashed into the rocks and sank, a fifth just barely steering clear. Nearly 2000 men would perish in the disaster, owing primarily due to the imprecise navigational techniques of the time. This incident was one of several factors leading to the passage of the Longitude Act of 1714 offering prizes up to £20,000 for a reliable and practical means for determining longitude at see to within half a degree. Calculating latitude north and south of the equator was relatively easy by taking a noon sighting of the sun, but longitude was a much more difficult problem to solve. (Latitude lines are perfectly parallel, while longitude lines grow steadily closer together from the equator until they converge at the poles.) To judge the various proposals that came in and dispense prize money as appropriate, a Board of Longitude was established, the commissioners of which included professors of mathematics and astronomy along with the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Astronomer Royal.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMzJ_gEKR59xkpLJLwKRH7iPB9Oak7XsOWwCxE0glADsHvGoaZulZgOcEdeATqVDlBuwdUwwrTGLH4cE1cc5X5PJTCCSWzxXebo1SF-Oyj1uLNjISKelDVRH9lvz9vFBw7rLowEVUjO41/s1600/H4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1036" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMzJ_gEKR59xkpLJLwKRH7iPB9Oak7XsOWwCxE0glADsHvGoaZulZgOcEdeATqVDlBuwdUwwrTGLH4cE1cc5X5PJTCCSWzxXebo1SF-Oyj1uLNjISKelDVRH9lvz9vFBw7rLowEVUjO41/s320/H4.png" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Harrison's H4 chronometer, known<br />
more commonly as "The Watch," completed<br />
in 1759. Harrison would eventually be<br />
awarded £10,000 for the Watch, a copy<br />
of which would accompany Captain<br />
James Cook on his second voyage of<br />
exploration between 1772 and 1775,</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the more promising proposals to come before the Board of Longitude were the chronometers designed and constructed by John Harrison. As early as the 1530's, navigators thought of using timekeepers to compute longitude; simply compare the apparent time at the ship with the apparent time at a particular location (such as Greenwich or Paris) and there you have it...every hour of time difference between the two locations being equal to 15° of longitude. The difficulty was in constructing a clock that could run steadily and remain accurate over long periods at sea; imprecise construction, difficulties with friction and wear, changes in temperature, changes in motion, changes in dampness, and a variety of other factors could and did cause clocks to speed up and slow down and otherwise throw off one's reckoning of local apparent time and the corresponding longitude. Harrison's chronometers, beginning with the unveiling of H1 in 1735 revolutionized this approach. Each of his first three chronometers included some form of innovation that allowed clocks to run more accurately...components made from two different metals that expand and contract at different rates to counteract the effect of temperature change, components that worked together without friction and thus did not require lubricant that would eventually wear out, and numerous others.<br />
<br />
The first three chronometers were relatively large, but H4 (the watch that would bring Harrison the most notoriety) was only 6.5 inches across at its widest and weighing only three pounds (compared with the two foot tall and 60 pound H3)...easily transported and stored at sea. In 1761, H4 underwent a trial at sea to Jamaica under Harrison's son William, and only lost five seconds of time in a passage of 81 days...making it accurate to within 1.25 minutes of longitude, WELL within the half a degree required to win the £20,000 prize. The Board of Longitude prevaricated for years, insisting that H4 undergo additional trials on land and that Harrison prove that H4's performance was not simply a fluke. He was eventually paid a prize of £10,000 after turning over all four timekeepers, submitting H4 to a supervised dismantling and explanation of its workings, and committing to construct two additional watches on H4's principles to prove that his methods were indeed sound. Sadly, Harrison was in his 70's and had grown steadily resentful of his treatment by the Board of Longitude. He completed another watch known as H5 (which was tested personally by King George III himself), and was an awarded an additional £8750 by Parliament, but never won the full 'official' longitude prize before his death in 1776. It would fall to future clock makers such as Larcum Kendall, John Arnold, Thomas Earnshaw, and Thomas Mudge to continue the development of marine chronometers through the end of the 1700's and into the 1800's.<br />
<br />
A paragraph or two is by no means sufficient to fully illustrate the contributions John Harrison made to navigation; numerous articles, books, and even a television miniseries has been made on the subject. (I have plans to discuss Harrison in more depth in future blog posts myself.) In many instances, the antagonist in a Harrison story is Nevil Maskelyne, a reverend turned scientist turned Astronomer Royal. While Harrison was busy refining his various timekeepers, Maskelyne became a proponent of the lunar distance method (measuring the distance between the moon and another celestial body, and then attempting to determine the apparent time at the observer's location and Greenwich to calculate longitude) while awaiting the transit of Venus across the Sun from the island of St. Helena in 1761. John Harrison and his son William would blame Maskelyne with increasing vehemence in the years to come for the Board of Longitude's reluctance to award the full prize, changing conditions for marine chronometers to win, and even seizing Harrison's first four chronometers as public property...an opinion that only worsened when Maskelyne was appointed Astronomer Royal (and thereby one of the Commissioners of the Board of Longitude) in 1765. Despite being vilified somewhat unfairly by Harrison supporters and historians, Maskelyne seems to have supported the chronometer method as well. Shortly after becoming Astronomer Royal, Maskelyne writes to his brother in India, "The Board of Longitude are also desirous to encourage the making of watches after Mr. Harrison's method. They have engaged a person to make one. I have had the drawings engraved here under my eye & shall publish them in a short space of time."<br />
<br />
The biggest issue with Harrison's chronometers was their practicality, and whether an instrument as precise as H4 could be duplicated and made available to the general public. Certainly, the basic multiplication needed to determine longitude from such a device was easy enough, but early marine chronometers were prohibitively expensive. Larcum Kendall, the person referred to in Maskelyne's letter, is able to create several chronometers using Harrison's principles, but later says, "I am of the opinion that it would be many years (if ever) before a watch of the same kind with that of Mr. Harrison's could be afforded for £200." For a bit of perspective, the most junior Post Captain in the Royal Navy could expect a daily wage of six shillings...it would take him 667 days to accumulate enough money to purchase such a chronometer. Kendall did attempt several less expensive variants, but these came with a corresponding drop in quality and a loss of accuracy. Years later in the mid-1780's, at the height of competition between the chronometers of Arnold an Earnshaw, marine chronometers still cost between £65 and £80, whereas a mahogany sextant and the latest Nautical Almanac could be had for less than £6 in 1775...and the sun, moon, and stars were available free of charge.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisk393CuUK5B5cXbj9dVxfzT7vUc2xdZ76g16N5T2olUqtv8d2alc9NGdK-oinL7AuXYqRLhY0HA0JHHClQ3XkF2lQH0aRC8Fz0o59Dnp8R22rxMilMq_v84bCTRPddQwrflcrbGTYLWo/s1600/lunars.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisk393CuUK5B5cXbj9dVxfzT7vUc2xdZ76g16N5T2olUqtv8d2alc9NGdK-oinL7AuXYqRLhY0HA0JHHClQ3XkF2lQH0aRC8Fz0o59Dnp8R22rxMilMq_v84bCTRPddQwrflcrbGTYLWo/s640/lunars.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Computation of a lunar distance observation for longitude, likely made by an<br />
East Indiaman, 4 October 1772.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Speaking of the Nautical Almanac (properly known as the <i>Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris</i>), this was the brainchild of Nevil Maskelyne and first published in 1766, shortly after he took office as the Astronomer Royal. The Nautical Almanac contained twelve pages of calculations for each month, including data on the Sun, Moon, the most prominent stars, the movements of the Jovian satellites, eclipses and occultations, etc. The point Maskelyne's almanac was to cut down on the time required to compute latitude and longitude at sea by calculating the positions and movements of celestial bodies in advance, with special emphasis on those required for the lunar distance method. Paired with the <i>Tables Requisite to be Used with the Astronomical and Nautical Ephemeris</i> (another publication spearheaded by Maskelyne), the time required to "do your lunars" was reduced from nearly four hours to a much more practical thirty minutes. Following its initial release in 1766, a new edition of the Nautical Almanac was to be published for every year, and these were eventually published as far as ten years in advance to be of more utility on long-term voyages such as the three year exploratory missions of Captain James Cook. Initially, two computers were hired to calculate the tables for the first six months of a given year, two others to calculate the second six months, and a fifth person to act as a comparer and check all the tables for errors. Pay for computers started at £70 per almanac in 1766, though this was increased to £75 the following year.<br />
<br />
One of the more unexpected contributors to the Nautical Almanac was a woman named Mary Edwards. She was the wife of a clergyman/mathematician/instrument maker who used computing work as early as 1773 to supplement his family's income. John Edwards came to an unfortunate end in 1784, inhaling a lungful of arsenic fumes while experimenting with mirrors for a new telescope. Desperate to provide for herself and her children, Mary wrote directly to the Astronomer Royal asking to continue computing for the Nautical Almanac. There are strong indications that Mary was doing most of the computing for her husband prior to his death, and the Board of Longitude begins paying her openly starting in 1784. Over the next few years, Mary's reputation for reliability and accuracy would grow; where other computers would take several months to finish eight weeks worth of tables, Mary tended to complete the work in less than half the time. By the early 1790's, the Nautical Almanac was being published ten years in advance, so the Board of Longitude decided to briefly halt the computing work. Mary appealed to the Board of Longitude for lost income, which was endorsed by Nevil Maskelyne itself, and was successful. By 1809, Mary had been promoted to comparer, checking the work of the other computers; this came with an increase in pay from £225 per almanac to £250 (the dramatic increase in wages from the 1767 edition a direct result of the protracted wars with France). She would serve in this capacity until Maskelyne's death in 1811, when she would have to appeal (again successfully) to the Board of Longitude and new Astronomer Royal for continued work. Mary Edwards died herself in 1815, but not before passing her mathematical proficiency to her daughter Eliza, who continued as a computer until work on the Nautical Almanac was centralized as a form of civil service in 1832 and thus closed to women.<br />
<br />
In the end, no one method ever "officially" won the Longitude Prize established by Queen Anne. Many say that John Harrison deserves the honor, despite the prohibitive price of early marine chronometers. Chronometers came into more prominence closer to the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, though many mariners used them in tandem with the lunar distance method to be even more certain of their position at sea. Well into the 20th century, until the advent of GPS, mariners could accurately plot their way across the oceans with a trusty chronometer, sextant, and almanac. Notwithstanding "the fascinating modern age we live in," these navigational skills of the late 1700's still hold up today.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. His Majesty in Council. <i>Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea, The Eleventh Edition. </i>(1772.)<br />
2. Howse, Derek. <i>Nevil Maskelyne: The Seaman's Astronomer</i>. (Cambridge University Press, 1989.)<br />
3. Pain, Stephanie. "Lady of Longitude." <i>New Scientist</i> 13 March 2004: Web.<br />
4. Sobel, Dava. <i>Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time</i>. (The Penguin Group, 1995.)</div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-30592010369382002122018-02-23T15:47:00.001-05:002018-02-24T11:23:22.283-05:00Patriot of the Virginia Navy<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsbAWfUpxzAg4gSQCNn3MyCNkST92-eigzUayTbcM5FEesW-WAn8BXcqbCEET3B6EEJZUpdiWY2-hfFPs1SaYvsOFDCVEtbJBWvVHSt3aG2z1Xuchh81ufxMMfwt2OfPuqgMu3LP6dm9e/s1600/sultana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="699" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsbAWfUpxzAg4gSQCNn3MyCNkST92-eigzUayTbcM5FEesW-WAn8BXcqbCEET3B6EEJZUpdiWY2-hfFPs1SaYvsOFDCVEtbJBWvVHSt3aG2z1Xuchh81ufxMMfwt2OfPuqgMu3LP6dm9e/s400/sultana.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sultana</i>, a replica of an 18th century British schooner, of<br />
similar size and design to the pilot schooners <i>Liberty</i><br />
and <i>Patriot</i>. <i>Sultana </i>currently operates out of Maryland<br />
as an education and research vessel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first few months of the American Revolution proved rather troublesome for the patriots of Virginia, as the erstwhile Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, gathered the small forces of the Royal Navy at hand to raid rebel plantations and towns. In early December, members of the Virginia Convention voted to establish a naval force of their own. As part of a larger ordnance increasing the colony's defenses was the following: "Be it ordained, That the Committee of Safety shall, and they are hereby empowered and required to provide, from time to time, such and so many Armed Vessels as they may judge necessary for the protection of the several Rivers in this Colony, in the best manner the circumstances of the country will admit." One of the first men commissioned in the nascent Virginia Navy was Captain James Barron of Hampton, who was tasked with outfitting three vessels for the new service.<br />
<br />
One of the three vessels was the converted pilot schooner <i>Liberty, </i>commanded through much of the war by James Barron, and noteworthy for being the only Virginia vessel to survive the entirety of the conflict. <i>Liberty </i>was a square-sterned schooner of about 60 tons burthen, mounting ten two-pound swivel guns. The pilot boat <i>Patriot </i>was also most likely outfitted by Barron; she is described as also being schooner rigged and mounted eight two-pound swivels, purportedly arranged so well that she was able to repeatedly capture larger and heavily armed vessels. By March of 1776, <i>Patriot </i>is under the command of James's brother Richard Barron, who would be responsible for several captures early in the war. In June, <i>Patriot </i>is cruising with <i>Liberty </i>near the Virginia Capes when the Barron brothers encounter the transport ship <i>Oxford</i>, recently seized by 217 Highlanders from a Continental Navy prize crew. After giving the Highlanders false information on where to find Lord Dunmore, the crews of the two Virginia schooners storm the <i>Oxford </i>around midnight, and recapture the Highlanders for good. The next month, <i>Patriot </i>captures a sloop bound for Providence loaded with pineapples and limes, along with two carriage guns and fourteen swivels to boot. (Historian Robert Armistead Stewart suggests the sloops guns were all unmounted, otherwise the capture should have proven much more difficult.)<br />
<br />
One of <i>Patriot's </i>harder fought engagements would take place in October of 1778 as the schooner sailed with a small squadron consisting of the Virginia vessels <i>Tartar </i>and <i>Dragon</i>. The three ships, under the overall command of Captain Richard Taylor, were cruising in the vicinity of Cape Henry when they encountered the British privateer <i>Lord Howe.</i> <i>Lord Howe</i>, carrying eight four-pound carriage guns and more than enough men to serve them, initially mistook the Virginians for a trio of small merchant vessels. She came upon the <i>Dragon </i>first, whose crew housed their guns and hid from view to draw the enemy in closer. <i> Lord Howe</i> soon discovered she was in the midst of three armed vessels, and immediately fired on <i>Dragon </i>to cover her escape. Captain Taylor boards the <i>Patriot</i>, realizing she is the fastest of his three vessels, and personally leads the chase. At the helm is Cesar Tarrant, an enslaved river pilot owned by one Carter Tarrant of Hampton. Taylor himself would later remark on Cesar's gallantry and steadiness under fire. As the engagement progresses, Tarrant runs <i>Patriot </i>on board of the British privateer, her jib boom smashing through and entangling in one of <i>Lord Howe's</i> gallery windows. The Virginians immediately attempt to board, spurred on by <i>Patriot's </i>Captain Hamilton. This attempt and several others fail to carry <i>Lord Howe</i> and with no support forthcoming from the squadron (<i>Dragon </i>inexplicably does not attempt to join the action, and contrary winds prevent <i>Tartar </i>from approaching though she attempts to open fire from long range), Taylor orders <i>Patriot </i>to sheer off and <i>Lord Howe</i> leaves the area. The action resulted in one Virginian killed and eight wounded, one of whom by the name of William Jennings left a written account of the battle, which the blogger is most eager to track down. Captain Taylor himself takes a musket ball which shatters his femur...difficulty in recovering from this wound will result in his resignation from the service.<br />
<br />
Cesar Tarrant continues to serve on vessels of the Virginia Navy throughout the war, and following the death of Carter, his ownership passes to his master's widow. However, on November 14, 1789, Cesar appears in an act of the Virginia General Assembly: "WHEREAS it is represented to this Assembly, that Mary Tarrant of the county of Elizabeth City, hath her life in a negro named Cesar, who entered very early into the service of his country, and continued to pilot the armed vessels of this state during the late war; in consideration of which meritorious services it is judged expedient to purchase the freedom of the said Cesar." Following the granting of his freedom, Cesar purchases a lot in Hampton from which he continues to work as a river pilot, purportedly respected by the white pilots living nearby. Four years later, Cesar is able to purchase the freedom of his wife Lucy and the youngest of their three children, Nancy. Cesar dies in 1798, having been unable to free his other two children. Not giving up on the family, Lucy is finally able to purchase freedom for their daughter Lydia in 1823, though the fate of their son Sampson remains unknown.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhTFFKMvwpaD0L0foj8vsvNfSD-lmMae0oFXcxy9KedifQNdblG2lZoSGtCoF3DcOTkmG8SD3ZEqUiSfUkU2AWDB28ov_l6yh6mL-WdYX6MjIVDgAzuJyO3BxNXDthz8oUlJnV_Fp4AEt/s1600/barron.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhTFFKMvwpaD0L0foj8vsvNfSD-lmMae0oFXcxy9KedifQNdblG2lZoSGtCoF3DcOTkmG8SD3ZEqUiSfUkU2AWDB28ov_l6yh6mL-WdYX6MjIVDgAzuJyO3BxNXDthz8oUlJnV_Fp4AEt/s320/barron.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commodore James Barron (the Younger),<br />
later of the United States Navy, but as a<br />
young man, he witnesses the final action<br />
of the schooner <i>Patriot</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>Patriot's </i>story would have its own bittersweet ending. In the spring of 1781, the Commonwealth of Virginia was occupied by British forces under Benedict Arnold, who was eventually reinforced by Generals Phillips and Cornwallis. At the time, <i>Patriot </i>was one of few vessels Virginia had afloat (<i>Liberty </i>had been submerged around this time for protection, and most of the rest of the Virginia Navy had been destroyed at Osbourne's Ferry), and was under the command of one James Watkins. Young James Barron (son of <i>Liberty's </i>famed captain of the same name, and who later earned the dubious distinction of becoming "The Man Who Killed Decatur") witnessed <i>Patriot's </i>final action from the shore with his older brother Samuel and an enslaved river pilot known as "Captain Starlins." In the vicinity of Warwick County around 11 o'clock one Sunday morning, <i>Patriot </i>came up with a British sloop of about 90 tons. Unbeknownst to the Virginia crew, the British vessel had a sea anchor over her starboard side to intentionally slow her down. When <i>Patriot </i>came alongside, fifty British Marines previously concealed by the sloop's gunwales appeared and commenced a withering small arms fire. <i>Patriot </i>held out for nearly two hours, even attempted to board the enemy twice, until she received a direct broadside from the sloop and was compelled to strike her colors. The Virginian crew (including a free African-American named Joseph Ranger) were sent to Charleston and imprisoned, where Captain Watkins would die in captivity.<br />
<br />
<i>Patriot </i>herself would be incorporated into Cornwallis's fleet and eventually awarded to the French after the British surrender at Yorktown. Towards the end of his article in the Virginia Historical Register, James Barron the Younger states that she ended up serving as a French government packet in the vicinity of Cape Francois. With the end of the American Revolution in 1783, a second Virginia vessel named <i>Patriot </i>would serve alongside the refloated <i>Liberty </i>as a revenue cutter until both vessels were sold upon the ratification of the United States Constitution. While no ship of the Virginia Navy would be nearly as impressive as a British ship-of-the-line, or even a proper frigate, smaller vessels such as the <i>Liberty </i>and <i>Patriot </i>nonetheless played an important and memorable role in the Commonwealth's fight for independence.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Cross, Charles Brinson. <i>A Navy for Virginia: A Colony's Fleet in the Revolution</i>. (The Virginia Independence Bicentennial Convention, 1981.)<br />
2. Stewart, Robert Armistead. <i>The History of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution</i>. (Richmond, Mitchell, & Hotchkiss, 1934.)<br />
3. Tormey, James. <i>The Virginia Navy in the Revolution: Hampton's Commodore James Barron and His Fleet</i>. (The History Press, 2016.)<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-68762634547787600122018-01-31T21:48:00.000-05:002018-01-31T21:48:30.987-05:00The Contraband Man<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLuub6vFsAGtWRKFchBDwneqTPxavpKbs5qSp8YYT1IMMbhXWekNDYZRlD19NwpMFKhxRmfs-DL7-FB2W8dtl1_k7c-ABsysNyQ77JmkCbNOrR7a4F25MMTntBrWwZjCKUnyubCTr5VFf/s1600/dunmore.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="373" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLuub6vFsAGtWRKFchBDwneqTPxavpKbs5qSp8YYT1IMMbhXWekNDYZRlD19NwpMFKhxRmfs-DL7-FB2W8dtl1_k7c-ABsysNyQ77JmkCbNOrR7a4F25MMTntBrWwZjCKUnyubCTr5VFf/s320/dunmore.png" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore,<br />
Virginia's last Royal Governor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After fleeing the capital city of Williamsburg in the summer of 1775, Virginia's erstwhile Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore assembles a flotilla of small vessels to serve as a refuge for loyal British subjects and to strike back at the increasingly rebellious colonists. In early 1776, Dunmore writes to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Germaine describing some new recruits:<br />
<br />
"I had frequent occasion to mention a Family of the name of Goodrich, natives of this Colony, this is a Spirited, Active, industrious Family, and it has cost me much trouble and pains (knowing the Service they would be of to which ever Party they joined) to secure them in His Majesty's Service...I have now five of their Vessels employed constantly running up the Rivers, where they have orders to Seize, burn, or destroy every thing that is Water born, that they can get at."<br />
<br />
Dunmore's "trouble and pains" certainly pay off, as the "Spirited, Active, industrious Family" would prove quite troublesome on the waters of Virginia and the other soon-to-be United States throughout the American Revolution.<br />
<br />
By the outbreak of the American Revolution, the family of John Goodrich, Sr. had been in Virginia for nearly 150 years. John himself owned a house in Portsmouth and a plantation in Nansemond County. He was well-known as a merchant, shipowner, and mariner with a penchant for smuggling. When it is discovered that a shipment of vital gunpowder has been imported to St. Eustatius by May 1775, revolutionary Virginians hope to put Goodrich's services to use. Writing from Philadelphia, Richard Henry Lee suggests his compatriots "employ a Mr. Goodrich...a famous Contraband Man to send immediately some swift sailing Pilot Boats for 20 or 30,000 weight [of gunpowder] to supply the Countries." Goodrich employs two of his seven sons, William and Bartlett, to carry out the mission; they are entrusted with some 5000 pounds sterling in colonial bills of exchange and sent to the West Indies. By October, the Goodriches successfully return with between 4000 and 5000 pounds of gunpowder with which to support the cause of liberty.<br />
<br />
And that's when they run into trouble.<br />
<br />
Lord Dunmore is understandably leery of the Virginia rebels supplying themselves of military stores. Intercepted correspondence leads him to suspect the Goodrich family in the smuggling of gunpowder. John Goodrich, Sr. and his brother-in-law are apprehended and brought before Dunmore. Under questioning, they reveal that William Goodrich had already returned with the first load of powder, but apparently more awaited the Virginia patriots in St. Eustatius. In an audience with the governor, Goodrich, Sr. insists that his family undertook the mission out of the prospect of "good freight" for his family vessels rather than disloyalty. He offers to travel to St. Eustatius himself to retrieve surplus bills of exchange and the remainder of the gunpowder, so long as William is "arrested" for his own protection. Goodrich, Sr. is granted a writ of safe passage by Dunmore, but doesn't get far offshore before he is stopped by the HMS <i>Kingfisher </i>(who refuse to honor the safe passage) and sent back to the governor's custody. William himself is sent to St. Eustatius aboard HMS <i>Otter</i>, and succeeds in returning with 500 pounds in colonial bills of exchange. Father and son are released on parole with instructions to report aboard Dunmore's ship every ten days.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWa2lN_rNsprMy6OP0d1mEiNiG_j_ly2-dSH8kI0d9qm5XJCZYvy5jUfV3nppI7BQsIX0zUpTJ2MJRhqRONwmink4wiinauF8u-DYwBSUc6nGDiXOkSkz4BRXoc0GmINsUh0qxcIQv6BS/s1600/VUL01+-+Barron.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWa2lN_rNsprMy6OP0d1mEiNiG_j_ly2-dSH8kI0d9qm5XJCZYvy5jUfV3nppI7BQsIX0zUpTJ2MJRhqRONwmink4wiinauF8u-DYwBSUc6nGDiXOkSkz4BRXoc0GmINsUh0qxcIQv6BS/s320/VUL01+-+Barron.png" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Barron, Captain of the armed<br />
schooner <i>Liberty </i>and eventually<br />
Commodore of the Virginia Navy.<br />
Sometime before January 16, 1776,<br />
Barron seizes the sloop <i>Dorothy</i>,<br />
captained by Bartlett Goodrich.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Goodrich's so-called "good freight" gets him in trouble with the patriots as well. Apparently while on the gunpowder mission, William Goodrich met with a British merchantman from Liverpool, and took aboard a multitude of items, "consisting of checks, cotton, ginghams, striped Holland, jeans, Scotch thread, printed linens, Irish linens, white lead, and linseed oil." All of these items were banned by the Acts of Association who refused to import goods from Great Britain until colonial grievances had been addressed. Knowing the foibles of the Association, William altered numerous manufacturer's marks, packaged the items in rum puncheons, and carried them back to Virginia where his father attempted to sell the cargo as "Dutch goods." When questioned by the Committee of Safety and later the Virginia Convention, the Goodriches later claim they were forced to take on the British goods in order to secure the gunpowder. Not buying it, the Virginia Convention declares that the Goodriches had intentionally violated the Association.<br />
<br />
Faced with the erstwhile Royal Governor on one side and angry patriots on the other, the Goodriches were forced to choose a side. John Sr. remarked that he was "so harassed on both sides that he did not value his life." That being said, Goodrich and his sons (five of whom had reached adulthood) sided with Lord Dunmore. From that point forward, armed vessels commanded by the Goodrich family would prey on patriot plantations and shipping from Newfoundland down to Charleston.<br />
<br />
The Goodriches begin by raiding rebel held plantations along Virginia's waterways (stealing provisions for Dunmore's forces) and capturing rebel shipping. During the summer 1776 campaign for Gwynn's Island, Bridges Goodrich is in command of one of Lord Dunmore's armed tenders. John Sr. is given command of the privateer sloop <i>Lilly</i>, and expands operations to North Carolina. On April 14, <i>Lilly </i>is off Ocracoke Island when she meets the North Carolina schooner <i>Polly </i>loaded with corn and staves for the island of Madeira. Goodrich himself is known by the people of North Carolina, though his new loyalties come as a surprise; <i>Polly's </i>captain is invited aboard only to discover that his ship is being seized for King George. Not taking the event lying down, that night four whale boats full of North Carolina patriots manage to board <i>Lilly</i>, capture Goodrich, and retake the <i>Polly</i>. Goodrich is sent back to Virginia, where he is found guilty of "bearing arms against the Colony and aiding and assisting the Enemy," and is promptly imprisoned in far-off Albemarle County. Bartlett will join him in captivity, but both Goodriches will escape by the end of 1778 where they are found in active service of the British.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DbseClng-L4nwG4ymgqaGh8L2uqtXGZEoVLXTkKsaOKBY_k4Ickoj86KTeYRJ1M3m1-mMaSYb65XrbkLadb0_PvOXXbqs4ZU-6EI19lZK30ht2ZHAmUAk6XhDcp5Z0JlkJV1vO2vPD4E/s1600/privateer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="1134" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DbseClng-L4nwG4ymgqaGh8L2uqtXGZEoVLXTkKsaOKBY_k4Ickoj86KTeYRJ1M3m1-mMaSYb65XrbkLadb0_PvOXXbqs4ZU-6EI19lZK30ht2ZHAmUAk6XhDcp5Z0JlkJV1vO2vPD4E/s640/privateer.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of a painting by Nowland Van Powell depicting an American privateer battling a British vessel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For the next several years, the Goodriches will act as British privateers up and down the Atlantic coast, calling for direct responses from Virginia and Continental forces alike:<br />
<br />
In the spring of 1778, the Virginia ships Tartar, Dragon, and Southampton are dispatched on commerce protection duty. They sail with orders to cruise "backwards & forwards within the Limits of a few Leagues North of Cape Charles keeping always within fifty Leagues of the land and using their utmost diligence to capture the Enemys Cruisers, particularly those Commanded by the Goodriches." On June 29, the North Carolina Executive is informed that a Goodrich vessel supported by a brig drove two patriot vessels ashore at Hunting Quarter. By November, the Naval Committee of Congress is writes, "At present we consider it an Object of Importance to destroy the infamous Goodrich, who has much infested our coast, cruising with a squadron of 4, 5, or 6 armed vessels, from 16 guns downward from Egg Harbor to Cape Fear, North Carolina."<br />
<br />
On May 16, 1779, approximately 30 British vessels under the command of Commodore Sir George Collier entered Chesapeake Bay. For the remainder of the month, Collier's ships cruised the waters of southeast Virginia, taking and destroying nearly every bit of patriot property they found afloat and ashore. 1800 British troops under General Mathew destroyed the town of Suffolk, raided Portsmouth, and burned the shipbuilding facilities at Gosport. Among the forces at Collier's disposal were four privateer vessels commanded by the Goodriches. Following Collier's withdrawal, the Goodriches remained behind to plunder plantations, burn warehouses, and attack shipping with support of the 16-gun HMS Otter and the 12-gun HMS Harlem. Among their victims was the galley Protector of the Virginia Navy: the Goodriches came upon the vessel as she was careened in the Great Wicomico River for repairs; the crew put up what resistance they could with musket fire, but were soon driven off and their vessel burned.<br />
<br />
Towards the end of June, Richard Henry Lee described the ongoing depredations to a prominent Continental officer, and included a suggestion of what to do about it: "The <i>Confederacy </i>& the <i>Boston </i>can with infinite ease destroy the enemies vessels that are doing us so much injury, causing us so much expense by frequent calls for Militia – They have already burnt several private houses and one public warehouse with between 2 & 300 hhds of Tobo. and carried off such plunder & many negroes – Soon as they see the Militia gathering they embark and go to another unguarded place. They have 6 vessels, <i>Otter </i>16, <i>Harlem </i>12 Guns Kings Vessels – <i>Dunmore </i>16, Schooner <i>Hammond </i>14, <i>Lord North</i> 12 Guns & <i>Fin Castle</i> 2 three pounders, The 4 last are Guntridges [Goodrich’s] Pirates." <br />
<br />
In October 1780, Virginia would be invaded again, this time by a squadron under Commodore Clark Gayton supporting a land force commanded by Major General Leslie. Once again, the remnants of Virginia's naval force would either be swept aside or sent scurrying into shallow creeks for shelter from the British. Included in Gayton's order of battle is the 20-gun privateer <i>Arbuthnot </i>commanded by John Goodrich, Sr., who had apparently joined the expedition following Sir Henry Clinton's agreement to appoint a vessel for the removal of Goodrich's wife and the family of one of his sons, all of whom had remained in Virginia since the start of the war.<br />
<br />
I haven't found any direct references to the Goodriches beyond 1780, but given their past record, I imagine they remained active in the King's service until the ratification of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The Goodriches were not the only people to place their loyalty to King George over an extensive family history in Virginia, but their efforts on the water set them apart. Aside from a relatively brief period of captivity for two of them, it seems that the Goodriches made it through the war relatively unscathed. One wonders if they were ever rewarded for their dedication to King and Country...<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Cross, Charles Brinson. <i>A Navy For Virginia: A Colony's Fleet in the Revolution</i>. (Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1981).<br />
2. Stewart, Robert Armistead. <i>The History of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution</i>. (Richmond, Mitchell, & Hotchkiss, 1934).<br />
3. Tormey, James. <i>The Virginia Navy in the Revolution: Hampton's Commodore James Barron and His Fleet</i>. (The History Press, 2016).</div>
</div>
virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-61736418828705212112018-01-12T13:53:00.001-05:002018-01-12T13:53:27.686-05:00A Letter From Mr. Midshipman Whipple<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A page from Midshipman Whipple's letterbook detailing a<br />
cruise of USS <i>Constitution</i> in early 1815.<br />
(Samuel Eliot Morison Memorial Library - Boston, MA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Most anyone who has read the historic fiction of C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian, and the others of their ilk can likely relate at least a half dozen amusing anecdotes of life at sea. From Wellington's sister interrupting the captain's morning walk on the quarterdeck, to two castaways being rescued by a tribe of rebellious Polynesian women, these random occurrences somehow make the stories seem more real. Imagine my surprise and delight when I came across multiple instances of these random "plot twists" in a real narrative from the early United States Navy.<br />
<br />
In July 2016, I was fortunate to travel to the USS <i>Constitution</i> Museum in Boston on a research trip funded by Colonial Williamsburg. Part of my time there was spent at the Samuel Eliot Morison Memorial Library, where Matthew Brenckle allowed me to examine the letterbook of Pardon Mawney Whipple, a young officer in the USN. In addition to time aboard <i>Constitution</i>, Whipple serves aboard USS <i>Washington</i> (one of America's first ships-of-the-line), USS <i>Spark</i>, and USS <i>Colombus</i> throughout his career and rises to the rank of lieutenant in 1820.<br />
<br />
Whipple's first sea duty begins as a midshipman aboard <i>Constitution</i> in 1813, while the frigate is being repaired following her engagement with HMS <i>Java</i>. Many of Whipple's letters are written to a female identified only as "My Dear Friend," the first of which begins with Whipple's pride at securing a berth aboard <i>Constitution</i>, and his eagerness to "join the worthy sons of Neptune to share in a perilous war on his wide domain," and adds, "Should I be so fortunate as to prove serviceable to my country I shall be in the zenith of my glory."<br />
<br />
One of my favorite letters from the collection (a full transcript is available from the museum website, see the link in my source list below) details <i>Constitution's</i> cruise in early 1815, her last before the War of 1812 ended. Ever since Napoleon had abdicated and been exiled to Elba (though we would soon discover this was not a permanent arrangement) in the spring of 1814, the military might of Great Britain had been turned on the United States quite effectively. The Royal Navy had attempted to blockade American ports since the beginning of the war, and with additional resources freed from European campaigns, these blockades grew even tighter.<br />
<br />
However, it seems this proved only a minor impediment to <i>Constitution</i>. Midshipman Whipple writes, "We left Boston under circumstances very similar to our former cruise, both times we run out in the night & eluded the enemy who were blockading us – our first prize was made about a week out – her name being the <u>Lord</u> <u>Nelson</u> seemed ominous among the sailors, who said that if we captured a Lord so soon, our cruise would be successful --" It may not be whistling to encourage the wind, but it makes for some good luck nonetheless.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6xZkWeh5IXrnx-2fyPXCIczC9e8-xhk0iAqxTcPiry01lPUMHg7-se4_4j9kmp7mCMLFrtGUCwn_BOEEbvgpbaOeb7aOPb-oX6WFsRpvH9pyyZ3OTTNzcG4ut5EnAlcnfOBdxZAeOVw0/s1600/tigers01.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6xZkWeh5IXrnx-2fyPXCIczC9e8-xhk0iAqxTcPiry01lPUMHg7-se4_4j9kmp7mCMLFrtGUCwn_BOEEbvgpbaOeb7aOPb-oX6WFsRpvH9pyyZ3OTTNzcG4ut5EnAlcnfOBdxZAeOVw0/s320/tigers01.png" width="320" /></a></div>
"We next made a capture on the coast of Portugal which we man’d & sent in & have now just reaped the golden fruit, which is much the sweetest part of Warfare, unfortunately however not without the ruin of a fellow being, who was a jolly scotchman, & got most gloriously drunk the night after the capture & consoled himself with the common remark that it was the fortune of war – on board of this vessel we found two fine young Tigers, which had been in some measure domesticated & were of great amusement to the Sailors." Early in the cruise, <i>Constitution </i>has taken two prizes (one of them a "peer"), partied with a Scot merchant skipper, and taken in some new mascots. Whipple's letter will soon take a more serious turn.<br />
<br />
On February 20, 1815, <i>Constitution</i> is two hundred miles ENE of Madeira when she fell in with two British men-of-war, the 34-gun HMS <i>Cyane</i> and the 20-gun HMS <i>Levant</i>. The armament of both vessels consisted primarily of carronades, able to fire a combined broadside of 804 pounds, albeit at short range. <i>Constitution</i> at the time had a broadside weight of 704 pounds, more than half of which were the long 24-pound cannon that had served her so well earlier in the war. Midshipman Whipple includes sections of the log recorded by Captain Charles Stewart to "give you a better idea of the result of this discovery."<br />
<br />
The British vessels were approximately ten miles apart when they were first sighted between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, and are able to join by 5:45. They form a line with <i>Levant</i> in the lead, and a separation of about 100 yards between them. <i>Constitution</i> draws up on <i>Cyane's</i> weather side at a distance of three hundred yards around 6:00 PM. Five minutes later, the action begins and continues for about fifteen minutes. As the British fire slackens, Stewart holds fire to allow the smoke to lift; he finds that <i>Constitution</i> is now abreast of <i>Levant</i> with the <i>Cyane</i> astern and trying for his port quarter. <i>Constitution</i> fires her port battery on <i>Levant</i>, then took after sails aback to renew fire against <i>Cyane</i>. After another ten minutes, the British fire slackens again, and <i>Levant</i> is seen bearing up before the wind. Stewart makes sail ahead and is able to rake <i>Levant</i> from astern twice with the port guns. <i>Cyane</i> is seen in the process of wearing, leading <i>Constitution</i> to immediately wear as well; the heavy frigate catches <i>Cyane</i> halfway through the maneuver and is able to rake her with the starboard battery. At 6:50, <i>Cyane</i> strikes, and Stewart hurriedly dispatches a prize crew before making sail after the fleeing <i>Levant</i>. By 8:30, <i>Levant</i> is met returning to the conflict. Around 8:50, the two ships exchange broadsides on opposite tacks, at which point <i>Constitution</i> is able to come under <i>Levant's</i> stern and rakes her again. No match for <i>Constitution</i> on her own, <i>Levant</i> attempts to flee again, only to be overtaken and compelled to surrender by 10:00 PM.<br />
<br />
As reported by Captain Stewart, <i>Constitution</i> suffers three killed and twelve wounded, <i>Cyane</i> suffers twelve killed and twenty-six wounded, and <i>Levant</i> suffers twenty-three killed and sixteen wounded. In his log and report, Captain Stewart alludes to the British holding an advantage of slightly superior combined weight of metal carried by a divided force, but Alfred Thayer Mahan finds himself unable to recognize what this advantage actually was. He does however describe Stewart's management of the <i>Constitution</i> in action as "strikingly clever and prompt."<br />
<br />
Following the battle, Midshipman Whipple is put in charge of one of the boats ferrying prisoners from the captured ships. The young man who once looked forward to being at the zenith of his glory has this to say of the battle's aftermath, "Their spars & rigging were very much cut to pieces, particularly the Levant, whose mizenmast & all the appendant spars were wounded or carried away –several shots between wind & water; this being the first action I was ever in, you can imagine to yourself what were my feelings to hear the horrid groans of the wounded & dying, & the scene that presented itself the next morning at daylight on board of the Levant, the quarter deck seemed to have the appearance of a slaughter house, the wheel having been carried away by a shot – killed & wounded all around it, the mizenmast for several feet was covered with brains & blood; pieces of bones, fingers, & large pieces of flesh were picked up from off the deck T’was a long time before I could familiarize myself to these & if possible more horrible scenes that I witnessed, In a few days we were enabled to get our prize in tolerable good repair under Lieut. Shubrick –"<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4tHnszlPqQlk4tamzkagkSBEQRX4S9GOVTJMkN9V20Hd0cJRqV7Un1pjx7xjrPDtAX3L6S2i6ZM3HlVS6RDxYOfXJR6SP8GjkjHpH_hRBVK1GEY3VJmM0BakIQnSCVU3qmOAokQudHbe/s1600/constitution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1600" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4tHnszlPqQlk4tamzkagkSBEQRX4S9GOVTJMkN9V20Hd0cJRqV7Un1pjx7xjrPDtAX3L6S2i6ZM3HlVS6RDxYOfXJR6SP8GjkjHpH_hRBVK1GEY3VJmM0BakIQnSCVU3qmOAokQudHbe/s640/constitution.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Capture of H.M. Ships <i>Cyane</i> and <i>Levant</i>, by the U.S. Frigate <i>Constitution</i>," by Thomas Birch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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"In consequence of the strict blockade of the whole of our coast," Whipple explains, "It was thought there would be too great risk to proceed directly for the United States however anxious we were to get our prizes into port, to our universal regret therefore, Captain Stewart concluded it would be more prudent to proceed to some of the neutral Islands & land the prisoners, at the expiration of which time, peace between the governments would probably take place, & we should by that means stand a good chance of saving our prizes, Fate ordered it otherwise, we steered for the Cape de Verds, where we arrived on 11th of March." The next day, a sizable British squadron consisting of the razees HMS <i>Leander</i> and <i>New Castle</i> along with the heavy frigate HMS <i>Acasta</i> is seen making for the port. <i>Constitution</i> and her charges attempt to flee, reasonably not eager to face a much heavier force with a pair of prizes stringing along behind.. <i>Cyane</i> goes unmolested, but <i>Levant</i> is recaptured under the guns of Port Praya. Whipple suggests this was a violation of Portuguese neutrality, and objects strenuously when the American ships are fired upon by the Portuguese attempting to return to port and land prisoners...he suggests the Portuguese feared that <i>Constitution</i> would break neutrality herself by attempting to take <i>Levant</i> a second time. Following this episode, <i>Constitution</i> and <i>Cyane</i> cruise to the coast of Brazil where they're finally able to land the majority of their prisoners.<br />
<br />
Whipple concludes his letter with <i>Constitution's </i>crew learning of the end of the war, "<u>St.</u> <u>Louis</u> <u>de</u> <u>Maranham</u> = We here succeeded in landing our prisoners much to the satisfaction of all on board after remaining here about ten days, we took our departure for the U. States, touched at the port St. Johns Island of Porto Rico, where we got American papers, here we learnt to a certainty that the treaty of peace had been signed, the most unwelcome news that I ever received, here we first heard of the battle of New Orleans – we arrived in this port yesterday in high health & spirits I assure you, happy to tread once more on the shores of <u>Freedom</u> how shall I apologize to you for the length of this letter, the subject was of such a nature that it was impossible to curtail it therefore I shall send it without any alteration & run the risk of its meeting with your approbation."<br />
<br />
Some of Whipple's other exploits in the line of duty include taking command of a cartel ship earlier in the war and facing a tense situation with British officials in Barbados, visiting a multitude of "curiosities" in Greece and Italy (including the ruins of Pompeii and the King's Garden at Naples), and cruising off Algiers not long after Commodore Stephen Decatur and Britain's Lord Exmouth would gather some of the final laurels of their careers. Even though he never rises to prominence himself (he leaves the service due to declining health in 1824 and dies three years later from tuberculosis), Pardon Mawney Whipple is but one of many everyday sailors who helped the United States Navy take its first steps onto the world stage.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. USS <i>Constitution</i> Museum. <i>Pardon Mawney Whipple's Letterbook,</i> <a href="https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/library-and-manuscript/logs-and-journals/whipples-letterbook/" target="_blank">https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/library-and-manuscript/logs-and-journals/whipples-letterbook/</a>. (Transcribed 2014).<br />
2. Mahan, Alfred Thayer. <i>Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812, Volume 2. </i>(Amazon Digital Services, 2011).</div>
</div>
virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-32542817404747929992017-12-25T07:14:00.000-05:002017-12-25T07:14:42.900-05:00"Wittles is Up..."<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<br />
"Wittles is up...which it wants eating this directly minute."<br />
<br />
Monday in the year 1815 usually signified lean eating for the average British Tar. This was one of three meatless or "banyan" days, wherein every man in His Majesty's Navy was allotted one gallon of beer (provided they were in home waters...brandy, wine, or rum was often substituted on foreign stations), one pound of biscuit, one pint of oatmeal, two ounces of butter, and four ounces of cheese.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BMF2sLuBS27FjhYCpGP20o2IthL12sMfLvkmLAFUq8EIi0pw5g6kW75E1Y4bsh_RRYsbH5RCKir0z4db4c5YfUePePsxK9CnbVKrqqRHqd7JHQEmyGCbbaQDos5GalMsopfD9vXZtziA/s1600/1806+provisions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="494" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BMF2sLuBS27FjhYCpGP20o2IthL12sMfLvkmLAFUq8EIi0pw5g6kW75E1Y4bsh_RRYsbH5RCKir0z4db4c5YfUePePsxK9CnbVKrqqRHqd7JHQEmyGCbbaQDos5GalMsopfD9vXZtziA/s640/1806+provisions.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chart from the 1806 edition of <i>Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea</i><br />
detailing the provisions allotted to Royal Navy seamen each day.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgx9FKlkyujzCWrFccc6ML_d3cVHI3bai8RD9xJJAYXSLlCXbh4VBlEyApy8pgVavM0MXtIWk6viYHlPONTO38OcML6hHb-TQUiChZ2aBbVaJQpbYvqItlvg_F0RfAWBx6_OK0Y924iY8S/s1600/rowlandsoncook1799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="786" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgx9FKlkyujzCWrFccc6ML_d3cVHI3bai8RD9xJJAYXSLlCXbh4VBlEyApy8pgVavM0MXtIWk6viYHlPONTO38OcML6hHb-TQUiChZ2aBbVaJQpbYvqItlvg_F0RfAWBx6_OK0Y924iY8S/s400/rowlandsoncook1799.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cook: No. 4 in Series," by Thomas Rowlandson,<br />
circa 1799. Royal Museums Greenwich.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, Christmas 1815 fell on a Monday, and Commander Basil Hall of the sloop-of-war HMS <i>Lyra </i>was an indulgent captain and decided to provide his men with a feast. While <i>Lyra </i>was fitting out at Deptford, he purchased one goose and one turkey for each four to six man mess (likely a significant expense providing such a meal for a complement of 75). The dinner went well, until one of <i>Lyra's </i>men could no longer resist showing off to the crew of an adjacent ship...the man asked how many geese and turkey had been eaten by the neighboring crew. "None." Was the answer. The first man then waved a drumstick in each hand, gleefully calling out, "Look at these and weep, you hungry-faced rascals!" The drumsticks were summarily yanked out of the man's hand and thrown back in his face. At that point, <i>Lyra's </i>crew was honor bound to knock the other crew on the head, and a brawl between both crews ensued.<br />
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The following Christmas fell on a banyan day as well (Wednesday), and <i>Lyra </i>found herself in Canton in company with several merchant vessels. Hall's steward reported that Christmas dinner was a popular topic of conversation among the men, last year's row notwithstanding, and that a multitude of poultry was available in a nearby village. Hall decided once again to indulge the crew, and dozens of geese, chickens, and ducks were purchased. On Christmas morning, dawn broke with a tremendous racket...a great squawking, quacking, flapping, and clucking that sent Hall rushing on deck and likewise drew the attention of the sailors aboard the nearby Indiamen. As it turns out, <i>Lyra's </i>crew had taken the birds aloft during the night; they were tied to the yards, cross-trees, gaffs, and booms with lengths of twine, and the crew sat holding the birds and keeping them quiet (suffering numerous pecks and scratches for their trouble) until morning. Once the sun rose on Christmas, the birds were dropped from the yards, provoking a tumult most fowl. The screeching of the future dinner was accompanied by the enthusiastic shouts of the crew, drawing the envious view of the many onlookers...Commander Hall did not report a repeat of the previous year's scrap, though.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscICpUPc-qwz9j4Lf1gZvUGbJ0NviqXX1X9njcgyz2GqoVkfwEdQrbyih9196EKNedhW7O_gKer8FP6mDzTofbbrCFcQJ_1QF8ZTw7BJ9X7wz2Q4CTg8Fh5QAOG4WeOd831s-tmlhSPfy/s1600/canton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="782" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscICpUPc-qwz9j4Lf1gZvUGbJ0NviqXX1X9njcgyz2GqoVkfwEdQrbyih9196EKNedhW7O_gKer8FP6mDzTofbbrCFcQJ_1QF8ZTw7BJ9X7wz2Q4CTg8Fh5QAOG4WeOd831s-tmlhSPfy/s640/canton.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Canton Warehouse on the Pearl River," circa 1850.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Two hundred years later, the Royal Navy tends to opt out of the Christmas After Dinner Brawl, but they still have their fair share of rowdy holiday traditions. From 'escaping' HMS <i>Protector </i>while dressed as a reindeer, to Able Seamen standing in for Captains, to consuming kilo after kilo of pudding laced with Pusser's, the "Hearts of Oak" remain steadfast and strong. Merry Christmas to all my readers, and especially to those serving away from home in their country's armed services!<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. His Majesty in Council. <i>Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea, The Fourteenth Edition. </i>(1806).<br />
2. MacDonald, Janet. <i>Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era. </i>(Greenhill Books, 2004).<br />
3. Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity. <i>You Know You're in the Royal Navy at Christmas When...</i>, <a href="https://www.rnrmc.org.uk/blog/you-know-its-xmas" target="_blank">https://www.rnrmc.org.uk/blog/you-know-its-xmas</a>. (December 10, 2016).<br />
4. Wikipedia. Cherokee<i>-class brig-sloop</i>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee-class_brig-sloop" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee-class_brig-sloop</a>. (June 8, 2017).</div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-78512041017475345582017-11-01T14:39:00.000-04:002017-11-01T14:39:41.837-04:00"An Inquiry Into Naval Tactics," 9/5/1781<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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On June 26, 1781, the Continental Congress appointed John Paul Jones as Captain of <i>America</i>, a 74-gun warship under construction at John Langdon's shipyard across the Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. <i>America's </i>construction had been authorized in November 1776 and had been laid down the following May, but a chronic shortage of funds, skilled craftsmen, and well-seasoned timber delayed the work for years. By the time Jones assumed command of the warship-to-be, construction had nearly stalled and <i>America's </i>previous commander, Captain John Barry, narrowly derailed a scheme to reduce her construction to that of a 54-gun heavy frigate. Despite ongoing logistical difficulties, Jones worked tirelessly to forward the completion of the only ship-of-the-line to be launched by the United States during the American Revolution. Sadly, two months before she entered the water on November 5, 1782, the nearly bankrupt Congress decided to gift <i>America </i>to the French Navy, replacing one of their own warships that had been wrecked near Boston that summer.<br />
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Hoping vainly to become the Continental Navy's first admiral, Jones eagerly began preparing himself for the role. "Ever the self-improver," notes biographer Evan Thomas, "Jones had been reading tracts on naval tactics and architecture." One tract that may well have been available to Jones is John Clerk's <i>An Inquiry into Naval Tactics</i>, published in January of 1782. This work examines several naval battles from the American Revolution, the French and Indian War, and the War of the Austrian Succession where British fleets engaged with those of the French. Among other things, Clerk notes that French naval doctrine of the time discourages attacking from the windward (commonly known as "the weather gague") in a fleet action, and concentrating their fire to damage an enemy's sails and rigging. In nearly all of the actions described in the <i>Inquiry</i>, the French eagerly maintain a leeward position and will even delay an engagement to surrender the weather gauge. In these actions, despite a valiant attack, many of the British vessels find themselves heavily disabled and unable to prevent the French from departing the scene or achieving any other objective they may have had. The primary question Clerk poses is this: "Will we not have reason to believe, that the French have adopted, and put in execution, some system, which the British either have not discovered, or have not yet profited by the discovery?"<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4FM_C58ul8O-V_wWv6HC5A_kmXwoiDFSGx9eT8Izs4eTOS4VvrTUj-p7M-dXve0qK38PSXAPCTEuGSQ3lD-tcl1ts0kkf8_7jJLjmc52uE8UW9SMApn6cmpPli9KFMmAihpkL9iYr5CZ/s1600/capes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4FM_C58ul8O-V_wWv6HC5A_kmXwoiDFSGx9eT8Izs4eTOS4VvrTUj-p7M-dXve0qK38PSXAPCTEuGSQ3lD-tcl1ts0kkf8_7jJLjmc52uE8UW9SMApn6cmpPli9KFMmAihpkL9iYr5CZ/s640/capes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Second Battle of the Virginia Capes," by V. Zveg, circa 1961.</td></tr>
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One of the actions described is the one that took place on September 5, 1781 near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, commonly known as the (second) Battle of the Capes. This battle would prove to be critical to the outcome of the war, as the ensuing French victory on the sea prevented British Admiral Graves from reinforcing Lord Cornwallis and contributed heavily to his surrender at Yorktown in October 1781. Clerk's discussion of the battle begins with an excerpt from Grave's own report:<br />
<br />
"<i>EXTRACT of a LETTER from</i> Vice-Admiral Graves, <i>31st August 1781, off Sandy-hook</i>.<br />
<br />
'I beg you will be pleased to acquaint my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that the moment the wind served to carry the ships over the bar, which was buoyed for the purpose, the squadron came out; and Sir Samuel Hood getting under sail at the same time, the fleet proceeded together on the thirty-first of August, to the Southward.<br />
<br />
The cruisers which I had placed before the Delaware could give me no certain information, and the cruisers off the Chesepeak had not joined: The winds being rather favourable, we approached the Chesepeak the morning of the 5th of September, when the advanced ship made the signal of a fleet. We soon discovered a number of great ships at anchor, which seemed to be extended across the entrance of the Chesepeak, from Cape Henry to the middle ground: They had a frigate cruising off the Cape, which stood in and joined them; and, as we approached, the whole fleet got under sail, and stretched out to sea, with the wind at N.N.E. As we drew nearer, I formed the line first a-head, and then in such a manner as to bring his Majesty's fleet nearly parallel to the line of approach of the enemy; and when I found that our van was advanced as far as the shoal of the middle ground would admit of, I wore the fleet, and brought them upon the same tack with the enemy, and nearly parallel to them, though we were by no means extended with their rear. So soon as I judged that our van would be able to operate, I made the signal to bear away and approach, and soon after, to engage the enemy close. Somewhat after four, the action began amongst the headmost ships, pretty close, and soon became general, as far as the second ship from the center, towards the rear. <i>The van of the enemy bore away, to enable their center to support them, </i>or they would have been cut up. The action did not entirely cease till a little after sun-set, though at a considerable distance for the center of the enemy continued to bear up as it advanced; and, at that moment, seemed to have little more in view than to shelter their own van, as it went away before the wind.<br />
<br />
His Majesty's fleet consisted of nineteen sail of the line; that of the French formed twenty-four sail in their line. After night, I sent the frigates to the van and rear, to push forward the line, and keep it extended with the enemy, with a full intention to renew the engagement in the morning; but, when the frigate Fortune returned from the van, I was informed, that several of the ships had suffered so much, that they were in now condition to renew the action until they had secured their masts; we, however, kept well extended with the enemy all night.<br />
<br />
We continued all day, the 6th, in sight of each other, repairing our damages. Rear-Admiral Drake shifted his flag into the Alcide, until the Princess had got up another main-top mast. The Shrewsberry, whose Captain lost a leg, and had the first Lieutenant killed, was obliged to reef both top-masts, shifted her top-sail yards, and had sustained very great damage. I ordered Captain Colpoys of the Orpheus to take command of her, and put her into a state for action.<br />
<br />
The Intrepid had both top-sail yards shot down, her top-masts in great danger of falling, and her lower masts and yards very much damaged, her Captain having behaved with the greatest gallantry to cover the Shrewsberry. The Montague was in great danger of losing her masts; the Terrible so leaky as to keep all her pumps going; and the Ajax also very leaky.<br />
<br />
In the present state of the fleet, and being five sail of the line less in number than the enemy, and they having advanced very much in the wind upon us during he day, I determined to tack after eight, to prevent being drawn too far from the Chesepeak, and to stand to the Northward.'"<br />
<br />
Using some plates and figures included in Clerk along with some analysis from late 19th/early 20th century naval historian Alfred Thayer Mahan, we can break down the action as follows:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP8QCkHS6RRKrqzQTmGfEs-FuQnDHrq-Q3QpNaunhxX3foyHlQ6CEOEuPlc9SwvrYBw5Zk0ZD1jV_XeK7SM8gotSSzVbpy2bBMkVbNbTI0nY6keJy2JOEjV-zafoCqqphsorZXAC-N2FW/s1600/clerk01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP8QCkHS6RRKrqzQTmGfEs-FuQnDHrq-Q3QpNaunhxX3foyHlQ6CEOEuPlc9SwvrYBw5Zk0ZD1jV_XeK7SM8gotSSzVbpy2bBMkVbNbTI0nY6keJy2JOEjV-zafoCqqphsorZXAC-N2FW/s640/clerk01.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clerk: Plate VI, Figure 1:<br />
"F. The French fleet at anchor, and extended across the entrance of the Chesepeak,<br />
from Cape Henry to the middle ground, who, as soon as they perceived the British<br />
fleet approaching, got under sail, and stretched out to sea upon the larboard tack, as at G.<br />
B. The British fleet advancing to the middle ground, but not till after the French had<br />
left it, formed in a line nearly parallel to that of the French at G.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mahan tells us that the British force included 19 sail of the line (two 98-gun ships, twelve 74's, one 70, and four 64's) opposing 24 French sail of the line (one 104-gun ship, three 80's, seventeen 74's, and three 64's). The French ships were initially on station near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay south of the shoals at Middle Ground in the main channel (the open water between the Middle Ground and Cape Charles are relatively shallow...two to four fathoms deep until you clear Cape Charles, as opposed to eight to thirteen fathoms south of the shoal, according to a 1776 chart of the bay). A French frigate on look out sights the approaching British near 8:00 AM, with wind from the NNE. The French fleet gets underway with the ebb tide near noon, having to make several tacks in order to clear Cape Henry. As a result, their line at G above forms late and was initially not very regular or close.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P-r2JLXhD124uTwqpNmEN9UXKdF66DE8CfIYrbG7NBwpJyuLBWQvYgeaLS6jDPgfYm0H64LSgxtiTHUUQtaAvA7qnQAgc8lmArMHzPxhIjNBhj_L4Io-KqjbB4rws1yf3NyrNLx2eHpa/s1600/clerk02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P-r2JLXhD124uTwqpNmEN9UXKdF66DE8CfIYrbG7NBwpJyuLBWQvYgeaLS6jDPgfYm0H64LSgxtiTHUUQtaAvA7qnQAgc8lmArMHzPxhIjNBhj_L4Io-KqjbB4rws1yf3NyrNLx2eHpa/s640/clerk02.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clerk: Plate VI, Figure 2:<br />
"B. The British fleet, after having advanced as far as the shoal upon the middle ground,<br />
as per course A, wore, and having stood after the enemy, are now upon the larboard<br />
tack, extended in line of battle a-head, and almost a-breast of them."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At 2:00 PM, the French van bore directly south of Graves's flagship (putting the French van roughly abreast of the British center) at about three miles distance. As the British fleet approached the Middle Ground around 2:13 PM, they wore together and hove to, allowing the French center to come abreast of the British center. Although it isn't readily apparent from Clerk's figure above, the French line was significantly longer than the outnumbered British, and the rearmost French ships still hadn't completely cleared Cape Henry.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GUm0V-M46PRyHpTY2jdHuLsQ2NLJKInTVEXc8pK_Z1_CRNVRnMsgXPQORnI5vzCTP1KYY0Vwq_W4wYJg9lEpm366ED1XGOBIBKN5Pj_LVACtaufW3pU305qhgn-tmqnNRMW-dlJoiXXx/s1600/clerk03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="800" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GUm0V-M46PRyHpTY2jdHuLsQ2NLJKInTVEXc8pK_Z1_CRNVRnMsgXPQORnI5vzCTP1KYY0Vwq_W4wYJg9lEpm366ED1XGOBIBKN5Pj_LVACtaufW3pU305qhgn-tmqnNRMW-dlJoiXXx/s640/clerk03.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clerk: Plate VI, Figure 3:<br />
"Mr Graves says: 'So soon as I judged that our van would be able to operate, I made<br />
the signal to bear away, and approach as at B; and, soon after, to engage the enemy close.'"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At 2:30 PM, Graves signals for HMS <i>Shrewsbury </i>(the British van ship) to lead farther starboard towards the enemy. As each of the British ship maintained the line by following the course of the ship ahead, this put the British line on a course inclined towards the French, the angle of which became more marked as Graves renewed this signal at 3:17 and again at 3:34 PM.<br />
<br />
Clerk refers to this inclined approach as "lasking." This practice comes with several disadvantages, most of which were demonstrated during the battle. Any ship attempting to bear down on an enemy at right angles must have their vulnerable bow pointed directly at the enemy's broadside, leaving them dangerously vulnerable to the enemy's full fire with little or no ability to respond in kind. Lasking extends this vulnerable period by reducing the angle of approach; since it takes longer for the approaching fleet to reach their desired point of engagement, they will be exposed to unequal volumes of enemy fire that much longer. As Mahan asserts, "This was the original and enduring cause of a lamentable failure by which seven of the rear ships, in an inferior force undertaking to attack, never came into battle at all." The larger the angle of approach between the two fleets grew, the farther away the British rear was forced to swing from the enemy in order to maintain their formation of line ahead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDX2HHLuPRsU_fFMhhbre7jh6_B6ETRzSmkCQBoTHRjrvQPRkcctn33ZNHreOIqvMFw5zJ-HOQlRH_49mlPYLRMU3f3gASfbXE52Lylui1m7yO_TtZaCnMCEIWd8bg6fbLzLfWKMatgsf/s1600/clerk04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="800" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDX2HHLuPRsU_fFMhhbre7jh6_B6ETRzSmkCQBoTHRjrvQPRkcctn33ZNHreOIqvMFw5zJ-HOQlRH_49mlPYLRMU3f3gASfbXE52Lylui1m7yO_TtZaCnMCEIWd8bg6fbLzLfWKMatgsf/s640/clerk04.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clerk: Plate VI, Figure 4:<br />
"'Somewhat after four, the action began amongst the headmost ships, pretty close, and<br />
soon became general, as far as the second ship from the center, towards the rear. The van<br />
of the enemy bore away,' as at G, 'to enable their center to support them,' as at F, or they<br />
would have been cut up.'" </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With the signal for line ahead still flying, Graves signals at 3:46 PM to close to one cable's length (240 yards) followed almost immediately by a signal to bear down and engage. Due to the lasking approach, the British van is naturally the first to come under fire, the action extending to the twelfth ship in the British line, two behind the flagship <i>London, </i>which filled her sails and bore down. At approximately 4:11, the signal for line ahead was hauled down to not interfere with the signal for close action, only to have the signal for line ahead raised again at 4:22 PM, as the British line was no longer well extended...<i>London </i>had in fact advanced farther towards the enemy than several ships stationed ahead of her in the line of battle. As a result, when <i>London </i>luffed up to bring her broadside to bear on the enemy, the ships immediately ahead were practically on her weather beam, and could not open fire until London moved out of the way. The signal for line ahead was hauled down again at 4:27, with the signal for close action still flying and being renewed at 5:20 PM. The rear of the British line finally bore up at a distance conducive to joining the battle, but the French were now bearing away. Firing ceased shortly after sunset.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6bc4yDAt-cTmgEB_7JtVx17zKV1n5D3QNL1z1LUY0Cme-NPke8VwKE3I6-cq9ZgHFPQ5OIfwosh8k-4sD7nrMKpOYpFQMDIzFdGI28fSe9B6E6f-r828tWKgXy7YuX1SPsf9OuSjV5wu/s1600/graves%2527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6bc4yDAt-cTmgEB_7JtVx17zKV1n5D3QNL1z1LUY0Cme-NPke8VwKE3I6-cq9ZgHFPQ5OIfwosh8k-4sD7nrMKpOYpFQMDIzFdGI28fSe9B6E6f-r828tWKgXy7YuX1SPsf9OuSjV5wu/s200/graves%2527.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Admiral Graves,<br />
commanding the British<br />
at the Battle of the Capes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpZQY3Md8naYG9I1Y6E_XoXcvbuEMkzAd2z3fWs1qIG4O0ANwNTEcjLSVuSSoL6ppb2aVnIxJsZGGDEiNYaBcegmIQr-fptntuOpuUjRiWg6S9pyRgeYRkHc2aM3FZV-YOur7KFJ_0Y_Z/s1600/degrasse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="436" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpZQY3Md8naYG9I1Y6E_XoXcvbuEMkzAd2z3fWs1qIG4O0ANwNTEcjLSVuSSoL6ppb2aVnIxJsZGGDEiNYaBcegmIQr-fptntuOpuUjRiWg6S9pyRgeYRkHc2aM3FZV-YOur7KFJ_0Y_Z/s200/degrasse.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Admiral de Grasse,<br />
commanding the French<br />
at the Battle of the Capes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Commanding the ships at the rear of the British line, Rear Admiral Samuel Hood would prove to be quite critical of Graves's tactics following the battle. Among Hood's points was that the French line was very disorderly in forming up, giving Graves nearly an hour and a half where he could have engaged the French van without the possibility of support from the French rear. Hood also criticized Graves's angular approach, which forced the British vessels to come into action successively instead of simultaneously. Finally, Hood chastises Graves for keeping the signal for line ahead raised nearly until the end of the action; while this signal was up, each British ship was ordered to maintain its station in the line of battle, and captains could not use their own initiative to advance and support the ships of the British van and center as they came under fire. Hood believes that if the signal for line ahead had been lowered much earlier, the British rear could have effectively entered the action, and at the very least, the French van would have been cut to pieces.<br />
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As it was, Graves made plans to renew the action the following morning, though he was soon informed by his subordinates that several of his van ships were too crippled to do so. As the British fleet struggles to make repairs, Graves keeps his own ships within sight of the French line, disregarding advice from Admiral Hood to turn away and attempt to beat the French back to the Chesapeake and put themselves in a position to support Cornwallis. The two fleets remain within sight of one another until September 9th, when the French vessels were seen for the last time, "They were then under a cloud of sail, and on the morning of the 10th had disappeared." On the morning of the 10th, Graves is forced to order the 74-gun HMS <i>Terrible </i>burned (she had only just been kept afloat during the days following the battle) before turning back to Virginia.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, another French fleet under Admiral de Barras had arrived at the entrance to the Chesapeake on September 10 (having taken a circuitous route from Newport, Rhode Island to avoid British forces), and was joined by the returning de Grasse on the 11th. Admiral Graves and the British fleet arrive at the Virginia Capes on the 13th to discover that the French now had 36 sail of the line protecting entrance to the bay. Graves reluctantly decides to return to New York. In the meantime, General Washington arrives at Yorktown on September 14th, beginning the siege that eventually compels General Cornwallis to surrender on October 19th. At that point, the outcome of the American Revolution was effectively decided.<br />
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In addition to commentary on the various battles, Clerk goes on to make several observations about the Royal Navy of the time:<br />
<br />
-Due to the conditions and extensive coastlines of the British Isles, British seamen tend to be better trained navigators and shiphandlers than their counterparts in France and elsewhere.<br />
-British seamen are also renowned for their courage under fire. This trait is supported by British warships tenaciously seeking the windward position, and eagerly bearing down on their enemies to attack. The tendency of the French and Spanish fleets to work to avoid a direct engagement suggests they acknowledge the superior courage of the British.<br />
-Despite and advantage in the skill and courage of their seamen, British vessels tended to be of slightly inferior design to other European-built warships. Clerk uses this point to insert an admonition for Royal Navy shipwrights and dockyards to step up their game.<br />
-In single ship actions, British warships can be expected to prevail under most circumstances. That being the case, is there not some way to adapt this skill so that the British can perform with equal success in fleet engagements?<br />
<br />
Clerk concludes his <i>Inquiry </i>by suggesting a new approach to fleet engagements, where the British can still make use of the weather gauge and prove victorious in fleet engagements. Rather than approaching an enemy fleet with the goal of coming directly alongside the enemy fleet and engaging them as a whole (which usually results in British ships, especially in the van, of becoming so disabled upon the approach that they are unable to prosecute the battle to a successful conclusion), Clerk proposes approaching in divisions rather than in line ahead. The first British division will approach and engage the rearmost ships of the enemy fleet, with subsequent divisions in such a position to support/reinforce the first as possible, almost guaranteeing that the enemy rear will be defeated. The enemy fleet then has the choice of either abandoning their rear or coming about by tacking or wearing to support them. In almost every case, this situation seems to result in an enemy fleet finding themselves forced into a series of single ship actions as successive British divisions joining the fight, a circumstance that is sure to favor the British. Clerk goes on to suggest a variety of means for attacking an enemy fleet by divisions, listing advantages and disadvantages of each, before noting that it will take active sea-officers attempting these new tactics in battle to determine which method is best.<br />
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Perhaps in the decades following the Battle of the Capes in 1781, a British naval officer will arise and make a name for himself by completely eschewing the traditional line of battle tactics of previous years. Maybe he will even win his most celebrated battle by attacking a larger fleet by driving his own vessels in two divisions, breaking the enemy line, and then enveloping and overcoming them piecemeal.<br />
<br />
Time will tell...<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Thomas, Evan. <i>John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy</i>. (Simon and Schuster, 2003).<br />
2. Clerk, John. <i>An Inquiry into Naval Tactics</i>. (Edinburgh, 1782).<br />
3. Mahan, Alfred Thayer. <i>The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence</i>. (Amazon Digital Services, 2011).</div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-5321272562854771022017-10-13T12:18:00.001-04:002017-10-14T21:30:47.984-04:00"Haud crede colori..."<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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"Stephen and the chaplain stood at the taffrail, staring over the larboard quarter. 'I am afraid they are coming closer,' said Mr White. 'I can distinctly see the men on the front of the nearer one: and even on the ship behind. See, they fire a gun! And a flag appears! Your glass, if you please. Why, it is the English flag! I congratulate you, Dr Maturin; I congratulate you on our deliverance: I confess I had apprehended a very real danger, a most unpleasant situation. Ha, ha, ha! They are our friends!'<br />
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'Haud crede colori,' said Stephen. 'Cast your eyes aloft, my dear sir.'<br />
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Mr White looked up at the mizzen-peak, where a tricolour streamed out bravely. 'It is the French flag,' he cried. 'No. The Dutch. We are sailing under false colours! Can such things be?'<br />
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'So are they,' said Stephen. 'They seek to amuse us; we seek to amuse them. The iniquity is evenly divided. It is an accepted convention, I find, like bidding the servant --' A shot from the <i>Semillante's </i>bow-chaser threw up a plume of water a little way from the frigate's stern, and the parson started back. '-- say you are not at home, when in fact you are eating muffin by your fire and do not choose to be disturbed.'<br />
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'I often did so,' said Mr White, whose face had grown strangely mottled. 'God forgive me. And now here I am in the midst of battle. I never thought such a thing could happen--I am a man of peace.'"<br />
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In the above passage, author Patrick O'Brian advises us, "don't trust the colour." Indeed, the use of false colors was one of many accepted ruses de guerre utilized during the Age of Sail to allow a clever captain to gain the most advantageous position before engaging in combat. There are numerous instances of captains in the Royal Navy and Continental Navy alike using this technique in an attempt to trick their opponent; provided you raised your own colors before joining battle in earnest, this was a perfectly legitimate practice. In the summer of 1798, one of the first vessels of the United States Navy would experience this ruse and make use of it first-hand.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuYh396i-WlkyG8GvEFohvkijdPMGmcmr4dNlc6VWHv3MyUbYup5e92S2JArj-fdIHDOkpZvlopxbQ_EGCaWMH809UoR57JYxhARKhsBtx57ZKQsBhbUHTpXTGnxr9QmPVMUu8SGCDfED/s1600/barry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuYh396i-WlkyG8GvEFohvkijdPMGmcmr4dNlc6VWHv3MyUbYup5e92S2JArj-fdIHDOkpZvlopxbQ_EGCaWMH809UoR57JYxhARKhsBtx57ZKQsBhbUHTpXTGnxr9QmPVMUu8SGCDfED/s320/barry.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commodore John Barry, USN,<br />
from an 1801 portrait by Gilbert Stuart.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In March of 1794, the United States Congress passed the "Act to Provide a Naval Armament" authorizing the construction of six frigates to protect American merchant shipping from the depredations of Algerian pirates. This act was hotly debated from the beginning, and only passed after a caveat was inserted declaring that construction on the frigates would cease should a treaty be signed with Algiers. When a treaty was indeed struck in early 1796, construction was duly halted, though President George Washington was instrumental in convincing Congress to allow work to continue on the three frigates closest to completion. In Philadelphia on May 10, 1797, the frigate <i>United States</i> became the first vessel of the new United States Navy to be launched. She was commanded by Commodore John Barry, a veteran of the American Revolution, and the senior officer in the new service.<br />
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<i>United States</i> spent the next year fitting out and preparing to deploy (including a 55-gun armament: 32 24-pound cannon, 22 42-pound carronades, and one 18-pound long cannon), during which time America's relations with the revolutionary government of France deteriorated. Following disputes over the repayment of debts from the American Revolution, the XYZ Affair, and a series of attacks on American vessels perpetrated by French privateers, the United States Congress rescinded past treaties with France and the so-called "Quasi-War" began. What followed was a two year undeclared war, fought primarily at sea, which prompted Congress to authorize completion of the remaining three Naval Act frigates.<br />
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On July 7, 1798, <i>United States</i> made for the Delaware Capes. Commodore Barry was ordered by the first Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert to assemble a squadron of smaller vessels awaiting his command in Philadelphia and Boston, and cruise against French armed vessels in the West Indies for two months. One of the ships assigned to Barry's squadron was the 20-gun <i>Delaware</i>, under command of Captain Stephen Decatur, and had taken the first prize of the Quasi-War just before <i>United States</i> left port. Sadly, Barry arrived in Boston only to discover that the two ships Stoddert had assigned to accompany him were not yet ready for sea, so <i>United States</i> and <i>Delaware </i>were on their own.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, GCB, RN<br />
from a portrait by Robert Field.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although a heavy fog made for a slow passage down Nantasket Road out of Boston on July 26, Barry's ships only took thirty hours to find themselves 400 miles from the North Carolina Coast. In those waters, <i>United States</i> sighted a frigate flying French colors. Raising French colors of his own, Barry maneuvered to pursue. When <i>United States</i> had moved closer, she raised American colors and prepared to open fire. At that point, the frigate promptly raised British colors and identified herself as HMS <i>Thetis </i>under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane (uncle of Thomas Cochrane, one of Patrick O'Brian's inspirations for Lucky Jack Aubrey). A veteran of the American Revolution himself, Cochrane had immediately deduced that Barry's ship was not British and acted under the assumption that she was hostile. Once their identities had been confirmed, Cochrane was invited to dine with Barry aboard <i>United States</i>, where he provided the American Commodore with a set of British signals to prevent similar deceptions from turning into a needless chase.<br />
<br />
<i>United States </i>and <i>Delaware </i>would go on to cruise in the vicinity of Barbados, Martinique, and Puerto Rico until September, taking several prizes. Arriving at Cape Henlopen on September 18, Barry's cruise proved to be among the more successful of the other US Navy forces at sea at the time, though Secretary Stoddert had hoped for something more spectacular. A second cruise in early fall would be cut short by storm damage, resulting in an extensive refit under the supervision of designer Joshua Humphreys. In the meantime, while the Royal Navy had effectively cleared the Atlantic of French vessels, the Caribbean was still crawling with French privateers. <i>United States </i>departed Philadelphia on December 12 as part of a twenty-four vessel offensive in the region. On or near December 30, 1798, <i>United States</i> was saluted by British forces at Barbados, and Commodore Barry was invited to dine aboard the flagship of Vice Admiral Thomas Harvey.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, relations between the United States Navy and the Royal Navy would not remain so cordial for long, but that is, of course, a story for another day.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. O'Brian, Patrick. <i>H.M.S. Surprise</i>. (William Collins and Sons, 1973).<br />
2. McGrath, Tim. <i>John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail</i>. (Westholme Publishing, 2010).<br />
3. Wikipedia. <i>USS United States (1797),</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_United_States_(1797)" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_United_States_(1797)</a> (August 25, 2017).<br />
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-65697319000375129532017-09-23T22:01:00.000-04:002017-09-24T07:59:14.784-04:00The Battle of Flamborough Head<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">By the latter half of 1779, John Paul Jones was already a noteworthy captain in the Continental Navy: he had captured over a dozen prizes in the space of six weeks while in command of the sloop <i>Providence</i>, captured a British fishing fleet at the port of Canso, captured HMS <i>Drake </i>and staged a raid on the port of Whitehaven commanding the sloop-of-war <i>Ranger</i>. While lobbying to secure a new command (preferably a proper frigate), in France, Jones announced his desire to "have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way." In the end, Jones would be forced to settle for a converted East Indiaman, purchased and outfitted by the French government with much political wrangling by Benjamin Franklin. Upon his appointment to the command, Jones named the vessel <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>, in honor of his new patron's famous <i>Poor Richard's Almanack</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">By March 1779, Jones was hard at work fitting <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> out. He planned for her armament to consist of 28 12-pound cannon in the main battery, 6 9-pounders on the quarterdeck, and 6 18-pounders on the lower deck, just above the magazine at the stern. To acquire these weapons, Jones was forced to travel to foundries throughout the French countryside, often having to work with older or badly constructed guns (he would reject the very worst of these) considered unsuitable for use by the French military. In early April, Jones is summoned to Versailles to consult on secret plans to raid the English coast with a squadron of vessels commanded by Jones and carrying a land force under the Marquis de Lafayette. These plans would eventually be derailed; King Louis would opt instead to attempt an all out invasion of the British Isles with a combined French and Spanish fleet, with Jones' ships to act as a diversionary force. This fleet sails, but is poorly supplied and soon stricken with disease, forcing the plan to be abandoned. Fortunately for Jones, he still gets his squadron: the 40-gun <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>, 36-gun <i>Alliance</i>, 32-gun <i>Pallas</i>, 18-gun <i>Cerf</i>, and 12-gun <i>Vengeance</i>. Although these ships sail under Jones' command and fly American colors, only the Alliance is an American-owned vessel. <i>Alliance's </i>captain is the French (though adopted as an American by the people of Massachusetts) Pierre Landais, whom Jones initially describes as a "sensible, well-informed man." His opinion would soon change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Jones would spend much of the late spring and early summer of 1779 working up his squadron in the Bay of Biscay: escorting merchantmen, chasing enemy marauders, and slowly molding his crew (including Americans, French, Irish, even some British prisoners pressed into American service) into fighting trim. Almost immediately, Jones faced dissension from his squadron captains, who had been given orders suggesting they were under no true obligation to follow Jones orders, or even acknowledge his signals, in direct contradiction to the instructions Jones received from Franklin. On numerous occasions, ships of the squadron would part company of their own accord to pursue prizes or missions of their own choosing. Most frustrating to Jones, <i>Bonhomme Richard </i>was easily the slowest and least maneuverable ship in the squadron, repeatedly requiring the other ships to shorten sail and allow the flagship to keep pace.<i> </i>In early September, <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> is becalmed off the Irish coast, and Jones orders his barge lowered to tow the ship clear of the looming rocks...the barge promptly cuts the tow line and deserts, promptly joined by the crew of the longboat ostensibly sent in pursuit. By September 14, the squadron had taken several prizes, putting the coastline on alert, but Jones is hoping for a bold stroke similar to his capture of <i>Drake </i>and raid on Whitehaven the previous year. <i>Bonhomme Richard </i>sails up the Firth of Forth, where he plans to lay the port of Leith under contribution (demanding a large sum of money to avoid destruction of the port), though a sudden storm springing up forces the squadron out to sea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">By September 23, Jones' squadron is more or less complete once again, but growing short on time; he was under orders to make for the Dutch port of Texel by October 1 to escort a fleet of merchantmen. In the early evening, a fleet of 34 merchantmen escorted by two armed vessels is sighted: this is the Baltic Fleet (carrying invaluable naval stores and other items) escorted by the 44-gun HMS <i>Serapis </i>and the 20-gun <i>Countess of Scarborough.</i> The merchant vessels are instructed to stand in for the shore near Flamborough Head while their escorts make for the American ships. Jones orders <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> to beat to quarters around 5PM, and as it becomes apparent the two British warships intend to keep themselves between the merchantmen and the American squadron, Jones signals his ships to form line of battle to little effect. <i>Alliance </i>sheers off, <i>Pallas </i>maintains her original course, while <i>Cerf </i>and <i>Vengeance</i> hang back in relative safety. As darkness began to fall, Serapis was coming up on <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>, when British Captain Pearson calls for Jones to identify himself...Jones initially claims to be the merchantman <i>Princess Royal</i> in an attempt to draw the enemy closer, but promptly raises his colors when Pearson demands he confirm his identity. A nervous marine aboard <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> discharges his musket from the tops, and both vessels unleash a full broadside almost immediately thereafter, the combatants barely twenty-five yards apart.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-47bwLgWN1SBKf2Cw_sa-IVG3v393_fkzSG1FhOjnwNqBTTQ_N_kZAF-HGYs4fvcNFDNpHhJ-LOfbMCx8fqXQvitthdg2_R-0hHzlRzKs-bj95NV8C5UNdhAmHDT6ZVJaSGzQm3AWAGR/s1600/battle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1237" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-47bwLgWN1SBKf2Cw_sa-IVG3v393_fkzSG1FhOjnwNqBTTQ_N_kZAF-HGYs4fvcNFDNpHhJ-LOfbMCx8fqXQvitthdg2_R-0hHzlRzKs-bj95NV8C5UNdhAmHDT6ZVJaSGzQm3AWAGR/s640/battle.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“The Action Between His Majesties Ship Serapis, Commanded by Capt Pearson<br />
& The Bonhomme Richard Commanded by Paul Jones, Sept. 23, 1779” by William Elliott, 1789.</td></tr>
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Almost immediately, two of <i>Bonhomme Richard's</i> 18-pounders burst on the lower deck, killing and wounding many of the men serving those guns, and effectively taking Jones' heaviest weapons out of action. Unlike the aging <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>, <i>Serapis </i>is less than a year old, and Captain Richard Pearson is adept at taking advantage of his vessel's superior sailing qualities. Jones gamely tries to maneuver his own ship to get in a position to rake the enemy vessel, but is out sailed at every turn. At one point, <i>Serapis</i> rams <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>, tangling her bowspirit in the American mizzen rigging. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jones has the two vessels lashed together. Hoping to break free, Pearson drops an anchor, hoping <i>Bonhomme Richard's</i> momentum will forcibly separate the two ships. Jones has done his job well, however, and <i>Serapis </i>ends up swinging fully alongside <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>, catching her mizzen chains in the Jones' bow anchor. For the next several hours, the two vessels blast away at one another, the muzzles of their run out guns literally touching the side of the opposing vessel. In the fighting tops of both ships, marines are pouring withering small arms fire into the crews on deck. Both ships are soon burning (at one point leading to a brief lull in action as American and British seamen alike pause to fight the fires), and the winds die down to almost nothing. <br />
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<i>Bonhomme Richard</i> finds herself at a marked disadvantage, with fire from the <i>Serapis </i>passing through one side, killing men and dismounting guns, and passing out the other side. More seriously, the American ship has taken several hits below the waterline, and is leaking badly. Laboring in the hold, carpenter John Gunnison believes the ship is in danger of sinking, and makes his way to the gun deck. Once there, he encounters gunner's mate Henry Gardner, who has taken a shocking number of casualties, with many of his guns disabled. Both men agree that the time has come to surrender, and go on deck to report to the senior officers. The sight that greets them above is gruesome indeed: the deck is littered with dead and wounded, the ship is practically shattered around them, <i>Bonhomme Richard's</i> colors have been shot away, and not a single is officer in sight. Gunnison and Gardner shout across to Captain Pearson, attempting to surrender. Suddenly, Jones appears from where he has been laboring behind a quarterdeck gun, knocks Gardner out with a thrown pistol and chasing Gunnison back below. Aboard <i>Serapis</i>, Pearson hails Jones: "Have you struck? Do you ask for quarter?"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqiHshlre5ooMUiYQwpvk11mGYy1HouiQtqcELtyqgncdKCR0Wbjz2m-CUNVSriEeWI4bGfihuKmZbg3d1P9TBqF1LcNhVrk0xwN86KPDD4PPMXN1DnZEdyNfC43bcxl8jPAIGp236n7g/s1600/stack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="957" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqiHshlre5ooMUiYQwpvk11mGYy1HouiQtqcELtyqgncdKCR0Wbjz2m-CUNVSriEeWI4bGfihuKmZbg3d1P9TBqF1LcNhVrk0xwN86KPDD4PPMXN1DnZEdyNfC43bcxl8jPAIGp236n7g/s200/stack.png" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portraying John Paul Jones in 1959,<br />
Robert Stack boldly declares<br />
"I have not yet begun to fight!"</td></tr>
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According to American naval legend, Jones responds "I have not yet begun to fight!" The quote was related to Jones by his first lieutenant, Richard Dale, some forty years later when speaking with a biographer. Other accounts of Jones' response vary wildly: an article in the Edinburgh Advertiser from October 1779 suggests Jones shouted "I may sink, but I'll be damned if I strike," and Midshipman Nathaniel Fanning claims his captain responded with "we’ll do that when we can fight no longer, but we shall see yours come down first; for your must know, Yankees do not haul down their colors till they are fairly beaten." Jones himself is no help...in the report he addressed to Benjamin Franklin, he remarks that he responded "in the most determined negative," though in a memorial written to the French king years later, Jones claims to have declared that "I haven't as yet thought of surrendering, but I am determined to make you ask for quarter." Whichever particular response suits you best, suffice it to say that Jones told Pearson "NO!"<br />
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Once Jones makes his refusal to surrender clear, Pearson sends a boarding party across from <i>Serapis</i>, where they are met by a furious counterattack led by first lieutenant Richard Dale. By this point, the only guns <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> still has in action are the 9-pounders on the quarterdeck, one of which Jones himself trains upon the <i>Serapis</i>' mainmast. Seemingly out of nowhere, Captain Landais and the <i>Alliance </i>appear, firing a broadside that rakes both vessels indiscriminately, not once, but twice. Both ships are soon burning once again, with the near nonexistent winds preventing the smoke from dissipating. Meanwhile, a sailor named William Hamilton crosses the tangled yards from <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> to <i>Serapis</i>, and begins throwing hand grenades down on the nearly deserted deck. Somehow, one of these grenades falls down an open hatchway and detonates on <i>Serapis</i>' upper gun deck, setting off a devastating series of secondary explosions that force several guns out of action. Realizing that the stricken <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> is not about to surrender and fearing that the undamaged <i>Alliance </i>will soon return to the engagement, Captain Pearson strikes his colors to preserve his remaining crew.<br />
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The Battle of Flamborough Head would prove to be one of the bloodiest naval engagements of the American Revolution; <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> and <i>Serapis </i>alike would have approximately 50% of their crews killed our wounded, abnormally high casualties for single ship engagements of the time. Shortly after Pearson's surrender, <i>Serapis</i>' mainmast would fall, and the crew of <i>Bonhomme Richard </i>would spend hours getting the fires under control with flames coming within inches of the gunpowder magazine. In the end, late the next day, <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> would succumb to her battle damage (numerous breaches below the water line, and at least one pump destroyed) and sink, much to Jones' regret. A small silver lining comes in that the frigate <i>Pallas </i>does indeed join the battle, capturing <i>Countess of Scarborough</i> after an hour's action. The nearly three dozen ships of the Baltic Fleet would arrive safely at their intended destinations despite the loss of their escorts, for which Captain Pearson would eventually be knighted. Knowing that news of the battle would soon bring enemy reinforcements, the weary squadron makes for neutral waters.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDSwSFpeASW8-X6-SpqpHe3CtfBaZQwegnmCkvVncisLQLAQnOmRiIgshJ1rZLqLgDRJB9MbdenPv29D_cczZNhtWqXtnQF0aTaZZwe7hDT4tZ5x-NnCX67hY1xRbthfvTbPfRsdE3fXM/s1600/texelflags2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDSwSFpeASW8-X6-SpqpHe3CtfBaZQwegnmCkvVncisLQLAQnOmRiIgshJ1rZLqLgDRJB9MbdenPv29D_cczZNhtWqXtnQF0aTaZZwe7hDT4tZ5x-NnCX67hY1xRbthfvTbPfRsdE3fXM/s320/texelflags2.png" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketches from the port records<br />
of Texel, Netherlands depicting<br />
the flags flown by Alliance and <br />
the captured Serapis.</td></tr>
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The remaining ships of Jones' squadron arrive at the port of Texel in the Netherlands on October 3. Almost immediately, British officials there begin pressuring the Dutch government to have Jones arrested as a pirate, noting he wasn't sailing under a recognized flag. The Dutch promptly send an artist out to sketch the flags being flown from the captured <i>Serapis </i>and the <i>Alliance</i>, inserting these sketches in their record books after the fact. The Dutch government can now claim to recognize these flags, essentially making Jones' capture of the <i>Serapis </i>a legitimate wartime action. In the weeks that follow, the Dutch will treat Jones as a conquering hero, which he allows to distract him from worsening conditions aboard his ships, from a lack of winter clothing to a constant arrears in pay for the men to the gruesome fact that <i>Serapis </i>had not even been cleaned after the horrific battle. Eventually, Jones' increasing notoriety in the eyes of the Dutch public and constant pressure from the British will convince the Dutch to expel Jones and his squadron from the port. Meanwhile, while Jones is distracted by his newfound laurels, French officials will sell <i>Serapis </i>out from under him, then reclaim <i>Pallas</i>, <i>Vengeance</i>, and <i>Cerf</i>, leaving him <i>Alliance </i>(the only American-build and owned vessel of the squadron) to command. Jones' command of <i>Alliance </i>will be brief but noteworthy, as he brazenly races past the British vessels sent to capture him and well within sight of the British fleet at the Downs before arriving safely at Coruna, Spain on January 16, 1780.<br />
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The Battle of Flamborough Head is arguably the most iconic American naval victory during the American Revolution, and John Paul Jones won it in a sluggish old tub. In 1788, Thomas Jefferson would write of Jones, "I consider this officer to be the principle hope of our future efforts on the ocean." The inscription on Jones' tomb at the United States Naval Academy goes on to assert that "He gave our navy its earliest traditions of heroism and victory." Jones is among a handful of names that historians mention when referring to the father of the American Navy; certainly his future-mindedness in regards to naval power, dedication to the American cause, superb shiphandling skills, and unwavering courage in battle are certainly traits worthy of emulation. Jones had his share of faults as well, often related to allowing his ego to overcome his judgement. While I personally wouldn't style Jones the ONLY father of the United States Navy (John Barry for example, known for courage, seamanship, and professionalism is another contender for the title), he is certainly one of several men the USN can look to as an early example of its guiding principles.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Thomas, Evan. <i>John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy</i>. (Simon and Schuster, 2003).<br />
2. McGrath, Tim. <i>Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea</i>. (The Penguin Group, 2014).<br />
3. Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D’Otrange. <i>The Stars and the Stripes</i>. (Knopf, 1973).<br />
4. Journal of the American Revolution. <i>The Real Immortal Words of John Paul Jones</i>, <a href="https://allthingsliberty.com/2015/01/the-real-immortal-words-of-john-paul-jones/" target="_blank">https://allthingsliberty.com/2015/01/the-real-immortal-words-of-john-paul-jones/</a> (January 19, 2015).</div>
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-29483060608937768962017-09-06T11:45:00.004-04:002017-09-06T11:45:30.072-04:00The Turtle and the Eagle<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YtjVVj2K-UGZEbjoYzfwH619qKnU_nwtrU6-Md1IC9LwVMuJvy-3G7hQID3oV_0uy2piWR5LbmFz48o9mAKtkPliJ03hdJ8njLlFTO4MWlWqouUGpEvw6jgJIOELmCNLvExYGwqjuOBv/s1600/turtle01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YtjVVj2K-UGZEbjoYzfwH619qKnU_nwtrU6-Md1IC9LwVMuJvy-3G7hQID3oV_0uy2piWR5LbmFz48o9mAKtkPliJ03hdJ8njLlFTO4MWlWqouUGpEvw6jgJIOELmCNLvExYGwqjuOBv/s400/turtle01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full scale reproduction of the submarine <i>Turtle</i><br />
from the Turtle Project (2007). The submarine,<br />
piloted by Roy Manstan, was launched on November 10, 2007<br />
at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, Connecticut.</td></tr>
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With the outbreak of the American Revolution in April of 1775, thirteen North American colonies suddenly found themselves at odds with one of the foremost military powers of the 18th century. In order to combat the marked disadvantage with which Continental forces fought the British Army and Royal Navy, numerous innovations are thought up and implemented, with varying degrees of success. One of the more curious schemes of the American Revolution would take place on the night of September 6-7, 1776 in New York Harbor.<br />
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David Bushnell was a Connecticut farmer turned student, beginning his studies at Yale at age 31 in 1771. A great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, Bushnell hoped to become an inventor himself. While at Yale, Bushnell made waves (literally) with a number of experiments demonstrating that gunpowder could be detonated underwater. Hoping to put his inventive mind to use several years later, Bushnell develops a "Submarine Vessel" with which to attack British forces in New York harbor in late 1775/early 1776 named the <i>Turtle</i>.<br />
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For a description of <i>Turtle</i>, I think an excerpt of a letter from Dr. Benjamin Gale (a doctor at Yale) to Silas Deane written on December 9, 1775 serves best:<br />
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"The Body, when standing upright in the position in which it is navigated, has the nearest resemblance to the two upper shells of a Tortoise joined together. In length it doth not exceed 7-1/2 feet from the stem to the higher part of the rudder: the height not exceeding 6 feet. The person who navigates it enters at the top. It has a brass top or cover, which receives the person's head as he sits on a seat, and is fastened on the inside by screws. In this brass head is fixed eight glasses, viz. two before, two on each side, one behind, and one to look out upwards. In the same brass head are fixed two brass tubes, to admit fresh air when requisite, and a ventilator at the side to free the machine from the air rendered unfit for respiration. On the inside is fixed a Barometer, by which he can tell the depth he is under water; a Compass, by which he knows the course he steers. In the barometer and on the needles of the compass is fixed fox-fire, i.e. wood that gives light in the dark. His ballast consists of about 900 wt. of lead which he carried at the bottom and on the outside of the machine, part of which is so fixed as he can let run down to the Bottom, and serves as an anchor, by which he can ride ad libitum. He has a sounding lead fixed at the bow, by which he can take the depth of water under him; and to bring the machine into a perfect equilibrium with the water, he can admit so much water as is necessary, and has a forcing pump by which he can free the machine at pleasure, and can rise above water, and again immerge, as occasion requires.<br />
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In the bow, he has a pair of oars fixed like the two opposite arms of a wind mill, with which he can row forward, and turning them the opposite way, row the machine backward; another pair fixed upon the same model, with which he can row the machine round, either to the right or left, and a third, by which he can row the machine either up or down; all which are turn'd by foot, like a spinning wheel. The rudder by which he steers, he manages by hand, within board. All these shafts which pass through the machine are so curiously fix'd as not to admit any water to incommode the machine. The magazine for the powder is carried on the hinder part of the machine, without board, and so contrived, that when he comes under the side of the Ship, he rubs down the side until he comes to the keel, and a hook so fix'd as that when it touches the keel it raises a spring which frees the magazine from the machine and fastens it to the side of the Ship; at the same time, it draws a pin, which sets the watchwork agoing which, at a given time, springs the lock and the explosion ensues."<br />
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General George Washington was intrigued by Bushnell's vessel, giving him money and personnel to assist in its development. Beginning in the late summer of 1775, Bushnell began testing <i>Turtle</i>, but was frequently delayed by various setbacks. Finally, by early September 1776, <i>Turtle </i>was deemed ready to face the enemy. David Bushnell himself was too large to fit through <i>Turtle'</i><i>s </i>hatch, so his brother was initially slated to pilot the vessel into combat. When Bushnell's brother was stricken with the same "indisposition" ravaging Washington's camp, Sergeant Ezra Lee of the Continental Army was selected to take his place. The plan was to launch <i>Turtle </i>into New York harbor, affix the 150-pound gunpowder charge to the hull of <i>HMS Eagle, </i>a 64-gun ship of the line and flagship to Admiral Howe. If the mine was detonated successfully, <i>Eagle </i>would surely sink.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the attack did not go as planned.<br />
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Two whale boats were enlisted to tow <i>Turtle </i>from Manhattan, arriving in the waters near the British warships at around 11:00 PM on the night of September 6. Almost immediately upon being cast loose, <i>Turtle </i>was swept up in the strong tidal currents and carried far beyond his intended position. Sergeant Lee spends several hours rowing back into position, surfacing repeatedly to confirm his position and check his bearings. Finally, the submarine is alongside <i>Eagle</i>. Lee makes numerous attempts to drill into the warship's hull far enough to affix the mine, set the timer and depart, but the drill doesn't want to bite, having apparently struck metal. <i>Eagle </i>was known to have a coppered hull at this time, but the sheathing was thin enough for the drill to penetrate...some historians suggest that the drill encountered certain iron fittings connected to the ship's rudder, while others point out a vessel Turtle's size could only contain about a half hour of good air and that Sergeant Lee was undoubtedly suffering from carbon dioxide inhalation at this point. In either case, with dawn approaching, Lee abandons the attack and begins rowing towards an agreed upon rendezvous point some four miles away.<br />
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Once again current and tide conspire to make <i>Turtle's </i>path a difficult one. Despite phosphorescent needles, Lee has difficulty reading his instruments, forcing him to surface and continually correct his course. <i>Turtle's </i>erratic course soon draws the attention of British soldiers at Governor's Island, who board a barge to pursue the curious craft. Unable to outrun his pursuers, Lee decides to release his mine in their midst so "we should all be blown up together." Upon sighting the released charge, the British barge rows clear. Lee immediately takes that opportunity to make his escape, safely reaching his rendezvous to be towed safely home. Not long after, the mine explodes, sending a plume of planks and water high into the morning air. (Though British reports do not document the alleged detonation.)<br />
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Even though <i>Turtle </i>failed to destroy the <i>Eagle, </i>George Washington would write of the submarine years later, "I then thought, and still think, that it was an effort of genius." This was also not the last nautical scheme Bushnell would be involved with during the war; his underwater mines would provide the catalyst for the 1778 <a href="http://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-revolutionary-kegger-january-5-1778.html">"Battle of the Kegs"</a> in Philadelphia. Over the years, numerous groups have taken an interest in <i>Turtle's </i>exploits: full scale replicas have been constructed for the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and the Connecticut River Museum (which actually launched theirs in 2007), and the submarine was dramatized in an early episode of <i>TURN: Washington's Spies</i>. While later submarines would earn the distinction of being the first to sink an enemy warship, <i>Turtle </i>remains the first documented use of a submarine in combat.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. McGrath, Tim. <i>Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. </i>(The Penguin Group, 2014).<br />
2. Naval History and Heritage Command, <i>The Submarine Turtle: Naval Documents of the Revolutionary War</i>, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/submarine-turtle-naval-documents.html">https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/submarine-turtle-naval-documents.html</a> (May 21, 2015).</div>
</div>
virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-64099360981049220192017-08-22T12:21:00.001-04:002017-08-22T12:21:16.730-04:00An Arctic Summer: August 11-22, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBa-P0sQwQqdWrzhe8w0gpp2yrLcvSBGSGfFsd9sbQJ1XBwd9yfJHg9qIvZRAvChLuwgq99kX4IepZRM4aQ1CtHPhlX0oO5rNIFdraRXJ85jo01MQWYLO_mZF-C5LVNkIhloms-F0tZLHZ/s1600/track.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBa-P0sQwQqdWrzhe8w0gpp2yrLcvSBGSGfFsd9sbQJ1XBwd9yfJHg9qIvZRAvChLuwgq99kX4IepZRM4aQ1CtHPhlX0oO5rNIFdraRXJ85jo01MQWYLO_mZF-C5LVNkIhloms-F0tZLHZ/s320/track.png" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Track of the <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass</i><br />
with position plots from throughout the<br />
expedition from 6/13 to 8/22 of 1773.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Following their labors in getting free of the polar ice the previous week, the ships of the Phipps Expedition arrive at the port of Smeerenberg in Spitsbergen (part of the Svarlbard archipelago in northern Norway). The five journal entries in today's blog post mark the end of my series of posts chronicling "An Arctic Summer." Hopefully you've had a good time following the expedition's progress.<br />
<br />
"11th. Came to an anchor in the harbour of Smeerenberg, to refresh the people after their fatigues. We found here four of the Dutch ships, which we had left in the Norways when we sailed from Vogel Sang, and upon which I had depended for carrying the people home in case we had been obliged to quit the ships. In this Sound there is good anchorage in thirteen fathom, sandy bottom, not far from the shore: it is well sheltered from all winds. The island close to which we lay is called Amsterdam Island, the Westernmost point of which is Hacluyt's Head Land: here the Dutch used formerly to boil their whale-oil, and the remains of some conveniences erected by them for that purpose are still visible. Once they attempted to make an establishment, and left some people to winter here, who all perished. The Dutch ships still resort to this place for the latter season of the whale fishery."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/11 Weather on Expedition: 33°F at noon, winds from the ENE, hazy weather.<br />
8/11 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 79°F at noon with a heat index of 87°F, 5 mph winds from the S, clear.<br />
<br />
Phipps and company will spend more than a week in and around Smeerenberg; both to allow the exhausted crews of Racehorse and Carcass to recover from their recent near marooning, and to take observations with a variety of scientific instruments and conduct a survey of the flora and fauna found nearby. Be sure to take note of how Phipps had laid plans from the very beginning to return the crews safely to England if his own vessels had been lost...if circumstances earlier in the month had not improved, they may well have had to make use those Dutch ships waiting at Smeerenberg.<br />
<br />
"18th. Completed the observations. Calm all day. During our stay, I again set up the pendulum, but was not so fortunate as before, never having been able to get an observation of a revolution of the sun, or equal altitudes for the time. We had an opportunity of determining the refraction at midnight, which answered within a few seconds to the calculation in Dr. Bradley's table, allowing for the barometer and thermometer. Being within sight of Cloven Cliff, I took a survey of this part of Fair Haven, to connect it with the plan of the other part. Dr. Irving climbed up a mountain, to take its height with the barometer, which I determined at the same time geometrically with great care. By repeated observations here we found the latitude to be 79°44', which by the survey corresponded exactly with the latitude of Cloven Cliff, determined before; the longitude 9°50'45"E; dip 82°8'3/4; variation 18°57'W; which agrees also with the observation made on shore in July. Opposite to the place where the instruments stood was one of the most remarkable Icebergs in this country. Icebergs are large bodies of ice filling the vallies between the high mountains; the face towards the sea is nearly perpendicular, and of a very lively light green colour. That represented in the engraving, from a sketch taken by Mr. D'Auvergne upon the spot, was about three hundred feet high, with a cascade of water issuing out of it. The black mountains, white snow, and beautiful colour of the ice, make a very romantic and uncommon picture. Large pieces frequently break off from the Icebergs, and fall with great noise into the water: we observed one piece which had floated out into the bay, and grounded in twenty-four fathom; it was fifty feet high above the surface of the water, and of the same beautiful colour as the Iceberg.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFN6bSFwUuFDr_2b4bRMKfHkgo6M3vtsPhIv-85IdyCrE5y8q4IubCQo9R9L1iAI4Dh_URt9TQesfa6_nb-HiME6eVrVXwjQmB9G_Pqu5IcemPYdcQWDmYQDPz9qFBZamEJZ6hH-zLoFm/s1600/iceberg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1600" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFN6bSFwUuFDr_2b4bRMKfHkgo6M3vtsPhIv-85IdyCrE5y8q4IubCQo9R9L1iAI4Dh_URt9TQesfa6_nb-HiME6eVrVXwjQmB9G_Pqu5IcemPYdcQWDmYQDPz9qFBZamEJZ6hH-zLoFm/s640/iceberg.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An engraving "View of an Iceberg" published with the expedition journal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A particular description of all the plants and animals will have a place in the Appendix. I shall here mention such general observations as my short stay enabled me to make. The stone we found was chiefly a kind of marble, which dissolved easily in the marine acid. We perceived no marks of minerals of any kind, nor the least appearance of present, or remains of former Volcanoes. Neither did we meet with insects, or any species of reptiles; not even the common earthworm. We saw no springs or rivers, the water, which we found in great plenty, being all produced by the melting of the snow from the mountains. During the whole time we were in these latitudes, there was no thunder or lightning. I must also add, that I never found what is mentioned by Marten (who is generally accurate in his observations, and faithful in his accounts) of the sun at midnight resembling in appearance the moon; I saw no difference in clear weather between the sun at midnight and any other time, but what arose from a different degree of altitude; the brightness of the light appearing there, as well as elsewhere, to depend upon the obliquity of his rays. The sky was in general loaded with hard white clouds; so that I do not remember to have ever seen the sun and horizon both free from them even in the clearest weather. We could always perceive when we were approaching the ice, long before we saw it, by a bright appearance near the horizon, which the pilots called the <i>blink of the ice</i>. Hudson remarked, that the sea where he met with ice was blue; but the green sea was free from it. I was particularly attentive to observe this difference, but could never discern it. The Driftwood in these seas has given rise to various opinions and conjectures, both as to its nature and the place of its growth. All that which we saw (except the pipe-staves taken notice of by Doctor Irving on the Low Island) was fir, and not worm-eaten. The place of the growth I had no opportunity of ascertaining. The nature of the ice was a principal object of attention in this climate. We found always a great swell near the edge of it; but whenever we got within the loose ice, the water was constantly smooth. The loose fields and flaws, as well as the interior part of the fixed ice, were flat, and low: with the wind blowing on the ice, the loose parts were always, to use the phrase of the Greenlandmen, <i>packed</i>; the ice at the edges appearing rough, and piled up; this roughness and height I imagine to proceed from the smaller pieces being thrown up by the force of the sea on the solid part. During the time that we were fast amongst the Seven Islands, we had frequent opportunities of observing the irresistible force of the large bodies of floating ice. We have often seen a piece of several acres square lifted up between two much larger pieces, and as it were becoming one with them; and afterwards this piece so formed acting in the same manner upon a second and third; which would probably have continued to be the effect, till the whole bay had been so filled with ice that the different pieces could have had no motion, had not the stream taken an unexpected turn, and set the ice out of the bay."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/18 Weather on Expedition: 46°F at noon, winds from the NE, clear.<br />
8/18 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 88°F at noon with a heat index of 104°F, light winds from the SSW, clear and humid.<br />
<br />
After a much-needed break in Smeerenburg, <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>put back to sea, once again trying to penetrate the North Pole to the ocean on the far side of the world.<br />
<br />
"20th. At midnight, being exactly in the latitude of Cloven Cliff, Mr. Harvey took an observation for the refraction; which we found to agree with the tables. The wind Southerly all day, blowing fresh in the afternoon. About noon fell in with a stream of loose ice, and about four made the main ice near us. We stood to the WNW along it at night, and found it in the same situation as we saw it before; the wind freshened and the weather grew thick, so that we lost sight of it, and could not venture to stand nearer, the wind being SSW."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/20 Weather on Expedition: 40°F at noon, winds from the SW, cloudy.<br />
8/20 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 87°F at noon with a heat index of 96°F, light winds from the E, clear.<br />
<br />
"21st. At two in the morning we were close in with the body of the West ice, and obliged to tack for it; blowing fresh, with a very heavy sea from the Southward. The wind abated in the afternoon, but the swell continued, with a thick fog."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/21 Weather on Expedition: 40°F at noon, winds from the SE by S, foggy.<br />
8/21 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 89°F at noon with a heat index of 100°F, 5 mph winds from the SSE, partly cloudy.<br />
<br />
"22d. The wind sprung up Northerly, with a thick fog; about noon moderate and clearer; but coming on to blow fresh again in the evening, with a great sea, and thick fog, I was forced to haul more to the Eastward, lest we should be embayed, or run upon lee ice. The season was so very far advanced, and fogs as well as gales of wind so much to be expected, that nothing more could now have been done, had anything been left untried. The summer appears to have been uncommonly favourable for our purpose, and afforded us the fullest opportunity of ascertaining repeatedly the situation of that wall of ice, extending more than twenty degrees between the latitudes of eighty and eighty-one, without the smallest appearance of any opening."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/22 Weather on Expedition: 37°F at noon, winds from the NE, hazy.<br />
8/22 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 89°F at noon with a heat index of 100°F, 5 mph winds from the S, sunny and clear.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBn4MJqZUkN8waMhcumWSMSIZ-Pf8_MHJtDLyhOmiQN8Dc7sbvBDlzg-wKSJk0EdhXgd76Lzq8K6s6fz8KnniJwcxAiTEkv5N84sno705AZwBMGv9iveZj_11hl602DHoqh3Erz21LlqBb/s1600/article.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="431" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBn4MJqZUkN8waMhcumWSMSIZ-Pf8_MHJtDLyhOmiQN8Dc7sbvBDlzg-wKSJk0EdhXgd76Lzq8K6s6fz8KnniJwcxAiTEkv5N84sno705AZwBMGv9iveZj_11hl602DHoqh3Erz21LlqBb/s320/article.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An excerpt from Purdie and Dixon's <i>Virginia Gazette</i><br />
from December 9, 1773. As part of a larger<br />
dispatch from September 20, it includes a brief summary<br />
of the Phipps Expedition, though the ship <i>Racehorse</i><br />
is mistakenly identified as <i>Seahorse</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Based upon Phipps' notes, following the main body of the ice in those latitudes means he followed the coast for a distance of approximately 198 nautical miles without finding any significant passages farther north. After resolving to return to England, the ships sight their first star on August 24th (Jupiter) while passing 75°59' N...this is the first time they've seen a star aside from the sun, which has been above the northern horizon since June 19th. The journal concludes with two pages of notes marked 'September' as <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>wend their way back home. More temperature and depth readings are taken of the ocean...sounding a depth of 683 fathoms at one point. Towards the end of the month, much closer to England, both ships are caught in heavy seas and storms...Captain Phipps remarked that it is fortunate the vessels left home when they did, as if the two ships had encountered such weather earlier in the expedition when they were much heavier laden, they stood a good chance of foundering. Even though the Phipps Expedition never made it across the North Pole, Captain Phipps seemed genuinely pleased with what his crews accomplished...confirmed navigational data, conducted important measurements and observations, catalogued various plants and animals in the Arctic, and brought both vessels safely home.<br />
<br />
Now for our final comparisons between Williamsburg and Expedition weather: to be perfectly honest, I've experienced colder winters here in town, though admittedly I haven't had to deal with anything remotely as difficult as what Phipps and company experienced. Despite a sudden increase of humidity and the heat index several days this week, Williamsburg's summer seems to be moderating as well. After reading through this journal several times, I can see why participating in this expedition left such strong impressions on Nicholas Biddle, eventually of the Continental Navy. <br />
<br />
The Phipps Expedition is a perfect example of the Age of Reason/Enlightenment, a period spanning the eighteenth century that placed an increasing emphasis on empiricism and rational thought over the mysticism and religion of previous centuries. The Age of Reason saw a boom in scientific discovery, exploration, and the growth of various societies and academies that spread this knowledge to an increasingly literate population. Think of two people contemplating some aspect of the unknown: "What happens if we do this?" "I don't know. Let's try it and find out." While the results weren't always predictable, people like Constantine Phipps and George Wythe (to name a Williamsburg naturalist of the time) continued to learn about the world around them through observation, experimentation, and experience: an example worth following indeed.<br />
<br />
Source:<br />
Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-4083024382380313292017-08-10T13:17:00.000-04:002017-08-20T20:18:05.025-04:00An Arctic Summer: July 31-August 10, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkq-0MmChy8-k_cfRbLWbHqzsSEAggcn4jvpMynfVV_Qm44NKuZi9CXFmDurVLf7MJ2eIkvy-rv6ZQtT4NXBq7fGHl49MrrqhG5I1XgzTyEVGwtoUXpvQP9efa9ORm3oMLr2k51Zr10KMt/s1600/course.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="552" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkq-0MmChy8-k_cfRbLWbHqzsSEAggcn4jvpMynfVV_Qm44NKuZi9CXFmDurVLf7MJ2eIkvy-rv6ZQtT4NXBq7fGHl49MrrqhG5I1XgzTyEVGwtoUXpvQP9efa9ORm3oMLr2k51Zr10KMt/s320/course.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Track of the <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>with position plots<br />
for 7/29 and 7/31. Foggy weather described in the <br />
meteorlogical journal likely prevented observations <br />
in early August. Red circle indicates islands off <br />
"North East Land" where the ships were most likely <br />
beset by ice as the journal describes on Ausgust 3-10.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Phipps Expedition enters its third month at sea, continuing their attempts to penetrate the polar waters. They've been in close with the "main body" of the ice (which I take to be their encounters with the polar ice cap) for some time now, trying to explore small channels and bays in the hopes that they will prove to be an extended passage farther north. Almost without fail, these passages are little more than a mile or two long before closing up. As we get into this post's journal entries, <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>find themselves in an extensive field of loose ice near the main body, with the loose ice slowly packing closer and closer together around the ships.<br />
<br />
"July 31st. At nine in the morning, having a light breeze to the Eastward, we cast off, and endeavoured to force through the ice. At noon the ice was so close, that being unable to proceed, we moored again to a field. In the afternoon we filled our cask with fresh water from the ice, which we found very pure and soft. The <i>Carcass </i>moved, and made fast to the same field with us. The ice measured eight yards ten inches in thickness at one end, and seven yards eleven inches at the other. At four in the afternoon the variation was 12°24' W: at the same time the longitude 19°0'15" E; by which we found that we had hardly moved to the Eastward since the day before. Calm most part of the day; the weather very fine; the ice closed fast, and was all round the ships; no opening to be seen any where, except an hole of about a mile and a half, where the ships lay fast to the ice with ice-anchors. We completed the water. The ship's company were playing on the ice all day. The pilots being much farther than they had ever been, and the season advancing, seemed alarmed at being beset."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/31 Weather on Expedition: 48°F at noon, light airs at E, fair.<br />
7/31 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 82°F at noon with a heat index of 83°, light winds from the E, sunny.<br />
<br />
"August 3d. The weather very fine, clear, and calm; we perceived that the ships had been driven far to the Eastward; the ice was much closer than before, and the passage by which we had come in from the Westward closed up, no open water being in sight, either in that or any other quarter. The pilots having expressed a wish to get if possible farther out, the ships companies were set to work at five in the morning, to cut a passage through the ice, and warp through the small openings to the Westward. We found the ice very deep, having sawed sometimes through pieces twelve feet thick. This labour was continued the whole day, but without any success; our utmost efforts not having moved the ships above three hundred yards to the Westward through the ice, at the same time that they had been driven (together with the ice itself, to which they were fast) far to the NE and Eastward, by the current; which had also forced the loose ice from the Westward, between the islands, where it became packed, and as firm as the main body."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/3 Weather on Expedition: 47° F at noon, light airs and fair weather.<br />
8/3 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 89°F at noon with a heat index of 94°F, 7 mph winds from the SE, sunny.<br />
<br />
After the light-hearted Arctic recreation of the 31st (I cannot help but picture Jack Aubrey and the crew of HMS <i>Surprise </i>staging a polar cricket tournament in such a setting), it seems the fears of the Greenland pilots have been realized; the ships are now trapped by pack ice. As the ice drifts along in a large mass, the ships are carried with them, perhaps to as yet unseen shoals or fully aground, where they mat well be destroyed. Light and flirty winds offer no help. On the 5th, Captain Phipps sends Midshipman Walden and one of the Greenland pilots with a boat crew to a nearby island (which he now refers to as Walden's Island on his charts), instructing him to use the high ground there to search for a path back to open water.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqyILuVnWKskIt2lPwaHDZ5-YV5ndwdl481nEqS2wb7AOODp0ENSMHsKApb-604OsMdTQPx76wj5rDbe5dSBzonl1hXdL-hrG5EF5a_AIj3WFeY3Nddmh2roPGWT6UpmHjVNke44PoojEs/s1600/carcass.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="841" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqyILuVnWKskIt2lPwaHDZ5-YV5ndwdl481nEqS2wb7AOODp0ENSMHsKApb-604OsMdTQPx76wj5rDbe5dSBzonl1hXdL-hrG5EF5a_AIj3WFeY3Nddmh2roPGWT6UpmHjVNke44PoojEs/s400/carcass.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"HMS <i>Carcass </i>Trapped in the Ice"<br />
By Robert A. Wilson<br />
The Mariner's Museum - Newport News, VA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"6th. Mr Walden and the pilots, who were sent the day before to examine the state of the ice from the island, returned this morning with an account, that the ice, though close all about us, was open to the Westward, round the point by which we came in. They also told me, that when upon the island they had the wind very fresh to the Eastward, though where the ships lay it had been almost calm all day. This circumstance considerably lessened the hopes we had hitherto entertained of the immediate effect of an Easterly wind in clearing the bay. We had but one alternative; either patiently to wait the event of the weather upon the ships, in hopes of getting them out, or to betake ourselves to the boats. The ships had driven into shoal water, having but fourteen fathom. Should they, or the ice to which they were fast, take the ground, they must be inevitably lost, and probably overset. The hopes of getting the ships out was not hastily to be relinquished, nor obstinately adhered to, till all other means of retreat were cut off. Having no harbor to lodge them in, it would be impossible to winter them here, with any possibility of their being again serviceable; our provisions would be very short for such an undertaking, were it otherwise feasible; and supposing, what appeared impossible, that we could get to the nearest rocks, and make some conveniences for wintering, being now in an unfrequented part, where ships never even attempt to come, we should have the same difficulties to encounter the next year, without the same resources; the remains of the ship's company, in all probability, not in health; no provisions; and the sea not so open, this year having certainly been uncommonly clear. Indeed it could not have been expected that a very small part should survive the hardships of such a winter with every advantage; much less in our present situation. On the other hand, the undertaking to move so large a body for so considerable a distance by boats, was not without very serious difficulties. Should we remain much longer here, the bad weather must be expected to set in. The stay of the Dutchmen to the Northward is very doubtful: if the Northern harbours keep clear, they stay till the beginning of September; but when the loose ice sets in, they quit them immediately. I thought it proper to send for the officers of both ships, and informed of my intention of preparing the boats for going away. I immediately hoisted out the boats, and took every precaution in my power to make them secure and comfortable: the fitting would necessarily take up some days. The water shoaling, and the ships driving fast towards the rocks to the NE, I ordered canvass bread-bags to be made, in case it should be necessary very suddenly to betake ourselves to the boats: I also sent a man with a lead and line to the Northward, and another from the <i>Carcass </i>to the Eastward, to sound wherever they found cracks in the ice, that we might have notice before either the ships, or the ice to which they were fast, took the ground; as in that case, they must instantly have been crushed or overset. The weather bad; most part of the day foggy, and rather cold."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/6 Weather on Expedition: No weather data recorded on August 6.<br />
8/6 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 83°F at noon with a heat index of 85°F, light winds from the WSW, mostly cloudy.<br />
<br />
"7th. In the morning I set out with the Launch over the ice; she hauled much easier than I could have expected; we got her about two miles. I then returned with the people for their dinner. Finding the ice rather more open near the ships I was encouraged to attempt moving them. The wind being Easterly, though but little of it, we set the sails, and got the ships about a mile to the Westward. They moved indeed, but very slowly, and were not now by a great deal so far to the Westward as where they were beset. However, I kept all the sail upon them, to force through whenever the ice slacked the least. The people behaved very well in hauling the boat; they seemed reconciled to the idea of quitting the ships, and to have the fullest confidence in their officers. The boats could not with the greatest diligence be got to the water side before the fourteenth; if the situation of the ships did not alter by that time, I should not be justified in staying longer by them. In the mean time I resolved to carry on both attempts together, moving the boats constantly, but without omitting any opportunity of getting the ships through."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/7 Weather on Expedition: 38°F at midnight, winds from the W, foggy.<br />
8/7 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 82°F at noon with a heat index of 90°F, 10 mph winds from the SSW, rain.<br />
<br />
From the first moment the Royal Society and other sponsors began planning the expedition, they realized that there was a very strong possibility that one or both ships might have to be abandoned. As such, both Racehorse and Carcass were large enough to support both ship's companies, and enough boats were provided to accommodate everyone should the larger vessels need to be left behind. The seamen were picked from experienced, reliable hands, and the officers were selected with equal care. Even so, I find it worth mentioning that the crews are facing the possibility of such future hardship with relative aplomb. Granted, British seamen of the time are known for their bravery and dedication, but one would have thought there would be at least a little grumbling. I thing that this is owed in no small part to the leadership of Captains Phipps and Lutwidge and their officers, and the fact that they already had contingency plans in place for most situations they could expect to face. Fortunately, as the launches are slowly dragged towards the open water, the ice binding both ships begins drifting to the west and loosening up a bit, hinting that the expedition's situation might not be so dire.<br />
<br />
"9th. A thick fog in the morning: we moved the ship a little through some very small openings. In the afternoon, upon its clearing up, we were agreeably surprized to find the ships had driven much more than we could have expected to the Westward. We worked hard all day, and got them something more to the Westward through the ice; ut nothing in comparison to what the ice itself had drifted. We got past the Launches; I sent a number of men for them, and got them on board. Between three and four in the morning the wind was Westerly, and it snowed fast. The people having been much fatigued, we were obliged to desist from working for a few hours. The progress which the ships had made through the ice was, however, a very favourable event: the drit of the ice was an advantage that might be as suddenly lost, as it had been unexpectedly gained, by a change in the current: we had experienced the inefficacy of an Easterly wind when fa in the bay, and under the high land; but having now got through so much of the ice, we began again to conceive hopes that a brisk gale from that quarter would soon effectually clear us."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/9 Weather on Expedition: 34°F at noon, variable winds, foggy.<br />
8/9 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 79°F at noon with a heat index of 82°, light winds from ESE, partly cloudy and mild.<br />
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"10th. The wind springing up to the NNE in the morning, we set all the sail we could upon the ship, and forced her through a great deal of very heavy ice: she struck often very hard, and with one stroke broke the shank of the best bower anchor. About noon we had got her through all the ice, and out to sea. I stood to the NW to make the ice, and found the main body just where we left it. At three in the morning, with a good breeze Easterly, we were standing to the Westward, between the land and the ice, both in sight; the weather hazey."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
8/10 Weather on Expedition: 33°F at noon, winds from the ENE, cloudy.<br />
8/10 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 79°F at noon with a heat index of 82°F, light winds from the ESE, sunny.<br />
<br />
We've had a fairly mild spell in Williamsburg weather-wise. Still warm and occasionally humid, but this is definitely not characteristic of the early Augusts I've experienced here in the past. Even Phipps and company seem to be enjoying relatively easy weather for the region...upper 40's then dropping into the low to mid 30's by the time they escape the ice. Granted, they've got incredibly hard labor to deal with in dragging boats for miles and chopping at the pack ice in an attempt to get the vessels clear. Luckily, the worst days of the expedition are behind them. My next post will detail the final days of the expedition and bring "An Arctic Summer" to a close. Stay tuned!<br />
<br />
Source:<br />
Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-81966788747074565342017-07-29T16:26:00.000-04:002017-08-20T20:18:17.765-04:00An Arctic Summer: July 23-29, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4m6gMeHV7c3H3yC-8CJsowAu1w9Wv5V759WquDggrCLw02178PrajwQNhbg6AgAxStv_InYCsDzWozdqQtHQF6kdq8ASbD4QHy3OuhL8AVIQ2FH6-AsNH_fBh2NlktdgIyx2eCot58v5/s1600/plot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="380" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4m6gMeHV7c3H3yC-8CJsowAu1w9Wv5V759WquDggrCLw02178PrajwQNhbg6AgAxStv_InYCsDzWozdqQtHQF6kdq8ASbD4QHy3OuhL8AVIQ2FH6-AsNH_fBh2NlktdgIyx2eCot58v5/s320/plot.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Track of the <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>with position plots<br />
for June 29, June 30, July 5, July 10, July 23, and July 29.</td></tr>
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Having finally reached the main body of northern ice, Captain Phipps and company waste little time in trying to penetrate through to the far side of the world. Almost immediately, the work done to reinforce the hulls of <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>comes in handy, as both ships collide with large bodies of ice. Phipps had previously tried to penetrate the ice in this particular region on two occasions earlier in the month, but the advancing summer allows them to get just a bit farther. As channels or streams appear to open up in the ice, the expedition explores each one as far as is practicable, hoping each time they'll discover a sea passage across the North Pole.<br />
<br />
"23d. At midnight, tacked for the body of the ice. Latitude observed 80°13'38" Rainy in the morning; fair in the afternoon: still working up to the Northward and Eastward, with the wind Easterly. At six in the evening, the Cloven Cliff bearing South about six leagues, sounded in 200 fathom, muddy ground; the lead appeared to have sunk one third of its length in the mud. At two in the morning, with little wind, and a swell from the South West, I stood to the Northward amongst the loose ice: at half past two the main body of the ice a cable's length off, and the loose ice so close that we wore ship, not having room or way enough to tack; struck very hard against the ice in getting the ship round, and got upon one piece, which lifted her in the water for near a minute, before her weight broke it. The ships had been so well strengthened, that they received no damage for these strokes; and I could with the more confidence push through the loose ice, to try for openings. Hacluyt's Head Land bore S 50° W distant about seven leagues."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/23 Weather on Expedition: 36°F at noon, winds from the E, rain.<br />
7/23 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 94°F with a heat index of 106°F at noon, 8 mph winds from the W, sunny.<br />
<br />
"24th. By this situation of the ice we were disappointed of getting directly to the Northward, without any prospect after so many fruitless attempts of being able to succeed to the Westward; nor indeed, could I with an Easterly wind and heavy swell attempt it, as the wind from that quarter would not only pack the loose ice close to the Westward, but by setting the sea on it, make it as improper to be approached as a rocky lee shore. To the Eastward on the contrary it would make smooth water, and detach all the loose ice from the edges; perhaps break a stream open, and give us a fair trial to the Northward; at all events, with an Easterly wind we could run out again, if we did not find it practicable to proceed. Finding the ice so fast to the Northward and Westward, it became a desirable object to ascertain how far it was possible to get to the Eastward, and by that means pursue the voyage to the Northward. These considerations determined me to ply to the Eastward, and make another push to get through where I had been three times repulsed. In working to the Eastward, we kept as near the body of ice as possible. At noon the Cloven Cliff bore SWbS about seven leagues. At six we were working to the NE, and at nine we steered to the SE, the ice appearing more open that way: we had fresh gales and cloudy weather. The ship struck very hard in endeavouring to force through the loose ice. At midnight the wind freshened, and we double reefed the topsails. It was probably owing to the fresh gales this day, as well as to the summer being more advanced, that we were enable to get farther than in any of our former attempts this way. We continued coasting the ice, and at two in the morning the north part of Vogel Sang and Hacluyt's Head Land in one bore S 65° W; Cloven Cliff S 52° W; the nearest part of the shore about three leagues off. When I left the deck, at four in the morning, <a href="http://virginiantar.blogspot.com/2017/07/an-arctic-summer-july-5-10-1773.html" target="_blank">we were very near the spot where the ships had been fast in the ice on the 7th in the evening,</a> but rather farther to the Eastward; we had passed over the same shoal water we had met with that day, and we were now in twenty fathom, rocky ground; still amongst loose ice, but not so close as we had hitherto found it."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/24 Weather on Expedition: 39°F at noon, winds from the E, cloudy.<br />
7/24 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 88°F with a heat index of 95°F at noon, 8mph winds from the WSW, partly cloudy.<br />
<br />
"25th. At seven in the morning we had deepened our water to fifty-five fathom, and were still amongst the loose ice. At noon we had deepened our water to seventy fathom, with muddy bottom, at the distance of about three miles from the nearest land. By two in the afternoon we had passed Deer Field, which we had so often before attempted without success; and finding the sea open to the NE, had the most flattering prospect of getting to the Northward. From this part, all the way to the Eastward, the coast wears a different face; the mountains, though high, are neither so steep or sharp-pointed, nor of so black a colour as to the Westward. It was probably owing to this remarkable difference in the appearance of the shore, that the old navigators gave to places hereabouts the names of <i>Red Beach, Red Hill,</i> and <i>Red Cliff</i>. One of them, speaking of this part, has described the whole country in a few words: "Here (says he) I saw a more natural earth and clay than any that I have seen in all the country, but nothing growing thereupon more than in other places." At two in the afternoon we had little wind, and were in sight of Moffen Island, which is very low and flat.<br />
<br />
The <i>Carcass </i>being becalmed very near the island in the evening, Captain Lutwidge took that opportunity of obtaining the following exact account of its extent, which he communicated to me.<br />
<br />
"At 10 PM, the body of Moffen Island bearing EbS distant two miles; sounded thirteen fathoms; rocky ground, with light brown mud, and broken shells. Sent the master on shore, who found the island to be nearly of a round form, about two miles in diameter, with a lake or large pond of water i the middle, all frozen over, except thirty or forty yards around the edge of it, which was water, with loose pieces of broken ice, and so shallow they walked through it, and went over upon the firm solid ice. The ground between the sea and the pond is from half a cable's length to a quarter of a mile broad, and the whole island covered with gravel and small stones, without the least verdure or vegetation of any kind. They saw only one piece of drift wood (about three fathom long, with a root on it, and as thick as the <i>Carcass's </i>mizen mast) which had been thrown up over the high part of the land, and lay upon the declivity towards the pond. They saw three bears, and a number of wild ducks, geese, and other sea fowls, with birds nests all over the island. There was an inscription over the grave of a Dutchman, who was buried there in July 1771. It was low water at eleven o'clock when the boat landed, and the tide appeared to flow eight or nine feet; at that time we found a current carrying the Ship to the NW from the island, which before carried us to the SE (at the rate of a mile an hour) towards it. On the West side is a fine white sandy bottom, from two fathoms, at a ship's length from the beach, to five fathoms, at half a mile's distance off."<br />
<br />
The soundings all about this island, and to the Eastward, seem to partake of the nature of the coast. To the Westward the rocks were high, and the shores bold and steep to; here the land shelved more, and the soundings were shoal, from thirty to ten fathom. It appears extraordinary that none of the old navigators, who are so accurate and minute in their descriptions of the coast, have taken any notice of this island, so remarkable and different from everything they had seen on the Western coast; unless we should suppose that it did not then exist, and that the streams from the great ocean up the West side of Spitsbergen, and through the Waygat's Straits, meeting here, have raised this bank, and occasioned the quantity of ice that generally blocks up the coast hereabouts.--At four in the afternoon, hoisted out the boat, and tried the current, which set NEbE, at the rate of three quarters of a mile an hour. At midnight, Moffen Island bore from SEbS to SbW, distant about five miles."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/25 Weather on Expedition: 39.5°F at noon, winds from NWbN, hazy.<br />
7/25 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 89°F with a heat index of 92°F at noon, 2mph winds from the SSW, mostly cloudy.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OtOhPYbcRmMjPWo448zrnW_SOiXXqbH4g5goP6FtujnsivPHB12xQ2D89v9TluXkZslKfCidjjWM5TgfHr1UF5niA23v3qZLxomb7S31xgbTxW6p1m64UoBAvvjZxS0ik4ZrmmwWyZbZ/s1600/nelsonandbear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1200" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OtOhPYbcRmMjPWo448zrnW_SOiXXqbH4g5goP6FtujnsivPHB12xQ2D89v9TluXkZslKfCidjjWM5TgfHr1UF5niA23v3qZLxomb7S31xgbTxW6p1m64UoBAvvjZxS0ik4ZrmmwWyZbZ/s640/nelsonandbear.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Nelson and the Bear" by Richard Westall, 1806.</td></tr>
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Somewhere near this point in the voyage, one of the more popular anecdotes of Horatio Nelson's early life is said to have taken place. Robert Southey tells the story best in his 1813 <i>The Life of Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson</i>:<br />
<br />
"One night, during the mid-watch, he stole from the ship with one of his comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and set off over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was not long before they were missed. The fog thickened, and Captain Lutwidge and his officers became exceedingly alarmed for their safety. Between three and four in the morning the weather cleared, and the two adventurers were seen, at a considerable distance from the ship, attacking a huge bear. The signal for them to return was immediately made; Nelson's comrade called upon him to obey it, but in vain; his musket had flashed in the pan; their ammunition was expended; and a chasm in the ice, which divided him from the bear, probably preserved his life. 'Never mind,' he cried; 'do but let me get a blow at this devil with the butt-end of my musket, and we shall have him.' Captain Lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a gun, which had the desired effect of frightening the beast; and the boy then returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of his trespass. The captain reprimanded him sternly for conduct so unworthy of the office which he filled, and desired to know what motive he could have for hunting a bear. 'Sir,' said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to do when agitated, 'I wished to kill the bear, that I might carry the skin to my father.'"<br />
<br />
A more recent biography of Lord Nelson states that no record exists of Nelson venturing out on his own to shoot a bear; the story first appears in 1809 as part of <i>The Life of Admiral Lord Nelson, KB, from His Lordship's Manuscripts </i>by James Stainer Clarke and John McArthur. The authors attribute the story to Captain Lutwidge of the <i>Carcass </i>himself, so who knows what really happened? It certainly makes for a great seaman's yarn.<br />
<br />
"29th. At midnight the latitude by observation was 80°21'. At four, tacked close to the ice, hauled up the foresail and backed the mizen topsail, having too much way amongst the loose ice. At noon, latitude observed was 80°24'56". An opening, which we supposed to be the entrance of Waygat's Straits, bore south; the Northernmost land NEbE; the nearest shore distant about four miles. In the afternoon the officer from the deck came down to tell me, we were very near a small rock even with the water's edge; on going up, I saw it within little more than a ship's length on the lee bow, and put the helm down: before the ship got round, we were cloe to it, and perceived it to be a very small piece of ice, covered with gravel. In the evening, seeing the Northern part of the islands only over the ice, I was anxious to get round it, in hopes of finding an opening under the land. Being near a low flat island opposite the Waygat's Straits, not higher, but much larger than Moffen Island, we had an heavy swell from the Southward, with little wind, and from ten to twenty fathom: having got past this island, approaching to thee high land to the Eastward, we deepened our water very suddenly to 117 fathom. Having little wind, and the weather very clear, two of the officers went with a boat in pursuit of some sea-horses, and afterwards to the low island. At midnight we found by observation the latitude 80°27'3", and the dip 82°2'1/2. At four in the morning I found, by Bouguer's log, that the current set two fathom to the Eastward. At six in the morning the officers returned from the island; in their way back they had fired at, and wounded a sea-horse, which dived immediately, and brought up with it a number of others. They all joined in an attack upon the boat, wrested an oar from one of the men, and were with difficulty prevented from staving or oversetting her; but a boat from the <i>Carcass </i>joining ours, they dispersed. One of that ship's boats had been attacked in the same manner off Moffen Island. When I left the deck at six in the morning, the weather was remarkably clear, and quite calm. To the NE, amongst the islands, I saw much ice, but also much water between the pieces; which gives me hopes that when a breeze sprung up, I should be able to get to the Northward by that way."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/29 Weather on Expedition: 42°F at noon, winds from the ESE, clear.<br />
7/29 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 74° at noon, 9mph winds from the N, overcast with intermittent rain.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yPArF8DNbgVMMa9V11oJaRuut8ALVajEWB8qJE0qqd42vztwclGqWamAk4pm3rdFaGNQqJzcbYjthCOo8hl1_kJx0saHRdhZlGFOvwyIL9EsdFPFpgcJrzYJwvsd_PV5ku-F_v5jUina/s1600/walrus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="502" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yPArF8DNbgVMMa9V11oJaRuut8ALVajEWB8qJE0qqd42vztwclGqWamAk4pm3rdFaGNQqJzcbYjthCOo8hl1_kJx0saHRdhZlGFOvwyIL9EsdFPFpgcJrzYJwvsd_PV5ku-F_v5jUina/s320/walrus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of the "sea-horses" engaging<br />
the men from <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the portion of the appendix relating to natural history, Phipps refers to Trichechus Rosmarus (from Linneus) or the Arctick Walrus, which the Russians refer to as Morse, corrupted by British sailors to sea-horse. Apparently these animals are found "every where about the coast of Spitsbergen, and generally where-ever there is ice, though at a distance from the land. It is a gregarious animal, not inclined to attack, but dangerous if attacked, as the whole herd join their forces to revenge any injury received by an individual. The incident of <i>Racehorse's </i>boat provoking an attack by a herd of walrus and subsequently being rescued by reinforcements from <i>Carcass </i>may well have been young Nelson's first taste of combat; Southey mentions that Nelson unhesitatingly "exposed himself to danger" coming to the aid of his comrades.<br />
<br />
The summer is heating up in both locations; literally in Williamsburg with heat indexes well above 100°F for several days before a slightly cooler front rolled through, figuratively on the Phipps Expedition as the crews contend with the ice and rampaging arctic fauna.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)<br />
2. Southey, Robert. <i>The Life of Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson. </i>(Amazon Digital Service, 2012.)<br />
3. Knight, Roger. <i>The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson</i>. (Basic Books, 2005.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-17161150513969481782017-07-23T17:25:00.000-04:002017-11-09T07:55:24.165-05:00"Stone Walls Do Not A Prison Make"<center>
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsQVjVW270wIFqpFpHWcTOQKGDg-_1vFS12Map7gInmMisgFTAyVIW_dX91ypW5cXyFG-EwiOdUCuURQgJkY40VWA9LdC_kvSPh2RztFoAAm2eAZSV_V7jfFVCyrp1w9Mfml1jNO0hQWZ/s1600/millprison.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="798" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsQVjVW270wIFqpFpHWcTOQKGDg-_1vFS12Map7gInmMisgFTAyVIW_dX91ypW5cXyFG-EwiOdUCuURQgJkY40VWA9LdC_kvSPh2RztFoAAm2eAZSV_V7jfFVCyrp1w9Mfml1jNO0hQWZ/s320/millprison.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A plan of Mill Prison near Plymouth, England.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As the American Revolution raged from 1775 to 1783, combatants on both sides discovered just how fickle the fortunes of war could be. Depending on the day, the Continental Army is driven out of New York, General Burgoyne is captured at Saratoga, the Continental Navy is sent running from Penobscot, John Paul Jones captures the <i>Serapis </i>in a dilapidated old tub, Charleston is besieged and taken by the British, and the combined Franco-American army is victorious at Yorktown. Thousands of prisoners were taken on both sides, marched to remote camps, held aboard disease-ridden prison hulks, and incarcerated in prison facilities on both continents.<br />
<br />
However, for some in the Continental and Virginia Navies, being taken prisoner was not the end of the story...<br />
<br />
On February 6, 1777, the Virginia Navy brig <i>Mosquito </i>departed the Virginia Capes, bound for the West Indies to cruise against British shipping. In late March, <i>Mosquito </i>captures the transport <i>Noble </i>bound for Antigua carrying beef, bacon, candles, flour...and smallpox. With her crew quarantined and forced to undergo inoculation, <i>Mosquito </i>is held at Guadeloupe for nearly three months. Shortly after departure on the evening of June 4, <i>Mosquito </i>is sighted, overhauled, and captured by the 20-gun HMS <i>Ariadne</i>.<br />
<br />
Her officers, including Captain John Harris, Lieutenants Byrd Chamberlayne and George Chamberlaine, and Marine Captain Alexander Dick are conveyed to Forten Prison in England while the rest of <i>Mosquito's </i>crew languishes in Barbados. Considered rebels rather than prisoners of war, the Virginia officers are only granted two thirds of the rations normally allotted. Despite severe punishments including solitary confinement and even further reductions in rations, Captain Dick and several other prisoners manage to get away:<br />
<br />
"The pavements of the lower floors were all laid with bricks. Some managed to take up the bricks, and dig down until they got below the wall, then dig outside the pickets. This was all done by concealing the dirt in some parts of the prison....At this time ten men....all officers, made their escape, to wit: Second Lieutenant Benjamin Chew, Jess Harding, Robert Ewart, Benjamin Whalen...Captain Meredith of Hampton, Captain Dick, a Mr. Moore, a Mr. Martin, Colonel Webber and Colonel Bibbitrong."<br />
<br />
Lieutenants Chamberlayne and Chamberlaine also somehow managed an escape and were back in Virginia before June 25, 1778. At this point, the Navy Board Journal mentions they were "given leave of absence for a fortnight." Duty called, apparently.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHJDCyyNHsAOAqw8S0HcFUGMfRxLfpxfTtWrGheoykS4iKUTUUEmqSbq6af89AooDc0mT8f0X_Z9qIEnOXyza10K0cLyYL2vRNoHb0PRluLWNxzrfqPJXCFtwgGmG-bzdH3lft3DXgcPL/s1600/richarddale.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHJDCyyNHsAOAqw8S0HcFUGMfRxLfpxfTtWrGheoykS4iKUTUUEmqSbq6af89AooDc0mT8f0X_Z9qIEnOXyza10K0cLyYL2vRNoHb0PRluLWNxzrfqPJXCFtwgGmG-bzdH3lft3DXgcPL/s200/richarddale.png" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Dale, veteran of the<br />
Virginia Navy, Continental Navy, <br />
and a future Commodore <br />
in the United States Navy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Richard Dale joins the Virginia Navy in late 1775, but is captured by the crew of HMS <i>Liverpool</i> in March 1776. While confined in a prison ship off Norfolk, Dale is compelled by a former schoolmate serving with the British to take part in an engagement against rebel forces on the Rappahannock River. Dale is wounded, but resolves to return to the patriot cause at the earliest opportunity.<br />
<br />
After the British vessel Dale is travelling aboard is captured by Captain John Barry of the brig <i>Lexington</i>, he volunteers to serve in the Continental Navy. Serving well under Barry, Dale is rated midshipman and later master's mate by <i>Lexington's</i> next captain. Unfortunately, in late 1776, Dale is captured by the British a second time along with several other members of <i>Lexington's</i> crew. His second incarceration is short; Dale is exchanged in January 1777 and returns to his ship. Later that year, under Captain Henry Johnston, <i>Lexington</i> is cruising with a small squadron off Ireland where their exploits quickly draw the attention of the Royal Navy. <i>Lexington </i>is pursued and captured in September 1777, and Dale's third round of incarceration begins at Mill Prison.<br />
<br />
As at Mill Prison, American prisoners are forced to subsist on reduced rations and punished harshly for attempting escape. Dale and another prisoner manage to dig a tunnel under the prison walls, but are recaptured in London while attempting to find passage to Dunkirk. Dale spends forty days confined in a pit known as the "Black Hole" as a reward. Following this round in solitary confinement, Dale begins keeping a journal which he uses to continue his education in mathematics, stocks and barter, and a dictionary of naval terms necessary for commanding a ship. In February of 1779, Dale escapes for good: he never records the exact details, but is able to steal the uniform of a British officer and simply walk out of the prison.<br />
<br />
Dale eventually makes his way to L'Orient, where he joins the crew of <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> as master's mate and later first lieutenant under John Paul Jones. In the later years of the American Revolution, Dale serves aboard the frigate <i>Trumbull </i>(where he is briefly captured a FOURTH time) and ascends to command the privateer <i>Queen of France.</i> In the early 1790's, Dale becomes one of the first six officers of the United States Navy, supervising construction of the USS <i>Chesapeake</i> in Virginia. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6qFqYBJUHgalZrdcSt_0h8L5pgaW8YWdcWQRO0LVVeHk6Nz7JNE2C1loZBqp5hhVP0CkvhyFCQNMp-xZDsNAEFHmEY6wq9SR3eT73EEVmuXpy9sl3dshFiDId6UxA0VuYijMDui3FsI0/s1600/gustavusconyngham.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="298" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6qFqYBJUHgalZrdcSt_0h8L5pgaW8YWdcWQRO0LVVeHk6Nz7JNE2C1loZBqp5hhVP0CkvhyFCQNMp-xZDsNAEFHmEY6wq9SR3eT73EEVmuXpy9sl3dshFiDId6UxA0VuYijMDui3FsI0/s200/gustavusconyngham.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Gustavus Conyngham<br />
became one of King George's<br />
most hated rebels after commanding<br />
a series of successful privateer <br />
cruises along the British coast.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Gustavus Conyngham has been referred to as "the most successful of all Continental Navy captains." (Not a difficult title to earn given the poor caliber of captains such as Dudley Saltonstall and James Nicholson, but this is beside the point.) Born in Ireland in 1747, Conyngham immigrates to Philadelphia, learning the shipping trade and eventually rising to the command of a small merchant vessel named the <i>Charming Peggy</i>. Conyngham is in Britain at the outbreak of the American Revolution, and attempts to load his vessel with a cargo of various good and stores that he believes will be of great use to the American war effort. Nearly captured and trapped in Dutch waters, Conyngham sells <i>Charming Peggy</i> to Dutch officials to avoid its seizure by the British.<br />
<br />
Eventually travelling to Paris and meeting with Benjamin Franklin, Conyngham is commissioned as a captain in the Continental Navy and appointed to command the lugger <i>Surprise</i> on March 1, 1777. Cruising in <i>Surprise</i> and later <i>Revenge</i> (mounting political pressure from the British nearly results in his imprisonment by the French as an attempt to maintain their 'neutrality' at the time, causing his original commission to be confiscated and relinquishing command of Surprise) off the British Isles, Conyngham takes approximately two dozen prizes, causing the costs associated with shipping to rise to a (then) all-time high in Britain. Conyngham is frequently denounced as a pirate in the British press, and King George himself reputedly expressed a desire to personally witness Conyngham's hanging.<br />
<br />
His Majesty almost gets his wish; having crossed the ocean and completed a successful cruise in the West Indies, <i>Revenge</i> is captured by HMS <i>Galatea</i> off New York on April 27, 1779. British leaders are ecstatic at his capture; Conyngham spends weeks nearly starving in a New York prison before being taken to the waterfront in a hangman's cart, and put aboard a packet for London to be tried and hanged as a pirate. Mounting political pressure from America and France prevent Conyngham's execution (General George Washington himself threatens to execute six captured British officers if Conyngham is hanged), and he is incarcerated in Mill Prison instead. Like other inmates of Mill Prison, Conyngham was offered his freedom if he would consent to join the Royal Navy; not only does he refuse, Conyngham encourages many other American prisoners to sign a document stating their refusal to join the Royal Navy no matter how terrible conditions become. Conyngham is tossed into the "Black Hole" mentioned earlier for his trouble, repeating the experience following each of many attempted escapes.<br />
<br />
In one instance, Conyngham mingles with a group of visitors, and simply walks out of the prison gates, though he is recognized by a woman before he can leave the crowd and quickly apprehended. Later, Conyngham attempts to disguise himself as one of the prison doctors by dressing in a suit of dark clothes and wire-rimmed frames (without the glass) and imitating the doctor's peculiar gait; he passes through the prison gates and makes it as far as nearby Plymouth before being recognized by one of the prison peddlers. Conyngham and fifty-three other sailors finally escape Mill Prison for good by tunneling beneath the walls on November 3, 1779. (Perhaps he heard about Captain Dick's escape from Forten Prison the previous year.)<br />
<br />
Conyngham successfully makes his way to the continent, sails with John Paul Jones aboard <i>Alliance</i> for a time...only to be captured aboard <i>Experiment</i> on March 17, 1780 and returned to Mill Prison. Conyngham is eventually exchanged and begins fitting out the Dutch vessel <i>Layona</i> for another cruise, when word of a peace treaty reaches him. Conyngham returns to America, serving in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, and is later elected to the Common Council of Philadelphia.<br />
<br />
While some of these stories may read like historical fiction or even tragi-comedy at times (thinking of Conyngham imitating the prison doctor always makes me smile), the great perseverance in adversity and unwavering dedication to duty demonstrated by these early Americans helped create the traditions of service and personal sacrifice still followed by the US Armed Forces today. My ongoing respect and thanks for all who serve or have served.<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Cross, Charles B. <i>A Navy for Virginia: A Colony's Fleet in the Revolution. </i>(The Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1981).<br />
2. Stewart, Robert A. <i>The History of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution. </i>(Mitchell and Hotchkins, 1933).<br />
3. McGrath, Tim. <i>Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. </i>(The Penguin Group, 2014).<br />
<br />
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virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-36157866970321757062017-07-10T21:10:00.002-04:002017-08-20T20:18:39.253-04:00An Arctic Summer: July 5-10, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PG8e7BfvY0vlASKVKRdnj5KIu38a-98QHmx_5u3J2Vq3gqoAVDRiX5Zx18xFmVcFEhigEUis67ub96DlaM2fuuBw8ABWct1uGh9-ylKYFNspJzxViS5sJj8kPCMwfsc67vQv4bXQW3o3/s1600/plot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PG8e7BfvY0vlASKVKRdnj5KIu38a-98QHmx_5u3J2Vq3gqoAVDRiX5Zx18xFmVcFEhigEUis67ub96DlaM2fuuBw8ABWct1uGh9-ylKYFNspJzxViS5sJj8kPCMwfsc67vQv4bXQW3o3/s320/plot.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Track of the <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>with position plots<br />
for June 29, June 30, July 5, and July 10, 1773.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The polar expedition undertaken by Constantine John Phipps commanding the converted bomb vessels HMS <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass </i>finally reaches ice in the northern waters approximately one month after sailing from the Nore. Now begins the often tedious (and occasionally dangerous) process of trying to trace a path by sea across the North Pole to the ocean on the other side of the world.<br />
<br />
"5th. At five the officer informed me, that we were very near some islands off Dane's Gat, and that the pilot wished to stand farther out; I ordered the ship to be kept NbW, and hauled farther in, when clear of the islands. At noon I steered North, seeing nothing of the land; soon after I was told that they saw the ice: I went upon deck, and perceived something white upon the bow, and heard a noise like the surf upon the shore; I hauled down the studding sails, and hailed the Carcass to let them know that I should stand for it to make what it was, having all hands upon deck ready to haul up at a moment's warning: I desired that they would keep close to us, the fog being so thick, and have every body up ready to follow our motions instantaneously, determining to stand on under such sail as should enable us to keep the ships under command, and not risk parting company. Soon after two small pieces of ice not above three feet square passed us, which we supposed to have floated from the shore. It was not long before we saw something on the bow, part black and part covered with snow, which from the appearance took to be islands, and thought we had not stood far enough out; I hauled up immediately to the NNW and was soon undeceived, finding it to be ice which we could not clear upon that tack; we tacked immediately, but the wind and sea both setting directly upon it, we neared it very fast, and were within little more than a cable's length of the ice, whilst in stays. The wind blowing fresh, the ships would have been in danger on the lee ice, had not the officers and men been very alert in working the ship. The ice, as far as we could then see, lay nearly EbN and WbS. At half past seven in the evening, the ship running entirely to the Southward, and the weather clearing a little, I tacked, and stood for the ice. When I saw it, I bore down to make it plain; at ten the ice lay from NW to East, and no opening. Very foggy, and little wind, all day; but not cold. At eleven came on a thick fog. At half past midnight, heard the surge of the ice, and hauled the wind to the Eastward."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/5 Weather on Expedition: 41°F at noon, winds from the SW, foggy.<br />
7/5 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 86°F with a heat index of 95° at 2PM, sunny with 8mph winds from the SE.<br />
<br />
"7th. At five in the morning the wind was Northerly, and the weather remarkably clear. Being near the ice I ranged along it. It appeared to be close all round; but I was in hopes that some opening might be found to get through to a clear sea to Northward. I ran in amongst the small ice, and kept as close as possible to the main body, not to miss any opening. At noon, Cloven Cliff W1/2S seven leagues. At one in the afternoon, being still amongst the loose ice, I sent the boat to one of the large pieces to fill water. At four we shoaled the water very suddenly to fourteen fathom: the outer part of Cloven Cliff bore W1/2N: Redcliff S1/4E. The loose ice being open to the ENE, we hauled up, and immediately deepened our water to twenty-eight fathom; muddy ground, with shells. At half past four, the ice setting very close, we ran between two pieces, and having little wind were stopped. The Carcass being very near, and not answering her helm well, was almost on board of us. After getting clear of her, we ran to the Eastward. Finding the pieces increase in number and size, and having got to a part less crowded with drift ice, I brought to, at six in the evening, so see if we could discover the least appearance of an opening: but it being my own opinion, as well as that of the pilots and officers, that we could go no farther, nor even remain there without the danger of being beset, I sent the boat on board the Carcass for her pilots, to hear their opinion; they both declared that it appeared to them impracticable to proceed that way, and that it was probable that we should soon be beset where we were, and detained there. The ice set so fast down, that before they got on board the Carcass we were fast. Captain Lutwidge hoisted our boat up, to prevent her being stove. We were obliged to heave the ship through for two hours, with ice anchors, from each quarter; nor were we quite out of the ice till midnight. This is about the place where most of the old discoverers were stopped. The people in both ships being much fatigued, and the Carcass not able to keep up with us, without carrying studding-sails, I shortened sail as soon as we were quite out, and left orders to stand to the Northward under an easy sail: I intended, having failed in this attempt, to range along the ice to the NW, in hopes of an opening that way, the wind being fair, and the weather clear; resolving, if I found it all solid, to return to the Eastward, where probably it might by that time be broken up, which the very mild weather encouraged me to expect."<br />
<br />
No observations of latitude and longitude were recorded on the 7th...one suspects that cloud cover prevented it. However, on the sixth, Phipps was at approximately 79°57'N latitude, seemingly as far northward as other recorded European explorers managed to sail before being forced to turn back. Time will tell us how much farther Phipps will be able to get.<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/7 Weather on Expedition: 39.5°F at noon, winds from the W, cloudy.<br />
7/7 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 89°F with a heat index of 97°F at 2PM, sunny with 14mph winds from the W.<br />
<br />
"8th. Little wind in the morning, and a swell setting on the ice, we were obliged to get the boats a-head, to tow the ship clear; which they effected with difficulty. A breeze springing up when we were within two cables lengths of the main body of the ice, stood in for the land, and tacked at two, to stand to the NW for the ice; but the weather coming thick between five and six, I stood in again for the land. It clearing up soon after, I bore away again NW for the ice. At ten, spoke with a Greenland Ship which had just left the ice all close to the NNW. Between eleven and twelve the wind came to the SW, with an heavy swell, and thick weather. Double-reefed the topsails, and tacked at twelve, to stand in for Hacluyt's Head Land, not thinking it proper to run in with the fast ice to leeward in thick weather, without even the probability of an opening; and proposing if that weather continued, to complete the ship's water, and be ready with the first wind, off or along the ice, to look out for an opening, and run in. To avoid any inconvenience which from the experience of the preceding day I perceived might happen, from too many running to one place on any sudden order, I divided the people into gangs under the midshipmen, and stationed them to the ice hooks, poles, crabs, and to go over upon the ice when wanted."<br />
<br />
According to the roster in the appendix, <i>Racehorse </i>has a complement of 92 officers and men, including 50 Able Seamen. As the expedition sails into potentially hazardous waters, Phipps wisely learns from the experiences of the past few days and proactively divides the crew into multiple response teams, ready to react to a variety of situations. Better to plan ahead than to react on the fly, possibly losing critical time as the crew attempts to react to dangers such as sudden weather shifts or the always feared lee shore.<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/8 Weather on Expedition: 39.5°F at noon, winds from the WbS, cloudy.<br />
7/8 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 92°F with a heat index of 98°F at 3PM, sunny with 11mph winds from the W.<br />
<br />
"10th. We lost the Carcass twice in the night, from the very thick fog, and were working all night amongst the ice, making very short tacks; the opening being small, and the floating ice very thick about the ship. The situation of the people from the very fatiguing work and wet weather, made the most minute precautions necessary for the preservation of their health: we now found the advantage of the spirits which had been allowed for extraordinary occasions; as well as the additional clothing furnished by the Admiralty. Notwithstanding every attention, several of the men were confined with colds, which affected them with pains in their bones; but, from the careful attention given them, few continued in the sick list above two days at a time. At nine in the morning, when it cleared a little, we saw the Carcass much to the Southward of us. I took the opportunity of the clear weather to run to the Westward, and found the ice quite solid there; I then stood through every opening to the Northward, but there also soon got to the edge of the solid ice. I was forced to haul up to weather a point which ran out from it. After I had weathered that, the ice closing fast upon me, obliged me to set foresail, which, with the fresh wind and smooth water, gave the ship such way as to force through it with a violent stroke. At one in the afternoon, immediately on getting out into the open sea, we found a heavy swell setting to the Northward; though amongst the ice, the minute before, the water had been as smooth as a mill pond. The wind blew strong at SSW. The ice, as far as we could see from the mast head, lay ENE: we steered that course close to it, to look for an opening to Northward. I now began to conceive that the ice was one compact impenetrable body, having run along it from East to West above ten degrees. I purposed however to stand over to the Eastward, in order to ascertain whether the body of ice joined to Spitsbergen. This the quantity of loose ice had before been rendered impracticable; but thinking the Westerly winds might probably by this time have packed it all that way, I flattered myself with the hopes of meeting with no obstruction till I should come to where it joined the land; and in case of an opening, however small, I was determined at all events to push through it. The weather clearer, and the land in sight."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
7/10 Weather on Expedition: 39.5°F at noon, winds from the SSW, thick fog.<br />
7/10 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 91°F with a heat index of 95°F at noon, sunny with 6mph winds from the SW.<br />
<br />
It looks like Phipps's men are starting to feel the effects of the climate they're sailing through; coupled with the harder than usual labor of constantly tacking and working their ships through the ice, it's no wonder some of the men are starting to take sick. It's interesting to see Phipps refer to 'one compact impenetrable body' of ice, an early documentation of the northern polar ice cap. So far, he's traced the perimeter of the ice through ten degrees of longitude, a distance of approximately 100 nautical miles at latitude 80°29' (where the table of day's works in the appendix lists his position).<br />
<br />
Phipps and company have spent much of this week in the upper 30's and low 40's, with weather not terribly hostile just yet. Williamsburg, oddly enough, has had a fairly mild summer thus far...I don't think we've quite cracked a hundred degrees without the heat index just yet. Just like with <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass</i>, though, I think the fun is only just beginning.<br />
<br />
Source:<br />
Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.) virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-12617461313128271982017-06-30T14:35:00.000-04:002017-08-20T20:18:51.735-04:00An Arctic Summer: June 23-30, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9esc_XmYletu8sFr6kKwBsXB-pecMewgEjkpaqM_AmMwgxbw2EBQ-TWfWbIssMVjiCtmPdc1_0F-AeUNFMV7BFYDbzwrQbtsbOipA4shyyPqV5nCSaxU37aw7C3dHBde8hWp7PldQutZ/s1600/redpoll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="425" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9esc_XmYletu8sFr6kKwBsXB-pecMewgEjkpaqM_AmMwgxbw2EBQ-TWfWbIssMVjiCtmPdc1_0F-AeUNFMV7BFYDbzwrQbtsbOipA4shyyPqV5nCSaxU37aw7C3dHBde8hWp7PldQutZ/s320/redpoll.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pass the word for the Doctor!<br />
Captain Phipps has seen a Redpoll.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the final days of June 1773, Racehorse and Carcass continue to make great progress towards the north. When time allows, the crew conducts several observations of the depth and temperature of the local sea. As increasingly cold temperatures indicate that the western ice may be drawing near, Phipps diverts towards the northeast, for known landmasses he can use as a reference in navigating the ice fields.<br />
<br />
"23d. Very foggy all day; the wind fair; altered the course and steered NE and ENE, to get more into the mid channel, and to avoid falling in with the Western ice, which, from the increasing coldness of the weather, we concluded to be near. At seven o'clock in the morning, being by our reckoning to the Northward of 72°, we saw a piece of drift wood, and a small bird called a Redpoll. Dip observed at nine in the evening to be 81°30'."<br />
<br />
"26th. Little wind all day; the weather very fine and moderate. The latitude observed at noon was 74°25'. The thermometer exposed to the sun, which shone very bright, rose from 41° to 61° in twenty minutes. By each of two lunar observations which I took with a sextant of four inches radius, at half past one, the longitude was 9°57'30" E; which agreed within thirty-seven minutes with an observation made by the watch at half an hour after three, when the longitude was 8°52'30" E. Dip 79°22'."<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSVpOL9oSegmld2zjVGwvMhHiDe3JmmpBHwd_tT01TzW8lLWXxUVot8ehgytsi_FtOGymueiDLsDgW941kiBZrgaCntRT7PUYvgyTkLflKMnSJXJ79KT-VUtdf3F2w-SgUIzQpEVG1lAo/s1600/sextant.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSVpOL9oSegmld2zjVGwvMhHiDe3JmmpBHwd_tT01TzW8lLWXxUVot8ehgytsi_FtOGymueiDLsDgW941kiBZrgaCntRT7PUYvgyTkLflKMnSJXJ79KT-VUtdf3F2w-SgUIzQpEVG1lAo/s320/sextant.png" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My reproduction brass sextant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The above entry is one of particular personal interest for me. In the appendix, 'Account of the Astronomical Observations and Time-Keepers, by Mr. Lyons,' I discovered that "the observations for finding the time at sea, were taken with a brass Hadley's Sextant of eighteen inches radius, made by Dollond; and sometimes by Captain Phipps, with a smaller of four inches radius, made by Ramsden, which commonly agreed with the other within a minute." The small sextant used by Captain Phipps fits the description of the modern reproduction brass sextant I was gifted with by an anonymous benefactor last summer. While I haven't been able to find any surviving examples of four-inch brass sextants constructed by Ramsden yet, I can still point guests to Phipps's journal as evidence that instruments similar to mine in size and construction were available in the 1770's.<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
6/26 Weather on Expedition: 40.5°F at noon, winds from NE by N, fair weather, almost calm, cloudy.<br />
6/26 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 83° at noon, sunny, low humidity, calm.<br />
<br />
"29th. The wind Northerly; stood close in with the land. The coast appeared to be neither habitable nor accessible; it was formed by high, barren, black rocks, without the least marks of vegetation; in many places bare and pointed, in other parts covered with snow, appearing even above the clouds: the vallies between the high cliffs were filled with snow or ice. This prospect would have suggested the idea of perpetual winter, had not the mildness of the weather, the smooth water, bright sunshine, and constant day-light, given a cheerfulness and novelty to the whole of this striking and romantick scene.<br />
<br />
I had an opportunity of making many observations near the Black Point. Latitude observed at noon 77°59'11". The difference of latitude, from the last observation on the 27th at midnight to this day at noon, would according to the old method of marking the log have been two hundred and thirteen miles; which agrees exactly with the observation. At three in the afternoon, brought to and sounded 110 fathom; soft muddy ground: hoisted out the boat and tried the stream; found it, both by the common and Bouguer's log (which agreed exactly) to run half a knot North; Black Point bearing ENE. At four the longitude by the watch was 9°31' E: at eight the variation, by the mean of nineteen observations, 11°53' W. I could not account from any apparent cause for this great change in the variation: the weather was fine, the water smooth, and every precaution we could think of used to make the observations accurate. The dip was 80°26'. Plying to the Northward."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
6/29 Weather on Expedition: 39°F at noon, winds from N by E, hazy.<br />
6/29 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 85°F with 87°F heat index at 1 PM, 9 mph winds from SSW, sunny.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfl-apg-REAPu9RdSt5J0alUqYKen7CoDnIzeA166tAOqG5-NJhq7ci1jsexuRyYWsp_H-MdmQy2-_umSq3ljFLZSN8gnqqkbWL5dDWBWMmhMi8WQe63VTlKjZvn5OusXyBXAN-DrtZgo-/s1600/plot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="596" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfl-apg-REAPu9RdSt5J0alUqYKen7CoDnIzeA166tAOqG5-NJhq7ci1jsexuRyYWsp_H-MdmQy2-_umSq3ljFLZSN8gnqqkbWL5dDWBWMmhMi8WQe63VTlKjZvn5OusXyBXAN-DrtZgo-/s320/plot.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Track of the Racehorse and Carcass with<br />
position plots for June 20, 23, 26, 29, and 30, 1773.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"30th. At midnight the latitude by observation was 78°0'50". At four in the morning, by Lord Charles Cavendish's thermometer, the temperature of the water at the depth of 118 fathoms was 31° of Fahrenheit's; that of the air was at the same time 40°1/2. At nine in the morning we saw a ship in the NW, standing in for the land. Having little wind this morning, and that Northerly, I stood in for the land, with an intention to have watered the ship, and got out immediately, but was prevented by the calm which followed. At noon the latitude observed was 78°8'; the dip 79°30'. At two in the afternoon we sounded in 115 fathom; muddy bottom: at the same time we sent down Lord Charles Cavendish's thermometer, by which we found the temperature of the water at that depth to be 33°; that of the water at the surface was at the same time 40° and in the air 44°1/2. Fahrenheit's thermometer plunged in water brought up from the same depth, stood at 38°1/2. This evening the master of a Greenland Ship came on board, who told me, that he was just come out of the ice which lay to the Westward about sixteen leagues off, and that three ships had been lost this year, two English, and one Dutch. The weather fine, and rather warm. At six in the evening the longitude by my watch was 9°28'45" E."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
6/30 Weather on Expedition: 42° F at noon, calm and cloudy.<br />
6/30 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 86°F with 92°F heat index at noon, 8 mph winds from SSW, sunny.<br />
<br />
In Williamsburg, we had a relatively cool beginning to the week, but now we're starting to get a taste of the Virginia summer to come; temperatures and humidity are rising. Aboard <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass</i>, the men are chilly, but the real trials are still to come. My next blog post should have Phipps and company contending with and charting ice in the north.<br />
<br />
Source:<br />
Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-63109143836600559642017-06-20T21:58:00.001-04:002018-03-20T17:33:58.199-04:00An Arctic Summer: June 12-20, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigt7kY3KG2Xn_Q8Krbt3CQ91Zs_qKh2V4pyoBHmQv9NdZdm7SDEVtHiWiZSr4t8jWcewEicupzbCFOtBkmbWh-eIuSBslP6AICQf03oI6LsB1xAhRvAsOumbPH4LNeBO2-U0rc787mfFyK/s1600/map.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="525" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigt7kY3KG2Xn_Q8Krbt3CQ91Zs_qKh2V4pyoBHmQv9NdZdm7SDEVtHiWiZSr4t8jWcewEicupzbCFOtBkmbWh-eIuSBslP6AICQf03oI6LsB1xAhRvAsOumbPH4LNeBO2-U0rc787mfFyK/s320/map.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Track of the <i>Racehorse</i> and <i>Carcass</i> with<br />
position plots for June 13, 15, 17 and 20, 1773.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After weighing anchor from the Nore on June 4th, the converted bomb vessels <i>Racehorse</i> and <i>Carcass</i> under the command of Captain Constantine Phipps crosses the North Sea and proceeds well into the Norwegian Sea as the month progresses. By June 20th, the expedition is already north of Iceland. While they have yet to reach any ice, Phipps takes multiple opportunities of testing various mathematical instruments and navigational tools. I've included six of Phipps' journal entries from mid to late June for us to examine this time around.<br />
<br />
"12th. The wind at SE, and the ship well advanced, I ordered the allowance of liquor to be altered, serving the ship's company one-fourth of their allowance in beer, and the other three-fourths in brandy; by which means the beer was made to last the whole voyage, and the water considerably saved. One half of this allowance was served immediately after dinner, and the other half in the evening. It was now light enough all night to read upon deck."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
According to the Regulations and Instructions in force in 1772, seamen were allotted a gallon of beer each day. If beer is unavailable, other spiritous liquors may be substituted in different proportions; half a pint of brandy being equal to a gallon of beer. Spirits were often diluted with water (4 parts water to 1 part spirits was the precedent set by Edward "Old Grog" Vernon in the early 1740's) in open view of the assembled crew on deck. Based on the Phipps' journal for June 12th, it seems the men are now receiving a quart of beer and five cups of brandy grog each day. The beer was likely "small beer" of the time, known for low alcohol content with a comparatively high caloric value. It's no wonder Phipps wanted to preserve his supply, considering the trials of the voyage to come in later months.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4z3Z5b5j2fr2z-pLvw68T9QXifDFMhfTXRjWAwzALZnObykTdUZh-l1S-GhVjsPnXMQvxrGoQTqeQfC42q-Wd6oaDc93FRIqae1Lib3Qz3FlXZc87pRlymHbX9s5Q4vCVajM5GcMh-JT4/s1600/provisions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="510" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4z3Z5b5j2fr2z-pLvw68T9QXifDFMhfTXRjWAwzALZnObykTdUZh-l1S-GhVjsPnXMQvxrGoQTqeQfC42q-Wd6oaDc93FRIqae1Lib3Qz3FlXZc87pRlymHbX9s5Q4vCVajM5GcMh-JT4/s640/provisions.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chart from the 1772 edition of <i>Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea</i><br />
detailing the provisions allotted to Royal Navy seamen each day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"13th. The weather still fine, but considerably less wind than the day before, and in the afternoon more Northerly. The longitude at ten in the morning was found by my watch 0°6' W. We took three observations of the moon and sun for the longitude; the extremes differed from one another near two degrees: the mean of the three gave the longitude 1°37' E. At noon the latitude observed was 59°32'31". We found a difference of 36' between the latitude by dead reckoning and observation, the ship being so much more Northerly than the reckoning. The distance by this log was too short by forty-three miles. A log marked forty-five feet, according to the old method, would have agreed with the observation within two miles in the two days' run. The circumstance of steering upon a meridian, which afforded me such frequent opportunities of detecting the errors of the log, induced me to observe with care the comparative accuracy of the different methods of dividing the line, recommended by mathematicians, or practised by seamen. In the afternoon I went on board the <em>Carcass </em>to compare the time-keepers by my watch. At six in the evening the longitude by my watch 0°4' E. This evening, the sun set at twenty-four minutes past nine, and bore about NNW by the compass. The clouds made a beautiful appearance long after to the Northward, from the reflection of the sun below the horizon. It was quite light all night: the <em>Carcass </em>made the signal for seeing the land in the evening."<br />
<br />
The various logs referred to here are variants of the chip log, a tool used to measure the approximate speed of a ship through the water by counting knots in a measured line. The distances between knots varied depending on the type of glass being used to measure time; a log with 51 feet between knots in the line was commonly used with a 30 second glass, for example. See the British Tars article <a href="http://www.britishtars.com/2016/06/navigators-week-tools-needed-for-dead.html" target="_blank">"The Tools Needed for Dead Reckoning"</a> for more information on this and other navigational tools. Incidentally, it was this article that led to me beginning to interpret naval history in earnest, so a quick thank you to blogger Kyle Dalton for getting me started on this journey!<br />
<br />
"15th. By an observation at eight in the morning, the longitude of the ship was by the watch 0°39' W: Dip 74°52'. At half past ten in the morning, the longitude, from several observations of the sun and moon was 0°17'W; at noon being in latitude 60°19'8", by observation, I took the distance between two ships by the Megameter; and from that base determined the position of Hangcliff, which had never before been ascertained, though it is a very remarkable point, and frequently made by ships. According to these observations it is in latitude 60°9' and longitude 0°56'30" W. In the Appendix I shall give an account of the manner of taking surveys by this instrument, which I believe never to have been published before. At one, observed the dip to be 75°. A thick fog came on in the afternoon, with a flat calm; we could not see the <em>Carcass, </em>but heard her answer the signals for keeping company. Variation, from the mean of several observations, 25°1' W."<br />
<br />
The Megameter was an instrument constructed on similar principles to the object-glass Micrometer, and was suitable only for measuring distances less than 10°. A 1772 treatise by M de Charnieres endeavored to making determining longitude with assistance from the Megameter into more common practice.<br />
<br />
"17th. Wind fair, and blowing fresh at SSW, continued the course NNE: ordered the people a part of the additional clothing: saw an English sloop, but had no opportunity of sending letters on board, the sea running high. At ten in the morning, longitude by the watch 0°19'45" W: at noon, the latitude observed was 62°59'27". The ship had out-run the reckoning eleven miles. I tried Bouguer's log twice this day, and found it give more than the common log. Variation 19°22' W."<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
6/17 Weather on Expedition: 52° F, winds from the SSW, cloudy at noon.<br />
6/17 Weather in Edgewater, MD (Where the blogger was travelling with family; details from Weather Channel app.): Forecast high was 93° F, mostly sunny and humid.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSrO1XilF5wzSH4-1uvA5DDI2429QC99QNzCImOIApqU2C62ZgI6fcRoiSv7pzSZJUJ-39vAJd1blRGMpCV_0J8HQiYSMi2I7d409plLwaR1f5_SeVXmrrY7YlBSrpoG-g3nIvMlQPu8S/s1600/slate.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSrO1XilF5wzSH4-1uvA5DDI2429QC99QNzCImOIApqU2C62ZgI6fcRoiSv7pzSZJUJ-39vAJd1blRGMpCV_0J8HQiYSMi2I7d409plLwaR1f5_SeVXmrrY7YlBSrpoG-g3nIvMlQPu8S/s1600/slate.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blogger takes a shot at explaining how Captain Phipps<br />
determined his latitude above the equator using<br />
a midnight sighting of the sun.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"19th. Wind to the NW. Took the meridian observation at midnight for the first time: the sun's lower limb 0°37'30" above the horizon; from which the latitude was found 66°54'39" N: at four in the afternoon, longitude by the watch 0°58'45" W: at six the variation 19°11' W."<br />
<br />
"20th. Almost calm all day. The water being perfectly smooth, I took this opportunity of trying to get soundings at much greater depths than I believe had ever been attempted before. I sounded with a very heavy lead the depth of 780 fathom, without getting ground; and by a thermometer invented by lord Charles Cavendish for this purpose, found the temperature of the water at that depth to be 26° of Fahrenheit's thermometer; the temperature of the air being 48°1/2.<br />
<br />
We began this day to make use of Doctor Irving's apparatus for distilling fresh water from the sea; repeated trials gave us the most satisfactory proof of its utility: the water produced from it was perfectly free from salt, and wholesome, being used for boiling the ship's provisions; which convenience would alone be a desirable object in all voyages, independent of the benefit of so useful a resource in case of distress for water. The quantity produced every day varied from accidental circumstances, but was generally from thirty-four to forty gallons, without any great addition of fuel. Twice indeed the quantity produced was only twenty-three gallons on each distillation; this amounts to more than a quart for each man, which, though not a plentiful allowance, is much more than what is necessary for subsistence. In cases of real necessity I have no reason to doubt that a much greater quantity might be produced without an inconvenient expence of fuel."<br />
<br />
Water was not officially included in a seaman's provisions at this time, though ships would generally take on enough water to last half as long as other provisions. Water was generally available from scuttlebutts on deck; a seaman could drink his fill at the scuttlebutt, though a marine sentry stood guard to ensure that no water was taken away. In times of shortage, or when a ship was far from a source of replenishment, water was rationed jealously. Being able to distill fresh water from the sea in any quantity could be a great boon to naval vessels if the method was indeed practical.<br />
<br />
Meteorological Data:<br />
6/20 Weather on Expedition: 48.5° F, calm and cloudy at noon.<br />
6/20 Weather in Williamsburg (According to Weather Channel.): 77° F, 76% humidity, overcast at 1:00 PM.<br />
<br />
The summer isn't too far advanced for either Phipps or myself, though depending on the day, we're both starting to experience uncomfortable temperatures or weather and taking steps to compensate. For Phipps, that means breaking out additional winter clothing on June 17. For me, that means filling my cannikin with gatorade for my first quart of fluids each day. We're still only getting started, so stay tuned!<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
1. Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)<br />
2. His Majesty in Council. <i>Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea, The Eleventh Edition. </i>(1772.)<br />
3. McDonald, Janet. <i>Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era. </i>(Frontline Books, 2014.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-32552261794756383472017-05-27T11:25:00.001-04:002017-08-20T20:19:18.980-04:00An Arctic Summer: May 27, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-ujkdNpZmlq6Kw1m4soJCOglxACZQKReMLHd5WxnDr2dv4fryTewunXZBPRuaODNBA41-QpyMI5QJUUEg2t4GpqshRIcKG4NkchkhtcqEesulLGt3_r5HAu_vwZkX8rcGHrl9TCpwyUJ/s1600/montagu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1047" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-ujkdNpZmlq6Kw1m4soJCOglxACZQKReMLHd5WxnDr2dv4fryTewunXZBPRuaODNBA41-QpyMI5QJUUEg2t4GpqshRIcKG4NkchkhtcqEesulLGt3_r5HAu_vwZkX8rcGHrl9TCpwyUJ/s400/montagu.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich,<br />
First Lord of the Admiralty and<br />
Fellow of the Royal Society in 1773.</td></tr>
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Captain Phipps of the <i>Racehorse </i>spends much of May 1773 preparing his ship for the coming expedition. Stores of all kinds are taken on board, and the First Lord of the Admiralty himself (also a Fellow of the Royal Society) inspects the vessel prior to her departure. Towards the end of the month, Phipps receives his official orders for the expedition, described in the following journal entry:<br />
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"22d. We received on board the powder, with eight six-pounders and all the gunner's stores. Lord Sandwich gave us the last mark of the obliging attention he had shewn during the whole progress of the equipment, by coming on board himself, before our departure, that the whole had been compleated to the wish of those who were embarked in the expedition. The Easterly winds prevented our going down the river till the 26th, when I received my instructions for the voyage, dated the 25th; directing me to fall down to the Nore in the <i>Racehorse</i>, and there taking under my command the <i>Carcass</i>, to make the best of my way to the Northward, and proceed up to the North Pole, or as far towards it as possible, and as nearly upon a meridian as the ice or other obstructions might admit; and, during the course of the voyage, to make such observations of every kind as might be useful to navigation, or tend to the promotion of natural knowledge: in case of arriving at the Pole, and even finding free navigation on the opposite meridian; not to proceed any farther; and at all events to secure my return to the Nore before the winter should set in. There was also a clause authorizing me to proceed, in unforeseen cases, according to my own discretion; and another clause directing me to prosecute the voyage on board the <i>Carcass</i>, in case the <i>Racehorse </i>should be lost or disabled."<br />
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With <i>Racehorse </i>ready for sea, all that remains is to rendezvous with <i>Carcass </i>and get the expedition started in earnest. As with any vessel, the captain and crew must adjust her fittings and trim based upon the performance of the ship and the needs of the coming mission. The journal entry for May 27th shows that the best laid plans on paper don't always coincide with actual circumstances at sea:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEU7V7ATTEk3jv1CwH3ocTA52ZYe33dOl8dtbh6EUGXdA2paDhBWiV8PcBxkzz9bVyCOrxqW4OXhNZ3Pie24hTFU4_AJJTGod0JCoFQYJjfow74x9Xjft09KgA4r-yXvMKyGQ23yL6qg9g/s1600/ketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEU7V7ATTEk3jv1CwH3ocTA52ZYe33dOl8dtbh6EUGXdA2paDhBWiV8PcBxkzz9bVyCOrxqW4OXhNZ3Pie24hTFU4_AJJTGod0JCoFQYJjfow74x9Xjft09KgA4r-yXvMKyGQ23yL6qg9g/s400/ketch.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of a British bomb ketch from the mid-1700's,<br />
similar in design to HMS <i>Carcass</i>.<br />
(Mariner's Museum, Newport News, VA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"27th. I anchored at the Nore, and was joined by Captain Lutwidge, in the <i>Carcass</i>, on the 30th: her equipment was to have been all respects the same as that of the <i>Racehorse</i>, but when fitted, Captain Lutwidge finding her too deep in the water to proceed to sea with safety, obtained leave of the Admiralty to put six more guns on shore, to reduce the complement to eighty men, and return a quantity of provisions proportional to that reduction. The officers were recommended by Captain Lutwidge, and did justice to his penetration by their conduct in the course of the voyage. During our stay here, Mr. Lyons landed with the astronomical quadrant at Sheerness fort, and found the latitude to be 51°31'30", longitude 0<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">°</span>30' East. The Easterly winds prevented our moving this day and the following."<br />
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While not officers (yet), two members of Carcass' company in particular are worth a mention: coxswains Horatio Nelson and Nicholas Biddle. Nelson's naval career is well known. Nicholas Biddle would have a brief but very laudable career in the Continental Navy, culminating in a 1778 engagement off Barbados commanding the Continental frigate <i>Randolph </i>against the 64-gun HMS <i>Yarmouth</i>. Worthy of a future blog post of his own, the former slave and early abolitionist Olaudah Equiano serves aboard <i>Racehorse</i>, assisting Dr. Charles Irving who had developed a method for distilling drinkable water from seawater. Equiano's autobiography, <i>The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African</i>, would be published in 1789.<br />
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Meteorological observations begin on June 4, 1773. With my next entry in this series, we'll begin seeing who has a more pleasant summer's day: my colleagues and I on the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, or the officers and men of <i>Racehorse </i>and <i>Carcass</i>.<br />
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Source:<br />
Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348226730250072660.post-38731566994465452902017-04-19T20:43:00.000-04:002017-08-20T20:23:33.774-04:00An Arctic Summer: April 19, 1773<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><u>A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!</u></b></div>
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Anyone who has spent a summer in the tidewater of Virginia can tell you that it gets hot and sticky down here. Interpreters throughout Colonial Williamsburg have their own tricks for beating the summer heat. Me, I'm trying a variant of 'mind over mater,' pretending I'm somewhere a bit cooler. To that end, this is the first in a series of posts I'll be making throughout the summer chronicling the attempt of two Royal Navy vessels to sail to the North Pole in the summer of 1773. I'll be posting entries from the journal on particularly noteworthy days with some interesting background information, as well as weather data recorded that day during the expedition and comparing it to what the Weather Channel app says about CW, just for fun.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbwpPCpusQ_HSTg0DPMc8l941Eq6lcJt1-OCsZazARwfjhiyWADs8o2W76T3bEolpLUTig074zwxh3yr8n_e2vENUwNtyP_PJQ8ib5LR9j_XQo5ziGav3WiApuO1tyLXl1foHHltzHBOz/s1600/phipps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbwpPCpusQ_HSTg0DPMc8l941Eq6lcJt1-OCsZazARwfjhiyWADs8o2W76T3bEolpLUTig074zwxh3yr8n_e2vENUwNtyP_PJQ8ib5LR9j_XQo5ziGav3WiApuO1tyLXl1foHHltzHBOz/s320/phipps.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Constantine John Phipps,<br />
Second Baron Mulgrave</td></tr>
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The notion of a passage to the East Indies via the North Pole was suggested as early as 1527. In a letter to King Henry VIII, Robert Thorne suggests that as Spain and Portugal had profited greatly from nautical discoveries to the east and west, and that it was only natural that England should profit from discoveries to the north...in fact, Thorne apparently suggests that it is the King's particular duty to further England's reputation and glory by promoting such explorations. In another letter written to Henry's ambassador to Charles V, THorne hypothesizes that during the summer, it shouldn't be prohibitively cold at the Pole due to the abundance of daylight; he suggests that the notion that encountering excessive cold at the Pole to the point of death will prove as equally as fallacious as the old notion of dying from extreme heat as one approached the equator. Several known northern reaches experiencing fairly temperate climates year round tended to support his hypothesis. <br />
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Despite the writings of Thorne and several other prominent thinkers, no exploration of the circumpolar seas appear to have taken place until Henry Hudson attempted to find a northern passage to Japan and China in 1607. Hudson and several other explorers in the years between 1607 and 1613 attempt to pass the North Pole by sea, none getting farther north than 82 degrees latitude before encountering impassible ice. No other voyages were known to be attempted until 1773, when the Royal Society encouraged King George III to order and sponsor another expedition. Constantine Phipps was already an accomplished naval officer, and a veteran of the Seven Years War. In 1765, he served as a lieutenant aboard HMS <i>Niger</i> during an exploration and survey of Newfoundland, where he becomes friends with the soon to be prominent natuaralist Joseph Banks. When Phipps hears of the expedition being planned, he quickly volunteers, and is selected to command the expedition consisting of the converted bomb ketches <i>Racehorse</i> and <i>Carcass</i>.<br />
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Knowing that the expedition will face many difficulties from the cold, likely harder than normal labor, and most likely encounter large amounts of dangerous ice, the two vessels are fitted out appropriately. The bomb ketches (a type of vessel whose primary armament are a series of heavy mortars, ideal for shore bombardment) already boast a strong construction due to the nature of their original mission, but their hulls are further reinforced to better punch through loose pack ice without risk of damage. The usual stock of provisions described in 'Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea' are adjusted to include additional supplies of spirits as an added constitutional and incentive for the men, a more extensive variety of cold weather clothing is added to the slop chests, an apparatus for distilling drinkable water from the sea is put aboard, and the crews are chosen specifically to be of high experience (substituting additional Able Seamen for the usual number of boys), officers hand-picked for their reliability, etc. Various instruments for a variety of scientific purposes are included, along with several members of the Royal Society to make many valuable scientific observations of opportunity during the voyage.<br />
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From Phipps' Journal:<br />
"April 19th, 1773, I received my commission for the <i>Racehorse</i>, with an order to get her fitted with the greatest dispatch for a voyage of discovery towards the North Pole, and to proceed to the Nore for further orders."<br />
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No weather data until we get out to sea. Join me throughout the summer to see how the voyage unfolds!<br />
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Source:<br />
Phipps, Constantine John. <i>A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command.</i> (J. Nourse, 1773.)virginiantarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905017158412547812noreply@blogger.com0