'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

Betsy wrote: "The pre-revolutionary years were important ones for Rose since she was forced to deal with an unhappy marriage, two children, and a questionable source of income. Happily, this was resolved to some..."

Good to hear that things started to pick up for Rose, at least her dead-beat husband was a decent father for the children!

Betsy wrote: "War profiteering? Must have started with the first time one cave man threw a rock at another cave man!"

Most likely Betsy, or very soon after!

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - 1803 and war has been declared upon France:

"On the quays of Liverpool, a few days after war was declared, trade was lively. Watching with surprise, Eric Svedenstierna thought that the people had learned 'that if one must as a human being sigh over the misfortune of war, the business man can be very satisfied with the capital which the war brings'. Ship owners had been busily equipping privateer vessels and five were already rigged to go to sea. In the eight days after war was declared fifteen more were fitted out, and most returned quickly with fat French and Dutch prizes: 'also all the slave ships present, of 16 or 18 guns, were said to have made a cruise before their departure to Africa'."

In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815 by Jenny Uglow

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - Hard not to disagree with what Charles Fox had to say:

"On Christmas Day 1799, emphasising his role as head of state, Napoleon wrote to George III and Emperor Francis II of Austria proposing peace in general terms, but Pitt's cabinet turned down his approaches, thinking France's position weak after the losses in the Middle East. On 3 February 1800, Charles James Fox came back to the Commons after a long absence, to attack this rejection. Bonaparte, he argued, was an extraordinary man, who had found France unsettled and taken control. He would not defended him, 'but how this House can be so violently indignant at the idea of military despotism is, I own, a little singular, when I see the composure with which they can observe it nearer at home', especially in Ireland. As for atrocities, he feared, 'they do not belong exclusively to the French .... Naples, for instance, has been, among others, what is called "delivered"; and yet if I am rightly informed, it has been stained and polluted by murders so ferocious, and by cruelties of every kind so abhorrent, that the heart shudders at the recital'."

In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815 by Jenny Uglow

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - The troubles in Ireland have raised their ugly head yet again:

"Soon after the Margate arrests, spies brought information that led, on 12 March, to the seizure of sixteen of the United Irishmen's eighteen-strong committee. Martial law was declared in Ireland, unleashing another round of arrests and violence. Ralph Abercromby, who was sent over as commander after he returned from the West Indies, expressed horror at the British troops, calling them 'formidable to everybody but the enemy', and telling his father angrily that 'Every crime, every cruelty, that could be committed by Cossacks or Calmucks have been transacted here'. In April, finding his efforts to control the soldiers constantly thwarted by the Irish authorities, Abercromby resigned. His place was taken by General Lake, whose troops swept through the countryside searching for arms, instituting mass arrests, burning down houses and beating supposed conspirators."


In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815 by Jenny Uglow

Betsy wrote: "It's rather ironic that it took something as tragic as the two mutinies to tweak the Royal Navy into doing something, however small, about the injustices of their sailors' lives. Just imagine if Na..."

You'd think that since everyone new how important the Royal Navy was to the defence of the isles that it would have been a priority to ensure the service was running smoothly.

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - Some background to the Spithead and Nore mutinies that occurred during 1797:

"The basic sailor's wages had not been raised for 140 years. This concerned naval officers, especially when their own pay was increased but the men's remained the same. Injured sailors received pitiful compensation and long-serving seamen were still waiting for prize money promised, sometimes as long ago as the American war. Yet they saw prize money pouring into the pockets of admirals and Navy Board officials: Lord Arden, Registrar of the High Court of Admiralty, made £19,000 in 1797 from his percentage of the prizes that came before the court. The radical-leaning frigate captain Thomas Cochrane reckoned that Arden's sinecure equalled the pensions paid to compensate for the loss of '1022 Captains' Arms; or ... 488 pair of Lieutenants' legs'. The sailors were angry, too, at conditions of service, especially the harsh floggings. Lieutenant Francis Austen noted without comment in his log for December 1795 in the Glory, 'Punished P.C. Smith forty-nine lashes for theft', and the following month, 'punished sixteen seamen with one dozen lashes each for neglect of duty in being off the deck in their watch'."

The Spithead and Nore mutinies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spithea...

Betsy wrote: "Things are going from bad to worse for Rose while Alexandre is in Martininique. He takes up with another female while still 'seeing' Laure. This doesn't set well with the La Pagerie relatives. Then..."

Alexandre sounds like a spoilt brat. Glad his family stuck by Rose in regard to Hortense!

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - One of the many French invasions, this one blown off course and landing at Fishguard on the Pembrokeshire coast:

"Within minutes the alarm was raised. Local people rushed to tell the militia captains and John Campbell, Lord Cawdor, Govenor of Milford Haven, quickly gathered five hundred members of the militia and trundled three old cannons to the coast, while volunteers poured into Fishguard armed with rakes, old muskets, pikes and spades. The French were already disorganised. As soon as their troops reached shore many of the unwilling convict recruits immediately deserted and set out to loot nearby farms. One local heroine, Jemima Nicholas - Jemima vawr, or Jemima the Great, 'a tall, stout, masculine female, who worked as a shoemaker and cobbler' - took her pitchfork and captured twelve terrified men, marching them to captivity in Fishguard Church, and thereby winning a government pension of £50 a year."

The Fishguard Invasion and Jemima Nicholas:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK...

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - Some information of French POW's held in Britain. This refers only to officers; other ranks were held in crammed prison hulks in various ports:

"There was also a rigid division between officers and men. The officers were given a passport to a particular parole depot, an alphabetical net flung over the south and west of England, from Alresford, Ashburton and Ashford to Peterborough and Tavistock. Local magistrates arranged for them to be billeted in houses or inns, and they gave their parole - their word of honour - not to escape, to obey an evening curfew and to walk no more than a mile from the town. Townsfolk put up milestones to mark the limit, like the stretch of road near Derby still known as Frenchman's Mile, or picked out special features like the tree at Whitchurch, which became known as the Honour Oak."

The Honour Oak:
https://dartmoorexplorations.co.uk/na...

Betsy wrote: "No wonder soldiers ordered to the Caribbean were reluctant to go. You can't fight yellow fever the way you fight the French or Spanish."

That's true Betsy, it was a virtual death sentence for many!

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - Spain has joined the war against Britain, which allowed the Royal Navy to snatch Spanish prizes on the sea and to attack the many Islands under Spanish control in the Caribbean:

"Santo Domingo eluded Abercromby, who fell ill after a failed attack on Puerto Rico and resigned his command. He was a complicated character, a liberal who had refused to serve in the American war, sympathising with the colonists' grievances and sure that the war was provoked by the king and his incompetent ministers, and had welcomed the French Revolution and supported mediation until war was finally declared. With regard to slavery, his sympathies were with the abolitionists, but as an officer he set these aside. Above all he was concerned for his own men, as he had been in Flanders. With the wet season came thunder and lightning, 'distressful visitings of thick clouds of musquitoes', bringing the terrible 'yellow jack', a malaria-like fever affecting the liver and kidneys and inducing jaundice, weakness, black vomit, hallucinations, coma and death. Army doctors followed the Dutch in treating it with emetics, opium and quinine, and Abercromby set up sanatoria, modified the uniforms and stopped drills under the pitiless sun, but he could do little to kelp: men died in their hundreds from fevers and constant ulcers. By now the government had already sent thirty-five thousand soldiers to the Caribbean and within five years the number would rise to eighty-nine thousand. At least half - up to forty-five thousand men - died in the islands, most from 'that ardent, and merciless destroyer, the yellow fever'."

The best book that I have read so far on this subject has been; "Mosquito Empires".

Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620–1914 by John Robert McNeill

I hope you find something worthwhile on the subject.

Betsy wrote: "Like many girls, Rose had romantic notions about her new husband. She found that reality was not-so-pleasant. He expected more than bedmate. He wanted an educated woman who could talk with him and ..."

Sounds like a relationship made in heaven!

Betsy wrote: "Did it say that proof of marriage was necessary? After all, many relationships were never made legal; but were still loyal to each other, and who would still need the money"

The author didn't mention anything in regard to proof of marriage, but I wonder whether the minister or churchwarden would have signed any documents unless they were happy that the relationship was appropriate.

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - Things were pretty hard for the families of those who served in the British Army at this time, but not too bad for the families of sailors:

"So far there was no official arrangement to inform relatives of a soldier's death, or to let him send home his pay. It was not until 1797 that the Duke of York ordered commanding officers to report the names of the dead to the War Office, and not until 1809 that family members could petition for a dead man's effects. But a sailor could send half his money home for each month, usually to his wife or mother, and in 1796 the navy set up the Allotment Office to record the details of all the seamen who were allotting wages to their families: the commanding officer had to help each man fill out the forms in triplicate, giving his name, that of the recipient and their address, and the number of children, specifying the number of boys. One copy went to the Navy Office, one to the official who would distribute the money, and the third to the woman herself. Each month she would turn up to receive the money from the designated tax collector, bringing the form and a pass signed by the minister or churchwarden to prove her identity. The amounts were small but vital, £5 or £6 each month. If her man was killed or died, she came back to the same official to receive a lump sum, including back pay, and any uncollected prize money - sometimes as much as £150, enough to change a life."

In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815 by Jenny Uglow

Betsy wrote: "Ah indeed, cut off speech so there can't be protest. One of the favorite tactics of those in power. Even Lincoln took on 'Habeas Corpus'. And just look at what they resort to today!"

When all else fails Betsy!

"In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815" - The British government are getting worried about people starting to voice their objection to their wartime policies:

"Despite furious opposition from Sheridan and Fox, and widespread petitioning and submission of addresses from protestors - which suggested that a broad swathe of people thought Pit was overstepping the mark - the two 'Gagging Acts' were passed six days later. Under the Treasonable Practices Act (never used, the existing legislation being quite flexible enough) it became a treasonable offence to incite hatred of the king, even to imagine his death, in speech or on paper. Other clauses specified that anyone bringing the king, government or constitution into contempt faced seven years' transportation. The wording was so vague that this 'contempt' for government could be applied even to an objection to a local turnpike, let alone opposition to the war. Meanwhile, the Seditious Meetings Act, closing down lecture halls and restricted unlicensed meetings to fifty people, clamped down on lectures, silencing intellectual argument as well as stopping public gatherings."

In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793–1815 by Jenny Uglow

Jerome wrote: "Does anyone know of any books on Admiral Duckworth's attack on Dardanelles in 1807? Or Britain's war with with the Ottomans around that time? (1807-1809)

I'm reading a book on Gallipoli that brief..."

That's a good question Jerome! I'm not familiar with any detailed books on the subject but I did find this book mentioned on Wikipedia:

Brenton, Edward Pelham, The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Year MDCCLXXXIII. to MDCCCXXXVI.: From the Year MDCCLXXXIII. to MDCCCXXXVI, Volume II, Henry Colburn Publisher, London 1837

https://www.rookebooks.com/1837-the-n...

Betsy wrote: "The Beauharnais Family had some winners, allright. Even the ever-patient wife willingly shared her husband with Edmee who was some 20+ years younger than her !over. Her lover, the Governor, lost hi..."

What a mess - sounds like a bit of a nightmare!