Every Man Will Do His Duty: An Anthology of First-hand Accounts from the Age of Nelson 1793 – 1815

[anteros_lmc]

King, D. and Hattendorf, J.B., (1997) Every Man Will Do His Duty: An Anthology of First-hand Accounts from the Age of Nelson 1793 – 1815, Conway Maritime Press.

Along with NAM Rogers’ The Wooden World, Dean King and John B. Hattendorf’s Every Man Will Do His Duty: An Anthology of First-Hand Accounts from the Age of Nelson frequently turns up at the top of must-read Age of Sail history lists. I guess lots of you read this donkeys ago but here’s a few thoughts on some of these extraordinary stories anyway.

Some of these accounts such as Beatty’s “The Death of Lord Nelson” and Cochrane’s “The Audacious Cruise of the Speedy” are justifiably famous, and well known as they are it’s impossible not to be impressed by them. Cochrane made me laugh with the casual way he repeatedly “out boats” and lifts another prize. However to my mind it’s the lesser known characters who make this book, some of whom remain nameless such as the boy who is left in command to strike the colours of the French ship La Forteafter the entire company of senior officers has been killed in the ferocious engagement with HMS La Sybille.

Of the many and vivid accounts of famous battles the ones that I found most gripping and moving were William Henry Dillon’s “Commence the Work of Destruction: the Glorious First of June” and William Richardson’s “With Stopford at Basque Roads”. Dillon’s account of the Battle of Cape Saint Vincent vividly captures the chaos and confusion of a major sea battle as seen through the blood, smoke and din of the lower gun deck of HMS Defence. This account is all the more remarkable when you realise that Dillon was a fourteen year old midshipman at the time and that his quarter of the lower deck suffered greater devastation than any other part of his ship, with fourteen of his guncrew killed or injured. Richardson by contrast is an experienced 34-year-old warrant officer when he is charged with rigging fire ships with explosives at the Ill d’Aix. Richardson records his technical duties calmly and plainly but you can almost smell the danger. And it is hard not to sympathise with Richardson when he complaints that warrant officers such as himself receive neither recognition or promotion for executing such hazardous duties while others such as the doctor, purser and boys of the midshipmen are generally applauded despite being “no more use to the ship at the time than old women.”

I found the pieces recounting the experiences of prisoners of war completely fascinating, particularly George Vernon Jackson’s extraordinary account of his time as a French prisoner of war, which I’ve already summarised. Jackson tells his story with dry wit and humour and barely a tremble of stiff upper lip but it is a harrowing tale never the less. After surviving the bloody Battle of Cape St Vincent, William Henry Dillon also had the misfortune to spend four years in a French prison having been illegally detained under a flag of truce while on Admiralty business. Having never been declared a prisoner of war he receives no allowance from the French authorities, necessitating his family to sell his estates to cover his expenses. On finally returning to England and applying to the Admiralty for the backdated commander’s pay due to him he becomes entangled in a Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare when the Admiralty adopt the same tack as the French and withhold his naval pay is he had not been formally declared him a prisoner of war. On pleading his case to Lord Gambier, his former captain, Gambier responds “What’s that you say? Justice you say?” Then holding his right hand up in the air and snapping his fingers, said “There’s justice for you at the Admiralty!” Dillon does eventually receive his due and is reinstated to command the Childers, one of the worst old scows in the navy.

One small but fascinating detail in Dillon’s account relates to the serious consequences of breaking parole. Temple, a midshipman held with Dillon at Verdun, escapes breaking his parole and leaving behind debts of £4000. On returning to England he is dismissed from the Navy as they “cannot sanction such conduct.” When Dillon meets Temple in the street Temple offers him his hand however Dillon is unimpressed. “In doing so he had mistaken his man, as I turned my back on him and passed by without acknowledgement.”

Of all these accounts the ones I found most difficult to read are those relating to the American War of Independence for the simple reason that they read like accounts of civil war. Here are men who clearly have the highest respect for one other and are happy to socialise and dine in each others company while at the same time they are ready and willing to blow each other to smithereens on account of national ideology. In this respect I found Captain David Porter’s report of the engagement between the USS Essex and HMS Phoebe and Cherub particularly harrowing. The ships encounter each other in the allegedly neutral port of Valparaiso where Porter does his utmost to provoke a one to one engagement with the Phoebe which understandably proves unwilling to be parted from her smaller consort Cherub. The provocation begins with the ships hoisting nationalist slogans with their signal flags and progresses to singing insulting songs across the anchorage. Porter notes: “The songs from the Cherub were better sung, but those of the Essex were more witty and more to the point”. This war of wit escalates when Porter and Hillyar of the Phoebe begin exchanging accusatory letters and challenges and ends when the Phoebe and the Cherub finally rise to the bait, corner the Essex in highly dubious circumstances and blast the ship to pieces with huge loss of life. It would be funny if it wasn’t so utterly tragic.

However in amongst these terrible and heroic accounts of war and battle there are also moments of genuine levity most of which belong to the unforgettable Mr Basil Hall. Anyone who has read this anthology will remember Hall as the midshipman who relates the tale of the unfortunate middies cur Shakings. After numerous attempts by the officers to divest the flagship HMS Leander of this mangy mongrel poor Shakings is despatched by order to meet a sad and watery end. The outraged middies wreak their revenge by putting first the officers’ pointers and then the ship’s pigs into mourning by tying black ribbons around their legs and releasing them onto the quarterdeck. Only the outbreak of war puts an end to Shakings’ memorial shenanigans. Much less funny but no less memorable is Hall’s eyewitness account of the land battle of Corunna, the death of Sir John Moore and the evacuation of the English troops from Spain. It’s impossible not to be charmed by Hall, who has an incredible eye for detail, a self-deprecating sense of humour and an engaging turn of phrase. It’s easy to see why he went on to become a popular author in his day and a doyen of Edinburgh high society.

One final passage in this book that completely astonished me was James Anthony Gardener recording the words of the song Brian O’Lynn while omitting “lines that may not be liked by those endued with fine feelings”. This song is a favourite in our house and I had absolutely no idea it dated back to 1794 and no doubt further. What really made me laugh though is that my four year old daughter sings Brian O’Lynn with gusto and her version includes several of the verses that Mr Gardener is so coy about ;)


Cross posted to anything_aos

Comments

[esteven]

Along with NAM Rogers’ The Wooden World, Dean King and John B. Hattendorf’s 'Every Man Will Do His Duty: An Anthology of First-Hand Accounts from the Age of Nelson' frequently turns up at the top of must-read Age of Sail history lists.

Thank you so much for this in depth review. I admit that the book had so far not featured on my list of must-reads. Now I know wht to add. :D

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! I can't recommend this book highly enough, it's completely fascinating and a great read to boot. My only quibble is that the Conway Maritime Press edition (not the one illustrated above) has really tiny print that makes it really hard to read on the bus!

[esteven]

Thank you for telling me. I may then try for the larger print. :D

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

*adds book to "must read"*

*looks at length of list and sighs*

One day...

Thank you for the review! It sounds fantastic. Maybe I will buy it for Navyboy and then at least someone in the house will get around to reading it...

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Sounds like your must read list is similar to mine! :}

Actually this is a great book for dipping in and out of as it's made up of a series of individual accounts arranged in roughly chronological order.

I think Navyboy would really enjoy this, I'm sure he'd have one or two experiences in common with the other navyboys writing here.

[esmerelda-t.livejournal.com]

That's interesting about the parole. It's also incredibly stupid, it's war, not a tea party.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I found all the stuff about POWs and parole etc completely fascinating.

It's also incredibly stupid, it's war, not a tea party.
If you think that's daft, some of the accounts from the American War of Independance are even worse. You have captains having tea together in some neutral port and then sailing out to sea to blow each other to smithereens.

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

I didn't know about this book, so thanks for the rec.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Remember you asked a while back how much of an allowance POWs received while in prison? According to Dillon a lieutenant was due one shilling per diem and payment varied depending on rank.

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That doesn't sound like much money.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

In this case the senior naval officers at Verdun were authorised to draw "lodging" money, presumably from the Admiralty, and distribute it to the officers and men.

Although of course POWs were eligible for an allowance from the French authorities as well as their own naval salary. Jackson refers to prisoners of war at Verdun buying suites of furniture and fashionable clothes from Paris!

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

It sounds like there was a world of difference betweeen how the officers and other ranks were treated.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Regarding how common seamen were treated as prisoners of war here is an extraordinary passage from Jackson again:

"Bitche had been used as a prison for the lower class of English prisoner, but most of them had been removed before we were sent there, and only sufficient left to perform the duty of servants. These were placed in the souterraines, where they reigned supreme and legislated for their community upon principals of their own, administering reward or punishment to all who deserved one or the other - but woe betide the offender whoever and whatever he might be. He was allowed no money, and was kicked, cuffed or tossed in a blanket as contingency required. The latter system of retribution was the most frequently adopted and most dreaded. The rank of a man was of no avail as soon as he appeared in the souterraines, and if any one with a voice amongst the men owed the visitor a grudge, master or no master, the latter was sure to pay the penalty. A man named Spiller was the presiding genius of this place, and to him were referred al questions of arbitration."

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

Excellent review - but of course ir goes without saying really.
these first hand accounts are gold dust - sometimes even worth chasing up in obscure roads in Ealing even ! ( watch this - or rather a similar soace shortly And this will make sense.
Curious the balances of etiquette and bloody warfare - very strange territory to us now

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

these first hand accounts are gold dust
They really are. Many of them really put the fiction in the shade.

Curious the balances of etiquette and bloody warfare - very strange territory to us now
Very strange indeed. These were the aspects of the accounts that I found hardest to fathom.