Midshipmen..."these were the escapers"

[anteros_lmc]

On my way to work this morning I finally started reading Escape from the French. Captain Hewson's Narrative 1803 -1809, a contemporary account of a young midshipman's escape from the prison of Verdun and the infamous fortress of Bitche. The book has an excellent introduction from Antony Brett-James which includes the astonishing assertion that out of a hundred naval officers who made successful escapes, about 90% were midshipmen.

The Fortress of Bitche

"In the war against Napoleon the older prisoners of war, especially those of senior rank who no longer had any orders to give, became passive. The comparative few who refused to give way, who resented confinement and alien orders, who longed to be out and about, chafing as they did at being captive while great deeds were being done in the world outside, these were the escapers. For them prison represented a challenge; they simply had to escape. Most of them were young, fit and resilient. Out of over a hundred naval officers who made successful escapes, about ninety percent were midshipmen. The more senior officers were on parole and refused to dishonour this by escaping. Moreover, they were likely, at least until 1806, to be exchanged, as happened in the case of Captains Brenton and Leveson-Gower. Junior officers on parole sought to have their parole rescinded by some misconduct so as to salve their consciences when about to escape. Prisoners held in Bitche under lock and key were not invited to give their parole, so they could not dishonour something which did not exist."

I suspect Sir Sidney Smith might disagree about the passivity of senior officers and their disinclination to escape! However if these rough figures are correct, and I have no reason to doubt them, it is remarkable when you consider the relative youth of these midshipmen. Maurice Hewson was only 17 when he was seized in Camaret Bay, off Brest, while carrying out orders from Collingwood to gather intelligence on an alleged counter-revolution in Paris. It took Hewson six years and several failed escape attempts to traverse Europe and reach Trieste where he was eventually able to rejoin a British ship in 1809. Once I've read Captain Hewson's Narrative I'll let you know what happened along the way.

Brett-James, A., (1981), Escape from the French. Captain Hewson's Narrative 1803 -1809, Hodder and Stoughton, Exeter.

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I read this too, in my research about Archie. Now I have misplaced this book, in my toppling stack of books somewhere. Too bad, I wanted to read it again.

[esteven]

What an interesting read that should make. The Captain Brenton in question must have been Jahleel Brenton who preceeded Cochrane in Speedy and I think also in Pallas. He one of the captains sitting at the courtmartial of Cochrane for the loss of said sloop *g* Sorry, with me you are likely to get either Cochrane or Aubrey ;D

This book gives some fairly good info too :D

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Did you read this one or Escape from France which is a different account of a similar escape. It's also on my list of books to read! That detail about the number of midshipmen that escaped absolutely astonished me. I can't help wondering how many more tried to escape and failed. It really puts Archie's attempts into context.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Sorry, with me you are likely to get either Cochrane or Aubrey ;D
Lol! And have you ever known me to complain?! Appreciation fo all navyboys, real or fictional, is always welcome here :)

It is indeed Jahleel Brenton that's referred to here. I believe Hewson spent some time in prison with him. I'll let you know more once I reach that bit!

Thank you very much for the reference btw, I haven't come across that one before and I am always on the look out for accounts to naval POWs in France. That's definitely one for the reading list.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I tried to get Escape from France. They had it at my library, but there was some glich with the coding on it, and they would not allow the book to leave the building!

That was back when I was just starting to write Archie's time in France, and I was so frustrated!

I ended up buying Escape from the French. I liked that fine in the end. As it turned out I drew more broadly for Archie's experiences anyway. What I drew from Escape from the French was the realization that probably a man on his own could not escape at all. It took a coordinated team.

I denied Archie that team.

The image, in my mind, of him trying again and again, all alone, breaks my heart. But it is authentic to his character,I think.

[esteven]

Ah, Jahleel Brenton! :D I will be looking forward to what you may be able to find.

Glad to have been of service. :D

[auburn-whelan.livejournal.com]

Now why can't my uni. have a course in naval history of this era? It would be fascinating. Oh well. I'm getting a lovely education just through posts like this. :) I'll have to add those titles to my reading list as well.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

So true about the education. I have learned so much. I would say the learning is a close second to staring at Navyboys.
(And maybe a tie with feeling a lot less alone.)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Well if you're really determined the University of Exeter do a distance learning Masters in Naval History!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I would say the learning is a close second to staring at Navyboys.
I agree. What could be more pleasurable? :)

[auburn-whelan.livejournal.com]

That looks quite interesting. Thanks for the link! :)