A Sea of Words

by Dean King

  Imperial Guard One of the most celebrated military units in history, the Imperial Guard was so named in 1804, the year of NAPOLEON’S coronation. His beloved highly disciplined and decorated corps evolved during the Napoleonic wars from a small regiment to a complete army, peaking in 1814 at 112,500 but consisting of just 25,900 at WATERLOO. The Guard was formed of three main sections: the Old Guard (the elite, consisting of the GRENADIERS and chasseurs of the Guard), the Middle Guard (formed in 1806 but so named later, eventually two regiments of fusiliers and two of flankers, or marksmen), and the Young Guard (formed in 1809, mainly regiments of light infantry, the cream of the conscripts). “When the eagles of the Old Guard were seen advancing through the smoke of the conflict, the result was no longer doubtful,” wrote one mid-19th-century historian. “When its columns were ordered to move to the attack, every soldier knew it was to march where the struggle was deadliest, and the fate of the army was to be decided. He knew, too, that over the dead and dying, over flaming batteries, and through ranks of steel, the steady battalions were to go. The bugle was never to sound a retreat for him and no reserve help him sustain the shock.”

  Implacable, H.M.S. Originally the French 74-gun Duguay-Trouin, taken after TRAFALGAR in November 1805. In the novel Blue at the Mizzen, this third-rate is the fictional Lord Barmouth’s FLAGSHIP.

  imposthume or impostume A purulent cyst, an abscess.

  Impregnable, H.M.S. A 98-gun second rate built in 1789 that fought in the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE in 1794. She was wrecked near Chichester in 1799. In Post Captain O’Brian has the “Impregnable’s liberty-men ... staggering by with a troop of whores” (p. 203) in Portsmouth, circa 1804; in reality, there was no ship by that name in the Royal Navy between 1799 and 1810.

  IMPRESS OR IMPRESSMENT

  Forced service in the British Army or Navy during wartime. It became an important instrument of recruiting during the War of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic War. While no completely reliable figures on the numbers of men forced into the service through impressment have been published, estimates suggest that for the period up to 1802, about half the men in the Royal Navy were pressed. For the period after 1803, the proportion may be as high as 75 percent pressed and 25 percent volunteer.

  Certain groups of people were protected from impressment, including those under age 18 or above 55, foreigners serving in British merchant ships or PRIVATEERS, watermen on the Thames belonging to insurance companies (up to 30 per office), certain designated seamen aboard ships in the coal trade, and certain fishermen and whalers, including the “harpooner, line manager, or boat-steerer belonging to any vessel fitted out for the Southern Whale Fishery.”

  In 1797, the Impress Service was relatively large, headed by an ADMIRAL with 47 Captains and Commanders under him, and 80 LIEUTENANTS. The war demanded huge numbers to man British ships as the table on page 7 shows, and impressment was unable to meet the Navy’s needs. The government then resorted to the Quota System, or the “Quod,” which required various counties to produce certain numbers of seamen each year for service, in addition to those who volunteered or were impressed.

  Local authorities generally passed over the healthy and capable men, choosing instead to send misfits and criminals. Once chosen, a QUOTA-MAN was allowed to find a substitute or buy himself out, but the latter happened only rarely because it was expensive; the price in 1811 was 80 pounds. There is some evidence that suggests it was Quota-men who were the leaders behind the mutinies of 1797.

  Another source of recruitment was to cull men from foreign ships and foreign ports. Some of these were British merchant seamen or deserters and others were foreign nationals from merchant vessels or from PRIZES. (Forcing foreigners to serve in the Royal Navy enraged Americans and became one of the causes of the War of 1812.) In 1808, H.M.S. Implacable carried 563 men, of whom 86 percent were British and 14 percent foreign. Of the 80 foreigners, the largest single group (28) were Americans. One historian estimated that in a typical ship of 1812, 8 percent were boy volunteers, 15 percent were men volunteers, 50 percent were British pressed men, 12 percent were Quota-men, and 15 percent were foreigners. Impressment ended in Britain in 1815.

  Impress Service The official name for the press gang. See also IMPRESS.

  inanition Malnutrition. Also, lack of social or moral will.

  Indefatigable, H.M.S. A third-rate 64-gun FRIGATE built in 1784 and commanded by Sir Edward PELLEW, one of the greatest British frigate Captains. Reduced to 38 guns in 1795, she fought in the famous action with the Droits de l’Homme in 1797, when that French ship was driven ashore after an all-night battle. In October of 1804, Indefatigable led the capture of four Spanish treasure ships. She was broken up in 1816.

  Indiaman A ship engaged in the trade with India, especially a ship of large tonnage belonging to the EAST INDIA COMPANY. See also EAST INDIAMAN.

  indisposee Indisposed; menstruating (French).

  indraught An inward flow or current of water or air, especially one toward land or up an inlet or estuary.

  infusion A medicine prepared by steeping medicinal plant parts, such as leaves, in hot water (as in making tea).

  inguinal Of or in the groin.

  ink-horn A vessel fashioned from a horn to hold writing-ink.

  innominate artery A large artery branching off from the arch of the aorta.

  in omnium In all (Latin).

  Inquisition An ecclesiastical tribunal for the suppression of heresy and punishment of heretics, formed in the 13th century under Pope Innocent III and governed by the Congregation of the Holy Office. The Inquisition existed in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. The Spanish Inquisition was notorious in the 16th century for its brutality. The Inquisition lasted in France until 1772 and in Spain until 1834.

  in soundings To be relatively close to the shore or in shallows, where the depth is 100 FATHOMS or less, as opposed to “off soundings,” where the water depth is greater than 100 fathoms.

  inspissate To thicken, condense.

  intension The action of stretching. Tension, straining.

  Intermissa, Venus, diu rursus bella moves Venus, you would renew battles long suspended (Latin, from an ode by Horace).

  intermittence du coeur An intermission of the heart (French).

  interregnum The interval between the end of one king’s reign and the start of his successor’s. Any period where a state has a provisional government or no ruler at all.

  in terrorem Literally, into a state of terror (Latin). To warn, done as a deterrent.

  intromittent organ A penis.

  invalid Of a sailor, to go on the sick-list or to leave the service because of illness or injury.

  Invincible, H.M.S. This 74-gun ship was captured from the French by Vice Admiral Sir George ANSON off Cape FINISTERRE in May of 1747 and was taken under the same name into the British Navy. Because of her superior design, she was used as a model for many British 74-gun ships, and after being wrecked at St. Helen’s in 1758 was followed by four other Invincibles. The second was launched in 1765 and took part in the battle of the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE in 1794. Commanded by Thomas Pakenham, she was severely damaged. In 1801, after a navigational error by the pilots guiding her through the narrow channels of Great Yarmouth, the Invincible was wrecked on Harborough Sands. The crew dismasted her to reduce topweight, but she drifted into deep water and sank, taking down her Captain, John Rennie, and about 400 of her crew.

  Io triumphe Hurrah for the triumph! (Latin).

  ipecacuanha The dried root of the ipecac plant, ground and used as an emetic.

  Iphigenia In Greek mythology, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and the sister of Orestes and Electra. In an early account she was sacrificed to the goddess Artemis after Greek hunters killed one of Artemis’s wild animals. The fifth-century tragic poet Euripides wrote, instead, that Iphigenia was saved at the altar and transported to the land of the fierce Tuaurians, where she was kept as the priestess
of the temple of Artemis and made to consecrate her fellow Greeks before they were sacrificed to Artemis by these enemies of the Greeks. She was saved by her brother Orestes after he and his friend Pylades were captured and arrived at the temple. The reunion was a surprise to both. They discovered each other when Iphigenia promised Pylades she would save him if he would return and deliver a letter to her brother Orestes.

  iris A member of a genus (Iris) of herbaceous plants native to Europe, North Africa, and the temperate parts of Asia and America, most species having tuberous roots, sword-shaped leaves, and showy flowers. Also called fleur-de-lis or flower-de-luce.

  iron-bound Rock-bound, inhospitable.

  Ironmonger A dealer in ironware; a hardware merchant.

  iron-sick When the iron bolts and nails of a wooden ship become loose due to corrosion. Acid in the wood rusts the metal, creating rot in the wood.

  Iroquois A confederacy of North American Indians also known as the Five Nations, primarily in New York State and Ontario.

  isabella-coloured Grayish yellow or light buff.

  J

  jabot A ruffled or pleated fall of cloth or lace, worn by men, attached to the front of a neckband and descending along the front and center of a shirt. Also, a similar fall in drapery.

  jack A ship’s flag, consisting only of the canton (upper left-hand quarter) of the national flag, sometimes used at sea as a signal or mark of distinction. Specifically, the small flag flown from the JACK-STAFF on the BOWSPRIT of a vessel, as in the British Union Jack, Dutch Jack, French Jack. Also, a British naval seaman (originally, only ABLE SEAMEN and men whose station was on the MASTS and YARDS of SQUARE-RIGGED warships).

  jackass A kind of heavy rough boat used in NEWFOUNDLAND. Also, U.S. Navy name for a HAWSE-bag, a canvas bag filled with OAKUM used to plug the HAWSE-HOLES to keep seawater out.

  jackass rig Any RIG of a sailing ship that substantially differs from the one normally associated with that type of ship.

  jack-crosstree The CROSSTREE at the head of the TOPGALLANT MAST.

  jackeen Contemptuous term for an obnoxious, self-assertive person of little talent or knowledge.

  Jack-in-the-dust or Jack of the dust Slang term for the PURSER’S Assistant, who worked in the BREADROOM, where the flour was stored.

  Jack-in-the-green In May Day dances and the like, a man or boy who participates in the festivities, enclosed in a wooden or wicker pyramidal framework covered with leaves.

  Jack-pudding A buffoon, clown, or MERRY-ANDREW.

  jack-staff A short staff, usually set on the BOWSPRIT or at the BOW of a ship, on which the flag called the JACK is HOISTED when the ship is at anchor.

  Jacobin A friar of the order of St. Dominic, a Dominican. Originally, the term referred to the French members of the order, so called for the church of Saint Jacques, which was near their first convent, in Paris. A member of a French political society founded in 1789 in the old convent of the Jacobins to support the principles of extreme democracy and absolute equality. A sympathizer with the Jacobins of the French Revolution; a radical. About 1800, a nickname for any political reformer.

  Jacobite A supporter of James II (1633-1701), who left the English throne in 1688; a supporter of the Stuart pretenders to the English throne.

  jactitation Extreme restlessness; tossing from side to side.

  J’ai failli attendre I almost had to wait (French).

  Jain A member of a non-Brahminical East Indian sect, established about the sixth century B.C., whose main doctrines are similar to those of Buddhism.

  jakes A privy.

  jalap A mild cathartic.

  James I (1566-1625) Successor to Elizabeth I and the first Stuart King, James I is often considered to have had a negative effect on the Navy. He made peace with Spain soon after he ascended the throne and allowed Elizabeth’s fleet to fall into decay. However, this fleet began to revive after 1618, and James’s 64-gun Prince Royal of 1610, the largest ship of its time, pointed the way toward the three-decker.

  James’s powder Invented by Dr. Robert James (1703-1776), a diaphoretic and cathartic mixture of ANTIMONY and calcium phosphate that was a popular fever reducer in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

  janissary A soldier of an elite Turkish infantry that formed the Sultan’s guard and was the most potent part of the standing army. First organized in the 14th century its ranks were filled mainly with Christian slaves, who remained unmarried and lived in barracks. After a long decline in the corps’s viability, it was finally abolished by Mahmud II after he massacred many of its members in 1826. By extension, any Turkish soldier, especially one involved in escorting travelers in the East.

  J’arrive, mon capitaine ... qu’est-ce que ce remue-mênage?... Vous êtes un officier anglais, monsieur?... Chez le colonel. I’m coming, captain ... what is this hullabaloo? ... Are you an English officer, sir? ... With the colonel (French).

  jaunting-car In Ireland, a light two-wheeled carriage pulled by a single horse, usually having back-to-back seats hung over the two wheels.

  jeer or jear Heavy TACKLE for hoisting and lowering the lower YARDS, the former a procedure known as “swaying up the yards.” The “jeer CAPSTAN,” between the FOREMAST and MAINMAST, was used by the sailors to assist in hoisting the yards.

  jelly-bag A bag used for straining the fruit when making jelly.

  Jersey The largest of the Channel Islands, on the south side of the English Channel. Also, the stockings, sweaters, and other knitted articles that the islanders produced.

  Jersey, Frances, Countess of (1753-1821) Mistress of the Prince of Wales, later GEORGE IV, c.1795-96, until the return of Mrs. FITZHERBERT. She continued to make difficulties for Prince George, who later referred to her as that “infernal Jezabel.”

  Jervis, Admiral Sir John (1735-1823) First Earl St. Vincent. Born at Meaford, Staffordshire, Jervis ran away from home and entered the Navy at age 13. He served with distinction in the American Revolutionary War and afterward became a Member of Parliament. He commanded an expedition to the WEST INDIES, capturing Martinique and Guadeloupe from the French in 1793 and 1794. At the Battle of CAPE ST. VINCENT in 1797, Jervis, with the help of NELSON, captured four Spanish ships and disabled many others off the southwest tip of Portugal, for which he was made an earl. Nicknamed Hanging Jervis for his strict disciplinarian nature, he was deeply religious and known to be of high integrity and sound judgment. He served as First Lord of the ADMIRALTY from 1801 to 1804. Kindhearted and generous in his personal relations, Jervis was given to vehement reproofs for unprofessional conduct and was often undiplomatic in his approach; nevertheless, he made substantial improvements to the administration and organization of the Navy.

  Admiral Sir John Jervis, Earl of St. Vincent (reproduced from Alfred Mahan’s Life of Nelson, courtesy of the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia)

  Jesuit A member of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1533 and sanctioned by Paul IV in 1540. The object of the society was to support the Roman Church in its struggle with the 16th-century reformers and to propagate the faith among the heathen. Hated and feared by Protestants, the order, with its authoritarian constitution and its principle of total obedience to papal commands, became suspect to many in Roman Catholic countries, too, as Jesuit schools and confessionals came to exercise great influence on rulers and high society. Enemies accused the Jesuits of teaching that the end justifies the means, and the lax principles of casuistry put forward by a few Jesuit moralists were ascribed to the Society as a whole, giving rise to the second sense, a dissembling person; a prevaricator.

  Jesuits’ bark or Peruvian bark See BARK.

  Jew’s ear An edible, cup-shaped fungus that grows on the roots and trunks of trees.

  jib A triangular HEADSAILthat stretches from the outer end of the JIB-BOOM to the FORE TOPMAST head in large ships, and from the BOWSPRIT to the MASTHEAD in smaller craft. Introduced in smaller craft around 1705, the jib became standard in larger ships by
1719. As a verb, a variant of GYBE. Also, of a horse or other animal in harness, to stop and refuse to proceed, to balk stubbornly.

  jib-boom A SPAR run out from the end of the BOWSPRIT, to which the TACK of the JIB is LASHed, and beyond which is sometimes extended the flying jib-boom.

  jib of jibs In a clipper ship, a sixth JIB on the BOWSPRIT, the sequence being storm, inner, outer, flying, SPINDLE, jib of jibs. A light-weather sail only set in a gentle breeze. In the Royal Navy, the single jib was the rule, and rarely would anything have been set outside the FLYING JIB.

  jinn In Muslim demonology, an order of spirits lower than the angels and said to have the power of appearing in human and animal forms and of exercising supernatural influence over men.

  jobber One who does odd jobs, a HACK. One employed and paid by the job, rather than continuously engaged and paid wages.

  job captain An officer temporarily in command of a ship while its Captain was otherwise employed. The situation occurred not infrequently during the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly with naval officers, including RODNEY, JERVIS, PELLEW, and HOWE, among others, who were also Members of Parliament.

  joe or johanne, also jo The name in the British American Colonies for a Portuguese gold coin worth 6,400 reis, or about 36 SHILLINGS sterling.

  John Company See EAST INDIA COMPANY.

  John o’ Groats Point on the north coast of Scotland, often considered the most northerly point in Great Britain. However, the most northerly point is actually Dunnet’s Head, some miles to the west.

  Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784) Born at Lichfield and educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, Dr. Johnson was the leading literary scholar and critic of his day, making a profound contribution to English letters. He is remembered as the compiler of the first comprehensive lexicon in English, The Dictionary of the English Language (1755). His brilliant conversation, wit, and aphorisms were documented by his friend and biographer, James Boswell. Maturin’s opinion of Dr. Johnson is expressed in Master and Commander (p. 147): “ ‘The most respectable, the most amiable of the moderns. I disagree with all he says, except when he speaks of Ireland, yet I honour him; and for his life of Savage [Life of Savage, 1744] I love him.’ ” About Ireland, Boswell records Johnson: “ ‘There is no instance, even in ten persecutions, of such severity as that which the Protestants of Ireland have exercised against the Catholicks. Did we tell them we have conquered them, it would be above board: to punish them by confiscation and other penalties, as rebels, was monstrous injustice. King William was not their lawful sovereign: he had not been acknowledged by the Parliament of Ireland, when they appeared in arms against him.’ ”