Jack Tar

by Roy Adkins

  Monkeys were frequently the subject of anecdotes repeated by the seamen, and aboard the Sceptre in 1812, John Boteler recalled the rivalry between the first lieutenant’s dog and the ship’s monkey, which rather mimicked the social hierarchy:

  Our first lieutenant had a spaniel on board: the animal was well aware of the standing and authority of his master, and it was ridiculous to notice the difference of the dog’s behaviour when his master was on or off deck. When on, the dog would strut about the midshipmen, now and then showing his teeth at them, very different when off deck, then it was to get away from the mids for fear of a kick, and to make himself scarce. We had also a long-tailed monkey. I don’t know if anyone owned him, but he was a general favourite, especially with the ship’s company. His tail was prehensile, and he could hang by it. The dog and he were at drawn daggers; the dog would fly at him whenever he shewed himself on the quarter-deck. One day the dog was asleep by the topsail haulyard rack, when the monkey was coming up the companion hatch … The men saw him – ‘What’s Jacko up to now, I wonder?’ The monkey soon solved the doubt: he mounted the main rigging, till from rope to rope he reached the topsail haulyards, and by this he descended till just over and within reach of the dog. Then hanging by his tail and his hind legs he caught the dog by both ears, lifting him up and shaking him soundly, chattering and apparently laughing the whole time, the dog howling all the while; when well shaken the monkey ceased, hauled himself up a little, well pleased. Strange, ever after this, the two were excellent friends.67

  Of all the pets commonly adopted by sailors, parrots were perhaps the most exotic, and in December 1809 William Wilkinson wrote to his wife about one that he had acquired from a captured French ship:

  The parrot is at present doing pretty well. I was fearful at first it would not live, the weather being so cold, and it just coming from a hot climate. Besides, an hour after I had it on board the prize some sailors frightened it overboard which hurt it very much. But it is now recovered and by keeping it warm I hope to preserve it. They are very likely to die coming suddenly from a hot country into a cold one, which is the case with it as it is just come from Rio De Janeiro in South America. I never saw a bird so handsome. Sir J says it is worth ten or fifteen guineas in England. I think it is one of last year’s birds as it is scarcely tame yet. It is now sitting on its perch close to me. The whole of its head, neck and breast is scarlet, its wings of different shades of green, with some yellow feathers. Its tail is black and between its wings is a most beautiful purple. I don’t think it is the kind of parrot that talks, but its plumage makes up for more than that.68

  Perhaps it was just as well that Wilkinson’s parrot did not talk, for those capable of mimicry were likely to cause trouble, as Thomas Cochrane recalled. In 1794 his ship the Thetis69 was stationed at Norway and allowed visitors:

  On board most ships there is a pet animal of some kind. Ours was a parrot, which … 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 … 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 mainyard. 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!70

  Fortunately for the parrot, the first lieutenant was ashore at the time.

  For entertainment, the crews of warships relished shore leave above all else, but all too often it was denied them, as Marine Captain Wybourn observed in port at Syracuse in 1807:

  The usual routine of business going on in the fleet, all bustle, confusion and hurry to get water, provisions, repair ships, set rigging to rights, painting etc., etc. This generally lasts for some days; the poor sailors, fagged to death from daylight till after dark and frequently all night, and when all is complete, they are the only class not permitted to enjoy a few hours on shore. So much for the brave fellows who are so conspicuous in their country’s cause – how these undaunted men submit is a matter of astonishment.71

  Even the officers did not always obtain leave, and William Wilkinson wrote to his wife about his distress at being unable to see her and their new baby when his ship was at Spithead: ‘You will know what I must have felt at my not being able to leave the ship, and I well knew my dearest how anxiously you must have expected me. But I most frequently pray that we may have peace, when all these troubles are over. If we do not, I still think that I may be with you, for I cannot bear the life of uncertainty which I have been subject to since I have been absent.’72

  When shore leave or liberty was granted, it was generally the officers who benefited most, particularly when their ship was in a foreign port, though they were not always welcome, as Midshipman George Allen saw at Tangiers:

  The place in its outward show is tolerably decent but inwardly I cannot inform you of, not having seen one door open the whole of the time we were on shore … The inhabitants are much more cleanly than those of Portugal, but they have a great antipathy to Englishmen – indeed they saluted us when we went on shore with Christian Dogs, Hereticks, &c, one of them carried his zeal for his religion rather too far, for as Captain Stephens was coming into town after an excursion on horseback he lifted up a large stone and threw it with all his force against, at him I should have said, but fortunately it missed, and the fellow was obliged to run for it, or otherwise he would have been bastinadoed to death.73

  Sightseeing, sketching and acquiring souvenirs were popular pastimes ashore, which were even done during military operations. After Copenhagen surrendered in September 1807, several officers obtained permission to go ashore and look round the devastated city. William Wilkinson described the scenes to his wife:

  I was on shore at Copenhagen two days ago … We went away at ten o’clock and returned at five, after seeing everything that was to be seen, which was not very much. We went to the exchange, museum, and to the observatory. From the latter place we had a view of everything at a considerable distance from the town … And we were all over the church that was burnt, the inside of which must have been amazingly beautiful from the great number of marble monuments we saw there. I brought a small piece of one of them (that had been broke off either by a shot or cracked by the fire) away with me.74

  In more peaceful locations, archaeological sites were a favourite attraction. Anchored off the North African coast in 1793, Midshipman James Gardner accompanied a lieutenant on a visit to the ancient ruins of Carthage:

  [I] saw several remains of antiquity, broken columns, underground passages, pieces of frieze, and the remarkable arches supposed to be the stables of elephants. I went into a room like a cellar and got a piece of flooring, of beautiful green and white marble, which I brought home, but some thief in England stole it from me – the devil do him good with it. The ground about the ruins was covered with reptiles of almost every description, which made it dangerous to explore. I carried a piece of frieze several miles intending to bring it home also, but was obliged to leave it from fatigue.75

  While his ship was at Naples, Marine Captain Wybourn made an excursion to some of the first excavations at the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum:

  These two cities were destroyed about 60 years after Christ, and not discovered till 57 years ago, but a nobleman accidentally digging a well to his house, the workmen came directly upon the seats of the theatre which led to the discovery. How it is possible, that a rich and extensive city should have remained swallowed up for nearly 1,700 years, without some attempts to find it, is most wonderful. We proceeded to Pompia [Pompeii] and arrived over fields of lava, at that part of the city called the barracks; the pillars, piazza, r
ooms and parade, are quite perfect, and the paintings in stucco in as good preservation as if only done yesterday with even the names and various scribblings of the soldiers in their barrack rooms.76

  Wybourn added: ‘We were most highly gratified and wrote our names where many other travellers had, as a memento of our having visited these antiquities, on the marble and in conspicuous places’77 – nowadays even his graffiti has some historic value.

  To Marine Lieutenant Robert Fernyhough, sightseeing at Malta in 1810, some graffiti had an altogether different value, as it was the work of his late brother John. He told his brother William about the discovery: ‘On visiting St. Paul’s cave, can you imagine my dear brother, the excess of my feelings, in observing the name of our dear brother John cut in the roof, he having visited it when at Malta in the Donegal. I have cut out the piece of the rock, with the imprint of his much-loved name, and will bring it to England for you.’78

  Boys who were servants to officers had frequent opportunities to accompany them on shore, as fourteen-year-old Robert Hay experienced at Madras:

  Mr Dunsterville, my master [the ship’s chaplain], went often ashore at this port and on some occasions took me with him. This, not withstanding his keeping me very bare of pocket money, I was exceedingly fond of and never missed an occasion that offered. He was a frequent visitor at the house of the Governor, and while he was getting regaled inside I had liberty to roam about the garden, from the luxuriant produce of which I also got well regaled. All the trees, bushes, shrubs and flowers were new to me and I was never tired gazing on them. Cocoanuts, pumpions [pumpkins], water melons, shaddocks, mangoes, oranges, lemons, limes, pineapples, bananas, cashoo nuts, beetle nuts, chillies etc. etc., grew in the greatest abundance … Leaves, blossoms, green and yellow fruit blended their various hues and greatly enhanced its beauty.79

  What struck officers and men alike was the difference in the people and way of life in a foreign country. Having more experience of the world and having met people of many nations, seamen were generally less narrowly xenophobic than those who lived in Britain, but they still had their prejudices and preconceptions, tempered by their own experiences. Nelson certainly despised the French, and in a letter in 1803 to Hugh Elliot, ambassador to Naples, he insisted that ‘I would not, upon any consideration, have a Frenchman in the fleet, except as a prisoner. I put no confidence in them … I think they are all alike. Whatever information you can get me, I shall be very thankful for; but not a Frenchman comes here. Forgive me; but my mother hated the French.’80 William Dillon had an aversion to Americans, and when he was a midshipman on board the Defence in 1794, he declared that ‘The Purser’s steward … was a Yankee, a person I could never bear.’81 Other officers and men might not have hated foreigners, but were frequently appalled by their customs, and Captain Pasley, after transferring some French prisoners to another vessel with all their belongings, commented: ‘Let any man convince me of such a sight proceeding from a French man-of-war with English prisoners and I’ll alter my opinion of a French man … we parted apparently good friends; I had the honor of being not only hugged but kissed and slabbered by them. Nasty Dogs – I hate a man’s kiss.’82

  While George Watson wandered round the town of Colonia in Uruguay, he noticed the similarities and differences between the people of Spanish descent there and those he had met in Spain:

  We lay in this port above six months, and during that period, I had ample opportunity, owing to my intercourse with the shore, to reflect upon the character of the people. I could observe little difference between them and the inhabitants of Old Spain, only what might arise from the distance from each other, their costume was much the same, but more negligent, and the self consequence of the home bred Spaniard was much diminished. Notwithstanding they were as lazy as other Spaniards, lousey, superstitious, and lascivious, and consequently cowardly – there is nothing so likely to enervate the mind, as a licentious, and immoral course of conduct. As far as I could judge by dealing with them, they were honest, and not disposed to overreach. The women were pretty but very dark complexioned; the symmetry of their bodies is beautiful, they are so much lighter made than English women, and so exceedingly well formed is their clothing that you would take an old woman for a girl till you saw her face. They are of a grave and apparently contemplative countenance, but for all that very volatile and gay, which is the natural effect of a warm climate. There are a great many negro girls in the town, who have been brought from Africa, who conform to the manners of the Spaniards, and seem also to enjoy a tolerable share of liberty.83

  Lisbon in Portugal was one port that visitors invariably found unpleasant. The first time Samuel Leech had shore leave there he was aware of an alien culture:

  I was one day walking leisurely along the streets, quite at my ease, when the gathering of a noisy multitude arrested my attention. Looking up, I was shocked at seeing a human head, with a pair of hands beneath it, nailed to a pole! They had just been taken from a barber, who, when in the act of shaving a gentleman, was seized with a sudden desire to possess a beautiful watch which glittered in his pocket. To gain this brilliant bauble, the wretched man cut his victim’s throat. He was arrested, his hands were cut off, then his head, and both were fastened to the pole as I have described them. Upon inquiry, I ascertained that this was the ordinary method of punishing murder in Portugal; a striking evidence that civilization had not fully completed its great work among them.84

  James Scott, on his first visit to Lisbon, was equally disgusted by this practice. A human head, he said, was

  stuck on a pole by the arsenal wall, opposite to the house where the crime was committed, and in one of the most public and frequented streets of the town … On passing the spot near midnight, the only individuals I perceived in the street were some of my countrymen collected around the pole: they were all of the medical department; their zeal for the practical part of their profession had determined them to walk off with the exposed head of the murderer. I presume they effected their object, for the police were not a little surprised the following morning to find the pole divested of its head ornament.85

  Some seamen like Aaron Thomas made a conscious study of the places they visited, and extracted as much information from the local people as they could. At Antigua in the West Indies, a woman hired to wash Thomas’s clothes explained to him the importance of shades of skin colour to the slaves:

  A black infant might have its freedom bought for ten joes [a local coin] or thirty-three pounds currency. That a mulatto child was to be bought for the same price, but that a mustee infant would have his freedom for seven joes, [and] that a dustee infant could have his freedom for six joes. A dustee is as white and fair as the most delicate European. Their hair when infants is generally as white as cream, and when they grow up, were they in Europe, they would not be known to be [West] Indians, did not their drawling soft and effeminate voice betray them. The reason why a dustee is to be bought cheaper than a mulatto is that a mulatto when grown up would find it a very difficult matter to get out of an island in the West Indies, but a dustee could get off without any difficulty at all, his white skin would avoid suspicion.86

  Thomas also talked to one of the elderly slaves:

  [I] had a long conversation with an old Negro woman who, about 40 years ago, came from Makoko, near the Lake of Zambra in the eastern shore of Africa … She had not forgot her native tongue, but told me the names of many things in the African tongue. I asked her if she did not wish to go back again to her own country, she answered me – Who will carry me back master: nobody durst carry me back, unless they wish to lose 2 hundred pounds – I shall die a slave, master, nobody will carry me back, master – I shall be a slave all the days of my life.87

  Most seamen’s view of foreign places was confined to what they could see from their ship, since shore leave was a rare commodity, especially in America, as Samuel Leech explained:

  The principal draw-back on the enjoyment of our stay at Norfolk [Virginia, U
SA] was the denial of liberty to go on shore. The strictest care was taken to prevent all communication with the shore, either personally or by letter. The reason of this prohibition was a fear lest we should desert. Many of our crew were Americans: some of these were pressed men; others were much dissatisfied with the severity, not to say cruelty, of our discipline; so that a multitude of the crew were ready to give ‘leg bail’ as they termed it, could they have planted their feet on American soil. Hence our liberty was restrained.88

  They made up for it, Leech added, when given shore leave on their return to England:

  When a man of war is in port, it is usual to grant the crew occasional liberty to go on shore. These indulgences are almost invariably abused for purposes of riot, drunkenness and debauchery; rarely does it happen, but that these shore sprees end in bringing ‘poor Jack’ into difficulty of some sort; for, once on shore, he is like an uncaged bird, as gay and quite as thoughtless. He will then follow out the dictates of passions and appetites, let them lead him whither they may.89

  He summed up their experiences in one short comment: ‘Bad as things are at sea, they are worse in port.’90

  It did not matter to most seamen what port they were in, because any leave they were given was spent in finding women and getting drunk. At Spithead in 1809, George King had the opportunity of going ashore at Portsmouth: