The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore
by
John R. Hutchinson

Part 6 out of 6




_Monumenta Juridica_,

Morals in the Navy,
improved by Jervis, Nelson, and Collingwood,

Moriarty, Capt,

_Mortar_ sloop,

Mostyn, Admiral,

_Mediator_ tender,

Mitchell, Admiral Sir D.,

Montagu, Admiral,

Mousehole, safe from the press-gang,

Moverty, Thomas, pressed, not having protection on him,

Nancy of Deptford,

_Naseby_, H.M.S.,

_Nassau_, H.M.S.,

_Naval History_. See Brenton, E. P.,

Navy, the growth of, in 18th century,
natural sources of supply of crews,
hard conditions of service in,
discipline in,
provisions in,
comforts in,

Negroes not exempt from impressment,

Nelson, Admiral Lord,

_Nemesis_, H.M.S.,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, press-gang at,
grand protection enjoyed by,

New England,

Newgate compared with the press-room,

Newhaven, the press-gang at,

Newland, safe from the press-gang,

Newquay, safe from the press-gang,

Nore, the press-gang at the,
the mutiny at,
an entrepôt for pressed-men,

_Norfolk_, Indiaman,

Norris, John,

North Forland, press-gang at,

_Nymph_, H.M.S.,


Oakley, Lieut.,

Oaks, Lieut.,

O'Brien, Lieut.,

_Observations on Corporeal Punishment, Impressment, etc._ See
Penrose, Admiral Sir V. C.,

_Observations on the Act for Preventing Clandestine Marriages._
See Keith, A.,

_Observations on the Navy._ See Burchett, J.,

Okehampton, the press-gang at,

Onions, Thomas,

_Orford_, H.M.S.,

Orkney fishermen,

Osborne, Admiral,

Osmer, Lieut.,

_Otter_ sloop,

Oyster vessels,


_Pallas_, H.M.S.,

Parker, Richard, president of the mutineers at the Nore,

Parkgate, a resort of seamen,

Paying off discharged entire crews,

Paying the shot,

Pay of sailors,
deferred,

Pembroke, Earl of, Lord High Admiral,

Penrose, Admiral Sir V. C., _Observations on Corporeal Punishment,
Impressment, etc._,

Pepys, S.,

Peter the Great, Czar of Russia,

Petitions of seamen of the Fleet and others,

_Phoenix_, H.M.S.,

Pill, a favourite haunt of sailors, and shunned by gangsmen,

Pilots,

Pitt, William,

Plymouth, the press-gang at,

Polpero, safe from the press-gang,

Poole, press-gang at,
mayor refuses to back press-warrants,

Popham, Admiral Sir Home, his scheme for coast defence,

Portland Bill, press-gang off,

Portland Island,

Portsmouth, desertions at,
the press-gang at,

Post-chaise, sailors in,

Press-boats sunk at sea,

Pressed labour (see also Press-gang),
antiquity of,
for civil occupations,
for warfare,
means of enforcing,
contrary to the spirit of Magna Carta,
penalties for resistance,
derivation of the term,
the classes from which drawn,
exemptions from,
necessity of, in English Navy,
its crippling effect on trade,

Press-gang, the
why it was a necessity for the Navy,
its services not needed by some captains,
what it was,
the official and the popular views,
the class of men it was composed of,
its quarters, landsmen joining the land force not to be pressed
for sea service,
ship-gangs entirely seamen, varying numbers in gang,
the officers,
the shore service the grave of promotion,
general character of officers ashore,
duties of the Regulating Captain,
pay and road money, etc.,
perquisites, peculation, and bribery in the service,
sham-gangs,
the rendezvous,
boat's arms,
press warrant,
whom the gang might take,
primarily those who used the sea,
later on trade suffers from the gang,
exemption granted as an indulgence,
the foreigner first exempted,
but not if he had an English wife, and was soon assumed to have
one,
negroes not exempt, landsmen theoretically only,
harvesters were exempt if holding a certificate,
gentlemen exempt if dressed as such,
only those proved to be between eighteen and fifty-five,
the position of apprentices was uncertain,
to press merchant seamen was resented by trade,
masters, mates, boatswains, and carpenters were exempt,
colliers were exempt up to a certain proportion,
ship protections did not count on shore,
mate was not entitled to liberty unless registered at the
rendezvous,
harpooners were protected out of season on land or on colliers,
the press-gang preyed upon its fellows,
watermen, bargemen, and canal boat-dwellers were considered to use
the see,
Thames watermen and some others exempt if certain quota of men
supplied,
large numbers pressed from Ireland,
fishermen indifferently protected, but fisheries fostered,
all protected persons bound to carry their protection on them,
an error in protection invalidated it,
protections often disregarded,
special protections,
its activities afloat,
the merchant seamen the principal quest,
the chain of sea-gangs,
the outer rings, frigates pressing for their own crews and armed
sloops as tenders to ships of the line, and the vessels employed
by regulating captains at the large ports,
the inner ring of boat-gangs in harbour or on rivers;
their methods.,
methods of pressing at sea,
complications arising from pressing at sea,
their varied success.,
and the right to search foreign vessels for English seamen,
and convoys,
and privateers,
and smugglers,
smuggling by,
and ships in quarantine,
and transports,
and cartel ships,
and pilots,
how it was evaded,
in the ship, with her or from her,
or a combination,
hiding on board from,
evasions assisted by the skipper,
and men in lieu and foreigners in emergency crews,
pilots and fisherman taken by, when acting as emergency men,
evaded by desertion from the ship,
evaded by hiding on land and changing quarters,
Cornwall dangerous for,
safe retreats from,
empowered to take Severn and Wye trow-men,
unsuccessful efforts of,
evaded by borrowed, forged, and American protections and by
disguises,
what it did ashore,
the sailor betrayed by marked characteristics;
sailors outnumbered on shore by the gang,
its object the pressing of sailors who escaped the seagangs,
its London rendezvous and taverns used.
the inland distribution of,
the class of places selected for operations of,
the land-gangs necessarily ambulatory,
its resting and refreshment places chosen for purposes of capture,
the methods adopted,
a hot press at Brighton,
a ruse at Portsmouth,
how the sailors' liking for drink was turned to account,
the amount of violence used,
outside assistance to,
rivalry between gangs,
assisted by mayors and county magistrates,
assisted by the military,
townsmen who sided with the sailors against,
brutal behaviour of, at Poole,
resisted at Deal and Dover,
forcible entry by, illegal,
magistrates consign vagabonds and disorderly persons to,
how it was resisted,
various weapons used against,
gangs-men killed by sailors resisting them,
sailors killed by gangsmen,
by armed bands of seamen,
by the populace in attempting to impress,
pressed-men recaptured from,
tenders attacked,
rendezvous attacked,
press-boats attacked and sunk,
resistance when the press-gang had come abroad,
the hardship of impressment on arrival from long voyage,
the only means of resistance,
a sailor's death in such case "accidental," casual, unavoidable,
or disagreeable,
a case in point,
at play,
humorous reason given for impressing a person,
inculcating manners by means of the press,
the respect due to naval officers,
the outsider liable to be pressed for breach of naval etiquette,
rudeness to the press-gang treated the same way,
damages from officers for wrongful impressment, failure to dip the
flag, or flying an unauthorised flag, might lead to pressing
from that crew,
unseamanlike management of a ship laid the crew open to pressing,
pipers and fiddlers, etc., impressed,
ridiculous reasons given for impressing,
unsuspecting passenger in a smuggler declared owner of contraband
and pressed,
tattoo marks and bandy legs lead to pressing,
any eccentricity sufficient to ensure the attention of the
press-gang,
used by trustees to keep heirs from their money, and by parents to
rid them of incorrigible sons,
used for purposes of retaliation,
used by strikers to get rid of a "blackleg."
used by stern parent to part his daughter and her lover,
a drunken cleric's revenge by means of,
by pressing a sailor, causes his late bedfellow to be hanged as
his murderer,
and women,
of women and sailors in general,
lack of sentiment in gangsmen,
women impressed by,
women masquerading as men to go to sea,
women in the gang,
the hardship brought on women by the gang,
fostered vice and bred paupers,
women who released sailors from the press-gang,
the devotion of Richard Parker's wife,
In the clutch of,
the press-room, what it was; strongly built and small as it might
be, could hold any number,
Bristol gaol and Gloucester Castle used as press-rooms,
inadequate precautions for retaining pressed men on the road,
regulations for rendezvous,
victualling in the press-room,
regulating or examining for fitness for service,
fabricated ailments and defects,
dispatching pressed men to the fleet,
tenders hired for transport of pressed men,
comfort and health of pressed men on tenders,
the victualling of pressed men on tenders,
prevention of escape,
an attempt to escape-with the Tasker tender escapes from,
The Union tender cut out from the Tyne by the pressed men,
various excitements aboard
a final examination,
petitions,
substitutes,
How the gang went out,
causes of withdrawal of press-gang,
the increasingly bad quality of the product,
the spirit of restlessness and mutiny engendered,
the injury to trade,
only continued so long by the apathy of the people,
the cost of impressing,

Press-Gang, or Love in Low Life, The,

Press warrants,
forged,

Presting, the original term and its meaning,

Prest money,

Price, Capt,

Prince George guardship at Portsmouth,

Princess Augusta, a letter of marque,

Princess Augusta tender,

Princess Louisa, H.M.S,

Privateers, loss of seamen by,
pressing from,
recapture of pressed crew of,

Prize money,

Profane abuse of crews by officers,

Protections, for masters, mates, boatswains, and carpenters,
worthless, if the holder were ashore,
bound to be always carried,
slightest error in description invalidated,
were often disregarded,
special,
for men in lieu,
for crews of convoys and privateers expired on arrival in home waters,
lent, bought, and exchanged,
American,

Provisions in the Navy,

Quarantine,

Queensferry, the press-gang at,

Quota men,

"R" for "run" in ships' books to denote deserter,

Raleigh, Sir Walter,

Ramsgate, the press-gang at,

Reading, the press-gang at,

Registration of seamen,

Regulating, i.e. examination of pressed-men for fitness,
ailments and defects fabricated or assumed,

Regulating captains,
character of a,

Repulse, H.M.S.,

Rendezvous,
attacked,
regulations of,

Rescue of pressed men from the gang,

Reunion, H.M.S.,

Rhode Island,

Rice,

Richard II,

Richards, John, midshipman,

Richardson, Lieut,

Right of search,

Roberts, Capt. John,

Rochester, the press-gang at,

Rodney, Admiral Lord,

Roebuck, H.M.S.,

Romsey, the press-gang at,

Routh, Capt,

_Royal Sovereign_, H.M.S.,

_Ruby_ gunship,

Rudsdale, Lieut.,

Rum,

_Rupert_, H.M.S.,

Russia, impressment in,

Russian Navy,

Ryde, the Lord of the Manor, claimed the privilege of private
protections for his ferrymen to Portsmouth and Gosport,
the press-gang at,

_Rye_, H.M.S.,

Rye, the press-gang at,


Sailor, the word disfavoured by Navy Board,
a creature of contradictions,

St. Ives, safe from the press-gang,

St. Lawrence River, deserters in,

St. Vincent, Earl of. See Jervis, J,

Salisbury, the press-gang at,

Sanders, Joseph,

_Sandwich_, H.M.S., flag-ship at the Nore,

Sax, Lieut,

_Scipio_, H.M.S.,

Scott, John, pressed when his protection was lying in his coat beside
him,

Scottish fishermen,

_Seahorse_, H.M.S.,

"Serving out slops,"

Severn trow-men, exempted from impress by 10% levy,
Court of Exchequer rules the reverse,

Seymour, Lieut.,

Sham gangs,

_Shandois_ sloop,

_Shannon_, H.M.S.,

Shannon, men working turf boats on, not exempt,

_Shark_, sloop,

"She" applied to a ship, a recent use,

Sheerness, crimpage at,

Shields, press-gang at,

Ships, impressment of,

Shipwrights in Scotch yards could be pressed as carpenters on
warships,

Shirley, Governor,

Shoreham, the press-gang at,

_Shrewsbury_, H.M.S.,

Shrewsbury, sham gangs at,

Sloper, Major-General,

Smeaton, John,

Smugglers, crew of, pressed,
unsuspecting passenger declared owner and pressed,

_Solebay_, H.M.S.,

Southampton, the press-gang at,

Southey, Robt, _English Eclogues_,

_Southsea Castle_, H.M.S.,

Spithead, crimpage at,
an entrepôt for pressed men,

_Spy_ sloop of war,

_Squirrel_, H.M.S.,

_Stag_, H.M.S.,

_Stag_ privateer,

Stangate Creek, the fray at,

Stephens, George, impressed at thirteen,

Stephenson, George,

Stepney Fields, press-gang at,

Stillwell, John,

Stourbridge, the press-gang at,

Strike-me-blind. See Rice,

Sturdy, Ralph, shot by the pressgang on the _Britannia_,

Sunderland, press-gang at,

Surgeons,

Swansea,


Tailors pressed on account of bandy legs,

Talbot, Mary Anne,

_Tasker_ tender,

Tassell, William, a protected mate, pressed ashore,

Taunton, Denny-Bowl quarry, near--three girls as sham gang,
the press-gang at,

Taylor, Lieut,

Taylor, William,

Teede, John, undone by tattoo marks,

Tenders,
attacked,
hired for transport of pressed men,
the health and comfort of pressed men on,
their victualling,
attempts to escape from and with,

Thames, press-gang on the,
wherrymen exempted by levy of one in five,

_Thetis_, H.M.S.,

Thomson, Lieut,

Thurlow, Lord,

Ticket men. See Men in lieu,

Tobacco,

Trading classes the greatest sufferers from impressment,
not without resentment,
various trades gradually exempted,

Tramps. See Vagabonds,

Transports,

Travelling, cost of,

_Trial and Life of Richard Parker_,

Trim, William,

Trinity House,

_Triton_ brig,

_Triton_, Indiaman,

Turning over of crews,

Tyne keelman exempt from impress by levy--the men supplied being
obtained by them by bounties,


_Union_ tender,

_Utrecht_, H.M.S.,


Vagabonds handed over to the press-gang,

_Vanguard_, H.M.S.,

Vernon, Admiral,

Victualling in the press-room,

Virginia,


Wages due to sailors to date of impressment,

Walbeoff, Capt,

Ward, Ned, _Wooden World Dissected_,

Waterford, press-gang at,

Watermen's language,

Watson, Lieut,

Watts, John, punished with 170 lashes,

Weapons used against the press-gang,

Weir, Alexander,

Wellington, Duke of,

Whalers, some of crew of, exempt from impressment,

Whitby, the press-gang at,

White, John, pressed at Bristol ninety yards from his vessel,

Whitefoot, James, impressed at Bristol,

Whitworth, Charles, Envoy to Russia,

"Widows' men."

Williams, John,

_Willing Traveller_ smuggler,

Wilson, John, shot by the press-gang on the _Britannia_,

_Winchelsea_, H.M.S.,

Winstanley, London butcher, served as pressed man 16 years,

_Wolf_ armed sloop,

Women and the Press-gang,
See also under Press-gang, "The Press-gang and Women."

_Wooden World Dissected_. See Ward, Ned,

Wool, illegal export of,

Worth, Capt,

Worthing fishermen,

Wye trow-men exempted from impress by 10% levy,

Court of Exchequer rules the reverse,

Yarmouth Roads, the press-gang in,

"Yellow Admirals."

Yorke, Sol. Gen,

Young, Admiral,
his torpedo,






 


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