The Honest Sailor, c1746

The Honest Sailor, Sr Peter Warren Kt of the most Honourable Order of the Bath, Vice Admiral of the White Squadron, of His Majesties Fleet, And Member of Parliament of the City & Liberty of Westminster, artist unknown, c1746, National Maritime Museum.

Sir Peter Warren was an Irish officer in the Royal Navy, who met with astounding success. Warren made his career in the New World, sailing and fighting from the Caribbean to Nova Scotia. His most famous victory is portrayed in this print by an unknown artist, who shows Warren casually pointing over his shoulder to the amphibious assault on Louisbourg. Warren commanded the British squadron that blockaded and supported the siege, while New England troops (who he thought little of) manned the guns, dug the trenches, and did the fighting ashore. Seizing Louisbourg ensured British victory in North America. Interestingly, the same strategy (a naval blockade supporting ground troops who seized Lighthouse Point on Cape Breton Island to bombard the town into submission) was used with success in 1758.

Beneath the portrait of Warren is his coat of arms. To either side of it are two seamen bearing dual pistols in a belt and a cutlass shaped like a scimitar. They wear the same slop clothes: a cocked hat over bob wig, short closely tied neckcloth, close fitting single breasted jackets with flap pockets at the waist, and a darker pair of trousers that ends about the bottom of the calf.

A View of the Blandford Frigate, c.1760

A View of the Blandford Frigate, Nicholas Pocock, c.1760, Bristol City Museums.

I am indebted to follower Drew Godzik for help in researching today's post.

Like the other two slave ships that Captain John Brackenridge commanded on the slave trade, the Blandford hailed from Bristol. The artist, a soon to be expert in maritime art named Nicholas Pocock, certainly did not sail aboard her, as he was only three years old when she made her only voyage to the African coast.

Launched on February 13, 1719/20, the Blandford was a sixth rate twenty gun frigate. She had an unremarkable career in the Royal Navy, and may not have seen any action. Blandford served in home waters and on the North American station for a little over twenty years, suffering occasional issues with her main and foremasts. Condemned as unfit for the navy in 1741, Blandford was sold and replaced by another sixth rate Blandford that same year.

Late in 1743, her owner, James Pearce, decided to try Blandford in the transatlantic slave trade. Perhaps in the year between her being sold out of the navy and sailing for West Africa was used to refit her. Certainly, Blandford, received a notable addition, worth mention in the London newspaper Daily Advertiser.

Daily Advertiser, December 10, 1743, page 1

These ventilators make no appearance on Pocock's illustration, but then they might not have stood tall enough to be seen from the shore in any case. Whether or not they were effective is up for debate. Of the 468 enslaved people forced aboard from an unknown African shore, around four hundred survived the Middle Passage to be sold at Kingston, Jamaica.

It appears that Pocock was familiar with the Blandford. Her figurehead very neatly matches that of the ship's plans, as described and illustrated in Peter Godwin's book The 20 Gun Ship Blandford:

The main feature at the head of the ship was the figurehead which in Blandford's case probably consisted of the heraldric rampant 'Lyon' wearing the royal crown...This form of figurehead was common to all vessels with the exception of First and Second Rates which boreindividual figureheads. It was to be another eight years before this privilege was extended to the lesser rates (by the Navy Board Order of 1727), and even then it was quite a number of years before the practice became general in the smallest rates of men-of-war. The figurehead was supported by a number of head rails leading aft in a serpentine curve to the ship's side adjacent to the catheads. [Page 12]

Had Pocock actually seen the Blandford in person, some fifteen years after her voyage, and nearly twenty since the navy had sold her as unfit?

Pocock, as with his other depictions of Brackenridge's slave ships, populates the vessel with her crew. These two tars wear cocked hats, jackets that end below the waist, and trousers.

The men crowded on the foc'sle are similarly dressed in single breasted jackets and trousers. At least one of them wears a barge cap.

Further astern, their mates work to the sound of a speaking trumpet.

Ashore, a gentleman (probably Captain Brackenridge) gestures to a smal boat where enslaved men are being loaded. The sailors carry sticks and wear jackets and trousers, save for the sailor ashore who wears a smock.

Another boat, or perhaps the same as above but in a different view, is manned by four sailors with barge caps, one of whom holds a pipe.

The Blandford did not last long as a slave ship. On her return in 1745, she was sold.

Daily Advertiser, July 25, 1745, page 3

Drawing, c1745

Drawing, Paul Sandby, c1745, British Museum.

Thanks to Adam Hodges-LeClaire for pointing out this piece to me.

This drawing is one of a series done by Sandby in and around Edinburgh in the immediate wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Sandby's study shows a few people walking bout two, and a woman with what appears to be a broom. The British Museum's catalog states that she is a beggar woman, but I confess I'm not entirely sure why.

In the foreground, a man with a bob wig and cocked hat with short brim (possibly a sea captain) converses with a common sailor who walks beside.

Our sailor wears a hat or cap with a broad brim. At first I thought this must be a wide brimmed round hat, but Adam argues that it may be a Peter the Great cap, or a high crowned knit cap that was mean to appear like a felt hat. Obviously, a sketch is not enough to tell us whether this is a knit or felt. Atop his head and beneath the cap or hat is a bob wig.  a jacket with scalloped mariners' cuffs buttoned closed, and a pair of flap pockets at the waist. His petticoat trousers run down to just below the knee, so we can see his white stockings and pointed toe shoes.

The Whale Fishery and Killing the Bears, 1744

The Whale Fishery and Killing the Bears, engraving from "Navigantium atque itinirantium bibliotheca," Volume 2, T. Woodward, 1744, John Carter Brown Library.

Whalers are only rarely featured on this blog. I would like to change that. Today's print depicts a number of ships all harpooning whales and killing bears in the Arctic.

The sailors all wear jackets which end about the top of the thigh. Their hats are a mixture of round and cocked, with a couple of caps thrown in for good measure.

These tars attack a bear with harpoons and a comically oversized club. These men wear very small cocked hats, jacket that match the fellows afloat, and a mix of breeches and trousers.

The 'St Albans' Floated out at Deptford, 1747

The St Albans Floated out at Deptford, John Cleveley the Elder, 1747, National Maritime Museum.

In classic Cleveley style, this painting is populated by numerous figures and shows a ship on the stocks ready to be launched, a particular favorite of John. He has chosen to depict the 50 gun St Albans at the dawn of her career, one that would reach its zenith at the Battle of Lagos in 1759, a decisive British victory and one of the jewels in the crown of the Annus Mirabilis that broke the back of Britain's enemies at sea.

Oarsmen in shirtsleeves man a fanciful barge directed by a coxswain in a red jacket. All of them wear red barge caps. These are watermen, and not sailors. Behind them is a boat with a pair of fellow being rowed about by a pair of oarsmen in red and blue jackets with round hats.

At the bow of this boat is a tar pushing away debris from their path. I would be inclined to think this is in anticipation of the imminent launch, but there's a well dressed lady and gentleman in the stern, so it may be that the sailor is pushing it out of the path of the long oars his mates are manning. They wear a mix of brown and blue jackets, round and cocked hats. The mariner on the bow is without a waistcoat and wears brown breeches.

The Famous Ship Victory, 1744

The Famous Ship Victory, artist unknown, 1744, British Museum.

Though now lost in the shadow of the more famous ship to bear her name, the Victory was an impressive vessel in her day. Launched on this day 280 years ago, she was a massive first rate 100 gun ship. Victory was armed entirely with bronze guns, and had a remarkably short career, serving as flagship of the Channel Fleet through the beginning years of the War of Austrian Succession, War of Jenkins Ear, &c.

According to Dr. Frank Howard, in his 1979 Sailing Ships of War: 1400-1860, she was "a high-sided ship for her draught and this was believed to have made her leewardly." Howard suggests this may have led to her loss. On October 4, 1744, the Victory disappeared in a storm along with well over a thousand men, not to be found until 2009. In the wake of this loss, an unknown artist rushed this woodcut to print, capitalizing on the mourning expressed throughout the nation.

Aloft and alow the artist populated this piece with some of the sailors and marines dragged to the bottom of the channel. These two on the main topsail and main topgallant wear breeches and a short jacket with round hats with turned up brims on the side.

From the poop to the quarter to the gun deck, sailors haul away. They wear jackets and smocks with round hats of various types.

Further after on the poop are a passel of officers in cocked hats and coats. Standing to the right is a singular figure with a professional posture, presumably Admiral Sir John Balchen, one of the many casualties of the wreck.

In the ratlines are a pair of sailors who appear to be wearing petticoat trousers and jockey style barge caps.

Along her larboard quarter rows an impressive barge flying an old, seventeenth century style red or blue ensign. The bargemen and coxswain wear identical round hats and jackets or shirtsleeves.

The Thunder Clap, 1742

The Thunder Clap, George Forster, 1742, British Museum.

As in Samuel Lyne's Bob the Political Ballance Master, Forster takes aim at the Walpole administration with a political cartoon that skewers them on their failure to protect oceanic trade. Only in this piece, Forster accompanies it with a lengthy diatribe in text below.

A master and sailor hold up a painting of a warships with their sails furled or turned away, and a slim privateer sloop crowded with men interrupting the frame. Pointing to the "Spaniard," a sailor (possibly a master) states "O such a powerful fleet : and yet -"

He wears a reversed cocked hat, bob wig, frock coat with open mariner's cuffs, a short neck cloth tied close, and breeches.

Just to be sure we don't miss his meaning, Forster has attached a short diddy to the bottom of the painting:

And see de little Privateer o.
Who on our Coats its Course doth steer o
And dis widout ought dread or fear o
par, par, par, &c.

Holding up the other side of the canvas is a common sailor who comments "the world's surprize." His hatlead head is topped by a mix of curled hair, and around his neck is another short neck cloth. His single breasted jacket is tucked into trousers that run down to the bottom of his calf.

Bob the Political Ballance Master, 1742

Bob the Political Ballance Master, Samuel Lyne, 1742, British Museum.

The Walpole administration was roundly thrashed by political cartoonists for their reluctance to start war with the Spanish, and then for their conduct of the War of Jenkins' Ear, War of Austrian Succession, and the litany of other intertwined conflicts.

Lyne joins the chorus of crtiticism with this political cartoon, which puts a good deal of emphasis on the failure to protect British oceanic trade.

With his bare feet resting on a torn bundle marked "Wool for Exportation," a sailor is bound by the label "Secret Orders." As the curators of the British museum state in the catalog entry for this piece:

[This is] an allusion to the presumption that Admiral Haddock was secretly prevented by Walpole from taking action against the Spanish fleet.

The sailor wears a round hat with wide brim and narrow, conical crown. His jacket has slit cuffs, and his trousers are long and baggy, extending to his ankles. It is worth noting that this might be the first primary image I've seen that depicts barefoot sailors. It is a common assumption among naval historians that sailors were generally barefoot when at work aboard, but this is one of a very few that I've ever seen that depicted in art. It is worthwhile to question this assumption, and requires more research in fields beyond primary source artwork.

Sprawled at the feet of a disconsolate Britannia, a merchant sailor has collapsed over his bundle, and is helpfully labeled "Trade." Just in case we weren't getting the message, Lyne includes a fowled anchor with its line cut, and a sinking ship in the background.

The sailor wears petticoat trousers and a jacket with slit cuffs. Interestingly, he too is barefoot.

The Screen, 1742

The Screen, artist unknown, 1742, British Museum.

This dense political cartoon heralds the attempts of the Duke of Argyll to expose the corruption of Walpole and the King, by depicting him tearing at the thin screen that veils their transgressions.

Among their offenses is the willingness to throw money at their supporters and frivolous causes, while neglecting those who mean the most to the Empire.

Sailors crowd around a gentleman whose hat is filled with coins, but he ignores their cries of "We Perish for want of good Pr[visions]." The sailor who clutches at the gentleman's coat holds a flag that reads "Propatrea," which may be a misspelling of the Latin Pro Patria, meaning "For the Fatherland." This is the same phrase used in Mosley's European Race for a Distance. Coming in the midst of the War of Jenkins' Ear, these sailors are essential to the protection of Britain's economy, the very gold that the corrupt politicians now hoard.

The sailor on the right wears a cap with a narrow brim, a plain neckercheif bound around the collar of his smock, and a pair of trousers that end about mid-calf.These same trousers appear to be worn by the other sailors in the scene.

Kneeling beside the gentleman and clasping his hands as he begs, another sailor wears virtually the same slop clothes, but wears a single breasted jacket with turned back cuffs. Behind him is another tar, this one hatless with unbuttoned slit cuffs and a single breasted jacket.

Army Proceedings or the Conjunct Expedition, 1741

Army Proceedings or the Conjunct Expedition, Richard Parr, 1741, British Museum.

Parr's cartoon lambasts the British military, and the army in particular, for the utter disaster that was the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in modern day Colombia. Despite vastly outnumbering their Spanish foes, and being led by that legendary Admiral Edward Vernon, disease ravaged the expedition, and mismanagement led to an astounding defeat.

The particular event depicted here was the aftermath of a failed assault on Fort San Lazaro, also called Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. The fortress still stands today. After Vernon pounded the beach, clearing the way for the army to land, it was decided in a council of war to attack the fortress immediately. The only engineer on the expedition had been killed in earlier fighting, and so it was decided not to build sub-par batteries or conduct a siege with the forces that were already succumbing to disease. Led by General Wentworth, the attack would have to be conducted under the cover of night, or the batteries at Cartagena would doom them.

The Spanish Admiral Blas de Lezo anticipated the attack. He reinforced the garrison, cleared a field of fire, and dug an additional trench to further defend what was already one of the most impressive fortifications in the New World. When the British learned of this, they gave some of the Virginian troops packs of wool to fill the trench, and scaling ladders to climb the wall, further reducing the number of muskets they could bring to bear.

If all of this wasn't bad enough, the British were guided by two Spanish deserters, who intentionally led them directly into the Spanish field of fire. Delayed until the sun rose, the batteries of Cartagena joined the fray and Wentworth ordered a retreat.

It is this retreat Parr chose to represent in his cartoon.

A sailor on the stern rail of one of Vernon's warships points to the scene while looking to the viewer, saying "The Boys fly for't by G-d." He wears a long jacket or coat without cuffs or collar, and a reversed cocked hat. This figure may be a naval officer, rather than a common tar.

Sailing astern of this tar is a ship cluttered with sailors who watch the "Army Proceedings" with distress. "No Battery rais'd" cries one, "No Breach made" laments another. "Scaling Ladders to short," and "The Devil was in them."

The crew wear trousers that end about the top to the middle of the calf, single breasted jackets without cuffs or with buttoned mariners cuffs, short neckcloths tied close, work caps, and barge caps of the jockey style. Their captain wears his cocked hat reversed.

Astern of them is another warship, and up her sides clamber panicked soldiers crying "Help, help," and cursing "damn Carthagena." Reaching over the rail, a sailor in a jockey style barge cap condescendingly offers his hand with "Here Jack, lend ye Ladies a Hand." Another, similarly dressed sailor casts his eyes shoreward and announces, "They forgot their Tents in the Fright."

Scrambling into the boats, soldiers of the failed assault suffer from "Water Sickness" and confess "I have staid as long as I care for." The sailors wear cocked and round hats, but are otherwise wearing the same slop clothes as their mates offshore.

What's all This! The Motley Team of State, 1741

What's all This! The Motley Team of State, George Bickham the Younger, 1741, British Museum.

George Bickham takes up the same theme of chaos that Charles Mosley used in European Race for a Distance, the political cartoon that I featured in my last post.

Unlike Mosely, Bickham looks inward to Britain herself. Aside from general the general theme of war and disruption, he only similarity between What's all This! and European Race for a Distance is the figure of a sailor that Bickham clearly lifted from Mosley's earlier work.

Detail from European Race for a Distance

Their similar posture and the position of the mug are clearly the product of plagiarism. To Bickham's credit, he at least had the decency to change the copied tar's clothing.

His hat appears to be more of a cap, with an upturned brim that reminds me a bit of the caps the marines wore on the frigate Pallas decades later, as depicted by Gabriel Bray. The sailor wears a single breasted jacket and single breasted waistcoat, but they still hand like the smock of Mosley's original. Around his neck is tied a long neck cloth, hanging loose rather than tucked in. His trousers hang at the same length as the original mariner.

European Race for a Distance, 1740

European Race for a Distance, Charles Mosley, 1740, British Museum.

As I pointed out in my last post, 1740 was a busy time in Europe. War was spreading across the continent and across the world. Charles Mosley chose to depict the nations and leaders of Europe as jockeys vying for the prize of a bit more wealth and power.

A British sailor lights the cannon he sits astride with a linstock, holding his tankard in a free hand. He wears a work cap or round hat with short brim, a smock with neckcloth tucked into the front, and trousers that end about mid-calf. Over his head flutters a banner reading Pro patria mori, meaning "it is sweet to die for one's country." This may be a commentary on the impending death of the foolish sailor who lights the cannon between his legs, a metaphor for pointless death in the growing conflict.

The European State Jockies Running a Heat for the Ballance of Power, 1740

The European State Jockies Running a Heat for the Ballance of Power, artist unknown, 1740, British Museum.

The European world exploded in 1740 into a large conflict. The War of Austrian Succession subsumed the War of Jenkins' Ear and spawned King George's War, the First and Second Carnatic Wars in India, and the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.

The unknown artist of this satirical print is trying to sort out all the events of 1740 into a single cartoon. His effort is crowded and confusing, but I'll focus on the sailors featured in this piece.

Naval warfare could be profitable. Our unknown artist depicts a sailor stooping to lift a chest marked "10000 pieces of Eight" plundered from the Spanish. He wears a pair of petticoat trousers and a close fitting jacket, but is without a hat.

The artist put a but more effort into the meaning of this vignette. Britannia shoves aside France who points hopefully to a paper marked "mediation." Refusing peace, Britannia instead points to Havana with her spear. Havana would not be taken, though it was the site of a battle in 1748 that ended when word arrived that the war had ended.

Standing beside Britannia is a sailor clutching a naval ensign bearing the words Arma Pacis Fulcra, Latin for "Arms are the bringers of peace." He wears a white neckcloth and a single breasted jacket without collar. His cocked hat is point forward, over a bob wig.

A New Sea Quadrant, 1748

A New Sea Quadrant, George Adams, 1748, Houghton Library, Harvard University via Capitu Tumblr.

George Adams entered the navigational instrument business at an early age, apprenticing under James Parker before opening his own shop in 1738. Ten years later he had developed a new instrument for taking latitudinal readings. Intended to be more versatile than the backstaff and less expensive than the octant, Adams' quadrant did not eclipse the recently invented octant, nor did it survive the growth of the soon to be invented sextant. There is only one surviving example of his invention, which now resides in the collection of the Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia.

Courtesy of The Mariners’ Museum and Park, Newport News, VA

In advertising his creation, Adams depicts a common sailor lifting the device to his eye and sighting the horizon. The choice of a common sailor may have been to emphasize ease of use.

He wears a simple cocked hat with a button loop on the left side and no binding. Under his short hair is a plaid neckcloth stuffed into the uppermost buttonhole of his jacket.

The cuffs of his single breasted jacket are open, with only one of the three buttons in place. At his waist is a flap pocket turned vertically. This is the first time I've seen such an arrangement on a sailor's jacket. His waistcoat is plain and single breasted.

Ending just above the bottom of his calf, our sailor's trousers are held at the waist with a simple two button closure. He wears white stockings and pointed toe shoes with roughly rectangular buckles.