A British Sailor Offering a Sword to an Unarmed Spanish Officer, 1783

A British Sailor offering a Sword to an Unarmed Spanish Officer, engraved by John Thronton, 1783, Library of Congress.

Another copy of this print can be found at the National Maritime Museum.

In the upper left, sailors bearing cutlasses mount the parapets. All of them wear short caps, probably Dutch/Monmouth knit caps, though it's difficult to be sure. Rushing up the ladder is a jack in a jacket that ends beneath the waist, it appears to have two vents and is lined in white. His trousers end above the ankle.

Standing atop a Spanish gun and proudly waving a British flag, a sailor wears a patterned bandanna around his head, a black neckcloth at his collar, a single breasted waistcoat with cloth buttons ending at the waist, and an unlined jacket. His trousers are vertically striped. 

The gallant sailor at the front, offering a sword to his enemy, wears a round hat with a very short brim. His neckcloth is striped. Our hero wears a double breasted, lined jacket with slash cuffs. The waistcoat is double breasted, ending at his white petticoat trousers with their broad fall fly. We get a peek at his breeches beneath, and see that they are fastened with laces! It's not often we see sailor's breeches, much less a good view of how they are closed. White stockings lead down to the pointed toe shoes with oval buckles.

Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, 1782

Frontispiece to A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, by James Aird, published by J. McFadyen, 1782, Internet Archive.

Special thanks to follower Adam Hodges-LeClaire for pointing this one out.

Published late in the American Revolutionary War, Aird's five volume work was dedicated to 'the Vounteer and Defensive Bands of Great Britain and Ireland.' It contained music to inspire the soldiers and sailors in the defense of their homeland, the suppression of the rebellious colonies, and the invasion of foreign territories.

The figures in the frontispiece represent a grenadier and highland solider, and two sailors. The grenadier tramps on the seal for Spain, and the soldiers stand on the banner of France. Recognizing the presumed motivations of sailors, an open chest of coins lays beside them.

Both sailors wear long trousers that end above the ankle and taper a bit close to the leg. Both wear jackets with drop collars, turned back cuffs, and matching lapels. One wears a double breasted waistcoat, and the other wears a single breasted waistcoat. They both sport bob wigs and round hats, though the fellow on the left has a uniformly upturned brim with tape, and the other's hat is turned up on both the left and right and bears some sort of device on the front. One sailor holds a curved cutlass still in its sheath.

The Profane laying hands on the Over Righteous, c1776-1785

The Profane Laying Hands on the Over Righteous, Robert Sayer, c1776-1784, British Museum.

Sayer proudly proclaims that this print is 'a real scene on Tower Hill.' Robert Dighton, the artist and engraver who created this image for Sayer to produce, gives us a scene of a preacher standing atop a barrel preaching to a crowd even as a press gang closes in on him. While one of the gang grabs the peacher by his coat, a sailor can be seen darting away in the left of the frame.

A sharp eyed reader, Bernard Roobaert, brought a detail to my attention: "The engraving...shows an interesting detail that seems to be unknown: a model of a ship on Tower Hill." 

Not only did he catch that obvious detail I'd somehow missed for near five years, but he helpfully provides primary sources about the model, apparently a well known landmark. In Charles P. Moritz's 1782 Travels in London, he describes the model as a trap to capture unwary subjects:

A foreigner has here nothing to fear from being pressed as a sailor, unless, indeed, he should be found at any suspicious place.  A singular invention for this purpose of pressing is a ship, which is placed on land not far from the Tower, on Tower Hill, furnished with masts and all the appurtenances of a ship.  The persons attending this ship promise simple country people, who happen to be standing and staring at it, to show it to them for a trifle, and as soon as they are in, they are secured as in a trap, and according to circumstances made sailors of or let go again.[1]

What event is being portrayed here?

The British Museum's curators declare the preacher to be a Methodist. This makes sense for a press gang. Even though they tended to be focused on experienced sailors who could actually help the navy (rather than taking on inexperienced men who possessed no nautical skills and would prove more a burden than a benefit), press gangs did sometimes target Methodists.

Denver Brunsman, in his excellent book The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World, relates several cases of Methodists being pressed in the 1740's and 1750's, including John Wesley, one of the co-founders of Methodism.

This does create a problem with the date on this piece. The officer is wearing a pattern of uniform proscribed after 1767, and the dress of all participants suggests at least a 1770's date, and well within the c.1780 date offered by the curators of Collage: The London Picture Archives, or even the 1784 date offered by the British Museum.

1784, however, poses a problem. When I reached out to Denver Brunsman, he stated "I have not documented any cases of press gangs harassing Methodists past the 1750s" and promised to look into it. We both returned to our research, where I eventually dug up a single reference to an event like this within the rough 1770-1784 timeframe.

Edinburgh Advertiser, November 8, 1776, page 10

The British Museum curators cite the 1887 A Catalogue of Maps, Plans, and Views of London, Westminster & Southark as the source of their date. Indeed on page 430, the author does state explicitly that the print was created in 1784, but provides no citation for this.

Do you know of any other events in which Methodists were targeted by press gangs? Leave a comment below!

Using the preacher as a distraction, this sailor takes to his heels before the press gang takes notice of him. He wears a round hat with something fluttering behind the cylindrical crown. I think it may be the bow of a ribbon tied around the base. His jacket has closed slit cuffs and ends about the top of the thigh. A plain neckcloth is tied above his single breasted waistcoat and breeches run down to loose fitting stockings. The straps of his shoes are hanging about in 'sailor fashion.' As with any good sailor ashore, he carries a stick.

The press gang and their sneering officer make for a visibly unwelcoming lot to intrude on the sermon.

The sailors all wear jackets that end about the top of the thigh and have closed mariners cuffs. They all wear round hats, save for one fellow on the far left who appears to wear a strange sort of cocked hat. The burliest sailor, who grasps the pastor's coat and holds a cudgel in his free hand, is the one we get the best look at.

He wears his own hair, curled and loose, above his shoulder. His handkerchief is black and rests on the double breasted waistcoat of narrow vertically striped fabric. The entire gang wear petticoat trousers that end just below the knee and pointed toe shoes with rectangular buckles.

 

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[1] Moritz, Charles P., Travels in England in 1782, London: Cassell & Company Limited, 1886, transcribed by David Price, July 2, 2014, Project Gutenberg, accessed August 15, 2023, <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5249/5249-h/5249-h.htm>.

[2]

The Sailor & Purser, 1788

The Sailor & Purser, J. Cole, 1788, Washington State University 18th Century Street Ballads.

Jack Black, the common tar in this broadside, loses his cool when the ship's purser makes a pass at "buxom Jane" while Jack entertains her at the sign of the Anchor.

If not for the explicitly printed date of 1788, I would think this piece was late. Jack's neckcloth is hanging very low, and tied in an odd bow. His trousers also drag below his feet in a manner I've only ever seen at my esteemed brother blogger's site Napoleonic Tars: 1790-1820. The style appears to be one popular in the 1810's, and this is the first I've seen of it in my era of study.

He wears his hair short and curled, with a double breasted white waistcoat, a checked shirt, and a jacket that ends about the top of the thigh.

Ann Mills, date unknown

Ann Mills, Served on Board the Maidstone Frigate, R. Graves after unknown artist, original date unknown, National Maritime Museum.

Ann Mills is a mystery. The only artistic depiction to survive, the one featured here, was a copy made decades after the original. Truth be told, Ann Mills may not even be a real person.

Vague recollections of some action around 1740 aboard a frigate named Maidstone (there were other vessels around the 1740's named Maidstone, but no frigate) are related generations after the supposed event, and give so little detail that there is virtually no trail to follow.

Mills offers us far less to go on than the famous Hannah Snell. It may be that Mills was a fiction inspired by the true life of that female marine, who fought at roughly the same time as Mills' supposed service.

Thankfully, Frank Felsenstein has taken an interest in Mills, and published a short piece on gender and national conflict entitled "Unravelling Ann Mills: Some Notes on Gender Construction and Naval Heroism" in McMaster University's journal Eighteenth Century Fiction.

Mills wears a cocked hat with a very short brim over short curled hair. He collarless jacket is double breasted with a remarkable number of buttons on he lapels and open mariner's cuffs. He waistcoat is plain, dark, and also double breasted. A white cravat is neatly tied and tucked into the waistcoat, which hangs above the plain white slops/petticoat trousers. He white stockings run to pointed toe shoes with fanciful rectangular buckles of white metal.

The Banks of the Shannon, 1787

The Banks of the Shannon, published by Bowles & Carver, 1787, reprinted 1799, British Museum.

A colorful print, this Bowles and Carver piece touches on the Sailor's Farewell trope, but with a twist. The young gentleman clasps the hand of his crying sweetheart, but the insistent hand on his shoulder of a naval officer bids him away with the press gang. His lover gives us a tearful poem:

But woe is me the Press gang came and forc'd my Ned away,
Just when we nam'd next Monday fair to be our Wedding day.
 My love he cry'd they force me hence but still my heart is thine
All peace be yours my gentle Pat while War and toil is mine
With riches I'll return to thee, I sob'd out words of thanks
And then we vow'd eternal truth on Shannon's flow'ry Banks.

Among the many things that make this piece interesting is the fact that this is the River Shannon, and so the main figures are Irish. Upon reflection, I cannot think of any other prints, drawings, or paintings that I have examined that explicitly illustrated Irish tars. Scotch, American, and English certainly, but thus far the Irish have escaped notice. It is perhaps the leveling nature of the Wooden World (as NAM Rodger calls it) that makes them invisible to art. The overwhelming majority of images do not give any nationality to sailors. They are all of a kind.

Pat and Ned look clearly distraught, but the press gang seem to be enjoying this tearful parting.

With cudgel in hand, a grinning officer tugs at Ned's shoulder. Behind him are array the men of the press gang, and at least one of them also carries a cudgel.

They are uniformly equipped with black round hats that sport narrow upturned brims and big blue bows. Blue bows on round hats are typical of Bowles' prints. Most of the mariners are hidden behind the officer, but we do get a peek at a pair of white trousers with narrow vertical red stripes over white stockings.

There is one sailor in particular that we get a good look at.

His hair hangs down in brown curls and appear to just barely drape over the black silk neckcloth over his blue jacket with its slit cuffs. A red double breasted waistcoat with white metal buttons hangs above his plain white slops/petticoat trousers. The shading indicates that this waistcoat is not tucked in, and is cut off at the natural waist. He wears white stockings and pointed toe shoes.

Jack England Fighting the Four Confederates, 1781

Jack England Fighting the Four Confederates, John Smith, 1781, Lewis Walpole Library.

Jack England Fighting the Four Confederates, John Smith, 1781, British Museum.

Our title character and personification of the empire stands bow legged, with his arms crossed as he confronts the caricatures of "Don Diego" (Spain), "Monsieur Louis Baboon" (France), "Yanky Doodle" (America), and 'Mynheer Frog" (the Dutch). Monsieur Baboon turns to puke, Yanky Doodle falls, and Don Diego reels with blood dripping down his face. Mynheer Frog stands alone, but not confident, exclaiming "I have almost forgot how to fight."

Jack England is ready to fight, but laments, "Sink me but I cou'd best them all if our Land Lubbers wou'd but Pull together." This may be Smith's commentary on the frustrations the army was facing in North America, or on the failure of politicians to effectively lead the fight.

Jack England wears a black round hat with a short brim, beneath which flows hair cut just above the shoulders. He wears a black neckcloth, tied into a knot at the front. In the Walpole copy his double breasted waistcoat is purple, and it is red in the British Museum's piece. In both it ends below the waist, and is fitted with cloth covered buttons. Jack's single breasted blue jacket (a sky blue in the British Museum copy) has no pockets, and his mariner's cuffs are buttoned shut. In a testament to the changes a colorist can make, the Walpole version is painted blue on the inside, and the British Museum version is white, meaning that the British Museum's version is a lined jacket. Beneath the jacket and waistcoat is a pair of petticoat trousers/slops with a broad fall fly. His stockings are white, shoes have rounded toes, and he wears rectangular buckles.

My Poll and My Partner Joe, 1790

My Poll and My Partner Joe, Isaac Cruikshank, 1790, Walpole Library.

My Poll and My Partner Joe, Isaac Cruikshank, 1790, Walpole Library.

Cruikshank's print accompanies a ballad drawn from the 1774 opera "The Waterman." It relates the tale of an unnamed waterman who is pressed into service. He spends years at sea, fighting and sailing through trying times. When peace is at last upon him, he returns home to find his wife Poll embracing his friend Joe. He relates that on the shocking site, he "boldly kick'd My POLL and my Partner JOE."

Our unfortunate waterman has curly brown hair that drapes onto his shoulders, under a tall cylindrical crowned round hat. A yellow neckcloth spotted with red hangs down over his double breasted red waistcoat which appears to be tucked into his white slops/petticoat trousers. The telltale blue sailor's jacket has brass buttons along the lapels and closed mariner's cuffs. At his waist is a yellow watch fob, and in his hand is a cudgel.

In this colorization, the former waterman's hair is white, his neckcloth pink with dark spots, his jacket red with cloth covered buttons, and his waistcoat striped with narrow horizontal blue.

It is not clear to me that Joe is a sailor, but here's a couple of images of he and Poll anyway!

Sweet Poll of Plymouth, 1790

"Sweet Poll of Plymouth," Thomas Macklin, George Shepheard, Henry William Bunbury, 1790, National Maritime Museum.

Sweet Poll is a wicked looking prostitute drawing the attention of two tarpawlins and a creepy looking marine. The colorist of this print has done a fairly good job with the shading and careful application of color, except on the marine whose cartridge box blends into his small clothes, and cuffs fail to match the lapels.

This print is at the very tail end of our period of examination, and so the sailors look markedly different from those of earlier decades. Notably, both wear straw hats. I know of only one other depiction of sailors from our period of study that clearly and definitely shows a straw hat, and even that source I had to question. This is the first positive and definitive depiction of straw hats being worn by sailors in my period of study, and it comes at the very last year of that period.

Our first jack wears a wide brimmed straw hat, and has his hair bound in a queue (another change from previous decades in which short, bob-style hair was the most common). A blue jacket ending just below the waist and with folded back cuffs rests over a double breasted white jacket with cloth covered buttons. His trousers are white and end at the ankle, showing off pointed toe shoes with rectangular buckles.

His mate wears a straw hat with a shorter brim, and short hair. It appears his hair is without a queue, but not definitely so. A short lack neckcloth hangs over his waistcoat with its horizontal red stripes and cloth covered buttons. The blue jacket is single breasted with cloth covered buttons and an odd folded back cuff that also appears to be a double buttoned mariner's cuff. His trousers are slightly longer than his mates, but still show the same shoes and buckles.

For posterity, here's Sweet Poll in all her glory:

The State Tinkers, 1780

The State Tinkers, James Gillray, 1780, Library of Congress.

At first I thought that the Library of Congress had gotten the date wrong, but a close look at the publication date at the bottom shows that the "4" was written on later, over the date.

Personalities representing the heads of Government are busily chipping away at "The National Kettle." King George foolishly proclaims the "Tinkers" as saviors, when in fact they make two holes for every one they claim to fix.

Brandishing a sledgehammer and dressed in the clothing of a common sailor is John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, and First Lord of the Admiralty for the North Administration.

Sandwich wears a simple black cap and single breasted blue jacket. His jacket has open slash cuffs, cloth buttons along the front, and waist pockets. A paper poking from that pocket helpfully identifies him as Lord Sandwich. His pale yellow waistcoat is double breasted with cloth covered buttons and simple slit pockets at the waist. Tucked into the waistcoat is a white neckcloth.  Sandwich's slops are grey with what might be a fall front fly, but I can't be sure. His breeches are black, stockings white. Pointed toe shoes with rectangular buckles finish off the First Lord's slop clothes.

A View of Ticonderoga, 1777

A View of Ticonderoga from a Point on the North Shore of Lake Champlain, James Hunter, 1777, British Library.

Thanks to Steve Rayner for pointing out this piece! James Hunter painted this watercolor during the Saratoga campaign. Fort Ticonderoga played a key role throughout the early years of the American Revolutionary War, and can still be visited today! Lake Champlain, on which Ticonderoga lies, was the site of one of the more exciting naval engagements of the Revolution only the year before. Though a technical victory for the British, the 1776 Battle of Valcour Island ended with the British abandoning the New York campaign for a year. The 1777 campaign was famously disastrous for the British, ending with the surrender of Burgoyne's army.

Hunter may have painted this piece in the days immediately prior to the capture of Ticonderoga, or shortly thereafter. The capture of the fort was a major boon to the morale of the army, and may have imbued them with false confidence in their ability to march through New York. There are a number of sailors in this piece, manning a variety of small craft to patrol the lake and carry troops and supplies along the waterway.

In what appears to be a row galley on patrol, an officer stands by a substantial bow gun while tars in matching round hats with tall crowns and upturned brims, as well as blue jackets, pull away. The coxswain in the stern wears much the same as his crew. The officer appears to be wearing a blue coat with red facings: the uniform of the Royal Artillery. Perhaps the RA was given command of a boat or two? Or maybe the galley is merely escorting the officer across the lake.

We get a much more detailed view of the tars on Lake Champlain in the foreground. Three tarpawlins make their way up a hill toward an artillery officer and some light infantry. All of them wear the same blue short jacket without cuffs, and with mariner's flap cuffs. Likewise, they wearing black felt round hats, though the fellow in the back has a much wider brim (and downturned at that) than his mates. The Jack in front wears a single breasted white waistcoat, as does his mate in the back. The mariner in the center wears a double breasted red waistcoat. All of them wear black neckcloths. It is difficult to say whether the sailors to the left wear trousers or slops, but it appears that the sailor in front is decidedly in slops.

Jemmy's Farewell, 1785

Jemmy's Farewell, Sayer & Bennett, 1785, British Museum.

Typical of the sailor's farewell trope, Jemmy motions away to the vessel by which he will leave his lass, while she tearfully bids her goodbye. Unlike some of the other "sailor's farewell" pieces, she is unusually buxom. I appears that this piece is the partner to Jemmy's Return.

Jemmy is damnably well turned out! A tall round hat with a cylindrical crown edged with black tape sits atop his remarkably log hair. The black neckcloth or cravat at his neck is neatly tucked under his white collar and into the double breasted waistcoat with its slit waist pocket. His jacket ends about the top of the thigh, and is lined in white. Double breasted with white metal buttons, Jemmy's jacket is a sight to see! His close fit trousers are of the same striped fabric as his waistcoat, but fit with cloth buttons that match the fabric.

No wonder she's sad to see him go.

Meanwhile, this grouchy tar looks like he couldn't be less interested. He wears a short brimmed round hat with tall crown, light red or possibly pink neckcloth, red short jacket that ends at the waist, and a pair of white trousers.

Voyage to Margate, 1786

Voyage to Margate, Isaac Cruikshank, published by W. Hinton, 1786, Yale University Lewis Walpole Library.

Voyage to Margate, Isaac Cruikshank, published by W. Hinton, 1786, National Maritime Museum.

Voyage to Margate, Isaac Cruikshank, published by W. Hinton, 1786, from 'Margate Prints: A History,' by Anthony Lee, via Margate in Maps and Pictures.

Just like our last entry, this is one that captures the unfortunate experience of landsmen and women on even moderately rough water. Though the image is not populated by nearly so many sailors as our last, it is crowded with more explicit images of sickness.

Consoling an unfortunate woman is a naval officer in a fine cocked hat and coat. He sports a wooden leg and patched eye. Helping him along is a sailor who clutches his nose against the stench.

He wears a knit cap, a long jacket or coat with lapels and scalloped mariners' cuffs, a double breasted waistcoat, and a pair of slops that end at the knee. Peeking from beneath are the straps that would secure his breeches just below the knee.

At the tiller is a jolly coxswain with his trust mug of foaming ale. He wears a round hat with a short brim, a double breasted jacket with metal buttons, striped neckcloth, and striped trousers.

An English Man of War, Taking a French Privateer, 1782

An English Man of War, Taking a French Privateer, Carington Bowles, 1782, National Maritime Museum.

Yet another in the Bowles' series of sailors a-courting to the language of naval engagement, our splendidly attired jack does his best to capture the interest of a handsome French lady.

His black round hat has a narrow brim and a large blue bow on the left side. Jack's blue jacket is lined in white and bears brass buttons on its lapel and slash cuff. The neckcloth is tied into a preposterously large and elaborate bow at his neck, between the open ends of his double breasted waistcoat. Patterned with vertical narrow red stripes, the waistcoat matches his trousers. An elaborate gold fob peeks from under his waistcoat. His stockings are a light blue, and his pointed toe shoes bear rectangular white metal buckles.

Etched from the Life on Board a Scotch Ship: Cook, Captain, and Mait, c.1750

Etched from the Life on Board a Scotch Ship: Cook, Captain, and Mait, artist unknown (John Kay?), c.1750, National Maritime Museum.

Just as the specific profession (merchant, naval, privateer) is often unclear in depictions of sailors, so too is their ethnicity. With the rare exception, the origins of a specific sailor are difficult to pinpoint. American, Irish, Scottish, English, and other nationalities all mingled together aboard British and American vessels. This image is much more specific. The vessel itself is Scottish, and these men are presumably Scotsmen. We see little difference in their dress compared to that of other sailors.

Assuming that the title matches their roles from left to right, we'll start with the cook. He wears a tall knit cap of a type that was fairly common in the era. His jacket is single breasted with flap pockets at the waist, with his black neckcloth tucked in neatly. The cook's hair is a bit longer, extending to the shoulders. Hairnets would not be invented for some time!

The captain wears a simple cocked hat cocked over the right right. His hair is scraggly and loose, but short. A plaid neckcloth is tied to his front, and he wears a double breasted waistcoat. The jacket is double breasted with slash cuffs covered in flaps, as are his waist pockets. Slops extend down to the end of the image. In his hand is some strange object that I can't quite place. I would almost suggest them to be spectacles, which would definitely be noteworthy, but the distance between the two ovals (what would be lenses) seems too far apart and the bit extending out of his fingers has an odd curve that contradicts what we know about spectacle frames of the eighteenth century.

The mate wears a round hat with a short brim over his short curly hair. He wears a black neckcloth and a single breasted jacket with waist pockets covered by flaps.

Being one of the earlier images, we see that all of their jackets extend a bit longer than they would typically do in the 1770's and 1780's. Still, they are far shorter than was fashionable for many other professions at the time.

The Sailor Riding to Portsmouth, 1782

The Sailor Riding to Portsmouth, Carington Bowles, 1782, British Museum.

In yet another print echoing the stereotype of sailors being awful equestrians, a frustrated (or terrified) jack sits astride a bucking steed, spilling his bowl of punch. Surrounding him are laughing men, including a red coated soldier.

The sailor wears a black round hat and a short brim with a large blue bow. Bowles was terribly fond of putting blue bows in his sailors' hats, but he was not the only one. The tar's white lined jacket ends at about the top of the thigh and is fitted with white buttons on both the front and the open mariners cuffs. The neckcloth that sways with the bucking horse is a very light red or violet and spotted, contrasting with the bright red double breasted waistcoat. Jack's trousers are narrowly striped in a pale red. Having lost the stirrup, the seaman's feet are kicked back, but he's managed to keep his black shoes with rectangular buckles on.