Joshua Davis - A Narrative Of Joshua Davis, An American Citizen, Who Was Pressed And Served On Board Six Ships Of The British Navy

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Text originally published in 1811 under the same title.

Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publishers Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Authors original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern readers benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

A NARRATIVE OF JOSHUA DAVIS, AN AMERICAN CITIZEN,

WHO WAS PRESSED AND SERVED ON BOARD SIX SHIPS OF THE BRITISH NAVY,

HE WAS IN SEVEN ENGAGEMENTS, ONCE WOUNDED, FIVE TIMES CONFINED IN IRONS, AND OBTAINED HIS LIBERTY BY DESERTION.

THE WHOLE BEING AN INTERESTING AND FAITHFUL NARRATIVE OF THE DISCIPLINE, VARIOUS PRACTICES AND TREATMENT OF PRESSED SEAMEN IN THE BRITISH NAVY. AND CONTAINING INFORMATION THAT NEVER WAS BEFORE PRESENTED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER

I, JOSHUA DAVIS, was born in Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the 30th of June 1760. On the 14th of June, 1779, I entered on board of the privateer Jason, of 20 guns, commanded by Commodore John Manly, bound on a cruise. About the 25th of the same month, we sailed from Boston to Portsmouth, in order to take on board Lieut. Frost, and a number of men. We arrived there the next day, and after taking the men on board, put to sea again. The morning following, the man at the masthead discovered two sail a head of us. Our Captain went up in the fore-top with a spy glass to see what they were. On his coming down, he told Lieut. Thayer he supposed the two vessels to be one of our privateers with a prize. Lieut. Thayer went forward with the glass, and after looking sometime, said one of them appeared to be a frigate and the other a brig. On running nearer them, we supposed them to be enemies, and Lieut. Thayer advised the Captain to heave the ship in stays, to see if they would follow us; to which the Captain consented, and we hove the ship about. When they saw this, they hove in stays, and gave us chase. We ran back for Portsmouth, and by the time we had got within half a league of the Isle of Shoals, the vessel got within two gun-shot of us. We perceived a squall coming on to the westward, very fast, and the Captain ordered every man to stand by, to take in sail. When the squall struck us, it hove us all abackwhen we clued down. In ten seconds the wind shifted to our starboard beam, and shivered our sails. In a few seconds more the wind shifted on the starboard quarter, and struck us with such force that hove us on our beam ends, and carried away our three masts and bowsprit. She immediately righted and the squall went over. The vessels that were in chase of us saw our troublehove aboutand went off with the squall; and we saw no more of them.

We went to work, to strip our masts, and to get the sails and rigging on board; when we found one of our men drowned under the fore-top-sail. We got up jury-masts, and run in between the Isle of Shoals and Portsmouth, where our Captain was determined to take our masts in. In a few days Capt. Manly went on shore to see to getting the masts on board. While he was gone, Patrick Cruckschanks, our boatswain, and John Graves, captain of the forecastle, went forward and set down on the stump of the bowsprit, and said they would not step the masts in such a wild rodestead, to endanger their lives; but if the ship was taken into the harbour, they would do it with pleasure. When the Captain came on board, he asked Mr. Thayer why the people were not at work; and was told they wished to get into the harbour first. The Captain answered. Ill harbor them, and stepped up to the sentry at the cabin door, took his cutlass out of his hand, and ran forward, and said, boatswain, why do you not go to work? He began to tell him the impropriety of getting the masts in where the ship was; when Capt. Manly struck him with the cutlass on the cheek, with such force that his teeth were to be seen from the upper part of his jaw to the lower part of his chin. He next spoke to John Graves, and interrogated, and was answered in a similar manner, when the Captain struck him with the cutlass on the head, which cut him so bad that he was obliged to be sent to the hospital, with the boatswain. The Captain then called the other to come down, and go to work. Michael Wall came down to him; the Captain made a stroke at him, which missed, and while the Captain was lifting up the cutlass to strike him again, Wall gave him a push against the stump of the foremast, and ran aft; the Captain made after himWall ran to the main hatchway and jumped down between the decks, and hurt himself very much. The Captain then, with severe threats, ordered the people to go to work; they went to work, and stepped the masts, got the topmasts on end, lower yards athwart, top sail yards on the cap, top gallant masts on end, sails bent, running rigging rove, boats on the booms, &c. and all done in the space of 36 hours.

Next day a privateer brig, called the Hazard, from Boston, came down under our stern, and hailed us; we informed them it was the Jason, John Manly, commander. The Captain then said, my orders from the General Court is, that all vessels of war that I meet with on my way to Penobscot, must repair there without fail. To which the Captain consented.

As soon as the Hazard was out of sight, we tript our anchor and stood to sea. In a few days we were off Sandy Hook; we hove too, and drifted off and on with the tide for a few days. One day our sailing master went to the fore-top-mast-head, to look out for a sail; about 3 oclock he cried out, a sail on the weather bow; in a few minutes after, another; we made sail, and stood for them. As soon as they perceived us, they bore away for [from] us. In about two hours we were within two gun shot of them. Our Captain ordered every man to his quarters. The enemy hove upon the wind, with his larboard tacks on boardrun up his courses, hoisted his colours, and gave us a broad side. Our Captain ordered the sailing master to get the best bower anchor out, so that the bill of it should take into the fore shrouds of the enemy. It was quickly done. The Captain ordered the helm hard a-port, which brought us a long side. The anchor caught their fore rigging. Our Captain then said, fire away, my boys. We then gave them a broadside, which tore her off side very much, and killed and wounded some of them. The rest ran below, except their Captain, who stood on the deck like a man amazed.

Our Captain order Lieut. Frost to go out on the driver boom and get on board of her, and send the Captain on board of us, and keep the prisoners below. It was done; and as soon as the Captain came on board of us, our men on board of her cut away all her fore rigging, and pushed her ahead, to clear our anchor. When we got disentangled, we bore away for the other privateer, that began to run from us. We gave her a few shot from our bow chasers, and she hove too. Our Captain told them to take their boat and come on board. They answered, our boat wont swim. Our Captain said, then sink in her; you shall come on board or I will fire into you. They then put out boat and came on board.