Nelson & His World

Thomas Turner, the 18th century shopkeeper/diarist I have mentioned on another thread, makes occasional references to smugglers, e.g.

'November 24 1763: ‘Mr Banister [the excise officer] having lately taken from the smugglers a freight of brandy, entertained Mr Carman, Mr Fuller and myself in the even with a bowl of punch.’ (Did the Excise Man have the right to confiscate a hoard? Or was the bowl of punch his cut?)

It would appear that one of the consequences of the Seven Years War and the Napoleonic Wars was an increase in smuggling. It had always been a way of life for many, particularly on the south coast of England, but during these periods of war, there were fewer ships of the Royal Navy to police coastal waters and fewer militia, which resulted in a huge increase in smuggling activity.

The editor adds an interesting footnote about smuggling in Sussex during these wars: ‘The incitement and opportunities were maximal in each period, the Prevention resources being much depleted by the demands of the services. Almost the whole population participated, including the clergy, who were often won over by a keg of ‘Nantzy’ [brandy from Nantes]. A story is told of a parish clerk near Brighton who told his Rector, ‘You can’t preach here today, sir.’ As it was the Sabbath, he was asked why, and promptly replied: ‘The church is full of kegs and the pulpit’s full of tea.!’ After 1830, the Preventive Service was much strengthened, and after a series of bloody battles on the beaches, smuggling slowly declined.

Brandy took a high place among the contraband but tea, tobacco, silks, coffee and cocoa were freely smuggled.’

Here is a lively account about smuggling in Kent, including sentences to transportation to Tasmania, the storming of the prison to free captive smugglers, and a mention of Captain 'Flogging' Joe McCulloch (or McCullock) There's a folk song too that suggests convicted smugglers also ran the risk of being pressed into the navy.


http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_se_14.html

I recently ordered a copy of Smuggling in Hampshire and Dorset 1700-1850 by MORLEY, Geoffrey. Mr Morley also wrote a more general book on smuggling but I hope this one will be more detailed. I am getting particularly interested in silk smuggling, since my gggggfr was a tailor who came to England from France in 1775 and I strongly feel that a lot of his goods were smuggled. There is a report that shows him actually smuggling silk in person.

It was printed in an American publication, The Eclectic Magazine in 1874, reported by a Dr. Chambers. This was either Robert or William Chambers, two Scottish brothers who are mainly famous for their Cyclopedia and Dictionary, but who also published many books of anecdotes which made useful magazine stories.

A FORTUNE MADE BY A WAISTCOAT.--- Some people have a fancy for fine waistcoats. This taste was more common in my young days than it is now. Stirring public events were apt to be celebrated by patterns on waistcoats to meet the popular fancy. I remember that the capture of Mauritius, at the close of 1810, was followed by a fashion for wearing waistcoats speckled over with small figures shaped like that island, and called Isle of France waistcoats. George, Prince of Wales, while Regent, was noted for his affection for this rich variety of waistcoats, and thereby hangs a tale. His Royal Highness had an immense desire for a waistcoat of a particular kind, for which he could discover only a small piece of stuff insufficient in dimensions. It was a French material, and could not be matched in England. The war was raging, and to procure the requisite quantity of stuff from Paris was declared to be impracticable. At this juncture one of the Prince’s attendants interposed. He said he knew a Frenchman, M.Bazalgette, carrying on business in one of the obscure streets of London, who, he was certain, would undertake to proceed to Paris and bring away what was wanted. This obliging tailor was forthwith commissioned to do his best to procure the requisite material. Finding that a chance had occurred for distinguishing himself and laying the foundation of his fortune, the Frenchman resolved to make the attempt. It was a hazardous affair, for there was no regular communication with the coast of France, unless for letters under a cartel. Yet, Bazalgette was not daunted. If only he could land safely in a boat, all would be right. This, with some difficulty and manoevering, he effected. As a pretended refugee back to his own country, he was allowed to land and proceed to Paris. Joyfully he was able to procure the quantity of material required for the Prince Regent’s waistcoat; and not less joyfully did he manage to return to London with the precious piece of stuff wrapped round his person. The waistcoat was made, and so was the tailor’s fortune and that of his family.
[The Eclectic Magazine, Vol XIX, Jan to June 1874, W.H.Bidwell (Ed)]

Wrapping silk round the body was a common method of smuggling it of course. The fact that somebody recommended my ggggfr for the job suggests strongly that he was known to smuggle or at least to handle smuggled goods.

I haven't come across any specialist book on silk smuggling yet, but hope there is one out there somewhere.

tycho!
I picked up a 'slim volume' some time ago by John Douch called 'Flogging Joey's Warriors' (privately printed I imagine in 1985) which described the anti-smuggling Coast Blockade of E Kent in the post-1815 period. The title is emotive and the naval background fairly superficial but it tells a good story of the campaign and the pitched battles between the good guys and the bad guys that took place, and has interesting reproductions of newspapers and ballads of the time.
It also has McCulloch's service record in the navy, appointment by appointment from 1798 to 1825. Most of his commisssioned service took place after 1805 in the W Indies, including during the period of the American War 1812-4. He was (of course) a Scot, the son of the Laird of Barholm and for that reason seems to have owed his very rapid promotions (lieutenant 1805, commander 1810, post-captain 1814) to the patronage of fellow Scot Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane (Thomas Cochrane's uncle) whose flag lieutenant he was for 2 years.
There is no evidence of any 'rip-roaring' nor propensity for flogging (which was being brought under control at this time) here. I would not be in the least surprised if the nickname was unjustifiable and invented by the many enemies which his anti-smuggling duties inevitably created to demonise him.

Brian

http://books.google.com/books?id=-0v7vL ... =firefox-a

http://books.google.com/books?id=fzkAAA ... =firefox-a

If you search Google Books looking for "flogging joey" or "joseph mcculloch" AND navy or "william mcculloch" AND navy you'll find several references to McCulloch's time as a revenue officer.

Great posts!

A search using 'flogging joey' as a search term brought up numerous references, including another book: 'Flogging Joey's Warriors: how the Royal Navy fought the Kent and Sussex smugglers' by John Douch.

The editor of the Turner book records an incident when a smuggling gang landed at Pevensey Bay in such large numbers that they were mistaken for the French and the local landowner, the Duke of Newcastle, hastened to repel the French 'invasion'.

Chasbaz: re: your smuggling ancestor: have you looked at the Huguenot records? A quick search of 'Huguenot silk smuggling' brought up one or two brief references to the practice in a welter of irrelevant stuff.

Another thought: that old smuggler's rhyme:

'Brandy for the parson
Baccy for the clerk;
Lace for a lady
And letters for a spy.'

Did smugglers add spying to their other crimes?

Am I right in thinking that most fictionalised accounts of smuggling are very much on the side of the hero-smugglers and agin the horrid Excise Men? 'Moonfleet', for example, a wonderful yarn with which I have held many a classroom spellbound.

great story here on a large scale burning of smuggling craft in 1785

http://books.google.com/books?id=fzkAAA ... =firefox-a

pg 719

another interesting book
http://books.google.com/books?id=cm6PFM ... ry_r&cad=0

William Hickey’s ‘Memoirs’ is a book well-known to lovers of ‘our’ period. He was a rake and a libertine but a very likeable fellow, nonetheless. He practised law in India after a financial scandal in England. Returning home on one occasion in the ‘Plessey’ he describes in lively detail how Captain Waddell, by all accounts an otherwise admirable man, negotiated a satisfactory deal with a smuggler who bought his contraband tea.

A stranger came aboard. ‘He was of a Herculean form with a healthy ruby face. From his dress and appearance I should not have supposed he possessed ten pounds in the world. Captain Waddell conducted him into the roundhouse where the following short dialogue ensued:

Stranger: Well, Captain, how is tea?

Captain: Twenty pounds.

Stranger: No. that won’t do; eighteen – a great number of China ships this season.

Captain: Very well. You know best.

Stranger: How many chests?

Captain: Sixty odd.

Stranger: Come bear a hand then and get them into the cutter.

By this I found our new visitor was a smuggler. The foregoing was all that passed in completing the sale and purchase of so large a quantity of tea. In the same laconic manner he bought the stock of the different officers. '

After recording further inconsequential chat, Hickey continues, ‘The tea being all removed to the cutter, pen, ink and paper was produced; the smuggler, sitting down at a table in the roundhouse, calculated the amount due for his purchase, which Captain Waddell admitting correct he took from his pocket book a cheque, which filled up for twelve hundred and twenty four pounds he signed and delivered to the captain. I observed it was drawn upon Walpole and Company, Bankers in Lombard Street, and was astonished to see Captain Waddell with the utmost composure, deposit it in his escritoire.’ They then have a drink. Hickey continues, ‘The moment he departed, I asked Captain Waddell whether he felt secure in a draft for so large a sum from such a man as that, to which he answered, ‘Perfectly. And wish it was for ten times as much; it would be duly paid. These people always deal with the strictest honour. If they did not, their business would cease.’

Hickey’s memoir also contains some superb descriptions of the horrendous storms he experienced at sea, including a hurricane in which 13 people were lost, a powerful insight into life aboard a sailing ship.

From: ‘Memoirs of a Georgian Rake’ William Hickey, Folio Society Edition 1995.