North Atlantic Press Gangs: Impressment and Naval-Civilian Relations in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, 1749-1815 by Keith Mercer Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2008 © Copyright by Keith Mercer, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-43931-9 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-43931-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY To comply with the Canadian Privacy Act the National Library of Canada has requested that the following pages be removed from this copy of the thesis: Preliminary Pages , Examiners Signature Page (pii) Dalhousie Library Copyright Agreement (piii) Appendices Copyright Releases (if applicable) For Mom and Dad iv Table of Contents Abstract ix List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used x Acknowledgements xi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Occupational Hazards 1 Impressment in Historical Context 5 The Press Gang and its Historians 10 Methodology and Sources 19 Structure of the Dissertation 21 Notes 31 Chapter 2: Yankee Roots: Planters, Press Gangs and the American Revolution in Nova Scotia, 1749-1789 37 Introduction 37 Yankee Roots 43 Louisbourg and its Aftermath 49 Planters and Press Gangs 55 Sailors and Inhabitants 65 HMS Senegal in Liverpool 71 Colonial Resistance to Impressment 76 Privateers and Protections 85 Desertion and Pardons 89 The Peacetime Navy 94 Conclusion 96 Notes 98 Chapter 3: Taming the Press Gang: Impressment and Naval-Civilian Discord in Nova Scotia, 1790-1815 114 Introduction 114 The Ordeal of Richard Hughes 120 Forging Impressment Policy 126 The Press Gang Riot of 1805 140 HMS Whiting on the South Shore 150 Pandemonium in Pictou 159 Naval-Civilian Discord in Halifax 166 Plain Truth 179 Conclusion 189 Notes 191 Chapter 4: Nursery for Seamen? The Origins of Naval Recruitment in Newfoundland, c.1749-1783 209 Introduction 209 Early Recruitment and the Sixth of Anne 214 Volunteers and the Poor 223 Enter the Press Gang 230 vi Pressing Concerns 241 Conclusion 244 Notes 247 Chapter 5: Customs and Coercion: Press Gangs, Guard Boats and the Civil Power in Newfoundland, 1793-1815 257 Introduction 257 Decline of Migratory Fishery 262 The Boston Tragedy of 1794 269 The Parameters of Impressment 275 The St. John's Guard Boats 283 Resistance on the Water: HMS Camilla in 1806 289 Desertion and Punishment 298 The Civil Power 307 The War of 1812 313 Conclusion 320 Notes 323 Chapter 6: Conclusion 337 Appendix 1: The Sixth of Anne 344 Appendix 2: Lieutenant-Governor Richard Hughes's Proclamation against Press Gangs 345 Appendix 3: Advertisement for Revenge Privateer 346 vii Appendix 4: Rendezvous Expenses for HMS Adamant, Halifax, 19-26 July 1790 347 Appendix 5: Press Warrant issued to Rupert George, Captain of HMS Hussar 350 Appendix 6: Press Warrants in Nova Scotia, 1793-1815 351 Appendix 7: Admiralty Instructions to John Whipple, 1795 352 Appendix 8: Excerpts from Isaac Lester's Diary at Poole, Falkland Islands Crisis, 1770 359 Appendix 9: Palliser's Act and Impressment 360 Appendix 10: Men Demanded from Counties and Ports in the Quota Acts of 1795 361 Appendix 11: Estimate of the Percentage of Naval Recruits Pressed in Newfoundland, 1793-1815 362 Appendix 12: Naval Recruitment at Newfoundland, 1793-1815 363 Appendix 13: Joseph Cain's Protection from Impressment 364 Appendix 14: Port Orders of St. John's, c. 1807 365 Appendix 15: Account of Lionel Chancey: Clerk of the Peace, St. John's, 1809-10 367 Appendix 16: A Closer Look at the Boats of the Royal Navy 368 Bibliography 369 viii Abstract Press gangs were detested throughout the North Atlantic world. For any seafarer, fisherman or maritime labourer, impressment was both a constant annoyance and an occupational hazard. It disrupted thousands of families and handicapped maritime trade. Although the British Navy had squadrons in Halifax and St. John's in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this is the first study of press gangs in Atlantic Canada. It traces the origins of impressment in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the wider Atlantic world from 1749 to 1815. The New England planters brought a shared history of resistance to impressment to Nova Scotia in the late 1750s and 1760s. Local authorities used these Yankee roots to battle press gangs during the American Revolution and to seize control of impressment during the Napoleonic Wars. They won this battle so decisively that by the War of 1812 the Navy could no longer man its ships in Nova Scotia, and naval-civilian discord spilled out onto the streets of Halifax. Impressment in Newfoundland, by contrast, was shaped by events in the British Isles. The Newfoundland fishery was a nursery for seamen - a training ground for the Navy - but for most of the eighteenth century naval recruitment occurred in the English West Country and Ireland, not in Newfoundland. After statutory restrictions against impressment on the island were lifted in 1775, and impressment ravaged the labour market in the British Isles in the 1770s and 1790s, the Navy turned to Newfoundland as an alternative source of manpower. Thousands of men entered the fleet there during the Napoleonic Wars. Naval guard boats in St. John's harbour were the engine of impressment in Newfoundland, but naval officers also received recruits from a cooperative civil power. While impressment was a common feature of maritime life in the North Atlantic world, this thesis maintains that it had divergent origins and histories in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. IX List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used ADM Admiralty Records CHA Canadian Historical Association CNS Centre for Newfoundland Studies CO Colonial Office Records DAL Dalhousie University D'Alberti D' Alberti Transcripts DCB Dictionary of Canadian Biography DRO Dorchester Record Office, Poole ENL Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador GN Government Record HMS His Majesty's Ship MHA Maritime History Archive, St. John's MG Manuscript Group Record MUN Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador NMM National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Naval Docs Naval Documents of the American Revolution NSARM Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, Halifax ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography PANL Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's TNA The National Archives, London uss United States Ship UTP University of Toronto Press X Acknowledgements This has been a long voyage, with many squalls and calms along the way. I take pleasure in thanking the people and institutions that helped me reach my final destination. I would like to single out the Department of History at Dalhousie University. It not only supplied me with funding and office space, but also supported my scholarship and career development at every turn. The office staff - especially Tina Jones, Mary Wyman and Valerie Peck - provided this often bewildered graduate student with sound advice and good cheer. On the academic side, Dr. Shirley Tillotson guided me through the contours of modern Canadian history and wrote more reference letters for me than I care to count. Similarly, Dr. Krista Kesselring and Dr. David Sutherland supervised me in key reading fields. Other faculty made Dalhousie a welcoming place to learn the ropes of the historical profession. Several organizations generously provided me with financial assistance, without which this project would not have been possible. They include the Office of the Dean of Arts and the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Memorial University, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Department of History and Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I am very grateful for