James Caithness came through
his first battle unscathed: 90 others on board HMS Mars weren’t so lucky.
Paybooks held at TNA list names of men and their next-of-kin who would be sent
portions of wages earned: some of these crew members are listed as ‘slain’, and
the date given is 21 April 1798. This was the action at Raz de Sein in which
James participated.
Admiral Cornwallis |
The Mars had seen action
before James joined her. She was built in 1794 at Deptford and under Captain
Sir Charles Cotton had formed part of Vice Admiral Cornwallis’s squadron – five
ships of the line and two frigates - off
Brest in June 1795 when they were hotly pursued by a French fleet of thirteen
sail of the line, fourteen frigates, two brigs and a cutter, under Vice Admiral
Joyeuse.
Mars and Triumph formed the rear guard and these two were constantly
engaged with the French ships which kept up a long range cannonade. Mars was in
a disabled state, her masts and spars badly damaged by shot, by the time
reinforcements arrived in the form of Lord Bridport’s squadron whereupon the
French hauled to the wind and gave up the chase. Twelve men of HMS Mars were
wounded.
HMS Mars was one of the vessels
involved in the Spithead Mutiny (Plymouth )
in 1797 when seamen on 16 ships of the Channel Fleet (under Admiral Lord
Bridport) protested against living
conditions on Royal Navy ships and demanded better wages. Negotiations between
the crews and the Admiralty continued for two weeks but broke down. Eventually
the mutineers were given a royal pardon and some improvements in pay were agreed upon. This marked a step forward in the recognition of
seamen’s rights and remedies in the brutal discipline as well as better food followed.
Admiral Cornwallis's Retreat from the French Fleet 1795 |
Ships at Spithead Anchorage |
Regrettably, the contagion
spread to The Nore, an anchorage in the Thames Estuary, and this mutiny developed
more serious overtones when the ships involved blockaded London , preventing merchant vessels from
entering the port. The Admiralty were infuriated and there were also wider
concerns about revolutionary ideas from France
influencing Britain ’s
stability.
mutineers’ main leader Richard
Parker was convicted of treason and piracy and hanged from the yardarm of the Sandwich , the ship where the mutiny had begun. A further
29 ringleaders were hanged and others sentenced to flogging, prison or
transportation.
The traditional five bells
rung in the last dog watch ceased on Royal Navy vessels after the affair at
Nore, as that had been the signal to begin the mutiny.*
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