Reprinted by Chatham Fublishing (London) 1999

If, like me, you enjoy naval accounts, written by the people who were actually there, this is an absolute must. This biography was first published in 1851 in two volumes and has recently been republished in paperback for the princely sum of £ 12.95, cheap at twice the price!

Born in Ireland in 1788, the author describes his early naval career from being taken on board Diamond in 1801, aged thirteen, until he was appointed Commander in 1815. Life in the Royal Naval was very trying for the young midshipman. Crawford describes how, in 1802 he was taken on board the Immortalite, a 36 gun frigate, and found himself one of 3 'youngsters' in a berth containing between fourteen and sixteen, mostly older, more senior midshipmen.

These three had to perform the duties of steward, cook and attendant for the senior midshipmen, who '...valuing themselves upon their standing in the service, and claiming a deference and respect from the rest which they had no right to exact, exercised a tyranny and dictatorship in the berth really most galling and vexatious, but which was vain to resist; for if you professed to dispute their orders or authority, or to make any complaint you were speedily had before one of their terrible courts martial, always composed of themselves, escape from which without punishment was as hopeless as it was from the Venetian oligopoly of old.'

Through the book Crawford compares the navy of the day (the 1850's) with that of the early part of the century, explaining the changes for better, or worse and sometimes suggesting how it could be improved.

As war loomed in 1803, the urgent need for seamen meant regular recourse to the press gang. While describing this practice as a 'grievous evil' the author explains that there was no feasible alternative in times of sudden war. A range of alternatives are suggested for increasing the number of seafaring men available including the merchant service taking on a greater number of apprentices who would be made available in war time (a forerunner or the RNR?) and offering a better scale of pensions.

On this very subject the author gives an account of his own experience while trying to I press' men from a merchant ship of the East India Company. When the boats, under the command of a lieutenant, approached the 'Indiaman' they found that the crew were ready to repel boarders. The following melee, in which Crawford and other members of the boats' crew were injured, resulted in the lieutenant, attempting to carry out his lawful duty, giving the order to fire upon the merchant ship, mortally wounding two men. This proved to be a major miscalculation, as he found himself on trial for murder and was only narrowly acquitted.

Much of the book records the many small ship actions that resulted from blockade duty off the French and Spanish coasts. The author describes, in vivid detail, some of the skirmishes which took place as the French fleet and army made preparations for the abortive invasion of England.

At this time the blockading squadrons made every attempt to worry and harass the enemy and the author recounts many exciting actions with inshore boats, and night time 'cutting out' exercises.

While on the 'Boulogne station' he recalls a particular day when all the French standards were flying, accompanied by illuminations, a hundred gun salute and fireworks throughout the night. This turned out to be the day of Napoleon's coronation.

Crawford recalls the news of Nelson's death at Trafalgar being received in 1805 and how, rather than 'shouts and songs of triumph' for the great victory, the subject was 'mentioned in broken whispers and all seemed to feel, not only that some great national calamity had befallen the land but, as if each individual had lost a friend and leader...'

In 1807 while serving in the Royal George, the author took part in Sir John Duckworths's noted expedition through the Dardanelles. This exciting account contrasts vividly with the, sometimes less successful, attempts to forge this well fortified passage in later wars. On the return through the straits, Royal George had 3 men killed, and the first lieutenant and 27 wounded, chiefly by a huge stone shot, fired from the shore, which tore away the whole of the ship's bulwark between two of the guns. Afterwards, a similar stone shot, weighing 850 pounds and with a diameter of twenty seven and a half inches was found on another ship in the squadron.

Not all a naval officer's time was spent in action, however, and the author recounts how the young officers organised their leisure and entertainment while in port and the hijinks they often got up to, sometimes leading to confinement on board ship. These accounts provide an insight not only into the behaviour of the young naval officers of the time but also into high society in the Mediterranean ports and how close friendships often developed between local families and visiting sailors.

Crawford came into contact with a number of famous figures including Captain Bligh (Bounty), Sir Sydney Smith and Lord Collingwood whom he held in very high regard, believing that it was his devotion to duty and poor treatment by the Admiralty that resulted in his untimely death.

The author's memory of events is woven with the historical account to give a vivid picture of what life was like at sea during the Napoleonic wars. Not only does he have clear recollections of people and events, he also takes pains to describe the careers of the captains he served with both before and after he himself sailed with them.

While the style of writing and language is what you would expect from the mid nineteenth century, the book is surprisingly easy to read for a biography of this period and could quite easily be put alongside Fatrick O'Brian or Forester's novels. The fact that the author was actually there makes these memoirs all the more compulsive reading.

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