The Last Pistol Duel on the Island

Several years ago, I overheard a passing mention of the last duel on the island,at Northwood, in Cowes. I didn’t chase it up at the time, but when I heard contemporary folk duo Jess Leigh Ong and Al Watson, aka Berlingo Flick, singing their song The Final Duel on the Acoustic Stage at Kashmir Fringe Festival (2026) at Quay Arts in Newport, I was reminded of it, and quickly set about doing some digging.

A report of the duel can be found in Millingen’s “History of Duelling”, published in 1841, which provides a comprehensive record of duels fought in Britain up to that date.

As recorded in The history of duelling, volume II, 1841

John Gideon Millingen, The history of duelling, volume 2, 1841, pp222-3.

BETWEEN MAJOR LOCKYER AND MR. SUTTON COCHRANE. Cowes, December 12, 1817.

On Wednesday a duel was fought here between Major Lockyer and Mr. Sutton Cochrane, recently a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, which proved fatal to the latter, he having received his antagonist’s ball under the right breast, which passed through both ventricles of the heart, and the lungs.

These gentlemen, in company with a Mr. Redesdale, a Mr. Hand, and upwards of sixty others, were going out as adventurers to South America, in the ship Grace, Davy master, now lying in these roads, wind-bound. The trifling difference between the parties arose in consequence of an expression of an unguarded nature from the deceased, the evening before, while regaling themselves, with several others, at an inn; he having asserted, that they were all in debt, and were seeking their fortunes. At which the major felt very indignant, and asked, if the other meant to include him? The deceased replied in the affirmative, and declared he would prove his assertion, which he did by giving a very ingenious explanation, observing, that if we were not in debt to any of our fellow-beings, we were all indebted to our Maker. But the major, not considering the explanation satisfactory, insisted on Mr. Cochrane’s meeting him the next morning, at the dawn of day, who very reluctantly fell into the measure, previously declaring that he would not fire himself, but that if his opponent insisted, he would receive his fire.

It was agreed that they should both fire at one time; but when the signal was made, it was observed, the deceased never raised his arm to level his pistol, while the ball of his antagonist’s pistol immediately struck the seat of life. When the pistol of the deceased was examined afterwards, it was found neither unstopped nor cocked. The major, and the two seconds, Messrs. Redesdale and Hand, immediately decamped across the water.

The deceased was a well-educated and genteel young man, about twenty years of age, and we believe a relation of Lord Cochrane.

A coroner’s inquest sat upon the body, the jury delivered their verdict, “wilful murder,” against Major Lockyer, and Messrs. Redesdale and Hand, and the coroner issued his warrant for their apprehension. Mr. Hand was apprehended (by Allen, the Newport constable) at Portsmouth, on Thursday; the others are at large.

Major Lockyer and Mr. Hand were tried at Winchester Assizes, on the 7th of March, 1818; and the jury returning a verdict of manslaughter, they were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.

So where does the story begin?

In mid-December, 1817, two related items of news from Cowes made it into the London newspapers.

A ship is seized, and a duel is fought December 1817

In Star (London), Saturday 13 December 1817.

Thursday the ship Grace of London, DAVEY Master, with eighty Officers on board, bound to St. Thomas’s, on the South American Expedition, was seized in Cowes roadstead, by John WARD, Esq. Collector of Customs at that port, for having received on board many of the said Officers in a clandestine manner, contrary to the Passengers’ Act; and also for having no papers on board, to prove the ship’s identity and character. The Grace is reported to be owned by a Mr. FITZGERALD, who some time since was examined before the LORD MAYOR, for engaging to convey passengers out of the kingdom, in a ship called the Caledonia, the circumstances of which must be in the remembrance of many of our Readers.

On the day preceding the seizure of the above vessel, Mr. SUTTON, a volunteer Officer for South America, was shot in a duel, at West Cowes, by Major LOCKYER, a British Officer, about to depart on the same enterprise. An inquest being held on the body, a Verdict of Wilful Murder was given against Major Lockyer, and Lieutenants Hand and Redesdale, the seconds, all of whom have absconded.

But what were the stories behind these stories?

Ships to America

Growing up in the 1970s, with an interest in technology and Tomorrow’s World, I remember new reports of “the brain drain”, where highly skilled professionals were heading to the US, or elsewhere, taking their knowledge with them. Go back a hundred and fifty years before that, and the situation was the same.

In the early 1780s no skilled artisan or manufacturer was legally free to leave Britain or Ireland and enter any foreign country outside the Crown’s dominions for the purpose of carrying on his trade. Textile printing workers were even forbidden to leave the British Isles, the implication being that other workers could at least travel within British possessions. It was an offence, moreover, to entice artificers or manufacturers to emigrate to foreign parts. It became illegal to export or to prepare to export to any place outside Britain and Ireland any pre-industrial or industrial textile, metal-working, clock-making, leather-working, paper-making or glass manufacturing equipment.

…

… No artisans at all were licensed by the Privy Council to emigrate between 1814 and 1824. And in the period 1780-1824, apart from the three permits to steam engine erectors, the Board of Trade allowed only one skilled worker, Richard Smith, to go abroad. Halted at the Liverpool Customs in 1817, he admitted that he had once been a master spinner, was presently assistant to a Staffordshire land surveyor, and was going to Philadelphia to recover unspecified property taken thence by James Slater, late of Cheadle. [Privy Council minutes, 205 pp. 420-421; Board of Trade in letters, 119, ff. 8-10. B.T. 5/26, p. 140] …

David I. Jeremy, *Damming the Flood: British Government Efforts to Check the Outflow of Technicians and Machinery, 1780-1843*, The Business History Review, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Spring, 1977), pp. 1-34

But it was also a time of legal migration, with ships regularly crossing the Atlantic from Liverpool to America, as well as opportunistic trips overseas, for trade, or to fight as volunteers in other countries’ wars.

One of the tragedies of illegal migration today is the terrible conditions under which some of those migrants often travel, but back in the 1800s, when slave ships were still plying their trade, you often had unscrupulous ship’s masters getting away with whatever they could when it came to economising on the comforts of their passengers — pleasure cruises these definitely were not. Cheap transport to North America made for poor conditions, but also could make migration affordable. With a sleight of hand, the Government saw a way of making the cost of emigration less attractive by supposedly improving the lot of the passengers with the Passengers Act of 1803. Additionally, it gave them a means of keeping tabs on who exactly was seeking to travel overseas.

Shipping passengers without cognizance of the Custom House, December 1817

In London Chronicle, Friday 19 December 1817.

The ship Grace, of London, with passengers on board for St. Thomas’s, seized by the Collector of Cowes, is ordered to be proceeded against by the Board of Customs, for considerable penalties incurred in shipping passengers without cognizance of the Custom House. The ship has no muster-roll, as required by 43 Geo. III., c. 56; no Victualling Bill, to shew the quantity of provisions taken on board for the due sustenance of each passenger, or any Certificate of Registry. The Passenger Act is one of the, wisest ever passed, as it enacts, there shall be proper Rolls kept on hoard of each passenger shipped, and an account his description, occupation, and age; and it binds the Master and Owners to find them proper ship’s space and accommodation; with wholesome provisions during the voyage; and that all of them shall be landed at the place or country for whence cleared out.

The Passengers Act, 1803

A Collection of the Public General Statutes, Passed in the Forty-third Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George the Third. pp453-462.

CAP. LVI.

An Act for regulating the Veſſels carrying Paſſengers from the United Kingdom to His Majesty’s Plantations and Settlements Abroad, or to Foreign Parts, with reſpect to the Number of ſuch Paſſengers. [24th June 1803.]

WHEREAS in various Parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, ſeveral Perſons have been ſeduced to leave their Native Country under falſe Repreſentations, and have ſuffered great Hardſhip on Ship-board for Want of Water and Proviſions, and other Neceſſaries, and of proper Accommodation on their Paſſage:

And whereas it is expedient that no Ship or Veſſel ſhould be permitted to carry a greater Number of Paſſengers on long or diſtant Voyages, either to His Majesty’s Colonies Abroad or to Foreign Countries, than can be properly furnished with Proviſions, and ſufficiently accommodated on the Paſſage; and it is alſo expedient that proper Security ſhould be given for their being landed at the Ports or Places to which they may have contracted or agreed to be carried: May it therefore pleaſe Your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King’s moſt Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Conſent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, int his preſent Parliament aſſembled, and by the Authority of the fame, That it ſhall not be lawful for any Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command of any British Ship or Veſſel whatever, which ſhall clear out from any Port or Place in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from and after the First Day of July One thousand eight hundred and three, to have on board, at or after being cleared out, at any One Time, or to convey, carry, or tranſport, from any Place or Places in the ſaid United Kingdom to any Parts beyond Sea, in any ſuch Ship or Vefſel, a greater Number of Perſons, whether Adults or Children, including the Crew,than in the Proportion of One Perſon for every Two Tons of the Burthen of ſuch Ship or Veſſel; and every ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be deemed and taken to be of ſuch Tonnage or Burthen as is described and ſet forth in the reſpective Certificate of the Regiſtry of each and every ſuch Ship or Veſſel, granted in pursuance of the ſeveral Acts in force in Great Britain and Ireland reſpectively relating to ſuch Certificates; and if any ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be partly laden with Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, then it ſhall not be lawful for the Maſter or other Perſon having the Command or Charge of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, to receive or take on board a greater Number of Perſons, including the Crew, than in the Proportion of One Perſon for every Two Tons of that Part of ſuch Ship or Veſſel remaining unladen; and ſuch Goods, Wares, or Merchandize with which ſuch Veſſel may be partly laden, ſhall, at the Sight and under the Direction of the Collector or Comptroller, or other Officer of the Cuſtoms, at the Port or Place where ſuch Goods, Wares, or Merchandize ſhall be taken on board, be ſtowed and diſpoſed of in ſuch Manner as to leave good, fufficient, and wholeſome Accommodation for the Proportion of Perſons hereby allowed in ſuch Caſe to be received on board.

II. And be it further enacted, That if any Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command of any ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall take on board, or if he, or the Owner or Owners of any ſuch Ship or Veſſel, ſhall engage to take on board a greater Number of Perſons than in the Proportion allowed by this Act, ſuch Maſter or other Perſon as aforesaid ſhall forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds for each and every ſuch Perſon exceeding the Proportion herein-before limited; and moreover every ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſo having on board, conveying, carrying, or tranſporting, One or more Perſon or Perfons beyond the Proportion herein-before limited, ſhall be ſeized and detained by the Collector, Comptroller, Surveyor, or Officer of the Cuſtoms, until ſuch Penalty or Penalties ſhall be ſatisfied and paid, or until ſuch Maſter or other Perſon, or the Owner or Owners of ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall give good and ſufficient Bail for the Payment thereof.

III. And be it further enacted, That every ſuch Ship or Veſſel bound to any Port or Place in North America, ſhall be ſtored and furnished with at leaſt Twelve Weeks Proviſions and good and wholeſome Water, ſufficient to afford an Allowance per Day during the Voyage, of not less than Half a Pound of Meat, One Pound and a Half of Bread, Biscuit, or Oatmeal, with Half a Pint of Melaſſes, and One Gallon of Water, to each and every Perſon on board, whether Adult or Child; and the Maſter of or other Perſonhaving or taking the Command of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, is hereby directed and enjoined to give out to each and every Perſon on board at least the his daily Allowance herein directed each and every Day of the Voyage, under the Pain of Twenty Pounds of lawful Money aforesaid for each Neglect or Omiſſion; and any Perſon demanding a Clearance for any ſuch Ship or Veſſel which ſhall not be ſtored with Proviſions and Water in Manner herein directed, ſhall forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds for each and every Perſon for whom there ſhall not be a Quantity of Proviſions and Water ſufficient to afford the Allowance herein directed.

IV. And be it further enacted, That, before receiving a Clearance or Sufferance for any ſuch Ship or Veſſel, the Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command thereof, ſhall deliver to the Officer of the Cuſtoms from whom ſuch Clearance or Sufferance ſhall be demanded, a Muſter Roll, diſtinguiſhing the Paſſengers from the Crew, and ſpecifying the Names, Age, and Sex of the Perſons received or to be received on board, and the Conditions upon which Perſons ſeverally have been or are to be received on board, and the Place or Places to which ſuch Perſons have ſeverally contracted to be carried or conveyed; and every Perſon delivering a falſe Muſter Roll ſhall forfeit and pay for every Offence the Sum of Fifty Pounds for each Perſon omitted, or falſely ſtated or deſcribed therein; and it ſhall and may be lawful for the Collector, Comptroller, or Surveyor of the Cuſtoms of the Port or Place at which any ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be cleared out, or in the Abſence of ſuch Collector, Comptroller, and Surveyor, the reſident Officer of the Cuſtoms at the Port, together with any One of His Majesty’s Juſtices of the Peace or other Magiſtrate, if ſuch Juſtice or Magiſtrate can be found at ſuch Port or Place, or within a convenient Diſtance thereof; and ſuch Collector or Comptroller, or ſuch reſident Officer, together with ſuch Juſtice or Magiſtrate, is hereby directed and required to muſter the Paſſengers and Crew on board every ſuch Ship or Veſſel immediately before ſailing, and to compare the Perſons found on board with the Perſons ſpecified and described in the ſaid Muſter Roll delivered by ſuch Maſter or other Perſon aforesaid, and to ſearch and inſpect every ſuch Ship or Veſſel; and if it ſhall appear that a falſe Muſter Roll has been delivered, or if more Perſons ſhall be found on board than in the Proportion herein allowed, or if the Ship or Veſſel ſhall not be ſtored and provided with Proviſions and Water ſufficient to afford the Allowance herein directed, then it ſhall be lawful for ſuch Collector or Comptroller of the Cuſtoms, or the principal Officer of the Cuſtoms, together with any ſuch Juſtice or other Magiſtrate, to ſeize and detain ſuch Ship or Veffel, and the Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command thereof, until he or the Owner or Owners of ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall find good and ſufficient Bail, to the Amount of the Penalties hereby impoſed for exceeding the Proportion of Perſons to be received on board, as herein before limited, and for demanding a Clearance for any ſuch Ship or Veſſel without being ſtored with Proviſions and Water in Manner herein directed, and for delivering a falſe Muſter Roll; and no Clearance ſhall be given by any Officer of the Cuſtoms, until the ſaid Collector or Comptroller, Surveyor or principal Officer of the Cuſtoms, together with ſuch Juſtice or Magiſtrate, ſhall have muſtered the Perſons on board, and ſhall have ſearched and inſpected the Ship or Veſſel, and Proviſions and Water, in Manner herein directed; and if upon ſuch Inſpection the Regulations of this Act ſhall be found to have been duly complied with, a Copy of the ſaid Muſter Roll ſo delivered as aforesaid ſhall be certified by ſuch Collector or Comptroller, or principal Officer of the Cuſtoms aforeſaid, to be delivered to ſuch Maſter or other Perſon aforesaid, and ſhall be preſervedbyhim on board ſuch Ship or Veſſel; and the original Muſter Roll delivered by ſuch Maſter or other Perſon as aforesaid, ſhall remain and be preſerved at the Cuſtom-Houſe where the Clearance or Sufferance is granted.

V. Provided always, and be it enacted, That if upon any ſuch Muſter, or otherwise, any Paſſenger, or Perſon who has entered into any Contract or Agreement for ſuch Voyage (other than the Crew of ſuch Ship or Veſſel), ſhall fignify to ſuch Collector or Comptroller, or other Officer of the Cuſtoms, or to any Juſtice of the Peace or other Magiſtrate, that he or ſhe is deſirous of being relanded, or of not proceeding on any ſuch Voyage, it ſhall and maybe lawful to and for ſuch Collector, Comptroller, or other Officer of the Cuſtoms, and ſuch Juſtice of the Peace or other Magiſtrate, and they are hereby empowered and required to take ſuch Perſon out of the Ship or Veſſel; and it shall be lawful to and for ſuch Juſtice of the Peace or Magiſtrate, and they are hereby empowered and required, to fet any ſuch Paſſenger free from his Engagement, reſerving to either Party any legal Claim which may ariſe in conſequence thereof.

VI. And be it further enacted, That no Paſſenger ſhall be received on board of any ſuch Ship or Veſſel, unleſs at a Port or Place where a Cuſtom Houſe ſhall be eſtabliſhed, or Officers of the Cuſtoms ſhall be ſtationed; and if any Paſſengers ſhall be taken on board any ſuch Ship or Veſſel at any other Port or Place, the Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, ſhall forfeit and pay the Sum of Five hundred Pounds; and ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be feized and detained by any Officer of the Cuſtoms, until ſuch Penalty ſhall be paid, or ſuch Maſter or other Perſon, or the Owner or Owners of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, ſhall find good and ſufficient Bail for the ſame.

VII. And be it further enacted, That no ſuch Ship or Veſſel carrying Fifty Perſons or upwards, including the Crew, ſhall be cleared out, unleſs ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be provided with a Surgeon, who ſhall produce to the Officer of the Cuſtoms required to give the Clearance or Sufferance, a Certificate of his having paſſed his Examination at Surgeons Hall, in London, or at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh or Dublin.

VIII. And be it further enacted, That every ſuch Surgeon ſhall have a Medicine Chest properly ſtored with Medicines, in Proportion to the Number of Perfons on board of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, of the Kind and according to the Aſſortment generally uſed and made for ſuch Voyages on board of His Majesty’s Ships of War; and before any ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be veſſel is allowed to be cleared out, every ſuch Surgeon ſhall ſpecify upon Oath, before the Collector or Comptroller, or other Chief Officer of the Cuſtoms, at the Port or Place from whence ſuch Ship or Veſſel is to be cleared out, the Contents of ſuch Medicine Cheſt, and ſhall further make Oath that the Medicines are of good and proper Quality, to the beſt of his Knowledge and Belief, which Oath ſuch Collector, Comptroller, or other Chief Officer of the Cuſtoms, is hereby required and empowered to adminiſter; and the Affidavit of every ſuch Surgeon ſhall be depoſited and preſerved in the Cuſtom-Houſe where the Clearance or Sufferance of ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be granted, and the Maſter or Owner of every ſuch Ship or Veſſel failing to provide a Medicine Cheſt of the Deſcription above-mentioned, and every ſuch Surgeon neglecting or making refuſing to make Oath as herein directed, ſhall forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds.

IX. And be it further enacted, That the Bedding of each and every Paſſſenger on board any ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be aired by Expoſure upon the Deck, when the Weather will permit, Once a Day during the Voyage, and ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be fumigated with Vinegar at least Twice in every Week during the Voyage; and every ſuch Maſter or other Perſon having or taking ſuch Charge or Command ſhall forfeit and pay the Sum of Twenty Pounds for each Failure or Neglect in airing the ſaid Bedding, or in fumigating the Ship or Veſſel.

X. And be it further enacted, That no Clearance or Sufferance ſhall be No Clearance granted to any ſuch Ship or Veſſel, unless the Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command thereof, and alſo the Surgeon thereof, where a Surgeon is by this Act required, ſhall have given Bond to His Majesty, His Heirs and Succeſſors, ſuch Bond to be taken by and left in the Hands of the Collector or Comptroller, or other principal Officer of the Cuſtoms at the Port or Place from whence ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be cleared out, in the Sum of One hundred Pounds, with Condition that ſuch Maſter or other Perſon having ſuch Charge or Command as aforesaid, and ſuch Surgeon, where a Surgeon is required, ſhall ſeverally keep a regular and true Journal, containing an Account of the greatest Number of Perſons which ſhall have been on board of ſuch Ship or Veſſel at the Time of her Departure, and at any Time during her Voyage, and until her Arrival at the Port of her Destination, and of the Proviſions and Water on board, and of the Delivery of the daily Allowances thereof in Manner herein directed, and of the airing of Bedding, and of the fumigating the Ship or Veſſel, and of the Deaths of any of the Paſſengers or Crew of the ſaid Ship or Veffel, and of the Cause thereof, during the Voyage, from the Firſt Departure of the ſaid Ship or Veſſel, to her Arrival at her Port of Deſtination; and ſuch Maſter or other Perſon having or taking ſuch Charge or Command as aforesaid, and ſuch Surgeon, ſhall deliver ſuch Journals to the Collector or other Officer as aforesaid, at the firſt Port of the United Kingdom where ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall arrive after returning from ſuch Port of Destination, and ſhall feverally make Oath to the Truth of their reſpective Journals, to the best of their Knowledge and Belief, before ſuch Collector or other Officer as aforesaid, who is hereby authorized and required to adminiſter the ſaid Oath; and ſuch Collector or other Officer as aforesaid, ſhall deliver to ſuch Maſter or other Perſon as aforesaid, and to ſuch Surgeon reſpectively, Copies of the Oaths of ſuch Maſter or other Perſon as aforesaid, and ſuch Surgeon, and alſo of the ſaid Journals reſpectively, which Copies ſhall ſeverally be atteſted as true Copies, under the Hand of ſuch Collector or other Officer as aforesaid; and Duplicates of the ſaid Copies, atteſted in like Manner, ſhall be tranſmitted by the ſaid Collector or other Officer aforesaid, to the Commiſſioners of His Majesty’s Cuſtoms in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin reſpectively, according as ſuch Journal ſhall be delivered and ſuch Oath ſhall be made, in England, Scotland, or Ireland; and if ſuch Maſter or other Perſon aforefaid, or Surgeon, shall act contrary hereto, ſuch Maſter or other Perfon, and Surgeon, ſhall, for each and every ſuch Offence, ſeverally forfeit and pay the Sum of One hundred Pounds.

XI. And be it further enacted, That it ſhall not be lawful for any Maſter or other Perſon taking or having the Charge or Command of any Ship or clearing out Veffel, other than a British Ship or Veſſel, owned, navigated, and regiſtered according to Law, clearing out from any Port or Place in the United Kingdom aforesaid, from and after the ſaid First Day of July One thouſand eight hundred and three, to have or take onboard a greater Number of Perfons, including the Crew, than in the Proportion of One Perſon for every Five Tons of the Burthen of ſuch Ship or Veſſel; and every ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be deemed andtaken to be of ſuch Tonnage or Burthen as ſhall be aſcertained by the Oath of the Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command thereof, taken before the Collector or other Chief Officer of the Cuſtoms, at the Port from whence ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be cleared out, which Oath the ſaid Collector or Chief Officer is hereby authorized and required to adminiſter; and it ſhall and may be lawful for ſuch Collector or Chief Officer to muſter the Paſſengers and Crew, and to ſearch and inſpect every ſuch Ship or Veſſel, and if more Perſons ſhall be found on board than in the Proportion herein allowed, every ſuch Maſter or other Perſon as aforesaid ſhall forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds for every Perſon ſo taken on board beyond the Proportion herein allowed, One Moiety whereof ſhall go to His Majesty, His Heirs or Succeſſors, and the other Half to ſuch Collector or other Officer aforesaid, who is hereby empowered to ſeize and detain ſuch Ship or Veſſel, until ſuch Penalties ſhall be paid.

XII Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing in this Act contained ſhall extend, or be deemed or conſtrued to extend, to Ships or Veſſels in the Service of His Majesty, or of His Majesty’s Poſtmaſter General, or of the Cuſtoms and Excife in Great Britain and Ireland reſpectively, or of the East India Company.

XIII. And be it further enacted, That if, after any ſuch Ship or Vefſel ſhall have been cleared out, any Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command of any ſuch Ship or Veſſel, ſhall unſhip, reland, or permit or ſuffer to be unſhipped or relanded, any Proviſions or Water, ſuch Maſter or other Perſon, ſhall forfeit the Sum of Two hundred Pounds.

XIV. Provided always, and be it enacted, That if any Paſſenger or Paſſengers who may be defirous not to proceed on ſuch Voyage, ſhall be relanded, or ſhall not proceed in the Manner herein-before directed, then it ſhall and may be lawful for ſuch Maſter or other Perſon aforesaid, to unſhip or reland under the Inſpection of the Officer of the Cuſtoms at the Port or Place from whence ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be cleared out, a Quantity of Proviſions and Water not exceeding the Proportion ſufficient for the Allowance of ſuch Paſſenger or Paſſengers ſo relanded.

XV. And be it further enacted, That an Abſtract of this Act shall be prepared by and with the Direction of the Commiſſioners of His Majesty’s Cuſtoms in England, Scotland, and Ireland reſpectively, and a Copy thereof ſhall be hung up in the Custom-Houſe of every Port of the United Kingdom, and a Copy thereof, and a Copy alſo of the ſaid Muſter Roll, ſhall be hung up and affixed to the moſt publick Place of every Ship or Veſſel carrying Paſſengers under the Regulations of this Act; and the Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, ſhall cauſe the ſaid Copies to be renewed, ſo that the ſame may be at all Times acceſſible to every Perſon on board of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, upon Pain that every ſuch Maſter or other Perſon having or taking the Charge or Command of every ſuch Ship or Veſſel, who ſhall neglect to affix or renew the ſame, ſhall for every ſuch Offence forfeit the Sum of Twenty Pounds.

XVI. And be it further enacted, That all Captains and Officers commanding His Majesty’s Ships of War or Revenue Cutters, who ſhall meet any ſuch Ships or Veffels at Sea, ſhall and may, and they are hereby empowered and required to call for the ſaid Muſter Roll, and to ſearch ſuch Ship or Veſſel; and if any more or other Perſons ſhall be found on board than are ſpecified in ſuch Muſter Roll, or if a Quantity of Proviſions ſhall not be found on board fufficient to afford to each Perſon the daily Allowances herein directed during the Remainder of the Voyage, unless it ſhall appear that ſuch Veſſel has been detained on her Paſſage, after leaving the Port or Place at which the Paſſengers embarked, beyond the Time for which the Quantity of Proviſions hereby required are directed to be provided, or if ſuch Allowances ſhall not have been dealt out in the preceding Part of the Voyage in Manner herein directed, then in either of theſe Caſes, ſuch Captains or Officers may ſeize and detain ſuch Ship or Veſſel, until good and fufficient Bail ſhall be given at the Port or Place to which ſuch Ship or Veſſel may be carried by the Order and Direction of ſuch Captains or Officers, who are hereby empowered to put Hands on board to take Charge of her for that Purpoſe; and if the State of ſuch Ship or Veſſel, and the Proviſions on board thereof, will permit, it ſhall and may be lawful for ſuch Captains or Officers to ſend back ſuch Ship or Veſſel to the Port from whence ſhe was cleared out, or otherwise to carry ſuch Ship or Veſſel into ſuch Port as the State of the Proviſions on board, or the Supply which ſuch Captains or Officers can afford, will permit.

XVII. And be it further enacted, That no ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be cleared out, unless the Owner or Owners, or the Maſter or other Perſon given having or taking the Charge or Command thereof, ſhall have given Bond to His Majesty, His Heirs and Succeſſors, ſuch Bond to be taken by and left in the Hands of the Collector or Comptroller, or other proper Officer of the Cuſtoms in the Port or Place from whence ſuch Ship or Veſſel ſhall be cleared out, in an Amount equal to the Sum of Twenty Pounds for each Paſſenger on board ſuch Ship or Veſſel, with Condition that ſuch Veſſel is Sea-worthy, and that every ſuch Paſſenger, if alive, ſhall be landed at the Port or Ports to which ſuch Paſſenger ſhall have contracted to be conveyed.

XVIII. And be it further enacted, That if any Officers of the Cuſtoms ſhall knowingly ſign or give out any Clearance or Sufferance for any ſuch Ship or Veffel, contrary to the Regulations of this Act, every ſuch Officer ſhall forfeit and loſe his Employment, and ſhall alſo forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds.

XIX. And be it further enacted, That all Sum and Sums of Money, Penalties and Forfeitures in this Act mentioned and contained, ſhall be calculated and paid, and payable within Great Britain in lawful Money of Great Britain, and within Ireland in Irish Currency; and that any Penalty or Forfeiture inflicted by this Act may be proſecuted, ſued for, and recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information in any of His Majeſty’s Courts of Record at Westminster or Dublin, or in the Court of Exchequer or in the Court of Seſſion in Scotland, in the Name of His Majesty’s Attorney General for England or Ireland, or His Majesty’s Advocate for Scotland reſpectively, or in the Name of any Perſon or Perſons whatsoever, wherein no Effoign, Protection, Privilege, Wager of Law, or more than One Imparlance, ſhall be allowed; and in every Action or Suit the Perſon againft whom Judgement ſhall be given for any Penalty or Forfeiture under this Act, ſhall pay Double Coſts of Suit; and every ſuch Action or Suit ſhall and may be brought at any Time within Three Years after the Offence committed, and not afterwards; and One Moiety of every Penalty to be recovered by virtue of this Act ſhall go and be applied to His Majesty, His Heirs or Succeſſors, and the other Moiety to the Ufe of ſuch Perſon or Perſons as ſhall firſt ſue for the ſame, after deducting the Charges of Proſecution from the Whole.

XX. And be it further enacted, That if any Perſon taking any Oath by this Act authorized or required to be taken, ſhall thereby commit wilful Perjury, or if any Perſon ſhall unlawfully procure or ſuborn any Perſon to take any Oath by this Act authorized or required to be taken, whereby ſuch Perſon ſhall commit wilful Perjury, every ſuch Perſon ſhall incur and ſuffer the like Pains and Penalties as are by Law inflicted upon Perſons committing wilful and corrupt Perjury, or Subornation of Perjury, in Great Britain and Ireland reſpectively.

XXI. And be it further enacted, That if any Action or Suit ſhall be brought or commenced against any Perſon or Perfons for any Thing done in pursuance of this Act, then and in every ſuch Caſe the ſaid Action or Suit ſhall be commenced within Three Calendar Months after the Fact committed, and not afterwards, and ſhall be brought in the County or Place where the Cauſe of Action ſhall ariſe, and not elſewhere, and that the Defendant or Defendants in ſuch Action or Suit to be brought may plead the General Iſſue, and give this Act and the Special Matter in Evidence at any Trial to be had thereupon, and that the ſame was done in pursuance and by the Authority of this Act; and if it ſhall appear to be ſo done, or if any ſuch Action or Suit ſhall be brought after the Time before limited for bringing the ſame, or ſhall be brought in any other County, City, or Place than as aforeſaid, then and in every ſuch Caſe the Jury ſhall find for the Defendant or Defendants; and upon ſuch Verdict, or if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs ſhall become nonſuited, or diſcontinue his, her, or their Action, or if a Verdict ſhall paſs against the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, or upon Demurrer Judgement ſhall be given againſt ſuch Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, the Defendant or Defendants ſhall and may recover Double Coſts, and have the like Remedy for the ſame as any Defendant or Defendants hath or have for Coſts of Suit in other Caſes by Law.

XXII. Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing in this Act contained ſhall extend, or be conſtrued to extend, to repeal, alter, or affect, any Law, Statute, Uſage, or Custom now in force in the United Kingdom, or within Great Britain or Ireland reſpectively, for the Reſtriction or Regulation of Artificers and others, from or in going or going to Parts paſſing from any Part of the United Kingdom to Parts beyond the Seas, or to regulate the Ships or Veſſels carrying and conveying ſuch Artificers or other Perfons whatsoever, or the Maſters or Commanders, or Perſons having the Charge of ſuch Ships or Veſſels, but that all ſuch Laws, Uſages, and Cuſtoms, ſhall remain in full Force and Effect, to all Intents and Purpoſes, as if this Act had not been had or made.

LONDON : Printed by GEORGE EYRE and ANDREW STRAHAN, Printers to the King’s most Excellent Majesty, 1803.

The owner of the ship seized at Cowes, Mr. Fitzgerald, seems to have had other problems with regard to another ship booked to sail to North America just three months previously.

According to disgruntled passengers, their ship had not sailed on the expected date, and the Master, as well as Fitzgerald had been arrested for debt. Fitzgerald used the ship as surety for his debt and went to London. The stores on board the vessel were soon consumed, and life on-board became very unpleasant for all. One of the passengers, an Irishman, returned home to Ireland to get more stores for his passage, but returned to hear than another Captain had taken over the ship and immediately sacked the crew without payment. He had then declared he would make good the stores that had been consumed, but only if the passengers agreed to go to a new destination in Canada. But things only got worse for the Irishman, who had contracted a fever and was now ill in his bunk, to the distress of the other passengers. (There were widespread reports at the time Liverpool was suffering from an outbreak of typhus fever, but these reports later turned out to be exaggerated.) For his part, Fitzgerald had claimed that the original day was the result of the ship requiring repairs.

Alarming progress of typhus fever, September 1817

In Liverpool Mercury, Friday 12 September 1817.

The Dublin papers contain further accounts of the alarming progress of the typhus fever in Ireland, No part of the country is free from it. This wide and rapid extension of the disease has been effected by the wandering hordes of beggars who traverse’the island in every direction in search of food, to prolong their miserable existence. Pressed by famine they rush into every house the aspect of which affords a hope of relief, and the same breath that thanks the owner for his charity, blasts the hand that bestows it, and spreads desolation through his family.

The great number of Irish who arrive almost daily in Liverpool by the packets, cannot fail, under these circumstances, to cause some alarm for the consequences.

Contagious fever in Liverpool, September 1817

In Leicester Chronicle, Saturday 27 September 1817.

We are much concerned to learn by the following extracts that an infectious fever has manifested itself Liverpool and Paisley:— … “We are very sorry to find that a severe epidemic fever, of the typhus kind, is now raging among the lower classes of people in this town. We understand that the large and well-arranged Fever Hospital belonging to the town is actually overflowing, and that a number of patients are necessarily provided with accommodations elsewhere.”— (Liverpool Courier.)

Fever. —We do not wish excite alarm, but are anxious to guard the Public, and induce our fellow-citizens to observe every necessary precaution. We regret to learn, that the fever in the vicinity of Dublin has assumed a very malignant type. An order was last night issued from Government, for opening 50 additional beds in Stephen’s Hospital. Every bed in the House of Industry is full. An additional ward has been opened in the Hardwicke Hospital. It has extended to the county of Wicklow. Celbrldge and Leixlip have each lost an apothecary. —Irish Paper.

Another unfortunate passenger had sent his goods to America by means of another vessel expecting to get there in time to receive them, but after paying for his own passage, and that of his wife and children, being robbed of what little he had left while on board the Caledonia, and hearing that someone who owed in money in America had himself gone into debt, he now had nothing.

A Case of Uncommon Villainy, September 1817

In Morning Chronicle, Monday 29 September 1817.

A CASE OF UNCOMMON VILLAINY.

Mansion-house.—Three or four persons of respectable appearance applied on Saturday to the Lord Mayor, in consequence of the conduct of a person named Fitzgerald, a resident in this city, who has raised considerable sums by the means which we shall represent to our readers.

On the 28th June, 1817, the barque Caledonia, Thomas Armstrong, Master, owned by James and Thomas Fitzgerald, wharfingers, near the Tower, London, was advertised as a vessel for passengers from Liverpool to New York and Philadelphia. It was stated the vessel would positively sail on or about the 10th July; and, as an additional inducement for persons to engage with the vessel, it was also stated that a Mr. Ross was going out in the ship, who would settle in Philadelphia, connected with a house of the first respectability in London, and do all in his power to procure employment for such as might be in want thereof, on their arrival in America. In consequence of this advertisement, and the terms of passage being deemed cheap, about one hundred and thirty persons entered themselves as passengers on board the Caledonia, several of those persons having wives and families. From these persons James Fitzgerald, then in Liverpool, received money on account of their passage, and from some of them the whole amount. It is estimated, that in the whole he received the sum of 500l. The Caledonia did not sail on the 10th July; and in the course of the month, Thomas Armstrong, the Master, was arrested for a debt contracted by him on account of the vessel. James Fitzgerald was himself arrested; and, to procure his liberty, deposited the ship’s register with the creditor as a pledge for the debt. On the 14th of August, he set out, as alleged, for London, leaving the vessel under the command of the chief mate, to whom he addressed a note, stating he should return to Liverpool in four days, and requesting, in the interim, the mate would study the comfort of the passengers. The mate having no money or credit, the steerage passengers and himself and crew might have starved, had not the cabin passengers permitted them, from charitable motives, to participate in their sea-stores and provisions, until the whole was consumed. James Fitzgerald has not yet returned to Liverpool; but, in consequence of representations made on behalf of the distressed passengers to one of the Fitzgeralds in London, a person was sent down to Liverpool to take the command of the vessel. This person, on his arrival in Liverpool, sent a day’s provision on board for the almost famished passengers and crew, and continued thus to supply them for a few days; but suddenly ceased, alleging that he had spent all his own money. At length dispatches arrived; the present Captain assumed the command of the vessel, redeemed the register from pledge, and instantly discharged the mate and crew, refusing to pay them one shilling on account of wages. The vessel is now repairing, and, to the astonishment of the passengers, they are told she will not proceed either to New York or Philadelphia, but will clear out for St. John’s, New Brunswick. The Captain has offered to replace the sea-stores and provisions which belonged to the cabin passengers, and were consumed aboard the vessel by themselves, the steerage passengers, and mate and crew, provided the passengers will consent to proceed with the vessel to St. John’s; but this proposal has been (in general) declined, as only offering to the passengers the prospect of perishing amidst the snows of Canada.

It is almost impossible to describe the miseries endured by the passengers who are now on board the vessel. It is to be recollected that she has for nearly three months been the only place of shelter for 130 human beings, and not the slightest attention has ever been paid by any person on behalf of the owners, either to the cleanliness or comfort of the births. To most of those unfortunate passengers it is a matter of strict necessity to abide by the vessel whatever may be the result, having no other place in which to shelter their heads from the damps of night. One of them, a respectable tradesman, sent his few goods to America by another vessel (the Caledonia, taking passengers only) in the hope that he should reach the United States in time personally to receive them.— After payment of the passage money for himself, his wife, and children, he was robbed on board the Caledonia of what little money he then possessed. And to complete his misfortunes, he has lately received intelligence of the failure of a person in America indebted to him in a sum of money which was to have formed the capital for his future pursuits across the Atlantic. This passenger is now therefore completely destitute, not possessed of one shilling to purchase his children bread. Another poor man, a native of Ireland, having paid for his passage, and spent the remainder of the small sum of money with which he had set out upon his journey, in supporting life, determined upon the singular expedient of travelling back to his native country, (at one of the most distant parts of which his friends resided), for the purpose of obtaining from them the means of laying in a stock for the voyage, which he was sanguine enough to suppose was not in the air. In poverty he travelled to Ireland, and in poverty he returned; but he brought a fever which he had contracted in his journey through the diseased districts. He now lies in his hammock under the influence of the disorder, which may extend its ravages amongst the whole of the passengers, who are compelled to remain on board the vessel, in the apprehension of a more certain evil which awaits them on shore. Several of the poor passengers who have been so fortunate as to be still in possession of a little money, have proceeded to America, leaving authority with their friends to proceed against Fitzgerald for the recovery of their money. The mate and seamen have arrested the vessel by warrant out of the Court of Admiralty, to recover their wages.—The Lord Mayor, at this statement, asked whether application had been made to any authorities at Liverpool upon the subject?—The complainants replied, that although the case had excited the utmost horror in Liverpool, there seemed to be a doubt whether it came within the view of criminal prosecution.

The Lord Mayor recollected some complaint of a description, the atrocity of which nearly resembled that he had just paid attention to. It occurred on Tower-hill, and the plan seemed to have been arranged upon the same system, and nearly to the same effect. The persons employed in the deception, however, evaded the pursuit of justice. It was a case, his Lordship said, upon which the best judgment should be taken. He apprehended the failure of a criminal proceeding, but recommended that legal advice should be immediately resorted to.

The complainants begged to know whether the process of the Court of Admiralty could not be extended to the case of the unfortunate passengers. If so, their claims might be speedily adjusted, but at present they were without any effectual remedy in the midst of disasters.

The Lord Mayor again recommended application to the best legal authorities, and expressed his promptitude to assist in obtaining satisfaction for the poor creatures who were labouring under such privations.

The Ship Caledonia, September 1817

In Morning Chronicle, Tuesday 30 September 1817.

THE SHIP CALEDONIA.

We readily give insertion to the following letter and accompanying documents, respecting the case mentioned in our Paper of yesterday, to have occurred at the at Mansion House. We copied, in common with all the other Papers of yesterday, the statement referred to (with some curtailment), from a Sunday Paper, which we find, however, in this instance as in others, is not in the least to be relied upon:

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING CHRONICLE.

Sir,

There having appeared in your Paper of this day a long paragraph, entitled “A case of uncommon Villany,” evidently taken from The Observer paper of yesterday, which is by no means true, I beg that you will cause the under-written statement of what occurred before the Lord Mayor to be published in your Paper of to-morrow, as the least amends you can make for the great injury that such paragraph must occasion to me in my mercantile pursuits. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, - JAMES FITZGERALD, Joint Owner of the Ship Caledonia.

On Saturday the 20th inst. Mr. Michael Wall applied to the Lord Mayor for a summons against James Fitzgerald, as owner of the Caledonia, in order to obtain from him a return of 22l. paid by Mr. Wall for his passage to New York and Philadelphia. This summons was attended on Tuesday by Mr. Fitzgerald, who stated to his Lordship the unfortunate cause which had detained that vessel at Liverpool, and that she was undergoing repairs, from the circumstance of her having been run foul of by another vessel, and greatly injured; and Mr. Fitzgerald offered to make Mr. Wall any remuneration in his power, for the inconvenience he had sustained, and which he had since done to Mr. Wall’s satisfaction. On Friday last Mrs. Ann Boyle went before the Lord Mayor (not having seen Mr. Fitzgerald in the first instance), with a clerk of Messrs. Dacie and John, of Gray’s Inn, in order to make a similar complaint to that which had been preferred by Mr. Wall; and upon shewing to his Lordship a letter, stating that she was a passenger by the Caledonia, his Lordship said, that the owner had been summoned before him a few days ago, by a Mr. Wall, and that he had made a satisfactory arrangement with Mr. Wall, and his conduct had been very liberal; and his Lordship recommended Mrs. Boyle to call on Mr. Fitzgerald, and that he had no doubt but that Mr. Fitzgerald would satisfy her; his Lordship stated also that he could not do any thing for her. Mrs. Boyle took the advice of the worthy Chief Magistrate, and has been amply recompenced by Mr. Fitzgerald for the inconvenience she has experienced, and is perfectly satisfied with his conduct in every respect; and she declares that when she left the vessel on Wednesday last there was not any fever on board, nor at that time more than 12 grown persons and a few children; and the ship is of the burthen of 336 tons register measurement.

London to wit,

We, Michael Wall and Ann Boyle, do hereby severally make oath that the above statement of facts, as far as respects us individually is perfectly true, and we believe that the reason why the ship Caledonia did not proceed to sea was, that several of the passengers were not prepared with the certificates required by the Custom-house at Liverpool to prove that they were not mechanics MICH. WALL. A BOYLE. Sworn at the Guildhall this 29th day of September 1817, before me, M. Wood, Mayor.

The Planned Voyage to St Thomas

St Thomas in the Virgin Islands, was a neutral staging post for many of the volunteers making their way to South America to fight as mercenaries for the local “patriots” and against the governing Spanish forces in the South American Patriot war.

As one “adventurer” who served as a volunteer at the end of 1817 wrote:

I will proceed shortly to state the motives which prompted me to embark for the Spanish Main, as also the hopes excited, and the positive promises made by the Independent Agents and their partisans in this country, for the purpose of enticing British officers and others into the service of the South American Patriots …

t would be absurd to suppose that motives of a nature purely disinterested induced individuals to engage in an enter prise so hazardous and remote; but although my principal reason for accepting a commission in the service of the South American Patriots, was a sanguine hope of promoting that worldly prosperity in a foreign country, which my utmost exertions in my own had failed to procure; yet no consideration would have prevailed on me to adopt that course, had I conceived it to be one in which a gentleman, a man of honour, and a British subject, could not with consistency engage.

The termination of the late war, and consequent reduction of the British army, compelled me to resign the hopes I had entertained of procuring a commission in the military service of my own country; and the kind and earnest exertions of my friends having failed to promote my interests in any other capacity, I was led, in the month of September, 1817, seriously to turn my attention towards the contest in South America, as presenting a fertile field for honourable enterprise. At that time the public feeling was warmly interested in the dispute between the Spanish American Provinces, and the mother country; and the enthusiasm was so general and strong in favour of the Patriot cause, that, exclusive of numerous individuals daily crossing the Atlantic for the avowed purpose of joining their armies, several experienced British officers were actively engaged in the formation of regiments for the same service, who had received from Don Mendez (the accredited Agent of the Independents, in London) the rank of Colonel, and full authority to grant commissions to such gentlemen as they might consider qualified to hold the subordinate ranks in their respective regiments; …

£)n learning these particulars, and being personally acquainted with several gentle men who proposed engaging in the same enterprise, I readily accepted the offer of a friend to procure me an introduction to Colonel Gilmore, who had been appointed by Don Mendez to the command of an in tended Artillery Brigade; and my wishes were speedily gratified by receiving from the Colonel a nomination to a First-Lieutenancy in his own corps, with his positive assurance and engagement for the faithful performance of the following conditions: —

1st. That on arriving in South America I should retain the rank to which he had thus appointed me.

2dly. That I should from thence receive the full pay and allowances enjoyed by officers of similar rank in the British service.

3dly. That the expenses of outfit (with the exception of the passage to the Spanish Main) should be, in the first instance, borne by myself; but,

4thly. That I should, immediately on arriving in South America, receive the sum of two hundred dollars, towards defraying these expenses.

Such were the promises held out to me, in common with the other officers …

James Hackett, Narrative of the expedition which sailed from England in 1817, to join the South American patriots; comprising every particular connected with its formation, history, and fate; with observations and authentic information elucidating the real character of the contest, mode of warfare, state of the armies, &c. 1818.

Such hopes, it seems, were misguided, but that is another story…

Five distinct corps embarked, 1817 (1818)

James Hackett, Narrative of the expedition which sailed from England in 1817, to join the South American patriots; comprising every particular connected with its formation, history, and fate; with observations and authentic information elucidating the real character of the contest, mode of warfare, state of the armies, &c., 1818, pp. xi-xv.

AS the occurrences detailed in the following pages, relate not exclusively to that particular corps to which I was personally attached, but have likewise frequent reference to various other brigades, raised in England for the same remote service; an account of their respective commanders, strength, equipments, character of service, &c., will not, I trust, be considered superfluous, previous to entering upon the Journal.

Five distinct corps embarked at nearly the same period, for that part of the seat of war in South America, occupied by the Independent General Bolivar.

1st. A Brigade of Artillery under the command of Colonel J. A. Gilmore, consisting of five light six-pounders, and one five-and-half-inch howitzer, ten officers and about eighty non-commissioned officers and men. This corps embarked on board the Britannia, a fine ship of about four hundred tons burden, commanded by Captain Sharpe, with a crew of twenty -one able and well-conducted seamen. An immense quantity of every description of military stores had been stowed on board this vessel, com prising arms, ammunition, clothing, waggons, and, in fact, every requisite for ena bling the brigade to enter upon active ser vice immediately on arriving at its place of destination.

The uniforms and equipments of the officers were extremely rich, very similar to those of the British Artillery, and provided altogether at the expense of the individuals who had accepted commissions in this ill-fated expedition. The equipments of the other corps were likewise in every respect extensive and complete, and the uniforms remarkably rich and costly, more especially in the regiment commanded by Colonel Wilson, one of whose officers in formed me that his outfit amounted to up wards of two hundred guineas.

2d. A corps of hussars (called the First Venezuelan Hussars) under the command of Colonel Hippesley, consisting of about thirty officers, and one hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and men; uniform dark-green faced with red. This corps embarked on board the Emerald, a beautiful ship of about five hundred tons, commanded by Captain Weatherly, with a crew of upwards of thirty men and boys.

3d. A regiment of cavalry (called the Red Hussars) under the command of Colonel Wilson, consisting of about twenty officers, and one hundred non-commissioned officers and men. Uniform — full-dress, red and gold; undress, blue and gold. This corps proceeded in the Prince, a vessel of about four hundred tons burden, commanded by Captain Nightingale.

4th. A rifle corps (named the First Venezuelan Rifle Regiment) commanded by Colonel Campbell, consisting of about thirty-seven officers, and nearly two hundred non-commissioned officers and men. Uniform similar to that of the Rifle Brigade in the British service. This corps embarked on board the Dowson, Captain Dormor, a fine ship about the size of the Britannia.

5th. A corps of Lancers, under the command of Colonel Skeene, comprising, in officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, about two hundred and twenty men; who embarked on board the unfortunate ship Indian, and the whole of whom, together with the crew, perished miserably at sea, being wrecked on the island of Ushant shortly after their departure from England.

These several corps sailed from England at nearly the same time, with the intention of acting conjointly on arriving in South America, and having previous to their departure appointed the islands of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Thomas, as places of general rendezvous, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of affairs on the Spanish Main, and determining the point at which it would be most judicious the disembarkation should take place.

Hackett also provides a view of what life was like on board the ship.

On-board the ship, 1817 (1818)

Pp. 2-6.

The Britannia was a beautiful ship, and appeared to have been fitted up in every respect, with an anxiety for the comfort and ease of her passengers. She was commanded by Captain Thomas Sharpe, who, on several trying occasions, evinced the most perfect knowledge of his hazardous profession. Her freight consisted exclusively of an immense quantity of military stores, the property of a great mercantile firm in London, by whom they had been embarked, partly on speculation, but principally as I was informed, in consequence of a previous understanding with Don Mendez, that the entire cargo would be purchased by the Independents immediately on the Britannia’s arrival at the main. This property was intrusted to the care of Mr. John Ritchie as supercargo, a gentleman of whom I shall hereafter have occasion to speak in terms of grateful eulogy; and whose conduct throughout the voyage secured the esteem and respect of every individual on board. His anxious exertions were at all times contributed towards preserving good humour, contentment, and cheerfulness, whilst his generous and feeling heart, ever sympathized with those who suffered under the pressure of disappointment or distress.

A printer, armourer, and several other artificers and mechanics, likewise embarked on board the Britannia, for the purpose of exercising their respective arts in the service of the South American Patriots. Some of these individuals had been furnished by Don Mendez with letters of introduction to General Bolivar, and the Independent Government; and the printer was proceeding for the especial purpose of being attached to Bolivar’s army, for whose use a most valuable and extensive printing apparatus was sent out in the Britannia, by the merchants to whom the cargo belonged, under an assurance of being in like manner immediately purchased on the vessel arriving at her destination. The armourer had on board a very large quantity of fire-arms of various descriptions, for which he anticipated a ready sale on reaching the Spanish main.

These facts are no otherwise important, than as tending further to exemplify the extraordinary delusion at this time practised by the Patriot agents, and the strange misconception which generally existed as to the state of affairs in Spanish America.

There were, besides myself, nine commissioned officers on board, viz., Colonel Gilmore, one captain, one first lieutenant, four second lieutenants, and two surgeons; all of whom appeared in the highest spirits, confidently anticipating an honourable and successful termination to the extraordinary enterprise in which they had embarked. To me the situation was both novel and interesting. I now for the first time found myself cast on the wide and stormy sea of life, on the eve of being far removed from those who were endeared to me by the ties of kindred and friendship. My sphere of action had heretofore been confined within the limits of my native land; for although my natural feelings induced a prejudice in favour of the military, profession, until now my inclination in this respect had never been gratified. All these circumstances tended to produce thoughtfulness, and mental anxiety; nor could I, for a considerable time, shake off the feelings of melancholy with which I was oppressed, by having so recently undergone the distressing ceremony of bidding farewell to friends for whom I entertained the most affectionate esteem, and whose reciprocal regard I felt confident of possessing. The bustle, how ever, of the surrounding scene; the diffusion of mirth; and the hope which I fondly entertained of being ere long enabled to revisit my native country, gradually dispelled every gloomy sentiment, and qualified me to partake of the general happiness.

This then provides a picture of what may have motivated the adventurers to set sail for South America, and something of what life on board ship may have been like.

The Duel

But what of the duel itself?

Correspondence dated Saturday, December 12th, 1817, describing the duel, and the outcome of the Coroner’s court that quickly followed it, was widely reported in the local and national press.

A Duel Was Fought, December 1817

In Hampshire Chronicle, Monday 15 December 1817.

Isle of Wight — Cowes, Dec. 12.

On Wednesday a duel was fought here between a Major Lockyer and a Mr. Sutton Cochrane, recently a Lieutenant of the Royal Navy, which proved fatal to the latter, he having received his antagonist’s ball under the right breast which passed through both ventricles the heart and the lungs. These gentlemen, in company with upwards of 60 others, were going out as adventurers to South America in the ship Grace, Davy, master, now lying these roads wind-bound. The trifling difference between the parties arose in consequence of an unguarded expression from the deceased, the evening before, while regaling themselves with several others at an inn; he having asserted that they were all in debt and were seeking their fortunes; at which the Major felt very indignant, and asked if the other meant to include him? The deceased replied in the affirmative, and declared he would prove his assertion, which he did, by giving a very ingenious explanation, observing, if we were not in debt to any our fellow beings, we were all indebted to our Creator; but the Major not considering this explanation satisfactory, insisted on Mr. Cochrape’s meeting him the next morning at the dawn of day, who very reluctantly fell into the measure, previously declaring, that he would not fire himself but if his opponent insisted, he would receive his fire. It was agreed they should both fire at one time, but when the signal was made, it was observed the deceased never raised his arm to level his pistol, while the ball of the other’s unfortunately struck at the seat of life. When the deceased’s pistol was examined afterwards, it was found neither unstopped nor cocked. The Major and the two seconds immediately decamped across the water. The deceased was a well educated and genteel young man, about 20 years of age, and, we believe, a relative of Lord Cochrane. —A Coroner’s Inquest has sat on the body and the Jury delivered their verdict Wilful Murder against the principal and seconds, one whom we understand has been taken; and the most active exertions are now making for the apprehension of the others.

Other reports of the coroner’s inquest revealed slightly more detail.

Fatal Duel, December 1817

In Morning Herald (London), Tuesday 16 December 1817.

FATAL DUEL. The following extract gives a further account of this transaction:

“ISLE OF WIGHT, DEC. 13.— On Wednesday last an inquest was taken at the Dolphin Inn, in West Cowes, before THOMAS SEWELL, Esq. Coroner of the Isle of Wight, on view of the body of a gentleman of the name of John Sutton, who was killed in a duel, in Northwood Park, that morning. It appeared in evidence, that the deceased was one of the passengers about to proceed to St. Thomas’s in the ship Grace, now lying in Cowes Roads; that the preceding evening, the deceased, a Major Lockyer, a Mr. Redesdale, and a Mr. Hand, and other passengers, were in company together at the Dolphin; that Major Lockyer took offence at some expression made use of by the deceased, and in consequence challenged him. The parties met the next morning, Mr. Redesdale attending as second to Major Lockyer, and Mr. Hand as second to the deceased. Major Lockyer only fired at the appointed signal; the ball entered the deceased’s body between the third and fourth ribs on the right side, passed through the ventricle of the heart, lodged in the integuments on the left side, and occasioned, of course, instant death. The principal and seconds immediately fled. The Jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict of Wilful Murder against Major Lockyer and Messrs. Redesdale and Hand, and the Coroner issued his warrant for their apprehension. Mr. Hand was apprehended by Allen, (the Newport constable) at Portsmouth, on Thursday; the others are still at large.

It also turned out that the duellists were passengers of the seized ship.

Duellists were seized ship’s passengers, 1817

In Bury and Norwich Post, Wednesday 17 December 1817.

The ship Grace, from London to St. Thomas, with 80 officers on board, going to join the Spanish Patriots, put into Cowes last week, and was there seized for receiving persons on board contrary to the Passenger Act, and having no papers to prove the ship’s identity. — Major Lockyer and Lieut. Cochrane Sutton, two of the Grace’s passengers, fought a duel near West Cowes on Thursday: the latter was shot through the heart, and immediately expired. —Verdict, Wilful Murder.

So what had happened when the men had come ashore?

Having come on shore, 1817

In Evening Mail, Wednesday 17 December 1817.

Also in Morning Herald (London), Thursday 18 December 1817, and widely appears elsewhere.

FATAL DUEL.

WEST COWES, (Isle of Wight,) Dec. 14.

The most melancholy occurrence has taken place on this island. The actors were, Major Lockyer and his friend, Captain Redsdale [sic]; Lieutenant Cochrane Sutton, and his second, Mr. Hands; all passengers on board the ship Grace, now in these roads, cleared out for St. Thomas’s, but ultimately destined for the South American coast, and freighted expressly with about 60 adventurers for the Spanish Patriot cause.

On Tuesday, the 9th inst. the parties above mentioned came on shore, intending to pass the day in a social manner, and never dreaming that any of quarrel could arise among men who had previously lived on terms the most remote from jealousy or strife. In the course of the afternoon they accidentally separated; Sutton and Hands repaired to a billiard-table, where, with others they played for wine for a considerable time; and Lockyer and Redsdale retired to the Dolphin, and there remained till Sutton and Hands had joined them; which was not, however, till Sutton had drank sufficient to lose the steady control of his mind.

The hour was nine. The conversation, as natural to adventurers, turned upon the subject of their voyage. Some advanced one opinion, and some another; at length, the motive for sailing, and the necessity of continuing it, began to be investigated with some degree of warmth; this drew the following remark from Sutton:— “We are all idle, and in debt at home; can there be stronger motives for seeking activity and bread abroad?” Major Locker indignantly replied, “Sir, I am not in debt; and I desire you to be more particular in my company.” Sutton retorted: “I can prove that we are all in debt.” “It is false,” exclaimed his opponent. Sutton now, with an expression of archness and jocularity, is said to have observed, “Why, Lockyer, if we are not in debt to any human being, you will still allow that weare all in debt our Creator.”

The time was now one in the morning. The conversation ceased; Lockyer left the room, sent in for his friend Redsdale, who, instantly after, returned to the room, and whispered a message from his principal in Sutton’s ear. Lockyer next hired a boat, in which he went to the Grace for his case of pistols and, returning to the Dolphin, retired to rest. Sutton and his friends, after drinking some time longer, perambulated the town.

At eight the parties met at the Dolphin; walked at no great distance from each other to a field adjacent to the town. The seconds attended and a doctor was at hand. Twelve paces were measured, and the combatants took each his ground. On the delivery of the pistols, Sutton instructed his second to say to Major Lockyer, that he never intended to give him offence, and that he was willing to make that confession as an apology; but could not think of offering one framed in humbler terms; also, that he would not return the fire, presuming that to be shot at like a post would expiate his unintentional offence, and that he possessed the courage wil which the name of had ever before been allied. In consequence, he never unstopped his pistol.

Major Lockyer called for the signal to fire, which was given by the dropping of a handkerchief; and Sutton fell, being shot through the heart. Lockyer, Redsdale, and Hands instantly fled; the doctor remained with the body, but it was of no avail; the ball entered by the right breast, penetrated both ventricles of the heart, and burrowed itself in the integuments of the left side.

The inquest has returned a verdict of Wilful Murder against the principal and both seconds. Sutton’s second is in custody, and hopes are entertained that the two others cannot escape. The above particulars are on the Coroner’s record, and may be published without reproach.

Some weeks after he had absconded, Major Lockyer was apprehended in Portsmouth. and the ship Grace finally set sail.

Duellist apprehended, February 1818

In Hampshire Chronicle, Monday 09 February 1818.

Major Lockyer, who shot Mr. S. Cochrane in duel a few weeks ago in the Isle of Wight, was apprehended, on Wednesday last, by Webber and another, constables, at a small public-house. Called the Waterman’s Arms, in Hawk Street, Portsea, where, it appears, he had been staying ever since the unfortunate circumstance occurred. He was taken to Newport, in the Isle of Wight, on Thursday, for the purpose of being committed to Winchester Gaol to take his trial at the next Assizes.

Yesterday morning a ship called the Grace, lying at St. Helen’s, with a number of adventurers on board for South America, in the absence of the Master, who was on shore with one of the passengers procuring necessaries for the voyage, was taken possession of the passengers remaining on board, who, availing themselves of a favourable wind, turned the pilot out of the ship, and proceeded to sea.

Lockyer was charged before the Assizes at Winchester, and the events of the previous December recalled.

On trial at Winchester Assizes, March 1818

In Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, Friday 13 March 1818.

Winchester Assizes.— Orlando Lockyer and Robert Hand, charged with the murder of John Sutton, at Northwood, in the Isle of Wight. John Holding, a surgeon, was going to South America with the prisoners on the ship Grace. On the 9th of December he was with them at the Dolphin inn, West Cowes; they sat together for two hours, when Sutten (sic) remarked, that all the company were in debt. Major Lockyer replied, “Do you mean to say that I am in debt?” Sutton said, he did. Major Lockyer answered, “Whoever is in debt, I am not.” Sutton replied, “We are in debt to our Creator.” Major Lockyer left the room, and messages passed between them and a Mr. Redesdale, another passenger. Sutton said, if he (Major Lockyer) called him out, he would meet him. Next morning they met to settle the dispute by fighting a duel. Hand and. Redesdale measured the ground. Hand called Sutton and gave him a pistol, when he and Major Lockyer took their ground. Major Lockyer fired, and Sutton clapped his hand on his breast, staggered forward two or three paces and held out his hand; Major Lockyer advanced and took it. He immediately fell, and the prisoners ran away. Sutton soon after expired, Mr. Fitzgerald (brother to the owner of the vessel) deposed, that Hand seriously pressed Sutton to settle the affair, when they were going to the field; all was said that could be said to induce him to make concession for the words he had used, and not fight: this admonition he repeated several times. Several other witnesses were examined, but their testimony added no new fact to those already known. Major Lockyer and Mr. Hand both read along and very able defence. The judge, in summing up the evidence, told the jury they must not listen to the appeals from the prisoners, nor let any reports or statements before known to them prejudice the case—they must judge according to the evidence then given.. Verdict—Manslaughter.—Three months’ imprisonment each.

The trial excited much interest, March 1818

In Hampshire Chronicle, Monday 09 March 1818.

Hants Lent Assizes

…

Crown Bar. — The following prisoners were tried and received sentence as under:—

Orlando Lockyer and Robert Hands, were indicted for the wilful murder of John Sutton, at Northwood, in the Isle of Wight, on the 10th Dec. last. On the part of the prosecution, a person named Haldane, deposed, that he was a surgeon, and passenger on board a vessel named the Grace, bound for the island of St. Thomas, in which the prisoners, the deceased, and himself had taken their passage to South America. On the night of the 9th of Dec. they were in the company of several others (among whom were the prisoners and the deceased), at the Dolphin Inn, at Cowes. About 11 o’clock he heard the deceased say they were all in debt. Major Lockyer inquired if the deceased meant to say that he was in debt. The deceased replied, that he did. To which Major Lockyer then said, “whoever is in debt, I am not.” The deceased answered, “we are all in debt, if not to man, to our Creator.” Major Lockyer left the room immediately, and some person came in, and told Mr. Redesdale (Major Lockyer’s second), that a gentleman wished to speak to him.— Immediately on Redesdale’s quitting the room, Sutton said, “I will meet him if he calls me out;” and addressing the prisoner (Hands), asked if he would be his second? to which he consented. Witness saw Sutton and Hands the next morning, a few minutes before eight o’clock; they wished each other good morrow.— Redesdale looked in at the door, and asked them to walk up to the church, to which Sutton assented, and requested witness to accompany them. He went in company with Mr. Hands. On their way, they overtook Major Lockyer Mr. Redesdale, who carried a box. They walked on before witness, deceased and Mr. Hands; witness objected to going further, because he saw they were going to fight. Sutton said, “we shall go on the ground, but we will not fight”. They then followed Lockyer and Redesdale into the field where the duel took place; the deceased and Hands separated from witness, and had some conversation together, after which he went up to Major L.— Hands and Redesdale measured the distances, and they took their ground, Redesdale standing equidistant between both, with a handkerchief in his hand, which was dropped, and the prisoner (Lockyer) fired. The deceased paused for a second or two, threw away his pistol, and staggering forward, held out his hand to the prisoner, who instantly ran up to him and caught hold of it; they appeared to be shaking hands. He shortly after expired. In his cross-examination he said that Mr. Hands and the deceased were intimate friends, but that to Major Lockyer he was not even known till on board the Grace. Many other words might have passed more than he could recollect; it was between two and three o’clock before Hands endeavoured to convince the deceased that his conduct was wrong, and repeatedly persuaded him to make a concession, which he refused to do. These are the principal facts which transpired in the evidence for the prosecution.— Mr. C. Day, a surgeon, examined the body of the deceased, and found a wound on the right breast; and on opening the body, to trace the ball, found it had penetrated between the third and fourth ribs, passed through the lungs and the ventricles of the heart, and lodged in the integuments on the opposite side.— On being called upon for his defence, Major L. said he had committed to writing what he had to offer in extenuation, as in consequence of the awful situation in which he stood, he might not be so collected in his defence as was perhaps necessary. But as the laws of his country would not permit him to verify on oath what he had committed to paper, he would most solemnly aver, in the presence of that God who knoweth our inmost thoughts, that the whole was true. He then read his defence, which was very long; it stated, that the provocations he had received were of a more aggravated nature than had been mentioned, and that by a repetition of them he had been actually driven to adopt the course that led to the unfortunate catastrophe for which he was arraigned. He disclaimed all malice against the deceased, to whom he was an utter stranger, and whose intemperance had led to the melancholy event. He trusted the jury would divest themselves of every idea on the subject which they might have imbibed, from the misrepresentations published in the different newspapers respecting this case, and that they would decide upon the evidence alone.— He had been a soldier from his youth, and from the age of 15 had been in the service of his country; was present at Buenos Ayres, the battles of Roleia, Vimiera, Corunna, Badajoz, Busaco, Roderigo, and Salamanca, at the last of which he was severely wounded.— He had escaped all these dangers, and it would now depend on their verdict whether he survived this. He was a husband and a father, and on them would depend his restoration to his family and friends; and he relied with confidence on the laws of his country, which in all cases of doubt leant to the side of mercy.— Mr. Hand then read an able defence, in which he solemnly attested his own innocence, and feelingly deplored this fatal event which had deprived him of a friend whom he respected, but whose perverse temper, he was sorry to say, had caused his fall, and involved him in the unfortunate transaction for which he was now arraigned. Colonel King, of the 5th regiment, had known Mr. Lockyer several years. He had been a Captain in the 5th regiment, where he was always considered a good tempered man, and by no means of a quarrelsome disposition. No other witnesses were called; the 5th regiment being in France, the officers could not conveniently attend.— The Learned Judge (Holroyd) having recapitulated the evidence at length, and pointed out the law on the subject, the jury returned a verdict of Manslaughter against both prisoners; and they were sentenced to three months imprisonment in the County Gaol, and then to be discharged.— This trial excited much interest, and the Court was crowded to excess.

In contrast to the speed with which news travels around the world today, it took a year for the duel to be reported im Australia.

The duel is reported in Australia, November 1818

In The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sat 14 Nov 1818.

BRITISH EXTRACTS.

FATAL DUEL.—West Cowes, Isle of Wight, Dec 14.—The most melancholy occurrence has taken place on this island. The actors were Major Lockyer and his friend, Capt. Redesdale; Lieut. Cochrane Sutton, and his second Mr. Hands; all passengers on board the ship Grace, now in these roads, cleared out for St. Thomas’s, but ultimately destined for the South American coast, and freighted expressly with about sixty adventurers for the Spanish Patriot cause.

On Tuesday, the 9th instant, the parties above mentioned came on shore, intending to pass the day in a social manner, and never dreaming that any subject of quarrel could arise among men who had previously lived on terms the most remote from jealously or strife. In the course of the afternoon they accidently separated; Sutton and Hands repaired to a tavern, where, with others, they played for wine for a considerable time; & Lockyer and Redesdale retired to the Dolphin, and there remained till Sutton and Hands had insulted them; which was not, however, till Sutton had drank sufficient to lose the steady control of his mind.

The hour was nine. The conversation, as natural to adventurers, turned upon the subject of their voyage. Some advanced one opinion, and some another; at length the motive for sailing, and the necessity of continuing it, began to be investigated with some degree of warmth; this drew the following remark from Sutton:—” We are all idle, and in debt at home; can there be stronger motives for seeking activity and bread abroad?” Major Lockyer indignantly replied, “Sir, I am not in debt; and I desire you to be more particular in my company.” Sutton retorted, “I can prove that we are all in debt.”—“It is false,” exclaimed his opponent. Sutton now, with an expression of archness and jocularity, is said to have observed, “Why, Lockyer, if we are not in debt to any human being, you will still allow that we are all in debt to our Creator.”

The time was now one in the morning. The conversation ceased; Lockyer left the room, sent in for his friend Redesdale, who, instantly after, returned to the room, and whispered a message from his principal in Sutton’s ear. Lockyer next hired a boat, in which he went to the Grace for his case of pistols; and, returning to the Dolphin, retired to rest. Sutton and his friends, after drinking some time longer, perambulated the town.

At eight o’clock the parties met at the Dolphin; walked at no great distance from each other, to a field adjacent to the town. The seconds attended, and a doctor was at hand. Twelve paces were measured, and the combatants took each his ground. On the delivery of the pistols, Sutton instructed his second to say to Major Lockyer, that he never intended to give him offence, and that he was willing to make that confession as an apology, but could not think of offering one framed in humbler terms; also, that he would not return the Major’s fire, presuming that standing to be shot at like a post would expiate his unintentional offence, and that he possessed the courage with which the name of Cochrane had ever before been allied.

Major Lockyer called for the signal to fire, which was given by the dropping of a handkerchief, and Sutton fell, being shot through the heart. Lockyer, Redesdale, and Hands instantly fled; the doctor remained with the body, but it was of no avail; the ball entered by the right breast, penetrated both ventricles of the heart, and burrowed itself in the integuments of the left side.

The Coroner’s Inquest has returned a verdict of Wilful Murder against the principal and both seconds. Sutton’s second is in custody, and hopes are entertained that the two others cannot escape. The above particulars are on the Coroner’s record, and may be published without reproach.

DUEL.—APPREHENSION OF MAJOR LOCKYER.— Extract of a letter, dated Newport, Isle of Wight, 5th February, 1818:— “Yesterday was apprehended at Portsmouth, Major Lockyer, who was brought here this morning, & afterwards taken before T. Sewell, Esq. the Coroner, who immediately committed him to Winchester Gaol to take his trial at the next assizes. It may be recollected, that Major Lockyer killed Mr. John Sutton in a duel at West Cowes, on the 10th of December. The Major shot him through the heart the first fire, and Mr. Sutton did not discharge his pistol, which was found on the half cock lying near him, after Major Lockyer and the two seconds had absconded, which they did immediately Mr. Sutton fell.— On the following day Mr. Hand, the second of Mr. Sutton, was apprehended at Portsmouth by a constable of West Cowes, Major Lockyer, and Mr. Redesdale, his second, had the address to deceive the officer, and made their escape from him; and it was not till yesterday that Major Lockyer was taken, but Mr. Redesdale it still at large.