Tall Ships Brockville

Lady Washingon vs. Hawaiian Chieftain

ZACHARY KAUFMAN/THE COLUMBIAN

For all the images offered by The Columbian, be sure to visit their page.

Mail for Jane Austen Festival... LAST CALL!

Open Call to ALL Reenactors, Historians and Creative Writers!

The Royal Navy reenacting group that represents HMS Acasta will be attending the Jane Austen Festival in July of this year. One of the things that I'd like to be able to do is deliver a 'mail packet' full of letters to the various Acasta members. This is a project that I have undertaken in the past with other groups with awesome results.

This is where YOU come in!

Anyone who would like to submit a period correct letter to add to the packet is encouraged to do so! We'd love to have your contribution, however large or small! Anything added to the packet will help to enhance the historical experience for not only the Acastas who receive them, but for the public who will attend the Festival as well.

Need some ideas for what to write? Try one of these:

Letter from a friend or colleague back home.

A bill or request for payment.

An overdue payment of debt.

A letter carrying news of the war(s)

Or, use the link below to see some other types of period letters:

http://books.google.com/books/about/The_complete_letter_writer.html?id=UKIDAAAAQAAJ

Wondering what a period letter looks like? Here are some beautiful examples:

http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk/john-palmer/

Contact me to find out where to send your finished letter… or for any other additional information. 
Finshed letters will need to be to ME by the end of June so that they can find their way into the Mail Packet!

You can also find a list of the crew on the CREW PAGE

So pick up your pen and paper and get writing, and HAVE FUN!

Two Royal Navy Surgeons

Last week, Mr. Matthew Brenckle of the USS Constitution Museum contacted me after having found a page for an old online auction that offered a miniature painting of a man in a Royal Navy Surgeon's uniform. 

I contacted the auction company who directed me to the original seller. I sent them a request for a larger image and additional information along with an image of myself in my RN uniform. This was their response:

"Your uniform is an extremely faithful reproduction of the naval surgeon’s uniform from this period. I will have to take care when cataloguing a sitter wearing a uniform along these lines in the future. Sadly, we do not have any images on file for lots auctioned prior to the Bonhams-Brooks merger of 2001. Please however find scans from the hard copy of the sale catalogue for your records. 

-Head of Department - Portrait Miniatures"

Attributed to Charles François MÜLLER

A fine portrait of a Naval Officer, with side-whiskers, wearing a blue coat with white facings and gold buttons stamped with anchors, white waistcoat with gold buttons, black stock and white frilled cravat with ruby and pearl stickpin gilt-mounted rectangular papier-mache frame, inscribed on reverse: Taken at Chatham / by Monsr Muller, on / the 2nd Aug 1820, / Aged 29 Years / for Mrs Johans *** / ****

Oval 3.5 inches (89mm) High

You very rarely find images from the period of RN Surgeons in their uniforms, which is what makes this particular find of such importance. There are some lovely details included in this little painting, the hooks and eyes that are used to fasten the Surgeon's coat shut are clearly visible, as well as the anchor details on the buttons. Something else that I haven't seen on a surgeon's coat before is the white lining of the coat's interior.

The Joshua Horwood coat that I have shown you before, the official description states that the coat is unlined save the sleeves. In the photo of the Horwood collar, you can see that the interior of the collar is unlined and you can also see the top hook and eye.

Detail from The Death of Nelson, 21 October 1805, an 1807 painting by Arthur William Devis portraying the death of Horatio Nelson at 16:30 on 21 October 1805, below decks on his flagship HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar. It is now in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

History of the Royal Navy - Wooden Walls (1600-1805)

Battle Stations HMS Victory

Myths of Nelson's Navy