Sailing the British Empire : The Voyages of The Clarence, 1858-73Main MenuSailing the British Empire: The Voyages of the Clarence, 1858-73IntroductionThe Crew / AcknowledgmentsThe Provenance of Watson's LogAdditional Sources: Logs, Crew Lists, DiariesInside Lloyd's Register"Green's Celebrated Service"Details on owner of the ship at the time of our voyage, Richard Green.The Master Builder: William PileThe Master: Joseph Watson's BiographyA Mate's ProgressThe Career of Henry Berridge, First Mate of the ClarenceThe Crew of the Clarence in 1864An annotated crew listThe 18th HussarsThe Clarence and the Cyclone of 1864Origins of Indian Emigrants Aboard The ClarenceThe Surgeon-SuperintendantWages of indentured labourers in Demerara (1870-1900)The Clarence Sails to AustraliaMutiny! Violence and Resistance Aboard "Coolie Ships"Cholera: The Killer from CalcuttaSTSC 077, Fall 2015 First Year Seminar, University of Pennsylvaniab33a025deaa7595ed0079bfc9b77ea3cb14b8d08STSC 077, The University of Pennsylvania, fall 2015
Nelson
12016-02-16T14:25:28-08:00STSC 077, Fall 2015 First Year Seminar, University of Pennsylvaniab33a025deaa7595ed0079bfc9b77ea3cb14b8d0862651Nelson, the regimental dog of the 18th Hussars.plain2016-02-16T14:25:28-08:00STSC 077, Fall 2015 First Year Seminar, University of Pennsylvaniab33a025deaa7595ed0079bfc9b77ea3cb14b8d08
Officers Lieut. Col. Richard Knox + Mrs. Knox Captain Jusdall Captain Stewart Lieut. Murray Lieut. Hughes Lieut. Yeldham + wife and two children Cornet* Watkins Cornet Chapman Cornet Poynter Adjutant** Baynes Quartermaster*** Pickles Asst. Surgeon Griffin
*Cornet- In the British military context, a low-ranking officer. **Adjutant- An aide to a senior officer. Typically handled administrative and organizational duties of the unit. ***Quartermaster- Officer overseeing the unit's camp or barracks and its supplies (provisions, ammunition etc.) Others 234 Soldiers 24 Women 4 Children ages 10+ 32 Children under age 9 1 regimental dog
The entire regiment, consisting of 31 officers and 494 non-commissioned officers and men, had transportation costs of 2,745.25£ for the officers and 4,146.26£ for the non-commissioned officers and men. Of the above, 12 officers and 234 non-commissioned officers and men sailed to India on the Clarence. This brings a total of 1,062.68£ for the officers and 1,964£ for the non-commissioned officers and men, for a grand total of 3,026.7£. The rates of 88.56£/officer and 8.39£/non-commissioned officer or man show the disparity of how the British Army treated its officers compared to its soldiers. These extra funds for the officers would go towards nicer quarters, food, and other small luxuries.
This map shows the events concerning the 18th Hussars while on board the Clarence, with the color-coded points correlating to the events shown in the legend. Use your mouse to move around the map, zoom in and out, and click on the points to show the date, latitude and longitude, and events.
While there are no diaries or journals on record that would indicate what was done to pass the time on board the Clarence, the captain's log allows small glimpses of ship life.
We know by the crew list that a fiddler was aboard the ship; it's safe to assume that he was called upon to perform often to liven up the doldrums of perpetual ocean.
It is noted several times that "divine service"-mass-was performed on the poop deck on Sundays. The memoir of a midshipman by the name of Walter Downie on another vessel of Green's (the shipping firm that owned the Clarence) ship gives insight as to what comprised divine service. A makeshift church was created by placing wooden slats on top of overturned buckets to make pews, a harmonium (a sort of portable organ) was brought to the deck, and a passenger assigned to play it, and a flag draped over a flat surface for use as a reading desk. The captain presided over the service, as there was no clergyman on board. The service itself contained a morning prayer, several hymns, a prayer to all those at sea, and a sermon from the captain himself. Downie makes note that, as the service was held in the open air, the goings-on surrounding the ship were often cause for distraction. On one occasion two monkeys that had been taken on board kept disrupting the service, which did not continue until they were caught. On another, the captain kept losing focus on what he was reading, as his attention was drawn to three sharks circling the boat. Mass was quickly halted while the captain went after the large fish with a shark-hook.
Another relatively common occurrence was the sighting of another ship. Over the first few months of the journey, the Clarence passed and signaled Portuguese, French, American, and fellow English ships destined for ports all over the globe.
Sources: 1. Abstract Log of the E.I. Ship Clarence, University of Pennsylvania Rare Books & Manuscripts Division, Ms. Coll. 832 2. Downie, Walter I. Reminiscences of a Blackwall Midshipman. London: W.J. Ham-Smith, 1912. Print.