godofredus
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2013
- Location
- Chicago
There's a blog I get called whatwouldthefoundersthink.com which posts some interesting stuff now and then. In:
On June 22, 1807, the British 50 gun ship of the line Leopard1, blasted the United States frigate Chesapeake with multiple broadsides, wounding nearly a score of men and killing three. Two of the wounded lost arms.
I note we were supposedly at peace with Great Britain at the time. However the kicker was this:
"Ignoring American protests, the men taken from the Chesapeake were tried in Halifax in August 1807. Of the four men, only one was British-born, the others were Americans who had served in the British navy. The English deserter, Jenkin Ratford, was tried and hanged from the yardarm of a ship. The Americans, were sentenced to 500 lashes and prison, although they were later returned with some ceremony, a few years later, to the Chesapeake. On July 2, President Jefferson signed an official decree ordering all British ships from American waters, although he was powerless to enforce it. In October of 1807 King George III issued an order to step up the impressment of British sailors, while President Jefferson issued an embargo of all British Trade in December of the same year."
I post this in the context of war crimes. What was recognized and not recognized. I hear folks all the time yell about "context", well here is some, albeit some 50 plus years before the war of the rebellion. Judging from the newspaper articles, the Americans regarded this as a crime; the Brits as normal business.
On June 22, 1807, the British 50 gun ship of the line Leopard1, blasted the United States frigate Chesapeake with multiple broadsides, wounding nearly a score of men and killing three. Two of the wounded lost arms.
I note we were supposedly at peace with Great Britain at the time. However the kicker was this:
"Ignoring American protests, the men taken from the Chesapeake were tried in Halifax in August 1807. Of the four men, only one was British-born, the others were Americans who had served in the British navy. The English deserter, Jenkin Ratford, was tried and hanged from the yardarm of a ship. The Americans, were sentenced to 500 lashes and prison, although they were later returned with some ceremony, a few years later, to the Chesapeake. On July 2, President Jefferson signed an official decree ordering all British ships from American waters, although he was powerless to enforce it. In October of 1807 King George III issued an order to step up the impressment of British sailors, while President Jefferson issued an embargo of all British Trade in December of the same year."
I post this in the context of war crimes. What was recognized and not recognized. I hear folks all the time yell about "context", well here is some, albeit some 50 plus years before the war of the rebellion. Judging from the newspaper articles, the Americans regarded this as a crime; the Brits as normal business.