celticancestry
I do believe that Thomas Pitt was given a "bum rap" all of his life--the viewpoint of a few has given over to a thought process by many--which were not thoughts shared at all by Sir Robert Barrie, his first cousin, Henry Humphrys, or Menzies and others onboard ship under George Vancouver...
Firstly, the inro to Thomas Pitt says alot about him as a courageous man.. " in 1789-90 when Guardian struck an iceberg near the Cape of Good Hope; most of the crew elected to leave the ship, but with Pitt and the remaining crew's assistance, Riou managed to bring her into Table Bay
Does this sound like a slacker to you? Does this sound like someone who rides on the coat-tails of his father's money or prestige? Not in my book it doesn't.
He was flogged (the skin ripped off his back) as he was lashed to the cannon and the cat o'nine tails was layed to him for having given a small piece of mirror to a woman in a canoe. I hardly believe this is "romancing" --and I do not believe that that kind of TORTURE is befitting the infraction. How many of you would believe that having your back lashed that way is proper punishment?
I also believe the other charges were "trumped up".. and his having "fallen asleep" while on duty was not confirmed and in fact denied by his fellow officers--he had said he was not able to HEAR his name being called several times--and it was ASSUMED he was sleeping (which he denied and no one witnessed).
"No doubt Pitt resented being disciplined"... someone punishing me by horrendous means and not getting proof of me falling asleep on duty .. you bet there would be HUGE RESENTMENT by any and everyone who was not given their fair right to being heard. Vancouver was the judge, jury, and punisher--his word (whether he was influenced by a major illness that affected his mind and for which he died at the young age of 44) was "Law" whether it was JUST or INJUST...and many of those onboard felt it was UNJUST!!
Interestingly, Vancouver was a good one for dishing out his torturous treatments but he was very cowardly when it came to his being confronted in London... he wanted to be treated CIVILIZED by the courts when Pitt and other accused him of his mistreatment---he had treated Lord Camelford so abysmally and with vile hatred when Camelford was defenseless onboard ship with no one who could have taken an impartial view and have judged the situation fairly.
"January, he was arrested as a result of an unauthorized visit to France, a nation with which England was at war. Angered, Pitt quit the Navy and returned to London."---Camelford in actuality was there on a secret mission to try to execute Napoleon--I guess we would call it a spy mission today.. to me that says he was trying to end the war with France very quickly and definitely not someone who was a coward. He was doing a service to his country!!..
I believe that for many many years, this man's memory has been muddied by misunderstanding and remarks that have been handed down by people who just didn't bother to look any further than the surface.
Those who served under Vancouver had virtually nothing good to say about the YEARS they served with Vancouver--and I honestly believe that the reason my two ancestors were not treated horifically by Vancouver was because their uncle, Lord alan Gardner was in the Admiralty and would have caused Vancouver extreme difficulty if he had crossed him or would have mistreated Gardner's two nephews.
Firstly, the inro to Thomas Pitt says alot about him as a courageous man.. " in 1789-90 when Guardian struck an iceberg near the Cape of Good Hope; most of the crew elected to leave the ship, but with Pitt and the remaining crew's assistance, Riou managed to bring her into Table Bay
Does this sound like a slacker to you? Does this sound like someone who rides on the coat-tails of his father's money or prestige? Not in my book it doesn't.
He was flogged (the skin ripped off his back) as he was lashed to the cannon and the cat o'nine tails was layed to him for having given a small piece of mirror to a woman in a canoe. I hardly believe this is "romancing" --and I do not believe that that kind of TORTURE is befitting the infraction. How many of you would believe that having your back lashed that way is proper punishment?
I also believe the other charges were "trumped up".. and his having "fallen asleep" while on duty was not confirmed and in fact denied by his fellow officers--he had said he was not able to HEAR his name being called several times--and it was ASSUMED he was sleeping (which he denied and no one witnessed).
"No doubt Pitt resented being disciplined"... someone punishing me by horrendous means and not getting proof of me falling asleep on duty .. you bet there would be HUGE RESENTMENT by any and everyone who was not given their fair right to being heard. Vancouver was the judge, jury, and punisher--his word (whether he was influenced by a major illness that affected his mind and for which he died at the young age of 44) was "Law" whether it was JUST or INJUST...and many of those onboard felt it was UNJUST!!
Interestingly, Vancouver was a good one for dishing out his torturous treatments but he was very cowardly when it came to his being confronted in London... he wanted to be treated CIVILIZED by the courts when Pitt and other accused him of his mistreatment---he had treated Lord Camelford so abysmally and with vile hatred when Camelford was defenseless onboard ship with no one who could have taken an impartial view and have judged the situation fairly.
"January, he was arrested as a result of an unauthorized visit to France, a nation with which England was at war. Angered, Pitt quit the Navy and returned to London."---Camelford in actuality was there on a secret mission to try to execute Napoleon--I guess we would call it a spy mission today.. to me that says he was trying to end the war with France very quickly and definitely not someone who was a coward. He was doing a service to his country!!..
I believe that for many many years, this man's memory has been muddied by misunderstanding and remarks that have been handed down by people who just didn't bother to look any further than the surface.
Those who served under Vancouver had virtually nothing good to say about the YEARS they served with Vancouver--and I honestly believe that the reason my two ancestors were not treated horifically by Vancouver was because their uncle, Lord alan Gardner was in the Admiralty and would have caused Vancouver extreme difficulty if he had crossed him or would have mistreated Gardner's two nephews.