Sea Fencibles
Encyclopedia
The original Sea Fencibles were a naval militia
established to provide a close-in line of defense to protect the United Kingdom
from invasion by France
during the Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
. Britain's defense rested on two lines: a blockade of French ports provided the first, forward line of defense, and the Sea Fencibles and Martello tower
s provided the second, coastal, line of defense. The Sea Fencibles lasted from 1798 to its disbandment in 1810, with a break of a few years after the Treaty of Amiens
. Later, other countries, including the United States, copied the idea.
to act as an anti-invasion force in coastal waters. The Sea Fencibles were Naval officer
s and volunteer seafaring men. Smugglers were particularly given to volunteering as service as a Sea Fencible exempted seamen from impressment
.
The Sea Fencibles organisation was divided into districts covering a stretch of coast, each under the command of a Post-Captain
, assisted by three to six Lieutenant
s depending on the size of his command. A senior Post-Captain of a district received £
1 15s a day, junior Post-Captains received £1 10s, and Lieutenants 8s 6d. Petty Officers received 2s 6d for each day they assembled, while Ordinary Seamen received 1 shilling and provisions (food and drink), or 2 shillings if no provisions were available. Sea Fencibles were also eligible to receive prize
and salvage money. For example, on 13 June 1805 the Sixth Rate frigate and the Sea Fencibles recaptured the Industry, off Hastings, and shared the subsequent salvage money.
The volunteers were trained in the use of arms and manned watch and signal towers, and fixed and floating batteries along the coasts and ports. They also operated a fleet of gunboat
s. A member of the Sea Fencibles would spend one day a week training. They were also allowed to choose their own Petty Officer
s at the rate of one per 25 men. Most importantly, all Sea Fencibles received a certificate that exempted them from impressment
into the Navy. The Treasury argued that the exemption from impressement was the principal reason smugglers joined as impressment was a common punishment for smuggling.
During the Peace of Amiens
in 1802–1803 the organization was disbanded, but on the outbreak of war it was quickly reformed and expanded. By the end of 1803 Sea Fencible units were re-established from Portsmouth
all the way to St Abb's Head
in Scotland
.
The Sea Fencibles' fleet consisted of small vessels such as colliers
and coasting vessels such as hoys
adapted to serve as gunboats. The owners were expected to pay for the fitting of slides, ring and eye bolts for the installation of guns, usually two forward and two aft, and in smaller craft to fit sweeps for use in calms. The Admiralty provided guns, ammunition and powder, and it required the ship owners to keep close and regular accounts of their use. The owners were under orders to co-operate with the Royal Navy
, and they were entitled to payment of compensation, according to the size of their ships and the amount of time they were required.
For instance, on 28 September 1804 the Navy held a meeting with the owners of 16 hoys
at Margate
. The Navy then hired the vessels for the defense of the coast. The Navy manned each vessel with a regular Navy man as master and nine men from the Sea Fencibles.
In February 1810, when it became clear that the threat of invasion by Bonaparte
had passed, the Sea Fencibles, which by then had hit a peak strength of 23,455 men, were disbanded.
One case occurred on 9 January 1799. The next day Captain Edward Buller, commander of the Sea Fencibles along the coast of Devon, reported that on the previous day, the brig Susannah had left Dartmouth only to fall prey to the French 14-gun privateer Heureux Speculateur. The Brixham Sea Fencibles seeing this take place, took a boat, and armed only with muskets and pikes, succeeded in recapturing the Susannah and her prize crew. Lieutenant Nicholas, with the assistance of Revenue Collector Brooking, who provided small arms and a boat, took another detachment of Sea Fencibles and, accompanied by a boat from the cutter , set off, unsuccessfully, to capture the privateer.
Another case occurred on 13 June 1804. The hired armed cutter Princess Augusta
, under the command of Lieutenant John Tracey, encountered a 14-gun French privateer off Huntcliff. During the engagement, which lasted nearly four hours, the Princess Augusta took several shot near the water line and sustained extensive damage to her rigging. Still, she suffered only three men wounded, though one desperately. The French vessel sheered off on the approach of two schooners schooners manned with Sea Fencibles from Redcar
. The French privateer reportedly was under the command of a notorious pirate with the name "Blackman".
In 1807 River Fencibles sailed to Copenhagen to help bring back some of the Danish vessels captured there after the second Battle of Copenhagen
. The Greenwich River Fencibles consisted of a commandant, three captains, six lieutenants, 24 masters, 24 mtes, and 157 gunners and privates. The Government provide pikes, but nothing else, so the men defrayed their own expenses. The Greenwich River Fencibles sent two officers and 126 men to Copenhagen. They later sent two officers and 130 men on the Walcheren Expedition, two of whom were killed. In all, about 300 Fencibles volunteered to serve at Copenhagen and about the same number served on the Walcheren Expedition.
The Sea Fencibles also acted as a coastguard or lifeboat
service. When wrecked in 1800, the Sea Fencibles attempted a rescue. Similarly, in January 1809, when was wrecked at Kingsgate, near Margate, the Sea Fencibles helped rescue the survivors.
One notable Sea Fencible was Francis Austen
, the brother of the novelist Jane Austen
. On the renewal of war with France after the brief peace, he was appointed to raise and organise a corps of Sea Fencibles to defend a strip of the Kentish coast. He subsequently married a local Ramsgate girl, Mary Gibson. The assignment was a temporary one and he went on to serve at sea again, rising to the rank of admiral.
and other groups of river tradesmen on the River Thames
voluntarily formed associations of River Fencibles. Officially established in 1803 as "Corps of River Fencibles of the City of London", by 1804 they had uniformed commissioned officers in command.
Members of the Corps escorted the barge carrying the body of Lord Nelson
along the Thames in small boats during his state funeral
in 1806. The Corps was disbanded in 1813.
's insurrection in Dublin in 1803.
In 1804, the Sea Fencibles had some 28 gun vessels of various sorts - a brig, three galliots, and the rest sloops. Generally these carried two 18-pounder guns and two 18-pounder carronades. The owners usually provided a crew consisting of four men and a boy, with the plan that Sea Fencibles would augment this cadre when the vessels had to put out to sea.
On July 26, 1813, during the War of 1812
with the United Kingdom
, the United States Congress
passed "An act to authorize the raising [of] a Corps of Sea Fencibles ... not to exceed one year [service], and not to exceed ten companies who may employed for the defense of the ports and harbors of the United States..."
At Baltimore, two companies were raised under the command of Captains Matthew S. Bunbury and William H. Addison. Though generally mariners by trade, the Sea Fencibles were equipped and organized under the authority of the War Department
. Officers received the uniform, pay, and rations of the Army, while the balance of each company (boatswains, gunners, and privates) received the uniform, pay, and rations of the Navy.
A company consisted of 107 officers and enlisted men.
Both companies at Fort McHenry
were considered part of the regular garrison. Records indicate that Captain Bunbury's company was quartered at Fort McHenry, while Addison's men were quartered at Fort Covington. Their duties consisted of manning the barges, maintaining the chain-mast boom, providing guard duty, and manning the great guns of Fort McHenry's water batteries. On February 27, 1815, Congress repealed the act establishing the Corps of Sea Fencibles.
during the War of 1812. They were raised among sea-faring men in coastal communities and seem to have all disbanded after the war. From 1833 to 1867, there was a unit of St. John Sea Fencibles that functioned primarily as an artillery unit. Its officers and men wore naval uniforms.
. John Symon's started a unit known as 'Symon's Sea Fencibles,' and were a land based unit used for various menial tasks. There is no record of this unit ever fighting, but it is assumed they took park in the Siege of Charleston Harbor in 1863. They would most likely have worn civilian clothing. Surprisingly, the group had a Hispanic officer, which was not characteristic of most Confederate units. Many of the Fencibles were disgruntled because they wanted the $15 pay offered by the Union Navy, but only received the $11 pay of the Confederates.
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
established to provide a close-in line of defense to protect the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from invasion by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Britain's defense rested on two lines: a blockade of French ports provided the first, forward line of defense, and the Sea Fencibles and Martello tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
s provided the second, coastal, line of defense. The Sea Fencibles lasted from 1798 to its disbandment in 1810, with a break of a few years after the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
. Later, other countries, including the United States, copied the idea.
Sea Fencibles
The Sea Fencibles were formed in early 1798 by order of the AdmiraltyAdmiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
to act as an anti-invasion force in coastal waters. The Sea Fencibles were Naval officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
s and volunteer seafaring men. Smugglers were particularly given to volunteering as service as a Sea Fencible exempted seamen from impressment
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
.
The Sea Fencibles organisation was divided into districts covering a stretch of coast, each under the command of a Post-Captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
, assisted by three to six Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
s depending on the size of his command. A senior Post-Captain of a district received £
£sd
£sd was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the Kingdom of England, later the United Kingdom, and ultimately in much of the British Empire...
1 15s a day, junior Post-Captains received £1 10s, and Lieutenants 8s 6d. Petty Officers received 2s 6d for each day they assembled, while Ordinary Seamen received 1 shilling and provisions (food and drink), or 2 shillings if no provisions were available. Sea Fencibles were also eligible to receive prize
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
and salvage money. For example, on 13 June 1805 the Sixth Rate frigate and the Sea Fencibles recaptured the Industry, off Hastings, and shared the subsequent salvage money.
The volunteers were trained in the use of arms and manned watch and signal towers, and fixed and floating batteries along the coasts and ports. They also operated a fleet of gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s. A member of the Sea Fencibles would spend one day a week training. They were also allowed to choose their own Petty Officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
s at the rate of one per 25 men. Most importantly, all Sea Fencibles received a certificate that exempted them from impressment
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
into the Navy. The Treasury argued that the exemption from impressement was the principal reason smugglers joined as impressment was a common punishment for smuggling.
During the Peace of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
in 1802–1803 the organization was disbanded, but on the outbreak of war it was quickly reformed and expanded. By the end of 1803 Sea Fencible units were re-established from Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
all the way to St Abb's Head
St Abb's Head
St. Abb's Head is a rocky promontory at the village of St. Abbs, Berwickshire, Scottish Borders, and a National Nature Reserve administered by the National Trust of Scotland...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The Sea Fencibles' fleet consisted of small vessels such as colliers
Collier (ship type)
Collier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships. In the late 18th century a number of wooden-hulled sailing colliers gained fame after being adapted for use in voyages of exploration in the South Pacific, for...
and coasting vessels such as hoys
Hoy (boat)
A hoy was a small sloop-rigged coasting ship or a heavy barge used for freight, usually displacing about 60 tons. The word derives from the Middle Dutch hoey. In 1495, one of the Paston Letters included the phrase, An hoye of Dorderycht , in such a way as to indicate that such contact was then...
adapted to serve as gunboats. The owners were expected to pay for the fitting of slides, ring and eye bolts for the installation of guns, usually two forward and two aft, and in smaller craft to fit sweeps for use in calms. The Admiralty provided guns, ammunition and powder, and it required the ship owners to keep close and regular accounts of their use. The owners were under orders to co-operate with the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and they were entitled to payment of compensation, according to the size of their ships and the amount of time they were required.
For instance, on 28 September 1804 the Navy held a meeting with the owners of 16 hoys
Hoy (boat)
A hoy was a small sloop-rigged coasting ship or a heavy barge used for freight, usually displacing about 60 tons. The word derives from the Middle Dutch hoey. In 1495, one of the Paston Letters included the phrase, An hoye of Dorderycht , in such a way as to indicate that such contact was then...
at Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
. The Navy then hired the vessels for the defense of the coast. The Navy manned each vessel with a regular Navy man as master and nine men from the Sea Fencibles.
In February 1810, when it became clear that the threat of invasion by Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
had passed, the Sea Fencibles, which by then had hit a peak strength of 23,455 men, were disbanded.
Active duty
There are few accounts of Sea Fencibles actually being called out to engage with the enemy.One case occurred on 9 January 1799. The next day Captain Edward Buller, commander of the Sea Fencibles along the coast of Devon, reported that on the previous day, the brig Susannah had left Dartmouth only to fall prey to the French 14-gun privateer Heureux Speculateur. The Brixham Sea Fencibles seeing this take place, took a boat, and armed only with muskets and pikes, succeeded in recapturing the Susannah and her prize crew. Lieutenant Nicholas, with the assistance of Revenue Collector Brooking, who provided small arms and a boat, took another detachment of Sea Fencibles and, accompanied by a boat from the cutter , set off, unsuccessfully, to capture the privateer.
Another case occurred on 13 June 1804. The hired armed cutter Princess Augusta
Hired armed cutter Princess Augusta
The Hired armed cutter Princess Augusta served the Royal Navy from 12 July 1803 to 2 May 1814. She was armed with eight 4-pounder guns, had a complement of 26 men, and was of 70 tons burthen...
, under the command of Lieutenant John Tracey, encountered a 14-gun French privateer off Huntcliff. During the engagement, which lasted nearly four hours, the Princess Augusta took several shot near the water line and sustained extensive damage to her rigging. Still, she suffered only three men wounded, though one desperately. The French vessel sheered off on the approach of two schooners schooners manned with Sea Fencibles from Redcar
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside resort in the north east of England, and a major town in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It lies east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast...
. The French privateer reportedly was under the command of a notorious pirate with the name "Blackman".
In 1807 River Fencibles sailed to Copenhagen to help bring back some of the Danish vessels captured there after the second Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
. The Greenwich River Fencibles consisted of a commandant, three captains, six lieutenants, 24 masters, 24 mtes, and 157 gunners and privates. The Government provide pikes, but nothing else, so the men defrayed their own expenses. The Greenwich River Fencibles sent two officers and 126 men to Copenhagen. They later sent two officers and 130 men on the Walcheren Expedition, two of whom were killed. In all, about 300 Fencibles volunteered to serve at Copenhagen and about the same number served on the Walcheren Expedition.
The Sea Fencibles also acted as a coastguard or lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
service. When wrecked in 1800, the Sea Fencibles attempted a rescue. Similarly, in January 1809, when was wrecked at Kingsgate, near Margate, the Sea Fencibles helped rescue the survivors.
Notable Sea Fencibles
Several naval officers spent some time as a Sea Fencible.One notable Sea Fencible was Francis Austen
Francis Austen
Sir Francis William Austen, GCB was a British officer who spent most of his long life on active duty in the Royal Navy, rising to the position of Admiral of the Fleet.-Background:...
, the brother of the novelist Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
. On the renewal of war with France after the brief peace, he was appointed to raise and organise a corps of Sea Fencibles to defend a strip of the Kentish coast. He subsequently married a local Ramsgate girl, Mary Gibson. The assignment was a temporary one and he went on to serve at sea again, rising to the rank of admiral.
River Fencibles
In 1798 watermenWatermen
Watermen are river workers who transfer passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in Britain and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway, but other rivers such as the River Tyne and River Dee, Wales also had their watermen who formed guilds in...
and other groups of river tradesmen on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
voluntarily formed associations of River Fencibles. Officially established in 1803 as "Corps of River Fencibles of the City of London", by 1804 they had uniformed commissioned officers in command.
Members of the Corps escorted the barge carrying the body of Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
along the Thames in small boats during his state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
in 1806. The Corps was disbanded in 1813.
Irish Sea Fencibles
At the same time as they were building Martello towers and establishing Sea Fencibles on the British coasts, the British were doing the same on the Irish coasts. There were some 20 Sea Fencible districts, though the number of men and boats per district varied widely. The British also were concerned about the reliability of the Irish Sea Fencibles, especially given Robert EmmetRobert Emmet
Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland...
's insurrection in Dublin in 1803.
In 1804, the Sea Fencibles had some 28 gun vessels of various sorts - a brig, three galliots, and the rest sloops. Generally these carried two 18-pounder guns and two 18-pounder carronades. The owners usually provided a crew consisting of four men and a boy, with the plan that Sea Fencibles would augment this cadre when the vessels had to put out to sea.
United States Sea Fencibles, 1813-1815
- "... within the five cities of Boston, New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Philadelphia, Baltimore and NorfolkNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, there are a large number of seafaring men, who from their hardihood and habits of life, might be very useful in the defense of the seaboard, particularly in the management of the great guns...." - (Report, U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee, June 1813)
On July 26, 1813, during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed "An act to authorize the raising [of] a Corps of Sea Fencibles ... not to exceed one year [service], and not to exceed ten companies who may employed for the defense of the ports and harbors of the United States..."
At Baltimore, two companies were raised under the command of Captains Matthew S. Bunbury and William H. Addison. Though generally mariners by trade, the Sea Fencibles were equipped and organized under the authority of the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
. Officers received the uniform, pay, and rations of the Army, while the balance of each company (boatswains, gunners, and privates) received the uniform, pay, and rations of the Navy.
A company consisted of 107 officers and enlisted men.
| No. | Rank | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Captain | $40 |
| 1 | First Lieutenant | $30 |
| 1 | Second Lieutenant | $25 |
| 1 | Third Lieutenant | $23 |
| 1 | Boatswain | $20 |
| 6 | Gunners | $20 |
| 6 | Quarter-gunners | $18 |
| 90 | Privates | $12 |
Both companies at Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...
were considered part of the regular garrison. Records indicate that Captain Bunbury's company was quartered at Fort McHenry, while Addison's men were quartered at Fort Covington. Their duties consisted of manning the barges, maintaining the chain-mast boom, providing guard duty, and manning the great guns of Fort McHenry's water batteries. On February 27, 1815, Congress repealed the act establishing the Corps of Sea Fencibles.
Canada
There were Sea Fencible units attached to the battalions of St. John, Charlotte and Northumberland counties in New BrunswickNew Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
during the War of 1812. They were raised among sea-faring men in coastal communities and seem to have all disbanded after the war. From 1833 to 1867, there was a unit of St. John Sea Fencibles that functioned primarily as an artillery unit. Its officers and men wore naval uniforms.
Civil War
There were sea fencibles in the Confederate Army in CharlestonCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. John Symon's started a unit known as 'Symon's Sea Fencibles,' and were a land based unit used for various menial tasks. There is no record of this unit ever fighting, but it is assumed they took park in the Siege of Charleston Harbor in 1863. They would most likely have worn civilian clothing. Surprisingly, the group had a Hispanic officer, which was not characteristic of most Confederate units. Many of the Fencibles were disgruntled because they wanted the $15 pay offered by the Union Navy, but only received the $11 pay of the Confederates.