The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1876-06-16

it Affected his vessel, and he represented
Fahie, who was Comelford's senior
There were high words, and threats ol
arrest on Camelford's part; and twelve
of Peterson's crew came up armed. II
is not quite clear whether Peterson sem
for them; but he certainly drew them uI
in line, and barred his own cutlass
Camelford Immediately drew out his OWL
marines and ranged them in line oppo-
site Peterson's men. He then came up
to Peterson, with a pistol, and said,
Lieutenant Peterson, do you still per.
sist in not obeying my ordersg"
"Yes. my Lord" said Peterson, "I
do persist"
Thereupon Camelford put his pistol to
Peterson's very breast and shot him dead
on the spot. He fell backward and never
spoke nor moved.
Upon this bloody deed the men retired
TO their respective ships, and Camelford
surrendered to Capt. Matson, of the
Beaver sloop, who put him under parole
arrest. He lost little by that, for
the populace of st. Johns wanted to
tear him to pieces. A coroner's jury
was summoned, and gave cavalier YER
dict that Peterson "lost his life in a
mutiny," the vagueness of which makes
it rather suspicious.
Camelford was then taken in the Beaver
sloop to Martinique, and court-martial
sat on him, by order of Rear-Admiral
Hervey. The court was composed of
the five captains upon that station, viz.
Galley, Brown, Ekers, Burney, and Main
waring, and the judgment was delivered
in these terms after the usual prelimi-
nary phrases "The court are unani-
mously of opinion that the very extra
ordinary and manifest disobedience of
Lieut.. Peterson to the lawful commands
of Lord Camelford, the senior officer at
English harbor, and his arming the
ships company, were acts of mutiny
highly injurious to his Majesty's service ;
the court do therefore unanimously ad-
Judge that Lord Camelford be honorably
acquitted"
Such was the Judgment of sailors sit
ting in secret tribunal. But think q
Judge and jury sitting under the pub
lie eye and sitting next day in the news
papers wonld have decided somewhat
differently.
Camelford may or may not have been
the senior officer in the harbor Peter
son, in what pertained to the Perdrix,
was Fahie, and Fahie was not only
Camelford's senior, but his superior in
every way, being a post-captain.
Lieutenant" is French word, with
clear meaning, which did not apply to
Camelford, but did to Peterson lieu
tenant, or lOcttnt teaens. l think, there
fore, Peterson had clear right to resist
in all that touched the Perdrix and that
Camelford would never have ventured
to bring him to a court-martial for mere
disobedience of his order. In the court
martial Camelford is called command
er but that is term of courtesy, and
its use, under the peculiar circumstances,
seems to indicate a bias he had only a
lieutenant's grade, and in that grade was
Peterson's junior.
Much turns, however, on the measure
and manner even of just resistance,
and here Peterson was prima facie to
blame. But suppose Camelford had
threatened violence The thing looks
like an armed defense, not meditated
attack. For the lieutenant in command
of the Favorite to put pistol to the
lieutenant in charge of the Perdrix and
slaughter him like dog, when the mat
ter could nave been referred on the spot
by these two ieutenants to their un-
doubted superiors, was surely most
rash and bloody deed. Indeed opinion
in the navy itself negatived the judgment
of the court-martial. So many officers
who respected discipline looked so coldly
on this one-sided disciplinarian, Camel
ford, that he resigned his ship and re-
tired from the service soon after.
THE cAPRICCIos OF CAsrELFoRD.
It was his good pleasure to cut rusty
figure in his Majesty's service. He
would not wear the epauletts of COM
mander, but went about in an old lieu
tenants coat, the buttons Of which, ac-
cording to one of his biographers,
"were as green with verdigris as the
ships bottom" He was q tartar, but at
tentive to the comforts of the men and
very humane to the sick. He studied
hard in two kinds, mathematical science
and theology the first was to make him
q good captain, the second to enable him
to puzzle the chaplains, who in that day
were not so versed in controversy as the
Jesuit fathers.
uOiuc Will CbClsOu .
on his hands, he seems to have burned
to recover his own esteem by some act
of higher courage than shooting q
brother officer q bout portant, and he
hit upon an enterprise that certainly
would not have occurred to a coward.
He settled to invade France single
handed and shoot some of her rulers,
pour encourdger les a,tres. He went
to Dover and hired boat. He was sly
enough to say at first he was bound for
Deal but after bit, says our adven-
turer, in tones appropriately light and
cheerful, "Well, no; on second
thoughts, let us go to Calais 1 have
some watches and muslins can sell
there. Going to France in that light
and cheerful way, was dancing to the
gallows so Adams, the skipper of the
boat, agreed to go with him for f10, and
went directly to the authorities. They
concluded the strange gentleman was
going to deliver up the eisland to France
SO they let him get into the boat and
then arrested him. They searched him,
and found him armed with brace OF
pistols, dagger, and letter Of intro
duction in French.
They sent him upto the privy council,
and France escaped invasion that bout.