Norwich bulletin., 1916-02-19

Athouan there were nazaroe m English and French privateers, dur Ing the period which followed, the merchants, rather than have their ves- sels tied up st the wharves, continued to send them out to West Indian ports. Dr. Dwight, ir his travels, wrote in the early part of the century:
 Within the last twenty years the trade has suffered severely from sev-
 eral causes; particularly from fires latter source no town within my knowledge has experienced greater losses, in proportion tc its trading capital. Its commerce, however, is stIll considerable"
 During May, June and July, when the embargo was in force seven brigs and two schooners belonging to Nor wich, took advantage of the chance and cleared. al for Martinico--which gives a good idea Of the hustle and enter prise of the townspeople.
 Still, the trade declined, because of the increasing risks. The following item explains why:
 Arrived in New York, May 1910, brig
 Sally. Bingley, of Norwich, 27 days from Antigua. She had been taken by the French, retaken by the English, carried into Antigua, paid ne-eighth for salvage and costs, and was then al- AO~OA NO ACbdAh
 During 18f1, cargoes of considerable value were brought into this port from Cayenne, Demerara, St. Michael and
 St. Bartholomew-in all eight or ten
 arrivals; but in 1872 only three en-
 war. They were:
 26 Feb. arr. sip. windham, John Doane, from St. Bartholomew, with
 goods to D. Ripley, J. H. Strong, T. M. and Joseph Huntington.
 19 June, arr. sch. Harriet, Alexander
 Allyn; goods to D. Lathrop, c. Eels and Lyman Brewer.
 25 June, arr. brig Park, Joseph Bing- l ley, from Angustura; goods to D. Rip | ley, Augustus Perkin, etc.
 These were the last arrivals before the war; and with them, the historians ! tell us. the palmy days of the Norwich West Indian trade terminated. | During the six years preceding the war, more than a thousand merchant vessels had been captured and carried into British ports for adjudication, and | either wholly confscated, or compell- | ed to pay large sums for salvage or redemption. But the great indignity l impressment and search, which the l British claimed and maintained as a right, and by which many an Ameri- | can seamen was forced into involun- 1 tary service aboard British warship. 1 Two notable instances of such im- l pressment are recorded. In 1797, Avery ! Tinker, of Norwich, was impressed
 from on board the merchant ship l Hope. At foreign port he managed 1 to escape, and after many adventures
 succeeded in obtaining refuge on board
 an American vessel, but on the pas
 sage home be was accidentally knock | ed overheard and drowned ! Charles Barker, son of Stephen Bar i ker, of Norwich, enlisted in 179S on l the armed schooner Galiot which | sailed from New York for some foreign port. under Capt. Hudson. During the vayage, the schooner was upset in a
 squaf, and these on board were taken
 from the wreck by New York brig bound for Cadiz. There they found
 the port blockaded by an English
 squadron, the commander of which
 overhauled the American brig, i'm
 pressing the whole of the shipwrecked crew except Capt. Hudson, transfer
 ring them to the Edgar, "A.
 Three years afterwards, the father
 of young Barker received a letter
 from him, dated on board the Edgar in | the Baltic Sea, June 9th. 1901, short | ly after the terrible battle of Copen- hagen, regarding which the young man f gave some of the details. But he
 wrote chiefly to ask that the docu- | ments necessary to procure his release l be sent him, that he might return to his country and home. The papers were forwarded and repeated applica- | tfons afterwards made in his behalf; but in vain.
 Others of the seamen were never
 heard from by their relatives and 1 their fate added to the tragedies which had to do with shipping during | those troublesome times.