Page 6 - Martin Downs Bulletin - October '24

Page 6, Martin Downs

BooK review

American Sanctuary: Mutiny, and other punishments for minor crew offenses became

Martyrdom, And National Identity unbearable and sparked the bloody insurrection that ended
in the death of the captain and other officers.
In The Age Of Revolution One of the main leaders of the mutiny was a man whose
name throughout this book varies between Thomas Nash
(if he was actually Irish) and Jonathan Robbins, depending
By Nils A. Shapiro upon whether his claim to have been an American from
I cannot recall ever Connecticut was true or not.
enjoying a scholarly work Eventually, after the mutiny Robbins made his way to
of early American history the U.S. and was tracked down by the British government,
so interestingly and vividly which demanded that President John Adams turn over the
told, so extraordinarily “mutineer and murderer” to Britain for punishment. It was
researched and impressively awkward timing, for Adams was then in the process of
detailed, exciting as any ratifying an economic trade treaty with Britain that had
novel, and as timely in just been negotiated.
subject as next month’s Adams had to weigh the success of the treaty against Eventually—and critical in light of today’s political
presidential election! the American public’s anger about the British policy and climate and immigration crisis—the American people
The date was September actions of impressment on the high seas and the idea of eventually decided that, whether or not Jonathan Robbins
21, 1797. The event was a vicious mutiny by the crew of turning over to Britain a claimed American citizen who (or Thomas Nash, if that was his real name) was in fact an
a British naval vessel, HMS Hermione, in the Caribbean “had the right to regain his freedom after having been the American citizen, anyone fleeing from oppression should
off the coast of Puerto Rico. Little remembered today, its victim of such impressment” and return home. be able to find sanctuary in the United States and not have
aftershock was to lead directly to the election of Thomas Adams’s decision to turn Robbins over to Britain— to fear being turned away. It is to this day at the heart of our
Jefferson over the incumbent John Adams as president of where he was executed by hanging without a trial— nation’s self-image, symbolized by the Statue of Liberty in
the United States … and the resulting lasting image of Adams’s Federalist Party’s defense of his decision, and the New York Harbor and the inscription on her base addressed
America as a sanctuary of freedom for those fleeing from consequences of Jefferson’s Republican Party’s national to “the huddled masses yearning to be free.”
persecution in other lands—an issue that dominates today’s electoral campaign focused on driving the public’s anger, This is the story of how and when that all started. I
political campaigns just as form the major part of this compelling story. loved every word of it.
it did the one in 1800.
I must admit that,
although it was published CluB news
in 2017, I had never heard
of American Sanctuary
and was fortunate to come
across it by accident on a Finding Cause Of Death medical genetics after a relative’s sudden death, and she
table stacked with books has applied her research skills to her family genealogy.
while shopping in a market. With The Martin County Zaccone has been conducting genealogy research
Its author, A. Roger Ekirch, for most of her life. She has a Bachelor of Science in
is a professor of history at Genealogical Society journalism and a Master of Arts in history. A member
Virginia Tech, has written of the MCGS board of directors, she currently serves as
four earlier books, received Do you know or ever wonder how your ancestors chair of the Communications Committee.
a Guggenheim Fellowship died? Was it an infectious disease, a chronic illness, Free and open to the public, the meeting will be at
and is widely recognized an injury or some other cause? At the Martin County the Blake Library, 2351 S.E. Monterey Road in Stuart,
as one of our finest historians. Genealogical Society’s (MCGS) November meeting, from 1 to 3 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15. The meeting begins
The details that enrich this narrative, garnered from the genealogists Janet Mar and Janene Zaccone will present with social time followed by a business meeting; the
author’s extraordinary research, add enormously to the “Cause of Death: Past, Present and Future.” They will presentation is at 2 p.m. If you can’t attend the meeting
overall experience, as do the many contemporary portraits explain how our ancestors’ deaths can tell us about their in person, it will be available on Zoom. For registration
and illustrations from that period. lives, lead us to new sources of information for our details, go to mcgsfl.org/events.
Revolutionary and early American history being one genealogy research and even alert us to our own risk of The Martin County Genealogical Society offers a
of my preferred reading tastes I was surprised never to developing heart disease, diabetes or cancer. variety of services at the Genealogy Room in the Blake
have heard of the very significant event that is the pivotal Mar is a retired nurse practitioner and university Library including an extensive research library, access to
subject of this book: the mutiny aboard HMS Hermione. professor. Much of her nursing career focused on several genealogy websites and assistance from MCGS
Nor, shockingly, was it ever mentioned in any class, even medical research, specifically the study of investigational volunteers. For more information about membership,
through college. drugs for FDA approval. She became interested in activities and services go to mcgsfl.org.
At the time the mutiny took place—after the United
States had already won the Revolutionary War several
years earlier and declared itself an independent nation—
one of the most objectionable policies of the British
crown and its navy was the practice of “impressment”: the
stopping and boarding of other nations’ vessels, capturing
members of their crews and forcing them to sail and work
as seamen on British ships, most likely never to see their
families again.
Such was the case of many on the Hermione’s crew as
it sailed near the island of Puerto Rico on that September
day in 1797. Adding to what was already a tinder box of
a situation was the fact that this ship’s captain, Admiral
Hugh Pigot, was a disciplinarian so stern that whipping

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