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Chapter 3 - 1803 - 1814
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From There Go the Ships by George Shirley
Page 51
Our squadron was ordered home, so we bid farewell
to the friends we had made during our stay at Halifax and elsewhere.
For me it was like leaving home, having been ten years on the station.
When we arrived in sight of the "White cliffs" of Old
England orders were received for us to rendezvous at Spithead, to
form part of the great fleet assembled to honour the presence of
the allied sovereigns, Emperors of Russia and Austria, King of Prussia,
and numerous princes, marshals, generals, etc., together with our
Prince Regent and a brilliant staff. After
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their inspection of the fleet and
blazing a few tons of gunpowder in saluting them, they returned
to London, and the fleet dispersed.
We were ordered to Sheerness to be paid off, and on August 24th,
1814, ended my active foreign service; but I remained gunner of
the San Domingo still, she being laid up in ordinary, so as to
be ready for active service if required. On January 1st, 1817,
I was appointed to the Redoubtable, and February 1st, 1824, to
the Pitt, 74, at Portsmouth, and on November 3rd, 1828, to the
Princess Charlotte, 120, and October 14th, 1831, to the Victory,
100, Nelson's old flagship, to be borne on her books, but lent
to the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth, as Instructor in seamanship,
rigging, and gunnery, the most important post for one of my rank
to hold in the service. The period that the students remained
was two years. We had a rigging house built with the roof high
in centre for the masts and topmasts. On the floor, which represented
the deck of a frigate and a brig, which only had two masts, there
was a
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© Peter Smith 2008
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