I took the Tube for the first time ever, and I managed not to get us too lost or confused en route. Of course, on the way there, I was given a little guidance by a kind man who called me "love" three times in one sentence... I didn't really mind–we got to the Cutty Sark stop, no guess and check method necessary. But, full disclosure, I am starting to imagine every man who has a Cockney accent as some distant relative of Nick Moran. Oops.
Anyway, I spent seven hours today sitting in the Caird Library. I didn't leave for food, or to stretch, or to wander the museum, or to find my dad, or to go to the toilet... I didn't leave for any imaginable human reason, because I'm crazy.
I won't bore you with the details--I took 267 copies on my camera, on top of another 40-something on my phone after the camera died. But, here are just a couple highlights, in the rare and unlikely event anyone besides me cares:
-The Good Governor's arrival in Charleston
- Campbell visiting the Tamar days before he fled on September 15, 1775
- The men on Campbell's ship being rowdy; lots of "drunk'ness," "Mutiny," "Neglect of Duty," "Striking Officers," "Falling Asleep at Post," &c &c.
- Sailing to Savannah, St. Augustine, Cape Fear, and hanging out off Sullivan's Island/Charles Town Harbor/Charles Town Bar--basically my dream vacation
- Basically every British ship's perspective on the battle of Sullivan's Island
- The Rebels (or "Rebells," depending) stirring up a load of trouble for the Royal Navy, as per usual
So, we have Campbell's arrival on board HMS Tamar...
ADM/L/T/6 - September 15, 1775
...and LWC's departure from New York aboard the Cherokee a year and a half later.
ADM/L/C/284 - February 19, 1777
Lastly, as a special treat, I got to go through a young Horatio Nelson's log (ADM/L/B/175) for Sir Peter Parker's flagship, HMS Bristol, in the Caribbean during 1778. Since Parker was the commander in charge of the first attack on Sullivan's Island in June 1776, I figured it would be "helpful" to "further my understanding" of Parker's involvement in the war after Sullivan's Island. So I touched 20-year-old Nelson's handwriting and signature and pen blots and the paper his fingers touched. I really can't imagine it getting any better than that. Because it won't.
Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.
I'm going to pretend Nelson signed my blog now. I mean, what else are you supposed to do with a million pictures of his signature anyway?
"I'm Horatio Nelson and I approve this blog."
Don't mind me. I'm just losing my mind...in eighteenth century naval documents that my dad didn't even know existed.
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