Video from Fort Bowyer

Acastas take Fort Bowyer

On Feb. 18-19 of this present year, a group of Acastas went ashore at Fort Bowyer (in these images portrayed by the modern day 'Fort Morgan') and discussed the Royal Navy and the War of 1812 with the multitude of visitors.

The Men at Martinique

The following is a list of Acastas who served and received the Naval General Service Medal for the capture of Martinique on 24 February 1809, for which a medal was bestowed upon the Army.

BAILEY, Walter  Ord
BIRTH, Thomas  Pte. R.M.

CAMPBELL, James  Lieut. R.M.

CRAIG, Robert  Ord

DOUGLAS, James S.  Midshipman

GRIFFITHS, Lewellyn  Pte. R.M.

HARRIS, William  Boy

JEFFERY, Samuel  A.B.

JONES, John  Carp's Crew

LAKE, William  Armourer's Mate

MARSHALL, George E.  Lieut. R.N.

ORR, Robert  L.M.

RIDSDALE, Thomas  Supn Boy

SHUTTLEWORTH, George  L.M.

SIMS, Andrew  Midshipman

STEPHENSON, Henry  Capt' After Guard

VEAL, Richard  L.M.

WEYLIE, Thomas  L.M.

WILLIAMS, Richard P.  Surgeon

From: Naval General Service Medal Roll 1793-1840 by Kenneth Douglas Morris

Sea Monster!

MUCH conversation and interest have recently been excited at New York, by the description of an aquatic monster seen in the Atlantic, by the captain, passengers, and crew of the ship Niagara. The relation appeared so fabulous, that it received little credit, until the principal persons made affidavit of what they had been eye witnesses to. The following is the substance of the depositions, as they appear in the New York papers :

Affidavits.

"G. Bailey, late master of the ship Amsterdam packet, Wm. R. Handy, late master of the ship Lydias, and Adam Knox, late master of the schooner Augusta, all belonging to New York : Have deposed before me, Wm. Bleecker, notary public, that they were passengers on board the ship Niagara, which arrived at New York from Lisbon, on the 26th April ; that on the 8th April, being in lat. 43º 49', long. 48º at meridian, saw a large lump on the horizon, bearing N.W. distant six or eight miles, which they supposed to be the hull of a large ship, bottom upwards when within gun-shot of it, discovered that it had motion; and on a nearer approach, found it to be a FISH, apparently tuo hundred feet in length, about 30 broad, and from 17 to 38 feet high in the centre: its back appeared covered with a shell, formed similar to the planks of a clinker-built vessel near the head, on the right side, was, a large hole or archway, covered occasionally with a fin, which was at times eight or ten feet out of water: these deponents intended to have sent the boat to make farther discoveries, but were deterred by perceiving that the monster was moving, and that he occasioned a great rippling and current in the sea, which would, had it approached much nearer, have endangered the boat and the vessel. At one time, they approached within thirty yards of it."

From: Page 47 of The Naval Chronicle, for 1813; VOL. XXX. (From July to December.)

Baptiste's Leeches

The Doctor's assistant, Baptiste, demonstrates one of his specialties, Phlebotomy. He uses the leeches to bleed one of his Acasta shipmates, Mr. Apple. A demonstration for the benefit of the public at Fort Morgan in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Our Final Song @ New Orleans

The crew of HMS Acasta ran the British Field Hospital at the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans in Jan. 2015 located in the town of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish, LA. The Hospital was open after every battle that took place that weekend and was intended to serve as a tribute to the men on both sides of the line that fought and died in that final battle of the War of 1812. 

On Sunday, for the final battle of the weekend, the crew dressed down to fetch wounded officers off the field. Afterword we relaxed and sang one last emotional song of the period before packing up to go home.

PAY DAY!

The Wages of other Officers, and of Seamen, with the Number of Officers allowed to a ship of each Rate, are as follows: 

(HMS Acasta was a 5th Rate, highlighted in blue)

From
Regulations and Instructions 
relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea. 
Established by His Majesty in Council.
1790s Edition, pgs 146-149

From
Regulations and Instructions 
relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea. 
Established by His Majesty in Council.
1808 Edition, pgs 142-147

Official Wedding Pictures part 2

images by Chris Stowell

The wedding photography contained in this post is placed here for your viewing only. They may not be copied or reproduced, in whole or in part for private or public use without expressly given consent from the happy couple.