Impressment
Impressment (the Press) was the act of forcing men to serve in the navy. The people who were "pressed" to join the navy were usually young men. A naval officer would lead a press gang and force men onto warships where they were made to serve as sailors. Their families (if they had families) seldom knew where they had been taken.
This was a normal practice in the Royal Navy during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. Many people said that it should be stopped, but the Navy said it was a good way to get sailors who were needed to defend their country. After the Napoleonic Wars the need for sailors was less and the Navy stopped impressing them.
Impressment Media
The Press-gang, oil painting by Luke Clennell
Captain John Quilliam RN. Quilliam was impressed into the Royal Navy in 1794.
This tablet commemorates the Admiralty's apology for the murder of two quarrymen (Alexander Andrews and Rick Flann) and one blacksmith (William Lano), during an illegal attempt to impress them on the Isle of Portland in Dorset on 2 April 1803. A young lady, Mary Way, was also murdered according to a Coroner's inquest. The illegality of the raid was confirmed in the London and local courts.
Grave of Mary Way, shot by press-gangers during anti-impressment demonstrations
Other websites
- The Impress Service, basic article on "press gangs" in British ports, charged with impressing sailors into the Navy.