Autograph Letter Signed

This British officer of the Royal Navy saw much action in the Bourbon War (1778-83) and worked his way up the ranks to Rear Admiral. ALS, 2pp (single leaf), 8" X 12½" (lettersheet), n.p., 1 October 1810. Addressed to "The Hon'ble G.C. Berkeley / Admiral of the Blue and / Commander in chief of / HM Ships & Vessels." Very good. Minor edgewear. In July 1810 Poulden was named Principal Agent for Transports at Lisbon; his superior would have been Berkeley (1753-1818), who at this time was in Lisbon in charge of the supply system (men, food and weapons) for Wellington during the Peninsular War, in which Great Britain, Spain and Portugal fended off French troops during the Napoleonic Wars. In this letter, Poulden seeks guidance about "an occurrence which took place yesterday on board the British Hero No 132 Transport" in which a deserter "had legally forfeited his wages and clothes." The more important issue was "the effect this measure of the officers of the [HM Ship] Melpomene will have on the crews of the other Transports and trust you will have the goodness to order the officer's conduct in this transaction to be inquired into...." He continues: "The effect indeed has already shown itself in ten more men of the crew of the British Hero deserting from her into His Majesty's troop ship the Melpomene. In consequence of the said desertion I have given an order (waiting your pleasure & further direction) not to deliver up the Clothes of these ten men on his peril, considering it less consequential to run the risk of a verdict in a British Court of Judicature in outstepping the law in this instance against such a step -- rather than compromise and not put a stop to such a dangerous president at this particular juncture and so subversive a system to the Government of the Crews of His Majesty's Transport Service. As other men can be procured for the manning of the British Hero, it is my intention to make them an example to the rest of the Transports' crews...." Fascinating look at the complexities of the bizarre situation in which Royal Navy sailors "jumped ship" only to board another Royal Navy ship. Interestingly, the HMS Hero was a 74-gun ship launched in 1803; on Christmas day 1811 it wrecked off the coast of Holland and the entire crew was lost. How the fate of these deserters was adjudicated remains a mystery, but of course the desertion of sailors during wartime was of utmost concern to the Admiralty and would have been dealt with accordingly.