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Abstract
This article explores the apparent paradoxes in representations of the British Jack Tar in order to reconsider the ways in which his figure came to embody idealised attributes of manliness in the period 1760–1860. Naval historians have revealed that images of sailors were closely related to ideas about class, sex, and nation, identifying distinctive types of Jack Tar such as the drunken carouser, the fatalistic, fearless but simple Tar, and the domesticated family man. Notions of heroism changed over the period too. The officer was the hero in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and notions of valour only extended to the lower ranks by the mid-nineteenth century. Thus the picture is of the ordinary tar emerging as manly hero once his character was scrubbed clean of its less salubrious aspects. This article argues that there were not diverse and distinct Jack Tars successively climbing the ladder of morality over time. The tar was not sanitised and civilised, but was given feelings. In particular, tears identified the sailor as a man of feeling as well as a fearless fighter, stressing his tenderness, fidelity, duty, and self-sacrificing love for his brother sailor, his ‘Poll’, and his nation. But he still loved grog, dance, and girls. The Jack Tar was thus the everyman, which aided his popularity and democratised the manly hero.
Notes
1. Lincoln, Representing the Royal Navy, 3. For an appealing carousing sailor, see British Museum 2010, 7081.3208, ‘The sailor's pleasure’, printed for R. Sayer and J. Bennett, 26 Oct. 1781.
2. Lincoln, Representing the Royal Navy, 32.
3. Ibid., 29.
4. Land, War, nationalism, 89, 21.
5. McGregor, ‘Popular press’, 146.
6. Conley, From Jack Tar to Union Jack.
7. Kennedy Narratives, 171–8
8. Land, War, Nationalism, 95–6.
9. See, for example, Chalus, ‘Fanning the flames’; Williams, ‘Nelson and women’.
10. George III coverlet, English, 1803–5, Victoria and Albert Museum, T.9–1962. For discussion, see Riding, ‘His constant Penelope’.
11. Ibid., 158–9.
12. Williams, ‘Nelson and women’, 71. For another example of such a coverlet, visit http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O165075/bed-cover-unknown/. An enlarged view of the central image is also available at http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/18494.
13. Beaton, ‘Materializing the Duke', 102.
14. Robinson, British tar, 429.
15. The painting was by H. Corbould and engraved by H. Bromley and R. Ackermann.
16. For lowering costs of engravings and printing, and use of transfers onto ceramics from the mid-eighteenth century, see Morgan, ‘Material culture', 129–30.
17. Bewick, Memoir, 114.
18. Beaton, ‘Materializing the Duke', 101.
19. Morgan, ‘Material culture', 141, 145.
20. McGregor, ‘Popular press’.
21. For example, G. De Berenger, ‘A scene on the main deck’, 1818, with fairly coarse figures of sailors, who are, variously, playing cards, reading letters, dancing, kissing, and greeting women, and watching two women fight. In Robinson, British tar, facing 96. Charles Dibdin, ‘Nothing like grog’, in Dibdin (ed.), Songs, naval and national, 7–8. This shapes a description in a recent study, which neatly separates the romanticised tar from Jolly Jack, see Kennedy, Narratives, 37.
22. Robinson, British tar, 149.
23. Cook, ‘Fragile masculinity’, 103–13, 115–19, 122–6, 127–30
24. O'Keefe, ‘The hardy sailor braves the ocean’, in Fairbairn (ed.), Universal songster, vol. 2, 125.
25. George Morland, ‘The sailor's farewell’, c. 1790, oil on canvas, on permanent loan to the Winnipeg Art Gallery from the City of Winnipeg, A.A. Heaps collection.
26. Robinson, British tar, facing 54.
27. Creamware black transfer-printed jug, c. 1790 (NMM, AAA4489); creamware jug, transfer-printed in pale sepia, (AAA4491).
28. Charles Mosely, ‘The silor's farewell’, n.d. [eighteenth century], NMM, PAF 3763.
29. Romer, ‘Jack Jolly’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 84; also see Prince Hoare, ‘From aloft the sailor looks around’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 106, where the sailor has both ‘lovely Sue’ and ‘charming Bet’ on his mind.
30. Robinson, British tar, facing 130.
31. Hitchcock and Cohen, English masculinities.
32. Robinson, British tar, facing 60.
33. Ibid., facing 178.
34. Ibid., facing 290.
35. In Universal songster, vol. 2, 265.
36. ‘Harry Bluff’, Universal songster, 219.
37. Universal songster, vol. 2, 90.
38. Land, War, nationalism, 6.
39. Thomas Rowlandson, ‘The sailor's return’ (NMM, PAD4768).
40. British Museum, mezzo tint, 1777. Also in Robinson, British tar, facing 280. He pairs it with a verse about a sailor returning from war with prize money.
41. 85 per cent of ordinary seamen were 25 or under and it is estimated that no more than a quarter of naval men were married, mostly the officers, petty officers and older seamen. Rodger, Wooden world, 78–9.
42. NMM, AAA6056, eartherware figure group, ‘Departure’, early 19th century; AAA6059, eathernware figure group, ‘Return’, early 19th century.
43. Cited in Chearful companion, ‘Sailors Songs’, 154 and in Universal songster, vol. 2, 383.
44. NMM, PAF3801, Charles Mosley, ‘The sailor's return’, c. 1750.
45. There are a couple of versions – check which is clearest.
46. Land, War, nationalism, 77–8, 83–5, 102.
47. Robinson, British tar, 235. No date given.
48. Universal songster, vol. 2, 89.
49. Chearful companion, 159.
50. Rannie, ‘The sailor's love-letter’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 439.
51. ‘Jack Stedfast, or, The heart that can feel for another: sung by Mr Incledon in his popular summer entertainment, “The Wandering Melodist”’, Laurie and Whittle, London, 26 Oct. 1807. Lewis Walpole Library, 807.10.26.01.
52. For an image of the ‘Forget me Not' plaque visit http://www.matesoundthepump.com/maritime-verses.html.
53. Tosh, A man's place.
54. Fourteen of the nineteen farewells in the online galleries are of the single sailor. In the NMM examples, which cover the period from 1785 to 1860.
55. Robinson, British tar, plate facing, 112.
56. NMM.
57. Lawler, ‘My sailor, dear, shall guard my pillow’, and ‘My bonny, bonny sailor’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 315, 413.
58. Universal songster, vol. 2, 286–7.
59. NMM, PAH7354, Thomas Stothard and William Ward. ‘A sailor's return in peace’, 16 Apr. 1798; BHC1125, Thomas Stothard, ‘A sailor's return in peace’, oil on canvas, c. 1798.
60. ‘The sailor's return’, Lewis Walpole Library, 793.6.17.2.
61. O'Keeffe, John, 1747–1833, A new song, called Sweet Poll ESTC: T195242
http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/search/firstline/Sweet%20Poll%20of%20Plymouth%20was%20my%20dear2nd Ballad Also a shortened version is printed alongside an image T. Ryder, ‘The middy's parting’, 1785, in Robinson, British tar, facing 242.
62. Cited in Lincoln, Representing the Royal Navy, 146.
63. Kennedy, Narratives, 14.
64. Lincoln, Representing the Royal Navy, 145–6.
65. Dixon, ‘Weeping in space’, 137–9, 148, 150.
66. The Lady's Magazine, July 1782: 343–4.
67. In Universal songster, vol. 2, 5.
68. ‘Patrick O'Stern and Catharine O'Grady’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 425.
69. M. Gauci, ‘The sailor's tear’ [from a lithographed songhead], Robinson, British tar, facing 224 and at: http://www.sheetmusicwarehouse.co.uk/details.php?ref=77567.
70. For an image of the jug visit http://www.unitedcollections.net/poetry-pottery.html.
71. Dixon, ‘Enthusiasm delineated’.
72. Broadside Ballad, English Ballads, Digitised National Library of Scotland.
73. Bodleian Library, Bodley ballads, Harding B.6 (15), ‘A new song called the sailor's adieu’. Also see ‘Poor Jack’, in Dibdin, ed., Songs, naval and national, 2. Jack tells Poll she's a damned fool for snivelling.
74. Bodleian Library, Bodley ballads, frame 19918, ‘Sailor's tear’. See also sheet music, Victoria and Albert Museum, S.356–2012, c. 19th century, and https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/20159.
75. Dawson, Soldier heroes; Paris, Warrior nation.
76. Kennedy, Narratives, 5.
77. Kennedy, Narratives, 38 (citing Colley).
78. Robinson, British tar, 204–24.
79. Wilson, ‘Nelson and the people’, 50, 58, 63.
80. NMM, AAA4492, creamware jug, c. 1800.
81. ‘Dibdin's sea-songs’, Hampshire Advertiser, 5 Sep. 1863. I am grateful to Dr Isaac Land for alerting me to this article and for sending me his transcription.
82. Rodger, ‘Honour and duty at sea', 446.
83. Shaw, ‘Wars of seeing’, 76–7.
84. Dibdin, ed., Songs, naval and national, 24.
85. Shaw, ‘Wars of seeing’, 79, 87.
86. Universal songster, vol. 2, 346.
87. Kennedy, Narratives, 18–19.
88. Ramsey, ‘A real English soldier’, 136.
89. Land, War, nationalism, 9.
90. Universal songster, vol. 2, 100.
91. Universal songster, vol. 2, 299.
92. ‘True British tar’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 37.
93. As described by Robinson, British tar, 24.
94. For example, NMM, AAA5178, earthenware jug, n.d.; AAA5175, earthenware jug, c. 1854.
95. Robinson, British tar, facing 42.
96. Louis Pierre Boitard and T. Booth, ‘The sailor's return’, 18 Dec. 1744, NMM, PAF3819.
97. In British songster, cited in Robinson, British tar, 436.
98. Thomas Rowlandson, ‘The sailor's return from active service’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 69.131.4.
99. In Universal songster, vol. 1, 588.
100. Some of this song is cited in Robinson, British tar, 418.
101. Downing, ‘Gentleman boxer’.
102. Cited in The chearful companion, 158–9.
103. ‘With wine and flip I drink and sing’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 171.
104. Land, War, nationalism, 46–51.
105. Universal songster, vol. 2, 390.
106. Universal songster, vol. 2, 134, 336.
107. E.J.B. Box, ‘Jolly Jerry of the Tartar frigate; or, all alive and figgin’’, Universal songster, vol. 2, 138.
108. Universal songster, vol. 2, 44.
109. 'With wine and flip I drink and sing', in Universal songster, vol. 2, 171.
110. Cook, ‘Fragile masculinity’, 100.
111. Land, War, nationalism, 99.
112. Cited in Robinson, British tar, 142–3.
113. University of Birmingham, Cadbury Research Library – Special Collections (CRL), Shaw letters, Shaw/4, John Shaw to Elizabeth Wilkinson, 5 July 1811.
114. The circular vignette is based on Robert Dighton (?), Poor Jack, mezzotint, c. 1790, NMM, PAJ4029. Riding, ‘His constant Penelope’, 160–1.
115. Robinson, British Tar, 41–2.
116. Land, ‘Dibdin's Victorian afterlives’. I am grateful to Dr Land for letting me see this chapter before publication.
117. ‘Dibdin's sea-songs’, Hampshire Advertiser, 5 Sep. 1863.
118. (7) Thomas Dixon, ‘The Tears of Mr Justice Willes’ – free copy at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13555502.2011.611696#.UpIlA8SpV8E
119. Many thanks indeed to Lorna Campbell for telling me about this novel.
120. Dixon, Tears of Mr Justice Welles, chap. 83.