Description:

Qualifications of British Naval Officer Who Later Commanded Ship Off Coast of Africa in British War Against Slave Trade

In October 1810 off the coast of Cadiz, Spain, three captains of British naval ships examined master's mate George Smithers regarding his experience and skills. Their report likely set the stage for his promotion to Lieutenant the following August. In February 1822, Quaker abolitionist and whale oil merchant Thomas Sturge Jr. wrote a certification that Smithers had sailed the whaleship Sarah & Elizabeth that Sturge owned to Sierra Leone on the coast of Africa and back and that Smithers was "an honest man."

[ANTI-SLAVERY.] Richard King, Joseph Sanders, and John Louis, Manuscript Document (copy), Examination of George Smithers, October 3, 1810, Cadiz Bay, Spain. 1 p., 8.25" x 12.75". Attached to backing; 3" tear on right side; general toning.
Also: Thomas Sturge Jr., Autograph Document Signed, Certification of Command and Honesty of George Smithers, February 6, 1822, Newington Butts, London, United Kingdom. 1 p., 6" x 6". Attached to verso of above with ca. 1850 engraving by William Greatbach of wounded Lord Horatio Nelson at Battle of Trafalgar, after a painting by Ernest Slingeneyer.

Excerpts
[Examination:]
"In Pursuance of an Order from Sr Richd Goodwin Keats, K. B. Rear Adml of the Red, and Senior Officer in Command of His Majesty's Ships and Vessels in Cadiz Bay, to us Directed.
"We whose names are hereunto Subscribed, have Examined Mr. Geo: Smithers Masters Mate, who by Certificate appears to be more than nineteen years of Age, and find he has gone to Sea more than Six Years, in the Ships and Qualities undermentioned."

"He produceth Journals kept by himself, in the Ville de Paris, Wizard, & Aetna, and Certificates from Capts Grindal, Loring, Sr Thos Hardy Bart, Carden, Thomas, Honble James Ashley Maude, Phillips, Maples of his Diligence and Sobriety, He can Splice, Knot, reef a sail, work a Ship in sailing, Shift his Tides, Keep a reconing of a Ships way by Plane sailing & Mercator, Observe by Sun or Star, and find the Variation of the Compass, and is Qualified to do the duty of an Able Seaman and Midshipman.
"Dated on board His Majesty's Ship Achille in Cadiz Bay this 3d day of Octr 1810.
"Richd King, Capt of His Majesty's Ship Achille
"Js Sanders " " " Atlas
"Jn Louis " " " Druid"

[Certification:]
"This is to certify that George Smithers sailed as master in the Sarah & Elizabeth from London to the Coast of Africa & returned again, and that I believe him to be an honest man.
"Newington Butts 6. 2 mo 1822 / Thos Sturge Jr."

Historical Background
In 1820, George Smithers sailed as master of the 267-ton whaleship Sarah & Elizabeth to Sierra Leone. At Freetown, on October 21, he paid customs duties on a cargo worth £332 that was consigned to N. Deey.

In November 1830, British Lieutenant George Smithers in command of the brig HMS Conflict, captured the Spanish slave schooner Nympha, with 167 slaves on board. After a chase, the ships ran into a dead calm, during which Smithers sent an armed boat. After the crew of the Nympha fired on the boat, another boat was sent and together with the first boat captured the schooner after a "desperate resistance." Smithers took the Nympha to Sierra Leone, where the captain and crew were imprisoned and tried as pirates.

George Smithers (1789-1850) was born in Great Yarmouth, England, and entered the British Royal Navy in 1803. By 1809, he was a master's mate. In 1810, he served as a master's mate on two ships involved in the defense of Cadiz. He was nominated as Acting-Lieutenant of the HMS Alfred in June 1811 and became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in August 1811. He was taken prisoner as a lieutenant aboard the brig HMS Goldfinch on the coast of France. He served from December 1814 to December 1815 aboard the HMS Centaur, with which he visited Rio de Janeiro, the Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena. From 1830 to 1832, he commanded the brig HMS Conflict off the coast of Africa in operations against the international slave trade.

Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (1757-1834) was a British naval officer who fought through the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary War, and the Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to poor health and served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816. He was promoted to Admiral of the Blue in 1819 and Admiral of the White in 1830. From 1821 to his death, he was Governor of Greenwich Hospital in London.

Thomas Sturge Jr. (1787-1866) was born to London oil merchant Thomas Sturge the elder (1749-1825). He joined his father's business in buying whale oil used for lighting. By 1816, he had become the senior partner in the business, buying ships and sending them to the Southern Whale Fishery to obtain whale oil, seal oil, and spermaceti for processing and sale. He became the principal owner of at least 23 vessels. Dr. Thomas Beale served as a ship's doctor on one of Sturge's ships and wrote The Natural History of the Sperm Whale (1839) and dedicated it to his employer. Herman Melville drew on Beale's book for his novel Moby Dick (1851), and Beale's book inspired J.M.W. Turner to produce three paintings of whaling scenes in 1845 and 1846. A devout Quaker, Sturge contributed to the support of "distressed seamen" and became a committed member of the Anti-Slavery Society. He also supported other charitable causes. In 1851, he began the construction of cement kilns, which started producing Portland cement in 1853. Sturge never married and left most of his fortune to his brother George Sturge.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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