How does this work for you?

pdr

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Actully...

like the UK National Railway Museum, there are experts at the Maritime Museum who will answer your questions in detail or point you in the direction of sources.
 

Sargentodiaz

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Seconding Devon, not Devonshire. Also, HMS (His Majesty's Ship) Willoughby - not HM Brig. Also, remain somewhat boggled about selling your son as a cabin boy at the relevant date.
Also to Sirius -
Went to the source and here's the response:


Thank you for your email. The standardisation of ship prefixes postdates the period you are writing about, so that there is no one correct answer. You would be quite safe to use either formula to describe the vessel (but abbreviations like 'HMS', suggesting that there was only one accepted form, would not be accurate). Ships were also referred to as 'His Majesty's brig of war, His Majesty's supply brig' etc.
Hope that is of some help and with best wishes in your writing,

Richard Espley

Assistant Librarian
Caird Library
National Maritime Museum


I think that of five requests for information, this is the FIRST to respond.
 

DustyBooks

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If they're taking a long time to get back to you, try tracking down the authors of books with similar subject matter to see if they have any advice (like I just went and did about 10 minutes ago). If they can't answer your question directly, they should be able to suggest books. I've done this a couple of times and they've always been very kind and helpful, although the trouble with book suggestions is that they aren't always in my library (I live over 1000 km from the sea, more's the pity, so naval and maritime history is not exactly a priority. The university I'm at has some really great history courses, but no naval history. Did just turn in a paper on the Royal Navy for a British History course where we were allowed to pick our own topics, though.)

This still seems odd to me. Did you specify in your email to NMM that this is a merchant brig? Or is it on some type of government service (hydrography, charting, diplomacy) that might justify it being HM Hired Vessel or some other such distinction?
 

Sargentodiaz

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I was very explicit in my query that it was a brig flying under a British flag as an armed merchantman - and not with a Letter of Marque.

The problem I'm dealing with is names of things in an area where the natives had NO written language and they supposedly had names only for things they could see and touch.

Example - Ocotillo is a type of cactus and the name is Spanish. So, what did the indians call it?
And, doing Google searches for the various tribes come up with references I already have.
Kinda frustrating but it won't stop me from writing the novel.
The kickback came when, after re-reading some research material, I discovered I'd made some serious errors and had to go back and fix things.
And that's even BEFORE the revise/edit part!!!!!
 

DustyBooks

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Let's wait and see what the author I asked is going to say. It just seems counterintuitive to speak of His Majesty's something or other when His Majesty has nothing to do with it. I wonder if there's some nuance in which "armed merchantman under the British flag" means something more than just "British-owned merchantman with cannons for defence." Wouldn't surprise me--as Stephen Maturin says, "They speak in tropes at sea.":rolleyes There's that whole sloop thing, for starters...

The kickback came when, after re-reading some research material, I discovered I'd made some serious errors and had to go back and fix things.
And that's even BEFORE the revise/edit part!!!!!

I hate that--and it keeps happening over and over and over. Even more often than plot holes.