Samuel Leech

As a reader I came to this autobiography from an historical perspective, not a literary, and thus should most historical accounts of this type be considered.

Samuel Leech, originally a sailor aboard a British brig, and later an American, during the Napoleonic and War of 1812, writes from a temperance and religious point of view some years after his experiences aboard ship. Some of the details are horrifying in their candour, of the floggings and abuse which formed daily life for the common sailor, of the starvation, privation and death. Perhaps most surprising of all was to learn about the details of what it meant to be flogged through the fleet, and that women indeed formed part of daily life for some sailors, even to the extent of giving birth aboard ship and the agonies that brought about to father, mother and child.

For anyone interested in the naval aspects of War of 1812, I would recommend this quick and fascinating read.… (meer)