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WEST INDIES MARITIME MAIL - PRE 1842

FALMOUTH PACKET

An entire written at St Vincent on 9lh September 1810 and back stamped with a St Vincent
fleuron. It was nominated to go on the “mail boat” (packet), arriving in Falmouth at the end of
October, possibly the “Dispatch”. It was sent to London and as a single letter charged 2/-, being
back stamped there on 2nd November.
This was at the time of the Falmouth Mutiny. It had been traditional, although illegal, for the
crew of the packet boats to supplement their wage by smuggling goods in and out of Britain,
sometimes with the collusion or even leadership of the captain. In 1810a serious attempt was made
to curtail the practice and as a result some of the crew of the “Prince Adolphus” lost their
immunity against being pressed and were taken on board H.M.S. Experiment on 25th October. The
crews of the other vessels “mutinied” and gathered on shore demanding the release of their
comrades. The Riot Act was read and the men dispersed into the countryside out of sight of the
press gangs. Departing packets could only do so with a crew supplemented by naval ratings. In
addition the crew of the arriving “Dispatch” were taken on board H.M.S. Experiment as a
precautionary measure.
On the 5th and 6th November all the packets on the Falmouth Station were ordered to
Plymouth under the guns of H.M.S. Niemen, North Star and Hawke. They would have included
the packet that carried this letter. The move was a disaster for the packet service. Plymouth was
extremely busy and always gave priority to the navy rather than the packet boats. No mooring
buoys were ever laid. The “Prince Ernest” was driven ashore and the “Diana” only just escaped
the same fate. Inevitably between 13th and 15th February 1811 all 13 packets then at Plymouth
returned to Falmouth.