It happened that Sir Edwa rd Pellew, in his frigate the Indefatigable, visited the Tagus, and with some of his officers , attended the [Lisbon] Opera. They had long wa nted for the frigate a good violin player, to furnis h music for the sailors' dancing in their evening leisure, a recreation highly favo urable to the preservation of their good spirits and contentmem. Sir Edward, observing the energy with wh ich the you ng negro plied his violin in the orchestra, conceived the idea ofimpressing him for the service. He accordingly instructed one of his lieutenams to take two or three of the boat's crew, then waiting to convey the officers on board, and watching the boy's ex it from the theatre, to kidnap him, violin and all, and take him off to the ship. This was done, and the next day the frigate sa iled: so that all hope of his escape was vain .4 Em idy, now a former Portuguese slave, was pressed imo the British Navy as a lowly seaman and wou ld never be allowed to go as hore for fear of desertion. He spoke no Engli sh and was the only black man on board in a relatively racist closed society. Further complicating his plight, he was wholl y unfamiliar with shipboard life. Now, as a sa ilor/musician, he would play severa l shipboard roles: enterta ining the officers a nd crew, playing melodies a nd rhythms for the crew's labors, and finally music for dance. During that era, men aboard ships danced with each other for exercise and entertainment. Good musicians were assets to a ship at sea for momhs at a time. Although he was now the ship's musician, he also would serve as a fighting sai lor, and Indefatigable participated in more than a score of bloody engagements during the time Emidy served onboard. The muster book of 1 September 1795 listed Emidy as number 316 of the ship's crew, three of whom, including Emidy, were described as "Lisbon volunteers." His rating was landsman, the lowest rank of 4
Buckin gham, James Silk,A utobiographyofj ames Silk Buckingham , (Lo ndon: Longman, Brown, G ree n, & Lon gmans, 1855), 167-168. 5 ibid. , 168- 169. 6 Jb id. , 165. 7 I bid ., J 69.
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sailors, and his pay was 16/6 shillings per month. For comparison, a n ordinary seaman received 17/6 sh illings per month and an able seaman was paid ÂŁ1-2/6 shillings per month. Em idy's li fe as an impressed black crewman was described as follows: Poor Em idee [s ic] was thus forced, against his w ill, to descend from the higher regions of music in which he delighted-Gluck, Haydn, C imarosa, and Mozart, to desecrate his violin to hornpipes, jigs, a nd reels, which he loathed and detes ted : and being, moreover, the only negro on board, he had to mess by himself, and was looked down upon as an inferior being-except when playing to the sai lors, when he was of course in high favour. As the captain a nd officers judged, from his conduct and expressions, that he was intensely disgusted with his present mode of life, and would escape at the first possible opportunity, he was never permitted to set his foot on shore for seven long years! and was on ly released by Sir Edwa rd Pellew's being appointed to the command of a line-of-battle ship, L1mpetueux , when he was permitted to leave in the harbour of Falmouth, where he first la nded, a nd remained, I believe, till the period of his death .5 On 1 March 1799, Pellew was indeed transferred to becom e captain of the captured French ship, L'lmpetueux. 1his change in command of a naval ship led to a reorganization of his crew. Some sai lors fo llowed Pellew to his new command, but Emidy was discharged from hi s impressment on 28 February 1799 at Falmouth, Cornwall County E ngla nd, a nd he was at last a completely free man , on E nglish soil. In 1799, Cornwall's cultural a nd social life was largely centered on the theater, assemblies and balls, and "ha rmonic societies" of amateur musicians. T ruro and Falmouth, the Cornwall towns Em idy was most associated with , had sma ll theaters and theater companies that presented contemporary melodramas and comedies, adap tations of the classic repertory, as we!l as comic operas and burlesques. A small band of musicians played an important part in these presenta-
tions. Because ofEmidy's background and hi s diverse skills, he likely participated. A res ident of Falmouth , future member of Parliament James Si l k Buckingh a m , wis hed to study music. H e t hought it "a most ag reea ble recommendation in fem ale society, ofwhich [he] was always fond ."6 He elected to take lessons on the flute, a n instrument that he ass umed would be easy to play, and was readily available and quite por table. After E midy's discharge from the Roya l Navy, he earned part of his living as a music teacher in Falmouth . H e had by this time ea rned a repu ta ti on as a proficient musician and fine violinist, a composer of some renown , and a conductor of local E nglish county concerts. His teaching ve rsatility was extrao rdinary, offering instruct ion in piano, violin , violoncello, cla rinet, a nd flme . Buckingham started his lesso ns and diligently practiced four hours a day. There are no records about how Buckingham's flme playing affec ted his rom a ncing the local ladies, but his close contact with his teacher did have one importa nt a nd lasting resu lt. Buckingham became very sympathetic to the plight of African slaves. Later in life, as a member of Parl iament, he was staunchly opposed to the slave trade and a n ardent abolitionist. There is no painting or physical description of rhe musician, but in Buckingham 's autobiography he undiplomatically but candid ly wrote, "[Emidy] was one of the very uglies t negroes I ever remember to have seen, he had charms enough to fascinate" Jane Hutchengs (or Hutchins), the white daughter of a loca l uadesman .7 They were married in 1802 and had eight children, five of whom were baptized at the C hurch of King C ha rles the Martyr in Falmouth before the family moved to Truro aro und 1815, where he continued to play his violin, teach and compose. Seacoast towns such as Falmouth and Truro had a regular military or naval presence durin g the anxio us Napoleoni c War years. Cand lelit theatres in the town halls or large rooms at local taverns or inns provided an assembl y place, the principal focus for social li fe during that time. Ass em bl ies often included officers a nd their families, who called upon rhe militia bands to provide music for the balls usually preceded by a concert. The principle source of music was from h arm onic societies, amateurs who met
SEA HISTORY 145, WINTER 2013- 14