Letter #12 – Transcript – 4 February 1798

#12 Addressed to Mr. Henry Hirst, Heptonstalll, Halifax, Yorkshire [Single Sheet] Gibraltar 4th February 1798 Honoured Father & Mother I once more have the opportunity of Writing to you, hoping this will find you in good health as this leaves me at present thanks be to the Almighty for it, I never received a Letter...

Gibraltar 1797 – “The worst place a soldier can lay in”

It is September, 1797. William Hirst has been stationed in Gibraltar for well over a year. He clearly hates being there. What kind of place is it really? Would it be any better with a wife at his side? Gibraltar I always thought Gibraltar was an island but it is actually an isthmus extending out...

Letter #11 – Transcript – 16 September 1797

#11 Addressed to Mr. Henry Hirst, Heptonstalll near Halifax, Yorkshire, South Britain Gibraltar 16th September 1797 Honoured Father & Mother I once more have the opportunity of writing to you, hoping this will find you in good health as this leaves me at present thanks be to the Almighty for it, I would have writ...

Sailing immediately – William Hirst at sea on The Coverdale

Three months in England – without ever seeing his Wife, Child, or “Honour’d Father and Mother” – and William Hirst is once again aboard ship in Portsmouth “sailing immediately” to Gibraltar. He tells us the name of the vessel I am in is the Coverdale of London, and the other two belonging to out Regiment...

Letter #8 – Transcript – 24 April 1796

#8 Address Panel missing Hirst Letter #8 - 24 April 1796 - Detail. Private Collection. Poole 24th April 1796 Honoured Father & Mother I Writ to you some time ago but never received any answer, whether the Letter miscarried or not I cannot tell, Hirst Letter #8 - 24 April 1796 - Page 1. Private...

Letter #7 – Transcript – 3 March 1796

#7 Addressed to Mr. Henry Hirst, Grocer, Heptonstall near Halifax, Yorkshire, South Britain Hirst Letter #7 – 3 March 1796 – Detail. Private Collection West Cowes, Isle of Wight 3 March 1796 Honoured Father & Mother I received your Letter dated 12 March, at the same time one from my Wife dated the 13th March,...

On the Homefront – Henry Hirst from Miller to Grocer – The impact of Britain’s First Industrial Revolution on one family

Before we go on to the next letter and more military matters, let’s go back to the English homefront for a little while to see what is happening there. William Hirst is now addressing his letters home to "Henry Hirst, Grocer." Last we know – way back at William Hirst’s baptism in 1766 – his...

William Hirst’s (Not So) Great Escape!

So “after being Prisoner 20 Months and 19 Days in France” William Hirst along with 49 others has escaped! How did this happen? We know from an earlier post on this blog that the French Revolutionary Wars have brought a shift in the conventions governing the detention, exchange, and classification of prisoners. The “cartel” system...

Letter #6 – Transcript – 6 February 1796

#6 Addressed to Mr. Henry Hirst, Grocer, Heptonstall near Halifax, Yorkshire Hirst Letter #6 – 6 February 1796 – Detail. Private Collection Portsmouth 6th February 1796 Honoured Father & Mother This Morning I arrived here, after being Prisoner 20 Months and 19 Days in France which is the happiest day I do assure you that...

With Lord Darbouville at Present … but where is that for our Private William Hirst?

Things usually go from bad to worse for William Hirst. I am with Lord Darbouville at Present, Victualling in the house, etc. William Hirst – 2 July 1795 He is now a French Prisoner of War being held in the “house” of “Lord Darbouville” and working for him. But maybe he has not landed so...