Recollections of an English sailor in the mid-19th century, with special reference to Messina, 1848

This paper presents and contextualizes an extract from the unpublished writings of a nineteenth-century English sailor, one Richard Hayman. For most of his working life, Hayman was a merchant seaman, but for about a year (1848-49) he served on board a Royal Navy vessel, the Gladiator, and it is this period which is covered by the extract. At that time, the vessel was located primarily off the coast of Sicily, and Hayman’s recollections include a brief description of events in Messina in September 1848, when the troops of King Ferdinando II bombarded the city.