Padraic

[Padraic]

Padraic

Thank you for your response. That is much the way I have read the situation myself, that folks grow up learning of the famine and the importance it played. When I was growing up it was Cromwell we would be hearing of, and what a right devil he was. It appears to have permanently altered the landscape in America as well, judging from the number of Irish living over here now whose families came during that time. There were a few leaving when my family left, but nowhere near the numbers of the 1840s. It is a sad statement of our people that often times leaving was necessary to survive. I also met a few who left in '98 and '99 after the rising failed. It brought me low to hear of it, and the tales they told could bring chills. You would know better than I how being Irish has its own unique mixture of extreme joy and extreme sadness, often times at the same time and difficult to distinguish from one another. It sounds that things are better now, but that there are still some difficulties. I look forward to seeing your other comments.

Padraic

 

[Padraic]

Padraic

Originally posted by DadOf5@Aug 18 2004, 09:37 AM
You're quite welcome, Padraic.

I can't remember if you said already exactly what your age group is, but from your description I can only guess that its around the same as mine. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. If I don't have the chance to address them, I'm sure that someone else will.

​

Let me do the math. I was born in 1782, left there in 1807, and have been here for ten years. That would make me 25 when I left, but now 35 with the ten years I have spent here. It would appear that you have aged more than me, although I was born quite a few years before you. That is an interesting dichotomy.

 

[Frog186]

Padraic

Padraic
Hi I'm Frog I just wanted to ask you two questions and welcome to the forum by the way it is always nice to see new time travelers here also I am a cool and relaxed person so whatever you tell me I will keep it low profiled or private here are my questions:

1. What kind of war were you fighting for also what kind of timeline was yours like?

2. Do you think your family and generals are still trying to find you since you time traveled?

thanks for listening and thanks for your time and patience and thanks for taking some sparetime in answering these two questions! I will try and not be a pest all of the time to you well talk with you later!

 

[Padraic]

Padraic

Hello there,

I am back from my trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota, and it would appear that the fish have suffered no ill effects due to my having been there, but it was still a good trip. It was nice to get away.

At the time of the incident, we were not officially at war. The English had suspected some of their sailors of deserting and joining up with us. There were some of them on our ship. They stopped us and demanded we submit to a search. Our captain refused and they fired into us. We were not adequately cleared for action and could only fire one gun in reply. I had served in the Barbary War four years earlier, but in 1807 we were not currently at war. PM me if you would like the details of the engagement. I posted a more detailed account on the other board that some here are already familiar with, but I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about it.

I do not think anyone back then is looking for me. A few years ago, while searching some microfilm archives of historical documents, I found a copy of a muster list from my ship shortly after that incident and they had me listed as "discharged dead". I find that somewhat odd, since I obviously did not leave a body behind. Perhaps they could not find me and thought I had been thrown overboard during the action. That happened sometimes when people were killed in action.

I hope those answers are satisfactory. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Regards,

Padraic

 

[sosuemetoo]

Padraic

Originally posted by Padraic@Aug 22 2004, 07:05 PM
PM me if you would like the details of the engagement.

Padriac,
Welcome back from your trip. I think it would be better if you posted your details of the engagement. That way all of the forum can read and respond with questions.

"Mom"

 

[Grayson]

Padraic

I agree, it establishes some context for your new readers Patrick.

Just leave out the guff regarding the Corronades on the quarterdeck.

 

[Padraic]

Padraic

Perhaps I do owe the readers here another account, given the presence of some members here who did not read the account on the other board. I will leave out any little inside jokes regarding placement of certain guns and simply stick to the main details. It was June of 1807 and there had been a hard blow a few days prior that had caused some French ships to run for the Chesapeake Bay for shelter. The British got word that the French were sheltering there, so they had a squadron standing off and on outside the bay to possibly intercept the French were they to come out. Some of the British sailors managed to desert from their ships and some of them joined up with different American ships, US Navy and merchant vessels. My ship, the Chesapeake, was just preparing to sail to the Mediterranean to be the flagship for a squadron on station there and our Captain Barron was to be the commodore of that squadron. Some of those deserters from the British ended up on our ship, and we were right glad to have them, since skilled seamen were always a welcome addition to any crew. They seemed glad to serve with us since the food was better and the discipline not as severe.

We embarked on June 22, 1807 with some important people on board, passengers we were to be taking to the Med. We sailed before we had everything properly stowed away, so as not to miss the tide, and our decks were all ahoo. Personal baggage was lying about among other provisions that had not been struck down into the hold. Normally, that would be taken care of before making sail, but it was not the case this time. The British got word that some of their deserters might be aboard us, and after we were clear of the bay and out to sea, HMS Leopard followed us, passed ahead of us, and waited for us to run down to them. They signalled us to heave to and sent an officer over to us with an order that we submit our ship to a search for deserters. Captain Barron refused, the British officer was rowed back to the Leopard, and then they opened fire on us. As their officer's boat was going back over, we were ordered to clear for action, as the Leopard had her ports opened and some of her guns run out already, but our ship was in no way prepared for an engagement and we had trouble clearing everything out of the way just to get at the guns. They fired a number of broadsides into us and we could not return fire. Someone managed to fire one gun in reply, but we could not answer adequately and we eventually struck. Some of us had managed to get one of the 18 pounders clear and were in the process of loading the gun and preparing to fire when a ball from one of Leopard's broadsides (I believe her fourth) hit the hull close to the gun, killing two men near me and wounding me with a splinter that hit be in the head and knocked me senseless for a while.

Reports vary about the number we lost, but it appears to have been four dead and about eighteen wounded. The British came aboard after we struck our colors and took some men back to their ship, then let us go. We returned to Norfolk and the wounded, myself included were taken ashore upon our return. There was some sort of an infirmary set up, mostly some cots in a large room, and I was there to recover. I am not sure how long I was there because I had a most terrible headache and I kept drifting in and out. It was there that two men claiming to be from the Navy Department questioned me about the action before I fell asleep. When I awoke, I was in Northside Park in Norfolk and it was 1994. How it happened is beyond my comprehension. The rest has been discussed here already, but I will be happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Respectfully,

Padraic

 

[HDRKID]

Padraic

Hi Padraic:

Glad to see you are posting in this forum.

My question is this.

How feasible is it for the early 1800's to absorb several million 2004 Americans?

I am sure that a small number could easily be absorbed into the small towns of rural America circa 1800, but I do not know how the government of that time would react to a large influx of their "children" from the future.

No doubt certain items like medicines and vehicles would cause quite a stir, but would the people of the early 1800's allow such a thing?

Or would they send their children back to good ol' 2004/2005?

A friend of mine (who also has an HDR) told me that he wanted us both to go to Great Falls, Montanta where there is a huge vortex. Steven Gibbs claims that Mike Mezerkowitz, dont know the spelling was able to effect physical travel to the 1800's from this spot.

I already have a list of items that I would like to take with me.

 

[Padraic]

Padraic

If I were to go back to that time, I would take nothing of this modern world with me. I would not show up with all manner of 21st century devices and amaze the people. I would try to blend in, find some gainful employment, and try not to alter the history too much. Some people then did not handle rapid change as well as people do now, so I would not go introducing every kind of new thing under the sun. I was shocked at much of what I saw here when I arrived, so I can only imagine how they people then would react to anything you would show up with, but you must remember that you would be in their world and playing by their rules would be advisable. That is all I would advise to anyone with the notion of traveling to another time. Try to blend and stay out of the way of history as much as you can. As to the numbers of people, there were already immigrants coming even in that day, perhaps not to that degree, but they were arriving. The government would no doubt accept the arrival of several new people as well as any other wave of immigrants, but things would not be too easy for those people at the start. If the numbers were too large, it would possibly create other problems that I am not qualified to address. Are you contemplating something drastic?

 

[HackimerRob]

Padraic

I know two people that would take that trip HDR Kid. If we pop that vortex I'll go. And nothing, I'll bring nothing. I would only want to go naked. Then I could arrive in a crouch and a ball of lightening and be all "I'm Back" a la schwartzenegger.
hee hee. looopo.