Sharon has been watching with family interest the rescue by the US Navy of the captain of an American ship that was seized by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
This may seem a long way from the peaceful countryside near Cartagena, but Sharon feels a family involvement as the warship involved was the U.S.S. Bainbridge. And that is her maiden name.
The Bainbridges are a fairly small clan but they carved their name in the criminal history of northern Britain centuries ago. Never distinguished in the conventional sense, so many family members appeared at the Assizes, being jailed and hung, primarily for sheep stealing and clipping the edges of silver coins, that they are one of the easiest families for genealogy junkies to research. A book, The Justice and the Mare´s Ale, chronicles their doubtful achievements. They lived in the wild border lands between England and Scotland where the weather is harsh and where it was easy to roam in search of plunder. Farmers built strong stone houses to live in, with the doors high up so that the cattle could be kept on the ground floor. The ladder up to the door could be pulled up when the roving bands arrived. The Bainbridges solved this problem by each of them carrying a bundle of sticks on their back. The bundles would all be piled up until a ramp was formed giving easy access to the lofty door. Some farmers put their women downstairs with the cattle.
With regard to African pirates, the American Navy has a long record in this field. About 200 years ago American ships trading to Europe were regularly pillaged by pirates operating along the Barbary Coast of northwest Africa, now largely in Morocco. Crews were taken hostage and held for ransom. So bad did the problem become that tributes were paid to the pirates to protect shipping. The U.S. paid up but the cowardly option provided little improvement. Finally, the young nation decided to get tough and the Barbary Wars began in 1801. The Barbary Coast was bombarded by U.S. ships in 1815 and the fights against the pirates are commemorated in the battle hymn of today´s U.S. Marine Corps which sings proudly of its achievements from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. Historians say that the modern U.S. navy was forged in the fights against pirates.
So, it was interesting to see the U.S.S. Bainbridge destroyer in action in the Indian Ocean with Navy Seal snipers shooting dead three of the pirates that had been holding the captain of the seized American ship hostage. Night vision scopes allowed the snipers to pick off the bad guys and the captain was rescued.
The ship is named after William Bainbridge “one of my ancestors,” says Sharon. He was a U.S. Navy officer who actually went to Algiers in 1800 to pay cash to the pirates and he was later captured by them. In a war with Britain that took place in 1812, which features large in American history but which few British have heard of, he became a hero. During that war the British took the home of the American president, held some damn fine dinners there, and set it on fire when they left. The damage had to be covered up with white paint and that is why it is known as The White House today.
The shortest river in England is the Bainbridge River and the village of Bainbridge can be found in Yorkshire. There are plenty of Bainbridges around Sedbergh in North Yorkshire. A few years ago, one of the clan was expressing amazement that we had traveled to so many places around the world. He had made but one foreign trip in his life, when he went to the Isle of Man for a week. He left on the Friday but came home on the Monday as he couldn´t handle the strange food. Taking a large sup of his pint he said that was all the foreign travel he ever intended to do. If there are any Bainbridges reading this, please get in touch.
The picture shows Sharon visiting Bainbridge on her honeymoon. We are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary soon and that is all thanks to the U.S. Navy. But that, as they say, is another story.
***
©Phillip Bruce 2009.
This may seem a long way from the peaceful countryside near Cartagena, but Sharon feels a family involvement as the warship involved was the U.S.S. Bainbridge. And that is her maiden name.
The Bainbridges are a fairly small clan but they carved their name in the criminal history of northern Britain centuries ago. Never distinguished in the conventional sense, so many family members appeared at the Assizes, being jailed and hung, primarily for sheep stealing and clipping the edges of silver coins, that they are one of the easiest families for genealogy junkies to research. A book, The Justice and the Mare´s Ale, chronicles their doubtful achievements. They lived in the wild border lands between England and Scotland where the weather is harsh and where it was easy to roam in search of plunder. Farmers built strong stone houses to live in, with the doors high up so that the cattle could be kept on the ground floor. The ladder up to the door could be pulled up when the roving bands arrived. The Bainbridges solved this problem by each of them carrying a bundle of sticks on their back. The bundles would all be piled up until a ramp was formed giving easy access to the lofty door. Some farmers put their women downstairs with the cattle.
With regard to African pirates, the American Navy has a long record in this field. About 200 years ago American ships trading to Europe were regularly pillaged by pirates operating along the Barbary Coast of northwest Africa, now largely in Morocco. Crews were taken hostage and held for ransom. So bad did the problem become that tributes were paid to the pirates to protect shipping. The U.S. paid up but the cowardly option provided little improvement. Finally, the young nation decided to get tough and the Barbary Wars began in 1801. The Barbary Coast was bombarded by U.S. ships in 1815 and the fights against the pirates are commemorated in the battle hymn of today´s U.S. Marine Corps which sings proudly of its achievements from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. Historians say that the modern U.S. navy was forged in the fights against pirates.
So, it was interesting to see the U.S.S. Bainbridge destroyer in action in the Indian Ocean with Navy Seal snipers shooting dead three of the pirates that had been holding the captain of the seized American ship hostage. Night vision scopes allowed the snipers to pick off the bad guys and the captain was rescued.
The ship is named after William Bainbridge “one of my ancestors,” says Sharon. He was a U.S. Navy officer who actually went to Algiers in 1800 to pay cash to the pirates and he was later captured by them. In a war with Britain that took place in 1812, which features large in American history but which few British have heard of, he became a hero. During that war the British took the home of the American president, held some damn fine dinners there, and set it on fire when they left. The damage had to be covered up with white paint and that is why it is known as The White House today.
The shortest river in England is the Bainbridge River and the village of Bainbridge can be found in Yorkshire. There are plenty of Bainbridges around Sedbergh in North Yorkshire. A few years ago, one of the clan was expressing amazement that we had traveled to so many places around the world. He had made but one foreign trip in his life, when he went to the Isle of Man for a week. He left on the Friday but came home on the Monday as he couldn´t handle the strange food. Taking a large sup of his pint he said that was all the foreign travel he ever intended to do. If there are any Bainbridges reading this, please get in touch.
The picture shows Sharon visiting Bainbridge on her honeymoon. We are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary soon and that is all thanks to the U.S. Navy. But that, as they say, is another story.
***
©Phillip Bruce 2009.
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