DIARIES OF JAMES HALL - OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

1786 -1805 EARLY LIFE

James' early life is described in [PAGE1110].

1805-07 HMIS SELAFAIL - Flagship of Russian squadron in the Adriatic [PAGE1150]

This section gives some brief descriptions of Russian operations against the French. The main entry describes James' part in warning British warships operating in the Adriatic that after the Treaty of Tilsit the Russians had changed sides and were no longer allies. An entry from the Captain's Log of the Weazle gives a slightly less dramatic account of this incident.

1807-08 HMS REPULSE - 74-gun Battleship [PAGE1200]

There are two main entries in this section. In April 1808 James describes the unusual tactics employed by Collingwood to entice the Spanish fleet out of Port Mahon. Unfortunately he was over optimistic about their desire to have a fight with the Royal Navy and they stayed firmly in harbour. The second entry describes events that took place two months later. In June the Spanish rose against the French and captured the port of Cadiz. The British Fleet went to their support and James witnesses the surrender of the French Fleet that had taken refuge there after the Battle of Trafalgar.

In October Repulse returns to England and James is surprised to find Admiral Seniavin's Russian squadron at anchor in the Solent.

1809-10 HMS PEGASE - Prison Hospital ship [PAGE1300]

This short section covers James' time as the Assistant Surgeon on board the Prison Hospital Ship Pegase and explains the unusual role of this ship and its connection with James' previous employment in the Russian Imperial Navy. We have a few extracts from his diaries giving his thoughts on his marriage to Mary Ann Miller, the sister of John Francis Miller, the Captain of the Pegase. It also describes a tragic family event that occurs a few days after his marriage.

1809 - MARRIAGE [PAGE 1400]

Courtship of Mary Ann Miller and death of brother-in-law, John Francis Miller.

THE MILLER FAMILY [PAGE1500]

This section introduces the reader to the Miller family, whose distinguished naval careers extend the King-Hall naval connection back to the American War of Independence. This introduction is linked to more detailed descriptions of the naval careers of his father-in-law and two brothers-in-law, who between them took part in the The Battles of the Saintes, the Nile and Trafalgar.

1814 - HMS JASON - FRIGATE [PAGE1600]

Historically this section contains several of the most interesting entries in James' diaries. After the abdication of Napoleon in April 1814 Jason took on the role of a Dispatch vessel and brought over to England some of the important foreign visitors visiting this country.

He also gives a fascinating description of two royal occasions. The first covers the return of Louis XVIII to France and the second the return of Caroline, Princess of Wales to her native Brunswick.

It was also during this period that the Captain of Jason received an unusual letter from the Duke of Clarence which led to an remarkable sequence of events that only came to public attention in the 1840s. This incident has been described in the The Remarkable Incident.

1816. HMS HECLA - Bomb vessel. Bombardment of Algiers [PAGE1700]

James served as the Surgeon of Hecla during the bombardment of Algiers. He describes this operation in some detail.

1817-20. HMS FAVORITE - 18-gun Frigate. South Atlantic [PAGE1800]

The diaries in this section describe two visits to St Helena in 1818, while Napoleon was a prisoner there. James meets Napoleon's doctor, O'Meara and also has a long interview with the governor, Sir Hudson Lowe. He has a close look at Longwood and sees Napoleon in the distance.

These visits form part of the background to events described in The Remarkable Incident.

1820-JAMES HALL AND QUEEN CAROLINE IN 1820 [PAGE1900]

This section describes some of the events that led to the trial of Queen Caroline and gives further details of events connected with The Remarkable Incident which led to James Hall being indirectly involved in the early stages of this trial.

1820-1825 CONVICT SHIPS [PAGE2000]

Between 1820 and 1832 James Hall made four voyages to Australia, each time as Surgeon-Superintendent of a convict ship. The first voyage was in 1820 on board the Agamemnon, the second in 1821 on the Mary-Ann, the third in 1824 on the Brothers and the fourth in 1832 on the Georgiana. The first and fourth voyages were in male convict ships, and the second and third in female convict ships. The voyages in the two male convict ships seem to have been uneventful, but the peacefulness of these two voyages was more than compensated for by the dramatic events that occurred during or after his voyages in the two female convict ships.

1825-29 BERMUDA AND SECOND MARRIAGE [PAGE 2100]

A brief description of the circumstances surrounding the second marriage of James Hall.

1834-36. HMS ANDROMACHE - 38-gun Frigate. East Indies and China [PAGE2200]

In a letter to his son William he describes events concerning Lord Napier's trade mission to Canton. In his diaries he describes a visit to Madagascar and Mauritius. While visiting India he is reunited with his eldest son, James Frederick, and his family in Bombay. For further details of the story of the life of James Frederick and his family in India see [PAGE2210] and subsequent PAGES.

1833-1843 Letters from JAMES HALL to his son WILLIAM KING-HALL [PAGE2500]

This correspondence consists of over 30 letters written by James Hall to his son William between 1830 and 1843. For the first part of this period James was serving in England and the East Indies. After his retirement in 1836 he practised as a doctor in Sussex and then later worked in Ireland and Bermuda. During the same period William was serving in the Mediterranean as a Volunteer 2nd Class. He then served as a Midshipman during the Carlist Wars in north Spain and the Syrian war in the east Mediterranean. Extracts from these letters appear in other parts of the website.