Brisall:
I did a little "digging around" and came up with this little item.
memorial stands in memory of the Captain, officers and 103members of HMS Brazen’s crew, which was wrecked beneath the cliffs ofNewhaven on the 20th January 1800, with only one survivor.
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:NXG8zuGgpt0J:www.lewes.gov.uk/Files/plan_NewhavenCAA.pdf+HMS+brazen&hl=enNext, I found this:
James Hanson was born in London. His older brother, John Hanson, was a lawyer, who was known as the solictor and business agent of George, Lord Byron, the poet. While the poet was still a boy, he would stay with the Hanson family in Earls Court, London and he was well-known to James Hanson.
Hanson was promoted to commander on 24 July 1795 and in 1800 he was in command of HMS Brazen. The Brazen had been a French privateer l'Invincible General Bounaparte that had been captured the previous April. Operating in the English Channel, Hanson took a prize off the Isle of Wight and sent it into Portsmouth. The following morning, 26 January 1800, Brazen was driven by a gale on to the Ave Rocks near Newhaven and was destroyed. Only one man survived and Hanson was among the dead. He left no will.
At some time after Vancouver's voyage Hanson had married. His widow, who was in an advanced state of pregnancy, offered a reward for the recovery of the captain's body. Hanson's arm was marked with an anchor picked out in gunpowder.
http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/jcr/~vancouver2.htmlIt gets better!!!!!
I then looked a little more and found some of Byron's work on line. Included was a letter to Hanson's brother referring to the Captain and in a footnote I came across what you were looking for.
[Footnote 2: Captain James Hanson, R.N., was the brother of John Hanson
to whom the letter is written. Byron was born with a caul, prized by
sailors as a preservative from drowning. The caul was sold by Mrs.
Mills, the nurse who attended Mrs. Byron in January, 1788, to Captain
Hanson. In January, 1800, Captain Hanson, in command of H.M.S. 'Brazen',
had captured a French vessel, which he sent to Portsmouth with a prize
crew. On the 26th of the month, while shorthanded, he was caught in a
storm off Newhaven. The 'Brazen' foundered, and Captain Hanson with all
his men, except one, were drowned.]
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/8blj110.txtHope this helps!
Pat
By the way, I really enjoyed doing this search with the twists and turns.
