A true life story from just before, or very early in, the America Ground period in Hastings, in the early 19th century. While the Napoleonic wars are still ongoing and smuggling had become both one of the area’s main trades and an increasingly violent ongoing battle, illegal trading continued with the French, even during the war. It was illegal and put down violently on both sides.
A popular local fishing boat captain, Edward Aldridge turned (alleged) smuggler, is shot dead at sea during a confrontation with customs men, causing a huge amount of local outcry, in particular at the church where he’s buried.
It’s one of the earliest documented instances of local working class people one might call ‘of the America Ground’ starting to rise against the oppression of the landlord class. The actual Trinity Triangle site at this time was still sparsely populated and not yet called 'The America Ground'.
lyrics
The Murder Of Captain Aldridge Cm HARPS + ORGAN
On the night of April 23rd a good strong wind prevailing
Our captain set us out to sea, a perfect night for sailing
The Frenchies had some booze to sell we knew just where they hid
So we took her round the headland east but even as we did
A customs boat all slick and new comes flying round the cliff
The brand new ship they call The Leopard, dark as she was swift
We pushed her off and we fought her men with fist and bottle and knife
Til one of them bastards shot our Captain, made a widow of his wife
Well they put him in the ground at All Saints Church
And a crowd of people came
Alongside the grieving family an anger grows the same
There’s fury at the rich man’s court where nothing good is done
And fury at the customs man – so quick to shoot his guns
Wilful murder, that it was, said the warden of the church
He shows us all where he’s written it down In the All Saints register
Men like Edward Aldridge are the lifeblood of this town
They brand a good man a criminal smash his boat and shoot him down
Take our boys for Boney’s war, give our town to Wellesley’s army
But if bread cost more than a man can afford there int no honest work for me
You ain’t no bloody Napoleon, you ain’t no Mad King George
Let the word ring out across the Priory fields, we ain’t gonna give you any more
Captain Aldridge was the best of men, now his boat lies dead as he
The hull was split on Hastings sand and left for all to see
The customs man controls our trade with guns and bribery
They have the run of the hangman’s noose for good men caught at sea
credits
from A Derelict Chorale,
released May 21, 2020
Demo composed and played by Chris Thorpe-Tracey
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