Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Veysey had the task of guiding the Neptune through dangerous tides and currents. This
page of his log shows the last stretch of the St Lawrence River, from the Kamouraska Islands
at right to Quebec City, at far left. As the river narrowed and grew shallower they encountered
obstacles, especially in the Traverse, an area of islets and shoals between the island on the
right, Île-aux-Coudres, and the larger Île d'Orleans at left. The fleet anchored here in late
summer, and the British laid siege to the city, until the night when Wolfe's men mounted a
surprise attack. By climbing a tall cliff, British troops gained the Plains of Abraham where
they successfully fought the French the next day.
Wolfe's military coup captured the public imagination, although for him this was a one-
way voyage, as he died in the battle. Admiral Saunders came home to be heaped with hon-
ours, and he recommended Veysey for promotion, as he had been 'very active and service-
able'. We know that Veysey gained his lieutenancy the following year, and much more about
his naval service, because several boxes of his personal papers were filed as exhibits in a case
in the Court of Chancery. They contain this pilot topic, a number of his manuscript ships'
logs, and appointments to command vessels, which together supply an overview of his naval
career for a period when official records of service are scant.
That these naval papers were kept is remarkable, as the court case appears to have been
about the disposal of Veysey's Devon property after his death in 1808, aged 74. Other papers
suggest that he had become a gentleman farmer in the last decades of his life, acting as Justice
of the Peace and churchwarden. Among mortgages and fire insurance policies lies a news-
paper clipping with notice of a horse auction. An account of the sale of Veysey's household
effects lists his topics, a Wilton carpet and a mahogany dining set in his house at Brampford
Speke. The insight into Veysey's career, and this light thrown on his later years, are made
possible by the chance survival of these records in a court of law.
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