“Impressment is something that most people interested in history have heard of. The usual version involves roving press gangs of sailors and Marines, grabbing u

“Impressment is something that most people interested in history have heard of. The usual version involves roving press gangs of sailors and Marines, grabbing unsuspecting men off the street, beating them up, and taking them to sea. One minute, you’re a farmer, in town for a day. The next, you’re a sailor, headed for the East Indies. As you probably suspect, this isn’t really true. British law restricted the pressing of men for naval service to seamen, and while mistakes happened frequently, it was easy for men taken by mistake to secure their release. Captains wanted seamen, whose skills took years to develop, and not landsmen who didn’t “know the ropes”.” https://www.navalgazing.net/Impressment https://www.navalgazing.net/Impressment