A terrifying tale from the Age of Sail. The website of the Penobscot maritime museum was likely being deliberately understated when they wrote: “As one can imagine, wooden ships and fire do not make for a good day at sea.” The fire aboard HMS Queen Charlotte is history that deserves to be remembered.
The “Great Sedition Trial” uncovered shocking connections at the time with the German reich that we were fighting, and challenged the idea that the nation was of a single mind during the war. It also challenged exactly how far the national commitment to freedom of speech and opinion reached, especially in extraordinary times.