John Cartwright's Archives

"The all-wise Creator hath likewise made men equal, as well as free; they are all of one flesh, and cast in one mould. There are given to them the same senses, passions, feelings, and affections, to inform and to influence; the same passions to actuate, the same reason to guide, the same moral principle to restrain, and the same free will to determine all alike. There are, therefore, no distinctions to be made among men, as just causes for elevation of some above the rest, prior to mutual agreement.

In what is believed to be his first letter to his parents after entering naval service, dated 19th July 1758, the young Cartwright thanked them for allowing him to enter the service. He went on "I have just time to tell you that on Friday we took a French frigate of 22 guns; she is a new ship and came out of Brest 10 days ago, with several gentlemen on board, by reconnoitering our fleet". In his enthusiasm, he also suggested that he might purse a place on the prize for his brother Charles! To his father, he subsequently wrote:
 

Whilst under the command of Lord Howe on HMS Magnanime, Cartwright lept from the deck of his ship to save the life of a brother officer in danger of drowning. In typical fashion, he made no mention of his deed himself, his family learning of this some time later, and by accident. The event was to be echoed some thirty years later, when walking by the riverside in Enfield, in the company of his wife and his niece. A small boy was in serious difficulty in the water, and Cartwright jumped in to rescue.

 
In May 1766 Cartwright was appointed first-lieutenant of HMS Guernsey, under Captain Chads, on the Newfoundland station. He was usbsequently appointed as deputy to Sir Hugh Pallisser, commander in chief and governor of Newfoundland, and in 1767 he was made deputy commissioner to the vice-admiralty court in Newfoundland.