The Missing Husband
TODAY IN NAVAL HISTORY
31 AUGUST 1812
THE MISSING HUSBAND
Not even three months had passed since war was declared against England in 1812. Both the US Army and the US Navy were filling their ranks for the fight. A military draft would not exist for another 50 years, and to their credit, American recruiters refrained from conscription’s lesser cousin, impressment. But that is not to say that to procure sailors and Marines, recruiters weren’t above taking advantage of those whose discretion was temporarily compromised.
On this date Mrs. Jane Stringer, the loving wife of Daniel Stringer, a baker of Philadelphia, wrote to Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton about a matter that distressed her greatly. Referring to herself in the third person as “your Petitioner,” Mrs. Stringer admits that her husband enlisted in the Marines six days earlier, though she is not specific as to how she learned of his actions. She goes on to state her conviction however, that, “at the time he enlisted he was so much under the influence of liquor as to be incapable of knowing what he did.” She condemns the enlisting officer who “took advantage of [Stringer’s] intoxication when he persuaded him to enlist,” so much so that Stringer, “had not recovered from the effects of the liquor when he took the Oath before the magistrate.” Mrs. Stringer goes on to say that this unfortunate circumstance has left her without the means to support her two small children, and that such comes at an absolutely inopportune time, as she is struggling to pay the onerous medical expenses incurred as a result of a recent illness from which her husband recovered.
In 1812 it was possible to obtain an early release from military service if one could find a substitute to serve the remainder of his term. Mrs. Stringer goes on to offer the sacrifice of “a part of her furniture with which to procure the means of providing a substitute in the place of her husband.” She ends with her commitment to continue ever prayerful in the matter and requests that the Secretary, “will be pleased to direct the commanding officer on the station to discharge her Husband from the term of his enlistment upon her procuring a substitute.” Her petition encloses an affidavit of veracity by three Philadelphians of presumed virtue.
History records neither the fate of PVT Daniel Stringer, USMC, nor the response of the Secretary to Mrs. Stringer’s petition. Today enlisting into military service while under the influence of drugs or alcohol constitutes a “fraudulent enlistment,” and modern recruiters eschew such practices. One can only hope this story had a happy ending!
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 3 SEP 25
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Petition of Jane Stringer to Secretary of the Navy Hamilton, dtd. 31 August 1812. IN: Dudley, William S. (ed). The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History Vol I. Department of the Navy, Navy Historical Center, Washington DC: GPO, 1985, p. 261.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: The production, distribution, and consumption of distilled spirits were quite prevalent in 19th century America, more common even than today. Many farmers ran their own stills as a routine part of their farming operation. It has been argued that distilling whiskey from grain was an effective means of preserving the caloric content for indefinite periods of time. So ubiquitous was liquor that when the US government was in need of a source of revenue in 1791 it was suggested that alcohol be taxed. This tax brought about the three-year-long “Whiskey Rebellion” in western Pennsylvania.