The grave of Mary Way in St Georges churchyard - geograph

The Easton Massacre was an incident in which sailors of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

shot and killed three residents of Easton,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, during an attempt to

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

male members of the town into service. This was contrary to the normal restrictions under which press gangs operated; which were intended to limit forced recruiting to professional sailors. 1 April 1803 saw the first of several landings carried out by the frigate , commanded by George Wolfe to capture men and press them into the navy. One man was carried back to the ''Aigle'' but was found to be exempt and released. The next day, 2 April, a larger force landed and impressed two men. Holding them prisoner, the landing force continued to Easton Square where they were met by a large group of citizens who had received warning of the

press gangs Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...

and had gathered to stop them. When Robert Bennett was taken and the crowd attempted a rescue, the captain fired on them. The

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

under his command also opened fire, and after the shooting stopped three people had been killed. The dead were Alexander Andrews, Richard Flann and William Lano, and in addition there were two wounded, one of whom, Mary Way, later died of her wounds. Soon after, the press gang returned to their ship with no additional impressed men. Wolfe and three officers stood trial for murder but were acquitted and left Portland, aboard ''Aigle'', on 10 April to continue their patrol in home waters.Adkins p.110

References

{{Isle of Portland History of Weymouth, Dorset Military history of Dorset 1803 in England 1803 in military history April 1803 events 19th century in Dorset 19th-century history of the Royal Navy Isle of Portland