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The New Times, 21 June, 1821.
Dreadful Outrage On Th Preventive Service.
FULL PARTICULARS OF THIS INQUEST On QUARTER-MASTER RICHARD
WOOLBRIDGE, WHO SAW MURDERED BY A GANG OSF SMUGGLERS AT FOLKESTONE,
KENT.
Thursday se'ennight an Inquisition was held at the "Battery House
Tavern," Folkestone, near Dover, before the Rt. Worshipful H.
Butcher, Esq. Mayor and Coroner, and a most respectable Jury, to
inquire on behalf of our Sovereign Lord the King, touching the death
of Mr. Richard Woolridge, late a quarter-master on hoard his
Majesty’s ship the Severn, stationed off the coast of Kent for the
prevention or smuggling, who was slain in a recent skirmish between
the Government officers and a body of smugglers, as briefly noticed
in a late number of this paper.
The first object of the Jury, which consisted of fifteen inhabitants
of the town, was to take a view of the body, which presented a most
shocking spectacle, being pierced in several places with bullets or
slugs. There were two dreadful wounds on the breast, either of which
was calculated to produce death, and which appeared to have issued
from guns of more than ordinary calibre. Having returned to the jury
room, the following evidence was adduced:—
Mr. John Lascelles stated, that he was an Admiralty midshipman
belonging to his Majesty’s ship Severn, and that about one o'clock
on the morning of Thursday, the 7th instant, whilst doing duty on
the Batteries, at No. 1 Tower, his attention was attracted by a
buzzing sound, which appeared to proceed from a wheat-fleld, a
little distance off. He listened attentively, and could discern the
voices of several persons in earnest conversation. Being rather
surprised at a circumstance so unusual at that dead hour of night, he
left his post, and proceeded towards the wheat-field, with a
determination to ascertain the cause. When he arrived there, he saw
a body of men, whom he calculated at 100, drawn up in the field;
they were nearly all dressed in round frocks, and were armed with
guns, and other murderous weapons. Not doubting but that the party
were smugglers, and there for some unlawful purpose, he went into
the field and fired the alarm pistol, thinking that would have the
effect of dispersing them; but they did not appear in the least
alarmed, and took no notice. Witness then proceeded down the
opposite side of the hedge, very near to the party, and fired
another alarm gun, which was returned by a volley or fire-arms from
several of the smugglers, which however fortunately missed witness.
He then levelled at them, and fired, on which they made a stand, as
if they were preparing for attack; but he should not have fired at
them, had he not heard the balls whistle about his head from their
first volley, he instantly returned back to the Tower, and obtained a
reinforcement of two men, with which he was returning to the attack,
when he saw a small number of the preventive service men near the
high road, at whom the smugglers were firing with guns and pistols;
the latter still keeping possession of the wheat-field. Witness
proceeded with his assistants towards the party near the road, where
he had previously heard the firing, and found the deceased lying on
the ground weltering in his blood, and wounded in many places in the
body. He was not then dead, as he once or twice groaned, and the
blood was fast streaming from his wounds; but he believed he expired
in less than two minutes afterwards. His body was carried to the
nearest place of shelter, where medical assistance was procured, but
to no avail.
Lieutenant David Peat, who was very weak from the wounds which he
had received in the affray, entered at greater length upon the
subject, although with great difficulty. He deposed that he also
belonged to the Severn man of war, and on the morning in question,
between one and two o’clock, was returning from the Eastware Bay,
where he had been performing duty; he was on his way to Folkestone;
but when he had got as far as the Folly, he was alarmed by the
report of a pistol in the direction of No. 2, Tower; at this time
the deceased was with him. They both (witness and deceased) ran
immediately to whence they saw the flash, and when they were
approaching No. 2, Tower, they heard a number of voices hooting and
cheering, with an occasional discharge of fire-arms. Witness and the
Quartermaster crossed the wheat field, where they beheld a number of
men, some sitting and some standing in a grass field to the number
of fifty or sixty. Upon seeing witness, they retired towards the
road, and he and the deceased followed them up, and they were seen
after joined by another man, who also assisted in the pursuit. They
came up with them at the corner of the field, and then for the first
time discovered that they were all armed with guns and pistols; the
guns were what are termed long duck guns such as are generally used
in boats on swivels, and sometimes by sharpshooters on carriages in
field actions, because they carry much farther than common muskets.
Most of the party were dressed in white and green jackets, or short
frocks, and were strangers to witness and his party, he looked about
to see if they had any goods with them; but he could perceive
nothing of the kind. One of the smugglers, who was armed with a long
gun, appeared rather conspicuous, and witness was closing upon him
to seize him; but when within about ten yards of the main party,
about four of them levelled their pieces and fired at him, by which
he was wounded about the legs. He nevertheless continued to follow
his object with the intention of seizing him, when a second volley
was fired, and he received the shots in his right arm, by which he
was disabled, and fell to the ground. The smugglers exultingly
exclaimed, "Look how the ---- tumbles!" Whilst witness laid in this
deplorable situation on the ground, he heard the deceased engage
with them, for his pistol was discharged twice; but he did not see
him fall. He heard the opposing party exclaim, in allusion (as he
believed) to Wooldridge, "You ---- ----, have you not had enough of
it yet? Give it to him again!" and then fired frequently after. On
turning round, witness beheld the deceased lying in the field, and
appearing to him to be badly wounded. In a short time afterwards,
Mr. Lascelles and some more men came up, at whose approach the
smugglers fled, but continued firing for some seconds as they went.
Lascelles informed witness, that he believed the deceased was dead.
He fell very close to witness, not going more than five or six yards
distant at the time.
[This gentleman, whilst giving his evidence, was frequently overcome
by weakness, and could not sign his name to his deposition. We were
informed that he received near a dozen wounds; but we are happy to
add, that when our account left Folkestone, he was considered out of
danger.]
Robert Hunter and John Walker, Quarter-masters of the Severn,
corroborated the above evidence. The latter said he was close to
Lieutenant Peat all the time, and can swear most positively that he
did not attempt to seize any one of the party.
John Williams, Esq. being sworn, stated that he is surgeon on board
his Majesty’s ship the Severn. About nine or ten o’clock on the
morning of the affray, he was called to examine the dead body of
Quartermaster Wooldridge, as well as to minister to the other
wounded men. The deceased was wounded all over his body; but he had
two mortal wounds on the right breast, which appeared to have been
inflicted by musket or pistol balls, and either of which would have
caused death. In the course of the day he opened the body and found
a bullet — [Here it was produced.] — under the right shoulder blade;
it having passed through the lungs; he also extracted a number of
other balls from various parts of his body. Has not the slightest
doubt but that his death was caused by these wounds.
It was also stated that a number of the smugglers were wounded and
carried off in a cart which they had in the road; but where they
were conveyed to remains a mystery. It is supposed they were waiting
for some smuggling vessel to put in, as when they were disturbed
they had no goods about them, and were evidently anxious to avoid
observation.
Thus being the whole of the evidence, the Coroner charged the Jury
in a very perspicuous manner, pointing out the law as it bore upon
the case.
The Jury consulted for six hours, and then one-half were for a
verdict of wilful murder and the other maintained that it could only
amount to manslaughter, inasmuch as the officers were the first
aggressors, and the smugglers were not proved to have any dishonest
object in view; but on the Learned Coroner again addressing them and
pointing out the illegality and evil tendency of a body assembling
in the night time with live arms &c. they unanimously agreed to a
verdict of "Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown,"
which verdict was finally recorded.
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