Andrew Ross
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1961.88.A6
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this gruesome ballad, Orkney sailor Andrew Rose is tortured horribly by Captain Rogers onboard the 'Martha Jane': he is savaged by dogs, dragged in the water, beaten, whipped, stabbed with an iron bar, and finally suspended in the air with ropes. When the ship docks at Liverpool, the captain is found guilty of murder and is executed.
Item Notes
16 verses of 4 lines. Seaman Andrew Rose was tortured to death by Captain Henry Rogers between April and June of 1857, as their ship returned from Barbados. When the ship reached Liverpool, Rogers was tried and sentenced to death; his execution on 12th September the same year drew a crowd of tens of thousands.
See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 1, p. 7
'A Ballad History of England from 1588 to the Present Day' (R. Palmer, 1979) pp. 138-139
Item Subject/Person
Rose, Andrew [Ross, Andrew]; Rogers, Henry
Recording Location
County - Orkney
Island - Orkney Mainland
Parish - Birsay
Item Location
County - Orkney
Item Location (outside Scotland)
Barbados
Language
English, Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good