‘My dearest Tussy’: coping with separation during the Napoleonic Wars (the Fremantle papers, 1800–14)

This chapter draws the unpublished diaries of Elizabeth (Betsey) Wynne Fremantle, 1801-14, and her correspondence with her naval husband, Captain Thomas Francis Fremantle, during the Napoleonic Wars. It examines a working naval marriage that developed into a trusted, complementary partnership and explores the way that the couple dealt with separation through their correspondence. The intertwining of family, navy and nation in the Fremantles’ correspondence – striving to establish themselves and better their families’ future prospects – is representative of many ambitious naval couples of the time. By the time that the war was finally over, their family had grown to eight living children, their estate had been expanded significantly, and the family’s naval, social and political position was well on the way to being secured. Betsey Fremantle played no small part in these achievements and this chapter’s examination of her contributions throws light on the role of the Georgian naval officer’s wife in time of war. It highlights the nature of female agency and examines the women’s part in the development and deployment of vitally important personal, social and political networks in forwarding naval family interests.