Press ganged 

https://www.thoughtco.com/impressment-of-sailors-1773327

‘Back in England, I fell in love with the wonderful girl who is now my wife. Mary Catlett was a distant relation, and but 13 years old at the time. I was 17 and shortly after meeting her was press ganged by the Royal Navy. After seeing me coming off a ship in Liverpool, the gang followed me, seized me and took me to a newly built 40-gun warship. Its name was HMS Harris. At the first opportunity I absconded. soldiers were sent to find me.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024).

More about press gangs

Press gangs were notorious recruitment groups employed by the British Royal Navy from the 17th to early 19th centuries to force men into naval service during wartime manpower shortages. Press gangs primarily targeted unemployed or underemployed men, often from port cities and dockyards. They also frequented taverns, pubs, and other public spaces where potential recruits gathered. Usually led by a petty officer and armed with warrants, the gangs physically coerced men into joining the navy. The practice was known as ‘impressment’ and abbreviated to ‘press’.

Forced recruitment was a significant aspect of British naval history and maritime practice. It was regarded as an essential support to naval warfare and defense of the nation. Serving in the navy, and naturally resistant to authority, John Newton was treated almost as harshly as the slaves he was later responsible for on slave ships.