The Commissary at this time was entirely civilian, accountable only to the Treasury. Its ranks were named the same as military ranks to give them credibility to the military, but there the resemblance ends. The date March is sometimes given, but this is the date the commissaries arrived. The name: there were so many "Smiths" among the dignitaries that the sources confuse which was which. A common error identifies "General Smith" with Deputy Assistant Comissary-General Charles Bagot-Smith. Lord Trevelyan, however, explicitly identifies John William as the commissary who contacted and handled Calvert and the other contractors: House of Commons 1855, pp. 15–17 House of Commons (1855). Reports from Committees. Vol. 9, Part 2. London: Great Britain. Parliament.
Allen 1995, p. 382 Allen, Susan Heuck (July 1995). "Finding the Walls of Troy': Frank Calvert, Excavator". American Journal of Archaeology. 99 (3): 379–407. doi:10.2307/506941. JSTOR506941.
ebscohost.com
connection.ebscohost.com
Lemonick, Michael D. (29 September 2011). "Troy's Lost Treasure". Retrieved 26 September 2011.
Allen 1995, p. 382 Allen, Susan Heuck (July 1995). "Finding the Walls of Troy': Frank Calvert, Excavator". American Journal of Archaeology. 99 (3): 379–407. doi:10.2307/506941. JSTOR506941.
levantineheritage.com
By Ottoman law every ship entering the Dardanelles from the Aegean must stop at Çanakkale to acquire one or more firmans or permissions for a fee. The total bill included other fees as well. The Turkish officials did not themselves service the ships. Instead they allowed each nation to hire a resident consul or consular agent to reside in Çanakkale and greet and service each ship as it came in. They were allowed to apply a schedule of consular fees in addition for this service. One individual might be an agent for more than one nation. Hard-working agents such as the Calverts grew rich on the fees, regardless of whether they were also paid a salary. Agents were not subject to Turkish law, but they might be removed if complaints of extortion or skimming the Turkish fees were made. The best and richest of the agents made themselves as charismatic as possible by living an ostentatious life, throwing parties and dinners, staging hunting expeditions, loaning money to the natives and just generally being charitable and sympathetic. Large numbers of these agents were soon found in most of the Mediterranean ports of the Ottoman Empire. It was a way to get rich quick. A recent study of these consular positions and men who filled them can be found in Levantine Heritage Foundation 2013 Levantine Heritage Foundation (February 2013). "Collaborative Online Research Project: Consuls Of "The Dardanelles" And "Gallipoli""(PDF).
Clark, M.S. (2020). "The Possidhon Affair". Retrieved 10 June 2020. The details of this affair vary among the reports. It is not possible to reconcile all of them. Referring to Allen and some genealogical sites Clark attempts to disentangle the events. The account here is culled from the most plausible events of Clark, Allen, and other authors mentioned.
