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The Two Greatest Uses of Trash Talk in the History of (Naval) Warfare

As I’ve mentioned a few times (here, here, here and here), I’m a huge fan of Cracked.com. I love them because they’re hilarious, but also because they seem to have three or four people on staff dedicated solely to writing historically themed articles, and those three or four people always manage to inform me about things I didn’t [...]
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Social Politics and the Midshipmen’s Mutiny, Portsmouth 1791

In 1791 Thomas Leonard, a midshipman assigned to duty aboard HMS Saturn, refused to subject himself to the masthead punishment ordered by his First Lieutenant and triggered a series of events that came to be known as the Midshipmen’s Mutiny. The incident involved the young gentlemen of the Channel Fleet and made visible a break [...]
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Eyewitness Account of the Siege of Gibralter (Never Before Published)

The following is a newly translated and never before published (in English and/or in the last century, anyway) set of letters describing the Siege of Gibralter from the Devon Records Office. Very exciting Ref No: 346M/F/160 – 1782 – ‘Noticias de Europa y America’, manuscript book in Spanish describing the siege of Gibraltar Letter written in [...]
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An Overview of The Great Siege of Gibralter

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782. It was the longest siege endured by the British [...]
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The Capture of Mauritius in 1810 vs. The Mauritius Command

As Patrick O’Brian states in the introduction to that book, the events described in The Mauritius Command are closely based on fact. Just how closely is apparent from the following excerpts from part 5 of W.L. Clowes’ The Royal Navy. Peter Davis has helpfully added reference numbers to the novel in [..] (not sure which [...]
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Eyewitness Accounts of the Hamilton/Burr Duel

Throughout the course of our beloved series, Stephen fights several duels and almost fights several more. He is by no means abnormal for his time; gentlemen of his era often felt the only way to defend their honor was to shoot someone over it. One of the most famous historical duels was that between Alexander [...]
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Nelson’s Account of the Battle of Copenhagen 04.02.1801

The Battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801: Vice Admiral Lord Nelson’s official report to Admiral Sir Hyde Parker. Elephant, off Copenhagen, 3rd April 1801. Sir, In obedience to your directions to report the proceedings of the Squadron which you did em the honour to place under my command, I beg leave to inform you that [...]
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Nelson’s Letters to the Crown Prince of Denmark

After three hours of intense fighting at the Battle of Copenhagen, Danish resistance began to slacken. By half past two, most of the fighting had stopped, but there was still some intermittent resistance. Unwilling to inflict unnecessary destruction on the danes, he had the following note sent to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark with the [...]
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An In-Depth Look at the Battle of Copenhagen

The Battle of Copenhagen was the second, and hardest fought, of Nelson’s three great naval victories. It was also where part of his legend was born thanks to his literally “turning a blind eye” on the signal to break off action. While that is the event most people remember from this battle, there is much [...]
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The Adventures of James Buckingham 2/2: Captivity

When we last left our hero, 13 year-old James Silk Buckingham, he was being transported from the French corvette that had captured his packet ship to the Spanish city of Corunna, where he was to be imprisoned. What dire fate is in store for our young hero?! Read on… Autobiography of James Silk Buckingham Chapter [...]
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All To Seek: Cross-Reference

Subjects Commonly Addressed