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British vs. French Shipbuilding Part Deux

As we discussed in this post about British vs. French shipbuilding techniques, the alleged superiority of French shipbuilding during the Napoleonic Era is not accepted by all historians. The following article is a condensation of the text for an exhibit of rare nautical-themed manuscripts, and gives yet another perspective on that debate. In general, Britain [...]
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British vs. French Shipbuilding During the Napoleonic Era

Throughout our beloved series, Patrick O’Brian makes many references to the apparent superiority of French ships and shipbuilding. Indeed, our own dear Surprise was originally French. O’Brian’s references are consistent with those of many historians, but they are by no means accepted as absolute fact. This excerpt was brought to my attention by a visitor [...]
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Lieutenant Paul Harris Nicholas’ Account of the Battle of Trafalgar

This first-person account of the Battle of Trafalgar comes to us from Lieutenant Paul Harris Nicholas, Royal Marines, who was serving aboard the HMS Belleisle at the time. It was given aboard the HMS Bijou in 1829. I was scarcely sixteen when I embarked for the first time, in the Belleisle of eighty guns, and [...]
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Account of the Action Between HMS Macedonian and USS United States

“…Then United States, forty-four, and our Macedonian, thirty-eight, had a fight off the Azores, and Macedonian struck to the Americans. Two of our frigates and a sloop have struck to the Americans, and not one of theirs to us.” – Jack Aubrey to Stephen Maturin, The Fortune of War The War of 1812 did not [...]
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A Foremast Jack’s Account of Life on Blockade Duty

This letter is written by a William Nelson, who appears to be an ordinary seaman. The letter written phonetically and without punctuations gives a rare glimpse of conditions aboard ship. It would appear William Nelson’s ship was on station outside Toulon, the French Mediterranean naval port, and experiencing at least one action to relieve the [...]
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Longitude Pt. 2: The English Attack

While the Académie Royale des Sciences had finally solved the problem of longitude by land, there was still no way to find longitude by sea, which was vital for trading ships and naval dominance. The method utilizing Jupiter’s moons was of no use for this because the movement of the ship made observations of the [...]
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Sir John Jervis’ Report of Cape St. Vincent

Captain Robert Calder of HMS Victory arrived at the Admiralty on March 8th 1797 with dispatches from Admiral Sir John Jervis: Victory, in Lagos Bay, February 16th, 1797. Sir, The hopes of falling in with the Spanish fleet, expressed in my letter to you of the 13th instant, were confirmed that night by my distinctly [...]
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A Foremast Jack’s Account of the Glorious First of June

The “Glorious First of June” was a naval battle that took place on June 1st, 1794. It was a major victory of the British forces over those of the French, perhaps the first major naval victory of that conflict. An Eyewitness Account of the Glorious First of June: A Letter from H.M.S.Queen Edited by Keith [...]
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Letter to Admiral Collingwood Immediately After Trafalgar

From an officer on the Euralyus 26 October, 1805 Sir – I scarcely know whether, after so great a loss as the nation has sustained in Lord Nelson, and every one of us a friend, added to the inevitable destruction of nineteen fine prizes, I ought to congratulate you, but since the enemy, minus so [...]
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Admiral Collingwood’s Report of Trafalgar

From The Hampshire Chronicle Victory at Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson Great Naval Victory 6 November 1805. ADMIRALTY OFFICE; Dispatches of which the following are Copies, were received at the Admiralty Office this day, at one o’clock, A.M. from Vice Admiral Collingwood. Commander in Chief of his Majesty’s ships and vessels off Cadiz: [...]
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All To Seek: Cross-Reference

Subjects Commonly Addressed