Broadsides

Nathan Miller

Description

Praise for BROADSIDES

"Pace the pitching black deck with a sleepless Admiral Nelson the night before battle bestows eternal rest and peerless immortality upon him; envision with Mahan the storm-tossed and ever-watchful ships-of-the-line that kept England secure from invasion; wonder in awe at Collingwood's dedication in working himself to death after Trafalgar elevated him to primary responsibility for England's imperial safety in the Mediterranean. All of this and more awaits the reader who will sail through these pages, every one of which is etched with the indelible expertise and boundless enthusiasm of Nathan Miller, master of naval history."--Kenneth J. Hagan, Professor of History and Museum Director Emeritus, U.S. Naval Academy, Professor of Strategy, U.S. Naval War College

"This is not just inspired naval history--the personal lives of the seafarers themselves, from cabin boy to admiral, are given generous treatment."--The Times (London)

"A wealth of detail...Descriptions of dreadful living conditions aboard cramped wooden vessels give way to bloody decks after close combat....A solid introduction to a turbulent era at sea."--Publishers Weekly

"[As] a companion to the popular nautical novels of C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian--it succeeds brilliantly."--Daily Telegraph (London)

"The descriptions of the great sea commanders and their battles display all the craft of the gifted writer....Read Broadsides for enjoyment as a well-informed, action-packed naval narrative."--The Christ Church Press
Preface.

Prologue.

"Attack, Take, or Destroy".

Uncombined Operations.

Revolution Becomes World War.

Sea Fights--Classic Style.

"The World...Turned Upside Down".

Sea Fight--New Style.

"Heart of Oak".

"To Glory We Steer".

"Engage the Enemy Closer".

"Nelson's Patent Bridge".

"A Breeze at Spithead".

Proud New Frigates.

"A Band of Brothers".

"Naples Is a Dangerous Place".

Of Nelson and the North.

"To the Shores of Tripoli".

"...He Will Not Come by Water".

The Long Watch.

"England Expects..."

"...The Beautiful Precision of Our Fire".

Free Trade and Sailors' Rights.

Tattered Ensigns.

Epilogue.

Appendix I: The Composition of the Royal Navy, 1793-1816.

Appendix II: Nelson's Trafalgar Memorandum.

Maps.

Bibliography.

Index.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Spanish Armada
• Broadside (disambiguation)
• History of the British Isles
• Military
• Naval
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 02 mai 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470341247
• Langue: English

Extrait

Broadsides
Other Books by Nathan Miller
Star-Spangled Men: America s Ten Worst Presidents
War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II
Theodore Roosevelt: A Life
Stealing from America: Corruption in American Politics from Jamestown to Whitewater
The U.S. Navy: A History
Spying for America: The Hidden History of American Intelligence
F. D. R.: An Intimate History
The Naval Air War: 1939-1945
The Roosevelt Chronicles
The U.S. Navy: An Illustrated History
The Founding Finalgers: A History of Corruption in American Politics
Sea of Glory: A Naval History of the American Revolution
The Belarus Secret (with John Loftus)
Broadsides
The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815
NATHAN MILLER

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
Copyright 2000 by Nathan Miller. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, [phone], fax [phone], e-mail: [e-mail].
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Miller, Nathan
Broadsides : the age of fighting sail, 1775-1815 / Nathan Miller.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-471-07835-7
1. Naval history, Modern-18th century. 2. Naval history, Modern-19th century.
I. Title.
D215.M55 2000
359 .009 033-dc21
99-052346
To Cassie and Pat Furgurson For Reasons Known to Us All
He that commands the sea is at great liberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will.
Francis Bacon
Contents
Preface
Prologue
Chapter 1 Attack, Take, or Destroy
Chapter 2 Uncombined Operations
Chapter 3 Revolution Becomes World War
Chapter 4 Sea Fights-Classic Style
Chapter 5 The World Turned Upside Down
Chapter 6 Sea Fight-New Style
Chapter 7 Heart of Oak
Chapter 8 To Glory We Steer
Chapter 9 Engage the Enemy Closer
Chapter 10 Nelson s Patent Bridge
Chapter 11 A Breeze at Spithead
Chapter 12 Proud New Frigates
Chapter 13 A Band of Brothers
Chapter 14 Naples Is a Dangerous Place
Chapter 15 Of Nelson and the North
Chapter 16 To the Shores of Tripoli
Chapter 17 He Will Not Come by Water
Chapter 18 The Long Watch
Chapter 19 England Expects
Chapter 20 The Beautiful Precision of Our Fire
Chapter 21 Free Trade and Sailors Rights
Chapter 22 Tattered Ensigns
Epilogue
Appendix I The Composition of the Royal Navy, 1793-1816
Appendix II Nelson s Trafalgar Memorandum
Maps
Bibliography
Index
Preface
F EW ERAS OF the past hold more fascination for us than the Age of Fighting Sail, as is clear from the popularity of the novels of Patrick O Brian, C. S. Forester, and Alexander Kent, among others. Yet, in spite of popular interest in the long-vanished world of wooden men-of-war and pigtailed sailors, there is no readily available history of this period for a general audience. Ever since I began reading the Hornblower novels more than a half century ago, I have looked for such an account without success. I hope this book will fill that gap. It is intended to provide the historical background to the fictional works that have such a devoted readership.
This is a work of imagination and history-with the imagination limited by history. Fortunately, despite the hazards of time there is no shortage of documentation about the era. Logbooks, official reports, letters, and memoirs have been preserved-and they have served as the foundation of my book. Inasmuch as this book is intended for the general reader, I have not weighted it with an array of footnotes. But he or she is assured that each quotation or statement of fact is based on documentary evidence. I take full responsibility for the interpretations drawn from them.
My designation of the Age of Fighting Sail as the years between 1775 and 1815 is arbitrary. Usually it is given to the period beginning with the Anglo-Dutch Wars in 1650, when sea power became a dominant factor in geopolitics, and ending with the fall of Napoleon in 1815. But I have limited the period covered here to the final forty years, which most fascinate modern readers-the naval side of the American Revolution; the twenty-two-year struggle between Britain and Revolutionary and then Napoleonic France, which began in 1793; the organization of the U.S. Navy in 1797; the forgotten undeclared naval war between the United States and France; the American struggle against the Barbary pirates; and finally the useless War of 1812 between the British and the United States. One man, Horatio Nelson, epitomizes this era, and I have used his life as a framework for the narrative but have continued it on for the decade following his death at Trafalgar in 1805.
This book is not a mere account of disconnected battles or campaigns, however. I have tried to place the battles within the strategic, political, and social contexts of the time. The question might well be asked whether the era of sailing ships and muzzle-loading guns has anything to teach us in the age of the nuclear submarine and the cruise missile. The answer is yes. Tenacity, steadfastness, and resolution in adversity-qualities that were valuable for a nation two centuries ago-are just as important at the start of a new century. No ship sails alone. There is a unity between the past and the vessels of the present and future-and the men and women who sail in them.
As in all my naval books, full attention has been given to ordinary seamen who served in these ships and fought the battles. For the most part, they did not keep journals or write memoirs, and this book is intended to help keep their memory alive. Although they endured conditions that are savage by today s standards, the sailors of the Age of Fighting Sail-French, British, Dutch, Portuguese, Danish, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, and American-usually went willingly into battle, shouting defiance and proud of their moment of glory.
It only remains for me to express my gratitude to those who helped in the preparation of this book: Hana Umlauf Lane, my editor, who patiently waited for the completion of a long-delayed manuscript, and her assistant, Michael Thompson; David Black, my agent, who was generous with his time and efforts; Dr. Kenneth Hagan, professor of history and museum director emeritus at the U.S. Naval Academy, who read the manuscript and suggested numerous changes that improved it; Sigrid Trumpy, curator of the Beverley R. Robinson Collection at the Naval Academy, and her assistant, Laura Hubicsak; James W. Cheevers, curator of the Naval Academy Museum; and the staffs of the Nimitz Library at the Naval Academy and the National Archives in Washington.
And above all to my wife, Jeanette, who stood with me during a trying period in our lives.
Prologue
F RESH GALES BRINGING squally weather and snow blustered up the River Medway in March 1771, and even in these sheltered waters the ships lying offshore swung uneasily at their anchors. Huddled against the chill wind, a small boy in the uniform of a Royal Navy midshipman trudged along the streets of Chatham. Tavern signs creaked overhead, and the slick cobblestones shone like metal. Uncertainty gnawed at the lad s spirit. He had arrived earlier in the day by coach from London, but there had been no one to meet him. Anxiously, he inquired about the location of Raisonnable , a sixty-four-gun man-of-war, which he was to join as his first ship, but no one knew where she lay.
Eventually he found a sailor who did. The seaman pointed out into the river, where Raisonnable rode to anchor in the choppy swell along with several other ships that were being recommissioned in the wake of a war scare with Spain over the Falkland Islands. But there was no boat to take the boy to the ship, and she was too far out in the stream for him to attract the attention of anyone on board. A passing naval officer noticed the forlorn child. Upon hearing his tale, he took him home for tea and arranged for a boat to carry him out to Raisonnable . The officer forgot the boy s name but years later had good reason to recall it: Horatio Nelson.
The twelve-year-old Nelson was the fifth son of a widowed Church of England parson who had eight children and limited financial means but good family connections. With so many mouths to feed, opportunities had to be provided for some of the children. Horace, as he was known to his family, made his own choice of career. Captain Maurice Suckling, his maternal uncle, was a welcome visitor to the parsonage at Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, and his tales of savage sea fights in the various wars against the French fired the boy s imagination. Born not far from the North Sea, he lived amid men who spoke of ships and their qualities as men elsewhere gossiped of horses, and even though small and delicate for his age, he chose a career in the Royal Navy.
Reading in a newspaper that Captain Suckling had been appointed to the command of Raisonnable , the boy urged his father to write him of his wish to go