Filled with the promise of adventure and glory, the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic era enticed hundreds of young men to enlist as officers in its bitter struggle against the French fleet. With some as young as nine, these boys were confronted with the harsh realities of warfare at sea: cramped conditions, ruthless storms and fierce combat. In spite of their youth, these sailors showed enormous courage and valour in the face of battle, their bravery immortalised in the literary works of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent. Drawing from letters, poems and personal accounts, this book uncovers the remarkable story of those boys who fought aboard His Majesty's mighty ships-of-the-line to defend their kingdom against the French.
Immortalized in literature through such characters as C. S. Forester's 'Horatio Hornblower' and Patrick O'Brian's 'Jack Aubrey', the officers and midshipmen of the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary (1792-1802) and Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) ran the ships that defended Great Britain against the threat of French invasion. This period saw the Royal Navy achieve its most momentous victories at the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar, victories that laid the basis for a period of British naval and imperial supremacy that would last a century. The men who commanded these ships went through a long apprenticeship, often going to sea at the age of 12 or younger. They could serve for up to 60 years, progressing through the ranks in a service that rewarded success in battle and merit to a much larger extent than the contemporary British Army. This title, the companion volume to Warrior 100: Nelson's Sailors, describes the harsh realities of life in the Georgian Royal Navy for all ranks of officer from the lowest midshipman to the most senior admiral and covers the exploits of men such as Horatio Nelson and Thomas Cochrane who provided the basis for the fictional figures that remain so popular to this day.
The fictional exploits of sailors in the Royal Navy have thrilled readers around the world. This title covers various aspects of the Royal Navy including the workings of the admiralty, the designs and building of ships, life on board, food and drink, discipline, seamanship, merchant fleets, and opposing navies.
Filled with the promise of adventure and glory, the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic era enticed hundreds of young men to enlist as officers in its bitter struggle against the French fleet. With some as young as nine, these boys were confronted with the harsh realities of warfare at sea: cramped conditions, ruthless storms and fierce combat. In spite of their youth, these sailors showed enormous courage and valour in the face of battle, their bravery immortalised in the literary works of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent. Drawing from letters, poems and personal accounts, this book uncovers the remarkable story of those boys who fought aboard His Majesty's mighty ships-of-the-line to defend their kingdom against the French.
A fascinating study of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", outlining their social background, career paths and what life was like for them. Officer recruits - "young gentlemen" - entered the Royal Navy with dreams of fame, fortune and glory, but many found promotion difficult, with a large number unable to progress beyond lieutenant. Recent scholarship has argued thatduring the wars of 1793-1815 there was greater social diversity among naval officers, with promotion increasingly related to professional competence. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the social backgroundof around 4,000 "young gentlemen" a term which includes midshipmen and various other categories, including captains' servants, volunteers and masters' mates. It concludes that in fact high birth became an increasingly important factor in the selection of officer candidates, and that as the Admiralty grip on the appointment and management of officer aspirants increased, especially after 1815, aristocratic presence in the ranks of young officers increased significantly as a result of deliberate Admiralty policy. The book also discusses the assertion that the increase in elite sons led to a dramatic increase in cases of indiscipline and insubordination, concluding that although therewas a marked increase in courts martial for insubordination during and after the French Wars there is no evidence that such cases related more to the elites than to young aspirants in general". The book includes many case study examples of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", illustrating what life was like for them and how they themselves viewed their situation. S.A. CAVELL is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and Louisiana State University and completed her doctorate at the University of Exeter.
Drawing on many contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts, this book examines the lives of the ordinary sailors of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), detailing their attitudes, duties, comforts, hardships, vices and virtues. The popular image of the British sailor of this time is of a press-ganged wretch living off weevil-infested food, motivated only by prize money and facing constant hazards aboard a floating hell, where discipline was maintained by the lash. The extent to which this enduring image accords with reality is revealed here.
In this cookbook companion to Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin novels, readers get authentic and practical recipes for dishes that complement the pair's travels--such as Burgoo, Drowned Baby, Sea-Pie, Jam Roly-Poly, and Sucking pig.
This book provides summaries and analyses of more than 250 novels and nearly 30 films and examines the extent to which they accurately reflect the history, mores and manners of the period--and the extent to which they reveal the ideas and attitudes of their authors and of the periods in which they were written. Particular emphasis is placed on the nature and importance of the war at sea for the British and on the role of famous naval officers such as Nelson, Pellew, Duncan, Smith and Cochrane in the defeat of Napoleon.
Boys at Sea is a study of homoerotic life in the Royal Navy during the age of sail. The book traces every feature of sexual life at sea, including seduction, rape, prostitution, courts martial, and the punishments meted out to those convicted of violating the stern moral code set down in the Articles of War .
