Hornblower's Historical Shipmates

Hornblower's Historical Shipmates

Author: Heather Noel-Smith

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1783270993

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A fascinating account of varied careers, providing a rich snapshot of the later eighteenth-century sailing navy in microcosm. This book sets out the lives of seventeen 'young gentlemen' who were midshipmen under the famous Captain Sir Edward Pellew. Together, aboard the frigate HMS Indefatigable, they fought a celebrated action in 1797 against theFrench ship of the line Les Droits de l'Homme. C. S. Forester, the historical novelist, placed his famous hero, Horatio Hornblower, aboard Pellew's ship as a midshipman, so this book tells, as it were, the actual stories of Hornblower's real-life shipmates. And what stories they were! From diverse backgrounds, aristocratic and humble, they bonded closely with Pellew, learned their naval leadership skills from him, and benefited from his patronage and his friendship in their subsequent, very varied careers. The group provides a fascinating snapshot of the later eighteenth-century sailing navy in microcosm. Besides tracing the men's naval lives, the book shows how they adapted to peace after 1815, presenting details of their civilian careers. The colourful lives recounted include those of the Honourable George Cadogan, son of an earl, who survived three courts martial and a duel to retire with honouras an admiral in 1813; Thomas Groube, of a Falmouth merchant family, who commanded a fleet of boats which destroyed the Dutch shipping at Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies, in 1806; and James Bray, of Irish Catholic descent, who was killed commanding a sloop during the American war of 1812. Heather Noel-Smith is a genealogist and a retired Methodist minister. Lorna Campbell is a digital education manager at the University of Edinburgh and an education technology consultant. They are both independent researchers.


Eighteenth-Century British Midwifery, Part III vol 12

Eighteenth-Century British Midwifery, Part III vol 12

Author: Pam Lieske

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-10-28

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 104024923X

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By reprinting in facsimile primary texts on eighteenth-century midwifery and childbirth, this comprehensive twelve-volume collection gives readers a much deeper, more nuanced understanding of midwives, midwifery students, and women in labour.


'Regimental Practice' by John Buchanan, M.D.

'Regimental Practice' by John Buchanan, M.D.

Author: Paul Kopperman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1317069218

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In 1746, Dr John Buchanan, recently retired as a medical officer in the British Army, produced a manuscript entitled, 'Regimental Practice, or a Short History of Diseases common to His Majesties own Royal Regiment of Horse Guards when abroad (Commonly called the Blews).' Revised in several stages almost until the time of Buchanan's death in 1767, this work was for the most part based on the author's observations while surgeon to a cavalry regiment serving in Flanders 1742-45, during the War of the Austrian Succession. It is a work of immense value to the understanding of eighteenth-century interpretation and treatment of diseases, but as yet has never been published. Presented here is an annotated modern edition of the text, with an introductory section setting the work in the context of Buchanan's life and career, and within the broader framework of eighteenth-century medical practice. Buchanan's practice of medicine generally represented the mainstream of professional practice as regarded both his understanding of disease and his treatment of it. Across the decades of the eighteenth century there were discoveries and fashions that impacted both the theory and the practice of medicine. Various writers of that age, as well as a number of historians since, have conveyed the sense that practice was chaotic. On the contrary, what this book argues is that methods used to treat diseases were fairly standard. Therefore, by reading Buchanan's manuscript one sees not only how he treated more than three dozen diseases, as well as various wounds and injuries, but also how these conditions were often treated in this period.