The Glorious First of June

Hearts of Oak Trilogy #3

by Sam Willis

On 1 June 1794, after a week of skirmishing, the French and British fleets came to close quarters in the northwest Atlantic, some 400 miles off the coast of Brittany. No battle had ever been fought so far from land. The French, in ships painted blood-red and bearing banners proclaiming 'la Republique ou la mort!' were escorting a American grain convoy to Brest to feed a starving population; the British, under the command of Lord Howe, a radical innovator and tactical genius, were bent on destroying the battle fleet of the nascent French Republic. Both sides would claim victory in the ensuing battle; and both had reason to do so. For the French, 'le combat de prairial' was a strategic success since the convoy and its precious cargo made it safely through. But this outcome came at a heavy material cost. In numerical terms 'the Glorious First of June' was the greatest British naval victory over her oldest enemy for more than 100 6 French ships were captured and another sunk; 4,200 French sailors were killed and 3,300 wounded - 10% of their entire maritime workforce. These were physical blows from which the French navy would never truly recover. In The Glorious First of June Sam Willis not only tells, with thrilling immediacy and masterly clarity, the gripping story of an epic and complex battle, he also explains its critical importance for the development of British naval tactics and the concomitant growth of British sea-power. For it was in this battle that Lord Howe experimented successfully with the sophisticated line-breaking manoeuvres which, finessed and perfected by Horatio Nelson, would bring Britain to the apogee of its maritime supremacy with the defeat of Napoleon just 11 years later. With The Fighting Temeraire and The Admiral Benbow, The Glorious First of June forms part of 'The Hearts of Oak trilogy' of scholarly but accessible histories that, between them, encapsulate Britain's maritime achievement during the age of sail.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Military Fiction, 18th Century, Naval History, French Revolution

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Dr Sam Willis is a maritime historian and archaeologist and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

He is the author of the best-selling Hearts of Oak Trilogy and the Fighting Ships Series. He has consulted on maritime history for many clients including the BBC, Channel 4, NBC America and Christie's.

Sam's work is coloured by his knowledge and experience of seamanship. Sam's unique approach to maritime history and his vivid style of writing has led to him being described as 'A Nautical Tour de Force'.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The year is 1794. While revolutionary France is in the grip of the Terror, two great fleets, one French, the other British, under the command of the redoubtable Howe approach each other in mid-Atlantic...This is the overall scene of Professor Willis's highly entertaining and informative portrait of the battle known as the Glorious First Of June. This reads-like-a-novel history describes not only the battle and the strategy and operations that enabled it, but Willis also takes the time to tell us about the various and sundry works of art that portrayed the battle, and were wildly popular at the time. There are also helpful biographies of the major characters and brief portraits of the ships involved. I think Willis is correct in stating that the history of the Royal Navy in this period is overly focused on Nelson, so the leaders and battles that preceded or followed him are not examined with sufficient ardor. And unlike many English-speaking authors, he also examines closely the conditions and actions of the French, both their fleet and the political situation in France in general. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable excursion to the era when men had hearts of oak and warships had sails.

[Nicky Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised how gripping this book was. I purchased it after reading the opening few pages in the shop, and was surprised at what an easy read it was. Usually History novels get bogged down to early in facts and become a dry read. This one however was different with the author setting the scene talking of the monuments to this largely overlooked battle. As I was primarily interested in the engagement, it was a little slow when the author went back to inform us of why the battle was importation and the politics leading up to it. But I also understand he had to give it this context. I felt I learnt so much from this book about this time period, from the little nuggets of information, such as this battle led to the English giving out medals for the first time, with the lower ranks making their own. To larger issues such as the political parties in America and how they supported the French against the British, as the French had helped America gain its independence.

I have now ordered the rest of the series (having jumped in on this the third book). I bought this book from the shop the Works for a bargain £4.

[Cropredy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're steeped in the naval history of Nelson -- The Battle of the Nile, Copenhagen, and of course Trafalgar. But the long British war against France started before Nelson. This book addresses in quite a bit of detail with a lot of surrounding context the action between Howe's fleet and the French revolutionary fleet in the Atlantic in late May to early June, 1794.

Why did I choose this book to read? First of all, I recently educated myself on the French Revolution. Initially, I listened to the 13 part podcast series on The Rest is History. Then, I read Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama, then I relistened to the podcast series to cement my understanding.

Then, in the last couple of years I read these two books:

* Volume II of Rick Atkinson's (American) Revolutionary War trilogy The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 where a chapter is devoted to the Battle of the Ushant (failure of the British fleet to win and thus helping to secure French support for the Americans)
* The Fall of Toulon: The Last Opportunity to Defeat the French Revolution where the French fleet surrendered itself to the British in 1792 rather than fight for the Jacobin regime. Napoleon makes his name here in the recapture of Toulon. See the movie for a dramatization.

So, 1794 -- the time of the Glorious First of June -- puts you slap down in time where the Terror was underway in France and the Coalition (including Britain) were trying to bring revolutionary France to heel. This period of history was a bit hazy to me.

Plus, how could one not want to read something called "The Glorious First of June"? It must have been significant but I couldn't have told you why.

OK, so much for the long wind-up.

The French fleet at Brest has recently been wracked by mutiny; officers are suspected of not adhering to the revolutionary cause. Morale is low (not helped by the French fleet at Toulon's defection in 1792). The harvest has been poor, people are hungry. Bread riots.

France negotiates with the United States to supply grain and other essential goods in a giant convoy. Getting that grain through will alleviate the pressure on the revolutionary regime. The main French fleet is sent out to ensure the convoy gets through.

Britain's Channel Fleet, under Admiral Howe (who had seized New York from the revolutionary Americans back in 1776), sets sail to intercept the convoy though knowing that the French battle fleet might be standing in their way.

In a four day encounter where the first and fourth days involved heavy fighting, the battle ended with six French ships of the line captured and one sunk. No British ships were lost. But the fleets were shattered and had to limp home to port. Heavy human losses. Meanwhile, the convoy got through unscathed.

There were many aspects of this book that made it interesting and worthy of at least 4 stars:

* Willis does an excellent job of putting the battle in context. That is, this not just a book about a four day sea battle. The scene within France at the time coming less than two years after the execution of Louis XVI, the revolutionary government in its nascence, an internal civil war, hunger, and threatening armies from Prussia and Austria on its borders are all ably described.

* Equally, the state of each navy at the time is well-recounted. All aspects get fascinating treatment - men, morale, leadership, victualing, armament, tactics and more.

* Two super-interesting chapters dealt with how naval actions were depicted in art and expositions. This included the theatre, and, for anyone who has visited the Gettysburg Cyclorama, an equivalent massive painting displayed in a round, multilevel structure in London was built in the 1790s for the enjoyment of all who could afford admission. An actual artist (Nicolas Pocock) was aboard a British frigate for the battle and his sketches (and later paintings) provided a treasure trove for naval historians.

* Once the battle is over come the recriminations - this chapter was as interesting as the rest. Howe, who was positioned at the center of the British line couldn't see all the action so when he nominated captains for medals, many got left out and became bitter. The smaller British fleet sent out to find (unsuccessfully) the convoy had its admiral (Montagu) disgraced in the public and Admiralty eye despite not having had any other options given when he sailed and the state of the weather. Meanwhile, on the French side, the Jacobins pointed the finger at eight French captains for cowardice or incompetence and threw them in prison (all while the guillotine was slicing off heads in an ever increasing rate).

* The reader also learns quite a bit about how French prisoners were dealt with (humanely and otherwise). Our old friend typhus makes an appearance post-battle on the British fleet transporting the prisoners home.

And of course, there's the actual battle itself. This is well-documented with many maps and enough first hand accounts (including seamen) to put you on the gun deck amongst severed limbs, blood-washed planks, incredible noise, masts and yards crashing from above, smoke, and plenty of sang-froid. The battle account nearly equaled that of Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle.

There are many illustrations of medals, monuments, prints, paintings, political cartoons and more that elevate the book beyond that of a mere military history. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy naval history in the Age of Sail. I'm planning on reading another of Willis's books: The Admiral Benbow: The Life and Times of a Naval Legend

[Alex Helling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A legendary battle which has been since overshadowed by Nelson’s victories at the Nile and Trafalgar. In The Glorious First of June Sam Willis provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging look at the first naval battle of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. It is nicely written and well explained even for those who are not too conversant with sailing or how naval battles in the age of sail operate.

I think that the subtitle ‘fleet battle in the reign of terror’ actually fits the content of the book better than the title. This is not just a book about the battle but rather about the clash of the British and French navies in the revolution; how they prepared, how they fought. And wider their impact on culture. It covers the politics of the French revolution which brought about the clash.

Reflecting this we don’t get first sight of each other’s fleets until nearly halfway through the book (p.146) and those raring to get to the titular 1st of June need to wait until p.185, 3/5ths of the way through, as the battle lasted 3 days with the first of June the decisive endgame. And it is over quickly; by page 203. I feel short changed! But Willis does spend a lot of time analysing why the British won after the pages of action (and quite a bit before too) with a whole host of reasons from differences in sailing, ship design, willingness to come other ships design, and gunnery. For example, in gunnery the difference between French linstocks (matchlock) and British gunlock (flintlock) (p.210).

Willis ably makes the case that we should not look at the Glorious 1st June through the prism of a later string of naval victories stretching over the next twenty years of the Napoleonic wars. When this battle was fought the most recent naval battles had been in the American War of Independence when the Royal Navy could at best be considered to have drawn with their French opponents and the lack of complete command of the ocean cost Britain the Thirteen Colonies (p.101). Although the French navy was badly affected by the chaos of the terror it also had positive effects for example on their willingness to fight to the bitter end rather than surrender so a British victory was in no way a foregone conclusion.

However, I feel Willis overreaches in attributing wide ranging consequences to the battle. Particularly the end of the Terror and downfall of Robespierre (p.296) which I don’t feel is very well justified. That said it does provide useful closure to the arc of the narrative the book takes through the French Revolution so worth the inclusion even if you don’t agree with Willis on the battle having this impact.

I think this is the first book on naval history that I have read that has more than a chapter devoted to art (chapter 4, but also a considerable chunk of chapter 9). The battle both benefited from, and helped bring about, a revolution towards realism in art so the battle could be said to have a considerable legacy beyond the military.

This is an excellent book on the clash of navies in the first half of the revolutionary wars. It is accessible to those who have never read maritime history before. And those whose primary interest is not the navy – for example late 18th Century politics, society, or art – will find plenty to keep them engaged.

[Mark Bowden · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may seem wrong to carp about a book on an extremely interesting topic written with so much enthusiasm. But in a way it is the enthusiasm which seems to get in the way of good historical writing. In a perhaps laudable attempt to keep it lively Willis uses language casually; to take one example, he writes of ships' rigging as it "splintered and cracked" but rigging is made of rope - how can it splinter and crack? Language is a precision tool and if it is used like a hammer its edge is blunted for all of us.
More significantly, some of Willis's statements and interpretations are of doubtful veracity. He states that the First of June was the first battle of the 18th century in which an admiral deliberately tried to break the enemy line, which it wasn't. He argues that the Royal Navy in 1794 was inexperienced, not having fought a fleet action for 'a generation'. In fact it was only 12 years since the Battle of the Saints (in which Rodney broke the French line) and 11 since the Battle of Cuddalore - not even half a generation. Many of the senior commanders, warrant officers and ratings in the British fleet at the First of June were highly experienced. Some of them had fought not only in the American War of Independence but in the Seven Years War. Willis's description of Cornwallis's Retreat (1795) is also slightly misleading; Cornwallis certainly did make use of false signals but that was not the 'only' reason that he was not overwhelmed by the French - it was also due to the stubborn resistance of the outnumbered British ships and the reluctance of the French to push home their advantage.
I applaud Willis's determination to see the battle in its contemporary context, unfettered by the hindsight of what happened later, and to view Howe as a precursor to Nelson rather than somehow lost in his shadow. The placing of the battle in the broaader context of the French Revolution, and particularly The Terror, is also prasieworthy but I found the book hard to read. That may be just me though.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant! I have not read any of the others in the series, but I most very will. Sam sets the story and the context well and uses contemporary examples to explain the story to the reader. The story is for all levels of interest from the causal historian to the academic. My favourite example of his story telling was his comparison between the celebrations at home following the 1st of June to that of the fever pitch of a Football World Cup! So worth the read!

[TG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping more battle and less politics. But a good book anyway.

[Mark Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book, and a throughly good read

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good overview of this first fleet action of the French Revolution. The author has certainly done his best to bring to life Lord Howe's greatest victory.

I also value the way in which Mr Willis has brought in artists and the public, and added their opinions and reactions to the account of the battle.

[Lashonda Slaughter Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores a very important naval battle between French and British forces in the Atlantic in 1794. What makes the book so readable is Willis's amazing ability to describe the events like a novelist with the research and scholarship of an academic.... amazing book.

[Richard K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice background as well on the French revolution

[Graham Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Willis Is an excellent author. This book takes you right back . It is deep and detailed and thoroughly readable.

[Ethan S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if there is a better author than Sam Willis for this stuff. Top-notch, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read from him and this was no exception.