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Evangelicals in the Royal Navy, 1775-1815: Blue Lights and Psalm-Singers
The Evangelical Admiral Gambier, notorious for distributing tracts to his fleet in a theatre of war, is commonly seen as a misfit in a fighting service that had scant time for fervent piety. In fact, the navy of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars showed a level of religious observance not seen since the days of Queen Anne. Evangelical laymen provided one dynamic for this change: concentrating first on public worship, they moved to active proselytism in search of converts amongst sailors, and in a third phase developed a loose network of prayer groups in scores of ships, uniting officers and seamen in voluntary gatherings that transcended rank. This book explores the effect this new piety had on discipline and human governance, on literacy, on the development of chaplains' ministry and on the mindset of the officer corps. It also looks at the larger question of how its values were absorbed into the ethos of the navy as a whole. It draws on sources both familiar and unusual - logs, letters, minutes, memoirs, tracts and sermons, Regulations - to explain how evangelical influence affected officer corps, lower deck and Admiralty, showing how a movement that began by promoting public worship at sea became an agency for mass evangelism through literature, preaching and off-duty gatherings, where officers and men met for shared Bible reading and prayer a mere decade after the great Mutinies.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2008
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November 23, 2023
I have read this book through the ten week period that my 16 year old son spent at HMS Raleigh. A devout Christian he earned the nickname “Bish” (the Bishop) during his stay. He passes out tomorrow! Praise God! This book helped me feel closer to him.
An excellent study of historic journals, diary entries, Royal Navy reports and government documents that allow Blake to ask well reasoned questions of the data to identify the cause and legitimacy of the movement and the impact it had on British military success across the empire.
It turns out that sober sailors, who were not exhausted by prostitutes and rum, united in Christ and thus did not fear death were far better at aiming their cannons at the French!
Makes sense!
It was wonderful to learn about the Blue Lights and the lesser known revival at sea. How the Christian revival blessed the crew, their families and wider social change in the pro active support of abolishing the slave trade
- the book was far more academic than edifying with biographical accounts of individuals who made an impact.
An excellent study of historic journals, diary entries, Royal Navy reports and government documents that allow Blake to ask well reasoned questions of the data to identify the cause and legitimacy of the movement and the impact it had on British military success across the empire.
It turns out that sober sailors, who were not exhausted by prostitutes and rum, united in Christ and thus did not fear death were far better at aiming their cannons at the French!
Makes sense!
It was wonderful to learn about the Blue Lights and the lesser known revival at sea. How the Christian revival blessed the crew, their families and wider social change in the pro active support of abolishing the slave trade
- the book was far more academic than edifying with biographical accounts of individuals who made an impact.
Displaying 1 of 1 review