'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

Nice post to finish off the book Betsy. I suppose Garneray is like most of us, we only see the best in ourselves. However, I do believe sailors tend to exaggerate a lot, they are always telling tall tales of adventure and heroics :)

Sounds good Betsy, I will have a search to see if I can find it to watch as well :)

Poor old Garneray sounds like he is in a bit of a pickle with the Captain!

Betsy wrote: "Thanks, Scott, am having PT so I'm hanging in there.

When you think about some of the long-lasting problems caused by the 'Founding Fathers' in writing the Constitution, amazing document that it i..."

Good to hear you are on the mend Betsy and your comment on the Constitution is so right!

More great posts there Scott. I have read that while American forces were invading Canada, some northern US states were supplying the British forces with food, etc. Trade never stopped between Canada and the US even while at war.

Scott wrote: "The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812

Andy makes the argument that one..."

Good post Scott! I suppose you can't blame sailors for trying to earn a decent wage, but on the other hand, I suppose you can't blame England for trying to keep its navy in fighting trim while at war with Napoleonic France.

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The author mention the affair of the Aix Roads, which involved one of my favourite navy commanders - Captain Lord Cochrane:

The Affair of the Aix Roads:
https://www.sailsofglory.org/showthre...

My favourite book on Cochrane is this title:

Cochrane: Britannia's Sea Wolf by Donald Serrell Thomas

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - From the chapter dealing with The Battle of the Nile:

"The matter of support from the rear became academic at about 9.30 p.m. when, with the resistance of the first seven ships fading, L'Orient caught fire. Fire was the most deadly danger to wooden warships and, unless it could be smothered very quickly, was invariably followed by an explosion. The British ships with which L'Orient was engaged and the French ships anchored behind her began to weigh their anchors and drift away from her. No other dangers was so great as being close to a first-rate, with perhaps 15 tons of gunpowder in her magazine, about to blow up. The explosion when it came must have been one of the biggest the world had seen and it brought the battle temporarily to a halt. For a while there was silence, broken only by the splashing od falling debris, which seemed to go on for an impossibly long time. There followed a sort of stunned lull. Except for an occasional report, the guns were silent; there was the sound of axes clearing fallen rigging, an occasional shout or splash, and the sounds of boats picking up survivors of L'Orient. Captain Miller, on Theseus, tried to stifle his feelings of pity by thinking of atrocities the French were said to have committed, but he felt constrained to try and stop his crew cheering; he had no use for the French, but it didn't seem decent to cheer at such a cataclysmic loss of life."

The destruction of L'Orient:
https://julianstockwin.com/2015/08/01...

https://www.napoleon-series.org/milit...

Scott wrote: "The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812

At the start of the War of 1812,..."

His vision certainly got shattered by reality and geopolitics' eh!

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - From the chapter dealing with The Battle of the Nile:

"Again, there is the contrast between the hypnotised inaction of the ships in the rear, and the desperate courage of the Frenchmen in the van, who fought without hope till they could fight no more. The first ship in the line was Le Guerrier, which was engaged on her inshore side only by Zealous. Captain Hood recorded in a letter to his uncle that Le Guerrier fought for three hours until she had only one gun left which would fire and still she would not strike; finally, Hood sent an officer across in a boat, and he managed to persuade her officers to strike and call a halt to the slaughter. Most of the ships fought for an hour and a half or more, even with British ships on either side of them. Brueys, badly wounded in both legs, had himself placed in a chair so that he could remain on his quarterdeck, where he was eventually killed. The captain of Tonnant, in similar circumstances, had himself braced upright in a tub."

Battle of the Nile:
https://www.britishbattles.com/napole...

Captain Edwards sounded like a real decent fellow, and it seems like Garneray landed on his feet and did OK after all.

I'm going to be away for a few days on a short holiday in Sydney so I won't be posting any book excerpts until Saturday, but I will be dropping in to check the thread whenever I can.

Scott wrote: "Certainly not an anti-climax for Machiavellian subterfuge, seems more like a ship full of criminals and frauds, not POW!"

They probably shipped half of them off to Australia!

I found it pretty interesting as well Betsy. I must also confess to not being aware of the providence of Camperdown in Australia.

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The next battle discussed in my book is the Battle of Camperdown where Captain Blight of HMS Bounty fame took a prominent role in the victory:

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The author's discussion on the various naval commands of the British fleet during this period of warfare:

"Of all the commands maintained by Britain in the closing years of the eighteenth century perhaps the least glamorous was the North Sea Fleet. Each of the other major stations had a cachet of its own: The West Indies brought prize money; the Mediterranean was, even then, romantic - there had been frequent action there and its climate was the best in which to serve on a ship equipped with few creature comforts; the Channel Fleet stood between England and the French and embodied the heart and soul of the navy. But the North Sea! Not only was the North Sea Fleet serving in waters which were often grim and cold but the enemy against whom it stood guard was Holland. Nobody felt much animosity against Holland; true, the Dutch navy was now hostile but only because it was an instrument of the French - France was the real enemy. Anybody watching out for the Dutch must have felt in something of a backwater confronted with a thankless task."

Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815 by David Tudor Davies

I found this listing for the framed print I have - "The Action Between Java And Constitution" by Montague Dawson:

https://kerrisdalegallery.com/print/m...

Great post MR9. Really glad to read that the British gave Barney his well-deserved compliment!

Betsy wrote: "Excellent accounting of the battle. I love paintings of the sea battles. Our dining room has the Battle of Trafalgar as the trim."

I'm the same Betsy, I really like paintings of sea battles. I have one from the War of 1812 hanging in my hallway. I bet your Trafalgar picture looks grand :)

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The next battle covered in the book is the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 1797:

https://www.britishbattles.com/napole...