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

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

Betsy wrote: "As might be imagined escape was always to be hoped for, but rarely successful. Encouraged by the successful escape (although no one knew of its success for years) of a man named Thomas, Garneray an..."

Poor old Bertaud, I suppose he was a desperate man and, in the end, he was free of captivity in one way or the other!

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The Glorious First of June:

"The battle became more of a melee than intended and the French eventually managed to withdraw to leeward but not before great punishment was taken by both sides. The most celebrated incident of the battle was the duel between Brunswick and Vengeur, both 74s. Brunswick had gone straight through the French line and came to alongside Vengeur so closely that their anchors locked; neither ship could manoeuvre and there was no option for either except a brutal slogging match as point-blank range until one of them should yield. After four hours, and in a sinking condition, Vengeur struck her flag; her masts went overboard shortly afterwards. The two ships disentangled themselves; Brunswick, although for the moment completely disabled, still had two masts standing and was blown bodily downwind. Vengeur, with all masts gone and settling lower in the water, wallowed sullenly where she was. Before any assistance could be given, Brunswick found herself to leeward of the main body of the French, who were beginning to regroup. Too disabled to continue any action, all she could do was sail to leeward until sufficiently far away from the French to start making repairs; she eventually succeeded in reaching Spithead eleven days later. Albert, which although much damaged, was able to set some sail, was ordered to take possession of Vengeur. As she approached it became obvious that nothing could be done except hoist out all boats to save as many as possible of the crew. Two hundred and thirteen men were taken aboard Albert before Vengeur went down with the rest. Much was made of the contest in France, where it was reported that Vengeur sank in battle with guns firing and the crew shouting 'Vive la Republique!' As with all legends the truth is less highly coloured, but in this case it was impressive enough."

The 'Brunswick' and the 'Vengeur du Peuple' at the Battle of the First of June, 1794:
https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/obj...

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The opening shots for The Glorious First of June:

"At about 8 p.m. the 74-gun Audacious caught up with the 110-gun Revolutionnaire. Broadsides had been exchanged at some distance between Revolutionnaire and other ships but Audacious came close alongside. For nearly two hours in the darkening evening the two ships slogged it out, with a strengthening wind moaning in their rigging and the grey sea sluicing between their hulls. Now the higher standard of training in the British ship began to pay off; she had not been worked as hard as the navy would be worked later in the war but she was controlled by professional officers and petty officers who had drilled the crew in gunnery and sail-handling both in harbour and at sea. The French were still suffering from the upheavals of the Revolution and from an over-long sojourn in Brest. They had virtually no experience of handling guns on moving decks. Thus it was that a 74-gun ship was able successfully to take on one of 110 guns. Just before 10 p.m. Revolutionnaire, almost simultaneously, struck her colours, lost her mizen-mast and ran into Audacious. Audacious, however, had been fought almost to a stand-still. The damage to her rigging was so great 'as to render the ship entirely ungovernable' and she could not take possession of the surrendered Revolutionnaire. The two ships drifted apart. By the following morning Audacious had cobbled together a rig of sorts but could only sail before the wind; in this condition she would not even risk action with the frigates which had come back to succour Revolutionnaire. All she could do was to make for home, which she reached eight days later."

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

Betsy wrote: "It would Villaret de Joyeuse did not meet the end he anticipated."

Yes, it was good to read that he survived the war and later died of natural causes.

Manray9 wrote: "From Norton's Joshua Barney: Hero of the Revolution and 1812.

Barney was captured four times during the Revolution. He did two stints aboard the infamous prison hulk Jersey anchored..."

Four times is quite a record!

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The first naval battle to be covered in my book is The Glorious First of June - the author had this to say about the French fleet and its commander - Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse:

"It would have been a brave man who did not feel apprehension as the French fleet sailed out between the dark cliffs which guard the entrance to Breast. Villaret de Joyeuse was no starry-eyed fanatic believing that revolutionary fire in the belly would overcome everything. He was a professional seaman who was well aware of the deficiencies of his command: the men unsettled and undrilled, the officers, for the most part, hastily found and inadequate substitutes for the guillotined professionals. With this force he had to find the grain convoy, perhaps a thousand miles out in the Atlantic, before it was found by the British. Then he had to bring it safely back, fighting off what he knew would be a formidable opposing force. Failure to do so would mean dishonour and the end of France, which, however, would not concern him because before the end came he would be dead."

Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse:
https://www.frenchempire.net/biograph...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_T...

I bet that was a great tour MR9!

The subject of your theme book sounds pretty interesting. I hope it's a decent account.

My pleasure Betsy. When I next get to visit the U.K. next, HMS Victory will be on my 'to-do' list!

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - Some details on gunnery onboard a ship of the line:

"A 32-pounder weighed about 3 tons, and the guns were spaced at about 11-foot centres. As the carriage and its wheels were about five feet wide, there was about six feet of space between adjacent guns. This was the space in which most of these operations had to be carried out by some members of both gun teams. Allowing a few inches' margin, each man had a strip of about two feet wide to work in: he had to heave on tackles, pass cartridges and shot, stand clear of the recoil, all within this strip. Step back six inches too far and he could lose his toes. Once established, the drill would have to be as perfect and as synchronised as that of a dance troupe, each man treading on the same few square inches of deck every time. All this in thick smoke and continuous noise, and possible while stupid with fatigue - close action could last for three hours or more. Mercifully, once into the swing of it, a man would become an automaton; without time to think much about his tiny, noisy, smoke-filled world suddenly ending in an explosion of splinters."

Sailing Ships and Artillery:
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/sai...

HMS Victory broadside:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0Cn-...

Betsy wrote: "That's a lot of water for 4 pumps. You really needed men who were good at their jobs in cases like that, no hangers-on. When the shots were below the water line, the need became dire."

I suppose if they were manning the pumps they would have been highly motivated for one reason or another :)

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The author has taken some time to discuss the structure and capabilities of the ships of this period and covers all the interesting odds & ends that makes up a fighting ship, including this bit about the pumps used to keep a damaged ship afloat:

"It was hard work to operate but it was efficient and simple, and very little could go wrong with it. If one were damaged during an action, the ship's carpenter and his mates could quickly repair it. The capacity of four pumps was similar to that of a water main supplying a town of 30,000 people. So long as the intake of water could be kept below this rate, successive shifts of men at the pump handles could keep the ship afloat."

Ship pumps:
https://ltwilliammowett.tumblr.com/po...

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - Some interesting information on ship construction during this period. The bit about teak was new to me:

"The wood used in the construction of the ship was oak, ideally English oak. This wood was preferred to any other because of its strength and lasting qualities. Some smaller ships were built in India of teak, which, in nearly every respect, is the perfect ship- or boat-building timber, being strong, hard and almost totally resistant to rot. It had, however, one fatal disadvantage as a material for warships: a large proportion of the casualties in battle was caused not by direct hits but by flying splinters, and wounds made by teak splinters invariably turned septic. Those made by oak splinters did not. In the days before antiseptics this was a major consideration.

It took 80 acres of oak trees to make one 74-gun ship and by the end of the wars, the problem of timber supply was becoming critical. Supplies held out just long enough, however, and later in the century steel took over before oak gave out altogether."

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

Betsy wrote: "I must say that that The Floating Prison (Mes Pontons) has a distinction among the books that I have read. The first 3 chapters of the preface by Richard Rose basically say, "Don't believe much of ..."

Hmmm, that's a great way to start off a book but I suppose at least you have been warned :)

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

This looks like a great read AR,..."

Great post Scott, it would appear that the captain of the British warship dishonoured the traditions of the Royal Navy. I wonder if it was because many officers and men held the Americans in contempt until they learnt better.

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - I found this little bit of information of interest:

"Before leaving the matter of conduct in battle, it is as well to note a couple of the rules of combat which were internationally accepted. They are somewhat chastening in that they indicate a greater degree of civilisation two hundred years ago; not an entirely fair comment, because in conditions of modern war such humanity is not practicable, but the fact remains, it does not happen now. Firstly, the convention was that a ship of the line never opened fire on a frigate unless the frigate took the first hostile action. Because of this the frigates accompanying fleets could stand by, unharmed, while the ships of the line they were accompanying destroyed each other. Secondly, and of more moment when studying sea battles, it was perfectly acceptable and honourable for a captain, whose ship was overwhelmed and could not win, to surrender. This was done by hauling down the national flag or, if it had already been shot away, flying a white flag of the flag of his opponent. Duels between ships invariably ended with one of them having struck (that is, hauled down) her colours. It was a merciful custom, which prevented the useless slaughter of men after their ship was no longer capable of fighting."

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

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

Good to be 'onboard' for the Oct..."

Good choice Scott! The naval war of 1812 is a very interesting subject, and I've pulled that book off my library shelves a few times to flick through with a view of reading it. I haven't yet, but your posts may tempt me yet again to consider it.

"Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line 1793-1815" - The author provided a reasonable and fair assessment on the French Navy:

"The army captured territory and defeated threatening forces, the main function of the navy was to assist the army when need arose. This thinking led to such ill-advised actions as taking gunners from the ships to serve the artillery. Napoleon, although not responsible for these revolutionary blunders, did little to correct them. He had no feeling for the sea, and could never understand that the forces of nature prevented ships from being moved freely about, as and when required like army regiments.

In spite of these self-inflicted handicaps, and in the face of a formidable British navy, the French acquitted themselves extraordinarily well. Undertrained revolutionary fervour and patriotism could not give them victory in battle, but it did provide them with a tenacity in the face of bitter and bloody defeats. Very few actions were a walk-over; the Glorious First of June was a strategic victory for the French; at the Nile the doomed crews fought doggedly to the bitter end; and at Trafalgar, a scratch fleet sailed out of Cadiz to meet Nelson knowing that, short of a miracle, it was ging to its destruction. But all their courage could not compensate for their lack of sea time and after a shaky start the British navy, in its sea-keeping, ship-handling and gunnery, established an ascendancy which was to prove conclusive."

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

Betsy wrote: "My book is a bit unusual this time, but fits right in: The Floating Prison by Louis Garneray. It's about the prison hulks used by the Royal Navy. One of the prisoners wrote his memoirs."

That should be a very interesting account Betsy!

Mike wrote: "I don't often find ebooks on the Napoleonic campaigns but this one is on sale for $1.99 at all the ebook sites (Amazon, B&N, Apple Books, Google & Kobo). Picked up a copy of an AR 4-Star read:

[bo..."

Nice find, Mike! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

KOMET wrote: "The Napoleonic Era novel "Sea of Treason" by Julian Stockwin is a recent acquisition to my library.



The time is 1813 and Capta..."

The theme read can be fiction or non-fiction if you like :)