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The Execution of Admiral Byng
more hereA quiet, shy man, the unfortunate John Byng was no coward – he faced his death with cool courage – but he seems to have been too cautious, passive and defeatist for command in the British navy. He went to sea at thirteen and rose up the ladder to captain at twenty-three and rear admiral at forty.
Aged fifty in 1756 when the Seven Years’ War broke out, Byng, now a full admiral, sailed with ten ships of the line to Gibraltar. His orders were to prevent the French in Toulon from capturing the Briti -
CREATION OF THE U.S. NAVY
more hereThe official birthday of the United States Navy is October 13, 1775. But America’s naval history dates all the way back to the pilgrims who first settled the New World; after all, they had to get there somehow. -
THE GREAT SIEGE OF GIBRALTER
more hereThe Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782. It was the longest siege endured by the British Armed Forces. -
SIEGE OF GIBRALTER GRAND ASSAULT
more hereThe Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782. It was the longest siege endured by the British Armed Forces. The French and Spanish not only wished to retrieve lost territory from Britain but needed to secure Gibraltar, which was a key link in Britain’s control of t -
THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE
more hereHaving spent twenty years as a reenactor, Mr Raynor is an experienced and thorough researcher in England and contributes articles regularly to Magazines such as First Empire and the Age of Napoleon. Surviving memoirs and letters from the ordinary seaman and soldiers of Britains armed forces during the Napoleonic era are rare items. So it is of interest when any such material is found from which to study the period. One such letter is from a sailor who was aboard H.M.S. Queen during the battle wh -
THE BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT
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The Breeze at Spithead and the Gale at the Nore
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. There was also discontent and minor incidents on ships in other locations in the same year. The mutinies were potentially dangerous for Britain, because at the time the country was at war with the Revolutionary government of France. There were also concerns among some members of the British ruling class that the mutinies might be the trigger to a wider uprising similar to the French Revolution. -
The Battle of the Nile
more hereIn England’s long struggle against Napoleon, the crowning naval achievement was the battle of Trafalgar. But nowhere were the odds longer, the element of surprise more important or the necessity for improvisation more acute than in Nelson’s victory over the French at the Nile.
