Download or read book Recollections of Royal Navy Commander James Anthony Gardner written by James Anthony Gardner and published by Library of Alexandria. This book was released on with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many respects the present volume differs from the most of those which have been issued by the Society; there is in it very little history, as commonly understood. The author, it is true, lived in a stirring time, and was himself an actor in some of the incidents which have shed a glory on our naval records; but his account of these is meagre and of little importance. The interest which attaches to his ‘Recollections’ is entirely personal and social; we have in them sketches roughly drawn, crude, inartistic, and perhaps on that account the more valuable, of the life of the time; of the men who were his companions in the berth, or the gunroom or the wardroom; on deck, in sport or in earnest. In all this, there is perhaps little that we did not know before in an otiose sort of way. We knew that the men of the time were often coarse in speech, rude in action; but it may be that the reality, as portrayed by Commander Gardner, exceeds anything that we had imagined. It seems to carry us back to the days of Roderick Random, and to suggest that there had been but small improvement since Smollett wrote his celebrated description. A closer examination will correct this impression; will convince us that there had, on the contrary, been a good deal of improvement; that the life was less hard, the manners less rude; and if the language does not show very much difference, it has to be considered that Smollett was writing for the public and Gardner was not; that Smollett’s dialogues are more or less literary, and Gardner’s are, for the most part, in the vernacular. Occasionally, indeed, the language has been modified, or its undue strength merely indicated by a ——; but where oaths and expletives formed such a large part of the conversational currency between intimates; when ‘son of a bitch’ was the usual equivalent of the modern ‘chappie’ or ‘Johnnie’ or ‘rotter’; when ‘damned’ was everywhere recognised as a most ordinary intensitive, and ‘damn your eyes’ meant simply ‘buck up,’ it has been felt that entirely to bowdlerise the narrative would be to present our readers with a very imperfect picture of the life of the day. Independent of the language, the most striking feature of the portraits is the universal drunkenness. It is mentioned as a thing too common to be considered a fault, though—if carried to excess—an amiable weakness, which no decent commanding officer would take serious notice of. Looking down the lists of old shipmates and messmates, the eye is necessarily caught by the frequency of such entries as ‘too fond of grog,’ ‘did not dislike grog,’ ‘passionately fond of grog,’ ‘a drunken Hun,’ a term of reprobation as a bully, rather than as a drunkard, ‘fond of gin grog,’ ‘mad from drink,’ ‘insane from drink,’ and so on, passim. For the officer of the watch to be drunk scarcely called for comment; it was only when, in addition to being drunk, he turned the captain out at midnight to save the ship, that he narrowly escaped being brought to a court martial; ‘but we interceded for him, and the business was looked over’ (p. 217).
Download or read book Recollections of James Anthony Gardner written by James Anthony Gardner and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Recollections of James Anthony Gardner Commander R N 1775 1814 written by James Anthony Gardner and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Recollections of James Anthony Gardner written by James Anthony Gardner and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Educating the Royal Navy written by Harry W. Dickinson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-01-25 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides the first comprehensive history of education and training for officers of the Royal Navy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It covers the development of educational provision, from the first 1702 Order in Council appointing schoolmasters to serve in operational warships, to the laying of the foundation stone of the present Royal Naval College Dartmouth in 1902. Educating the Royal Navy 1702-1902 includes the establishment of the Royal Navy’s first naval academy, the commissioning of the officer training ship HMS Britannia, and the conduct of education at sea. It also covers the birth of higher education in the Service with the opening of the Royal Naval College Greenwich, and the provision of technical education and training for a new category of officer, the naval engineer. This book will be essential reading for students of naval history and naval education, and of much interest to professional military colleges studying the development of naval training.
Download or read book Recollections of James Anthony Gardner Commander R N written by James Anthony Gardner and published by General Books. This book was released on 2012-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CONQUEROR, 74 My Lord, you give a fight in sham, A Spithead fight not worth a damn, And that's your Lordship's epigram. My father joined the Conqueror in December 1777 as fifth and then fourth lieutenant, the late Admiral Thomas Lord Graves captain, fitting in Hamoaze; and after a cruise or two the ship was ordered to Spithead to join the fleet assembled there for the sham fight, and to be reviewed by his Majesty King George III. Sir Thomas Pye, admiral of the white, was port admiral and senior officer, and Admiral Keppel (blue at the main) had his flag on board the Prince George, 98. When his Majesty went afloat, the flag officers and captains attended in their barges, Sir Thomas Pye leading the van. The royal standard was hoisted on board the Prince George, and a grand salute took place from the whole of the men of war, which was repeated several times during the day. Thousands of boats full of spectators attended at Spithead; several of the nobility were on board the Conqueror. The ladies didn't much like the firing, and one of them had a tooth knocked out by biting the frame of the quarter-gallery window when the after gun on the main deck went off. Soon after the review, a fleet being ordered to sail for America with all possible dispatch, we were sent to Plymouth to join them.They consisted of the following men of war under the command of the Honourable John Byron, vice- admiral of the blue: ? Princess Royal . 98 Flag Ship P I Commodore Graves 1 ' ? (Captain H. Harmood Cornwall . . 74 Sultan . . .74 Grafton . . .74 Fame . . .74 Bedford. . .74 Albion . . .74 Culloden . . 74 Russell . . .74 Invincible . . 74 Royal Oak . . 74 Monmouth . . 64 Guadeloupe . .32 The fleet sailed from Cawsand Bay in 1778 soon after the review an...
Download or read book Educating the Royal Navy written by Harry W. Dickinson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-01-25 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides the first comprehensive history of education and training for officers of the Royal Navy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It covers the development of educational provision, from the first 1702 Order in Council appointing schoolmasters to serve in operational warships, to the laying of the foundation stone of the pre
Download or read book British Naval Swords and Swordmanship written by Mark Barton and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-07-03 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new publication is intended to bring together a mass of research dealing with all aspects of British naval swords. Unlike the much sought after Swords of Sea Service by May and Annis, this work offers a far broader coverage and, for the first time, the complete story of swords and swordsmanship is presented in one concise volume. While the swords themselves are described the authors also tell the story of naval swordsmanship For exsample, subjects such as how swords and cutlasses were used in action and how training was conducted and covered. The authors also address how how the use of swords developed into a sport in the Navy, and how swords and swordsmanship may have entered naval symbology in such areas as ships' names. Many current myths are addressed and corrected, and the story is brought right up to date with information on the sport from 1948 to 2000. While the book concentrates on the Royal Navy, foreign weapons, including those of the Irish Naval Service, are mentioned where appropriate Other British Maritime organisations such as the Merchant Navy, the Customs and Coastguard Services, and the Reserves are also addressed The book also covers subjects such as dating, collecting, and conservation of swords and re-examines those swords attributed to Nelson. The Appendices include the first list of Swords of Peace awarded to naval units to be published. Recent research by the authors is also reflected in the updated lists of Patriotic Fund Awards, City of London Swords, and Naval fencing champions contained in the Appendicitises The comprehensive nature of the work has not been attempted before and the book will appeal to a wide range of naval enthusiasts and historians, collectors of weapons, fencers and re-enactors.
Download or read book Religion in the British Navy 1815 1879 written by Richard Blake and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2014 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shows how the rise of evangelical religion in the navy helped create a new kind of sailor, technologically trained and steeped in a higher set of values. This book examines how, as the nineteenth century progressed, religious piety, especially evangelical piety, was seen in the British navy less as eccentric and marginal and more as an essential ingredient of the character looked for in professional seamen. The book traces the complex interplay between formal religious observance, such as Sunday worship, and pockets of zealous piety, showing how evangelicalism gradually earned less grudging regard, until inthe 1860s and 1870s it became a dominant source of values and a force for moral reform. Religion in the British Navy explains this shift, outlining how Arctic expeditions showed the need for dependability and character, how Health Returns revealed the full extent of sexual licence and demonstrated the urgency of moral reform, and how manning difficulties in the Russian War of 1854-1856 showed that a modern fleet required a new type of sailor, technologically trained and steeped in a higher set of values. The book also discusses how the navy, with its newly awakened religious sensibilities, played a major role in the expansion of Protestant missions globally, in exploration, convict transportation, the expansion of imperial frontiers, and worldwide maritime policing operations. Fervent piety had an effect in all these areas - religion had helped develop a new kind of manliness where piety as well asdaring had a place. RICHARD BLAKE is the author of Evangelicals in the Royal Navy, 1775-1815 (Boydell 2008).
Download or read book In Nelson s Wake written by James Davey and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-17 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Battles, blockades, convoys, raids: An “impressive” account of how the indefatigable British Royal Navy ensured Napoleon’s ultimate defeat (International Journal of Military History). Horatio Nelson’s celebrated victory over the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 presented Britain with an unprecedented command of the seas. Yet the Royal Navy’s role in the struggle against Napoleonic France was far from over. This groundbreaking book asserts that, contrary to the accepted notion that the Battle of Trafalgar essentially completed the Navy’s task, the war at sea actually intensified over the next decade, ceasing only with Napoleon’s final surrender. In this dramatic account of naval contributions between 1803 and 1815, James Davey offers original and exciting insights into the Napoleonic wars and Britain’s maritime history. Encompassing Trafalgar, the Peninsular War, the War of 1812, the final campaign against Napoleon, and many lesser known but likewise crucial moments, the book sheds light on the experiences of individuals high and low, from admiral and captain to sailor and cabin boy. The cast of characters also includes others from across Britain—dockyard workers, politicians, civilians—who made fundamental contributions to the war effort, and in so doing, both saved the nation and shaped Britain’s history.
Download or read book Tempest written by James Davey and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2023-04-25 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major new history of the Royal Navy during the tumultuous age of revolution The French Revolutionary Wars catapulted Britain into a conflict against a new enemy: Republican France. Britain relied on the Royal Navy to protect its shores and empire, but as radical ideas about rights and liberty spread across the globe, it could not prevent the spirit of revolution from reaching its ships. In this insightful history, James Davey tells the story of Britain's Royal Navy across the turbulent 1790s. As resistance and rebellion swept through the fleets, the navy itself became a political battleground. This was a conflict fought for principles as well as power. Sailors organized riots, strikes, petitions, and mutinies to achieve their goals. These shocking events dominated public discussion, prompting cynical--and sometimes brutal--responses from the government. Tempest uncovers the voices of ordinary sailors to shed new light on Britain's war with France, as the age of revolution played out at every level of society.
Download or read book The Royal Navy in River Plate 1806 1807 written by John D. Grainger and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a collection of contemporary documents throwing light on the campaigns by the Royal Navy, in association with the army, on cities of the Spanish Empire in South America, beginning with the (unauthorised) assault on Buenos Aires in 1806, by Sir Home Popham. One of Popham’s aims was to open South America for British trade and also perhaps to liberate the land from its supposed Spanish oppressors, and although the people of Buenos Aires may not have wished to remain as Spanish subjects, it soon became apparent that they had no wish to become British subjects. It was this fact that led to the subsequent loss of Buenos Aires only six weeks after its capture, and the net result of Popham’s interventions was to begin the process of South American independence and the collapse of the Spanish Empire.
Download or read book Midshipmen and Quarterdeck Boys in the British Navy 1771 1831 written by S. A. Cavell and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating study of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", outlining their social background, career paths and what life was like for them. Officer recruits - "young gentlemen" - entered the Royal Navy with dreams of fame, fortune and glory, but many found promotion difficult, with a large number unable to progress beyond lieutenant. Recent scholarship has argued thatduring the wars of 1793-1815 there was greater social diversity among naval officers, with promotion increasingly related to professional competence. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the social backgroundof around 4,000 "young gentlemen" a term which includes midshipmen and various other categories, including captains' servants, volunteers and masters' mates. It concludes that in fact high birth became an increasingly important factor in the selection of officer candidates, and that as the Admiralty grip on the appointment and management of officer aspirants increased, especially after 1815, aristocratic presence in the ranks of young officers increased significantly as a result of deliberate Admiralty policy. The book also discusses the assertion that the increase in elite sons led to a dramatic increase in cases of indiscipline and insubordination, concluding that although therewas a marked increase in courts martial for insubordination during and after the French Wars there is no evidence that such cases related more to the elites than to young aspirants in general". The book includes many case study examples of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", illustrating what life was like for them and how they themselves viewed their situation. S.A. CAVELL is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and Louisiana State University and completed her doctorate at the University of Exeter.
Download or read book The Sea Their Graves written by David J. Stewart and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2019-04-08 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like other groups with dangerous occupations, mariners have developed a close-knit culture bound by loss and memory. Death regularly disrupts the fabric of this culture and necessitates actions designed to mend its social structure. From the ritual of burying a body at sea to the creation of memorials to honor the missing, these events tell us a great deal about how sailors see their world. Based on a study of more than 2,100 gravestones and monuments in North America and the United Kingdom erected between the seventeenth and late twentieth centuries, David Stewart expands the use of nautical archaeology into terrestrial environments. He focuses on those who make their living at sea--one of the world's oldest and most dangerous occupations--to examine their distinct folkloric traditions, beliefs, and customs regarding death, loss, and remembrance.
Download or read book Sailors on the Rocks written by Peter C. Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-01-31 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For three hundred years or more the Royal Navy really did Rule the Waves, in the sense that during the numerous wars with our overseas enemies, British fleets and individual ships more often than not emerged victorious from combat. One French Admiral wa
Download or read book Catalogue of the Library of the Royal United Service Institution written by Royal United Service Institution (Great Britain). Library and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book English British Naval History to 1815 written by Eugene L. Rasor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2004-10-30 with total page 900 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The English/British have always been known as the sailor race with hearts of oak: the Royal Navy as the Senior Service and First Line of Defense. It facilitated the motto: The sun never set on the British Empire. The Royal Navy has exerted a powerful influence on Great Britain, its Empire, Europe, and, ultimately, the world. This superior annotated bibliography supplies entries that explore the influence of the English/British Navy through its history. This survey will provide a major reference guide for students and scholars at all levels. It incorporates evaluative, qualitative, and critical analysis processes, the essence of historical scholarship. Each one of the 4,124 annotated entries is evaluated, assessed, analyzed, integrated, and incorporated into the historiographical scholarship.
