Great Britain. Royal Navy - In Nelsons wake: the navy and the Napoleonic wars

Published in association with Royal Museums Greenwich, the group name for the National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Queens House and Cutty Sark.

Copyright 2015 National Maritime Museum

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press) without written permission from the publishers.

James Davey has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this book.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Davey, James.

In Nelsons wake : the navy and the Napoleonic wars / James Davey.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-300-20065-2 (cl : alk. paper)

1. Great Britain. Royal NavyHistoryNapoleonic Wars, 18001814.

2. Napoleonic Wars, 18001815Naval operations, British. I. Title.

DC153.D37 2015

940.27450941dc23

2015023653

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Plates

Portrait of a seaman, attributed to James Gillray. PAD8576.

Recruitment poster, c. 1797, published by W. & A. Lee. PBB7084.

Rear-Admiral Sir John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent, by Sir William Beechey, 178790. BHC3001, Caird Fund.

Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1799. BHC2889, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, by William Owen, c. 1799. BHC2815, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, after Daniel Gardner. BHC2636, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

John Bull Peeping Into Brest by George Woodward, June 1803. PAF3950.

A Correct View of the French Flat-Bottom Boats, intended to convey their Troops, for the Invasion of England, as seen afloat in Charante Bay in August 1803 by John Fairburn, 17 August 1803. PAH7437.

Rear-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, by Henry Howard, 1827. BHC2625, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

Sir Sidney Smith, unknown artist, undated. PAD3500.

Vice-Admiral Sir James de Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez, attributed to Samuel Lane, c. 1830. BHC3166, Caird Collection.

Sir Home Riggs Popham, K.M. & F.R.S. Commander of His Majestys Squadron at the Capture of Buenos Ayres, &c. by Mather Brown, 1 November 1806. PAH5888.

Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, after Isaac Pocock. BHC2529.

Rear-Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey by Lemuel Francis Abbott, c. 1806. BHC2751.

Admiral Sir Edward Codrington by George Frederick Clarke. BHC2620.

Captain Sir Edward Berry, attributed to Thomas Phillips. BHC2650.

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 18224. BHC0565, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

Funeral Procession of the late Lord Viscount Nelson, from Greenwich to Whitehall on the 8th January, 1806 by Augustus Charles Pugin, engraved by John Hill, 1 April 1806. PAH7323.

Duckworths Action off San Domingo, 6 February 1806, by Nicholas Pocock, 1808. BHC0571.

Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth by Sir William Beechey, c. 1809. BHC2664. Greenwich Hospital Collection.

Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats by John Jackson, c. 1817. BHC2975, Caird Collection.

Bombardement de Copenhague, du 2 au 5 Septembre 1807. Vue considerable Flotte anglaise commendee par lAdmiral Gambier by Jean Laurent Rugendas, undated. PAH8055.

John Bull embracing the Pie-man, or a Friendly Visit to Zeland, published by Thomas Tegg, 15 October 1807. PAF4002.

Board Room of the Admiralty, after Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Charles Pugin, 1 January 1808. PAD1358.

Plymouth Dockyard by Nicolas Pocock, 1798. BHC1914, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

Prison Hulks in Portsmouth Harbour by Ambroise-Louis Garneray, c. 180614. BHC1924, Caird Collection.

The Ghost of a Rotten Borough. Appearing on the Hustings of Covent Garden, published by Thomas Tegg, 17 May 1807. PAF3996.

Domino box and cribbage board made by a French prisoner of war, c. 180314. AAA0003, Sutcliffe-Smith Collection.

A View of the Launching of his Majestys Ship Queen Charlotte from Deptford Yard July 17th 1810 by George Thompson, 7 August 1810. PAH0775.

Pictural Plan of the grand Expedition, in the West Scheldt, Augt 1809; shewing the difficulty of approach to Antwerp by Captain Cockburn, 12 October 1809. PAF4777.

A Design for a Monument To be erected in commemoration of the Grand Expidition 1809 by Thomas Rowlandson, published by Thomas Tegg, 14 September 1809. PAG8604.

HMS Melpomene engaged with 20 Danish gunboats, 23 May 1809, British School. BHC0590.

Captain Sir Edward Pellew, later 1st Viscount Exmouth, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, c. 1797. ZBA0434, purchased with the assistance of the Society for Nautical Research Macpherson Fund.

Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge by Sir William Beechey, 18045. BHC3168, Caird Collection.

Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn by John James Halls, c. 1817. BHC2619.

Captain Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke by Samuel Lane. BHC2575.

The Brilliant Achievement of the Shannon in boarding and capturing the United States Frigate Chesapeake off Boston, June 1st 1813 in fifteen minutes by William Elmes, August 1813. PAH8127.

The Yankey Torpedo by William Elmes, 1 November 1813. PAF4164.

The Empresss wish or Boney Puzzled!! by Isaac Cruikshank, 9 August 1810. PAD4784.

The Blockade of Toulon, 181014: Pellews Action, 5 November 1813, by Thomas Luny, 1830. BHC0604, Caird Fund.

Napoleon Bonaparte on board the Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, 1815. BHC2876, Caird Fund.

Scene in Plymouth Sound in August 1815 by John James Chalon, 1816. BHC3227, Greenwich Hospital Collection.

All illustrations are National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, and may not be reproduced without permission. Any further credits are listed. They may be ordered from the NMM Picture Library, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF, quoting the image reference number given after the image credit below. (See www.nmm.ac.uk/picturelibrary for full contact details.)

1 An incredibly rare image of a sailor, attributed to the famous caricaturist James Gillray. Though his features are no doubt exaggerated, the individuals unkempt hair and prominent neckerchief set him apart as a seaman. Very few people encountered sailors in their daily lives, but they nonetheless occupied a prominent place in British popular culture.

2 The vast majority of naval seamen were volunteers. Many of them responded to recruitment posters like this, with its blatant mixture of patriotic bluster and financial inducement. The Royal Tars referred to here would have joined the navy for a variety of reasons, from steady pay and the prospect of prize money, to the promise of adventure and a regular meal.