Monthly Archives: July 2009
Rear Admiral Sir Home Popham
Home Popham was born at Gibraltar in 1762 while his father, Joseph, was Britain’s consul in Tetuan, Morocco. His father was apparently a devotee of both marriage and fatherhood. Home allegedly had twenty siblings and some twenty-three half-siblings. He wasn’t … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Biography
Captains Contentious
Old Salt Blog has posted an excellent review of Louis Arthur Norton’s book Captains Contentious – The Dysfunctional Sons of the Brine. Sometimes it is hard to fathom how the United States either gained or maintained her independence given the … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Book Reviews
Saint Malo: The City of Corsairs
The Breton city of Saint Malo was infamous to the British navy and merchantmen as a home of some of the most brazen privateers produced by France. In earlier wars, British merchantmen had paid tribute directly to Saint Malo to … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Geography
The Mauritius Campaign: Prelude
The last novel I summarized on this blog was the C. Northcote Parkinson novel, featuring is character Richard Delancey, Dead Reckoning. The book covers about five years of Delancey’s career and involves operations in Borneo and, most significantly, against the … Continue reading
Filed under Naval Operations, Richard Delancey Novels
Kapuas River
In C. Northcote Parkinson’s Richard Delancey novel Dead Reckoning, Captain Delancey tracks a French privateer to its base on the Kapuas River in Borneo. The privateer is protected by a stockade which fortifies both sides of the river.
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Fiction, Richard Delancey Novels
Dead Reckoning
Dead Reckoning fast forwards the life of C. Northcote Parkinson’s character Richard Delancey by four years picking up in late 1805. When we left Delancey in Touch and Go he was a recently made commander on the eve of the … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Fiction, Richard Delancey Novels
Captain Conway Shipley
(photo located here) We briefly mention Commander Conway Shipley in the story below, Capture of l’Egyptienne. In that story he is the 21 year old commander of HMS Hippomenes who gave chase to, and captured, the 36-gun privateer l’Egyptienne in … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Operations, Smal Boat Actions
