Category Archives: single ship actions
Capture of l’Egyptienne
Psychological dominance. It is difficult to read the history of the war at sea during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and not have that phrase constantly cross your mind. Over and over the ships of the British … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Battles, single ship actions
HMS Pallas at the Corduoan Light
I decided to do one more Lord Cochrane piece before moving on to something else. This episode predates The Boats of HMS Impérieuse by a year. At the time Cochrane was commanding the 32-gun 12-pounder frigate HMS Pallas with a … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Battles, Naval Operations, single ship actions
HMS Speedy vs El Gamo
A quick perusal of this blog will show that I’ve shied away from writing much on major figures of the Age of Sail. While I have biographical entries on lesser known figures, like Sir Henry Duncan and Midshipman Flinders, there … Continue reading
HMS Quebec vs Surveillante
On occasion combat at sea during the Age of Sail could be a display of sailhandling virtuosity, or a tour de force of surprise, which caused the enemy to strike with little bloodshed. More often than not, however, ship to … Continue reading
The Boats of HMS Galatea
On the morning of 21 January 1807 HMS Galatea (38), Captain George Sayer, was off the coast of Venezuela when she sighted a sail steering for Guaira near Caracas. Galatea put on more sail and as they closed, identified her … Continue reading
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats
The British Navy during the Age of Sail produced more than it’s share of exemplary combat commanders. One of those was certainly Vice Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats. A man of whom Nelson wrote, “I esteem his person alone as … Continue reading
USS Vixen and HMS Southampton
On the morning of October 22, 1812 the USS Vixen, a brig armed with twelve 18-pound carronades, departed its base at St Mary’s, Georgia, for a 30-day cruise raiding British commerce in the Caribbean. Vixen was commanded by 32 year … Continue reading
Introducing the Carronade: All Carronades All the Time
In the aftermath of Nymphe’s being taken by Flora, the Navy Board quickly became enamored of the carronade and the weapon’s effectiveness in combat had silenced naysayers. By January 1781, 604 carronades were mounted on 429 ships. This is probably … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Equipment, Naval Gunnery, Naval Weapons, single ship actions
Introducing the Carronade: The Debut Under Fire
The Navy Board began introducing the carronade to the fleet in 1779. It is thought that the first engagement involving the carronade occurred on August 11, 1780 between the HMS Flora (36) and Nymphe (32). The Nymphe was overmatched by … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, Naval Equipment, Naval Gunnery, Naval Weapons, single ship actions
HMS Blanche versus Picque
In January 1795, HMS Blanche, a 32-gun frigate, 12-pound main battery, under Captain Robert Faulknor was patrolling off Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadaloupe. Captain Faulknor arranged to look in on the harbor at Guadaloupe by arriving during the night, heaving-to about out four … Continue reading
Filed under Age of Sail, single ship actions
