Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

BRITISH AND FRENCH FLEETS, 429-State of the british navy, ibid.-

Treaty between France and Spain, 430-Admiral Cornwallis off Ushant-

432-Lord Gardner off Brest, 433-Lord Gardner and M. Ganteaume,

435-Napoleon's plan of operations for his fleet, ibid.-Admiral Corn-

wallis and M. Ganteaume, 437-Escape of a strong division of Brest

fleet, 442-Invasion-flotilla, 443-Captain Honyman off Ostende, ibid.—

Captain Adam off Fécamp, 445-Lieutenant Garrety off Granville, 446

Surrender of Plumper, 447-Captain King off Dunkerque, 448-Captain

Digby off Calais, 450-Captain Owen off Vimereux, 451-Full strength

of invasion-flotilla, 456-Review by Napoléon of his army embarking,

458-Buonaparte's real plan in arming the flotilla, 461-His measures

on hearing of sir Robert Calder's action, 463-BRITISH AND FRANCO-

SPANISH FLEETS, 466-Subserviency of Spain to Buonaparte, 467-Force

under Lord Nelson off Toulon, ibid.-Sailing of M.Villeneuve from Toulon,

468-Sailing of lord Nelson in chase, 469—Seahorse and Cornélie, 470—

Phoebe and Indomptable, ibid.-Lord Nelson's arrival in Egypt, 471—

Return of french fleet to Toulon, ibid.-Departure of M. Villeneuve a

second time from Toulon, 475-Lord Nelson's second chase of him,

476-Learns that M. Villeneuve has passed the Straits, 471-Junction

of admirals Villeneuve and Gravina, and departure from Cadiz, 479-

Their arrival at Martinique, 480-Forged despatch in the Moniteur,

481-Departure of lord Nelson from Gibraltar, 482-Anchors in Lagos

bay, 483-Departure for West Indies, 484-Fruitless voyage to Trinidad,
ibid. Returns to Europe, 485-Napoléon's ignorance of lord Nelson's
movements, 486-Expedition to retake the Diamond rock, 487-Its
recapture, 488-Design of Buonaparte in the West Indies, 489-De-

parture of combined fleet from Martinique, 490-Capture of a british

convoy, 491-Successful ruse of captain Cribb, 492-Admiral Vil-

leneuve off Cape Finisterre, 493-Lord Nelson at Gibraltar, 494-

Anecdote of him, 495-Lord Nelson at Spithead, 496.

DIAGRAMS.

Page.

Attack by sir James Saumarez on french squadron at Algeziras
Action of Wilhelmina and Pysché

[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

NAVAL HISTORY,

&c.

BRITISH AND FRENCH FLEETS.

A REFERENCE to the abstract of the british navy, 1800. drawn up for the commencement of the year 1800,~~ will show a slight decrease in the number of line-ofbattle ships. This partly arises from the removal; by the pair of "Converted" columns, of four 64-gun ships to an under-line class. A similar cause explains the decrease in the total of " Cruisers;" from which, 26 of the 27 converted ships have been withdrawn, in order, as may be inferred from the denomination of the classes, to serve for the conveyance of troops in the several expeditions of the preceding and present years. On the other hand, notwithstanding that decrease, the total of commissioned cruisers remains the same as in the last abstract, and the grand total of the navy shows an increase of 35 vessels.

This is the first year since the war commenced, in which the "Launched" and "Purchased" columns appear vacant of line-of-battle ships; and the whole six acquired by the "Captured" column, were of little comparative value. The few ships and vessels in the "Ordered" column, are accounted for by the augmented numbers in the successive annual prizecolumns, as well as by the number of fine ships which had been ordered and launched in the preceding years of the war, particularly in 1796, 7, and 8.

VOL. III.

See Appendix, Annual Abstract No. 8.

B

1800.

The numerical amount of vessels, added to the navy of England by captures made from the respective navies of the powers at war with her, is greater in this than in any preceding year* but some of the other years, the last especially, show, by the "Tons," that those years greatly exceeded the present in the real quantum of strength acquired. The wrecked cases still continue to comprise nearly the whole annual loss sustained by the british navy: the three captured vessels, indeed, did not exceed a small sloop of war in their united tonnage.+

The year 1797, as we formerly stated, gave the 32-pounder carronade, for a quarterdeck and forecastle gun, to line-of-battle ships in general; and, to complete the triumph of general Melville's piece of ordnance, the year 1799 saw the carronade established, in a similar manner, throughout the different classes of frigates. On the 31st of May in that year, urged by the captains of most of the frigates that were fitting, the navy-board obtained an admiralty-order to arm them all, 17 in number, with carronades, chiefly 32-pounders, on the quarterdeck

* See Appendix, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

+ See Appendix, No. 5.

See vol. ii. p. 154.

§ The number of carronades, which the ordnance-board was directed immediately to supply, were one hundred and sixty-six 32-pounders and forty-two 24-pounders. The frigates for which the former were ordered, were as follows:

gun-frig.

40 (Y) Lavinia.. building, 16, with 4 nines, making 50 guns.

[ocr errors][ocr errors]

Active fitting,
Boadicea

Leda....
Hussar

38

(B) Jason

[ocr errors]

Immortalité

دو

دو

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

(D) Décade.. fitting,

[blocks in formation]

This makes but 142 out of one hundred and sixty-six 32-pounders: the remaining 24 had been ordered for two prize frigates (12 each) which were afterwards found, on survey, not worth fitting

out.

and forecastle, except in the pair of ports on each of 1800.
those decks which opened against, or in the wake of,
the rigging. Towards the end of the year, namely,
on the 12th of December, the order for carronades
was extended to frigates in general, and made to
include all the ports on the quarterdeck and fore-
castle, except the two foremast ones. The reason
of the exception is clear: long guns, at any eleva-
tion to be given them through port-holes, carrying
farther than carronades, two of them would be useful
as bow, or, if shifted, as stern chasers.

The order in question, and one we have to notice in the ensuing year, completed the demolition of the rating system, or that system of classification founded upon the number of long guns only mounted by the respective ships. As the 74, by the subtraction of 12 of her 18 long nines, to make room for the same number of carronades, had, in strictness, been reduced to a 62-gun ship; so the 38, 36, and 32 gun frigates were now, according to the same rigid rule, reduced to frigates of 30 and 28 guns, being two guns more than they each mounted upon their main decks: whereas the total number of guns, established upon the three latter classes respectively, were, at the least, 46, 44, and 40. It was this that threw such confusion into the Steel's lists of those days; some of the frigates having their carronades enumerated, others not, as information happened to reach the publisher.

The number of commissioned officers and masters, belonging to the british navy at the commencement of the year 1800, was,

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

L

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

French

ment

Masters

superannuated 50*

2091

527

and the number of seamen and marines voted for the service of the same year, was, for the first two months, 120000, and for the remaining 10 months 110000.+

We left general Buonaparte on the 9th of Octogovern ber, 1799, just landed at Fréjus, from the french chan- frigate Carrère, in which he had escaped from Egypt. He hastened to Paris, and, both on his journey to, sulate. and on his arrival at, the french capital, was most

ged to

a con

Reor

gan

zation

of fr.

navy.

enthusiastically received by all ranks. Having a powerful army to second him in any thing he might undertake, Buonaparte, on the 10th of November, at the head of his soldiers, dissolved the executive directory, and on the next day changed the government to a consulate, composed of three members, Roger-Duclos, himself, and Sieyes. Early in December the plan of the new constitution was settled, and Buonaparte managed to oust Roger-Duclos and Sieyes, and get himself appointed chief consul, having as his coadjutors, Cambacères and Lebrun.

One of the first measures of the new government of France was, to attempt the renovation of the navy. The consulate issued several state-papers on the occasion; enjoining, among other important regulations, the exercise of the men in great guns and small arms, and of the ships in manoeuvring. Even swimming was included among the exercises ordered. The number of officers was fixed to be as follows:

Vice-amiraux
Contre-amiraux

8 Capitaines de frégate .. 180 16 Lieutenants de vaisseau 400

Capitaines de vaisseau.. 150 | Enseignes de vaisseau.. 600

As the best means of carrying into effect these new regulations, a board of admiralty was appointed,

* With the rank of commanders.

See Appendix, No. 6.

« AnteriorContinuar »