Fleet Battle and Blockade: The French Revolutionary War, 1793-1797 (Chatham Pictorial Histories) - Hardcover

Robert Gardiner (author)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557502722 ISBN 13: 9781557502728

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 1997

Synopsis

Forgetting the setbacks of the American Revolutionary War, in 1793 the Royal Navy embarked on an almost unprecedented era of victories at sea, producing a considerable appetite for pictures of every incident, great or small. A thriving trade in prints and engravings grew up, suplemented by watercolours and oils by celebrated artists. Besides these 'public' works, many officers - and indeed members of the lower deck - kept personal journals and sketchbooks, illustrated with surprisingly accomplished drawings and watercolours, often depicting the everyday aspects of wartime life at sea that were ignored in the more celebratory artistic media. These sources form a rich vein that have been barely touched in previous publications, but which this book uses to full effect. Despite numerous defeats, the French navy continued to dispute command of the sea in the period 1793-1797, and the early years of the war abound with fleet engagements, including dramatic victories against the Spanish at St Vincent and the Dutch at Camperdown, between which the navy endured the shocking events of the Great Mutiny, potentially the most dangerous moment of the whole war. This volume is the first of five covering the whole of the French Revolutionary, Napoleonic and 1812 Wars based on contemporary images, a series depicting the reality of warfare under sail in a depth never previously attained.

About this title

Synopsis:

After the setbacks of the American Revolutionary War, the Royal Navy had been renewed and revitalized, so in 1793 a well-prepared fleet embarked on the new conflict with France in a state of high confidence. This was rewarded immediately with a series of almost uninterrupted victories. In such an atmosphere there was a considerable appetite for pictures of every incident, large or small: a thriving trade grew up for prints, engravings and - for the more affluent - watercolours and oils by celebrated artists. Besides these "public" works, many officers and men kept personal journals and sketchbooks illustrated with drawings and watercolours, often depicting the everyday aspects of wartime life at sea that were ignored by the more celebratory artistic media. This volume is the first of five covering the whole of the French Revolutionary, Napoleonic and 1812 Wars based on comtemporary images, a series depicting the reality of warfare under sail.

About the Author:

A naval historian and experienced yachtsman, Nicholas Tracy holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southampton and is the author of several books including Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail. Although he was born on the Canadian prairies, Tracy has been an active yachtsman on two continents for many years.

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1557502722
• ISBN 13: 9781557502728
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200