Fleet Battle and Blockade: The French Revolutionary War 1793-1797 - Softcover

4.42

12 ratings by Goodreads

9781845600112: Fleet Battle and Blockade: The French Revolutionary War 1793-1797

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845600118 ISBN 13: 9781845600112

Publisher: Mercury Books London, 2006

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.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Synopsis:

Forgetting the setbacks of the American Revolutionary War, in 1973, 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, supplemented 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 illustrating the great maritime events of the pre-photographics era from contemporary paintings, prints, drawings, charts and plans. Based on the incomparable collections of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, one of the world's greatest - and most under-used - visual resources in maritime history, the project has involved selecting from over 66,000 prints and drawings and over 100,000 plans and charts. The variety of the material - from political prints to the sketchbooks of the seamen themselves - is incredible, and the result is a sequence of volumes illustrating warships and naval warfare in rich and varied detail, with almost eyewitness drama and impact. Features include: a stunning collection of 300 contemporary images; many illustrations previously unpublished; chronologically structured by campaign and battle; introductory essays and thematic text boxes by well-known authorities; and an open-ended series designed to build into a visual library of naval history.

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 title" may belong to another edition of this title.