Nelson's Sailors: No.100 (Warrior) - Softcover

Fremont-Barnes, Gregory

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841769061 ISBN 13: 9781841769066

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

Drawing on many contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts, this book examines the lives of the ordinary sailors of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), detailing their attitudes, duties, comforts, hardships, vices and virtues. The popular image of the British sailor of this time is of a press-ganged wretch living off weevil-infested food, motivated only by prize money and facing constant hazards aboard a floating hell, where discipline was maintained by the lash. The extent to which this enduring image accords with reality is revealed here.

About this title

About the Author:

Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. A prolific author, his books include Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny and many others on military and naval subjects covering the 18th to the 21st centuries. Holding a particular interest in insurgency and counterinsurgency, his wider work for the UK Ministry of Defence on these subjects regularly takes him to Africa, the Middle East and South America. As an academic advisor, Dr Fremont-Barnes has accompanied many groups of British Army officers and senior NCOs in their visits to numerous battlefields of the Peninsular War, the Waterloo campaign, Normandy and the Falklands. Steve Noon was born in Kent, UK, and attended art college in Cornwall. He has had a life-long passion for illustration, and since 1985 has worked as a professional artist. Steve has provided award-winning illustrations for renowned publishers Dorling Kindersley, where his interest in historical illustration began. He lives in Cardiff.

Synopsis:

The 'wooden walls' of the Royal Navy formed the country's most important line of defence during the Napoleonic Wars, protecting Britain from Napoleon's intended invasion. Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, perhaps Britain's most popular hero, instilled unswerving confidence in his men and led them to great success in battle, never more so than in the Battle of Trafalgar. This book examines the experiences of the average British sailor on board a ship-of-the-line during the age of Nelson, including the infamous press ganging, alcoholism and squalid conditions. These were brave men, thrown into the thick of battle, held together by a belief and a cause - to prevent Napoleon and his men from invading their homeland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1841769061
• ISBN 13: 9781841769066
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Noon Steve