The Age of Nelson and the Napoleonic Wars
This weeks featured websites revolve around the Napoleonic Wars and the British naval hero Horatio Nelson.There are literally thousands of sites on the web that speak of this interesting era in history.
Of particular note are sites pertaining to the floating museums in England and the United States.
HMS Victory can be found at the Portsmouth Naval Yard in England. The ship has been fully restored to her 1805 fighting trim and is available daily for tours. A website giving a synopsis of Nelson’s life can be found by clicking on the following link: The Life of Nelson.
The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world and can be seen at the Boston Naval Yard.
I have a friend in North Carolina who once lent me an old leather bound book entitled, “A primer of Navigation for the Young Midshipman.” This book was written in the late 1700’s and was used as part of the young gentleman’s nautical education. My favorite chapters involved the sequence of orders given to get the ship underway from anchor and also to “exercise the great guns.”
I have recently come across an “e-book” project that is making available old texts that help explain the workings of these old sailing ships. The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship is a comprehensive textbook of rigging, seamanship and naval tactics in the age of fighting sail. This is an amazing “must visit” reference for those studying this period.
Dan
Technorati Tags: uss constitution, hms victory, American Revolution, Napoleon, Nelson, John Paul Jones,
February 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am
I think you’ll be hard put to defend the statement “The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world ”
From the Website of HMS Victory:
“HMS Victory stands today as the world’s oldest commissioned warship. Still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy, the Victory has seen over 220 years of almost continuous naval service.”
February 24th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
You are right.
I was under the impression that the Victory was decommissioned during the period that she was put into the Reserve fleet in 1812 in Portsmouth. However, I was mistaken and this was not the case. Although she was unmanned (did not have a regular captain) between 1812 and 1824, Victory was never actually decommissioned.
HMS Victory became the flagship of the Port Admiral (Portsmouth) from 1824 then she became flagship of the Commander-in-Chief in 1889. She entered her present dock in Portsmouth on 12 January 1922.
Further research has led me to find out that the USS Constitution although the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy, was decommissioned and recommissioned several times during her history. However, this periodic decommissioning was more a matter of standard operating practice for the American Navy than an attempt to scrap the ship.
Thank you for correcting me.
Dan