navy Flashcards
1
Q
what were the royal navy stats in 1792?
A
125 ships in commission and 20k officers and seamen
2
Q
what were the two types of blockade?
A
- close blockade (main fleet sailed near enemy port)
- open blockade (main fleet was in home port and frigates patrolled the coast off the enemy port)
3
Q
gunnery in the late 18th century?
A
- daily gunnery practice on every ship since 1745
- most ships carried 32 pounder guns, each manned by a team of seven sailors
- fired broadsides every 90 seconds, faster than their enemies
4
Q
what were the naval officers like and how many were there?
A
- came from middle class, already related to naval officers
- 1793 - 120k mwn
5
Q
how did the navy recruit men?
A
- no conscription, relied on impressment
- impressment service sent out press gangs to round up men found near ports, captains also pressed seamen from merchant ships at sea
- by 1805 half the royal navy crew was made of pressed men
- quota system - each county had to supply a number of men
- many foreign sailors
6
Q
what were conditions like for sailors?
A
- 1793 - paid 22s
- sailors slept in 14 inch hammocks
- risk of scurvy due to monotonous food
7
Q
what reforms were made in the 1780s and by who?
A
- middleton and pitt
- coppering introduced
- new docks at portsmouth and plymouth
- massive stocks of timber and rope built up
- caronnade invented - light, fast and had great impact
- longrange guns developed - gunlocks replaced slowmatches so broadsides were faster and more accurate
8
Q
what was the effect of these reforms?
A
britain was more prepared for war in 1793 than france and spain
9
Q
what happened at toulon in 1793?
A
- august 1793
- admiral hood seized toulon, but was forced to abandon it in december when french army arrived
- captureed and destroyed many ships before leaving
10
Q
what was the battle of the glorious first of june?
A
- 1 june 1794
- rn, led by lord howe, blockaded french ports on atlantic coast eg brest
- howe sailed west to battle grain convoy returning to france from usa
- british victory, but not entirely a success as grain ships succeeded in reaching france
- 7k french casualties 1.2k british
11
Q
what developments occurred in 1795-96?
A
- 1795 jervis replaced hood in the med, trained his men + forged good relationships with them
- 1796 - spain and the netherlands joined france against britain, rn was strained
- december - french fleet sailed towards britain, but abandoned it’s mission due to weather and returned to brest
12
Q
what happened at the battle of cape st vincent?
A
- 14 february 1797
- jervis fleet encountered spanish fleet twice their size
- attacked, nelson boarded and captured san josef (much larger ship)
- jervis captured 4 ships and drove enemy back into cadiz, became earl of st vincent
13
Q
what was the spithead mutiny?
A
- 16 april 1797 - crews of every ship refused to listen to admiral hridport
- unhappy with pay, quality of food and brutal officers
- officers sympathised, and mutiny was carried out in a civil way
- 7 may fresh mutiny, led by petty officers who presented their demands
- howe held a banquet and visited every ship to reassure them
14
Q
what was the nore mutiny?
A
- 12 may 1797
- stronger demands - wanted power of veto over officers, longer leave and pardons for all deserters
- joined by north sea fleet, tried to blockade thames but pitt’s gov starved the mutineers
- ended in mid june when moderate sailors wrestled control from radicals, 29 men hung
15
Q
what happened at the battle of camperdown?
A
- 11 october 1797
- north sea fleet encountered dutch fleet near dutch coast
- led by duncan, smashed enemy line and captured 11 battleships
16
Q
what was the state of britain like after the battle of camperdown?
A
- threatened by french invasion
- austria made peace with france in 1797, no european allies for britsin
- large army and fleet preparing to sail at toulon, no one knew where it was going
- nelson was sent to the med to discover their intentions
17
Q
what were the events leading up to the battle of the nile?
A
- may 1798 napoleon left toulon with 13 ships and 50k men
- nelson heard french had taken malta and gambled on them going to france
- arrived at alexandria 29 june, but no sign of the french so sailed away
- napoleon reached alexandria 1 july
- nelson found french fleet at aboukir bay on 1 august
18
Q
what happened at the battle of the nile?
A
- 1 august 1798
- both sides had similarly sized fleets but french had the orient - very large ship
- nelson gave battle at nightfall, unconventional, but successful
- french hadn’t prepared portside guns, some ships were attacked on 2 sides
- the orient exploded after 30 mins
- only 2 french ships escaped
19
Q
what were the consequences of the battle of the nile?
A
- royal navy regained control of the med
- napoleon and his army were trapped in egypt
- austria, russia, naples and turkey joined britain in a coalition
- nelson became a national hero
20
Q
what happened in the mediterranean from 1798-1801?
A
- british naval forces were overstretched
- nelson had an affair with lady hamilton in naples and then returned home
- rn made significant gains under admiral keith and took malta in 1800
21
Q
what happened in the atlantic from 1798-1801?
A
- earl of st vincent blockaded brest
- difficult due to lack of supplies, shipwrecks and lack of opportunity to rest
- french couldn’t venture out
22
Q
what was the baltic threat?
A
- british blockade of french and spanish ports led to tsar putting pressure on denmark sweden and pressure to join league of armed neutrality against britain
- had nearly 100 warships between them
- could keep britain out of the baltic, where it obtained most of its naval stroes
- hyde parked given command of british baltic fleet
23
Q
what happened during the battle of copenhagen?
A
- 2 april 1800 the attack began
- danes suffered but fought back, parker told nelson to discontinue the action, nelson ignored it
- most danish ships surrendered in the next 45 mins
- nelson sent letter to the crown prince of denmark with a threat of setting fire to the ships, crown prince agreed to a truce
- nelson became commander of the baltic fleet
