The British Navy and French Wars - 1793-1815 (set up to 1805)

Question 1

Dates of the French Revolutionary Wars

Answer 1

1793-1802

Question 2

Napoleonic Wars

Answer 2

1803-15

Question 3

Peace of Amiens

Answer 3

March 1802- May 1803

Question 4

Where were the wars fought?

Answer 4

Africa, India, Europe and Caribbean

Question 5

The navy’s ships

Answer 5

-The ships were originally built from wood and were dependent on the sails for movement.
- The main battleships were called the ‘ships of the line’ with over 70 guns and many hundreds of men.
-They also relied on slightly smaller ships called frigates which were able to carry 28-36 ish guns.
- They were always in action by patrolling, scouting or conveying merchantmen
- There were also sloops and gunboats which were used to convoy on blockade duty.

Question 6

Blockades

Answer 6

This technique was used where the navy tried to prevent enemy ships from leaving ports.

There were two types of blockading used:
- The closed blockade- where the main fleet sailed close to the enemy port
- The open blockade- where the main fleet patrolled the enemy’s port from far/ miles away at sea and the frigates patrolled of the coast off the enemy port. If enemy ships were put to sea the main fleet was immediately informed by the frigates.

Question 7

Gunnery

Answer 7

Importance was placed on gun practice in the Royal Navy; they had an obligation to practice daily.
- Mostly, the British ships carried 32-pounder guns that could fire a cannon similar in weight.
- Each gun was manned by 7 people/ sailors
- The guns carried were about 3 tonnes and they recoiled on fire.
- Often the battles win/loss was dependent on the speed at which these guns were fired. This was pretty efficient since the British SEAMEN were able to fire a gun ever 90 seconds on broadside (much faster than their opponents).

Question 8

Naval officers

Answer 8

Most naval officers came from the professional middle classes. Many sons/ relatives would be in the navy or naval officers which was an incentive for other family members to join the navy.

However, there was always that element (like Nelson) whose family influence in the officers could fast track their way up into the higher ranks of the RN.

Generally, they would start at a young age (perhaps as lowly shipmen) and slowly climb up the RANKS (ship joke!!!!)

They would not only be taught the practical elements of naval skills but mathematics, astronomy, and navigation too.

The naval officers were able to gain valuable experience from the American War of Independence, whilst the French officers were able too they lacked the number of officers w this experience after 1793 onwards since they were killed or guillotined (a form of decapitating) during the French revolution.

Question 9

Naval Crews

Answer 9

120000 men in 1793
1812 140000 men in around 1000 vessels (ships, frigates etc…)

Question 10

Recruitment and techniques

Answer 10

• Conscription was not a form of recruitment in Britain.
• Since voluntary recruitment did not provide enough in terms of numbers for service.
• Whilst conscription was looked down upon as a form of recruiting, impressment was not; it was seen as vital instead.

Question 11

Impressment

Answer 11

Enforcement of military or naval service on able-bodied but unwilling men through crude and violent methods.

Question 12

The Impressment Service

Answer 12

Had the power to force seafarers aged between 15-55 to join the RN.

Press gangs could round up suitable men in and around ports to join as well.

Half of the RN was made up of pressed men. HAHA

Question 13

Quota system

Answer 13

Each county had to supply a certain number of volunteers based off its population and number of seaports. To meet this quota they would often send criminals rather than volunteers to join the navy instead of finishing their sentence.

Question 14

Sailor’s nationalities

Answer 14

Several sailors in the Royal Navy weren’t actually British. In the HMS Caledonia for example there were Swedes, Frenchmen, Portuguese, North Americans, West Indians, Brazilians, Germans, Italians, Africans, and Russians on board.

Question 15

Conditions for the men in the Royal Navy

Answer 15

• In 1793 able-bodied naval seamen were paid 22s. 6d. (£1.12.5) PER MONTH. Merchant men were paid twice as much and there had been no increase in pay since 1652.

Life Aboard the Ship:
- Sailors, who slept in hammocks were permitted a width of just 14 inches per man aka 35 cm.
- Food (while plentiful) by standards of the day was usually quite monotonous. But there was the realisation that these sailors needed to have fresh fruit and vegetables in order to prevent sea illnesses such as scurvy (lack of Vitamin C and there is weakness + aching joints and muscles, progressing to bleeding of the gums and other organs).
- WORK WAS HARD PHYSICALLY
- Disciplining standards were rather high. Those who broke the rules could be subject to flogging with the cat-o’-nine-tails. ( A whip with 9 knotted tails)
- Sailors were at sea for 4 years at a time.

Main hope was capturing an enemy ship and winning prize money.

Question 16

Discipline and Teamwork in the RN

Answer 16

• The foundation of Britain’s naval strength was the discipline and teamwork shown by thousands of seamen.
  This drive within the seamen was sometimes created by the continual threats of punishments towards them if they did not fulfill their role ( this feeling of discontent was felt by several seamen esp: pressed men LOL and the raw recruits [they were NOT eager] ).
  But in other ways officers would try to win the crew over with love and respect [works both ways].

Question 17

The Navy 1783-93

Answer 17

• The British Navy was incredibly strong and ruled most of the WAVES from the eighteenth century, principally because of the superiority of British Seamanship.
• They retained the dominance for most of the American War of Independence but the conflict had exposed some shortcomings and efforts were made to address these in the decade before 1793.

Question 18

William Pitt (Tory Prime Minister) and Rear Admiral Charles Middleton ( a determined reformer + comptroller of the Navy):

Answer 18

Comptroller of the Navy: Man who headed the Navy Board which was responsible for building and maintaining ships.

Some reforms they made were:
- Dockyards were more closely supervised to eliminate waste and corruption
- Middleton was the brains behind coppering the fleet, which meant warships needed fewer repairs
- Massive stocks of timer and rope were built up
- New docks were constructed at Portsmouth and Plymouth.

Alongside this, great strides were also made in naval gunnery. The carronade, developed by the caron ironworks in Falrick, was a triumph of industrial innovation.

Long range guns were also developed:
- The ordnance Board insisted that everry new gun was fired 30 times before it was accepted.
Links to the high levels of efficiency in the RN with regards to their testing levels (everything up to and beyond the mark).
- Gunlocks replaced Slowmatches ( respectively; a mechanism in some guns by which the charge is exploded and a slow-burning rope used for firing a gun)
GL more efficient since with SM they had to be held against gun’s priming powder then there was a long-winded procedure until it was ignited and fired. With SM just stand back, aim and at the right time YANK the lanyard which sets off the firing mechanism. Broadsides became faster, top-notch technique

Again shows the brilliant technique laid out by the RN and their skills honed to the maximum so that there was gun and time efficient which was lacking in the French army for example. AKA better prepared for war.

Question 19

Naval War 1793-97