In the Hour of Victory

by Sam Willis

  Notes

  Size: the first and third French figures are from Demerliac and are ‘port’, the maximum weight of the load (armament, stores and merchandise) that the hull could carry, and ‘deplacement en charge’, the load displacement (the mass of the ship), in tonnes of 978.78kg; the second figure is from Roche, and is his calculation of ‘port’ in tonnes of 1,000kg. Spanish figures are from Hierro. Tons BOM is a calculated measure of volume in British tons of 2,240lb, and for ships surveyed by the RN is taken from Winfield, except where shown; other values are calculated by Goodwin. French authorities assume ships to the same plan are identical; surveys of these ships in Britain usually produce different BOM values (and as can be seen different surveys of the same ship give different values). Danish figures are from Pope, Spanish figures are from Harbron. The Copenhagen pound was 0.94 English, the Madrid pound was 0.99.

  Armament: designed armament, in weight of shot in pounds; ‘cr’ are carronades. French armament is from Demerliac unless stated; armament in the action is from Goodwin or Hierro. Figures in brackets are from the testimonies of the survivors in the prize courts. Obusiers (Sp. obuses) were ‘the early French answer to the British carronade’, ‘a bronze howitzer mounted on a slide carriage’ (Winfield). The French 36lb howitzer, however, was a landservice piece mounted on a sea-service carriage. Perriers were breech-loading swivel guns; pedreros threw a stone ball. The French pound was 1.08 English.

  Complement: the official, established or designed complement including officers.

  Complement in RN service: the established complement (which included the fictitious widows’ men).

  Complement in the action: the main figure is the number of people ‘living on board and belonging to’ the ship at the beginning of the action, a total sworn to in the prize court to by survivors. The death toll in fleet actions means the survivors were sometimes quite low in rank (the Imperial’s figures were given by illiterate seamen) and may not be exact; but Admiral Villeneuve swore to the numbers for Indomptable, Bucentaure, and Redoutable. The figures for Copenhagen are from Pope; the head money for the action was paid for 6,000 men taken as a total for the whole fleet. The second figure, for Trafalgar, is from Adkin. His numbers for the French include his estimated distribution of the 4,000 troops to be landed at Naples and his numbers for the Spanish are ‘based on Admiral Gravina’s report on the manning of his fleet dated 19 October 1805’.

  Casualties: figures are from Demerliac or as stated; occasionally these are at odds with the testimony of survivors given to the prize court.

  ‘Nature of the Prize’: as recorded in ADM 7/354.

  Purchased for: the value of a ship’s hull, at a price per ton BOM, typically £5 to £8, as surveyed by the officers of the dockyard to which the prizes were brought, agreed with the prize agent, and proposed by the Navy Board to the Admiralty, and sometimes also of its furniture and/or stores; the money was paid by government to the prize agent and distributed by him to the captors in proportions established by an Order in Council.

  Bounty awarded: head money, paid by government to the captors, based on the number of people alive on board at the commencement of the action as sworn to by the chief surviving officers.

  Brought to: the port of first arrival then the first permanent station, if known.

  Sources

  Admiralty records in the National Archives, Kew (TNA: PRO copy)

  ADM 2/–: Letters from the Admiralty to the Navy Board ADM 7/354: an anonymous Admiralty document entitled ‘List of Prizes’, from 15 February 1793 to 8 December 1799 ADM 18/–: Promiscuous Bill Books of the Navy Board ADM 43/–: Head Money vouchers ADM 103/503: French prizes, 1796–1810 ADM 106/–: Letters from the Navy Board to the Admiralty HCA 8/89: Prize court assignation books, June to July 1794 HCA 34/61: Sentences in Prize Causes, 1793–96

  Secondary Sources

  Adkin, Mark, The Trafalgar Companion (Aurum Press, London, 2005)

  Demerliac, Alain, Nomenclature des navires français de 1792 à 1799 and 1800 à 1815 (Editions Omega, Nice, 1999)

  Gardiner, Robert, Fleet Battle and Blockade (Chatham Publishing, London, 1996); The Campaign of Trafalgar (Chatham Publishing, London, 1997)

  Goodwin, Peter, The Ships of Trafalgar (Conway Maritime Press, London, 2005)

  Harbron, John D., Trafalgar and the Spanish Navy (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1988)

  Haythornthwaite, Philip J., The Napoleonic Source Book (Arms and Armour Press, 1990)

  Hierro, José Ignacio González-Aller; Cruz Apestegui; Jorge Pla; Carmen Zamarrón,, Modelos de Arsenal del Museo Naval, trans. Richard Rees (Lunwerg Editores, Barcelona and Madrid, 2004)

  James, William, The Naval History of Great Britain (Richard Bentley, London, 1837)

  Lyon, David, The Sailing Navy List (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1993)

  Nicolas, Nicholas Harris, The Dispatches and Letters of Lord Nelson (Henry Colburn, London, 1844)

  Pope, Dudley, The Great Gamble (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1972)

  Roche, Jean-Michel, Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la Flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, tome 1: 1671–1870 (Groupe Rezotel – Maury Millau, 2005)

  Tracy, Nicholas, Nelson’s Battles (Chatham Publishing, London, 1996)

  Winfield, Rif, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817 (Chatham Publishing, London, 2005)

  GLOSSARY

  abeam, In the direction at right angles to the ship’s centreline.

  aboard, 1. On board a ship. 2. Alongside, touching another ship.

  Admiral of the Red, White, Blue, The officer nominally commanding ships of the Red, White or Blue squadron, ranking in seniority in that (descending) order.

  astern, Behind a ship, in the direction from which she is moving.

  athwart, Across.

  back, vb. 1. To trim the sails so that they catch the wind on the wrong side and check the ship’s way. 2. (Of the wind) to change in an anti-clockwise direction.

  backstay, Ropes which support a mast by running downwards and backwards from the masthead to the chainwales.

  battery, 1. The broadside guns mounted on one deck, or one side, of the ship. 2. A group of guns mounted ashore. 3. floating —, a stationary raft or hulk mounting heavy guns.

  beam, 1. The width of the ship. 2. The direction at right angles to the centreline. 3. A timber running from side to side of a ship to support a deck.

  beak-head, The timbers that form the ship’s head.

  bear, vb. 1. To lie or point in a particular direction. 2. — away, to bear up, to turn downwind. 3. — down, to bear up. 4. — up, to turn downwind.

  bend, vb. To make a sail fast to its yard, mast or stay.

  bilge, 1. The angle of the ship’s hull between side and bottom. 2. — and bilge, close alongside, touching.

  bits, Large timbers fixed perpendicularly in the fore-part of the ship that are used to secure the anchor cables.

  boatswain, A ship’s officer responsible for sails, rigging and ground tackle. 2. —’s call, A whistle used to convey orders.

  bobstay, A rope used to secure the bowsprit downwards to the stem, used to counteract the force of the foremast stays, which pull it upwards.

  boom, 1. A light running spar, particularly one extending the foot of a sail. 2. A floating barrier protecting a harbour.

  bow, Either side of the foremost part of the ship’s hull, as it widens from the stem. on the —, said of a ship or object on a bearing somewhere between right ahead and abeam.

  bowline, bowling, Rope which holds the edge of a square sail tight against the wind.

  bowsprit, A spar projecting over the bows, spreading various items of rigging and one or more sails.

  brace, A rope used to traverse the yards on a horizontal plane.

  broadside, 1. The side of the ship. 2. The number of guns mounted or bearing on one side. 3. The simultaneous fire of those guns. 4. The total weight of shot fired by all the guns of the ship. 5. — on, of a ship showing her broadside at right an
gles to the observers line of sight, or to a named point of reference.

  bulkhead, A vertical partition within the ship.

  bulwark, A barrier around the side of a deck.

  bumpkin, A short boom projecting from the bow, used to extend the lower edge of the foresail to windward.

  buntlines, Ropes fastened to the foot of a square sail to furl it up towards the yard.

  by the board, Overboard.

  cable, 1. A large rope or hawser, particularly the anchor cable. 2. The standard length of an anchor cable, 120 fathoms.

  capstan, sb. A mechanical device for hauling in cables, consisting of a vertical revolving drum turned by bars inserted in its rim.

  carronade, A type of short gun, of heavy calibre but small charge and short range.

  cartridge, A cloth or paper bag containing the propellant charge of a gun.

  cat head, Strong pieces of timber extending outwards from the bow, on each side of the bowsprit. Used as a sort of crane to suspend the anchor clear of the ship’s bows.

  chain plate, A metal plate used to fasten a shroud or stay to the hull.

  channels, Planks projecting horizontally from the ship’s side abreast of the masts, used to extend and anchor the shrouds.

  chase, 1. The pursuit of one ship or squadron by another. 2. The ship pursued. 3. — gun, a gun mounted to fire ahead or astern. 5. general —, order to a squadron to pursue a beaten enemy without regard to order. 6. stern —, pursuit in which the pursued lies dead ahead of the pursuer.

  clamps, 1. Thick planks in a ship’s side, used to sustain the ends of the beams. 2. Small crooked plates of iron which keep the cannon secured to their carriages.

  clew lines, Ropes fastened to the clues – the lower corners of the foresail and mainsail, used to truss up the sails when furling.

  clew garnets, Serve the same purpose as clew lines but are common to all square sails.

  close-hauled, adv. Steering as nearly towards the wind as possible.

  course, 1. The direction of ship’s movement. 2. The foresail or mainsail, the lowest square sails.

  cringle, An eye sewn into a sail.

  crosstrees, Horizontal struts at the top of topmasts, used to anchor the topgallant stays.

  deck, A floor or platform within a ship. 2. — head, the underside of the deck overhead. 3. gun —, the deck carrying the main battery (seventeenth–nineteenth century). 4. half —, the after end of the main deck, below the quarterdeck. 5. lower —, a) the gun deck or (in a two- or three-decker) lowest gun deck; b) the ratings of the ship’s company as a whole, those who berth on the lower deck. 6. main —, the highest deck running the whole length of the ship. 7. quarter —, a deck above the main deck over the after part of the ship. 8. spar —, a light deck connecting quarter deck to forecastle. 9. upper —, a continuous weather deck incorporating quarterdeck and forecastle. 10. weather —, a deck exposed to the sky.

  dead, Directly, straight.

  double, double on, vb. To attack a ship or squadron from both sides.

  draught, 1. The depth of water required to float a ship. 2. A plan or chart. 3. The drawings showing the design of ship.

  fish, vb., To strengthen a damaged spar or mast by lashing spars to it in the manner of splints.

  flag, 1. An admiral’s distinguishing flag. 2. — captain, the captain of a flagship. 3. — rank, admiral’s rank. 4. —

  ship, the admiral’s ship.

  flotilla, 1. A group of small warships. 2. Coastal warships considered as a whole.

  forecastle, A deck built over the forward end of the main deck.

  foretopsail, The topsail on the foremast.

  freeboard, The minimum height of the ship’s side above the waterline.

  frigate, A cruising warship with an unarmed lower deck, mounting her battery on the main deck.

  furl, vb. To bundle up a sail to its yard, mast or stay.

  gammoning, A rope used to bind the inner quarter of the bowsprit to the ship’s stem.

  gangway, A light bridge connecting forecastle and quarterdeck.

  gangboard, A board or plank with cleats nailed onto it to allow safe embarkation or disembarkation of a ship or boat.

  get the wind, vb. To gain the weather gage.

  grapeshot, Anti-personnel shot consisting of small shot that scatters on firing.

  gun, 1. A piece of artillery. 2. — deck, see deck. 3. — lock, a flintlock firing mechanism for a great gun. 4. — port, a port cut to allow guns mounted below decks to fire out. 5. — shot, the range of a gun. 6. — tackle, tackle rigged to run out the gun after firing. 7. chase —, see chase.

  halliard, A rope used to hoist or lower any sail on its yard or stay.

  hawser, A large rope. Smaller than a Cable.

  hawse-pieces/hause-pieces, A name given to the foremost timbers of a ship.

  hawse-holes, Cylindrical holes cut through the bows of a ship on each side of the stem, through which the anchor cables pass.

  head rails, Curved rails that project from the bows to support the knee of the head, where the figure-head rests.

  heave-to, To stop by backing some of the sails.

  heel, vb. (Of the ship) to incline or be inclined to one side or the other.

  hold, The lowest internal space of a ship, below all the decks.

  jack, A type of national flag flown forward, particularly by warships.

  jeers, Tackles used to raise or lower the yards.

  jib, A triangular headsail hoisted on a stay set between the foretopmast and the bowsprit.

  jibboom, An extension to the bowsprit.

  keel, The timber lying centrally along the length of the bottom of the ship, forming a spine upon which other parts of her frame are erected.

  knee, sb. A timber angle-bracket connecting two or more ship’s timbers. Lodging —, fixed horizontally to the ship’s frame. Hanging —, fixed vertically to the ship’s frame.

  knight-head, One on each side, secures the inner-end of the bowsprit.

  landward, adv. Towards the land.

  langridge, Anti-personnel and dismasting shot made up of irregular pieces of iron, nails etc.

  larboard¸ Relating to the port or left-hand side of the ship.

  large, Relating to a course with the wind abaft the beam.

  league, Three miles.

  lee, 1. The direction towards which the wind is blowing. 2. The water sheltered from the wind by the land or by a ship. 3. — shore, a coastline towards which the wind is blowing.

  leeches, The borders of edges of a sail, which are either sloping or perpendicular.

  leeward, Relating to the direction towards which the wind is blowing.

  Leewardly, (Of a ship) Tending to drift rapidly to leeward when trying to sail close-hauled.

  leeway, The extent to which the wind blows a ship to leeward of her apparent course.

  lift, Ropes that run from the mast-head to the extremities of the yard below, used to support the weight of the yard.

  limber head, Timbers around the limber-holes, which are cut into the ship’s floor near the keel, creating a channel which communicates with the ship’s pump.

  line, 1. — abreast, A formation in which the ships of a squadron sail on the same course abeam of one another. 2. — ahead, a formation in which one or more ships follow a leader, imitating his movements. 3. — of battle, a fighting formation in which the ships of a fleet form a straight line in a predetermined order. 4. — of bearing, a formation in which a squadron of ships lie in a straight line diagonal to their course.

  longboat, The largest of the ship’s boats, designed for carrying heavy weights.

  loose, vb. To hoist or let drop sails, to make sail.

  lugger, A small sailing vessel with lugsails.

  mast, 1. A vertical spar or spars supporting sails, rigging and other spars. 2. fore —, the foremost mast. 3. lower —, the lowest and principal element of fore, main or mizzen mast, on which the topmast is stepped. 4. made —, a mast made up of more than one tre
e assembled together. 5. main —, the tallest (usually second) mast. 6. mizzen —, see mizzen. 7. topgallant —, top —, see topgallantmast, topmast. 8. — dock, see dock. 9. — head, the top of a lower, top or topgallantmast.

  maintopsail, The topsail on the mainmast.

  master, The warrant officer responsible for navigation.

  midshipman, A boy or young man hoping to become a commissioned officer.

  middle deck, On a three-decker, the deck between the lower deck and the upper deck.

  mizzen, 1. The aftermost mast of a ship or ketch. 2. — peak, the upper end of the mizzen yard or gaff. 3. mizzentop, see top. 4. — yard, the yard of the lateen mizzen sail (seventeenth to mid-eighteenth century).

  moor, vb. To secure a ship by two anchors, or by making fast to a buoy.

  the Nore, An anchorage in the mouth of the Thames near the entrance to the River Medway, which led to Chatham naval dockyard.

  outboard, adv. Relating to, towards, the outside of the ship.

  orlop (deck), The lowest deck.

  pay, vb. (Of a ship in stays) To fall off on to one or other tack.

  pitch, vb. To dip head and stern alternately into the waves.

  plank sheers, Pieces of plank laid over the timbers of the quarter deck, forecastle, and round house.

  poop, A short deck built over the after end of the quarterdeck.

  pontoon, A low, flat vessel often fitted with cranes and tackles.

  port, 1. An opening cut in a ship’s side. 2. gun —, a port out of which a gun is fired. 3. — timber, the wood used in the construction of a gunport.