Customer Reviews

The Sea Warriors: The Fighting Captains and Their Ships in the Age of Nelson

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With this work Woodman is trying to fill the gap in history on the various British naval officers whose courage and ingenuity and seamanship were all that held revolutionary France at bay for years until the British army got its act together. It's not only a valiant effort, it is -- as Woodman points out -- long overdue.

I'm not sure if the chronological aspect of the telling doesn't do the stories an injustice. It lends a hit-skip atmosphere to the book, as we read about the heroics of one captain, only to find more about him several chapters down the line. After finishing the book I went to the index and collected all the pages on various captains and went back and read them together and I truly think most of the information about their battles would have been better grouped together.

Two HUGE problems with this book from my point of view though. One, the index needs some work. I hate being referred to pages where there is absolutely no mention of the topic/ship/person I am seeking. And two -- who the devil proofed this book? Because I don't think it was anyone accustomed to reading English! The typos and grammatical errors are overwhelming in number. I found this a serious distraction, and frankly, it is inexcusable. Woodman's work deserves better, because even though I would never count this book as one of the great histories of the Age of Sail, it is rather a one-of-a-kind book.

As for the detail content of the book, I've long wanted to read more details of some of the famous sea battles, detail such as how the ships were maneuvered in some of those one-on-one battles, and Woodman does supply this. I still want more, but I confess to some greed on my part there.

Oh, one other thing, the author does need to provide a bit more argument on some of the characterizations he draws of these captains. For example, he repeatedly refers to Edward Pellew's cupidity, but except for one incident committed by Pellew's son, Woodman never gives any examples where Pellew allowed this attribute to interfere with his duty. Sir Sidney Smith is drawn as boastful and vainglorious -- which he WAS -- but no real argument is made as to how Woodman arrived at this conclusion; a couple of brief examples would have helped make some of his statements look more fact than opinion.

I'll keep this book on my shelf, and will hope Woodman may someday consider a revised edition.

The book is more or less a recounting of the successes of British naval captains of the late 1700s and early 1800s. A period when Britain and France polarized Europe in war. While the ultimate outcome of the conflict bears out the fact that Britain's naval forces were superior, it is hard to believe that there were as few French naval successes as Woodman relates.

But that's a small complaint when taken in context with the overall quality of the content in the book. Woodman's descriptive talent focuses on the telling of the smaller battles. There are ample books relating the events of Trefalgar, this is not one of them, Woodman's narratives are of the frigate battles and smaller ship of the line battles, the cutting outs and ship to ship running fights. The tales of Captains Pellew, Cochrane, Willoughby and such. Stories no less entertaining than those of Forester's Horatio Hornblower. His terminology is accurate, and his research is excellent.

I purchased this book with the appetite of a shark after a seal. It is a very good book, but it has a couple of things that could have improved it beyound measure. 1. There are so many remarkable men in all navies and battles that the reader needs something to distinquish them after the years of war. 2. I wanted more details on the battles, perhaps some diagrams. 3. I would have liked to have known more about what happened to these men after the wars. Cochrane, as an example, died the year the american civil war started. But not to quibble, this is a good book that puts it all together. You just stay hungry.

This is a good historical account of naval warfare between January 1793, when the French fired on the British sloop Childers, to June 30, 1815, when the United States sloop Peacock fired on and captured the Honourable East India Company's Nautilus, after the war had ended (there were a number of actions after the war ended because of the slow communications). It mainly covers the actions of British ships (including fleet actions, flying squadrons, individual ships, convoy duties, and some land actions), but also covers the French (including privateers), the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Turks, the Russians, the Dutch, the Danes, the new United States Navy, and an odd assortment of others (just about everyone who had a ship afloat).

It should be noted that the account is not limited to actions involving British ships. It covers, for instance, the problems between the United States and Tripoli. It does not go into detail about the political situation between the United States and England in 1812 (an agreement had been reached in London, but the hawks in the United States Congress declared war before the papers could reach the United States - not much different than the present day, there was a major split in Congress, with some New England merchants continuing to trade with the English in Canada).

The history mentions, in passing, some of the land campaigns, and the naval support to the armies. There is also some commentary on the politics in England and France, and the clashes with foreign governments including an insult to the Shogun in Japan. Some naval officers were not suited for diplomatic work. It also covers the personalities of various officers ranging from floggers like the infamous Captain Pigot (only 27 of the mutineers who threw him overboard were eventually captured and one court acquited three of them), to the stubborn bullheadedness of Lord Cochrane.

Various information presented gives some interesting sidelights. A French raid on the African coast in 1795 captured 200 British, Spanish and Portuguese ships, most of them slavers - an indication of the extent of the slave trade. It is noted that 3,466 British merchant ships were lost between 1793 and 1801, an indication of the extent of the merchant marine.

The book contains an index, a chronology of events, and a select bibliography.

Richard Woodman, best known for his "Nathaniel Drinkwater" series of Royal Navy fiction and several other nonfiction works about the Royal Navy in the 20th Century, tells a riveting saga about the hitherto largely unknown tale of the Royal Navy's bold frigate captains during the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He devotes ample space not only to famous frigate captains like Edward Pellew and Thomas Cochrane - the real-life role model for Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey - but countless other frigate captains whose exploits were as memorable as those of Pellew and Cochrane. To his credit, Woodman mentions the successful cruises of some French and American frigate commanders, most notably American frigate captain David Porter and the successful cruise of the USS Essex in the Pacific during the War of 1812. If I have one legitimate criticism, it is Woodman's confusion of President Madison with President Thomas Jefferson during the War of 1812 (It is an apt criticism since many critics of the war in the United States - especially those from the New England states - referred to it as "Mr. Madison's War".) . Otherwise, this is a splendid account of the Royal Navy's frigate cruises during this pivotal moment in early modern world history.

This is a great book, but one wonders if the French were as a bad as they are portrayed! Woodman is careful to debunk the fact that it is "gutter press" to say that one British sailor is worth ten French frogs, but he selects narrative accounts where the British predominate. Is this accurate, or biased? Frankly, I don't know.

But I am quibbling. This is an excellent book that taught me far more than I previously knew.

'Nuff said.

Five stars.

Considering the scope of its content, this book is remarkably compact; if any accusation can be made, it's that there is too much information ... Mr.Woodman manages to squeeze in details of almost every naval commander (including many rarely-seen portraits) and their exploits without repeating himself or losing one's interest. The downside is that his usually fluid literary style is curtailed somewhat, and the barrage of different names can be a little confusing at times. However, by giving us a comprehensive history of Britain's finest (and a few non-British), we see exactly where O'Brian, Lunn, Lambdin, Forester et al (incl. Woodman!) got their material and inspiration from ... recognising most of the actions, with names changed, in many of their books.
Nor is the action much diminished by reasons of space; the thrill of the chase and the bloody battles are all there, one following hard on the heels of the last, complete with the political and logistical rationale driving the events at sea and on land. One fact stands out from the rest:- the huge disparity in the numbers of killed and injured between the British and European forces, French losses often 5 times or more than the British, doubtless due to the French predilection for firing high, more than the British rate of fire.
This superb book illustrates exactly how and why Britain's Navy became master of the oceans - what a reference book!
This is history the way it should be told.

If you are looking for an adventure at sea in napoleonic days you should read Lewis and Pope and Kent, Showell and O'Brian.

If you want to find out where these writers found their inspiration look no further than this book.

It is an account of the dashing frigate captains and small flotilla commodores who fought the small actions of the Napoleonic years. And there are hundreds of them.

Because there are so many actions this book does not flow easily. It leaps from description to description, and there is not room to map each engagement.

However, the research is excellent, the ships are well explained and for the budding historian or writer this book is an excellent resource for the library shelf.

As a fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, I was interested to learn more of the history and times depicted in the novels. After reading the Sea Warriors, I found out where O'Brian got his material from!

The bold and skillful frigate and Line of Battle ship captains of the Royal Navy were able to maintain superiority at sea against the French and bring about Napoleons downfall, but I found it hard to believe that the French were that inept.....after all, it took the British 14 years to defeat the French Navy. One would think the British should have done it sooner!!! The book has a definite British slant to it. I was wanting after reading this book to find out more about the French commanders, but almost nothing is given.

Also, justice is not given the American naval effort, although a number of pages are devoted to Porter and the Essex cruise. I found this to be the most interesting part of the book. I wish the author would have included more.

The book does not flow well, and I found it took me weeks to finish this work. The author tends to skip from topic to topic without logical progression.

However, the book does have a large number of good points to it. The Appendix includes a great chronology of the conflict between France and Britain, a great sailing terminology and glossary at the end. A number of fine illustrations grace the pages as well as a number of detailed maps. No doubt the work was painstakingly and thoroughly researched. I would have given it 5 stars if more information was included on French and American naval commanders and actions.

Still it is recommended for fighting sail buffs and O'Brian fans as it will make one appreciate the British Naval effort more.