Customer Reviews

The Star Captains: Frigate Command in the Napoleonic Wars

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

 

 

"The Star Captains: Frigate Command in the Napoleonic Wars"
is an unparalleled look at Royal Navy frigate captains, the officers who were the historical seeds for Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. Wareham's interest in the subject began with his curiosity about Captain James Newman Newman, whose portrait hung in a stairway at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Seeking to learn more about this thoroughly obscure officer led Wareham beyond standard library books on naval history, and he soon realized that there was little published information about typical frigate captains. Wareham's research into the subject led to his Phd thesis and this book.

What was the career of a post captain like? What did a career in the navy of this era consist of? What was the truth behind the popular images of Nelson's navy? These are the questions that Wareham sought to answer. Along the way, he provides a good deal of analytical data about frigate captains, including statistics on the length of service between passing for lieutenant and being made post, on the how many years a captain might serve as commander of a frigate, and on frequency of assignments to various duty stations. Prize agents' accounts for frigates' captures are tabularized. Family social backgrounds and professions of siblings are listed. All in all, Wareham's book is a treasure trove of information. He also describes various frigate battles and their aftermaths, and he discusses the careers of many unheralded Royal Navy captains. All in all, this is a first-rate resource for better understand the realities of the world so familiar from the works of O'Brian and Forester.

This is not a book for the faint hearted. As good as it is, and it is good, and well written, it is not a book for the casual, or even interested, reader. The book is filled with graphs, charts, and technical evaluations. if you know your captain, this is the place to find out why and when, and where he served. The book does not give enough detail to feel the spirit of most of these men. For that, look to the books titled "Broadside", or "The Sea Warriors".

Star Captains, the title almost sounds like a novel written for Star Trek or something but in reality, it an in-depth study of what kind of men attained the command of frigate during the Napoleonic Wars for the British Royal Navy. The book clearly implied that these frigate captains were the cream of the corps of naval captains. The demands of such captains compared to their counterparts commanding bigger ship of the line were considerably more demanding due to the initimate nature of the smallness of their vessel as well as its independent nature of being assigned to a frigate. Whether serving as a scout for the main fleet or on independent mission, these leaders have to proves their worth every day and under more tiresome conditions then their counterparts who commanded bigger ships. However, the pay-off comes in prize money and fame.

This book proves to be well written and well researched on the subject. As one previous reviewer stated, this book is not for casual reading. The author managed to produced a very detail book on all aspects of a career of a frigate captain. It is not an easy read for beginners in this field. But once you can sort this book out, you come to realized that all these fictional heroes like Aubrey, Hornblower and Bolitho were not far off from real men who commanded the frigates of the British Royal Navy.

A book that comes highly recommended despite of the heavy complexity of the subject. In some ways, many of the fine characteristics of a superb frigate captain can be applied to characters like Archer, Kirk or Picard from Star Trek fame as well.

Most histories of this era carefully walk us through the major events of the period, laying out other events as necessary to advance the author's point of view. This book takes a different, and refreshing approach: it focuses specifically on frigate captains -- the dashing, courageous fighters who took the war to mouth of French harbours and allied shipping on the high seas. The is well written and is a quick read. But don't let the quick read fool you -- it's a great history worth reading.