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Raid On Le Havre
The Le Havre raid was a two-day naval bombardment of the French port of Le Havre early in July 1759 by Royal Navy forces under Rear-Admiral George Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, George Rodney during the Seven Years' War, which succeeded in its aim of destroying many of the invasion barges being gathered there for the Planned French Invasion of Britain (1759), planned French invasion of Great Britain. Background By the summer of 1759 the Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, duc de Choiseul's invasion plans were underway, with intensive naval preparations being made in the French ports in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and in the Channel: Brest, France, Brest, Le Havre, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort and Toulon. Troops were assembled at a number of points, principally at Dunkirk, Saint-Omer, Ostend, Lille and Vannes.McLynn (2011) pp 239-40 Choiseul had decided that Le Havre was to be the main base for the Prince de Soubise's strike at England, as it lay on the Seine and troop mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia versus Kingdom of France, France and Habsburg monarchy, Austria, the respective coalitions receiving by countries including Portuguese Empire, Portugal, Spanish Empire, Spain, Electorate of Saxony, Saxony, Age of Liberty, Sweden, and Russian Empire, Russia. Related conflicts include the Third Silesian War, French and Indian War, Carnatic wars, Third Carnatic War, Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), and Spanish–Portuguese War (1762–1763), Spanish–Portuguese War. Although the War of the Austrian Succession ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), none of the signatories were happy with the terms, and it was generally viewed as a temporary armistice. It led to a strategic realignment kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area. The canalised section of the river Aa begins at Saint-Omer, reaching the North Sea at Gravelines in northern France. Below its walls, the Aa connects with the Neufossé Canal, which ends at the river Lys. History Saint-Omer first appeared in the writings during the 7th century under the name of Sithiu (Sithieu or Sitdiu), around the Saint-Bertin abbey founded on the initiative of Audomar, (Odemaars or Omer). Omer, bishop of Thérouanne, in the 7th century established the Abbey of Saint Bertin, from which that of Notre-Dame was an offshoot. Rivalry and dissension, which lasted till the French Revolution, soon sprang up between the two monasteries, becoming especially virulent when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet
Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet (1 February 1714 – 1782) was a Royal Navy officer. Parker was born at Tredington, Warwickshire, Tredington in Worcestershire. His father, a clergyman, was a son of Sir Henry Parker. His paternal grandfather had married a daughter of Alexander Hyde, Bishop of Salisbury. He began his career at sea in the merchant service. Entering the Royal Navy at the age of 24, he was made lieutenant in 1744, and in 1748 he was made post-captain. In his royal navy career, he captured a Spanish galleon that was worth £600,000. This gave his family its wealth. Currently, his descendants live in the south wing of Melford Hall. Seven Years War In October 1755 Hyde Parker commissioned the newly launched post ship . A year later, in her he captured the French privateer ''Très Vénėrable''. During the latter part of the Seven Years' War he served in the East Indies, taking part in the Siege of Pondicherry (1760), capture of Pondicherry in 1761 and of B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
George Darby
Vice-Admiral George Darby ( 1720 – 1790) was an officer of the British Royal Navy. He commanded HMS ''Norwich'' at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. He went on to command the Western Squadron during the American Revolutionary War and later in that war served as First Naval Lord when he commanded the force that relieved Gibraltar from its siege by the Spanish in April 1781. Naval career Early career Darby was the second son of Jonathan Darby (III) (d.1742/3) and Anna Marie Frend both of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland. He joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in September 1742. Promoted to post-captain on 12 September 1747, he received his first command, the sixth-rate HMS ''Aldborough''. He went on to become commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS ''Seahorse'' in 1756 and of the fourth-rate HMS ''Norwich'' in 1757 in which he served under Admiral Rodney at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. After th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
John Lockhart-Ross
Vice-Admiral Sir John Lockhart-Ross, 6th Baronet (11 November 1721 – 9 June 1790), known as John Lockhart from 1721 to 1760, was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession, Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence, and served for a time as a Member of Parliament. Lockhart was born into a gentry family in 1721 and embarked on a naval career. He served on a number of ships during the War of the Austrian Succession, seeing action at both the First and Second Battles of Cape Finisterre, having by then risen to the rank of lieutenant. He had his own commands by the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, and enjoyed particular success as a frigate captain, cruising against privateers while in command of . Further commands followed, including roles in detached squadrons at the Battle of Quiberon Bay. Taking the additional name Ross after he inherited a deceased relative's estates, he served as a member of parliament and undertook ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Samuel Barrington
Admiral Samuel Barrington (1729 – 16 August 1800) was a Royal Navy officer. Barrington was the fourth son of John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington of Beckett Hall at Shrivenham in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). He enlisted in the navy at the age of 11, and by 1747 had been promoted to post-captain. Barrington had good connections and was lucky to enlist at the right time, and proved to be an able officer. Life Early career Barrington went to sea in 1740. By 1745 he had passed the examination making him eligible for promotion to lieutenant. He was promoted to that rank in October 1746. His elder brother William, Viscount Barrington, was then a junior Admiralty lord, and pestered the First Lord of the Admiralty, the civilian John Russell, Duke of Bedford, to promote Samuel to the rank of master and commander, which was done in November. Next year, at the age of eighteen, he was made post-captain. Seven Years' War He was in continuous service during the peace of 1748� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Battle Of Quiberon Bay
The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as the ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' by the French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near Saint-Nazaire. The battle was the culmination of British efforts to eliminate French naval superiority, which could have given the French the ability to carry out their planned invasion of Great Britain. In the battle, a British fleet of 24 ships of the line under Sir Edward Hawke tracked down and engaged a French fleet of 21 ships of the line under Hubert de Brienne. After hard fighting, the British fleet sank or ran aground six French ships of the line, captured one and scattered the rest, giving the Royal Navy one of its greatest victories, and ending the threat of French invasion for good. The battle signalled the rise of the Royal Navy in becoming the world's foremost naval power, and, for the British, wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Battle Of Lagos
The Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by Edward Boscawen and a French fleet under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran over two days in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. They fought south west of the Gulf of Cádiz on 18 August and to the east of the small Portuguese port of Lagos, after which the battle is named, on 19 August. La Clue was attempting to evade Boscawen and bring the French Mediterranean Fleet into the Atlantic, avoiding battle if possible; he was then under orders to sail for the West Indies. Boscawen was under orders to prevent a French breakout into the Atlantic, and to pursue and fight the French if they did. During the evening of 17 August the French fleet successfully passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, but was sighted by a British ship shortly after it entered the Atlantic. The British fleet was in nearby Gibraltar, undergoing a major refit. It left port amidst great confusion, most ships not having their refurbishments complet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Honfleur
Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honfleur are called ''Honfleurais.'' It is especially known for its old port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted frequently by artists. There have been many notable artists, including Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind. They all met at La Ferme Saint Siméon, which is now a five-star hotel, and created the "Saint Siméon gathering", contributing to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest wooden church in France. History The first written record of Honfleur is a reference by Richard III, Duke of Normandy, in 1025. By the middle of the 12th century, the city represen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ketch
A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch from a yawl, which has its mizzen mast stepped aft of its rudder post. In the 19th and 20th centuries, ketch rigs were often employed on larger yachts and working watercraft, but ketches are also used as smaller working watercraft as short as 15 feet, or as small cruising boats, such as Bill Hanna's Tahiti ketches or L. Francis Herreshoff's Rozinante and H-28. History The name ketch is derived from ''catch''. The ketch's main mast is usually stepped further forward than the position found on a sloop. The sail plan of a ketch is similar to that of a yawl, on which the mizzen mast is smaller and set further back. There are versions of the ketch rig that only have a mainsail and a mizzen, in which case they are referred to as ''cat ketch' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ship Of The Line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two columns of opposing warships manoeuvering to volley fire with the naval cannon, cannons along their Broadside (naval), broadsides. In conflicts where opposing ships were both able to fire from their broadsides, the faction with more cannons firingand therefore more firepowertypically had an advantage. From the end of the 1840s, the introduction of steam engine, steam power brought less dependence on the wind in battle and led to the construction of propeller, screw-driven wooden-hulled ships of the line; a number of purely sail-powered ships were converted to this propulsion mechanism. However, the rise of the ironclad warship, ironclad frigate, starting in 1859, made steam-assisted ships of the line obsolete. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Spithead
Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the channel to the north is the main approach for shipping to Portsmouth Harbour and onwards to Southampton. Spithead itself is an important naval Anchorage (maritime), anchorage. Historically, Spithead was used for assembling Royal Navy ships, including as a formation area for squadrons or fleets at anchor, as well as for the resupply of ships. Geography It receives its name from the Spit (landform), Spit, a Shoal, sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire shore for . Spithead is long by about in average breadth. Horse and Dean Sand lie to the NE side and Ryde Sand and No Man's Land to the South side. As of 2004, the main channel was reported as being maintained at a dredged depth of 9.5m. History There are evidence of submerged prehis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
