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Action Of 17 August 1779
The action of 17 August 1779 was a naval battle between a French and a British squadron in the English Channel on 17 August 1779. In June 1779, Spain followed France declaring war on Britain and together formed a combined fleet aiming for British Isles' invasion. On 14 August, the fleet was off the Lizard and on 16 August it were off Plymouth with some of the enemy frigates anchored in the Cawsand Bay.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Ardent''. In meantime, was recommissioned under the command of Captain Phillip Boteler, and sailed from Plymouth on 14 August to join Sir Charles Hardy watching the much superior Franco-Spanish forces in the English Channel. According to the ship's logs, as many as of the crew were landmen, and neither Boteler nor the captain of , in whose company ''Ardent'' was sailing, was aware that a French fleet had put to sea. ''Ardent'' encountered the fleet two days after sailing, and after receiving the correct replies to the coded signal, both ships ran dow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of the United States, fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Patriots were supported by the Kingdom of France and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire, in a conflict taking place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. Established by royal charter in the 17th and 18th centuries, the American colonies were largely autonomous in domestic affairs and commercially prosperous, trading with Britain and its Caribbean colonies, as well as other European powers via their Caribbean entrepôts. After British victory over the French in the Seven Years' War in 1763, tensions between the motherla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landman (rank)
Landsman or landman (the latter being an older term) was a military rank given to naval recruits. United Kingdom In the Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century (c. 1757), the term "landsman" referred to a seaman with less than a year's experience at sea. After a year, a landsman was usually rated as an ordinary seaman. Most were acquired by impressment (a common method of recruitment from c. 1700–1815). Landsmen were usually between the ages of 16 to 35, while seasoned sailors (who started as ordinary seamen) could be impressed up to the ages of 50 to 55 depending on need. In 1853, with the abolition of impressment after the passing of the Continuous Service Act, the rank's title was changed to "apprentice seaman". The term "landsman" evolved into a more formal rating for a seaman assigned to unskilled manual labour. Landsmen's unfamiliarity with shipboard life routinely made them unpopular with the more experienced members of their vessel's crew. Throughout the eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Battles Involving Spain
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean applications (blue- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Battles Involving France
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean application ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Battles Of The Anglo-French War (1778–1783)
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications ( brown-water navy), open-ocean applications ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The British victory was considered their greatest over the French during the American Revolutionary War. The British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse, forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned invasion of Jamaica. The battle is named after the Îles des Saintes, a group of small islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the West Indies. The French had blockaded the British Army at Chesapeake Bay the year before, during the Siege of Yorktown, and supported the eventual American victory in their revolution. This battle, however, halted their momentum and had a significant effect on peace negotiations to end the war. The French suffered heavy casualties at the Saintes and many w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate ( saltpeter). The sulfur and carbon act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, building pipelines and road building. Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonate, producing a supersonic shockwave. Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates enough pressure to force the shot from the muzzle at high speed, but usually not enough force to rupture the gun barrel. It thus makes a good pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Conventions require that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants. Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striking The Colors
Striking the colors—meaning lowering the flag (the " colors") that signifies a ship's or garrison's allegiance—is a universally recognized indication of surrender, particularly for ships at sea. For a ship, surrender is dated from the time the ensign is struck. In international law "Colours. A national flag (or a battle ensign). The colours . . . are hauled down as a token of submission." International law absolutely requires a ship of war to fly its ensign at the commencement of any hostile acts, i.e., before firing on the enemy. During battle there is no purpose in striking the colors other than to indicate surrender. It was and is an offense to continue to fight after striking one's colors, and an offense to continue to fire on an enemy after she has struck her colors, unless she indicates by some other action, such as continuing to fire or seeking to escape, that she has not truly surrendered. For this reason, striking the colors is conclusive evidence of a surrender ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two columns of opposing warships maneuvering to volley fire with the cannons along their broadsides. In conflicts where opposing ships were both able to fire from their broadsides, the opponent with more cannons firingand therefore more firepowertypically had an advantage. Since these engagements were almost invariably won by the heaviest ships carrying more of the most powerful guns, the natural progression was to build sailing vessels that were the largest and most powerful of their time. From the end of the 1840s, the introduction of steam power brought less dependence on the wind in battle and led to the construction of screw-driven wooden-hulled ships of the line; a number of purely sail-powered ships were converted to this propulsion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Ensigns
A French ensign is the flag flown at sea to identify a vessel as French. Several such ensigns have existed over the years as well as terrestrial flags based on the ensign motif. Current ensign The current French ensign is not, as the casual observer would think, identical to the flag of France. Though both are blue, white and red, the French civil ensign has those colours in the proportion blue 30, white 33, and red 37. The intention is to create a flag which, when seen moving at some distance, will appear to have columns of equal width; in addition, the slightly wider red column is intended to improve the flag's visibility at sea. File:Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg, The current French ensign, with proportions different from those of the French flag. Ensign of France (lighter colors).svg, The lighter colored variant of the current French ensign, with proportions different from those of the French flag. File:Naval Jack of Free France.svg, Ensign used by units with histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Hardy
Sir Charles Hardy (c. 1714 – 18 May 1780) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1764 and 1780. He served as colonial governor of New York from 1755 to 1757. Early career Born at Portsmouth, the son of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, Charles Hardy joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1731. He became a captain in the Royal Navy on 10 August 1741, around the age of 27. His first command was the 24-gun , stationed off the British Carolinas from January 1742 to February 1744. In 1744 he was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of the British colony of Newfoundland, though there is no record of his visiting it during his term in office. In 1745 he took command of HMS ''Torrington'', assisting in the protection of a convoy which brought reinforcements from Gibraltar to the newly captured fortress of Louisbourg. He was knighted in 1755 and served as governor of the Colony of New York from 1755 to 1757 (replaced by James ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
