Nelson’s Officers and Midshipmen (Warrior) - Softcover

Fremont-Barnes, Gregory

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846033799 ISBN 13: 9781846033797

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Immortalized in literature through such characters as C. S. Forester's 'Horatio Hornblower' and Patrick O'Brian's 'Jack Aubrey', the officers and midshipmen of the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary (1792-1802) and Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) ran the ships that defended Great Britain against the threat of French invasion. This period saw the Royal Navy achieve its most momentous victories at the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar, victories that laid the basis for a period of British naval and imperial supremacy that would last a century.

The men who commanded these ships went through a long apprenticeship, often going to sea at the age of 12 or younger. They could serve for up to 60 years, progressing through the ranks in a service that rewarded success in battle and merit to a much larger extent than the contemporary British Army.

This title, the companion volume to Warrior 100: Nelson's Sailors, describes the harsh realities of life in the Georgian Royal Navy for all ranks of officer from the lowest midshipman to the most senior admiral and covers the exploits of men such as Horatio Nelson and Thomas Cochrane who provided the basis for the fictional figures that remain so popular to this day.

About this title

About the Author:

Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from Oxford University. A visiting Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he has written on a wide range of military and naval subjects, including The French Revolutionary Wars, The Peninsular War, 1807-1814, The Fall of the French Empire, 1813-1815, The Boer War, 1899-1902, The Wars of the Barbary Pirates, Trafalgar 1805, Nelson's Sailors, The Indian Mutiny, 1857-58 and American Bomber Crewman in World War II, 1941-45. He is also editor of the two-volume Encyclopedia of the Age of Political Revolutions and New Ideologies, 1760-1815, the three-volume Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and co-editor of the five-volume Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War. The author lives in Oxfordshire.

Review:

“I found this to be a particularly good read. I learned a great deal and had several of my earlier conceptions about this time and these people changed. It is a book that I most highly recommend to you.” ―Scott Van Aken, www.modelingmadness.com (August 2009)

“I can honestly say I enjoyed this book. The writing and illustrations go hand in hand. Both are top notch and easy to follow. Those of us who are also Naval enthusiasts will really want to get this and add it to their reference library. Plus if you ever wish to venture into figures the illustrations will help out in the painting of them as well.” ―Jim Adams, Model Shipwrights (September 2009)

About this edition

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1846033799
• ISBN 13: 9781846033797
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Noon Steve