This naval history anthology explores the world of Lord Nelson, his era and contemporaries, with expert articles and sumptuous illustrations. An annual publication of the 1805 Club, The Trafalgar Chronicle is dedicated to new research about naval history in the Georgian Era. Its central theme is the Trafalgar campaign and the epic battle of October 21st, 1805, involving British, French and Spanish ships, and some 30,000 men of a score of nations. This edition focuses on the friends and contemporaries of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy. It also explores technical and scientific changes that took place at the turn of the eighteenth century. Contributions include an article by former US Navy Secretary John Lehman on Stephen Decatur and another by Professor John Hattendorf on Admiral Sir John Gambier. It also includes the observations of Professor Benjamin Silliman, an American scientist who visited Britain in 1805. Other characters who appear are ‘Jack Punch’ Perkins, the first black officer in the Royal Navy; William Pringle Green, who was so critical of the results at Trafalgar; and the two Loyalist Richard Bulkeleys, father and son, who served with Nelson at the beginning and at the end of his career. Two articles on technology in the Georgian navy address the surprising developments of the carronade and ballooning in the age of Nelson.

The Trafalgar Chronicle, sponsored by The 1805 Club, is the publication of choice for new research about the Georgian Navy, sometimes called ‘Nelson’s Navy’, though its scope includes all the sailing navies of the period from 1714 to 1837. Our expert contributors for 2022 reside in the UK, US, Canada, and Denmark. Their contributions tell stories of drama, political intrigue, daring, ingenuity, war, and adventure on the world’s oceans. This year’s volume is based on the theme of scientific and technological advances in the navies of the Georgian era. Theme-related articles document aspects of the Industrial Revolution, describing developments, innovations, and inventions in manufacturing, engineering, gunnery and armaments, charting and navigation, sailing tactics, shipboard medicine, and explorations of the natural world. In the tradition of recent editions, the 2022 Trafalgar Chronicle also contains biographical sketches of Nelson’s contemporaries: Sir Harry Neale and George Matcham, brother-in-law to Lord Nelson. Two additional topics of general interest include a new perspective on single ship actions in the War of 1812 and a riveting tale of a futile Danish Navy expedition to Morocco in 1751. Handsomely illustrated, this issue will make a fascinating and admired addition to any naval history library.

The Trafalgar Chronicle is the publication of choice for new, scholarly research about the Georgian Navy, sometimes called ‘Nelson’s Navy’; the journal’s scope, however, includes all the sailing navies of the period 1714 to 1837. This year’s volume includes three articles on highly original topics. First, an analysis of the various swords the Duke of Clarence gave as gifts to Royal Navy officers. Second, is a deeply researched piece into early nineteenth-century court records to document the many incarnations of a Royal Navy schooner, Whiting, which, after capture by a French privateer in the War of 1812, became, herself, a privateer and a pirate ship. The last of three articles in this section gives an analysis of what Nelson thought of privateers, especially after the French xebec L’Esperance took his cutter Swift as a prize. To recognize the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Swedish Navy, there are included three articles from a new compilation The Baltic Cauldron, a collection of papers on the Swedish Navy, from 1522 to the present. It includes a piece by Christer Hägg, former captain in the Royal Swedish Navy and an accomplished maritime artist whose painting graces the cover of this edition. Readers will also find outstanding biographical portraits. First, there is a recounting of Charles Cunningham’s daring decisions and steely resolve when he extricated his ship, HMS Clyde, from the heated Nore Mutiny. Another article describes the parallel and contemporary naval service exploits of Admirals Rodney and Kempenfelt, who were actually distant cousins of one another. The final biographical paper takes readers to Bermuda where a twenty-first century archeological dig found the remains of Captain Sir Jacob Wheate, who commanded the ill-fated Fifth Rate frigate HMS Cerberus. Authors in this volume reside in six countries: UK, US, India, Australia, Canada, and Sweden. Through extensive research, they tell dramatic stories of mutiny, piracy, privateering, battles at sea, diplomacy, international alliances, victory and advancement, loss and defeat, all in the quest for sea power. Handsomely illustrated throughout, this issue will make a fascinating and admired addition to any naval library. ‘Well written, well researched, well-illustrated, this is a publication that will both delight and inform. A most enjoyable read.’ - D J Paul in Naval Review

The Trafalgar Chronicle is the publication of choice for new research about the Georgian Navy, sometimes called ‘Nelson’s Navy’, though its scope includes all the sailing navies of the period from 1714 to 1837. The theme of the 2021 issue is ‘Georgian Navy encounters with indigenous and enslaved populations’. The theme is particularly relevant to current-day discussions and social activism occurring across the globe, that have brought new insights and perspectives to Western history of colonization, exploration, and slavery. The lead article, by 1805 Club member Tom D. Fremantle, tells the story of his ancestor, Philip Gidley King, who sailed to Botany Bay with the First Fleet in 1787. becoming the first Lieutenant Governor of Norfolk Island and the third Governor of New South Wales. His encounters with the Maoris are unforgettably touching. Another contribution reveals how the British lured slaves away from their American masters’ plantations with the promise of freedom during the War of 1812. In the tradition of recent editions, the 2021 Trafalgar Chronicle contains biographical sketches of Nelson’s contemporaries including Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, naval hero of Quebec; Sir Harry Neale, Baronet GCB, a royal favorite; and Admiral Sir Philip Durham, a Trafalgar Captain turned politician. Meanwhile, Captain Christer Hägg, RSwN Rtd regales readers with the tale of Captain Johan Puke leading the Swedish fleet in a daring breakout from the Russian blockade at Viborg in 1790. Scholars and students, experts and enthusiasts fascinated by the era of the sailing navy will be absorbed by the latest edition of this handsomely illustrated journal.

The remarkable story of how a handful of intrepid scientific navigators underpinned British naval dominance in the conflict with Napoleon During the Napoleonic Wars, more than twice as many British warships were lost to shipwreck than in battle. The Royal Navy's fleets had to operate in unfamiliar seas and dangerous coastal waters, where navigational ignorance was as great a threat as enemy guns. If Britain was to win the war, improved intelligence was vital. In this landmark account, Michael Barritt reveals how a cadre of specialist pathfinders led by Captain Thomas Hurd enabled Britain's Hydrographic Office to meet this need. Sounding amongst hazards on the front line of conflict, alert for breaks in weather or onset of swell, these daring sailors gathered vital strategic data that would eventually secure the upper hand against Britain's adversaries. Tracing this pathfinding around Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, Barritt shows how the honing of this skill set revolutionised the British way of war at sea--ultimately securing a lasting naval dominance.

Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition departed England in 1845 with two Royal Navy bomb vessels, 129 men and three years' worth of provisions. None were seen again until nearly a decade later, when their bleached bones, broken instruments, books, papers and personal effects began to be recovered on Canada's King William Island. These relics have since had a life of their own--photographed, analyzed, cataloged and displayed in glass cases in London. This book gives a definitive history of their preservation and exhibition from the Victorian era to the present, richly illustrated with period engravings and photographs, many never before published. Appendices provide the first comprehensive accounting of all expedition relics recovered prior to the 2014 discovery of Franklin's ship HMS Erebus.

Vols. for 1871-76, 1913-14 include an extra number, The Christmas bookseller, separately paged and not included in the consecutive numbering of the regular series.