The year is 1758, and the Seven Years' War has been raging around the world for nearly two years with no clear victor in sight. The Royal Navy was working tirelessly to deliver a decisive victory for king and country. On 14 July, Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder ordered the construction of 12 additional ships of the line to bolster the fleet, including one first-rater. A few days later, at Chatham Dockyard, construction began on a leviathan destined to change the course of history.

The ships of the line were true technological marvels of their time. These wooden leviathans, which roamed the seas in protection of the British Empire and trade, were exceedingly complex. Many things could go wrong—not only in battle but also during storms. To keep the vessel shipshape and Bristol fashion, a special officer was appointed by warrant: the carpenter. His job was of the utmost importance, as clearly reflected by the high standards imposed on those eligible for the position. His title, "the wooden artist," sometimes bestowed upon him, demonstrates the reverence the ship’s crew had for him. He was not a mere handyman; he was an artist.  This is the story of the carpenter.

Today, I will briefly discuss the position and duties of a master aboard a ship-of-the-line ...

On 24 October 1799, a daring naval action known as The Cutting out of the Hermione took place in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. This was a bold mission to recapture the former British frigate HMS Hermione, now under Spanish command.

HMS Victory breaks the line of the Combined Fleet at Trafalgar, 21st October 1805. Painting by Geoff Hunt. Nelson first raised his flag on the Victory in May 1803, preparing to hunt down the French forces. After discovering the French had left Brest, he transferred his flag to the faster frigate HMS Amphion in order... Continue Reading →

The Battle of Cape Ortegal, the final action of the Trafalgar campaign, took place on November 4, 1805. A Royal Navy squadron led by Captain Sir Richard Strachan defeated a remnant of the fleet that had been overcome at Trafalgar just weeks before.

HM Sloop-of-War Diamond Rock was a thorn in Napoleon's side, effectively placing the lucrative French-held Martinique under blockade for 18 months with minimal resources. However, Diamond Rock was no ordinary warship...

In 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, the Americans assembled a naval armada known as the Penobscot Expedition. This fleet comprised 40 vessels—18 armed warships or privateers and 22 schooners or sloops serving as troop transports. It was the largest American fleet assembled during the Revolutionary War, setting sail on July 19 from Boston and heading toward Penobscot Bay in Maine.

Britain relentlessly enforced its self-proclaimed right to search all neutral shipping for contraband bound for Napoleon’s empire, as established in the Orders in Council. The young United States, whose merchant fleet was the second largest in the world, suffered particularly under these measures. The situation bore a striking resemblance to colonial times, as the Orders in Council also required all American shipping bound for Europe to pass through British ports and pay duties. Furthermore, the impressment of American merchants into the Royal Navy further exacerbated Anglo-American tensions. Britain, however, went to great lengths to placate America, as its export trade with New England was highly lucrative. Furthermore, the Royal Navy, fully occupied with combating the French Empire, was understandably reluctant to open another front. The Orders in Council were even revoked by the British government in 1812, but this proved too little, too late. As British ships continued to press American seamen into Royal Navy service, and following the infamous collision between USS President and the sloop Little Belt, the United States declared war on Britain in June 1812.

Between April 9 and 12, 1782, over the course of four days, the Royal Navy achieved its greatest victory against the French during the American War of Independence, when Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated over 30 French ships of the line under Comte de Grasse. He successfully thwarted the planned invasion of Jamaica and restored British naval dominance in the West Indies. The French momentum was broken, and the British could now open peace negotiations from a position of power. This final engagement of the American Revolution is also considered by some to be the first instance of the use of the battle tactic of 'breaking the line.'