How hard were British sailors? (Napoleonic period).

[Jon Sutton]

Lars,
I too would have expected Prize Money to be awarded as a result of a capture rather than a sinking. The Minutes Colin Simpson quotes state: "In the High Court of Justice: Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Divn. (Admiralty) In Prize"...."A motion in respect of a claim for Prize Bounty"...."I appear for the Captain and Ship's company of H.M. Ship Carmania to move your Lordship to declare that they are entitled to prize bounty as being actually present at the time of the destruction to an enemy of his Majesty, to wit, the German Emperor...". The Court is told that actually capturing an enemy ship as under the original Prize Act which dated from the reign of Queen Anne was felt to be too restrictive and this was expanded to "taking, sinking or destroying or burning of the ship" in the reign of George III and subsequently renewed in the Naval Prize Act of 1864. The Court is also told that on March 2nd 1915 King George V by an Order in Council declared his intention to grant bounty to the officers and men of such of his ships of war as are actually present at the taking or destroying of any armed ship of any of his Majesty's enemies, and the Carmania case was the first to be heard under this Order. However the Court is also told that the money is provided by Parliament not the Prize Fund, so it appears that "Prize Money" and "Prize Bounty" were differently funded even if the terms seem to be used interchangeably. I seem to recall reading about the Admiralty "buying in" enemy ships that were captured in a re-useable condition - didn't Captain Hornblower rise through the ranks thanks to Prize Money?

[Englander]

"didn't Captain Hornblower rise through the ranks thanks to Prize Money?"

I think you got the wrong guy

[Lars EP]

didn't Captain Hornblower rise through the ranks thanks to Prize Money?

Ermmm... no. He didn't. And I'm afraid he has never existed except in the mind of the late C. S. Forrester, much to the pleasure of me whan I was younger....

Regards --- Lars

[Grünherz]

Lord Cochrane's adventures in HMS Speedy are the basis for Jack Aubrey's experiences in Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander," the first of his celebrated Aubrey-Maturin series of novels. And the Speedy-Gamo fight is transformed in that book into the engagement between HMS Sophie and the Cacafuego. The description of the sea battles in "Master and Commander" are highly authentic and are extremely faithful to the actual historical events. For further information about Thomas, Lord Cochrane, I suggest reading Christopher Lloyd's "Lord Cochrane: Seaman, Radical, Liberator" recently republished in the US by Owl Books, part of their "Heart of Oak Sea Classics" series. Moreover, Lord Cochrane's "Autobiography of a Seaman" is available in the UK.


Perhaps this is the evnt you're referring to?

Thanks for referring to the excellent Patrick O'Brian books regarding Aubrey and Maturin. Most excellent reading about this period of naval warfare. I was--and am-- a "Hornblower" fan but these are the best of that genre. I've read them all and am about to start re-reading them. A new movie starring Russell Crowe is soon to come out based on the first couple of books.
Tom

[Jon Sutton]

Perhaps what I should have written was: Didn't C.S. Forrester have his fictitional hero rise through the ranks due to prize money?

[Lars EP]

Perhaps what I should have written was: Didn't C.S. Forrester have his fictitional hero rise through the ranks due to prize money?

Not really. Hornblower was s*** poor until he reached the rank of post-captain, and took command of the ship-of-the-line "Sutherland". Against all odds he managed to take several prizes in this slow and cumbersome old '74, while he never took a single prize in all the years he commanded sloops-of-wars, and neither in the frigate "Lydia".

Regards --- Lars (feeling that he has to much useless knowledge in his head presently)

[Patrick Edwin Cooley]

VERY hard. After all, they helped in conquering most of the planet...

[fdewaele]

You mean the watery part

[cybercat]

Aye but they were merely taxi drivers for the chaps in the red jackets to go ashore and bring British civilisation to those johnny foreigners!

[jpatterson]

I can't take it anymore. Every time I see the title of this post (for weeks now) I think of the same answer.
Answer: It would depend on who they were with at any particular time!

Later

[Englander]

I can't take it anymore. Every time I see the title of this post (for weeks now) I think of the same answer.
Answer: It would depend on who they were with at any particular time!

Later

I don`t understand that answer.

[jpatterson]

Think dirty.

Later