The Naval Chronicle, Volume 1, 1793-1798

Publisher: Chatham Publishing, 1998 £ 18.00

The original Naval Chronicle began publishing in 1799 but retrospectively published accounts of actions earlier in the war. These have been extracted to form the contents of this edited modern version.

The operations are described by men who were there. Contemporary grammar and spelling have been largely retained. The occupation of Toulon, Corsican battles, the West Indies, the Glorious First of June, St Vincent, the mutinies, Camperdown, and the Nile are covered but so are many minor actions, world-wide.

I found the accounts of those in familiar, home waters like Brest, Quiberon and Ireland most interesting. Some sketches of ships repay study but I found the maps poor. We benefit from there having no Official Secrets Act especially with the Appendix which covers the period up to 1815 and includes such things as defence plans for the South Coast, tactics and even submarines. -JLC

Page prepared 5 May 1999