1775 - Lt. John Paul Jones raises the Grand Union flag on the Continental Navy ship Alfred. It is the first American flag raised over an American Naval vessel.
On this day.
1775 - Lt. John Paul Jones raises the Grand Union flag on the Continental Navy ship Alfred. It is the first American flag raised over an American Naval vessel.
A great date to remember for US mates!
Attilio
Well done Lt. Jones!!! A great start to our history!!!
Had I known this, I might have kept the site closed and opened it today!
Trust me, When the ship is ready to get underway, dont hesitate!
As I told you on another thread YOU ARE THE MAN HERE
Just one of the crew.
Here is the Grand Union:
& John Paul Jones!
This is a great anchorage. I learn so many new things every day.
Yes .. I love to learn about history...And looking at the picture of the man's statue I'm wondering if this is really a kind of 3d picture of him...did he really look like that or is there some "tweaking" of the sculptor involved?:confused:
Just wondering...The man looks like he means bussiness:)
Have no doubt, he was a killer. No humor intended.
Gives me chills when I think about it...
Good he was on our side
Yep....
True Warrior.....always been a favorite of mine.
Action of 23 April 1794
The Action of 23 April 1794 took place between a British squadron of five frigates under the command of Sir John Borlase Warren and three frigates and a corvette under the command of Chef d'escadre F. Desgarceaux during the French Revolutionary Wars. Three of the French ships were captured.
On 21 April the frigate Minerva 38 sighted four distant ships in the English Channel. The next morning, 22 April, Minerva met Warren's squadron, and passed this information on. Warren promptly set off in pursuit, and at dawn the next day, 23 April around 4 a.m., sighted three frigates and a corvette about seven or eight leagues (24.5–28 nautical miles) south-west of Guernsey. The French formed a line of battle, and Warren signalled his squadron to engage, with his own flagship Flora 42 in the lead, supported by Arethusa 44. Taking advantage of the weather gage the British were able to force the French into a close action which lasted for nearly three hours, before the Pomone 44 and Babet 22 surrendered at around 11 a.m.
The Engageante 36 and Résolue 36 attempted to escape, and Warren ordered Concorde 42, Melampus 42, and Nymphe 40 to pursue, as Flora was in no condition to do so. After an hour Concorde caught up with Engageante and attempted to disable her, intending to then attack the Résolue, leaving Engageante to Melampus and Nymphe, which were following.
However, while Concorde was engaged with Engageante, the Résolue dropped back and laid herself across Concorde's bows, badly damaging her sails and rigging to the point were she was disabled. Having made hasty repairs Concorde came up again to re-engage the Engageante, which eventually surrendered at about 1.45 p.m. Résolue fired a few shots and then made off, pursued by Melampus and Nymphe, who chased her into Morlaix, before returning to assist Concorde which was towing the crippled Engageante to port.
Last edited by Coog; 04-22-2013 at 01:58.
April 24th
1778 - The Continental Navy sloop Ranger captures HMS Drake.
Captain Jones led a daring raid on the British port of Whitehaven, 23 April, spiking the guns of the fortress, and burning the ships in the harbor. Sailing across the bay to St. Mary's Isle, Scotland, the American captain planned to seize the Earl of Selkirk and hold him as a hostage to obtain better treatment for American prisoners of war. However, since the Earl was absent, the plan failed. Several cruisers were searching for Ranger, and Captain Jones sailed across the North Channel to Carrickfergus, Ireland, to induce HMS Drake of 20 guns, to come out and fight. Drake came out slowly against the wind and tide, and, after an hour's battle, the battered Drake struck her colors, with three Americans and five British killed in the combat. Having made temporary repairs, and with a prize crew on Drake, Ranger continued around the west coast of Ireland, capturing a stores ship, and arrived at Brest with her prizes 8 May.
On 24 April 1798 the 36-gun HMS Phoenix, under the command of Captain Lawrence William Halsted, captured the French privateer Brave off Cape Clear. She was pierced for 22 guns and was carrying eighteen, mixed 12 and 18-pounders. Unusually for a privateer, Brave resisted capture, suffering several men killed and 14 wounded before she surrendered. Phoenix had no casualties and suffered trifling damage to her sails and rigging. Brave had a crew of 160 men and also some 50 English prisoners on board, none of whom were injured. Halsted described Brave as being "a very fine ship, of 600 Tons, is coppered, and sails exceedingly fast."[
On This Day - April 25th
ARA Santa Fe disabled at Grytviken, South Georgia liberated, 30 years ago today :)
(OT for the Napoleonic Wars, but then again the historical discussion in the forum has gone rather wider that the Nappy period in recent weeks)
On This Day 28 April
The capture of HMS Epervier was a naval action fought off the coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral on 28 April 1814, between the ship-rigged sloop of war USS Peacock, commanded by Master Commandant Lewis Warrington, and the Cruizer-class brig-sloop Epervier under Commander Richard Wales. The Americans captured the British vessel after a one-sided cannonade.
USS Peacock was one of a class of three heavy sloops of war designed by William Doughty. She sortied from New York on 12 March 1814 and having eluded the British blockade, delivered some stores to St. Marys, Georgia. The Peacock was then supposed to rendezvous with the frigate USS President, but the President had been unable to break out of New York. While waiting for the President to appear, Warrington cruised around the Bahamas, hoping to intercept British merchant ships sailing from Jamaica.
Early on the morning of 28 April, she sighted several sail to windward. They belonged to a small convoy that had sailed from Havana on 23 April, escorted by the Epervier. When the convoy sighted Peacock the merchant ships made all sail to escape, while Epervier prepared to engage.
The British vessel was more lightly armed than the American. Epervier carried sixteen 32-pounder carronades and two 18-pounder carronades as bow chasers. Peacock carried twenty 32-pounder carronades and two 12-pounder guns. The ratio of the vessels' broadsides was 256 pounds to 320.
As the two vessels made toward each other, the wind shifted to the southward, giving neither the Peacock nor the Epervier the advantage of the windward position. At about 10:20 in the morning, both ships fired their starboard broadsides on opposite tacks, aiming high to disable their opponent's rigging. Both vessels received damage aloft, after which the Epervier turned downwind and engaged the Peacock on a parallel course.
Peacock directed her fire against Epervier's hull with great effect. The British fire fell away rapidly, and Epervier probably scored no hits after the first broadside from the port battery. After 40 minutes, the Epervier was badly damaged, with 45 shot holes in the hull, and 5 feet (1.5 m) of water in the hold. Commander Wales summoned boarding parties to muster, intending to board and capture the Peacock, but his crew refused. At 11:05, the Epervier struck her colours. She had lost eight men killed and 15 wounded, about 20 percent of her crew.
The Americans repaired the damage to Peacock's within an hour. Peacock's first Lieutenant took charge of the prize and succeeded in preventing it from sinking; the prize crew had the brig ready to sail by nightfall. Epervier was found to be carrying $118,000 in specie, which was private rather than Government property.
The next day, The Americans sighted two British frigates. The Peacock successfully decoyed them away from Epervier and also herself escaped with the result that both vessels reached Savannah, Georgia a few days later. The Americans repaired Epervier and took her into the United States Navy as USS Epervier. Warrington set out again in the Peacock and made a successful raiding cruise in British waters, capturing 14 merchant vessels.
The victory of the Peacock over the Epervier was one of the most one-sided of the War of 1812, even though the two opposing vessels were not grossly disparate in strength. It was stated that although Peacock's fire had dismounted some of Epervier's carronades, more of them fell from their mounts when they were fired. Wales had carried out little of the gunnery practice that would have revealed defects in the guns or carriages before it was too late to remedy them. Wales had also reported disaffection and unrest among his crew and, unusually for the Royal Navy in the War of 1812, they failed in their duty to fight to their utmost. The court martial (on 20 January 1815) revealed that Epervier had the worst crew of any vessel on her station. In particular, her crew consisted mostly of invalids from the hospital.
Last edited by Coog; 04-28-2012 at 06:48.
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the commanding officer, William Bligh. According to most accounts, the sailors were attracted to the idyllic life on the Pacific island of Tahiti and repelled by the harsh treatment from their captain.
Eighteen mutineers set Lieutenant Bligh and 18 of the 22 crew loyal to him afloat in a small boat. Mutineers then settled on Pitcairn Island or in Tahiti. The Bounty was subsequently burned off Pitcairn Island to avoid detection and to prevent desertion. Descendants of some of the mutineers and Tahitians still live on Pitcairn island.
After Bligh and his crew of 18 made an epic and eventful journey in the small boat to Timor in the Dutch East Indies, he returned to England and reported the mutiny.
On This Day 29 April
The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the American War of Independence on 29 April 1781 between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, the British squadron under Sir Samuel Hood broke off and retreated. De Grasse offered a desultory chase before seeing the French convoys safely to port.
De Grasse ordered his fleet to prepare for action on the morning of April 29, and sailed for Fort Royal with the convoy ships hugging the coast, and the armed ships in battle line. Hood's fleet was spotted around 8 am, slowly bearing toward them, but de Grasse held the weather gage. At about 9:20, Hood was joined by the Prince William, a 64-gun ship that had been at St. Lucia. The two fleets then continued to maneuver for advantage, but Hood's leeward position meant he was unable to prevent de Grasse from bringing the convoy to harbor, and the meeting of de Grasse's fleet and the four blockaded ships. Around 11:00, de Grasse's van began firing at long range, with no effect. By 12:30 the two fleets were aligned, but de Grasse refused to take advantage of the weather gage to close with Hood, in spite of Hood's efforts to bring the French to him. The fleets then exchanged cannonades and broadsides for the next hour, but at long range, the damage incurred was modest. The four British ships on the southern end of the line suffered the most damage, since they were targeted by eight French ships. Hood finally drew away toward St. Lucia.
Hood dispatched the Russell, which had been holed below the waterline to St. Eustatius for repairs, and to bring news of the action to Admiral Rodney. Hood spent the next day in fruitless attempts to gain the windward, and eventually made sail to the north. He met Rodney on May 11 between St. Kitts and Antigua, the latter having left St. Eustatius on May 5.
Reports of French casualties vary considerably, from as few as 74 killed and wounded to more than 250.
At dusk on 29 April 1587 an English fleet under the command of Sir Frances Drake entered the Bay of Cádiz. There were at that precise moment sixty carracks (naus) and various smaller boats in the port . Further sightings revealed twenty French ships present in the bay, and other smaller vessels were seeking refuge in Port Royal and Port Saint Mary, which were protected by sand banks that the larger carracks could not cross. Juan de Vega, Mayor of Cádiz, sent word to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, who arrived from Sanlúcar that night to take over the defence of the main square. The Spanish galleons, who in the absence of the Governor of Castile were under the command of Pedro de Acuña, sailed out to meet the English fleet but were forced to retire back to Cádiz before the superiority of the English. Gun positions on the shore opened fire, shelling the English fleet from the coast with little effect, but they managed to repulse an attempted landing by launches at El Puntal. During the night of the 29th and all the following day and night the battle raged in the bay. At dawn on the 1st May the English retreated having destroyed between 23 and 33 Spanish ships, with a combined weight of 10,000 tons. Furthermore, they had captured four other ships, laden with provisions.
This is all a false roumour circulated by the decendants of the mutineers. I was a very humane captain by the standards of the times.
Bligh.
Well, "almost" a French victory!
On This Day 30 April
1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
"Almost"? De Grasse accomplished exactly what he needed to accomplish -- get the merchies safely away. Meanwhile, Hood showed a complete lack of spirit and initiative. This one is a French victory, and there's no denying it.Originally Posted by Berthier
Hey Chris, sorry tongue in cheek, yes it was a great strategic victory!
On This Day 5 May
On this day 5 May 1821 Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
A likely story.... :)
The British claimed he died of stomach cancer. There is a conspiracy theory that he was poisoned with arsenic.
His father died of stomach cancer, there were indications prior to St Helena that Napoleon had stomach problems. The poisoning theory although not impossible, seems less likely if perhaps more "romantic" and befitting the legend.
"conspiracy theory"
Never seen it billed as such, more a case of accidental poisoning as a result of arsenic in the wallpaper (it was used in green pigments of the time - a bizarre thought to us now, but no less bizarre than painting airships in aluminium based paint that was to all intents and purposes the same as the fuel used in a space shuttle's SRBs).
I suppose a "conspiracy theory" adds to the romanticism of the time, so it probably keeps some people happy :)
The real problem with the arsenic theory is no=one else got ill who stayed on the island with him and the arsenic in the wall paper would not have been confined to his room only. There were no reports of any of his "companions" with alimentary complaints and many lived to old age (eg bertrand who was at the exhumation of napoleon in 1840 died in 1844, aged 71, Montholon, the prime suspect as "poisoner" lived to 71 as well died in 1853)
Also (wikipedia)
There have been modern studies which have supported the original autopsy finding.[148] Researchers, in a 2008 study, analysed samples of Napoleon's hair from throughout his life, and from his family and other contemporaries. All samples had high levels of arsenic, approximately 100 times higher than the current average. According to these researchers, Napoleon's body was already heavily contaminated with arsenic as a boy, and the high arsenic concentration in his hair was not caused by intentional poisoning; people were constantly exposed to arsenic from glues and dyes throughout their lives.[note 11] 2007 and 2008 studies dismissed evidence of arsenic poisoning, and confirmed evidence of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer as the cause of death.[150]
case closed, mi'lud
On This Day 6 May
HMS Speedy,Commander Lord Cochrane commanding, was cruising off Barcelona at dawn on 6 May 1801 when a large enemy frigate was sighted. The frigate, a xebec-rigged vessel named Gamo, carrying 319 men, was armed with 8- and 12-pounder guns and 24-pounder carronades. This amounted to a total broadside of 190 pounds, more than seven times that of Speedy. Furthermore, Cochrane had only 54 men on board; the rest were serving as prize crews. Instead of evading the frigate, Cochrane closed on her, and at 9:30 a.m. Gamo fired a gun and hoisted Spanish colours. In return Cochrane hoisted American colours. The Spanish hesitated, allowing Cochrane to get closer, hoist British colours, and evade the first broadside. Gamo fired another, which Cochrane again evaded, holding fire until Speedy ran alongside and locked her yards in Gamo's rigging. Gamo attempted to fire upon her smaller opponent, but her guns were mounted too high and could not be depressed sufficiently, causing their shot to pass through Speedy's sails and rigging. Cochrane then opened fire with his 4-pounders double- and treble-shotted, their shots passing up through the sides and decks, killing the Spanish captain and boatswain with the first broadside.
Seeing their disadvantage the Spanish second-in-command assembled a boarding party, at which Cochrane drew off and pounded their massed ranks with shot and musket fire before drawing in close again. After having their attempts to board frustrated three times, the Spanish returned to their guns. Cochrane then decided to board the Gamo, and assembled his entire crew into two parties, leaving only the ship's doctor aboard. The British then rushed the Gamo, some boarding from the bow with faces blackened to look like pirates, the rest boarding from the waist. There was a hard-fought battle between the two crews, until Cochrane called down to the doctor, at the time the only person on Speedy, ordering him to send another 50 men over. At the same time he ordered the Spanish colours to be torn down. Thinking that their officers had surrendered the ship, the remaining Spanish seamen stopped fighting. The British had lost three men killed and nine wounded, while the Spanish had lost 14 killed and 41 wounded, a casualty list exceeding Speedy's entire complement. The British then secured the Spanish prisoners below deck and made their way back to Port Mahon. Stung that he had been beaten by such an inferior foe, the Spanish second-in-command asked Cochrane for a certificate assuring him that he had done all he could to defend his ship. Cochrane obliged, with the equivocal wording that he had "conducted himself like a true Spaniard". Cochrane was amused to learn that this certificate had later secured the Spanish officer further advancement. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Speedy 6 May 1801" to all surviving claimants from the action.
Praise, Faint, Damning With, 1 ea. >;)
On This Day 7 May
On this day 7 May 1779 USS Providence captured the brig HMS Diligent, 12 guns, off Sandy Hook. Providence was armed with 12 × 4-pounder guns and 14 × railside swivel guns. She fired two broadsides and a volley of muskets during the engagement and Diligent, with mast rigging and hull cut to pieces, was forced to surrender.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Providence_(1775)
Last edited by Coog; 01-26-2014 at 19:00.
On This Day 10 May
On May 10, 1801, the Pasha of Tripoi declared war on the U.S., not through any formal written documents but in the customary Barbary manner of cutting down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate. Algiers and Tunis did not follow their ally in Tripoli. Yusuf Karamanli, the Pasha (or Bashaw) of Tripoli, had demanded $225,000 from the new Jefferson administration. (In 1800, Federal revenues totaled a little over $10 million.) Putting his long-held beliefs into practice, Jefferson had refused the demand.
In response, "Jefferson sent a small force to the area to protect American ships and citizens against potential aggression, but insisted that he was 'unauthorized by the Constitution, without the sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of defense.'" He told Congress: "I communicate [to you] all material information on this subject, that in the exercise of this important function confided by the Constitution to the Legislature exclusively their judgment may form itself on a knowledge and consideration of every circumstance of weight." Although Congress never voted on a formal declaration of war, they did authorize the President to instruct the commanders of armed American vessels to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli "and also to cause to be done all such other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war will justify."
...and 200+ years later.... :P
Also:
1775 - Force under Ethan Allan and Benedict Arnold cross Lake Champlain and capture British fort at Ticonderoga, New York.
1800 - USS Constitution captures Letter of Marque Sandwich.
On This Day 11 May
The Danish schooner The Alban was under the command of Lieutenant Thøger Emil Rosenørn when she encountered HMS Rifleman, an 18-gun Cruzier-class brig on 11 May 1811 near the Shetland Islands. The Alban was captured by the Danes from the British in 1810. Rifleman chased The Alban for twelve hours before she succeeded in capturing the Dane. The Alban was armed with 12 guns and had a crew of 58 men. She was three days out of Farsund, Norway, but had not captured anything.
According to Danish sources, Rosenørn fought bravely and when he saw that defeat was inevitable, he hacked away rigging and created holes in the hull before he surrendered. Even so, The Alban did not sink and the British took her back into service as Alban.
Last edited by Coog; 01-27-2014 at 18:35.
11 May 1780. Capitulation of Charlestown, South Carolina to Vice-Admiral Arbuthnot and troops under General Sir Henry Clinton.
"The time has now come when it is equally the interest and duty of every good man to be in readiness to join the King's troops and assist them in establishing justice and liberty"
Proclamation to inhabitants of Charleston by Sir Henry Clinton, subsequently published in the London Gazette, 4 July 1780.
The response of the locals has not been printed by historians, due to its extensive use of profanity and racial epithets. :)
May 12th
1780 - Fall of Charleston, SC; three Continental Navy frigates (Boston, Providence, and Ranger) captured; and one American frigate (Queen of France) sunk to prevent capture.
On This Day 13 May
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships that sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 consisting of 10 civil officers, 212 Royal Marines, including officers, 28 wives and 17 children of the marines, 81 free persons, 504 male convicts and 192 female convicts. Total free persons, 348; prisoners, 696. total 1044, to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. Orders-in-Council for establishing the colony were Issued in London on 6 December 1785. The fleet was led by Captain (later Admiral) Arthur Phillip. The ships arrived at Botany Bay between 18 and 20 January 1788. HMS Supply arrived on 18 January; Alexander, Scarborough and Friendship arrived on 19 January, and the remaining ships on 20 January. On 7 February 1788, after his commission as Governor was read, Phillip addressed some words to the first settlers:
" What Frobisher, Raleigh, Delaware, and Gates did for America, that, we are this day met to do for Australia, but under happier auspices. Our enterprise was wisely conceived, deliberately devised, and efficiently organised, the Sovereign, the Parliament, and the people united to give it their authority, sanction, and encouragement. We are here to take possession of this fifth division of the globe on behalf of the British people, and to found a State which, we hope, will not only occupy and rule this great country, but will also be the beneficent patroness of the entire southern hemisphere. How grand is the prospect which lies before this youthful nation !"
On this day 13 May 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico.
Friction between the United States and Mexico, aggravated by an ever-increasing American population in the southwest and admission of the Texas Republic into the Union, resulted in war. The Navy's Home and Pacific Squadrons blockaded the enemy's east and west coasts, seized numerous ports, and conducted amphibious operations. From the Gulf of Mexico, Commodore M. C. Perry, with small sidewheel steamers and schooners, fought his way up tortuous rivers to capture Frontera, San Juan Bautista and other enemy strongholds and supply sources. Sailors from the Pacific Squadron under Commodores John Stoat and Robert Stockton landed at Monterey, San Francisco, and San Diego, assuring success in the California campaign. Veracruz, key to ultimate victory on the Gulf, fell before a brilliantly executed amphibious assault planned by Commodore David Conner. Over 12,000 troops were put ashore with their equipment in a single day, and at the request of General Winfield Scott naval gunners and their heavy cannon landed. Joined by guns of the fleet and Army artillery, the naval battery pounded the enemy into submission, and opened the way for the capture of Mexico City.
And what a good job they (The British Parliament) did too, otherwise I might be posting in French or Russian!
On This Day 14 May
On this day 14 May 1747 the First Battle of Cape Finisterre saw 14 British ships of the line under Admiral George Anson attack a French 30-ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière during the War of the Austrian Succession. The British captured 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates and 7 merchantmen, in a five-hour battle in the Bay of Biscay off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. One French frigate, one French East India Company warship and the other merchantmen escaped.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_b...isterre_(1747)
Last edited by Coog; 01-27-2014 at 18:50.
Also:
1801 - Tripoli declares war against the United States.
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