Between the last battle fought entirely under oars in 1571 and the first fought entirely under steam in 1866, naval warfare in the Middle Seas and adjacent Atlantic waters was dominated by the sailing warship. This exploration of that distinct period in military history begins with an overview of the galley warfare that dominated the Mediterranean for millennia and a discussion of the technological developments, including the sail and the cannon, which led to the galley’s demise. Subsequent chapters discuss the role of sailing ships in every major conflict on the Mediterranean from the 16th century Eighty Years War to the late 19th century Austro-Prussian-Italian War. In addition to the major battles, the book also highlights smaller encounters between single ships or light squadrons, important conflicts often overlooked in naval histories.

David S.T. Blackmore is a veteran of the Merchant and Royal Navies. He lives in Toronto, and is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Canada.

David S.T. Blackmore
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 402
Bibliographic Info: 22 maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4799-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5784-7
Imprint: McFarland

List of Illustrations      vii

Foreword by Vice Admiral J.A. Baldwin, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)      1

Preface      3

Introduction      5

Part One: Muscle Power Slowly Yields to Sail

1. Naval Developments in the 13th to 15th Centuries      41

3. Naval Developments in the 15th to 17th Centuries      50

4. Swan Song of the Galley (1571–72)      55

Part Two: The Early Days of Sailing Warfare

5. Naval Developments in the Age of Sail      63

6. From Lepanto to 1645      77

7. Wars and Rumors of War (1646–1674)      86

8. European Power Struggles (1675–1699)      97

9. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714)      106

10. Struggles for Maritime Supremacy (1716–1744)      118

11. The Seven Years’ War (1755–1783)      125

12. Gibraltar Under Siege (1779–1783)      135

13. Russians and Neapolitans (1783–1791)      142

Part Three: The Golden Age of Fighting Sail Begins

14. Upheaval in France (1793–1794)      151

15. French Revolutionary War (1795–1796)      161

16. Nelson and Napoléon (1796–1798)      172

17. Nelson and Brueys Play Hide-and-Seek (1798)      182

18. After the Nile (1798–1799)      191

19. Nelson’s Fallibility (1799)      200

20. Sequel to the Nile (1800)      209

Part Four: Sailing Battles Great and Small

21. 1801 to the Peace of Amiens in 1802      217

22. The Corsairs of North Africa (1800–1803)      228

23. The Trafalgar Campaign (1805)      238

24. Russians and Ottomans (1806–1809)      252

25. Small Ship and Littoral Operations (1807–1810)      262

26. Small Ship and Littoral Operations (1810–1813)      271

27. The Demise of Napoleon’s Empire (1812–1815)      281

28. The Corsairs of North Africa (1812–1827)      289

Part Five: Transition from Sail to Power

29. Naval Developments in the Early 19th Century      295

30. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1850)      299

31. Crimean and Late 19th Century Wars (1853–1878)      315

32. Technology Ends the Age of Sail      330

Appendix A. Masts, Sails and Rigging      337

Appendix B. Levels of a Ship of the Line      338

Appendix C. Royal Navy Victualing Regulations      339

Appendix D. Letter: Queen Caroline to Lady Hamilton      340

Appendix E. Letter: Nelson to Tsar Paul I      341

Appendix F. Preble’s Orders to Decatur      342

Appendix G. Nelson’s Last Letters and Wishes      343

Appendix H. Collingwood’s Report on the Gale      345

Appendix I. French Report on Trafalgar      346

Appendix J. Excerpts from 1827 Treaty of London      348

Chapter Notes      351

Bibliography      369

Index      373

“lively study…an enjoyable and readable account”—The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord; “a useful reference guide for students of naval warfare and the Mediterranean region”—The NYMAS Review; “a comprehensive yet authoritative study…The narrative is extremely well laid out – the first section is itself worth its weight in gold..Anyone reading will surely gain new insights…highly recommended”—International Journal of Maritime History.