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| Z | Latest news: At the present time am filling in the many gaps in general RN shipping movements from 1803-1810, although most of the more important events have already been noted. Having recently found additional sources for the movements of RN vessels for 1801 through to 1810, which are being transcribed and uploaded at irregular intervals, the last lot, covering the period up to about 29 Feb 1804, going on-line circa Jun 2017, and this should hopefully start filling in many of the gaps in RN vessel movements along the South Coast of England, but not for Leith, Hull, North / Great Yarmouth, Sheerness, Harwich and the Downs, &c., so we'll have to do that again idc, along with the additional movements for Plymouth and Torbay / Brixton, where the Channel Fleet and convoys often anchored, since it provided shelter from the prevailing south westerly gales, and at the same time, provided quicker access to the English Channel, in contrast to the confined waters available of Plymouth, and to a lesser extent for Spithead and St. Helen's, on the east of the Isle of Wight, where a southerly wind would often limit the movements of vessels wanting to sail for the coast of France, .....unfortunately, whilst some movements are available for other parts of the UK, news on the movements of convoys etc., on the West Coast is limited, although occasional convoys between Wales and the West Country ports are included when they touch at Plymouth. However, further to the last paragraph I do note that whilst the movements do actually take place, different sources sometimes provide slightly differing dates, albeit only a day or two out, but sometimes as many as 3 or 4 days, e.g. I've got a note that the Dreadnought arrived Plymouth 17 Aug 1803 for a refit, and, then, when using another source from a different part of the country to widen the range of vessel movements, it notes her arrival as being 21 Aug but it does get a bit confusing when the weather delays sailings etc., or some news, such as important parliamentary debates, means that there is little or no room for shipping movements to be detailed in the newspapers ; so you may well find discrepancies !! In addition, I also get the feeling that those who collated the data, were not always given all the information regarding a vessel's movements, and perhaps, to keep the editor off his back, a correspondent might have to be a little inventive e.g. 2 vessels apparently sailing off to the Westward together, but reason not known by the correspondent, so the vague term, such as "sailed on a cruise" comes into play quite often to describe a movement of a vessel out of port, but there are times, when it becomes apparent, perhaps days down the line, that their movements were not connected, or they didn't depart on a cruise, but to go to another port, perhaps for a refit, or to pick up a convoy etc....so please be advised that the ship's log is probably the only really reliable source, if it has survived ; although, hopefully, in most cases the movements detailed here will give you a few clues as to what was going on, and where a vessel may have been operating, although that may not be the case in the more remote areas, until such time as world wide communications become available, with the electronic telegraph, shall we say during the latter half of the 19th Century ? Some newspapers seem to have encouraged letter writers from Malta and Gibraltar, and perhaps on board ship, and these can be most interesting ; or alternatively readers of some papers occasionally keep editors appraised regarding news they are receiving from RN ships &c. from relatives and so forth. More formal sources, such as the Falmouth packets also pick up news on their travels regarding the movements of naval ships at many of the ports that they call at, including Lisbon ; islands in the West Indies ; and post the Napoleonic Wars, Admiralty packets calling at Malta and Gibraltar, and ports on the SE Coast of South America, and were subsequently published in the English newspapers, and later in the 19th Century, when Royal Mail ships operated around certain parts of the World, would invariably record sightings of RN ships sighted on their voyages. Following the Peace of Amiens and the later breakdown in the Treaty, 1801-1803, it is apparent that many vessels, including not only the smaller sloops and brigs, but many of the frigates and troopships &c., were paid off and put in ordinary and later commissioned and taken out of harbour to the main anchorages, such as Spithead, Plymouth Sound and the Nore &c., without being mentioned in the newspapers, and it is only when they start moving around again and going about their business that they are mentioned more often, and even then, not always ; whereas, at say Plymouth, the preparation of most of the 74s etc., for sea is covered in some detail, and, I would hazard a guess that since much of this must have taken place behind dockyard walls at Portsmouth and Sheerness &c., it hardly receives a mention until vessels are commissioned, and sent out to Spithead &c., apart for the occasional dockings &c., which all tends to leave a lot of gaps in the careers of many vessels, apart from what appears in the ship's logs, but living out in the sticks, I haven't got the capacity to cover that angle, and the National Archives web site details the periods covered by logs and muster list &c., when they've survived. 10 Mar 1803 where, for the sake of secrecy, the movements of vessels are not published in the newspapers e.g. in the lead up to the breakdown in the Peace of Amiens, several of the newspapers, whilst not detailing the names of the vessels, note the departure of several frigates, sloops and brigs, some with dispatches for overseas, and others for vessels doing the rounds of the UK ports with a view to pressing men of a suitable age, and ideally seamen, but they don't mention the movements of many vessels. Further notes to movements :- The Times correspondent at Plymouth on 24 Aug 1803 advises that he has been informed by vessels arriving from the Channel Isles (C.I.), with French prisoners that the Channel Isles privateers have been returning with numerous prizes, which might normally present a problem for the Islands, taking into account how close it is to France, and by the orders of R.-Adm Sir J Saumarez they are being sent to England regularly by hired armed vessels to :- Portsmouth, Weymouth and Plymouth, thus keeping the Islands free from persons, who in case of an invasion, might do much mischief. However, I've not noticed the movements of any of these hired vessels to and from the C.I. since the recommencement of the War, and it would appear that their movements, as with many small vessels, are being ignored. Confusion with naval ship's names. Have just been attempting to resolve some confusion with vessel names : e.g. Constant and Constance ; and then editors confusing the Thunderer with the Thunder ; and Diligent and Diligence, etc., and this at a time when paper cost money and the spoken word was probably used more often than giving someone a written list of names etc. You may come across items for vessels leaving Portsmouth or Spithead noted as "departed for the east" or similar. These are notes as I've found them and imply that the actual destination probably wasn't known until the vessel arrived in the waters commanded by the Commander in Chief of the Nore, in the mouth of the River Thames, when the need to remove stores, powder and guns and victuals etc., could be assessed, and whether she was there for repairs, to be paid off etc., and her destination could be translated as being bound for either Deptford, Chatham, Sheerness, or Woolwich, one of the home ports on the River Thames or in the River Medway. If "departed for the east" from Plymouth you can add Portsmouth to the equation. Occasionally, subsequent notes may clarify this, but not always ; some vessels seem not to get noticed or are frequently ignored, and perhaps some commanding officers make sure that the press is informed regarding shipping movements etc. I note that following the signing of the Peace Treaty at Amiens in 1802, aka Peace of Amiens, that many vessels, hundreds, passed through the Downs for the River to be paid off and laid up in ordinary (reserve), but that only a few received a mention. Similarly when the Treaty fell apart and War was declared by Britain circa 18 May 1803 Whilst collecting the movements I occasionally come across bits and pieces of interest regarding changes in the Service and service life as they've come to hand - click here ie items that don't perhaps require a full article or web page. N.B. A health warning. This database was created from many sources published in the last few years of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, including navy lists, directories, newspapers, books, such as the Naval Chronicles etc. I make no claims as to its accuracy, eg there are times when sources conflict ; the age old problems of transcription errors ! In addition, I have noted on occasion that some vessels would appear to have been incorrectly identified : and I occasionally see references to vessels for which I can find no trace in the usual sources and must therefore conclude that whilst the name might have been correct it was perhaps a merchant vessel incorrectly allocated..... hopefully I have weeded out the obvious ones, but take nothing for granted.....I often find that I'm having to make corrections. At the present time I have mentions of the sloop Macheron, from Jun through to Oct 1803, but then she seems to disappear. We know her commanding officer, Capt Howes, but we know not where the vessel originates, but we have 5 mentions of her movements in different newspapers performing the usual naval tasks. You may come across notes such as the following : It is also perhaps worth remembering that sailing vessels relied on the wind for their propulsion. There are occasions when passages, that would only take a few days by sea today, may have taken a month or more in the early part of the 19th Century, especially where large numbers of vessels were concerned eg convoys, and you may find a convoy for the West Indies forming up at Portsmouth in say November, sailing in December, being forced into Falmouth due to bad weather, and having to remain there for another month until the wind was right : sailing for Cork to pick up more vessels whilst passing, and maybe having to wait there until more favourable winds arrived. There are occasions when troop transports, loaded with their regiments at Portsmouth, have had to wait out at Spithead for a couple of months before the wind has changed to an appropriate direction, often with many false starts in between. One wonders what living in such cramped and crowded conditions must have done to the health and morale of the troops ? For those wishing to find out more about the ships of the Royal Navy for this period in question I can recommend:- Some important dates : 2 Oct 1801 Preliminary Articles of Peace between his Majesty, the Batavian Republic and the French Republic were signed last night at Lord Hawkesbury's office, in Downing-street, by the Right Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, on the part of his Majesty, and by M. Otto, on the part of the French Government. However, however due to time delays caused by communications, hostilities didn't end until 22 Oct., when convoys were abandoned by the Admiralty and 24 Oct when Convoy Duty ceased, and the newspapers of 30 Oct advise that hired vessels were to be paid off in Home ports, e.g. Portsmouth and Plymouth etc., although there would appear to have been some exceptions.31 Mar 1802 the Definitive Peace Treaty for the Peace Treaty signed at Amiens was published. The Peace of Amiens lasted until 18 May 1803, however, in view of Bonaparte attitude over so many areas of the Peace Treaty, along with other Treaties in which Britain was not involved, it had been in the process of unravelling for some months when the British declared war on France, with even those who were previously in favour of peace, now supporting the Government's action. For the record on the 17th, the British detained all the French and Dutch vessels and their crews in British ports at the time. Even as early as 10 Mar 1803 Britain was making major preparations for the breakdown in Peace, although the newspapers seemed to have been hinting that all was not well for some time, but now many ships at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth &c., were ordered to be got ready, and commissioned, with the dockyard artificers being ordered to work "double tides." After the recommencement of the War in May 1803 I've noted a large number of merchant vessels trading at French and Dutch ports being taken by HM ships, and privateers &c., and whilst I would like to note note them all, as in the earlier years of the war I'd prefer to continue logging the movements of HM ships &c., anyone looking for details of prizes can do a free search of the London Gazette which should soon answer any questions you have, or, alternatively, search the daily papers of the day in the British Newspaper Archive, although, you may have to pay a fee for this. The preparation for and declaration of War by the United States on Great Britain in 1812. 14 Apr 1812 an act was passed, laying an embargo on all ships and vessels of the United States, during the space of 90 days. 1 Jun 1812 The president's message to congress sounded the preparative for war between the US and Great Britain. 18 Jun 1812 an act of congress was passed declaring the "actual existence of war between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America." Peace concluded between the United States and Great Britain 1814-15. 24 Dec 1814 the treaty had been signed at Ghent. 18 Feb 1815 the treaty of Ghent ratified by the president at Washington. 25 Nov 1816 a memorial was submitted by the board of admiralty to the Prince Regent, proposing a re-rating of ships of the Royal navy, and that they should be rated according to the number of carriage-guns mounted, which was published and introduced in February 1817, although it would appear that certain carronades were still ignored. 13 Jun 1817 circular sterns introduced. By an order of the board of Admiralty, of 13 Jun 1817, directs, that all new ships, down to fifth-rates inclusive, are to be so constructed, and all ships of the same rates receiving extensive repairs are also to have circular sterns, provided the timbers in the old or square sterns are defective. The number of ships belonging to the British navy, which on the 1st of January, 1820, were repairing, building, or ordered to be built, with circular sterns, amounted to 67, � and the number of ships building of teak, at the same date, amounted to 19. Letters to denote the State of the Weather
Figures to denote the Force of the Wind.
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