THE IMPROVED CHAIN PUMP By John Bentinck (Highest resolution available 1824×2700) The withdrawal of the Cambridge, Marlborough and Dragon from their attack on the Morro Castle in Havana throws into sharp relief the difficulties of waging war far from significant dockyard resources and in the tropics where wood and iron decay quickly. The ships were […]

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BOMBARDMENT ON THE MORRO CASTLE, 1 JULY 1762 By Richard Paton, mid-18th century (Highest resolution available 4500×3340) In 1761 Spain entered the war, and Britain immediately planned operations against her colonies. An amphibious assault on Havana, the most significant Spanish settlement in the Americas, with a naval base, a dockyard producing quality ships made of […]

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FRENCH FIRE RAFTS ATTACKING THE ENGLISH FLEET OFF QUÉBEC, 28 JUNE 1759 By Samuel Scott, 1767 (Highest resolution available 6342×3048) Only two days after the British force arrived, the French launched a fireship attack in a concerted effort to drive the enemy ships away before they could land the army, but Admiral Saunders was forewarned […]

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JAMES COOK’S CHART OF THE ST LAWRENCE TO QUÉBEC BY ORDER OF VICE ADMIRAL CHARLES SAUNDERS 1759, fragment above, full chart below Published by Thomas Jefferys (Highest resolution available 5640×973) While the British were enjoying significant success in European waters, the war in Canada had also taken a significant turn. Assaults on French Montréal and […]

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THE CAPTURE OF THE FOUDROYANT BY HMS MONMOUTH, 28 FEBRUARY 1758 By Francis Swaine, mid-18th century (Highest resolution available 6480×5046) Hawke’s victory was all the more remarkable because he attacked as night fell. Night-time actions were exceptionally dangerous. It was difficult enough to maneuver fleets of ships without collision in daylight and in calm weather, […]

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THE BATTLE OF QUIBERON BAY, 21 NOVEMBER 1759: THE DAY AFTER By Richard Wright, 1760 (Highest resolution available 5397×4519) With considerable expense and effort the blockading British fleet commanded by Admiral Edward Hawke (1705-1781) remained healthy. The French had not left Brest for three full years. Their courageous commander Comte de Conflans could not bear […]

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RETURN OF A FLEET INTO PLYMOUTH HARBOUR By Dominic Serres the Elder, 1766 (Highest resolution available 4102×2439) The recruited sailors had to be kept healthy. The circumstances required British ships to spend long periods of time at sea and in 1759 this problem was especially difficult. The French were planning an invasion of England and […]

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A SEAMAN OF THE PALLAS LEANING ON A BOWCHASER By Gabriel Bray, c.1776 (Highest resolution available 2046×3128) Despite the ill fate of Admiral Byng, the Royal Navy had no problem recruiting new officers. A career of a naval officer meant glory and responsibility, it promised friendship and connections in the highest circles of the British […]

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THE EXECUTION OF ADMIRAL BYNG, 14 MARCH 1757 Anonymous, c.1760 (Highest resolution available 3538×1885) A heavily publicized trial followed and Byng was found guilty of ‘failing to do his utmost to take or capture the enemy ships’ and in an extraordinary example of self-inflicted bloodletting, he was executed by his own marines on his own […]

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ADMIRAL JOHN BYNG, 1704-57, ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE By Thomas Hudson, 1749 (Highest available resolution 3329×4114) Vice Admiral John Byng was one of the five sons and ten daughters of Admiral Sir George Byng. A gentlemanly and shy person, he had amassed a fortune from his success as naval officer by 1748, and was promoted […]

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