Young Nelsons
Boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars
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About this book
They 'fought like young Nelsons.' The words of a schoolmaster, writing from aboard the Mars after the battle of Trafalgar, describing the valour of his pupils in the heat of battle. Made immortal by the novels of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent, these boy sailors, alongside those of every other Royal Navy ship, had entered the British Navy to fight the French across every ocean of the world. There was a long-standing British tradition of children going to sea, and along the way found adventure, glory, wealth and fame. During the Napoleonic Wars, these children, some as young as eight or nine, were also fighting for the very survival of Britain. Drawing on many first-hand accounts, letters, poems and writings, this book tells the dramatic story of Britain's boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars for the very first time.
Contents
- Foreword by Alexander Kent; Prologue
- Chapter 1: Younkers
- Chapter 2: Scape Gallowses
- Chapter 3: A Royal Sailor
- Chapter 4: A sink of vice and abomination
- Chapter 5: Young Squeaker
- Chapter 6: Rites of Passage
- Chapter 7: The Little World
- Chapter 8: Into the Glorious Fray
- Chapter 9: Mutiny, Punishment and Promotion
- Chapter 10: The Battle of the Nile
- Chapter 11: The Nelson Family at War
- Chapter 12: Land Ahoy
- Chapter 13: Trafalgar
- Chapter 14: Spoils of War
- Chapter 15: The War of 1812
- Chapter 16: Napoleon on the Bellerophon
- Chapter 17: ‘Ah! The Peace has come too soon’
Hardback; September 2009; 320 pages; ISBN: 9781846033605