Sloops & Brigs: An Account of the Smallest Vessels of the Royal Navy During the Great Wars 1793-1815

In the period 1793 to 1815, Great Britain was engaged in naval warfare which extended far beyond European waters: the Far East, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific off South America were scenes of vital engagements. While blockade duty tied down the larger ships, the frigates and smaller vessels were dispatched, often singly or in small groups, on convoy and pursuit missions or as dispatch carriers and scouts. They met not only the equivalent smaller vessels of European and American blockade runners and privateers but also higher-rated ships of greater tonnage and armament and larger crews. It is to the great credit of the Royal Navy commanders and crews that in the smaller ships seamanship and fighting discipline were as great as on larger ships commanded by officers of greater rank and age.Sloops (not the modern yachtsman's idea of sloops, but full-rigged ships of over 300 tons), brigs, cutters, schooners, bomb-ketches and gun-brigs made up this navy of vessels, some as light as 70 tons. Some were experimental in design and armament. Most were commanded by young officers leading small crews. The outstanding personalitiies among them (some later to become famous captains and admirals) are brilliantly evoked.Includes an index.