Trafalgar Chronicle

The Trafalgar Chronicle, the yearbook of The 1805 Club, has established itself as a prime source of information and the publication of choice for new research about the Georgian navy, sometimes also loosely called Nelson's navy. Successive editors have widened the scope to include all sailing navies of the period, while a recurring theme is the Trafalgar campaign and the epic battle of 21 October 1805. Contributors to The Trafalgar Chronicle have included leading experts in their field, whether they are Professor John Hattendorf from the US Naval War College in Newport, RI, Professor Andrew Lambert from Kings College, London, or antiquarians and enthusiasts. Each volume is themed and this new edition looks in detail at the Royal Marines and the United States Marine Corps. The RM were founded in 1664, but their 'royal' title was only granted to them on 29 April 1802. The USMC traces its roots to the Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence), when two battalions were formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas after a resolution of the Second Continental Congress on 10 November 1775. Both corps have similar duties, then and now, and in this volume there are newly researched articles about their common roles in the age of sail. The main piece has been written by Major General Julian Thompson, and there are leading articles by American and British scholars including Dr. Charles P Neimeyer, the Director and Chief of Marine Corps History at Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia. There is also a unique autobiography by a marine who took part in the battle of Trafalgar, the War of 1812, the bombardment of Algiers and the First Ashanti War. Other issues are investigated, including Victory's true colors in which Andrew Baines, ‎Head of Historic Ships at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, describes the research which went into revealing how Nelson's flagship looked in 1805. Scholars and students, experts and enthusiasts fascinated by the era of the sailing navy will be absorbed by this handsomely illustrated journal.

This naval history anthology explores the world of Lord Nelson, his era and contemporaries, with expert articles and sumptuous illustrations. An annual publication of the 1805 Club, The Trafalgar Chronicle is dedicated to new research about naval history in the Georgian Era. Its central theme is the Trafalgar campaign and the epic battle of October 21st, 1805, involving British, French and Spanish ships, and some 30,000 men of a score of nations. This edition focuses on the friends and contemporaries of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy. It also explores technical and scientific changes that took place at the turn of the eighteenth century. Contributions include an article by former US Navy Secretary John Lehman on Stephen Decatur and another by Professor John Hattendorf on Admiral Sir John Gambier. It also includes the observations of Professor Benjamin Silliman, an American scientist who visited Britain in 1805. Other characters who appear are 'Jack Punch' Perkins, the first black officer in the Royal Navy; William Pringle Green, who was so critical of the results at Trafalgar; and the two Loyalist Richard Bulkeleys, father and son, who served with Nelson at the beginning and at the end of his career. Two articles on technology in the Georgian navy address the surprising developments of the carronade and ballooning in the age of Nelson.

The Trafalgar Chronicle is a prime source of information as well as the publication of choice for new research about the Georgian navy, sometimes also loosely referred to as 'Nelson's Navy', though its scope reaches out to include all the sailing navies of the period. A central theme is the Trafalgar campaign and the epic battle of 21 October 1805 involving British, French and Spanish ships, and some 30,000 men of a score of nations. The next edition, new series No 4, will be themed on the people who knew Nelson, his friends and his contemporaries, as well as technical and scientific changes, which were taking place at the turn of the eighteenth century. Contributions include an article by former US Navy Secretary John Lehman on Stephen Decatur and another by Professor John Hattendorf on Admiral Sir John Gambier, and the observations of American scientist, Professor Benjamin Silliman, who visited Britain in 1805. Other characters who appear are the New York-born Westphal brothers, 'Jack Punch' Perkins who was the first black officer in the Royal Navy, William Pringle Green who was so critical of the results at Trafalgar, and the two Loyalist Richard Bulkeleys, father and son, who served with Nelson at the beginning and at the end of his career. Two articles on technology in the Georgian navy address the surprising developments of the carronade and ballooning in the age of Nelson. Like earlier editions of The Trafalgar Chronicle, this edition is sumptuously illustrated with some seldom-seen pictures and will appeal to naval and social historians whether they are academics, antiquarians or amateurs or the reader who is curious to learn about significant but often overlooked aspects of naval history.