The Trafalgar Chronicle

Book excerpt: This edition of the journal dedicated to sailing navies of the Georgian era examines the relationship between the British and American navies. The Trafalgar Chronicle, the yearbook of The 1805 Club, is a prime source of information and the publication of choice for new research about the Georgian navy, sometimes also loosely referred to as “Nelson’s Navy,” Successive editors have widened the scope to include all sailing navies of the period, but its scope reaches out to include all the sailing navies of the era. A fundamental thread running through the journal is the Trafalgar campaign and the epic battle of twenty-one October 1805 involving British, French, and Spanish ships, and some 30,000 men of a score of nations. Each volume is themed, and this new edition contains a particularly Anglo-American flavour, focussing on North America and North Americans in Nelson’s Navy, with one article, for example, describing how the U.S. National anthem was composed onboard a British warship. Seventeen articles offer a wealth of information and new research covering such diverse subjects as the true appearance of Victory and the story of the little known American, Sir Isaac Coffin, who helped carry the pall at Nelson’s funeral. With contributions from leading experts in the field and handsomely illustrated throughout, this yearbook casts intriguing light on that era of history which forever fascinates naval enthusiasts and historians alike.