This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 Excerpt: ...been, but I cannot shut my eyes to the consequences. I am now lying alongside a French eighty-four, manned with 890 men, looking, both inside and out, as well as a British man-ofwar, exercising their guns, and firing at a mark with as much precision as an English ship, and exercising their sails quite as well, even to ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 Excerpt: ...been, but I cannot shut my eyes to the consequences. I am now lying alongside a French eighty-four, manned with 890 men, looking, both inside and out, as well as a British man-ofwar, exercising their guns, and firing at a mark with as much precision as an English ship, and exercising their sails quite as well, even to shifting their top-sail-yards and sails; better found than our own ships are, with the exception of sails, and better armed in every respect; every gun fitted with detonating locks, that never miss, good muskets, good cartouch-boxes, and good pistols; men sufficient to work their guns, leaving a large proportion to small arms, and to attend to the sails, and a reserve of nearly 100 men below, to replace casualties, exercising and improving every day, with a system of promotion which encourages officers to excel each other to obtain it. Now, my Lord, in spite of Admiral Fleming's celebrated speech at Stirling, when he told us we had seamen in the Mediterranean to man thirty sail of the line, and that we could fit a fleet out in a month; and in Spite of the menace of Sir John Barrow, that an officer who entertained opinions that we were inferior to other nations, did not deserve to get his bit of bunting up, I will endeavour to make a comparison between the ship I have spoken of and the Powerful: the latter mounts eighty-four guns, and is manned by 645 men, including sixty boys; when the guns are even imperfectly manned, there is not a single marine left to small-arms, not sufficient men for the passage of powder, very few to attend the., rigging, and the guns fitted with locks not to be compared to the detonating ones. Now, my Lord, I go into action with this ship; and with the precision both ships fire, and the addition of 100 muskets playing ...
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