The Naval War 1793-7

• In Feb 1793, Revolutionary France declared war on Britain 
• At first, it looked like the Royal Navy had it easy --> French Navy was run down and had inexperienced officers 
• However, proved to be more difficult than thought

Important people: 

• Admiral Hood = commander of Mediterranean fleet (1793) 
• Lord Howe = Commander of blockading fleet (1794) 
• Sir John Jervis = took over from Hood in 1795
• Nelson = became darling of the Navy after Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797)
• William Pitt = PM in 1783
• Admiral Lord Duncan = commander of the North Sea Fleet

Toulon

• AUGUST 1793
• Admiral Hood = commander of the British Mediterranean fleet 
• Seized Toulon --> a major naval base for the French in the Mediterranean 
• Had to abandon the port in December --> Arrival of the French army
• Before leaving, he destroyed a large number of French ships. 

The Battle of the Glorious First Of June

• Royal Navy blockaded French ports --> especially at Brest 
• Lord Howe = commander of blockading fleet 
• 1794 - Howe heard that a large fleet was returning to France from the USA with grain. 
• Sailed to give battle 
• French = 26 SOTL and Britain = 25 SOTL
• Howe's fleet = captured/sank 7 enemy ships, 7000 French sailors killed/taken prisoner
• 1200 British casualties. 
• Not total success - grain made it to France and helped stop famine.  

1795

• 1795 = Sir John Jervis took over command of Mediterranean fleet (replacing Hood)
• Hated inefficiency --> whipped fleet into shape 
• Formed great relationships with officers like Nelson 

1796

• 1796 = Netherlands and Spain switched sides and joined France 
• Navy seriously strained as outnumbered now 
• Main RN fleet stationed at Spithead 
• This left 15 ships to blockade Brest
• December 1796 --> 44 French ships set sail for Ireland with 14,000 troops but had to abandon mission due to gales (fortunately for Britain)  

• Jervis stationed most of his fleet off Cadiz
• Feb 14th, 1797 encountered a Spanish force 2x the size of his own. 
• Jervis was confident in his men and so sent them into battle anyway
• Nelson played a major role 
• Nelson became the darling of the Royal Navy 
• Jervis was ennobled the Earl of St Vincent. 

• April 1797 
• Fleet at Spithead was ordered to sea
• Everyone in the fleet refused 
• There was discontent with the pay, the boring food and the brutal officers. 
• Many of the officers sympathised with the men - more of a strike then a mutiny 
• A petition was sent to the Admiralty 
• Gov agreed to raise wages and made concessions on some of the other issues. 
• However, legislation got stuck in parliament 
• Fresh mutiny broke out in May 
• Led by the Petty Officers in the Navy --> Presented demands in a reasonable manner 
• Lord Howe dealt with it in person - visiting each ship and re-establishing trust. 

• May 1797
• The Ships at the Nore mutinied 
• These men had more far-reaching demands
• They wanted the power to veto officers, longer leave and for all deserters to be pardoned. 
• They were joined by the North Sea Fleet (responsible for blockading the Dutch Navy) 
• They blockaded the Themes 
• Pitt's gov decided no more concessions and took steps to isolate and starve the mutineers.
• Mutiny ended in June 
• Mutiny leader was hanged (+28 other ringleaders) 

These mutinies were serious because it showed that the Navy's most valuable asset (discipline) was falling apart. 

• When the Navy's reputation was restored 
• October 1797
• Admiral Lord Duncan = North Sea Fleet commander 
• NSF encountered Dutch fleet of similar size 
• Duncan's ships smashed enemy lines - captured 11 battleships and 3 frigates 
• This gave the British public a boost in morale. 

However, Britain's outlook still looked quite bad: 

• Continuous threat of French invasion 
• Austria made peace with France in 1797 - Britain had no major ally in Europe 
• Large French Army and fleet were assembled at Toulon ready to sail and no one knew where to. 

British gov had to choose; send ships back to Mediterranean (to blockade fleet at Toulon) which would leave the Channel Fleet without enough ships to fight off an invasion. 

Nelson went to the Mediterranean with 3 SOTL and 3 frigates to discover intentions of the Toulon Fleet