British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793–1817

Book excerpt: The revised edition of this authoritative naval history provides a comprehensive, illustrated guide to the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic Era. A major contribution to naval history, this third volume in Rif Winfield’s British Warships in the Age of Sail covers every vessel that served in the Royal Navy between the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Battle of Waterloo. Revised to incorporate new research, it details more than 2000 ships—whether purpose-built, captured, purchased or merely hired. Providing comprehensive technical data on the ships, this volume also includes commissioning dates, refit periods, changes of captain, their stations of service, as well as notes on any actions in which they took part. The book is well illustrated with contemporary prints and drawings that show the wide variety of service required of naval vessels in late 18th and early 19th centuries. Specially commissioned general arrangement drawings also depict the most significant classes. In all, it is a fitting tribute to a navy that at the zenith of its power in 1809 comprised one half of all the warships in the world