78-672: Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cunningham KCH (1755 – 11 March 1834) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. He saw action during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , eventually rising to the rank of rear-admiral . Son of Charles and Elizabeth Cunningham, Charles Cunningham was born in Eye , Suffolk in 1755, and after reading Robinson Crusoe at
156-512: A NATO ranking code of OF-7. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is major-general ; and in the Royal Air Force it is air vice-marshal . The rank originated in the 17th century, in the days of naval sailing squadrons when each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head. The admiral would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of
234-556: A French frigate, the Modeste and two armed tartanes . The Captain and Speedy then sailed to the Gulf of Spezia where they caught another French frigate, the Imperieuse at anchor. The Imperieuse scuttled herself, but was subsequently salvaged and recommissioned as HMS Imperieuse . Cunningham was promoted to captain and given command of the prize, with his commission post-dated to the date of
312-856: A Prussian counter-attack in September. Otherwise this sector of the front was largely quiet over the course of the year. At sea, the French Atlantic Fleet succeeded in holding off a British attempt to interdict a vital cereal convoy from the United States on the Glorious First of June , though at the cost of one quarter of its strength. In the Caribbean, the British fleet landed in Martinique in February, taking
390-472: A crowd stormed the Tuileries Palace , seizing the king and his family. The Commune of Paris later assumed the powers of the municipality. On 19 August 1792, the invasion by Brunswick's army commenced, with Brunswick's army easily taking the fortresses of Longwy and Verdun . The invasion continued, but at Valmy on 20 September, the invaders came to a stalemate against Dumouriez and Kellermann in which
468-578: A global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered territories in the Italian Peninsula , the Low Countries , and the Rhineland due to its very large and powerful military, which had been totally mobilized for war against most of Europe with mass conscription of the vast French population. French success in these conflicts ensured military occupation and
546-556: A great victory over the Austrians at the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November and occupying the entire country by the beginning of winter. Spain and Portugal entered the anti-French coalition in January 1793. Britain began military preparations in late 1792 and declared that war was inevitable unless France gave up its conquests, notwithstanding French assurances they would not attack Holland or annex
624-636: A series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain , Austria , Prussia , Russia , and several other countries. The wars are divided into two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed
702-709: A year, French armies under Napoleon destroyed the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching toward Vienna , the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio , ending the First Coalition against the Republic. The War of the Second Coalition began in 1798 with the French invasion of Egypt , headed by Napoleon. The Allies took
780-687: A young age, decided on a career at sea. As the country was at peace he joined a merchant ship. While serving as a seaman, the American War of Independence broke out and Cunningham joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1775. He initially served aboard the 32-gun frigate HMS Aeolus , which sailed to the West Indies in early 1776, joining Sir Peter Parker's fleet. Cunningham's abilities led to him being recommended to Parker, and Parker duly transferred him aboard his flagship , HMS Bristol . He
858-1610: Is an Admiralty position usually held by a senior (and possibly retired) "full" admiral. French Revolutionary Wars First Coalition : French victory Second Coalition : French victory [REDACTED] Catholic and Royal Armies [REDACTED] Holy Roman Empire [REDACTED] Great Britain (until 1801) [REDACTED] United Kingdom (from 1801) [REDACTED] Spain (1793–1795) [REDACTED] Dutch Republic (1793–1795) [REDACTED] Sardinia [REDACTED] Old Swiss Confederacy (1798) [REDACTED] Naples [REDACTED] Order of Saint John (1798) [REDACTED] Malta (1798–1800) [REDACTED] Ottoman Empire [REDACTED] Portugal [REDACTED] Russia (1799) Other Italian states [REDACTED] Southern Netherlands peasants ( Peasants' War ) [REDACTED] Saint-Domingue rebels ( Haitian Revolution ) (1791–94) [REDACTED] Kingdom of France (until 1792) [REDACTED] French Republic (from 1792) [REDACTED] Louis XVI [REDACTED] Austrians (1792–97) 94,700 killed in action 100,000 wounded 220,000 captured Italian campaign of 1796–97 27,000 allied soldiers killed Unknown wounded 160,000 captured 1,600 guns French (1792–97) 100,000 killed in action 150,000 captured Italian campaign of 1796–97 45,000 killed, wounded or captured (10,000 killed) The French Revolutionary Wars ( French : Guerres de la Révolution française ) were
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#1732851415498936-603: Is charged with my despatches, and is competent to give any information that their Lordships may wish to have. I beg to recommend him as an officer of great merit, and highly deserving any favour that can be shown him. Cunningham was given command of HMS Clyde , a 38-gun frigate he was to command for the next six years. He was at anchor with the fleet at the Nore when the Spithead and Nore mutinies broke out in 1797. The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of
1014-453: The Apennines near Altare to attack the enemy position of Ceva . The Montenotte Campaign opened after Johann Beaulieu 's Austrian forces attacked the extreme French eastern flank near Genoa on 10 April. Bonaparte countered by attacking and crushing the isolated right wing of the allied armies at the Battle of Montenotte on 12 April. The next day he defeated an Austro-Sardinian force at
1092-577: The Battle of Arcole southeast of Verona . The French then turned on Davidovich in great strength and chased him into the Tyrol. Wurmser's only sortie was late and ineffectual. The rebellion in the Vendée was also finally crushed in 1796 by Hoche , but Hoche's attempt to land a large invasion force in Ireland was unsuccessful. On 14 February, British admiral Jervis met and defeated a Spanish fleet off Portugal at
1170-572: The Battle of Cape St. Vincent . This prevented the Spanish fleet from rendezvousing with the French, removing a threat of invasion to Britain. However, the British fleet was weakened over the rest of the year by the Spithead and Nore mutinies , which kept many ships in port through the summer. On 22 February French invasion force consisting of 1,400 troops from the La Legion Noire (The Black Legion) under
1248-596: The Battle of Millesimo . He then won a victory at the Second Battle of Dego , driving the Austrians northeast, away from their Piedmontese allies. Satisfied that the Austrians were temporarily inert, Bonaparte harried Michelangelo Colli 's Piedmontese at Ceva and San Michele Mondovi before whipping them at the Battle of Mondovì . A week later, on 28 April, the Piedmontese signed the Armistice of Cherasco , withdrawing from
1326-461: The Battle of Rovereto . Then he followed Wurmser down the Brenta valley, to fall upon and defeat the Austrians at the Battle of Bassano on 8 September. Wurmser elected to march for Mantua with a large portion of his surviving troops. The Austrians evaded Bonaparte's attempts to intercept them but were driven into the city after a pitched battle on 15 September. This left nearly 30,000 Austrians trapped in
1404-562: The Battle of Valmy in September. This victory emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy . A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793. The French suffered additional defeats in the remainder of the year and these difficult times allowed the Jacobins to rise to power and impose the Reign of Terror to unify
1482-553: The Clyde' s lieutenant, William Mounsey in with the ship's boats to burn the wreck. In this Mounsey was successful, despite being under heavy fire from French shore batteries as he did so. With the Peace of Amiens the Clyde was paid off at the Nore on 24 June 1802. The resumption of hostilities led to Cunningham being given command of the 74-gun HMS Princess of Orange and sent to patrol off
1560-468: The Declaration of Pillnitz , which threatened severe consequences should anything happen to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette . After Austria refused to recall its troops from the French border and to back down on the perceived threat of using force, France declared war on Austria and Prussia in the spring of 1792; both countries responded with a coordinated invasion that was eventually turned back at
1638-552: The Dorade . Several men were put aboard the prize from the Clyde , but while returning to port, a gale blew up. The prize had attempted to outsail the Clyde but capsized. Cunningham stopped and lowered a boat to assist, but only four survivors were recovered. In 1798 the Clyde was used to attend on King George III during his trip to Weymouth , after which she returned to cruising in the English Channel . On 10 June 1799 she captured
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#17328514154981716-623: The Flanders Campaign , the Austrians and French both prepared offensives in Belgium, with the Austrians besieging Landrecies and advancing towards Mons and Maubeuge . The French prepared an offensive on multiple fronts, with two armies in Flanders under Pichegru and Moreau , and Jourdan attacking from the German border. The French withstood several damaging but inconclusive actions before regaining
1794-713: The Mediterranean and weakening the French Navy. Napoleon's arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire , with Napoleon installing himself as Consul . Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This brought a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, after which
1872-473: The Royal Navy on various adjacent ships that broke out on 10 May 1797 and quickly spread. During the mutiny, only Cunningham aboard the Clyde and Sir Harry Burrard-Neale aboard HMS St Fiorenzo were able to retain control over the sailors on their respective ships. By 22 May, the mutiny became more violent due to the Admiralty refusing to make any concessions. To help signal their mutinous control over
1950-484: The St Fiorenzo . The crew almost unanimously agreed to this, and a single voice of dissent was quickly shouted down. At midnight, Cunningham ordered the anchor raised and the Clyde silently slipped out of the port. By daybreak, Cunningham and his ship arrived at Sheerness safely away from the mutiny. The Clyde's successful escape from the mutineers cause an atmosphere of distrust to spread among those who agreed to follow
2028-560: The Texel with a squadron. He was relieved in this post by Sir Sidney Smith , and Cunningham moved aboard HMS Leopard . In September 1803 he was offered a place on the Victualling Board by Earl St Vincent, and moved ashore. In 1806 he became resident commissioner of Deptford and Woolwich Dockyards , which he superintended for the next seventeen years. He moved to Chatham Dockyard in 1823, and he retired from there on 4 May 1829 with
2106-598: The outbreak of war with France , and was quickly appointed to the 14-gun HMS Speedy . He then joined Lord Hood's fleet in the Mediterranean, arriving there in April 1793. He was largely employed in carrying despatches and maintaining communications with other ships scattered throughout the Mediterranean ports. On 5 October 1793 the Speedy accompanied HMS Bedford and HMS Captain into Genoa , where they captured
2184-403: The port admiral , the flag of the port admiral was torn down and replaced with the red flag. Seven days later on 29 May, the mutineer leader Richard Parker called for delegates to come from other ships to his headquarters aboard HMS Sandwich . Sensing the time was right to escape, Cunningham did not reply to Parker's request. To keep the mutineers from suspecting his plan, Cunningham kept
2262-568: The 36-gun HMS Pallas in 1780. The Pallas was ordered to escort the fleet from Jamaica back to Britain in summer 1782. During the crossing the squadron encountered a hurricane. Several of the ships were sunk and the Pallas was driven onto shore and wrecked. Fortunately Cunningham had transferred from her just before she sailed, joining HMS Ajax . He remained in the West Indies until receiving confirmation of his promotion on 4 September, and
2340-400: The 36-gun frigate Vestale . The Clyde brought her to battle and after an engagement of an hour forced her to strike her colours. The Vestale had lost 10 killed and 22 wounded to two killed and three wounded on the Clyde . In the meantime the other French ship, the 28-gun Sagasse had taken the opportunity to escape into port. News of the victory was communicated to shore. King George III
2418-525: The Austrians withdrew from the peninsula once again. Another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, Britain found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleon's government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. However,
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2496-567: The French armies. On the Alpine frontier, there was little change, with the French invasion of Piedmont failing. On the Spanish border, the French under General Dugommier rallied from their defensive positions at Bayonne and Perpignan , driving the Spanish out of Roussillon and invading Catalonia . Dugommier was killed in the Battle of the Black Mountain in November. On the northern front in
2574-553: The French king's cousin, Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé , the leader of an émigré corps within the Allied army , which declared the Allies' intent to restore the king to his full powers and to treat any person or town who opposed them as rebels to be condemned to death by martial law . This, however, had the effect of strengthening the resolve of the revolutionary army and government to oppose them by any means necessary. On 10 August,
2652-427: The French privateer schooner Air , following this up three days later by capturing the privateer Bon Ordre . On 20 August, while sailing off Cordovan, two sails were spotted in the distance. Thinking them to be a ship of the line and a frigate, Cunningham sailed closer, at which the two ships began to sail away in opposite directions. Cunningham immediately gave chase, pursuing the largest one, which turned out to be
2730-457: The French took Milan . Bonaparte then advanced eastwards again, drove off the Austrians in the Battle of Borghetto and in June began the Siege of Mantua . Mantua was the strongest Austrian base in Italy. Meanwhile, the Austrians retreated north into the foothills of the Tyrol. During July and August, Austria sent a fresh army into Italy under Dagobert Wurmser . Wurmser attacked toward Mantua along
2808-489: The French. The Dutch fleet was captured , and the stadtholder William V fled to be replaced by a popular Batavian Republic , a sister republic which supported the revolutionary cause and signed a treaty with the French, ceding the territories of North Brabant and Maastricht to France on 16 May. With the Netherlands falling, Prussia also decided to leave the coalition, signing the Peace of Basel on 6 April, ceding
2886-533: The Italian peninsula. The French prepared a great advance on three fronts, with Jourdan and Moreau on the Rhine, and Bonaparte in Italy. The three armies were to link up in Tyrol and march on Vienna . Jourdan and Moreau advanced rapidly into Germany, and Moreau had reached Bavaria and the edge of Tyrol by September, but Jourdan was defeated by Archduke Charles at Amberg , and both armies were forced to retreat back across
2964-535: The Low Countries. Britain expelled the French ambassador following the execution of Louis XVI and on 1 February, France responded by declaring war on Great Britain and the Dutch Republic . France drafted hundreds of thousands of men , beginning a policy of using mass conscription to deploy more of its manpower than the autocratic states could manage to do (first stage, with a decree of 24 February 1793 ordering
3042-617: The Pillnitz Declaration as a non-committal gesture to placate the sentiments of French monarchists and nobles, it was seen in France as a serious threat and was denounced by the revolutionary leaders. France eventually issued an ultimatum demanding that Leopold renounce any hostile alliances and withdraw his troops from the French border. The reply was evasive, and the French Assembly voted for war on 20 April 1792 against Francis II ,
3120-559: The Revolution with equanimity, but became more disturbed as the Revolution became more radical, although he still hoped to avoid war. On 27 August 1791, Leopold and King Frederick William II of Prussia , in consultation with emigrant French nobles, issued the Declaration of Pillnitz , which declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe in the well-being of King Louis XVI of France and his family, and threatened vague but severe consequences if anything should befall them. Although Leopold saw
3198-481: The Rhine. Napoleon, on the other hand, was completely successful in a daring invasion of Italy . He left Paris on 11 March for Nice to take over the weak and poorly supplied Army of Italy , arriving on 26 March. The army was already being reorganised and supplied when he arrived, and he found that the situation was rapidly improving. He was soon able to carry out the plan for the invasion of Italy that he had been advocating for years, which provided for an advance over
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3276-690: The armies on the Pyrenees free to march east and reinforce the armies on the Alps , and the combined army overran Piedmont. Meanwhile, in Africa and Asia, the Dutch Cape Colony and Ceylon were invaded by the British. Meanwhile, Britain's attempt to reinforce the rebels in the Vendée by landing troops at Quiberon failed, and a conspiracy to overthrow the republican government from within ended when Napoleon Bonaparte 's garrison used cannon to fire grapeshot into
3354-415: The attacking mob (which led to the establishment of the Directory ). On the Rhine frontier, General Pichegru , negotiating with the exiled Royalists , betrayed his army and forced the evacuation of Mannheim and the failure of the siege of Mainz by Jourdan . This was a moderate setback to the position of the French. In northern Italy, victory at the Battle of Loano in November gave France access to
3432-547: The attempt was called off. The end of the war in 1783 meant that the Barrington was paid off and Cunningham retired from active naval life. He returned to service in 1788 when he joined Admiral Sir William Cornwallis' flagship HMS Crown . He served for several years in the East Indies , before being promoted to commander and given command of the 16-gun sloop HMS Ariel . He then returned to Britain. He arrived after
3510-402: The battle, Cunningham was appointed Acting-Lieutenant aboard the 18-gun sloop HMS Port Royal the following year. He then moved to the 28-gun sixth rate HMS Hinchinbrook as her First Lieutenant. The Hinchinbrook was then under the command of Horatio Nelson . Cunningham remained at sea after Nelson transferred to the shore to superintend the defences of Jamaica, transferring to
3588-546: The capture, 12 October 1793. He commanded the Imperieuse until early 1794, when he transferred to HMS Lowestoffe . He commanded her off Corsica , helping his old commander Nelson in the reduction of the French strongholds on the island. Cunningham distinguished himself to the extent that Lord Hood entrusted him with the public despatches announcing the capture of the island, adding Captain Cunningham, who has cruised with infinite diligence, zeal, and perseverance, under many difficulties, for three months past, off Calvi,
3666-402: The city ). Quasdanovich was overcome at Lonato on 3 August and Wurmser at Castiglione on 5 August. Wurmser retreated to the Tyrol, and Bonaparte resumed the siege. In September, Bonaparte marched north against Trento in Tyrol, but Wurmser had already marched toward Mantua by the Brenta valley, leaving Paul Davidovich 's force to hold off the French. Bonaparte overran the holding force at
3744-438: The command of the hired brig Barrington . Cunningham was then sent with HMS Racehorse by Sir Joshua Rowley to interdict the American salt trade with the Bahamas . He was successful at this, but whilst re-provisioning at Jamaica, a French force landed and seized Turks Island . Alerted to this, Nelson gathered together a small squadron and set off to attempt to recapture it, relying on Cunningham's expert knowledge of
3822-431: The declaration of war, French soldiers deserted en masse and in one case murdered their general, Théobald Dillon . While the revolutionary government frantically raised fresh troops and reorganized its armies, a mostly Prussian Allied army under Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick assembled at Koblenz on the Rhine . The duke then issued a proclamation called the Brunswick Manifesto (July 1792), written by
3900-442: The draft of 300,000 men, followed by the general mobilization of all the young men able to be drafted, through the famous decree of 23 August 1793). Nonetheless, the Coalition allies launched a determined drive to invade France during the Flanders Campaign . France suffered severe reverses at first. They were driven out of the Austrian Netherlands, and serious revolts flared in the west and south of France. One of these, at Toulon ,
3978-422: The east side of Lake Garda , sending Peter Quasdanovich down the west side in an effort to envelop Bonaparte. Bonaparte exploited the Austrian mistake of dividing their forces to defeat them in detail, but in so doing, he abandoned the siege of Mantua, which held out for another six months ( Carl von Clausewitz mentioned in On War that the siege might have been able to be kept up if Bonaparte had circumvallated
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#17328514154984056-439: The end of the year, large new armies had turned back foreign invaders, and the Reign of Terror , a fierce policy of repression, had suppressed internal revolts. The French military was in the ascendant. Lazare Carnot , a scientist and prominent member of the Committee of Public Safety , organized the fourteen armies of the Republic , and was then nicknamed the Organizer of the Victory. The year 1794 brought increased success to
4134-451: The fortress. This number rapidly diminished due to disease, combat losses, and hunger. The Austrians sent yet another army under József Alvinczi against Bonaparte in November. Again the Austrians divided their effort, sending Davidovich's corps from the north while Alvinczi's main body attacked from the east. At first they proved victorious over the French at Bassano , Calliano , and Caldiero . But Bonaparte ultimately defeated Alvinczi in
4212-414: The highly professional French artillery distinguished itself. Although the battle was a tactical draw, it gave a great boost to French morale. Further, the Prussians, finding that the campaign had been longer and more costly than predicted, decided that the cost and risk of continued fighting was too great and, with winter approaching, they decided to retreat from France to preserve their army. The next day,
4290-426: The hostilities. On 18 May they signed the Treaty of Paris (1796) , ceding Savoy and Nice and allowing the French bases to be used against Austria. After a short pause, Napoleon carried out a brilliant flanking manoeuvre, and crossed the Po at Piacenza , nearly cutting the Austrian line of retreat. The Austrians escaped after the Battle of Fombio , but had their rear-guard mauled at Lodi on 10 May, after which
4368-405: The initiative at the battles of Tourcoing and Fleurus in June. The French armies drove the Austrians, British, and Dutch beyond the Rhine, occupying Belgium, the Rhineland , and the south of the Netherlands. On the middle Rhine front in July, General Michaud's Army of the Rhine attempted two offensives in July in the Vosges , the second of which was successful but not followed up, allowing for
4446-484: The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, and the Napoleonic Wars began over a year later with the formation of the Third Coalition , continuing the series of Coalition Wars . When the French Revolution started at the end of the 18th century the European continent had five great powers, these being Great Britain , France , Austria , Russia , and Prussia . Weak European states included Sweden , Spain , Poland , Holland , and Turkey . Western Germany
4524-415: The modern age, with the rank of rear admiral the most junior of the admiralty ranks of many navies. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined career path . The command flags flown by a rear-admiral changed a number of times during this period. The Royal Navy rank of rear admiral should be distinguished from the office of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom , which
4602-439: The monarchy was formally abolished as the First Republic was declared (21 September 1792). Meanwhile, the French had been successful on several other fronts, occupying Savoy and Nice , which were parts of the Savoyard state , while General Custine invaded Germany, occupying several German towns along the Rhine and reaching as far as Frankfurt . Dumouriez went on the offensive in the Austrian Netherlands once again, winning
4680-437: The mutineer leaders. This distrust formed the first effective blow against the ringleaders, and soon other ships were abandoning the mutinies and returning control to their respective commanders. As a result, the mutinies soon were quashed. The Clyde' s next duty was to escort a convoy to the Baltic. While returning from this duty the Clyde came across and captured the French privateer Success , and several days later captured
4758-517: The nation. In 1794, the situation improved dramatically for the French as huge victories at Fleurus against the Austrians and Dutch and at the Black Mountain against the Spanish signaled the start of a new stage in the wars. By 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic . The French also put Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel . A hitherto unknown general named Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796. In less than
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#17328514154984836-418: The navy but died at sea in 1822. Cunningham spent the later years of his life living with his daughters at the family seat of Oak Lawn House in Eye. He died there at the age of 80 on 11 March 1834. Rear admiral (Royal Navy) Rear admiral ( RAdm ) is a flag officer rank of the Royal Navy . It is immediately superior to commodore and is subordinate to vice admiral . It is a two-star rank and has
4914-464: The opportunity presented by the French effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they gradually pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland – racking up victories at the battles of Magnano , Cassano , and Novi along the way. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, which caused Russia to drop out of
4992-417: The rank of Rear-Admiral. He was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order on 24 October 1832. In 1829 he had published his account of the events at the Nore, entitled A narrative of occurrences that took place during the mutiny at the Nore in the months of May and June 1797 . Cunningham had married twice, first to Miss Boycott, and secondly to Miss Proby. He had a number of children. His son joined
5070-417: The sails of the Clyde down and did not man the ship's wheel with a pilot . After it grew sufficiently dark, Cunningham gathered his crew at 9pm and announced his intention to escape the mutiny by sailing the Clyde out of the port in the next three hours so that they would arrive at Sheerness before daybreak. He encouraged them by declaring that if they agreed to this, Sir Harry Neale would join them with
5148-405: The short-lived Anglo-Corsican Kingdom . By the end of the year French armies had won victories on all fronts, and as the year closed they began advancing into the Netherlands. The year opened with French forces in the process of attacking the Dutch Republic in the middle of winter. The Dutch people rallied to the French call and started the Batavian Revolution . City after city was occupied by
5226-434: The spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. As early as 1791, the other monarchies of Europe looked with outrage at the revolution and its upheavals; and they considered whether they should intervene, either in support of King Louis XVI , to prevent the spread of revolution, or to take advantage of the chaos in France. Austria stationed significant troops on its French border and together with Prussia, issued
5304-430: The squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval battle. In the rear of the naval squadron, a third admiral would command the remaining ships and, as this section of the squadron was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of the rear would typically be the most junior of the squadron admirals. This has survived into
5382-422: The successor of Leopold II, after a long list of grievances presented by foreign minister Charles François Dumouriez . Dumouriez prepared an immediate invasion of the Austrian Netherlands , where he expected the local population to rise against Austrian rule as they had earlier in 1790 . However, the revolution had thoroughly disorganized the army, and the forces raised were insufficient for the invasion. Following
5460-458: The war. Meanwhile, Napoleon's forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids , Mount Tabor , and Abukir . These victories in Egypt further enhanced Napoleon's popularity back in France, and he returned in triumph in the autumn of 1799, although the Egyptian campaign ultimately ended in failure. Furthermore, the Royal Navy had won the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of
5538-448: The waters around the island. Nelson's force fell in with Cunningham's Barrington off the island, and together the Barrington and another of Nelson's ships, HMS Drake began to bombard the French positions whilst troops were landed. The two ships came under heavy fire from the entrenched French and were compelled to withdraw, having had several wounded. Nelson tried again the following day, but again failed to make much headway, and
5616-612: The west bank of the Rhine to France. This freed Prussia to finish the Third Partition of Poland . The French army in Spain advanced in Catalonia while taking Bilbao and Vitoria and marching toward Castile . By 10 July, Spain also decided to make peace, recognizing the revolutionary government and ceding the territory of Santo Domingo , but returning to the pre-war borders in Europe. This left
5694-589: The whole island by 24 March and holding it until the Treaty of Amiens , and in Guadeloupe in April, where they captured the island briefly but were driven out by Victor Hugues later in the year. In the Mediterranean, following the British evacuation of Toulon , the Corsican leader Pasquale Paoli agreed with admiral Samuel Hood to place Corsica under British protection in return for assistance capturing French garrisons at Saint-Florent , Bastia , and Calvi , creating
5772-459: Was also active in capturing several Spanish privateers, and pursuing French warships. In summer 1801 Cunningham was appointed Commodore, and given command of a squadron of frigates to guard against a possible French invasion of the Channel Islands . On 21 July HMS Jason was wrecked on the French coast. Learning that the French intended to salvage and re-float the vessel, Cunningham sent
5850-456: Was divided into hundreds of tiny principalities, cities, and minor states, some of which were independents while others were effectively controlled by Austria. The great powers had agrarian industries , except for Great Britain which was wealthy because of trade . The key figure in initial foreign reaction to the French Revolution was Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II , brother of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Leopold had initially looked on
5928-435: Was in the theatre when news reached him. He stood up and directed the news be communicated to the audience. There was applause and Rule Britannia! was played. The Clyde then joined Sir John Jervis and Admiral Cornwallis. She was occupied throughout the summer of 1800 conveying the artist John Thomas Serres around the French coast so that he could carry out surveys and make sketches of the headlands for charts. Cunningham
6006-409: Was the first serious taste of action for an unknown young artillery officer Napoleon Bonaparte . He contributed to the siege of the city and its harbour by planning an effective assault with well-placed artillery batteries raining projectiles down on rebel positions. This performance helped make his reputation as a capable tactician, and it fueled his meteoric rise to military and political power. By
6084-475: Was transferred again to the 14-gun HMS Ostrich , which was despatched to cruise off Savannah Point, Jamaica . On 8 July the Ostrich engaged a 16-gun French privateer . In the ensuing three-hour battle, both the commander and the lieutenant of the Ostrich were wounded but the French were forced to surrender, having lost 30 dead. The British casualties were four dead and 28 wounded. After his good conduct in
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