By: Brittany Desrochers, Maria Hadley, Tori Beauvias, Meagan Barchard, and

Aimee Gauthier

Naval Warfare

Pre civil war.

war vessel of the 18th century

3-masted vessel, with square sails on all masts, and carrying guns on at least one covered gun deck

light and swiftalso used to relieve

warships in distress

Frigates

a shoal-draft vesselvariously riggedrelying mainly on

its sailsable to be rowed

with oarsgalliots- small

galleys

Galleys

small, armed warship of light draft

used in ports where the water is shallow

carried mounted guns

Gunboats

A large three-masted sailing ship with a square rig and usually two or more decks, used from the 15th to the 17th century especially by Spain as a merchant ship or warship.

Galleons

Fireships: would set ships on fire during battle

Warships: Combat shipsFlagships: carries a fleet

or squadron commander and bears the commander's flag.

Other Boats

construction of ships was financed through donations from wealthy citizens.

built to be more weatherly than previous Roman warships, the new quinquermes lacked the corvus (boarding platform) of their predecessors and we move maneuverable.

began waiting for a favorable wind to carry ships into ports.

removing their masts and relying only on their oars, the Roman ships proved fast and maneuverable.

Surging into the Carthaginian ships, the Romans used their speed and agility to their advantage and wreaked havoc upon their enemy.

 nearly half of the Carthaginian fleet was sunk or captured in the fighting.

Battle of Aegates Islands 41 B.C.

England had 35 warships, 163 armed merchant vessels

Spain had 22 galleons, 108 armed merchant vessels

At midnight on July 28, the English ignited eight fireships and sent them downwind towards the Armada. Though only one Spanish ship was burned, the English had achieved their goal of breaking up Medina Sedonia’s fleet.

On August 8, Sailing smaller, faster, and more maneuverable ships, the English utilized the weather gauge and long-range gunnery to pummel the Spanish.

The Spanish’s lack of gunnery training and correct ammunition for their guns caused a problem.

The Spanish Armada 1588

Bonhomme Richard engaged Serapis while Pallas attacked Countess of Scarborough

Bonhomme Richard - two of the ship's heavy 18-pdr guns burst

The other guns were taken out of service for fear of being unsafe and the Bonhomme Richard began ramming the Serapis in hopes of boarding the ship.

crew of Bonhomme Richard bound the two ships together with grappling hooks

continued firing into each other as both side's marines sniped at opposing crew and officers

After they boarded the ship, they drove Serapis' crew from their stations using hand grenades and musket fire.

The ship is surrendered

American Revolution: Bonhomme Richard vs.

HMS Serapis 1779

French blockaded the British at Yorktown using three of their 27 ships to close off access to the bay.

The two fleets’ vans, or ships in the forefront, fired at each other

The wind made it difficult to close the range between the armies and firing stopped for four days.

Seven more ships arrived from the French navy and they had complete control of the harbor

Outnumbered 34 ships to 19 the British realized they could not escape and surrendered.

American Revolution: Battle of the Chesapeake 1781

Awaiting British attack, the French anchored their thirteen ships in line of battle with shallow, shoal water to port and the open sea to starboard.

Did not think the British would attempt a night battle in un known, shallow waters.

As a further precaution the ships of the fleet were chained together to prevent the British from breaking the line.

British approach to naval warfare: stressing individual initiative and aggressive tactics.

Hardy led five British ships over the chain and into the narrow space between the French and the shoals.

climax of the battle was when the French flagship, L’Orient (110 guns) caught fire and exploded, killing one hundred of the ships crew.

French Revolution: Battle of the Nile 1798