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This series includes accounts of sea and land campaigns by eye-witnesses and contemporaries, as well as landmark studies of their social, political and economic impacts. The series focuses mainly on the period from the Renaissance to the end of the Victorian era. It includes major concentrations of material on the American and French revolutions, the British campaigns in South Asia and nineteenth-century conflicts in Europe, such as the Peninsular and Crimean Wars. Although many of the accounts are semi-official narratives by senior officers and their relatives, the series also includes alternative viewpoints from dissenting leaders, servicemen in the lower ranks and military wives and civilians caught up in the theatre of war.

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172 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Naval and Military History

Page 5 of 9

The Buccaneers of America
  • A True Account of the Most Remarkable Assaults Committed of Late Years Upon the Coasts of the West Indies by the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga
  • John Esquemeling
  • Edited by Henry Powell
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    23 December 2010
    First published in:
    1893
  • John Esquemeling (better known as Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin) (c. 1645–1707) was a French barber-surgeon best remembered for this classic account of the buccaneer pirates of the West Indies. After travelling to Tortuga in 1666, Esquemeling joined the buccaneer company of Henry Morgan, one of the most successful and notorious privateers of the period. This volume, first published in English in 1684, and now reissued from the 1893 reprint, contains Esquemeling's detailed account of Morgan's dramatic exploits and adventures. Covering the period 1668–1674, Esquemeling recounts in fascinating detail Morgan's infamous attacks on Spanish-controlled ports in Cuba, Hispaniola and Costa Rica, and vividly describes the sack of the city of Panama and its aftermath in 1671. This work was the first account published in English of the lives of the buccaneers, and remains one of the most important sources for descriptions of seventeenth-century piracy.

The Elements and Practice of Rigging, Seamanship, and Naval Tactics
  • Volume 2, The Art of Sail-Making
  • David Steel
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    20 January 2011
    First published in:
    1809
  • David Steel was one of the most respected and prolific naval publishers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His publications focused on naval strategy and shipbuilding techniques. This influential four-volume work, first published in 1794, was the first comprehensive English manual of best naval practice. Designed for aspiring young officers, it established Steel's reputation as a publisher. The book describes theoretical and practical aspects of masts, rigging, and sails, and the science of sailing. The combination of practical advice supported by scientific and mathematical explanations and numerous illustrations provides valuable insights into British seamanship during the Napoleonic wars. Volume 2, reissued here in the 1809 edition, describes the art of sailmaking, the technical terms relating to it, the tools required, the quality of canvas used for different sails in naval and merchant vessels, and how to calculate the quantities needed.

Sepoy Generals
  • Wellington to Roberts
  • George W. Forrest
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1901
  • George W. Forrest (1845–1926) was born in India, the son of an army captain who had won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny. Forrest became an historian and journalist, who also created and ran the Imperial Record Office in Calcutta. He produced many editions of state papers and historical memoirs on governors of India, providing primary material on British India to scholars of imperial history. First published in 1901 on Forrest's retirement to England due to ill health, Sepoy Generals is a study of British generals who played a significant role in India during the nineteenth century. The term 'sepoy general' was coined as an insult to Wellington, the first subject, insinuating that his important military successes in India were insignificant and would not equip him to defeat Napoleon. Forrest's nine subjects spanned the whole nineteenth century, ending with Lord Roberts of Kandahar, who died in 1900.

The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson
  • Volume 2
  • Horatio Nelson
  • Edited by Nicholas Harris Nicolas
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1845
  • First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. Published in 1845, Volume 2 covers Nelson's career from 1795 to 1797, when he was serving in the Mediterranean, and includes the battles of Genoa and Cape St Vincent.

A Treatise on the Stability of Ships
  • Edward James Reed
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    23 December 2010
    First published in:
    1885
  • Sir Edward James Reed (1830–1906) was appointed chief constructor of the Navy in 1863, and later founded his own ship design consultancy. He pioneered the methodical use of scientific calculations to determine a ship's weight, strength and stability, and was responsible for a number of revolutionary designs at a crucial period, when ships began to be armoured or rebuilt in iron in response to more powerful weaponry. This book, first published in 1885, sets out his approach to the problem of ensuring stability in iron-built ships. Reed discusses scientific theories of flotation, buoyancy and stability and applies them to contemporary ship design and shipbuilding techniques. Reed also describes the experiments of French naval architects in this area, providing the first English translations of their research. It is an important record of the Victorian naval and scientific understanding of iron-built ship stability, corrective design and building methods.

The Invasion of the Crimea
  • Its Origin and an Account of its Progress Down to the Death of Lord Raglan
  • Volume 1
  • Alexander William Kinglake
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1863
  • Alexander William Kinglake (1809–1891) was a travel writer and historian. He witnessed the battle of the Alma and the Charge of the Light Brigade, and became well acquainted with the British commander, Lord Raglan. This work was commissioned by Lady Raglan to repair her husband's reputation, and Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to private and confidential state records. The eight volumes were published between 1863 and 1887. They were extremely successful commercially, but received mixed critical reviews, owing to the bias and prejudice shown by the author, and serious questions were raised about his use of the sources to which he was given exclusive access. However, the breadth of his research, corresponding with or interviewing participants in the war, and use of French, Turkish and Russian sources as well as British, gives lasting value to the work. Volume 1 covers the background to the war.

The Dispatches of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington
  • During his Various Campaigns in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, the Low Countries, and France
  • Volume 2
  • Arthur Wellesley
  • Edited by John Gurwood
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    18 November 2010
    First published in:
    1844
  • Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), the first Duke of Wellington, was one of the most successful military figures of the early nineteenth century. After fighting in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war in India, his successes during the Peninsular War (1809–1814) and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) established his reputation as a brilliant military tactician. These volumes, first published between 1834 and 1839, contain the letters, dispatches, instructions and general military orders Wellington wrote throughout his military career. Edited by his private secretary, Colonel John Gurwood (1790–1845), they offer a wealth of fascinating details concerning Wellington's campaigns in India and Europe, from mundane administrative tasks to discussions of tactics, personnel and intelligence-gathering. These volumes are reissued from the 1844 revised edition, and provide invaluable information for the study of warfare during this period. Volume 2 covers his campaigns in India between 1803 and 1805.

The Dispatches of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington
  • During his Various Campaigns in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, the Low Countries, and France
  • Volume 6
  • Arthur Wellesley
  • Edited by John Gurwood
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    18 November 2010
    First published in:
    1844
  • Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), the first Duke of Wellington, was one of the most successful military figures of the early nineteenth century. After fighting in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war in India, his successes during the Peninsular War (1809–1814) and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) established his reputation as a brilliant military tactician. These volumes, first published between 1834 and 1839, contain the letters, dispatches, instructions and general military orders Wellington wrote throughout his military career. Edited by his private secretary, Colonel John Gurwood (1790–1845), they offer a wealth of fascinating details concerning Wellington's campaigns in India and Europe, from mundane administrative tasks to discussions of tactics, personnel and intelligence-gathering. These volumes are reissued from the 1844 revised edition, and provide invaluable information for the study of warfare during this period. Volume 6 covers his Peninsular campaigns between 1812 and 1813.

The Naval History of Great Britain
  • A New Edition, with Additions and Notes, and an Account of the Burmese War and the Battle of Navarino
  • Volume 5
  • William James
  • Edited by Frederick Chamier
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1859
  • William James (1780–1827) was a lawyer and naval historian best known for this magisterial history of the Royal Navy between 1793 and 1827. James began to research the role of the Royal Navy in the Revolutionary Wars, publishing five volumes between 1822 and 1824. This was expanded up to 1827 in later editions. In one of the most comprehensive histories of the Navy in the Napoleonic Wars ever published, James' rigorous research methodology using various contemporary sources provides detailed descriptions of the operations of the Royal Navy in the period. Fleet campaigns and minor engagements are discussed, with technical and tactical details of ships and battles also provided. These volumes (here reissued from the 1859 edition) remain an invaluable source of information for the history of the Royal Navy during this fascinating period. Volume 5 covers 1808–1811 and includes the capture of Guadeloupe.

The Naval History of Great Britain
  • A New Edition, with Additions and Notes, and an Account of the Burmese War and the Battle of Navarino
  • Volume 3
  • William James
  • Edited by Frederick Chamier
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1859
  • William James (1780–1827) was a lawyer and naval historian best known for this magisterial history of the Royal Navy between 1793 and 1827. James began to research the role of the Royal Navy in the Revolutionary Wars, publishing five volumes between 1822 and 1824. This was expanded up to 1827 in later editions. In one of the most comprehensive histories of the Navy in the Napoleonic Wars ever published, James' rigorous research methodology using various contemporary sources provides detailed descriptions of the operations of the Royal Navy in the period. Fleet campaigns and minor engagements are discussed, with technical and tactical details of ships and battles also provided. These volumes (here reissued from the 1859 edition) remain an invaluable source of information for the history of the Royal Navy during this fascinating period. Volume 3 covers 1800–1805 and includes the Battle of Copenhagen.

The Naval History of Great Britain
  • A New Edition, with Additions and Notes, and an Account of the Burmese War and the Battle of Navarino
  • Volume 2
  • William James
  • Edited by Frederick Chamier
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    04 November 2010
    First published in:
    1859
  • William James (1780–1827) was a lawyer and naval historian best known for this magisterial history of the Royal Navy between 1793 and 1827. James began to research the role of the Royal Navy in the Revolutionary Wars, publishing five volumes between 1822 and 1824. This was expanded up to 1827 in later editions. In one of the most comprehensive histories of the Navy in the Napoleonic Wars ever published, James' rigorous research methodology using various contemporary sources provides detailed descriptions of the operations of the Royal Navy in the period. Fleet campaigns and minor engagements are discussed, with technical and tactical details of ships and battles also provided. These volumes (here reissued from the 1859 edition) remain an invaluable source of information for the history of the Royal Navy during this fascinating period. Volume 2 covers 1797–1800 and the Battle of the Nile.

The British Navy
  • Its Strength, Resources, and Administration
  • Volume 5
  • Thomas Brassey
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    16 December 2010
    First published in:
    1883
  • Sir Thomas Brassey (1836–1918), later Earl Brassey, was a politician with a particular interest in maritime affairs. He was a keen sailor, and his wife's accounts of their many voyages (also reissued in this series) were bestsellers. He subsequently became a Lord of the Admiralty and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Brassey's Naval Annual was for many years the authoritative survey of worldwide navies. This five-volume survey of the state of the British Navy was published between 1882 and 1883. Brassey was much involved with questions of the modernisation and reform of the Navy, at a time when international relations were marked by a maritime arms race. The books provide much technical detail about the different types of ship and weapons available to the Navy. Volume 5 (originally published in 1877 as British Seamen) discusses the merchant navy and the training of seamen.

The Invasion of the Crimea
  • Its Origin and an Account of its Progress Down to the Death of Lord Raglan
  • Volume 3
  • Alexander William Kinglake
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1868
  • Alexander William Kinglake (1809–1891) was a travel writer and historian. He witnessed the battle of the Alma and the Charge of the Light Brigade, and became well acquainted with the British commander, Lord Raglan. This work was commissioned by Lady Raglan to repair her husband's reputation, and Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to private and confidential state records. The eight volumes were published between 1863 and 1887. They were extremely successful commercially, but received mixed critical reviews, owing to the bias and prejudice shown by the author, and serious questions were raised about his use of the sources to which he was given exclusive access. However, the breadth of his research, corresponding with or interviewing participants in the war, and use of French, Turkish and Russian sources as well as British, gives lasting value to the work. Volume 3 ends with the siege of Sebastopol.

The Invasion of the Crimea
  • Its Origin and an Account of its Progress Down to the Death of Lord Raglan
  • Volume 8
  • Alexander William Kinglake
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1887
  • Alexander William Kinglake (1809–1891) was a travel writer and historian. He witnessed the battle of the Alma and the Charge of the Light Brigade, and became well acquainted with the British commander, Lord Raglan. This work was commissioned by Lady Raglan to repair her husband's reputation, and Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to private and confidential state records. The eight volumes were published between 1863 and 1887. They were extremely successful commercially, but received mixed critical reviews, owing to the bias and prejudice shown by the author, and serious questions were raised about his use of the sources to which he was given exclusive access. However, the breadth of his research, corresponding with or interviewing participants in the war, and use of French, Turkish and Russian sources as well as British, gives lasting value to the work. Volume 8 ends with the death of Lord Raglan.

The Invasion of the Crimea
  • Its Origin and an Account of its Progress Down to the Death of Lord Raglan
  • Volume 6
  • Alexander William Kinglake
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1880
  • Alexander William Kinglake (1809–1891) was a travel writer and historian. He witnessed the battle of the Alma and the Charge of the Light Brigade, and became well acquainted with the British commander, Lord Raglan. This work was commissioned by Lady Raglan to repair her husband's reputation, and Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to private and confidential state records. The eight volumes were published between 1863 and 1887. They were extremely successful commercially, but received mixed critical reviews, owing to the bias and prejudice shown by the author, and serious questions were raised about his use of the sources to which he was given exclusive access. However, the breadth of his research, corresponding with or interviewing participants in the war, and use of French, Turkish and Russian sources as well as British, gives lasting value to the work. Volume 6 covers the winter of 1854–1855.

The Invasion of the Crimea
  • Its Origin and an Account of its Progress Down to the Death of Lord Raglan
  • Volume 5
  • Alexander William Kinglake
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1875
  • Alexander William Kinglake (1809–1891) was a travel writer and historian. He witnessed the battle of the Alma and the Charge of the Light Brigade, and became well acquainted with the British commander, Lord Raglan. This work was commissioned by Lady Raglan to repair her husband's reputation, and Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to private and confidential state records. The eight volumes were published between 1863 and 1887. They were extremely successful commercially, but received mixed critical reviews, owing to the bias and prejudice shown by the author, and serious questions were raised about his use of the sources to which he was given exclusive access. However, the breadth of his research, corresponding with or interviewing participants in the war, and use of French, Turkish and Russian sources as well as British, gives lasting value to the work. Volume 5 includes the Battle of Inkerman.

The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson
  • Volume 6
  • Horatio Nelson
  • Edited by Nicholas Harris Nicolas
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1846
  • First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. Volume 6 covers May 1804 to July 1805, during which time Nelson was in pursuit of the French fleet, first in the Mediterranean and then in the Atlantic.

The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson
  • Volume 7
  • Horatio Nelson
  • Edited by Nicholas Harris Nicolas
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1846
  • First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. Published in 1846, Volume 7 covers Nelson's last months, from August 1805 to October that year, when he was fatally wounded during the battle of Trafalgar.

The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson
  • Volume 5
  • Horatio Nelson
  • Edited by Nicholas Harris Nicolas
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1845
  • First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. Published in 1845, Volume 5 covers Nelson's career from 1802 to 1804, during which, after the Peace of Amiens, Nelson enjoyed nineteen months' leave from the navy.

The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson
  • Volume 3
  • Horatio Nelson
  • Edited by Nicholas Harris Nicolas
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1845
  • First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. Published in 1845, Volume 3 covers Nelson's career during 1798 and 1799, including the battle of the Nile in August 1798.

Page 5 of 9