Product Description

This is the story of the Bellerophon, a ship of the line known to her crew as the Billy Ruffian. And like any good biography it runs from birth (in a small shipyard on the river Medway near Rochester in 1782), to death (in a breaker's yard a mile or so upstream at the age of fifty-four). In the intervening years, under fourteen captains, she played a conspicuous part in three of the most famous of all sea battles: the battle of the Glorious First of June (1794), the opening action against Revolutionary France; the battle of the Nile (1798), which halted Napoleon's eastern expansion from Cairo; and the battle of Trafalgar (1805), which established British naval supremacy for 100 years and during which her captain was shot dead with a musket ball an hour before Nelson was mortally wounded. But her crowning glory came six weeks after the Battle of Waterloo, when the Napoleon, trapped in Rochefort, surrendered to the captain of the ship that had dogged his steps for more than twenty years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #311111 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Review
A satisfying tale of a mighty ship, and of a half-century under the mast in some of Europe's fiercest wars. HMS Bellerophon, writes English maritime historian Cordingly (Women Sailors and Sailors' Women, 2001, etc.), came into existence in 1782 with only the grudging consent of the Admiralty, which foresaw little use for a big, 74-gun vessel at the time. Soon enough, though, the Bellerophon-whose crew, not trained in the gentlemanly study of Greek mythology, called her the "Billy Ruffian" or "Belly Rough One" or variants thereof-was chasing around the high seas after French privateers, then Napoleon's fleet, facing down said blighters in encounters such as the Battle of the Glorious First of June (1794), the Battle of the Nile (1798), and, most famous of all, the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). She took her blows and lost plenty of hands, but fewer so than her French foes; Cordingly describes one engagement in which the French commander lost both his legs, but "got himself strapped into a chair and was heard to say that a French admiral ought to die on his own quarterdeck"-just before being cut in two by a cannonball. (The incident, Cordingly adds, inspired the once widely recited poem that opens "The boy stood on the burning deck.") By good fortune, the Bellerophon received intelligence that Napoleon was planning to flee France after the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and kept after him until the emperor surrendered; the ship escorted him to Plymouth, where curious onlookers rowed out to gawk at the captive, but was judged incapable of making the long voyage to St. Helena, where Nappy lived out his days in exile. Alas, the Bellerophon lived out her own last days as a prison ship, an inglorious end to a much-vaunted vessel of the line. Solid and well-researched stuff, and a pleasure for fans of Patrick O'Brian, C.S. Forester, and other chroniclers of the fighting sail. (Kirkus Reviews)

Daily Telegraph
‘Cordingly has unearthed a revealing study … fascinating … original and well-researched’

From the Publisher
Lavishly illustrated with paintings, sketches, maps and battle plans, and drawing on a wealth of primary sources and contemporary literature, David Cordingly's portrait of the 'Billy Ruffian' is an original work of popular history and a fascinating insight into the reality that lies behind C.S. Forester's and Patrick O'Brian's fictional ships and heroes.

Customer Reviews

Wherever there is water..we are sure to find you in our way.
Sorry I couldn't fit the whole quote in the title to this review. The above is an excerpt of something Napoleon said to Captain Maitland of the "Bellerophon" in the summer of 1815 when Napoleon was being held on board, waiting to learn what his fate would be. (He hoped to be allowed to buy and live in a home in the English countryside. Alas, it was not to be.) Here is the full quote: "If it had not been for you English, I should have been Emperor of the East; but wherever there is water to float a ship, we are sure to find you in our way." As David Cordingly demonstrates in this wonderful book, the "Bellerophon," during the period 1794-1815, was an integral part of "find(ing) you in our way." Before ending her career as a "floating prison" she was in the thick of the action at the Battle of The Glorious First of June, the Battle of The Nile, and the Battle of Trafalgar....in addition to pulling extensive blockade duties, and being a temporary home/prison for Napoleon before it was decided to place him on St. Helena. Mr. Cordingly calls this a biography of a ship of the line, and he is true to his word. To start, we learn about the construction of the ship (it was built based on a "generic" design by Sir Thomas Slade. Slade was a great ship designer and "it became recognised that a British ship could invariably beat a French ship...even though the French ship might be up to 50 percent more powerful in terms of her guns"). This gives Mr. Cordingly the opportunity to tell us about how ships were built at this time - how long it took, what kind of wood was used (oak- the trees had to be a certain age, not too young or too old, and they were "branded" after selection so that the general public would know they'd been selected for use by the navy), etc. Sometimes, after construction had started at the dockyard, the ship would be left sitting for several years, so the wood could "age" properly. I found this entire section fascinating. If this kind of information isn't your cup of tea, have no fear - the author quickly gets down to the business of battle. In the past I'd read quite a bit about the Battle of The Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar, but I had never read anything about the Battle of The Glorious First of June, so I learned quite a bit in that section. (It was interesting to learn that Lord Howe, who was in command of the British fleet at this action, was sixty-nine years old at the time. The battle lasted several days and Howe, besides ordering fleet movements, was actually involved, on his flagship, in the action. It was also interesting to find out that, despite being soundly thrashed, the French considered this encounter a victory, because the British were not able to stop French grain ships from getting through safely.) Even if you know these battles forwards and backwards, I think you will still find these sections interesting, because a large part of the action is seen from the viewpoint of the "Bellerophon," i.e.- what happened to the ship and its crew. The ship seemed to live a charmed life: despite being dismasted and severely battered, she managed never to run aground or to be boarded as a prize. (One time she barely escaped being blown up, when a fire was put out just before finding its way to the gunpowder.) One of the most enjoyable sections of the book detailed the "goings-on" while Napoleon was aboard. While anchored at Torbay and Plymouth Sound, the ship and its famous guest became quite a tourist attraction. On one day "it was estimated that the ship was surrounded by ten thousand people in yachts, fishing boats, and rowing boats." The crew held up chalkboards with messages scrawled on them (such as "At breakfast") to let the public know what Napoleon was up to at any particular moment. It was amusing to read that when Napoleon was given a tour of Captain Maitland's cabin, he zeroed in on a portrait of Maitland's wife. Napoleon commented that she was "very young and very pretty," and was greatly disappointed that, due to security restrictions, she was not allowed on board for a visit. Bonaparte may have just lost an empire, but he could still appreciate a beautiful woman! Another big plus for this book is the quantity and quality of the black-and-white and color reproductions. (Works of top-flight painters of maritime scenes, such as Nicholas Pocock and J.M.W. Turner, help bring the battle scenes to life.) This was a very clever idea for a book, and whether you are primarily interested in ships, or naval battles, or Napoleon, I think you will find much here to enjoy.

Hoe to fall in love with a Ship
To set out to write a biography of a ship is to say the very least, daunting. But David Cordingly has carried it off with flair and grace. From the first chapter on he captures our attention with just enough background information and illustrations to define the subject into its place in history until we really start to care what this ship is all about. The ship, nicknamed Billy Ruffian, is a living, sentient being only changing character as the varied Captains; crews and visiting Admirals walk her decks culminating in the arrivals of both Nelson and Napoleon – at different times of course. Mr. Cordingly’s descriptions of battles and Bellerophon’s part in them are fascinating, from The Glorious First of June to the ultimate Battle of Trafalgar. But his insights into history such as – what would have happened if Nelson had caught Napoleon on board L’Orient on their way to Egypt – at one stage they were only six miles apart – had me dreaming for hours afterwards. To finish a book of this quality is always sad but one is uplifted by the thought of all those other Cordingly books that are still to be read – what a discovery.

Bringing a Ship to Life
I found David Cordingly's book fascinating - a masterful tale of well known events but from a remarkably original and fresh angle: the perspective of a ship of the line and her crew from launch to breakers yard. Told with economy and with a clear focus on the ship Bellerophon, Cordingly's style enables you to enter into the extraordinary lives and events of his period, to emphathise with captains, ratings and even an ex-Emperor. The sections dealing with Napolen's surrender are just magificant - much of this was new to me. And beautifully illustrated.