Tom Johnston’s Introduction to the Gun Deck
This is a very exciting action-packed area of the museum, We have an array of pictures many of which depict sea battles and sometimes the after effects – some showing the victors in their glory and others showing the vanquished in their misery. Some depict the boisterous life at sea and others the violent death that was never far away. But a less glamorous part of the sailor’s life is not depicted in any of our artwork but needs to be understood. Pictures are of a moment in time. They cannot show the duration of some of the voyages undertaken or the privation suffered by the seagoing men of the day. Death by disease was much more likely for the sailor than death in action.
And observe too the wealth of models of many famous vessels. Marvel at the skill and infinite patience of the model makers. These models add significantly to our enjoyment of the pictures and our admiration for the artists who painted them so vividly and accurately.
We are so lucky to have all the art displayed here and I would like to describe some of the pieces.
From the 1600’s until 1864 the royal navy’s fleet was divided into 3 squadrons. In descending order of seniority they were the Red Squadron the White Squadron and the Blue Squadron. These color differentiations reflected also in the ensigns of the flag officers. An admiral’s colors were red, a vice admiral’s were white and a rear admiral flew a blue ensign. Promotions followed the same pattern so a vice admiral from the blue squadron on promotion would become a vice admiral in the white squadron. In 1864 the squadrons were dissolved and the red ensign was given to ships of the merchant fleet and the blue ensign to non-military government ships while the royal navy retained the white ensign. Shown here we have a painting by Swain entitled “Red Squadron. This simply tells us that the ship on the right flying a red ensign belongs to the senior of the 3 squadrons of navy vessels.
Dinsdale’s picture shows King Charles ll transferring from the Royal Yacht Katherine to the 92 gun ship Royal Prince in 1672 following the victory over the Dutch fleet at SoleBay. This is interesting and possibly questionable because some contemporary accounts would have us believe that the Dutch actually burnt the Royal Prince in 1666 while others say she was eventually dismantled but not until 1692.
Lord Anson’s arrival at Spithead with his prizes – some of them severely damaged – is another wonderful picture by Schetky. It shows (probably) the Prince George which was Anson’s ship when he scored a particularly spectacular victory over the French fleet that was escorting a convoy of merchantmen off Cape Finisterre. The British sank or captured all but 2 of the French warships and took as prizes at least 6 of the merchantmen. This must have been a very profitable adventure for the British seamen who would have shared a considerable ‘pot’ of prize money.
The white cliffs of Dover form a backdrop to Webster’s wonderfully vigorous painting of a British ship of the line. The first Dutch Wars were fought entirely at sea and several battles were within sight of the shore so warships were a common sight from the English coast. The picture is not dated but the blue ensign would denote either the flag of a Rear Admiral or a ship assigned to the blue squadron.
Our models too are works of art. Some of them are built just as the real vessels were made – plank on frame.
We have a model of George ll’s yacht The Queen Caroline. She was launched in 1749 and renamed the Royal Charlotte in 1761 when George lll came to the throne. She was eventually dismantled in 1820.
Also on display is a model of the 74 gun French ship Protecteur. She was launched in 1760 and fought in the Revolutionary wars on the side of the Americans.
We have on display no fewer than 9 “Prisoner of War Models”. Some are models of particular ships and others have no claim to detailed accuracy but they are all truly wonderful pieces of art. They were made by mainly French prisoners of war held by the British around the year 1800. The Incarcerated prisoners with endless hours of idleness used any suitable materials that came to hand to craft these amazing models. Using bone salvaged from their daily ration of food or scraps of wood – anything they could possibly use they crafted with intricate detail these incredible objects. And having made these models they were much sought after by wealthy collectors who paid high prices for these extraordinary works of art. The proceeds afforded the prisoners money to spend on tobacco, alcohol or more palatable food. These models are well over 200 years old so we are especially fortunate to have such a collection of these fragile treasures in the museum. It is said that some prisoners actually became quite wealthy through this activity and deservedly so.
We also have pictures showing various mercantile activities that blossomed among the Dutch, the French, the Spanish and the English during the 17th – 19th centuries. There was intense rivalry between the countries and constantly shifting alliances and treaties coupled with outright duplicity and deception kept everyone on high alert.
The principal protagonists were first the Dutch who had powerful navy and ambitious plans to replace the Spanish and the Portuguese for commercial domination around the world. Their main rival for such a role was England and their quarrels resulted in no less than 4 wars. The first of them fought between 1652 and 1667 was brought about for purely trade advantage. Most of the battles were waged at sea and the majority of them in their ‘backyard’ so to speak – in and around the English Channel and the southern North Sea. The second war that lasted from 1665 – 67 was fought further afield and the battles actually involved a struggle for foreign outposts. One of those conquests resulted in James, Duke of York claiming New Amsterdam for England from the Dutch and was of course renamed New York. England was severely weakened by the cost of these wars when combined with the domestic devastation caused by an outbreak of plague followed a year later by the Great Fire which wiped out much of London. The 3rd war fought between 1672 and 1674 was part of a general war where every European country was fighting every other country at one time or another. Today we would probably call it a ‘mosh pit’.
Peace reigned for the next century until the 4th war between these two mighty maritime powers erupted in 1780 when the Dutch sought to weaken England by allying with the French on the side of the Americans in the Revolutionary War. This conflict lasted until 1784 when hostilities were ended by the Treaty of Paris
But our art collection is not just scenes of battle, of victory and defeat. We have pictures of Men of War saluting each other as in the beautiful painting by Monamy of a British and a Russian ship exchanging courtesies. Ironically firing guns was a sign of peace in that it showed the guns were empty and incapable of being reloaded quickly obviously posed no threat. The British ship is flying a red ensign signifying her position as a ship of the Red Squadron the senior squadron of the navy. There are also pictures of merchantmen which were the container ships of the age – carrying goods between ports where they could be sold at a profit or exchanged for other commodities more valuable at the next destination.
This corner of the museum is particularly interesting with many beautifully detailed pictures and models of a wide variety of vessels; ships large and small, some peacefully engaged and others bent on death and destruction. But they all tell a story. They offer us a wonderful snapshot of maritime life and of history. They were glorious brutal days in a rapidly changing world. Take time here. The more you look, the more you see. I hope you and your visitors find this area as fascinating as I do.