"Earning Napoleon’s admiration: HMS Grappler 1803" Topic

"A minor action off the French coast in 1803 which involved the Royal Navy brig, HMS Grappler, was to arouse the admiration of Napoleon himself. The story is a remarkable one.

That the French never made an attempt to occupy Britain's Channel Islands during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars period, 1793-1815, is a measure of the ability of the Royal Navy in, to operate close in to France's shores and impose a blockade. Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, was a scant fifteen miles from the coast of Normandy and the next largest, Guernsey, just thirty. During the preceding century the islands and their harbours had been fortified and garrisoned and they provided useful bases, as well as sources of fresh provisions for Royal Navy vessels operating in the area.

Yet closer to the French coast, at a mere six miles, were the Chausey Isles, a scattered group of rocks twenty miles south-east of Jersey. French fortifications there had not been rebuilt in the aftermath of the Seven Years War (1756-63) and the islands were essentially uninhabited, visited only by fishermen. A few locations between the islets there did however provide emergency protected anchorages for small vessels but approaching them in safety demanded the services of an experienced pilot…"

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Amicalement
Armand

A most interesting story. Thanks T.

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand