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This thread is dedicated to the discussion of the Frigates of the Napoleonic Era

A good place to start is with this book:

by Robert Gardiner

Brief Synopsis:

"This is the first in-depth history of the sailing navy's most popular and charismatic ship type at the height of its development." "Their actions have been the stuff of history and sea fiction for generations, but the ships themselves are hardly documented at all. This book redresses the balance and describes the design, construction, armament and fitting of individual classes; it looks at the factors that influenced their development, compares the ships of the major navies, and analyses the way in which frigates were employed in the many roles they were expected to perform." "Illustrated with the original plans, photographs of models, and contemporary prints this is a work for historians, modellers and enthusiasts as well as for those who enjoy their naval history."

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Here is another book covering the same subject that looks pretty interesting although I have not read it myself:

by James Henderson
Publisher blurb:
Admiral Nelson's most frequent cry was for more frigates. Though not ships of the line these fast and powerful warships were the 'eyes of the fleet'. They enabled admirals to find where the enemy lay and his likely intentions, as well as patrolling vital trade routes and providing information from far-flung colonies. Together with their smaller cousins, the sloops and brigs of the Royal Navy, they performed a vital function. Generally commanded by ambitious young men, these were the ships that could capture enemy prizes and earn their officers and men enough prize-money to set them up for life. The fictional characters Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey hardly surpassed some of the extraordinary deeds of derring-do and tragedy described in these pages. Originally published in two volumes, this book is a bargain for all who want the factual low-down on the Brylcreem Boys of Nelson's navy.

Some of the older boats were so beautiful in sail. Thanks.

Here are a few more books covering Frigates during the Napoleonic period:



by Tom Wareham
Publishers blurb:
Frigate Commander is based on the private journal of Lieutenant - and then Captain - Graham Moore, a naval officer serving during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Moore's journal gives a unique and detailed account of what life was like for a serving naval officer. In particular it reveals the problems an officer had in managing the crew of a frigate, maintaining discipline and turning his ship into an efficient man of war. Moore was one of the navy's 'star captain', serving continuously as a frigate commander between 1793 and 1804. His early career took him to Newfoundland, and then, as a captain, he served with Sir William Sidney Smith's squadron operating on the north coast of France. He was present during the Naval Mutiny at Spithead in 1797, and helped to destroy the French fleet off Ireland in 1798. His most famous action occurred in September 1804, when his squadron engaged and captured a Spanish frigate squadron carrying a fortune in treasure. The following year his frigate, HMS Indefatigable, was involved in the opening of the Trafalgar campaign.

by Brian Lavery
Publishers blurb:
There is no more famous a vessel in naval fiction than HMS Surprise, the principal ship in Patrick O'Brian's much-celebrated "Aubrey-Maturin" series of sea stories. Yet, the frigate also had a true historical career serving in both the French and British navies before being captured by Inconstant in the Mediterranean in 1796 and delivered into the fictional captaincy of Jack Aubrey.This sumptuous new volume, written by acclaimed naval historian Brian Lavery, not only reveals the complete career history and commentary of HMS Surprise in both its guises, but also presents an all-embracing construction history of the Fifth Rate including some 50 line drawings as well as historical artworks and detailed photographs together with stills and model shots from the ship used in the film "Master & Commander: the Far Side of the World". The book is presented in full colour throughout and additionally includes a series of specially-commissioned sketches and paintings by co-author Geoff Hunt RSMA, the acclaimed artist of the Patrick O'Brian cover artworks and related prints. Geoff Hunt also contributes a most illuminating chapter on his experiences in, and challenges faced, when illustrating this ship. Detailed line and isometric plans are being drawn by prolific marine draughtsman Karl Heinz Marquardt.HMS Surprise sails again and this time it's for real - a must for all Patrick O'Brian readers. It is a stunning collaboration between two of the most respected naval authorities. Much of Surprise's actual history is as exciting as her fictional career. It is a meticulously researched first-rate book for all naval devotees.

by Brian Vale
Publishers blurb:
What was life really like on a wooden warship? This book takes a look at life aboard the 42-gun frigate HMS "Doris" - launched from Bombay in 1807 and finally retired at Valparaiso in 1829. Vale concentrates on her service on the South American station under Sir Thomas Hardy as she protected British interests during the stormy years of South American Independence. The author covers in vivid detail the operations in Brazil, Chile and Peru, both from the political and military angle and from the perspective of the sailors, to give a fascinating account of the everyday concerns and routines of life on shipboard.

The last of Admiral Lord Nelson's frigates, the Trincomalee has been restored and now stands as a monument to those ships that made Nelson a national hero.

Trincomalee; The Last of Nelson's Frigates

by Andrew Lambert (no photo)

Synopsis:

This beautifully illustrated volume recounts the development, construction, and modern-day restoration of the HMS Trincomalee. Launched in 1817, the 38-gun Fifth Rate was the vanguard of a new class built for longevity and resistance to climatic extremes. Designed of teak wood in Bombay, India, under the supervision of master shipbuilder Jamsetjee Bomanjee, the sturdy ship fulfilled its promise in waters from the West Indies to the Arctic, combining imperial policing duties with oceanography and exploration voyages. Once the ship's sailing days were over, even a century of neglect could not destroy the resilient teak hull and the now restored Trincomalee lies dockside at Hartlepool, England, where it helps visitors appreciate the realities of naval life in the age of sail. For those unable to visit her, the book's selection of photographs and drawings of the ship at each stage of her life as well as details of her dimensions, spars, and armament provide a "virtual" tour of one of the few Nelson frigates still in existence.

Frigates, Sloops and Brigs

by James Henderson(no photo)

Synopsis:

Admiral Nelson's most frequent cry was for more frigates. Though not ships of the line these fast and powerful warships were the 'eyes of the fleet'. They enabled admirals to find where the enemy lay and his likely intentions, as well as patrolling vital trade routes and providing information from far-flung colonies. Together with their smaller cousins, the sloops and brigs of the Royal Navy, they performed a vital function.Generally commanded by ambitious young men, these were the ships that could capture enemy prizes and earn their officers and men enough prize-money to set them up for life. The fictional characters Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey hardly surpassed some of the extraordinary deeds of derring-do and tragedy described in these pages.

British Frigate vs French Frigate: 1793-1814

by Mark Lardas(no photo)

Synopsis:

In the Age of Fighting Sail (1650-1820), ambitious officers of the navies of many nations sought command of a frigate. Speedy, nimble and formidably armed, frigates often operated independently, unlike the larger ships of the line. Legendary sailors such as Edward Pellew and Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, Comte de Linoise, found that commanding such a ship offered numerous opportunities for wealth - in the form of prize money paid out for captured enemy vessels - and, even more importantly, prestige and promotion for captains who prevailed in the numerous single-ship duels that characterized frigate warfare. During in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars both Great Britain and France employed frigates to achieve their maritime objectives: to perpetuate its supremacy the Royal Navy needed to be strong everywhere, while the French Navy concentrated its efforts on deploying single frigates or small frigate squadrons to probe for weak points in the British mastery of the seas. Between 1793, when HMS Nymphe fought and captured the French frigate La Cléopâtre, and the 1814 clash between HMS Hebrus and L'Étoile British and French frigates met and fought in over 100 battles. Of these no fewer than 32 were pure frigate duels, with a pair of frigates fighting without the interference of another major warship before the battle ended. Attention and romance attached to these clashes, both at the time and right up to the present day; literary characters such as Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey have perpetuated the legend of these spirited battles on the high seas for successive generations.

Thanks Jill

What exactly is a frigate?

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.

In the 17th century, this term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built". These could be warships carrying their principal batteries of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks (with further smaller carriage-mounted guns usually carried on the forecastle and quarterdeck of the vessel). The term was generally used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle, although early line-of-battle ships were frequently referred to as frigates when they were built for speed.

In the 18th century, the term referred to ships that were usually as long as a ship of the line and were square-rigged on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armaments upon a single continuous deck � the upper deck � while ships of the line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns.

In the late 19th century (beginning about 1858 with the construction of prototypes by the British and French navies), the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship that for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term "frigate" was used because such ships still mounted their principal armaments on a single continuous upper deck. The later 19th-century battleship thus developed from the frigate rather than from the ship of the line.

In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships, especially as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. Ship classes dubbed "frigates" have also more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers, and even battleships. The rank "frigate captain" derives from the name of this type of ship.

(Source: Wikipedia)

New Vanguard 79: American Heavy Frigates 1794-1826

by Mark Lardas (no photo)

Synopsis:

By 1805 the 44-gun frigate was probably viewed as a failed experiment whilst the 38-gun frigate was viewed as the vessel of the future. Ten years later every navy was building 44-gun frigates and today it is viewed as the symbol of the Napoleonic-era cruiser. This remarkable transformation resulted from the performance of three ships � the Constitution, United States, and President � 44-gun frigates built for the United States Navy between 1794 and 1799. Their victories in the naval War of 1812, as well as their performance against the Barbary Pirates, caught the imagination of the world � and spurred all navies into re-examining the class.

Painting by Léopold le Guen of the HMS Indefatigable, one of the first British frigates to join battle at Trafalgar. Her opponent is Droits de l'Homme.

Love that painting.

Nelson call the frigates, "the eyes of the fleet".

The Eyes of the Fleet: A Popular History of Frigates and Frigate Captains

by Anthony Price

Synopsis:

Frigates were the fastest warships in the British fleet in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the key to Britain's long dominance over the world's other navies. These scouting cruisers were, according to Nelson, "the eyes of the Fleet." But they were much more than that: true fighting ships, lightly built and heavily armed, ready for every task short of joining the set-piece battles involving the heavier ships-of-the-line. From the bloody 1797 mutiny of the HMS Hermione crew, who murdered Captain Hugh Pigot and tossed him overboard after eight months of brutality, to the 1813 battle between the British frigate Shannon and the American Chesapeake in which the Chesapeake's Captain James Lawrence uttered the famous phrase, "Don't give up the ship!" The Eyes of the Fleet gives us the absorbing story of the men who worked the frigates during their heyday, and recounts with thrilling detail some of the most influential and exciting battles in naval history

An excellent account of the ships of the line in Nelson's navy and how they defeated Napoleon.

The Sea Warriors: Fighting Captains and Frigate Warfare in the Age of Nelson

by Richard Woodman

Synopsis:

"The Sea Warriors" is the true story of the great frigate captains of the Nelsonic Royal Navy who spent long and arduous years away from their homes fighting for king and country, to win and hold control of the seas.
Richard Woodman skillfully dissects the events of the war years, focusing on the cruiser war, that war between opposing frigates which entailed the blockade of enemy ports, the interception of enemy trade and the protection of Britain's merchant ships. The whole magnificent sweep of this great struggle is set against its political background of the Napoleonic wars and the sea war with America.
With this narrative come an extraordinary array of young, daring and hugely skilled frigate captains whose ability to grasp the chances offered by war made them household names in this savage age. Some, like Warren, Pellew, Cochrane and Collingwood, are still renowned; others are here rescued from under the shadow of Nelson as the author recounts their brave and brilliant exploits.
As well as the thrilling accounts of sea battles and single ship actions, the author describes the darker side to life at sea - the constant danger and harsh discipline, the wearying monotony of sea-keeping, the scourges of disease and the occasional outbreaks of mutiny. This is a stirring story combined with a feast of knowledge.

Here is the ditty - The Wooden Walls of England:

The Wooden Walls of England.
Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser (25 June 1773).

by Henry Green

When Britain on her sea-girt shore,
Her white-rob'd Druids erst address'd;
What Aid (she cry'd) shall I implore,
What best defense, by numbers press'd?
"Tho' hostile nations round thee rise,
(The mystic Oracles reply'd)
And view thine isle with envious eyes,
Their threats defy, their rage deride,
Nor fear Invasions from your adverse Gauls:
Britain's best bulwarks are her WOODEN WALLS.

"Thine Oaks descending to the main,
With floating forts shall stem the tides,
Asserting Britain's wat'ry reign
Where'er her thundering Navy rides:
Nor less to peaceful arts inclin'd,
Where Commerce opens all her stores,
In social bands will league mankind,
And join the sea-divided shores:
Spread then thy sails where Naval Glory calls:
Britain's best bulwarks are her WOODEN WALLS.

Hail, happy isle! what tho' the vales
No vine-impurpled tribute yield,
Nor fann'd with odour-breathing gales,
Nor crops spontaneous glad the field:
Yet Liberty rewards the toil
Of Industry, to labour prone,
Who jocund ploughs the grateful soil,
And reaps the harvest she has sown.
While other realms tyrannic sway inthralls,
Britain's best bulwarks are her WOODEN WALLS."

Thus spake the bearded Seers of yore,
In visions wrapt of Britain's fame
Ere yet Iberia felt her pow'r,
Or Gallia trembled at her name.
O! that my muse inspir'd could sing
The praises to her Heroes due,
Would heaven-born genius imp her wing,
Pleas'd, she'd the glorious theme pursue!
Then should my verse record great GEORGE'S reign,
Who stretch'd from Pole to Pole his wide domain.

Note:

Four Prior stanzas, the lines shortened by a foot in a lyric variation of this popular form. Green's poem became very popular after it was set by the composer Thomas Arne, with a different conclusion: "Ere yet Columbus dar'd t' explore | New regions rising from the main; | From sea to sea, from shore to shore, | Bear then, ye winds, the solemn strain! | This sacred truth, an awe-struck world appals, | Britain's best bulwarks are her Wooden Walls" Universal Magazine 70 (June 1782) 322. Perhaps the stanza was selected in deference to Ramillies, the name of Green's ship and the subject of Matthew Prior's poem.

Headnote: "The following was presented to the King at his Levee on Monday, by the Author. The Wooden Walls of England, an Ode, by Henry Green, Purser of his Majesty's Ship Ramillies."

Link:

Source: English Poetry 1579-1830: Spenser and the Tradition

More:
History of the Royal Navy - Wooden Walls (1600-1805)
Link:

Source: Youtube