Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Nelson's Pathfinders: A Forgotten Story in the Triumph of British Sea Power

Nelson's Pathfinders: A Forgotten Story in the Triumph of British Sea Power

Barritt, Michael

Hardcover

General World HistoryBritish HistoryNaval History

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 0300273762
ISBN13: 9780300273762
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: Aug 13 2024
Pages: 288
Weight: 1.35
Height: 1.30 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
The remarkable story of how a handful of intrepid scientific navigators underpinned British naval dominance in the conflict with Napoleon

During the Napoleonic Wars, more than twice as many British warships were lost to shipwreck than in battle. The Royal Navy's fleets had to operate in unfamiliar seas and dangerous coastal waters, where navigational ignorance was as great a threat as enemy guns. If Britain was to win the war, improved intelligence was vital.

In this landmark account, Michael Barritt reveals how a cadre of specialist pathfinders led by Captain Thomas Hurd enabled Britain's Hydrographic Office to meet this need. Sounding amongst hazards on the front line of conflict, alert for breaks in weather or onset of swell, these daring sailors gathered vital strategic data that would eventually secure the upper hand against Britain's adversaries. Tracing this pathfinding around Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, Barritt shows how the honing of this skill set revolutionised the British way of war at sea--ultimately securing a lasting naval dominance.

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British History

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