Great stuff! I have ancestors who were in the Royal Navy at the time of the Seven Years War, and the Navy encouraged their officers to act in the same audacious and aggressive manner as Dance acted against Linois.
This has a real Patrick O’Brian feel, although Jack Aubrey would never have retired at the height of his triumph. A secondary pleasure of the article is the wonderful names of the French ships. I couldn’t believe they’d named one of them after a chicken; some brief research shows that Belle Poule, too, his some history.
Not that a second Master & Commander film needs justifying, but this story would be perfect.
It is fictionalised in the Aubrey-Maturin series in HMS Surprise
Great stuff! I have ancestors who were in the Royal Navy at the time of the Seven Years War, and the Navy encouraged their officers to act in the same audacious and aggressive manner as Dance acted against Linois.
Fantastic story. Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks Joel!
This has a real Patrick O’Brian feel, although Jack Aubrey would never have retired at the height of his triumph. A secondary pleasure of the article is the wonderful names of the French ships. I couldn’t believe they’d named one of them after a chicken; some brief research shows that Belle Poule, too, his some history.