‘The Trafalgar Chronicle’ is a prime source of information as well as the publication of choice for new research about the Georgian Navy, sometimes also loosely referred to as ‘Nelson’s Navy’, though its scope reaches out to include all the sailing navies of the period. The central theme of the 2020 issue is ‘portrayals of the Georgian Navy though art, literature, and film’. The feature article, by Gerald Stulc, MD, analyses film depictions and portraits of Horatio Nelson, throughout his service and after his death, comparing these images to the clinical realities of Nelson’s injuries in battle. Additional theme-related contributions include the story behind the most famous paintings of Nelson’s death; how Tobias Smollet wrote a novel revealing the unhygienic and inhumane medical care aboard Royal Navy ships of the day; the rise of the fouled anchor motif; modern-day naval historical fiction portrayals of women in the era of Nelson; and whimsical drawings of Nelson in caricature and cartoon. In the tradition of recent editions of ‘The Trafalgar Chronicle’, this issue contains biographical sketches of Royal Navy contemporaries of Nelson including Sir Andrew Pellet Green, Commander James Pearl, Captain John Houghton Marshall, and Captain Ralph Willet Miller, and Sir Home Popham. Each made a unique contribution to Britain’s victories at sea. Of more general interest to readers, the 2020 issue provides articles about the role of Spain in the American Revolution, new revelations about Cornwallis’ children that he fathered while stationed in the Caribbean, and how the American War for Independence influenced Royal Navy operations in the War of 1812. AUTHORS: Sean Heuvel is a faculty member in the Department of Leadership and American Studies at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He has authored multiple naval history publications and co-founded the Williamsburg-Yorktown American Revolution Roundtable in 2013.
Judith Pearson is a retired psychologist now applying her skills as a freelance writer and copy editor to a wide variety of projects. She is a member of the Naval Order of the United States, The 1805 Club, and a Distinguished Toastmaster with Toastmasters International.
Captain John Rodgaard has spent more than 40 years with the US Navy. He co-authored ‘A Call To The Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of The USS Constitution’, and authored two editions of ‘A Hard Fought Ship: The Story of HMS Venomous’. He was the recipient of the Naval Institute’s History Author of the Year in 1999. 20 colour and 100 b/w illustrations