1775 Cira photo Oval Quarter Plate Image of HMS 'Victory' Battle Ship

Description

1775 Cira photo Oval Quarter Plate Image of HMS 'Victory' Battle Ship.
This is not an Ambrotype , but a very thick piece of glass with a paper based image layer affixed to it permanently. I have no idea of age, I have the feeling might be 1860's or even earlier. I do not know the photo process used, but this image was affixed at creation to the back side of the glass to make it permanent. Nice history of the ship on the back. Actual image is light, maybe faded a bit, but is sharp enough to make out other boats including rowboat with two oars on the left. Actual image appears to be better than my photos.
HMS
Victory
is a 104-gun
first-rate
ship of the line
of the
Royal Navy
, ordered in 1758,
laid down
in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is best known for her role as
Lord Nelson
's
flagship
at the
Battle of Trafalgar
on 21 October 1805.
She additionally served as
Keppel
's flagship at
Ushant
,
Howe
's flagship at
Cape Spartel
and
Jervis
's flagship at
Cape St Vincent
. After 1824, she was relegated to the role of harbour ship.
In 1922, she was moved to a
dry dock
at
Portsmouth
,
Great Britain
, and preserved as a
museum ship
. She has been the flagship of the
First Sea Lord
since October 2012 and is the world's
oldest
naval ship still in
commission
, with 243 years' service as of 2021.
Wonderful Museum Quality Historic Photo.
Please see all photos.
Size 1/4th plate.
Condition Photo &  Frame --  Good !!!   "see all photos" .
Thanks for looking.
Construction
[
edit
]
In December 1758,
Pitt the Elder
, in his role as head of the British government, placed an order for the building of 12 ships, including a
first-rate
ship that would become
Victory
.
[2]
During the 18th century,
Victory
was one of ten first-rate ships to be constructed.
[3]
The outline plans were based on
HMS
Royal George
which had been launched at
Woolwich Dockyard
in 1756, and the naval architect chosen to design the ship was
Sir Thomas Slade
who, at the time, was the
Surveyor of the Navy
.
[4]
She was designed to carry at least 100 guns. The commissioner of
Chatham Dockyard
was instructed to prepare a
dry dock
for the construction.
[5]
The
keel
was laid on 23 July 1759 in the Old Single Dock (since renamed No. 2 Dock and now Victory Dock), and a name,
Victory
, was chosen in October 1760.
[6]
In 1759, the
Seven Years' War
was going well for Britain; land victories had been won at
Quebec
and
Minden
and
naval battles
had been won at
Lagos
and
Quiberon Bay
. It was the
Annus Mirabilis
, or Wonderful Year, and the ship's name may have been chosen to commemorate the victories
[7]
[8]
or it may have been chosen simply because out of the seven names shortlisted,
Victory
was the only one not in use.
[9]
[10]
There were some doubts whether this was a suitable name since the previous
Victory
had been lost with all on board in 1744.
[10]
A team of 150 workmen were assigned to construct
Victory
'
s frame.
[11]
Around 6,000 trees were used in her construction, of which 90% were
oak
and the remainder
elm
,
pine
and
fir
, together with a small quantity of
lignum vitae
.
[12]
The wood of the hull was held in place by six-foot copper bolts, supported by
treenails
for the smaller fittings.
[11]
Once the ship's frame had been built, it was normal to cover it up and leave it for several months to allow the wood to dry out or "
season
". The end of the Seven Years' War meant that
Victory
remained in this condition for nearly three years, which helped her subsequent longevity.
[13]
[14]
Work restarted in autumn 1763 and she was
floated
on 7 May 1765,
[15]
having cost £63,176 and 3
shillings
,
[16]
the equivalent of £8.7 million today.
[Note 1]
On the day of the launch, shipwright Hartly Larkin, designated "foreman afloat" for the event, suddenly realised that the ship might not fit through the dock gates. Measurements at first light confirmed his fears: the gates were at least 9½ inches too narrow. He told the news to his superior, master shipwright John Allin, who considered abandoning the launch. Larkin asked for the assistance of every available shipwright, and they hewed away enough wood from the gates with their
adzes
for the ship to pass safely through.
[17]
However, the launch itself revealed significant problems in the ship's design, including a distinct list to
starboard
and a tendency to sit heavily in the water such that her lower deck gunports were only 4 ft 6 in (1.4 m) above the waterline. The first of these problems was rectified after launch by increasing the ship's
ballast
to settle her upright on the keel. The second problem, regarding the siting of the lower gunports, could not be rectified. Instead it was noted in
Victory
'
s sailing instructions that these gunports would have to remain closed and unusable in rough weather. This had potential to limit
Victory
'
s firepower, though in practice none of her subsequent actions would be fought in rough seas.
[18]
Because there was no immediate use for her, she was placed
in ordinary
and moored in the
River Medway
.
[19]
Internal
fitting out
continued over the next four years, and
sea trials
were completed in 1769, after which she was returned to her Medway berth. She remained there until France joined the
American War of Independence
in 1778.
[20]
Victory
was now placed in active service as part of a general mobilisation against the French threat. This included arming her with a full complement of smooth bore,
cast iron
cannon
. Her weaponry was intended to be thirty 42-pounders (19 kg) on her lower deck, twenty-eight
24-pounder long guns
(11 kg) on her middle deck, and thirty 12-pounders (5 kg) on her upper deck, together with twelve 6-pounders on her
quarterdeck
and
forecastle
. In May 1778, the 42-pounders were replaced by 32-pounders (15 kg), but the 42-pounders were reinstated in April 1779; however, there were insufficient 42-pounders available and these were replaced with 32-pounder cannon again.
[18]
Early service
[
edit
]
First battle of Ushant
[
edit
]
Main article:
Battle of Ushant (1778)
The first battle of Ushant
(1778) by Theodore Gudin. Admiral Keppel was later court martialed for allowing the French fleet to escape but was acquitted.
Victory
was
commissioned
(put on active duty) in March 1778 under Captain
John Lindsay
. He held that position until May 1778, when Admiral
Augustus Keppel
made her his
flagship
, and appointed Rear Admiral
John Campbell
(1st Captain) and Captain
Jonathan Faulknor
(2nd Captain).
[16]
Keppel put to sea from
Spithead
on 9 July 1778 with a force of around twenty-nine
ships of the line
and, on 23 July, sighted a French fleet of roughly equal force 100 miles (160 km) west of
Ushant
.
[21]
[22]
The French admiral,
Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers
, who had orders to avoid battle, was cut off from
Brest
, but retained the
weather gage
. Manoeuvring was made difficult by changing winds and driving rain, but eventually a battle became inevitable, with the British more or less in column and the French in some confusion. However, the French managed to pass along the British line with their most advanced ships. At about a quarter to twelve,
Victory
opened fire on
Bretagne
of 110 guns, which was being followed by
Ville de Paris
of 90 guns.
[23]
The British van escaped with little loss, but Sir
Hugh Palliser
's rear division suffered considerably. Keppel made the signal to follow the French, but Palliser did not conform and the action was not resumed.
[23]
Keppel was court martialled and cleared and Palliser criticised by an inquiry before the affair turned into a political argument.
[23]
Second Battle of Ushant
[
edit
]
Main article:
Second Battle of Ushant
Victory
flying the
Blue Ensign
(with the
pre-1801 Union Jack
), from
The Fleet Offshore
, 1780–90, an anonymous piece of folk art now at
Compton Verney Art Gallery
in
Warwickshire
.
In March 1780,
Victory
'
s hull was
sheathed
with 3,923 sheets of copper below the waterline to protect it against
shipworm
.
[12]
On 2 December 1781, the ship, now commanded by Captain Henry Cromwell and bearing the flag of Rear Admiral
Richard Kempenfelt
, sailed with eleven other ships of the line, a 50-gun
fourth-rate
, and five
frigates
,
[24]
to intercept a French
convoy
that had sailed from
Brest
on 10 December. Not knowing that the convoy was protected by twenty-one ships of the line under the command of
Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen
, Kempenfelt ordered a chase when they were sighted on 12 December and began the battle.
[24]
When he noted the French superiority, he contented himself with capturing fifteen sail of the convoy. The French were dispersed in a gale and forced to return home.
[24]
Siege of Gibraltar
[
edit
]
Main article:
Great Siege of Gibraltar
Victory
'
s armament was slightly upgraded in 1782 with the replacement of all of her 6-pounders with 12-pounder cannon. Later, she also carried two
carronade guns
, firing 68-lb (31 kg) round shot.
[25]
In October 1782,
Victory
under
Admiral
Richard Howe
was the fleet
flagship
of a powerful escort flotilla for a convoy of transports which resupplied Gibraltar in the event of a blockade by the French and Spanish navies. No resistance was encountered on entering the straits and the supplies were successfully unloaded. There was a
minor engagement
at the time of departure, in which
Victory
did not fire a shot. The British ships were under orders to return home and did so without major incident.
[26]
[27]
Battle of Cape St. Vincent
[
edit
]
Main article:
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)
The Battle of Cape Saint Vincent
,
Richard Brydges Beechey
, 1881
In 1796, Captain
Robert Calder
(First Captain) and Captain
George Grey
(Second Captain), commanded
Victory
under Admiral Sir
John Jervis
's flag.
[16]
[28]
By the end of 1796, the British position in the Mediterranean had become untenable. Jervis had stationed his fleet off Cape St Vincent to prevent the Spanish from sailing north, whilst
Horatio Nelson
was to oversee the evacuation of
Elba
.
[29]
[30]
Once the evacuation had been accomplished, Nelson, in
HMS
Minerve
, sailed for
Gibraltar
. On learning that the Spanish fleet had passed by some days previous, Nelson left to rendezvous with Jervis on 11 February.
[31]
The Spanish fleet, which had been blown off course by easterly gales, was that night working its way to Cadiz.
[30]
The darkness and a dense fog meant Nelson was able to pass through the enemy fleet without being spotted and join Jervis on 13 February.
[32]
Jervis, whose fleet had been reinforced on 5 February by five ships from Britain under
Rear-Admiral William Parker
, now had 15 ships of the line.
[33]
The following morning, having drawn up his fleet into two columns, Jervis impressed upon the officers on
Victory
'
s quarterdeck how, "A victory to England is very essential at the moment". Jervis was not aware of the size of the fleet he was facing, but at around 0630 hours, received word that five Spanish warships were to the south-east.
[28]
By 0900 hours the first enemy ships were visible from
Victory
'
s masthead, and at 1100 hours, Jervis gave the order to form line of battle.
[34]
As the Spanish ships became visible to him, Calder reported the numbers to Jervis, but when he reached 27, Jervis replied, "Enough, Sir. No more of that. The die is cast and if there are 50 sail, I will go through them".
[35]
The Spanish were caught by surprise, sailing in two divisions with a gap that Jervis aimed to exploit.
[28]
The ship's log records how
Victory
halted the Spanish division, raking ships both ahead and astern, while Jervis' private memoirs recall how
Victory
'
s broadside so terrified
Principe de Asturias
that she "squared her yards, ran clear out of the battle and did not return".
[36]
Jervis, realising that the main bulk of the enemy fleet could now cross astern and reunite, ordered his ships to change course, but
Sir Charles Thompson
, leading the rear division, failed to comply. The following ships were now in a quandary over whether to obey the Admiral's signal or follow their divisional commander. Nelson, who had transferred to
HMS
Captain
, was the first to break off and attack the main fleet as Jervis had wanted and other ships soon followed his example.
[37]
[38]
The British fleet not only achieved its main objective, that of preventing the Spanish from joining their French and Dutch allies in the channel, but also captured four ships.
[38]
The dead and wounded from these four ships alone amounted to 261 and 342, respectively; more than the total number of British casualties of 73 dead and 327 wounded.
[39]
There was one fatality aboard
Victory
; a cannonball narrowly missed Jervis and decapitated a nearby sailor.
[38]
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