Without a Trace: HMS Blenheim

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  • Опубліковано 16 тра 2024
  • The losses of HMS Blenheim and HMS Java are just two of hundreds on the world’s oceans in the Age of Sail, and the fate of the two ships is mere speculation. Yet the disaster that took them both is history that deserves to be remembered.
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    This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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    All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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    Script by THG
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 116

  • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
    @TheHistoryGuyChannel  19 днів тому +19

    As a few viewers have noted, HMS Blenheim served in the Seven Years war, not the Thirty Years War. I apologize for the error.

  • @Paladin1873
    @Paladin1873 21 день тому +77

    Pride and arrogance can be more lethal than a well placed cannon ball.

    • @HM2SGT
      @HM2SGT 21 день тому +7

      *All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.*
      Mark Twain
      *Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.*
      Charles Darwin

    • @oldesertguy9616
      @oldesertguy9616 21 день тому +6

      How many people have been lost, and how many wars fought, for ego.

    • @MightyMezzo
      @MightyMezzo 21 день тому +1

      Amen.

    • @joanhoffman3702
      @joanhoffman3702 20 днів тому +4

      Hubris kills.

  • @ronwanttaja8209
    @ronwanttaja8209 20 днів тому +21

    A couple of trivia points:
    1. The description of the Blenheim as "Third Rate" refers ONLY to the number of guns it carried....no reflection on quality.
    2. Another Bounty "Mutineer" recaptured by HMS Pandora was Peter Heywood. He, too, was sentenced to death. He was pardoned, and subsequently rose up the ranks to retire as a Post Captain!
    3. HMS Java was replaced in the British Navy by a frigate captured from the French in 1811. It was sunk by USS Constitution in 1812. The Royal Navy had better luck with the THIRD HMS Java, commissioned in 1815 with a nearly 50-year life in the navy.

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  19 днів тому +7

      I talk about the RN ship rating system in this episode: ua-cam.com/video/agwBZqRIfAY/v-deo.htmlsi=KnMJpSNWVAhfTNhl

  • @stevepeyton9073
    @stevepeyton9073 21 день тому +33

    I put forth the theory of pirates because all good stories involve pirates

    • @aaronleverton4221
      @aaronleverton4221 18 днів тому +1

      In the absence of actual pirates, piratical will do and Troubridge appears to have been all that.

  • @user-oh2hs6jh5x
    @user-oh2hs6jh5x 21 день тому +43

    Earlier this week I read a book about the HMS Wager, which grounded, and eventually wrecked, off the coast of Patagonia in 1741. A story about mutiny, the struggle to get back to England, and the British government sweeping the mutiny under the rug. Well worth a read for those that like stories about the sea. "The Wager".

    • @kennethrouse7942
      @kennethrouse7942 21 день тому +6

      I read it last summer and agree.. I found it an excellent read! 👍😎

    • @david_1214
      @david_1214 21 день тому +3

      I just finished reading "The Wager" myself, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was thinking of it while I listened and watched to this episode.

    • @kennethrouse7942
      @kennethrouse7942 21 день тому +1

      I have one in the TBR (To-Be-Read) stack you might enjoy: "Mutiny on the Spanish Main (HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy's Revenge)" by Angus Konstam. 😉👍

    • @LymanPhillips
      @LymanPhillips 21 день тому +1

      Excellent. That's the next book on my list already. Great to hear the positive reviews.

    • @orbyfan
      @orbyfan 20 днів тому +1

      I bet the Wager makes for quite a story.

  • @chuckaddison5134
    @chuckaddison5134 21 день тому +20

    Morrison's opinion of Bligh is interesting considering that, after the mutiny, he commanded an open boat journey of some 3000 miles if I recall correctly. Previously he had been Captain Cooks Sailing master, and a skilled navigator. He is credited with leading the party that recovered Cook's body and, apparently, the foremast of the Resolution. from the Hawaiian natives. He was for a time made a govenor of New South Wales Australia and retired a Vice Admiral. He conducted himself and ships he commanded with distinction in several engagements.

    • @leighrate
      @leighrate 21 день тому

      Morrison was concerned only with saving his neck from the noose.
      Point to note is that Bligh was set up to fail. He was denied Marines. Had a contingent be assigned, that mutiny would probably not happened.

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  20 днів тому +18

      But while governor of New South Wales, his poor personal skills led to the Rum Rebellion, one of three mutinies against his command. Much can be said for Bligh, but plenty against as well. He was a good sailor, but clearly a poor commander of men.
      The Pitcairn Island Study Center puts it this way: Bligh always portrayed himself as being a perfect commander and his ship as being the happiest that ever sailed an ocean. It is thanks to Morrison that we have a check on Bligh’s accuracy.

    • @backwashjoe7864
      @backwashjoe7864 18 днів тому +2

      ​@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Bligh was tripped up by the second half of the maxim: History is written by the victors... but only if you get rid of all your enemies!

    • @aaronleverton4221
      @aaronleverton4221 18 днів тому +4

      Very, very minor correction in the grand scheme of things, but important to pedants, he was the Governor of New South Wales. Period. There was no Australia for the colony of New South Wales to be a part of. The separate colony of Van Dieman's Land would not be officiated until 1825, Victoria in 1851 and Queensland in 1859. The nation of Australia would not come into being until 01/01/(19)01. Prior to 1851 the eastern half and then two-thirds of the landmass known as Australia was officially the crown colony of New South Wales.

  • @chriskuzianik9507
    @chriskuzianik9507 20 днів тому +13

    Winston Churchill was once on an inspection tour and accidentally stepped into some knee deep wet concrete. An associate remarked "well, Mr. Churchill, it appears you met your Waterloo." To which Churchill replied "How dare you, sir? My Blenheim, perhaps." Your fun nugget of useless history trivia for the day.

    • @CaptApril123
      @CaptApril123 20 днів тому +3

      Churchill was a quick wit. I really must read some of his books.

    • @chadparsons50
      @chadparsons50 15 днів тому

      ​@@CaptApril123quite a few are free on pdf now (over 70 years since publication).

  • @darkadmiral106
    @darkadmiral106 20 днів тому +7

    So, they sailed a ship with a broken back, that was hagging so bad, that they had to cut a whole deck off? How horrifying!

  • @edwardrhoades6957
    @edwardrhoades6957 20 днів тому +9

    2:15 Didn't know Sir Edward Pellew was actually a real person. I thought he was created for the Hornblower series.

    • @167curly
      @167curly 19 днів тому +2

      Pellew was a close friend of the fictional Hornblower, helping him in his naval career, and ranked highly in several of C.S.Forrester's Hornblower novels. I believe that there was an HMS Java in a battle with one of the US Navy's big frigates in the war of 1812, but presumably a namesake of the Blenheim's lost escort? The Royal Navy has a tradition of naming vessels after its successful officers, HMS Nelson, Anson, Drake, Hood etc, as well as its successful actions, Camperdown, Nile, etc. Blenheim was the major land battle in Queen Ann's reign, lead by John Churchill who became the Duke of Marlborough, and an ancestor of Winston. I recall an R.N.frigate, in the 1950s named HMS Troubridge.

  • @XPLAlN
    @XPLAlN 18 днів тому +3

    Dear History Guy, my first assignment as Midshipman in the Royal Navy was aboard Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory. True story and history that deserves to be forgotten. Not that I intend to allow that to happen.

  • @65gtotrips
    @65gtotrips 19 днів тому +4

    Those ships were bigger than we tend to believe; 900 men is akin to the amount of sailors and officers on a light to heavy cruiser in WWII

  • @RetiredSailor60
    @RetiredSailor60 20 днів тому +6

    My 3rd ship, USS Kinkaid DD 965, was involved in a fatal collision in the Malacca Straits in Nov 1989.

  • @ponyote
    @ponyote 21 день тому +12

    So many things seem to come down to hubris.

  • @ElessarofGondor
    @ElessarofGondor 20 днів тому +5

    Obligatory plug for the Aubrey Maturin series for those who might be interested in naval fiction of this time period. Probably some of the best historical fiction ever written.

    • @aaronleverton4221
      @aaronleverton4221 18 днів тому

      Funnily enough I thought Master and Commander an excellent film, but almost all of my historical naval reading of the age of sail has been by Douglas Reeman, er, I mean Alexander Kent.

  • @rogueyun9613
    @rogueyun9613 21 день тому +16

    Truth is always stranger than fiction. Love this channel! Thank you!

  • @robertjensen1438
    @robertjensen1438 21 день тому +71

    Two new recruits were on the deck of a ship.
    One turns to other and says, "It's awfully quiet on deck tonight. Isn't it?"
    Other recruit replies, "Everyone must be watching the band."
    "There is no band on this ship."
    "No, I definitely heard the captain say, a band on ship."

  • @user-oh2hs6jh5x
    @user-oh2hs6jh5x 21 день тому +19

    Welcome to Friday's class. Please be seated.

  • @badhat3051
    @badhat3051 21 день тому +6

    The sea was and continues to be a dangerous mistrous

  • @SER540x
    @SER540x 21 день тому +7

    What! No pirates? @ 9:42 you say that HMS Blenheim fought in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Quite a feat, in that she was built in 1761!

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  20 днів тому +4

      Oh gosh- fair point. Should have said the Seven Years War.

    • @orbyfan
      @orbyfan 20 днів тому +3

      @@TheHistoryGuyChannel Missed it by that much!

  • @saxon6
    @saxon6 21 день тому +21

    Basically two ships disappeared in a storm, end of story.
    THG: Hold my beer.
    The way you flesh out a story makes these videos compelling viewing.

  • @frankgulla2335
    @frankgulla2335 20 днів тому +6

    Thank you, THG. A great "tale of sail".

  • @jec1ny
    @jec1ny 21 день тому +4

    Thanks for this fascinating and tragic story. A very minor correction, when you refer to her service history you reference the Thirty Years war. I think you meant the Seven Years War, as the former had ended in 1648.

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  20 днів тому +3

      Correct, I apologize for the error.

    • @jec1ny
      @jec1ny 20 днів тому +2

      @@TheHistoryGuyChannel No worries. I made a bigger mistake ordering my coffee yesterday.

  • @revolutionaryhamburger
    @revolutionaryhamburger 21 день тому +15

    It could have been pirates.

    • @lp-xl9ld
      @lp-xl9ld 21 день тому +3

      After all...well, someone had to say it

    • @MightyMezzo
      @MightyMezzo 21 день тому +1

      Except, what self-respecting pirate would go after THAT ship?

    • @billwendell6886
      @billwendell6886 21 день тому

      Sea nargylls

  • @andypandy9013
    @andypandy9013 20 днів тому +3

    Thank you for not saying "The" HMS Blenheim. 🙂

  • @clwool
    @clwool 14 днів тому +2

    what a great storey teller

  • @rackets001
    @rackets001 21 день тому +2

    Pretty crazy story! Thanks for sharing!

  • @rwarren58
    @rwarren58 21 день тому +3

    One for the algorithm. Another good episode. Can’t wait for Sundays.

  • @bigsarge2085
    @bigsarge2085 21 день тому +2

    Always interesting, thank you!

  • @BasicDrumming
    @BasicDrumming 20 днів тому +2

    I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

  • @shawnr771
    @shawnr771 15 днів тому +1

    Thank you for the lesson.

  • @So-CalNevAri82
    @So-CalNevAri82 20 днів тому +2

    Another great video in the books T.H.G.

  • @theblackbear211
    @theblackbear211 20 днів тому +2

    Thanks, well told.

  • @kellybasham3113
    @kellybasham3113 21 день тому +2

    Love your videos

  • @ThomasEJohnson
    @ThomasEJohnson 20 днів тому +2

    Thanks for the lesson. 😊

  • @joelbrown3479
    @joelbrown3479 21 день тому +2

    Thanks for the wonderful the wonderful tale 😎😎😎

  • @procrastinator41
    @procrastinator41 15 днів тому

    The ship’s condition makes captain Bligh’s post-mutiny situation seem literally favorable.

  • @samstewart4807
    @samstewart4807 21 день тому +3

    rumble ONLY has a commerical at the begining of each video. these interruptions are terrible

  • @billwendell6886
    @billwendell6886 21 день тому +2

    Request- Sinking of the Bounty 2.

  • @Hypatia52
    @Hypatia52 20 днів тому +3

    So, who, what or where is Harrier? To have a ship named that and a type of jet, Harrier must be very important.

    • @earlferguson4368
      @earlferguson4368 20 днів тому +3

      Webster - Definition (Entry 2 of 3)
      : any of a genus (Circus) of slender hawks having long angled wings and long legs and feeding chiefly on small mammals, reptiles, and insects

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  19 днів тому +3

      It is a type of hawk. It is a fairly typical name for a small RN vessel. She was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop, whose class also included HMS Osprey, Swallow, Raven, Redwing, Ring Dove, Peacock, Sparrowhawk, Crane, Herron, Gannet and Penguin.

    • @Hypatia52
      @Hypatia52 17 днів тому

      @@TheHistoryGuyChannel Thanks History Guy!

  • @vespelian
    @vespelian 20 днів тому +2

    Interesting though one correction required. HMS Blenheim was not a veteran of the Thirty Years War, the Seven Years perhaps.

  • @evensgrey
    @evensgrey 9 днів тому

    After the mutiny, Captain Bligh was subject to a Board of Inquiry. They concluded that he had not been harsh ENOUGH with his crew. (He merely had men flogged for actions that most Royal Navy captains in the era would have had men hanged for.)

  • @bronwynecg
    @bronwynecg 21 день тому +4

    Sorry I’m late. Good morning! 👋🏽 😊

  • @dwaynekoblitz6032
    @dwaynekoblitz6032 16 днів тому

    No one realizes the size of oceans until you've crossed a couple of them. Extremely easy to just disappear.

  • @timothyclark-sl4il
    @timothyclark-sl4il 20 днів тому +1

    "hot action involving seamen" Oh baby!

  • @russcrawford3310
    @russcrawford3310 21 день тому +4

    Wow ... Bligh is one of the worst? ... you must not think much of Cap't Cook then ... "spare the rod spoil the sailor?" ... Fletcher Christian was certainly a spoiled lil' baby ... not man enough for the Royal Navy _before_ Lord Sandwich's tenure ...

  • @dennistate5953
    @dennistate5953 20 днів тому +2

    I tolt a young guy one time: never let a man carry a gun for you what don't cry. He was confused. Walked on me dripping tears. Stand by my statement.

  • @civillady13
    @civillady13 16 днів тому

    If the HMS Blenheim was in such dire condition then why would it still be in service?

  • @jeffbangkok
    @jeffbangkok 21 день тому +1

    Good night

  • @merlinwizard1000
    @merlinwizard1000 21 день тому +2

    14th, 17 May 2024

  • @WTH1812
    @WTH1812 21 день тому +1

    Cape Horn is probable cause.

  • @karencorcoran4628
    @karencorcoran4628 20 днів тому +1

    Sounds like "they" didn't want certain parties alive.

  • @oliverschulz8842
    @oliverschulz8842 20 днів тому +2

    🐬🦭🦭🐟🐠🦈🐙

  • @HM2SGT
    @HM2SGT 21 день тому +4

    _Eternal Father, strong to save,_
    _Whose arm does bind the restless wave,_
    _Who bids the mighty ocean deep_
    _Its own appointed limits keep;_
    _O hear us when we cry to Thee_
    _For those in peril on the sea._
    William Whiting
    1860

  • @alexius23
    @alexius23 21 день тому +1

    👨‍🏫👨‍🏫👨‍🏫🧙🏻‍♂

  • @dennisboulais7905
    @dennisboulais7905 21 день тому +6

    Going anyplace by sail in the 18 hundreds, required a faith in God to protect you lest you be terrified of the voyage. Square rigged sailing ships were at the mercy of the winds and currents as the fate of the Spanish Armada can attest.

  • @jonathanwetherell3609
    @jonathanwetherell3609 21 день тому +1

    Queer things happen at sea.

  • @chadparsons50
    @chadparsons50 15 днів тому

    Men who go down to the sea in ships.

  • @J.A.Smith2397
    @J.A.Smith2397 21 день тому +2

    Tally ho

  • @jerrylee7898
    @jerrylee7898 21 день тому +3

    Yay, first! Thanks for such fascinating videos.

    • @mtmadigan82
      @mtmadigan82 21 день тому +3

      Whoa there speedy, don't be so quick. Your wife asked me to tell you that.

  • @invertedpolarity6890
    @invertedpolarity6890 21 день тому +4

    I enjoy your videos. Please stop the Shorts. YT Shorts are terrible and there is no way to turn them off.

    • @ac17uk
      @ac17uk 21 день тому +4

      Let the man do what he wants.

    • @Toxked
      @Toxked 21 день тому

      I think they requir shorts for the algorithm.

    • @bartsanders1553
      @bartsanders1553 21 день тому +2

      ​@@ToxkedIt's a trap. Posting shorts only boosts the algorithm for a couple weeks and then starts hiding the longform videos. Completely changes your exposure to people that don't watch longform. I've seen it killing several channels this year.

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  21 день тому +10

      I had to think about shorts a lot. I really didn’t prefer that YT jump into that space. But they did, so I am there. I don’t want to be absent from half of the space where content is recommended.
      My strategy is to use shorts as a teaser to draw people to the long form videos.

    • @bartsanders1553
      @bartsanders1553 21 день тому +1

      @@TheHistoryGuyChannel Just be careful. There are a lot of CCs showing poor results long term after starting to use them, particularly with new exposers. Hopefully it's something YT will fix.