Once More, Lafeyette, With Feeling

 

1. This just proves that some people have waaay too much time on their hands.
   It is pretty cool though.

   Posted by Rich K       09/08/2014  at  04:08 PM  



2. Rich, I gather that tens of thousands of people donated the entire €30 million cost. The work was done by volunteers and a small cadre of internationally famous wooden ship builders and iron workers. I gather the historic rope works building (La Corderie Royale) was restored and used to make the hemp ropes for this, and is now a tourist attraction in itself. One of those links has the story, although there are loads more links out there. The sails were woven by one woman; I’m sure that took years and was not volunteer work.

   The project was so large that it actually wound up revitalizing the town of Rochefort, rebuilding the rope walk, the sail works, the iron works, and the dry docks where ships once were built.

   

   Lots more links than what I listed ...

   Posted by Drew458       09/08/2014  at  06:11 PM  



3. Oh, I’m sure buttloads of folks from all over lent a hand. Out here a few decades ago the same type went nuts restoring an old steam locomotive here in Portland. Spend boocoo bucks (all doneted of course) and then took the thing on a ride to the east coast and back.
   It amazes me how with all the supposed problems we have in America that things like this achieve priority over them. Which proves that all the BS about America in crisis all the time is just that,,,,,,,,,,,BS.

   Posted by Rich K       09/08/2014  at  06:27 PM  



4. Oh, if your interested in that story(choochoo) go here:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OR&N_197

   Posted by Rich K       09/08/2014  at  06:41 PM  



5. Oh, forgot,This one too:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_4449

   Posted by Rich K       09/08/2014  at  06:43 PM  



6. And lest we forget,This one:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_Portland_and_Seattle_700

   As you can see,Portland has a thing about trains.

   Posted by Rich K       09/08/2014  at  06:45 PM  



7. This is a work of art. Funny, don’t you think? Build such a work of art and send it into battle to be blown away. What a waste.

   Posted by Christopher       09/08/2014  at  09:01 PM  



8. Agreed, but I’ll toss in a mitigating factor - ships in the late 1700s were armed with 12lb cannon. Deadly against people without doubt, and against sails and rope. Not too sure that they’d be all that good against 18” of solid oak hull. Certainly nothing like the 16, 18, 24, 32, and 36lb cannons that came along in later decades. Compared to HMS Victory, this one is a plain-Jane rubber boat for the bathtub, without firepower or fancy embellishment. I’m thinking they held up better in battle than we think they did.

   Posted by Drew458       09/08/2014  at  10:44 PM  



9. I’m no expert on 18th-19th century naval warfare. How many ships actually sank at Trafalgar? No idea. I just know that Lord Nelson won even though he didn’t live through the battle. You might be right Drew.

   Posted by Christopher       09/08/2014  at  11:27 PM  



10. Trafalgar? I don’t have your answer, but look up the HMS Tremeraire. Fought for hours that day. Fought all day long mere feet from the enemy ships. Captured 2. Saved the Victory. Had her masts shot off. 750 sailors, 45 killed. Probably hit more than 1000 times by big cannonballs. Maybe 2000. 3000. Didn’t sink.

    As [Tremeraire’s Captain] Harvey later recalled in a letter to his wife “Perhaps never was a ship so circumstanced as mine, to have for more than three hours two of the enemy’s line of battle ships lashed to her.”

    And this was after simultaneously fighting off a 140 gun ship, an 80 gun ship, and a 74 gun ship for half an hour. And then using the ship as a battering ram. And while tied to the other two ships it fought, getting blasted from behind by a 112 gun Spaniard. All of the cannons involved were 24 or 36 pounders at that point, far more powerful than Hermione’s 12 pounders.
    Posted by Drew458       09/09/2014  at  11:00 AM  



11. The 12lb cannon ball might not sound much compared to the 18 or 24 or 36 but they would generally be pitted against similar ships of their era so they could be pretty devastating. The main problem would be splinters from the shattered timbers. The other factor is that they could be loaded with chain or bar shot to take out the rigging. Once you have the ship dis-masted it has no maneuverability and that’s when they would frequently attempt to carry the ship by boarding. Frigates like this were not intended to fight in fleet battles with ships of the line. Their role was mainly scouting and intercepting trade. If you want a well researched and very entertaining read take a look at Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey/Maturin series of yarns.

    Posted by LyndonB       09/09/2014  at  12:31 PM  



12. If what I saw in The Patriot was correct, those little cannonballs were murder on troops. I will look up the HMS Tremeraire. Sounds like an interesting tidbit next time the wargame club is doing a Napoleonic naval battle.

    Posted by Christopher       09/10/2014  at  03:55 PM  

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