Narrative of the Loss of H. M. S. ?Captain? by James May, R.N., the Sole Surviving Officer.

MAY, James.

About this Item

Brompton Kent, printed by James Gale, 1872. 12mo. (4),+ 44 pp,+ 3 lith. plates. Contemporary red half calf, gilt spine with black label and marbled board papers, slight wear to spine. Owner?s signature of front fly-leaf dated 1872 and with an ink mark in the margin of p. 8. Rare firsthand account of the disaster of H.M.S. Captain in September 6 in 1870, the worst suffered by the British Royal Navy in the long peace period during the 19th century. Only 18 people survived, among them the gunner James May, 36 years old. His pamphlet is the primary source of the disaster and includes a list of the 18 survivors.H.M.S. Captain, constructed by Cowper Phipps Coles, was one of the first oceangoing ironclads with rotating turrets, but still a sail ship. The building was completed in March 1870 and she was commissioned to captain Hugh Talbot Burgoune in April 30 1870. She was from the beginning too heavy and the freeboard was too low but in trials the following months she performed well and seemed to fulfill all expectations.On the 6 September 1870 she was cruising near Cape Finisterre in Spain together with the combinded Mediterranean and Channel Squadrons. In the afternoon the Admiral Alexander Milne was onboard and he was disturbed by the waves washing over the weather deck during its high speed and the high waves. The weather worsened however and at midnight the heeling of the ship was over 18 degrees. The captain ordered to drop the fore topsail and relaese the ropes holding the others. But before the order could be carried out she capzised and sank with the loss of 472 lives including its captain and its constructor Coles. The 18 survivors managed to get hold of a saving boat that had broken free. The search for the wreck is still ongoing.

Seller Inventory # 118242

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Narrative of the Loss of H. M. S. ?Captain? by James May, R.N., the Sole Surviving Officer.
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Hardcover / Hardback