Naval History and National History. By J. Holland Rose. (Cambridge
University Press. 2s. 6d. net.)—The new Cambridge Professor of Naval History's inaugural lecture is a spirited plea for his subject. He points out how persistently our historians have underrated the importance of naval victories. Macaulay paid far less attention to the battle oft Cape La Hogue, which prevented Louis XIV. from giving effective help to the Irish insurgents, than to William III.'s indecisive land battles at Steinkirk and Landen. The Young Pretender's enterprise was virtually ruined at the outset by a hard-fought action in which Captain Brett of the ' Lion ' engaged the 'Elizabeth,' carrying the Pretender's French troops and arms, and forced her to return to a French port. But the exploit of the 'Lion ' is seldom mentioned by historians of the Forty-five. Admiral Saunders and his squadron were quite as much responsible for the fall of Quebec in 1759 as General Wolfe.
Previous page
