Lightfoot Winds

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This book is a sequel to the author’s previous work that studied the life of Sir John Forbes (1787-1861). Lightfoot Winds focuses on events taking place during Forbes’ service as a ship’s surgeon in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars between 1807 and 1815. The book gives an insight into naval life as authenticated by the Ships’ Logs and Muster Books of those vessels in which the Scottish doctor served at a time when the Royal Navy enjoyed command of the oceans, following Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in October 1805. Forbes and fellow medical officers were fortunate that the dreaded scurvy was by now virtually eliminated from the Fleet, a topic covered in some detail here. But there were many other challenges to be overcome in keeping a ship’s company fighting fit in a war that raged, under sail, over thousands of miles of ocean.