THE SIGNAL BOOKS OF THE GREAT WAR

INTRODUCTORY

The second form in which the new Fighting Instructions, originated by Lord Howe, have come down to us, is that which became fixed in the service after 1790; that is, instead of two folio volumes with the Signals in one and the Explanatory Instructions in the other, we have, at least after 1799, one small quarto containing both, and entitled ‘Signal Book for Ships of War.’  The earliest known example, however, of the new quarto form is a Signal Book only, which refers to a set of Instructions apparently similar to those of 1799.  These have not been found, but presumably they were in a separate volume.  The Signal Book is in the Admiralty Library labelled in manuscript ‘1792-3(?),’ but, as before, no date or signature appears in the body of it.  From internal evidence, however, as well as from collateral testimony, there is little difficulty in identifying it as Lord Howe’s second code issued in 1790.

The feature of the book that first strikes us is that, though the bulk of it is printed, all the most important battle signals, as well as many others, have been added in MS., while at the end are the words, ’Given on board the Queen Charlotte, to Capt. ——­, commander of his majesty’s ship the ——­, by command of the admiral.’  It is thus obvious that the original printed form, which contains many further unfilled blanks for additional signals, was used as a draft for a later edition.  No such edition is known to exist in print, but both the original signals and the additions correspond exactly with the MS. code which was used by Lord Howe in his campaign of 1794.  In editing this code for the Society in his Logs of the Great Sea Fights, Admiral Sturges Jackson hazarded the conjecture that it had not then been printed, but was supplied to each ship in the fleet in MS. The admiralty volume goes far to support his conjecture, and it is quite possible that we have here the final draft from which the MS. copies were made.

As to the actual date at which the code was completed there is not much difficulty.  The Queen Charlotte was Howe’s flagship in the Channel fleet from 1792-4, but it was also his flagship in 1790 at the time of the ‘Spanish Armament,’ when he put to sea in immediate expectation of war with Spain.  While the tension lasted he is known to have used the critical period in exercising his fleet in tactical evolutions, in order to perfect it in a new code of signals which he had been elaborating for several years.[1] It is probable therefore that this Signal Book belongs to that year, and that it is one of several copies which Howe had printed with the battle signals blank for his own use while he was elaborating his system by practical experiment.  This conjecture is brought to practical certainty by a rough and much-worn copy of it in the United Service Institution.  It was made by Lieut.  John Walsh, of H.M.S.  Marlborough, one of Howe’s fleet, and inside the cover he has written ’Earl Howe’s signals by which the Grand Fleet was governed 1790, 1791, and 1794.’