These are the reminiscences of Captain Crawford who served during the Napoleonic Wars from 1810 to 1815, first with Captain Sir Edward Owen in the blockading squadron off Boulogne, participating in the attempted attack on the French fleet in port using Fulton's "torpedoes" and later with Admiral Duckworth's squadron in the Mediterranean during the war with Turkey. He was involved in the Navy's support of the army in the Peninsula War, serving on the east coast of Spain at the siege of Taragona. Amongst other details he describes how to turn the quarterdeck of a frigate into a dance floor when giving a ball on board. He tells of improbable incidents and gives an intimate description of shipboard life.
