Tag Archives: Great Siege

John Singleton Copley

The birthplace of the Anglo-American artist John Singleton Copley was Boston, Massachusetts.Born in 1738 (or possibly 1737) to Irish immigrants, Copley became a successful artist in Boston and New York, but left for England in June 1774, followed by his family a year later, in order to escape the political turmoil on the eve of the American War of Independence.

St John the Baptist Church at Croydon in 1785, where John Singleton Copley was buried

He became one of the foremost artists in London and spent more than five years on the huge Continue reading →

Gibraltar Heritage Journal

The Gibraltar Heritage Trust has been publishing the Gibraltar Heritage Journal for 25 years. The Trust itself was formed a few years before the journal was launched. Each journal contains a range of articles connected with Gibraltar, and many have a social history theme.

Back numbers can be purchased as print copies or downloads on their website. We have an article in the latest volume, called “The British Salamanders”, an expanded version of a piece we wrote for Folklife Quarterly on a contemporary ballad relating to the Great Siege of Gibraltar. This year, Continue reading →

American Revolution paperback

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was very much part of the American Revolution (also called the American War of Independence). Our book Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History was published in hardback in the United States in March 2018, and today it is published as a Penguin paperback. The jacket design is more-or-less the same, with the striking painting by the American artist John Trumbull (you can read more about it here). The Penguin paperback has a lovely quote from the review of our book by Stephen Brumwell in The Wall Street Journal, and yesterday we saw another excellent review in the Military History magazine by James Baresel, in which he says : “The authors provide superb context regarding the siege, drawing on firsthand accounts and touching on military innovations developed during the protracted campaign. Just as fascinating is their analysis of its political aftermath” You can read that review in full here.

World Book Day paperback

The paperback of our book Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is published today in the UK by Abacus – on World Book Day! That’s a very fitting date, especially as the book tells the story of the Great Siege of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783, an incredible story within world history and the most lethal battle of the American Revolution (the American War of Independence). The paperback is also published to coincide with the 240th anniversary of the start of the Great Siege. It is available in all good bookshops, and the ISBN is 9780349142395. You can find out more information here.

The official launch of the paperback will be at an event at Gibraltar House in London on 1st April. See details here.

Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival

For our final talk of 2017 on our new book Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege of British History, we were invited to the Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival, which took place from 16th to 19th November. Because our talk was the very first one, we had no idea in advance what to expect.

The venue for our talk was the beautiful historic Garrison Library, where we have spent many hours doing research. Full of atmosphere, it was the focal point for the festival and provided the ideal setting, because it was originally founded by John Drinkwater. He served as an ensign in the 72nd Manchester Regiment throughout the Great Siege Continue reading →

George Augustus Eliott 300 years

First-class heroes

This year, 2017, is the 300th anniversary of the birth of George Augustus Eliott, who was governor of Gibraltar throughout the Great Siege (1779 to 1783). Lieutenant-General Eliott had a long military career and was eventually honoured with the title of Lord Heathfield. During the Great Siege, he had overall control of Gibraltar, both the military garrison and the civilian inhabitants, and his strategic skill is credited with the successful defence of the Rock. He is still commemorated on Gibraltar today, but elsewhere he is a largely forgotten hero.

Eliott commemorated on Gibraltar stamps, issued in 1967

on the 250th anniversary of his birth

Gibraltar is famed for its philately, issuing beautiful postage stamps to celebrate aspects of life on the Rock. In 1967, on the 250th anniversary of the birth of Eliott, commemorative stamps were issued. One shows him holding the Gibraltar key; one has his portrait on a map of Europe; Continue reading →