AUDIBERT DE RAMATUELLE, Joseph d'.

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Cours élémentaire de tactique navale, dédié à Bonaparte. First edition. This elegant copy is from the library of Edward Pellew, first Viscount Exmouth (1757-1833), "one of the foremost frigate captains of the age" (ODNB), with his book label and the bookplate of a later viscount.Running away to sea to escape a flogging at Truro grammar school, Viscount Exmouth began his naval career at age 13, joining the Juno, a fifth-rate frigate. He distinguished himself during the American War of Independence, the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and was given command of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1815. His destruction of the Algerine slaving flotilla in a bruising encounter in 1816, and the release of more than 1,200 Christian slaves, made him the hero of the hour. "In action he was a fearless inspiration and was an officer who, even as an admiral, led by example … In a time that produced a plethora of highly talented naval officers, Pellew was one of the most outstanding" (ODNB).Audibert de Ramatuelle (1759-1840) served as a lieutenant during the American Revolutionary War and then in the Mediterranean as a frigate captain in the Neapolitan navy. He began writing the Cours élémentaire around 1789 and modified it until the time of its publication, certainly taking note of the weakness of the French navy in the face of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Despite the efforts of theoreticians like Ramatuelle, "there is no evidence that the work of these men influenced service thinki

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