Revenge in the Name of Honour - United States versus Macedonian, 25th October 1812.

The Macedonian in action with the United States - Derek Gardner

 

With the recent completion of the Camperdown project it's time to change over to a new work cycle for the forthcoming twelve to eighteen months, and I have decided to start building my small ship models alongside those for the next fleet-action project, with an idea to be gaming both as time progresses and to include a new theme into my small ships project, alongside the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic one, by starting work on the US Navy and the Royal Navy vessels that opposed them in the War of 1812.

JJ's Wargames - Revenge in the Name of Honour

I thought I would adopt the title 'Revenge in the Name of Honour' for my War of 1812 theme in fond recollection of reading Nicholas Kaizer's recent work on this subject published by Helion and reviewed here on JJ's in 2021, which has continued to provide great inspiration to commence work on these models as soon as they became available and indeed provided some ideas on the portrayal of the ships involved with the colour illustrations by Florian Richter.

With the models now available from the likes of Henry Turner the specific vessels in the American and British navies are much more easily represented on the table and to start things off in the manner we wish to proceed I present my interpretations of the USS United States and HMS Macedonian, that encountered one another on the 25th October 1812, 500 miles south of the Azores and south-west of Madeira, as illustrated. 

This the second of the three frigate actions of 1812 that would shake the Royal Navy from its apathy that had seemingly caused some British captain's to think that they had simply to run up the ensign and the battle was all but won; and, as Nicholas Kaiser points out, a sense of public outrage soon followed in the wake of this blow to British prestige, following the previous years of almost constant naval success;

'The public expressed a sense of shock, and many commentators in the Naval Chronicle, the most prominent naval publication, called for revenge - indeed they often called for annihilation through overwhelming force . . . 

With such losses, as the account of the analysis by the British admiralty following the loss of the Macedonian, not immediately but eventually forcing a rethink;

'Civilian and naval administrators alike reasoned that one-on-one fights with America's heavy frigates were too great a risk.' 

The two rival captains in this action, US Captain Stephen Decatur, who held the unofficial rank of commodore and British Captain John Surman Carden had met before the outbreak of war in 1812 in Norfolk, Virginia, the latter having just taken command of the crack, new, 38-gun Lively class frigate HMS Macedonian, only recently launched on the 2nd of June 1810.

HMS Nisus, another Lively Class frigate launched two years before Macedonian. The captain's reports on the performance of this class were remarkable for their absence of serious criticism, noting that they were fast, recording 13kts large and 10-11kts close-hauled, weatherly and manoeuvrable. They were also excellent heavy-weather ships, perfectly able to cope with a "head sea", and stowed their provisions well, with a capability of stowing provisions and fresh water for up to six months of cruising.

Carden's stay in Norfolk, saw him socialising and regularly dining with Decatur and his wife, and the two officers became friends over a joint shared interest in frigates, with the United States, nicknamed the 'Old Wagon', being by far the slowest of the three American heavy frigates, but a prestigious command being one of the most powerful frigates in the world, then carrying a heavier armament than her sisters; while Macedonian was considered exceptionally fast and one of the best trained frigates in gunnery.

Commodore Stephen Decatur by Charles Bird King.
Decatur supervised the construction of several U.S. naval vessels, one of which he later commanded. Promoted at age 25, he is the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy. His service was characterized by acts of heroism and exceptional performance, and his naval victories in the Barbary Wars, Quasi Wars and War of 1812, helped to establish the United States Navy as a rising power.

A seeming temptation of fate records during one of Carden's and Decatur's discussions, they had joked on making a wager over a beaver hat on the outcome of a prospective contest between their two frigates, with Carden reportedly lecturing Decatur on the dangers of over-arming frigates and his considered opinion from British experience that an 18-pounder armament was more effective that one of 24-pounders given the increased ease of aiming and loading the lighter piece for gun-crews.

HMS Macedonian 

My interpretation of HMS Macedonian uses the 3D printed hull of the Lively class frigate from Turner Miniatures and Only Games combined with boats, masts, sails, anchors and figurehead from Warlord Games' Black Seas frigate.

HMS Macedonian, a 38-gun fifth-rate Lively-class frigate was built at Woolwich Dockyard, England in 1809, launched on the 2nd of June 1810, and commissioned the same month under the command of Captain Lord William FitzRoy.

Macedonian first delivered a company of soldiers to Lisbon, Portugal, then remained in the area, guarding against the possibility of French naval attack. 

On 20 February 1811, she collided with Ives – a British merchant ship bound from Demerara on the north coast of South America to Greenock, Scotland – in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles off Lisbon, and Ives was so severely damaged that she was set afire and Macedonian took her crew aboard.

While Macedonian operated off Portugal, FitzRoy made personal profit by falsification of records of ships' stores, for which he was court-martialled in March 1811 and dismissed from the service, although was quietly reinstated in August 1811, presumably due to his aristocratic connections. FitzRoy's replacement, William Waldegrave, was an interim appointment and within a few weeks was  replaced by John Surnam Carden. 

In January 1812, Macedonian was ordered to secretly deliver some bills of exchange to Norfolk, Virginia, and to bring back an equivalent quantity of gold and silver currency, as part of a scheme to keep the Bank of England solvent; however during the visit, Carden socialised with the notables of Norfolk, including Captain Stephen Decatur, and ended up bungling the mission by inadvertently revealing what was planned, returning to Lisbon empty handed.

In September 1812, Carden and Macedonian was ordered to accompany an East Indiaman as far as Madeira, and then to cruise in search of prizes as long as supplies permitted. Macedonian left Madeira on the 22nd of October 1812, but only a few days later, on the morning of the 25th encountered USS United States, commanded by Carden's former dinner host Decatur.

USS United States

Similarly my interpretation of USS United States uses the 3D printed hull from Turner Miniatures and Only Games combined with boats, masts, sails, anchors and figurehead from Warlord Games', Black Seas third rate. She is shown, as seen in many illustrations of this combat, with Decatur's commodore pennant (homemade) at the main and the fifteen star, stars and stripes at the fore. The long narrow hull, with a long line of 24-pounders on the gundeck of these frigates is nicely captured in these prints

Originally designated as "Frigate A" and subsequently named United States by President George Washington, her keel was laid down in 1795 at Humphreys' shipyard in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

Joshua Humphreys' design was deep, long on keel and narrow of beam for mounting very heavy guns, incorporating a diagonal scantling (rib) scheme to limit hogging while giving the ships extremely heavy planking, that gave the hull greater strength than those of more lightly built frigates. 

1:48. Plan showing the body plan, starboard outline, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for President (captured 1815), a captured United States class Fifth Rate, as taken off at Portsmouth Dockyard. The President was recorded with a displacement of 1533 tons/bm and James suggests all three sister ships, United States, President and Constitution, were very similar. Whilst the United States armament is shown as 32 × long 24-pounders and 24 × 42-pounder carronades (War of 1812).

Humphreys developed his design after realizing that the fledgling United States could not match the navy sizes of the European states, and he therefore designed his frigates to be able to overpower other frigates, but with the speed to escape from a ship of the line.

On the 10th of May 1797 she was the first American warship to be launched under the Naval Act of 1794, and the first ship of the United States Navy, fitting out at Philadelphia during the spring of 1798 and, on the 3rd July was ordered to proceed to sea following deteriorated relations with the French government that had started the Quasi-War.

During the Quasi War the United States was commanded by Captain John Barry, narrowly avoiding opening fire on the British 38-gun frigate Thetis whilst sailing to Boston, the latter having flown French colours, changing to British colours as the United States manoeuvred closer in readiness to fire.

Departing for the West Indies on the 26th July 1798 she would capture two French privateers before returning with them to New Castle, Delaware in September. In the following month she was damaged springing her bowsprit in a severe gale off New England and following repairs back in New Castle she returned to the West Indies to take command of an American squadron alongside her sister ship Constitution.

On the 3rd February 1799, United States sighted a French ship and began a five-hour pursuit of the schooner L'Amour de la Patrie, eventually sinking the schooner with one 24-pounder shot and stopping to pick up survivors. 

On the 26th February, United States pursued the French privateer Democrat, which had recently taken prize of the English ship Cicero, managing to recapture Cicero and Maria, another one of Democrat's prizes, but ending the pursuit of the privateer when she escaped into shallow water. 

On the 26th March, United States took the French privateer La Tartueffe and its prize, the American ship Vermont southeast of Antigua, and also recorded the capture of Le Bonaparte sometime in 1799. 

In April, Barry turned over command of the squadron to Thomas Truxtun, and the United States sailed for home arriving at New Castle, Delaware, on the 9th of May. 

United States underwent refitting and repairs, and sailed again on the 1st of July with orders to patrol the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, during which she encountered a storm on the 6th which sprung her bowsprit again, however she continued on to deliver an artillery company to Fort Moultrie and then put into the Gosport Navy Yard for repairs on the 22nd, returning to patrols on the 13th August which proved to be an uneventful period.

United States returned to Newport, Rhode Island, in September and in October she was ordered to deliver Oliver Ellsworth and William Davie as envoys to France to negotiate a settlement of the Quasi War, seeing her depart on the 3rd of November

The treaty of peace with France was ratified on 3rd of February 1801 and United States returned home in April, following an act of Congress, passed on the 3rd March 1801 and signed by President John Adams, which saw the retention of thirteen frigates, with seven of them, including United States, to be placed in a reserve fleet, seeing her ordered to the Washington Navy Yard and decommissioned.

United States remained in the Washington Navy Yard throughout the First Barbary War of 1801–1805 and up until 1809, when orders were given to ready her for active service. On 10th June 1810, now under the command of Stephen Decatur, she sailed to Norfolk, Virginia, for refitting.

Battle of the 23 August 1812 between the US frigate President and the English frigate Belvidera - NMM

The United States declared war against Britain on the 18th June 1812, and three days later Decatur and United States sailed from New York City within a squadron under the command of Commodore John Rodgers in President, and included the Congress, Hornet, and Argus; on a seventy-day North Atlantic cruise that would result in the pursuit, on the 23rd of June, of HMS Belvidera, encountered whilst the squadron hunted a Jamaica bound British convoy.

Belvidera escaped but the Americans continued after the convoy until Rodgers called off the pursuit on the 13th July, and during their return trip to Boston, the squadron captured seven merchant ships and recaptured one American vessel.

After refitting, United States, still under Decatur's command, sailed again on the 8th October with Rodgers but on the 12th parted from the squadron for her own patrol, and at dawn, on the 25th, five hundred miles south of the Azores, lookouts on board reported seeing a sail 12 miles to windward, which soon revealed the familiar lines of HMS Macedonian.

United States vs Macedonian

The Action Between the Macedonian and the United States, 25th Oct, 1812 -Derek Gardner

William James recounts what happened next:

'On the 25th, soon after daylight, in latitude 29 north, longitude 29 30' west, this American 44, being close hauled on the larboard tack with the wind blowing fresh from the south-south-east)-, descried on her weather-bow, at the distance of about 12 miles, the British 38-gun frigate Macedonian, Captain John Surman Garden. The Macedonian immediately set her foretopmast and topgallant studding-sails, and bore away in chase, steering a course for the weather-bow of the stranger.

Map taken from Mahn.

While the tracks of the two ships are thus gradually approximating, we will give an account of the force of each. In addition to her 28 main-deck long 18-pounders, the Macedonian mounted on the quarter-deck and forecastle 16 carronades, 32-pounders, fitted with their chocks outside (a new, but as far as we can learn, not much approved principle), the two long 12-pounders, and two brass long French 8-pounders (the captain's private property), total 48 guns, exclusive of the usual 18-pounder launch carronade. 

The crew of the Macedonian at this time consisted of 262 men and 35 boys. To account for this extraordinary proportion of boys, we must state that, shortly before the Macedonian sailed on her last cruise, 12 supernumerary boys were put on board, by way, possibly, of "strengthening" her crew. With respect to the quality of the 35 boys, very few of them, it appears, were worth ship-room.

  

It has already been shown, that the established armament of the United-States was 56 guns, long 24-pounders, and 42-pounder carronades. * Subsequently the ship appears to have landed two of her 42s, and to have received on board, in lieu of them, a travelling 18-pounder carronade ; making her carriage-guns, in all, 55. She also mounted a brass howitzer in each top. With respect to crew, the United-States victualled 477 men and one lad or boy.

At about 7 h. 30 m. a.m. the two ships were not above three miles apart. Having by this time hoisted her ensign and broad pendant, the United-States was known to be one of the American 44s; but, having on board one of Commodore Rodgers's spy-glasses, Commodore Decatur mistook the Macedonian for a much larger ship, a sail of the line probably. The United-States accordingly wore round on the starboard tack, keeping a point or two off the wind. 

Having sailed from Portsmouth as long ago as the 29th of September, Captain Carden, although he knew of the war, had received no information of the Guerrière's capture. The Macedonian had since been at Madeira, where she had heard that the American frigate Essex was cruising; but, even had the force of the United-States in guns and men been at this time fully known, such was the confidence of victory on board the Macedonian, that every officer, man, and boy, except perhaps the eight foreigners*, who requested and were allowed to go below, was in the highest spirit. 

*(note: Kaiser states that these are likely the handful of Americans in the crew who requested not to be commanded to fight their own countrymen and were angrily dismissed by Carden and sent to their stations, contrary to James' account).

It has already been shown, that the established armament of the United States was 56 guns, long 24-pounders, and 42-pounder carronades. Subsequently the ship appears to have landed two of her 42s, and to have received on board, in lieu of them, a travelling 18-pounder carronade ; making her carriage-guns, in all, 55. She also mounted a brass howitzer in each top. With respect to crew, the United States victualled 477 men and one lad or boy.'

Both ships were immediately cleared for action and commenced manoeuvres at 0900, that saw Captain Carden decide not to risk crossing the bows of United States to rake her, but chose instead to haul closer to the wind on a parallel course with the American vessel, this in spite of his First Lieutenant David Hope, suggesting that they try and close the distance as quickly as possible, hoping to either rake the enemy or force a close action.

For his part, Decatur intended to engage Macedonian from fairly long range, where his 24-pounders would have the advantage over the 18-pounders of the British, and thus the United States wore and turned away from the wind, intentionally keeping back so that Decatur could make full use of his longer main battery.

The actual battle developed according to Decatur's plan. United States began the action at 0920 by firing an inaccurate broadside at Macedonian, that was answered immediately by the British vessel, bringing down a small spar of the United States. Decatur's next broadside destroyed Macedonian's mizzen top mast, letting her driver gaff fall and so giving the advantage in manoeuvre to the American frigate. 

United States next took up position off Macedonian's quarter and proceeded to riddle her with shot, and by noon, Macedonian was a dismasted hulk and was forced to surrender, having suffered 104 casualties against 12 in United States, which emerged from the battle relatively unscathed.

Kaiser's account described the effect of the close range fire Macedonian recieved from United States:

'The fire of the United States inflicted absolute carnage on and below Macedonians decks as scores of men were killed or wounded, covering the decks with blood. Sounds of gunnery were punctuated by the screams of the dying. The maintopmast, carrying the only sail currently set on the mainmast, was shot away by enemy fire and fell forwards, pushing the fore topmast with it. The mess of canvass wood and rope collapsed onto the forecastle, covering the gun platform with wreckage and slowing the ship nearly to a halt. Decatur took full advantage of the situation and tacked into the wind, coming up on Macedonians quarter and sending several devastating raking broadsides clean through her hull. 

Decatur took full advantage of the situation and tacked into the wind, coming up on Macedonians quarter and sending several devastating raking broadsides clean through her hull

Samuel Leech (a powder monkey on the Macedonian), one of her sailors described scenes of absolute horror below: men were ripped apart by the enemy's round shot and grape and the great splinters they threw into the air.

Above deck the situation was no less chaotic. Carden and his officers were struggling to clear the wreckage  and regain control of the ship, hoping to use the few sails remaining to approach the enemy and carry her by boarding. Only the mizzenmast and a third of the force-course remained standing; but, even as the men assembled along the gangways with small arms, swords and pikes, the weakened mizzenmast collapsed over the stern, strewing more wreckage onto the quarterdeck and its weight dragging in the water, rendering the ship completely unmanageable.'

Now carrying only a tattered fore-course and otherwise dismasted together with over 100 men either dead, dying or wounded, amid carnage strewn decks with piles of wrecked rigging and canvas and guns now silent, Carden summoned his officers, many of them wounded, aft for a council, at which Lieutenant Hope proposed to continue the fight, but as the United States approached on a course to resume a raking position, Carden opted against it and hauled down the colours.

The two ships lay alongside each other for over two weeks while Macedonian was repaired sufficiently to sail. United States and her prize entered New York Harbour on the 4th of December amid jubilation over the victory, and Captain Decatur and his crew were received with praise from both Congress and President James Madison, and the Macedonian was subsequently purchased by the United States Navy, repaired, and placed in service.

In May 1813 Carden and his crew were tried by court martial in Bermuda on board Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren's flagship HMS St Domingo, with Captain Henry Hotham presiding 

James recounts the courts findings in regards to Carden's conduct;

'In March, 1813, Captain Cardan, his officers, and surviving crew arrived from the United States at the island of Bermuda, and on the 27th of the succeeding May were tried for the loss of their ship. The following was the sentence pronounced

Having most strictly investigated every circumstance, and examined the different officers and ship's company; and having very deliberately and maturely weighed and considered the whole and every part thereof, the court is of opinion; that, previous to the commencement of the action, from an over anxiety to keep the weathergage, an opportunity was lost of closing with the enemy; and that, owing to this circumstance, the Macedonian was unable to bring the United-States to close action until she had received material damage. But, as it does not appear that this omission originated in the most distant wish to keep back from the engagement, the court is of opinion, that Captain John Surman Carden, his officers, and ship's company, in every instance throughout the action, behaved with the firmest and most determined courage, resolution, and coolness; and that the colours of the Macedonian were not struck, until she was unable to make further resistance. 

John Surman Carden
Criticised by peers and civilian alike, Carden's 
reputation remained linked to his defeat in 1812.
He was promoted to flag rank but only as a retiree,
and was never again offered an active command 
following his loss to the United States.

The court does therefore most honourably acquit Captain John Surman Carden, the officers, and company of his majesty's late ship Macedonian, and Captain Carden, his officers, and company, are hereby most honourably acquitted accordingly. The court cannot dismiss Captain Carden, without expressing their admiration of the uniform testimony which has been borne to his gallantry and good conduct throughout the action, nor Lieutenant David Hope, the senior lieutenant, the other officers and company, without expressing the highest approbation of the support given by him and them to the captain, and of their courage and steadiness during the contest with an enemy of very superior force; a circumstance that, whilst it reflects high honour on them, does no less credit and honour to the discipline of his majesty's late ship Macedonian. 

The court also feels it a gratifying duty to express its admiration of the fidelity to their allegiance, and attachment to their king and country, which the remaining crew appear to have manifested, in resisting the various insidious and repeated temptations which the enemy held out to them, to seduce them from their duty; and which cannot fail to be duly appreciated."

Kaiser comments;

' Macedonian did have a marked advantage in sailing ability and speed, and this was poorly utilised. Decatur by sailing close to the wind, robbed the advantage of the weather gauge from the British, meaning the approach would be long, and during the time the longer guns Carden had once derided as ineffective proved their worth by knocking away spars, guns and men. But bringing the ship to close action early on would not necessarily have put the ship in a better situation, as the United Stated carried very powerful 42-pounder carronades, making her short-range broadside even more deadly than her long-range one.

Hope believed that bringing a close action early with their rigging and broadside intact would have given them a chance to outmanoeuvre their opponent to compensate for the heavier broadside; but other officers questioned did not agree with this, but did think that bringing about a close action earlier would have made the American victory far more costly. The court agreed with the First Lieutenant in their verdict. 

previous to the commencement of the action, from an over anxiety to keep the weather gage, an opportunity was lost of closing with the enemy; and that, owing to this circumstance, the Macedonian was unable to bring the United-States to close action until she had received material damage.

The United States shows off her teeth - 32 × long 24-pounders and 24 × 42-pounder carronades
'But bringing the ship to close action early on would not necessarily have put the ship in a better situation, as the United Stated carried very powerful 42-pounder carronades, making her short-range broadside even more deadly than her long-range one.'

They believed that, under the right conditions and with the right tactics an 18-pounder frigate had the ability to tackle and defeat a 24-pounder adversary at close action. Even with two American victories suggesting otherwise, they remained confident in the abilities of British frigates. As such, Carden's defeat was not blamed on the enemy's superiority in guns and men, but on failing to bring about a close action.

These pronouncements by the authorities of their day make the playing of an action such as this an interesting intellectual challenge in that given some extraordinary circumstance the United States should be able to beat the Macedonian eight or nine times out of ten if presented with the situation that Decatur faced on the 25th of October 1812; but the 'what if's' presented by Lieutenant David Hope and the other officers at the court martial that suggest bringing on a close action more rapidly and making better use of the Macedonian's manoeuvrability and speed offered at least the possibility of so damaging the American ship in the wake of a defeat that the victory would have been more costly and somewhat pyric.

The models illustrated were fun to build although a certain degree of scratch work is required with the plastic additions and the need for skid beams in the waists for the boats, with some plastic rod added, and on reflection I could have put on royal yards to the tops, typically seen on the big American frigates, but I could argue taken down when trying to look more British from a distance, and I think the look will be fine when seen on the table.

In the next 'Revenge' post I'll showcase two more frigates from the War of 1812 with a look at the USS President and her action on the 15th January 1815 with HMS Endymion.

More anon

JJ

JJ's on Tour - Iceland, The Land of Fire & Ice, Conclusion.

In the last post in this series I concluded maters with our visit to the Eiríksstaðanefnd open-air museum dedicated to the former home of Erik the Red and our night's stay at our lodgings at Stóra-Vatnshorn farm, Point 12, before getting on the road to the Snæfellsnes peninsula on the western side of Iceland and if you want to pick up the previous post and the others that preceded it you can follow the link below.

JJ's on Tour, Iceland The Land of Fire & Ice, Part 4

We were now on the last leg of our twenty day road-trip around Iceland as illustrated on the map below, which would see us base ourselves at Hotel Snæfellsnes, Point 13, for a couple of nights while we enjoyed the adventure of discovering this remarkable part of the island, before our return to Reykjavik to catch a flight home.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula has a volcanic origin having the Snæfellsnes volcanic belt down its centre, and the Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland, at its western tip; with its height of 4,744 feet, making it the highest mountain on the peninsula and has a glacier at its peak. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_the_Sn%C3%A6fellsnes_peninsula.png

The volcano can be seen on clear days from Reykjavík, a distance of about 75 miles, and the mountain is also known as the setting of the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by the French author Jules Verne. 

Bolli Bollasson and other members of the Varangian Guard as depicted in the Osprey title by Giuseppe Rava.

The peninsula is one of the main settings in the Laxdœla saga and it was, according to this saga, the birthplace of the first West Norse member of the Varangian Guard, Bolli Bollasson. Other historical people who lived in the area according to the saga include Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, Bolli Þorleiksson and Snorri Goði.

In addition to all this wonderful history the peninsula is also a place of spectacular scenery to delight one, that boded well for a few more memories of this trip before we were done.

These pictures capture the scenery along route 54, shown on the map above as we made our way along the northern coast of the peninsula on our way to the fishing and tourist town of Stykkishólmur.

The town and municipality of Stykkishólmur is a center of services and commerce for the area, with most of the people making their living from fishing and tourism. 

A ferry called Baldur goes over the Breiðafjörður fjord to the Westfjords, and it is the gateway to Flatey. 

The origin of Stykkishólmur can be traced to its natural harbour, and its location became an important trading post early in Iceland's history: the first trading post in Stykkishólmur is traced back to the mid-16th century, even before Denmark implemented the Danish–Icelandic Trade Monopoly (1602 – 1787), and from that time trading has been at the heart of the settlement's history.

The town was named after a small island in front of the harbour called Stykkið upon which is situated the lighthouse and from which we were able to get some marvellous views of the coastline, town and mountains beyond.

From our vantage point I could see a local fishing boat hard at work close to shore together with the eider ducks and Icelandic gulls enjoying the placid waters of the bay.

Eider ducks were a constant feature and delight on this holiday, observable at just about every coastal location we visited

The Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not in Iceland (as its name suggests), where it is only seen during winter.

After a restorative hot brew and bun it was time to be on our way again heading for Hotel Snæfellsnes down on the south coast of the peninsula, but there was another spot we wanted to check out on the way.

As seen in previous posts Iceland abounds in waterfalls of all shapes and sizes and are a constant feature as soon as one ascends from the lower lying land as we were doing on our journey from the  north coast to the south and when combined with the views from these high spots they are very compelling to just stop and enjoy the majesty of the  place.

Not immediately obvious from the road, the Selvallafoss waterfall, also known as the waterfall at Vatnaleid, has three major cascades of water, surrounded by lush moss growing on eroded stone surfaces. The longest of the three cascades is 35 feet tall.

Its Icelandic name, Selvallafoss, comes from the nearby Selvallavatn lake, whose waters flow into the falls.

 

It’s not just humans that walk on the narrow trails around the waterfall. The lush greenery and fresh water are the perfect places for Icelandic sheep to graze, which is how the waterfall has come to be known as the sheep’s waterfall.

After checking in at our hotel we decided to finish the day by heading off a bit further along the south coast to Ytri Tunga beach and seal colony.

Located near a farm of the same name, Ytri Tunga beach is probably the best place in Iceland for watching seals, and just off the shore, on the rocks rising out of the water practically all year round, you can see at least a few individuals from the local colony.

Of course when you have well advertised known locations like this, they do tend to draw large groups of folks which is great for the care of these creatures because of the tourist income they attract, but can become disturbing for the animals involved and often doesn't aid seeing anything because of that disturbance.

When we arrived the tide was still out but coming in fast and several individuals were still happily beached on weed covered sand bars observing us observing them, but as the tide covered these resting places, the seals became more difficult to spot and so Carolyn and I decided to leave the tourist crowds now gathering and head off further along the path to quieter parts of the beach.

Our departure from the crowd was soon rewarded when on arriving on a beach out of sight from the one the crowds were all gathering on we found ourselves alone watching lots of seals providing lots of photo opportunities, whilst on our return to the crowded shoreline not one seal could be seen with the tide well and truly in.

It doesn't matter whether it's seal watching, bird watching or any wildlife observing, the best way to see these creatures is away from other people and just being as quiet and inconspicuous as possible which is why I've made it a habit of dethatching myself from crowds as soon as possible.

 

The next day we continued our exploration of the south coast of the peninsula to Búðakirkja a small wooden parish church established in 1703 but with the current church being built in 1848.

The church is known for its beauty, both the building itself and the surrounding area, and is still used to this day, both for traditional church events for the parish, but also for weddings and musical events.

Bárðr Snæfellsáss a half giant and the guardian spirit of the Snæfellsnes peninsula on the cliffs near the fishing village of Arnastapi and the eroded circular stone arch, called Gatklettur

Further along the coast we paid our respects to Bárðr Snæfellsáss a half-human, half-ogre who once lived on the Snæfellsnes peninsula and is looked upon as the guardian spirit of the area.

Gatklettur stone arch

Large colonies of the arctic tern also nest here but on the day we walked the cliffs we enjoyed watching the antics of the local large cormorants and smaller shags.

Retracing our path back to Bárðr Snæfellsáss we walked the other length of the cliff path clambering over the rocks of the lava flow that created the cliffs we stood on, looking out into the North Atlantic.

The rock formations created by these lava field cliffs, where molten lava once found the sea and then has been subjected to the effects of the elements over the intervening millennia are extraordinary and quite unlike anything we have at home.

The four mile cliff path walk was a good bit of exercise and we were in need of some sustenance on returning to the car before moving on further along the coast to Djúpalónssandur and the utterly destroyed remains of the Grimsby fishing trawler Epine wrecked off the beach on Saturday 13th March 1948.

The 140 foot trawler Epine, registration number GY 7 was built in 1929, seen here in WWII fitted out as an Admiralty minesweeper.

The 140 foot trawler Epine, registration number GY 7 was built in 1929 by Cook Welton & Gemmell Beverley for J. Stewart Trawling Co. Ltd Hull, and was originally named Solway Firth registration number H 107.

Djúpalónssandur beach and cove seen from the top of the cliff path

Looking down on the wreckage trail across the beach of the trawler Epine

In 1931 she was bought and sold to three new owners, eventually ending up with the Premier Steam Fishing Co. Ltd of Grimsby and renamed Epine and re-registered as GY 7, to be requisitioned as a minesweeper on the 3rd of September 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World War, as seen above with her gun mounted on the bow.

With the end of the war she returned to fishing duties in January 1946 and would tragically end her days on the rocks off Djúpalónssandur in a severe gale and blizzard.

An Icelandic rescue party got a line to the vessel and took four of her crew off, whilst one other crew member managed to swim ashore, but fourteen of her crew were lost as heavy seas swept the wreck.

Clinging to the bridge skipper Alfred Loftis was heard to shout
“I do not mind what happens to me so long as the boys are all right. Look after the boys”

This beach now serves as a memorial to those men who lost their lives that night with the sign instructing visitors to respect the wreckage of what is effectively a grave sight; and speaking personally I found it to be a really moving tribute, as my Mum hailed from Grimsby, with both my Grandfather and Great-grandfather involved in the management of the docks before the First World War.

I have childhood memories of visiting the town and experiencing the delights of fresh caught Grimsby fish and know how important the industry was and still is to the town, serving as a major world fish processing centre today, employing some 6,000 people.

This black sand beach is also a beautiful part of the Snæfellsnes coastline and Carolyn and I lingered to enjoy the amazing rock formations that characterise the cliffs around this small bay.

Our journey around this most beautiful part of Iceland concluded with a short drive to Kirkjufell , "Church Mountain", a 1,500 foot high hill on the north coast of Iceland's Snæfellsnes peninsula, near the town of Grundarfjörður, and claimed to be the most photographed mountain in the country.

Kirkjufell , "Church Mountain", a 1,500 foot high hill on the north coast of Iceland's Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Kirkjufell was one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones season 6 and 7, featuring as the "arrowhead mountain" that the Hound and the company north of the Wall see when capturing a wight.

As stunning as this particularly eye-catching mountain or high hill is, to my wargamers eye, I couldn't help seeing the image of a certain hill at a certain battle field in South Africa , although Isandlwana hill is about three times higher, and certainly a lot warmer and dryer, but from a certain angle there are distinct similarities.

Kirkjufell is a nunatak, a mountain that protruded above the glaciers surrounding it during the Ice Age, and before that was part of what was once the area's strata, composed of alternating layers of Pleistocene lava and sandstone, with tuff at its summit.

Whilst enjoying the magnificence of Kirkjufell we witnessed what apparently drives a lot of Icelanders up the wall with tourists or what we would call 'Grockles' in my part of the world, namely the inconsiderate, if not down right dangerous, behaviour of just simply stopping ones car on a 90km road to allow the front seat passenger to take photos of an amazing piece of scenery suddenly seen from the vista of the car windscreen.

It was not as if a 1,500 foot hill like Kirkjufell can suddenly appear from nowhere to cause such an immediate pulling up to a complete stop, and of course there are multiple signs pointing out parking areas for such a pull in, but no, said 'Grockles' made a complete sudden stop and nearly had not one but two other cars join them on the back seat. Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do!

Our two days touring the Snæfellsnes peninsula simply flew by and although we got a lot of things included it felt strange to be loading the car to begin our journey back to Reykjavik in time to catch a flight home only two days later, with an overnight in the Icelandic capital giving us a bit of time to see some stuff we missed on the first two days of our holiday.

Back in Reykjavik on a rainy weekend, passing the time before catching our return flight to London Heathrow.

The drive back to Reykjavik was uneventful as far as the weather was concerned, although we did encounter some very heavy rain en-route, stopping in Borgarnes for a spot of lunch and passing through the Hvalfjörður undersea tunnel, that runs 541 feet below the waves under the Hvalfjörður fjord, reducing the previous time when it was opened in 1998 to circumvent the fjord from one hour to just seven minutes in the tunnel.

Our two nights in Reykjavik was a time spent simply enjoying the sights of the town again in a very leisurely way, now knowing our way around much better than when we arrived, and a return visit to the port area revealed the Royal Danish Navy was in town with HDMS Triton F358 close alongside.

A regular visitor, the Triton, a Thetis class frigate, patrols these northern latitudes and is used to exercise Danish sovereignty over the waters around Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

 

HDMS Triton, 3,500 tons, max speed about 22 knots, and armed with  1 × 76 mm/62 cal. OTO Melara Super Rapid DP gun, 2 × 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, 2 × 7.62 mm light machine guns, together with a Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter

The Thetis-class ocean patrol vessels or ocean patrol frigates, also called Stanflex 3000, are a class of large patrol vessels built for the Royal Danish Navy, comprising four ships, all built and commissioned in the early 1990s; with the ships' tasks of mainly maintenance of sovereignty, search and rescue, fishery inspection and support to local (mainly Greenlandic) authorities. 

The operation areas are normally Greenland and the Faroe Islands, but the vessels also operate near Iceland on transit between Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and near Denmark.

The oldest timber building in Reykjavik is the iconic timber house pictured below, Aðalstræti 10, which was built in 1762. It was the home of Geir Vídalín, the first bishop of Iceland, Jón Sigurðsson, Iceland’s independence hero, and from 1926 until well into the 90s, it also served as a shop and then a restaurant called Fógetinn, until purchased in 2005 for extensive renovations to become part of the Reykjavik City Museum and housing exhibitions about the history of Reykjavík, including access to The Settlement Exhibition 871±2.

Aðalstræti 10, built in 1762, the oldest timber building in Reykjavik

The old Silli & Valdi grocery store that occupied this old house from 1927-75 has been beautifully reconstructed and brought back lots of memories of similar business back home that in the main have been gradually replaced by the large superstores that have replaced them today.

The Settlement Exhibition 871±2. lies below ground level of the modern day Reykjavik as illustrated by the picture below looking up through the skylight over the remains of the hall that once stood here circa 930-1000 AD.

Created by the Reykjavik City Museum, the exhibition is based on the archaeological excavation of the ruin of one of the first houses in Iceland and findings from other excavations in the city centre.

The focus of the exhibition is the remains of a hall from the Settlement Age which was excavated in 2001. 

The hall was inhabited from c. 930–1000, and north of the hall are two pieces of turf, remnants of a wall which was clearly built before 871±2, hence the name of the exhibition. Such precise data dating is possible because a major volcanic eruption from the Torfajökull area spread tephra across the region and this can be dated via glacial ice in Greenland. 

The hall is among the oldest human-made structures so far found in Iceland. Also on display are objects from the Viking Age found in central Reykjavík and the island of Viðey.

This 'finds' cabinet holds iron nails, some of the commonest objects found in excavations of Viking buildings in Iceland, together with several knives which were a common possession of that time

The axe seen here is of a Viking type, excavated in the Suðurgata area of Reykjavík, but was uncovered in more recent layers. Also shown is a Viking key, as illustrated below, that might have been a key to a door of a hall, and an unusual arrowhead, possibly used for hunting large animals such as bear, together with several examples of fishing hooks.

A Viking key

As explained below these are several items of wood, a material rarely found in Icelandic excavations due to the conditions for poor preservation.

Below is the only fragment found of an Icelandic Viking-Age glass drinking vessel, something in itself that would have been a rare and costly article, and examples of which have been found in the homes of Viking Chieftains in other parts of Scandinavia. 

Icelandic Viking-Age glass

The illustration below shows what these glasses may have looked like and such vessels are believed to have been made in Southern Europe.

 

Keen to carry away a bit more of the Reykjavik vibe before our evening dinner, at which I enjoyed finally tasting some fresh caught Icelandic Arctic Char which was absolutely delicious, we made our way to the lake behind the Parliament buildings to watch the children feed the birds and to get some pictures of a particular statue or should I say monument.

No one could accuse Icelanders of not having a distinct sense of humour and if one was ever to compose a piece of art that so vividly captures the nature of the so-called 'deep state', the army of faceless civil servants that seems to have come to personify modern government then this has to top it.

The monument to the unknown bureaucrat is a clever caricature of the civil servant, similarly captured in the old British TV comedy 'Yes Minister' that contained many truisms about how government actually runs rather than how we might imagine it to be, and perhaps we should have something similar set up in Parliament Square to balance out all those of the 'Great and the Good'.

 

The monument to the unknown bureaucrat, behind Parliament House in Reykjavik, a clever caricature of the civil servant

Carolyn and I had an extraordinary time traveling around Iceland and have taken away lots of memories that will be captured in our photo-book of the holiday that Carolyn pulls together with the best of our digital pictures printed in a glossy hard back to go with our other jaunts that can be browsed through in years to come, and I hope these posts might inspire others to book a date to explore The Land of Fire and Ice. 

You wont be disappointed.

Next up, I have the latest additions to join my respective fleets, with some new frigate options from Turner Miniatures to add to my War of 1812 collection and a proof of concept build for some other ideas I have in mind.

More anon

JJ