Thank you CC, great artwork!!
It seems reasonable that the strategy in gunnery would be keyed toward the masts and rigging of the opposing ship, thus disabling her from any tactical maneuvering. It has not seemed to me that the objective was to sink the opposing vessel (except perhaps in larger pitched battles to remove firepower) so disabling would be primary.
The boarding and close contact were of course the defining moments in the final conflict, and it seems there were often Marines and other musket men on board to open fire on the other ranks on the opposing vessel. The physical contact in boarding melee must have been ghastly.
|