Fate
On 4 March 1807, Blanche was wrecked whilst cruising off Ushant. Forty-five of her crew were lost, of whom 20 were marines. All of the officers were saved, as were 180 seamen and 25 marines. The French marched the survivors 30 miles to Brest, where they were housed in the naval hospital. The crew would remain prisoners for seven years until Napoleon's abdication. The court martial on 2 June 1814 honourably acquitted Lavie and his officers of the loss of Blanche. The court found that iron stanchions, cranks and arms under the half-deck had affected her compasses. This in turn had caused her navigation to be faulty.
Read more about this topic: HMS Amfitrite (1804)
Famous quotes containing the word fate:
“In the small circle of pain within the skull
You still shall tramp and tread one endless round
Of thought, to justify your action to yourselves,
Weaving a fiction which unravels as you weave,
Pacing forever in the hell of make-believe
Which never is belief: this is your fate on earth
And we must think no further of you.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“... it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that it is futile to attempt a picnic in Eden.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“We must all die. There’s nothing terrible about death. But to live on after death, a soul, earthbound, a vampire—you don’t wish any such fate for your beloved.”
—Guy Endore, and Tod Browning. Prof. Zelenn (Lionel Barrymore)