Toulon, 1795

Published by William Faden

This reproduction is taken from an original document held within the Archives of the UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton, Somerset.

Toulon was and is France's premier strategic naval base in the Mediterranean and as such it has been subject to British attacks on a number of occasions . However, during 1793 the royalist residents of Toulon opened its gates to the British and a small garrison under Lord Mulgrave occupied the town. On 29th August 1793 Toulon was besieged by the French army under General Dugommier. By the 18th of December most of the landward defences had been carried, and with the defence of the town becoming untenable, Lord Mulgrave carried off his troops by sea. This siege is chiefly memorable as being the first important appearance of Napoleon Bonaparte, who commanded the artillery and was largely responsible for the success of the siege.

This chart was published by William Faden in 1795 and was approved by the Chart Committee of the Admiralty the forerunner of the Hydrographic Office. It is typical of the style of late eighteenth century charting and its two reference boxes record some of the details of the siege.