Age of Heroes: A Boy, a Prince and the 1797 Wreck of La Tribune

Age of Heroes: A Boy, a Prince and the 1797 Wreck of La Tribune

John Dickie

Nonfiction: Nova Scotia History, Sailing Ships, War
$19.95
192 pages
6" x 9" paperback
ISBN: 978-1-897426-11-1

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Age of Heroes documents one of Nova Scotia's greatest sea tales. It comes from the golden age of fighting sail, the so-called "age of heroes," which has long drawn audiences to books like Master and Commander and the Horatio Hornblower genre of nautical fiction.

France's La Tribune frigate fell to Britain's HMS Unicorn after a moonlit sea battle fought off Ireland's coast. The humbled warship was added to the Royal Navy lists when admirals like John Jervis and Horatio Nelson were defending England's shores from invasion and her sea lanes from attack by revolutionary France. Tribune was ushered into British service during the turmoil of the Spithead and Nore mutinies, her crew a collection of young English, Irish and Scots eager to fight for King and Country, as well as for their own glory.

Unfortunately, HMS Tribune was mistakenly run aground by her sailing master while entering Halifax harbour on November 23, 1797. During the attempt to escape from her rocky prison, Tribune was caught in a horrendous storm and ultimately sank at night with the loss of more than 240 souls. Only a 13-year-old orphan fisher boy from nearby Herring Cove dared to row his tiny skiff into the jaws of the tempest to save British sailors stranded on the wreck. Impressed by his selfless act, Prince Edward, the future father of Queen Victoria who was residing in Halifax at the time, rewarded the young boy for his brave deed. In this true tale of valour, the legend of the hero fisher boy lives on more than two centuries after his part in one of Canada's most compelling sea stories.


John Dickie holds MSc and MBA degrees in geology and international business development. Exploration work led him from the mountains of the Yukon and Alaska, through the deserts of Mexico and jungles of Vanuatu, to offshore Nova Scotia. A senior management role continues to take him to such places as Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, France, Scotland, Mexico, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though his love for the North Atlantic and his passion for underwater exploration keeps him in his native Nova Scotia. John resides in Halifax with his two young children.