Book Review / Look Inside:
Navies and the American Revolution 1775-1783
(Chatham Pictorial Histories) Hardcover – 1996
by Robert Gardiner (Editor) and National Maritime Museum (Great Britain)
Synopsis:
The struggle for American independence constituted a new form of conflict, in which the issue was political as well as economic. Widespread opposition to British rule made it impossible for the occupying armies to hold more than small pockets of territory, inevitably on the coast where they could be supported and supplied by the Navy. This made seapower the key to the war. To many in Britain, America was wild and largely unknown which led to an active market for maps and images of the places and battles. The educated classes followed campaigns through prints and illustrated magazines. In time, paintings and engravings were produced which were based on sketches done on the spot, while many of the actual combatants kept illustrated journals. This volume draws on these sources to achieve an impression of the maritime aspects of the conflict in all its variety and drama. It also illustrates many significant background aspects of the war, in the form of thematic box texts, on such subjects such as ship types, the weapons and the organization involved. It also contributes to an understanding of how the American Revolution was seen as the time. The book is one of a series which draws upon the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, illustrating the great maritime events of the pre-photographic era from contemporary paintings, prints, drawings, charts and plans.
Contents:
Introduction 1763-1775
Colonial Seafaring
PART I: THE WAR AT SEA AND IN THE DOCKYARDS 1775-1777 (page 15 to 76)
The Royal Dockyards
Boston and Bunker Hill, June 1775
The Campaign against Canada, May 1775 - May 1776
A marine artist´s sketchbook
The Battle of Valcour Island, 11 October 1776
Lake warfare vessels
The first naval moves, fall 1775 - spring 1776
George III and his navy
Parker and Clinton at Charleston, June 1776
Gunpowder - the sinews of war
Assault on New York: first phase, June-August 1776
Colonial warfare vessels
Assault on New York: second phase, September - November 1776
Rhode Island: a textbook amphibious operation
The Continental Navy
Guerre de course
A forgotten incident in the trade war
The occupation of Philadelphia, summer 1777
The road to Saratoga, May - October 1777
PART II: AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES 1778 - 1783 (page 77 to 132)
The French Navy
D´Estaing in America
West Indies 1778 - St Lucia
Ships of the battlefleet
West Indies 1779 - Grenada
Florida and Central America 1779 - 1781
Penobscot fiasco, August 1779
Suppling the British army in America
Siege of Savannah, October 1779
Capture of Charleston, 1780
West Indies, 1780
West Indies 1781 - St Eustatius
Struggle for the Chesapeake, 1781
Yorktown - the world turned upside down
Copper sheating - the saviour of the Royal Navy
St Kitts, 1782
Battle of the Saints, April 1782
Aftermath of battle
PART III: EUROPEAN WATERS 1778 - 1783 (page 133 to 179)
The Battle of Ushant 1778
Naval administration
"The Other Armada"
The Spanish Navy
Gibraltar besieged, summer 1779
The War on Trade
John Paul Jones´s cruise, 1779
The Moonlight Battle, 1780
Single-ship actions
Spanish successes
The Dutch Navy
Dogger Bank, August 1781
Gibraltar: the second relief and after, 1781 - 1782
Lord Howe takes over the Channel Fleet, 1782
The Carronade: a british secret weapon
The grand assault on Gibraltar, September 1782
Howe´s relief of Gibraltar, October 1782
PART IV: EAST INDIES 1778 - 1783 (page 180 to 185)
Suffren and Hughes
Battles in the Eastern Seas
Postscript, Sources, Notes and Artists, Index
Review / Comment:
Features:
A stunning collection of 300 contemporary images
Many illustrations previously unpublished
Chronologically structured by campaign and battle
Introductory essays and thematic text boxes by well-known authorities
Besides the campaigns, battles and sieges, the book also illustrates many significant background aspects of the war, in the form of thematic inserts on such subjects as the ship types, the weapons and the organisation involved. Well documented, very informative, not going too much in detail, but gives a very good overview.
A valuable contribution to the understanding of how the American Revolution was seen at the time. - Highly recommended!
For more Look Inside photos please go to the next post
Navies and the American Revolution 1775-1783
(Chatham Pictorial Histories) Hardcover – 1996
by Robert Gardiner (Editor) and National Maritime Museum (Great Britain)
- Series: Chatham Pictorial Histories
- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (1996)
- Language: English
- Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.8 x 12 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
Synopsis:
The struggle for American independence constituted a new form of conflict, in which the issue was political as well as economic. Widespread opposition to British rule made it impossible for the occupying armies to hold more than small pockets of territory, inevitably on the coast where they could be supported and supplied by the Navy. This made seapower the key to the war. To many in Britain, America was wild and largely unknown which led to an active market for maps and images of the places and battles. The educated classes followed campaigns through prints and illustrated magazines. In time, paintings and engravings were produced which were based on sketches done on the spot, while many of the actual combatants kept illustrated journals. This volume draws on these sources to achieve an impression of the maritime aspects of the conflict in all its variety and drama. It also illustrates many significant background aspects of the war, in the form of thematic box texts, on such subjects such as ship types, the weapons and the organization involved. It also contributes to an understanding of how the American Revolution was seen as the time. The book is one of a series which draws upon the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, illustrating the great maritime events of the pre-photographic era from contemporary paintings, prints, drawings, charts and plans.
Contents:
Introduction 1763-1775
Colonial Seafaring
PART I: THE WAR AT SEA AND IN THE DOCKYARDS 1775-1777 (page 15 to 76)
The Royal Dockyards
Boston and Bunker Hill, June 1775
The Campaign against Canada, May 1775 - May 1776
A marine artist´s sketchbook
The Battle of Valcour Island, 11 October 1776
Lake warfare vessels
The first naval moves, fall 1775 - spring 1776
George III and his navy
Parker and Clinton at Charleston, June 1776
Gunpowder - the sinews of war
Assault on New York: first phase, June-August 1776
Colonial warfare vessels
Assault on New York: second phase, September - November 1776
Rhode Island: a textbook amphibious operation
The Continental Navy
Guerre de course
A forgotten incident in the trade war
The occupation of Philadelphia, summer 1777
The road to Saratoga, May - October 1777
PART II: AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES 1778 - 1783 (page 77 to 132)
The French Navy
D´Estaing in America
West Indies 1778 - St Lucia
Ships of the battlefleet
West Indies 1779 - Grenada
Florida and Central America 1779 - 1781
Penobscot fiasco, August 1779
Suppling the British army in America
Siege of Savannah, October 1779
Capture of Charleston, 1780
West Indies, 1780
West Indies 1781 - St Eustatius
Struggle for the Chesapeake, 1781
Yorktown - the world turned upside down
Copper sheating - the saviour of the Royal Navy
St Kitts, 1782
Battle of the Saints, April 1782
Aftermath of battle
PART III: EUROPEAN WATERS 1778 - 1783 (page 133 to 179)
The Battle of Ushant 1778
Naval administration
"The Other Armada"
The Spanish Navy
Gibraltar besieged, summer 1779
The War on Trade
John Paul Jones´s cruise, 1779
The Moonlight Battle, 1780
Single-ship actions
Spanish successes
The Dutch Navy
Dogger Bank, August 1781
Gibraltar: the second relief and after, 1781 - 1782
Lord Howe takes over the Channel Fleet, 1782
The Carronade: a british secret weapon
The grand assault on Gibraltar, September 1782
Howe´s relief of Gibraltar, October 1782
PART IV: EAST INDIES 1778 - 1783 (page 180 to 185)
Suffren and Hughes
Battles in the Eastern Seas
Postscript, Sources, Notes and Artists, Index
Review / Comment:
Features:
A stunning collection of 300 contemporary images
Many illustrations previously unpublished
Chronologically structured by campaign and battle
Introductory essays and thematic text boxes by well-known authorities
Besides the campaigns, battles and sieges, the book also illustrates many significant background aspects of the war, in the form of thematic inserts on such subjects as the ship types, the weapons and the organisation involved. Well documented, very informative, not going too much in detail, but gives a very good overview.
A valuable contribution to the understanding of how the American Revolution was seen at the time. - Highly recommended!
For more Look Inside photos please go to the next post
