The Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of the American Revolution

by Sam Willis

Overview

A fascinating naval perspective on one of the greatest of all historical conundrums: How did thirteen isolated colonies, which in 1775 began a war with Britain without a navy or an army, win their independence from the greatest naval and military power on earth?

The American Revolution involved a naval war of immense scope and variety, including no fewer than twenty-two navies fighting on five oceans—to say nothing of rivers and lakes. In no other war were so many large-scale fleet battles fought, one of which was the most strategically significant naval battle in all of British, French, and American history. Simultaneous naval campaigns were fought in the English Channel, the North and Mid-Atlantic, the Mediterranean, off South Africa, in the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, the Pacific, the North Sea and, of course, off the eastern seaboard of America. Not until the Second World War would any nation actively fight in so many different theaters.

In The Struggle for Sea Power, Sam Willis traces every key military event in the path to American independence from a naval perspective, and he also brings this important viewpoint to bear on economic, political, and social developments that were fundamental to the success of the Revolution. In doing so Willis offers valuable new insights into American, British, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Russian history.

This unique account of the American Revolution gives us a new understanding of the influence of sea power upon history, of the American path to independence, and of the rise and fall of the British Empire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393239928
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/15/2016
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	249,338
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Sam Willis is a maritime historian, archaeologist, and broadcaster. He is the author of a number of books on maritime and naval history, including the Hearts of Oak trilogy and the Fighting Ships series. Willis has appeared in and presented numerous TV series, including Shipwrecks and Castles for BBC4 and Operation Grand Canyon for BBC2. He is a Visiting Fellow in Maritime and Naval History at the University of Plymouth, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi

List of Charts xv

Foreword xxix

Preface xxxiii

Introduction 1

Part 1 American Revolution, 1773-1775

1 British Pyre 19

2 American Origins 26

3 European Gunpowder 40

4 Canadian Invasion 56

5 Colonial Sea Power 74

6 British Evacuation 104

Part 2 Civil War, 1776-1777

7 British Attack 115

8 Freshwater Fleets 140

9 American Riposte 154

10 British Surrender 174

11 American Sea Power 189

Part 3 World War, 1778-1780

1778

12 Bourbon Alliance 204

13 French Firepower 214

14 British Survival 230

15 Caribbean Sea 252

16 Indian Empire 266

1779

17 Spanish Patience 276

18 Bourbon Invasion 284

19 British Resourcefulness 295

20 Caribbean Crisis 304

21 French Incompetence 312

22 American Destruction 324

1780

23 British Dominance 342

24 Allied Recommitment 367

25 Spanish Skill 389

26 Russian Meddling 396

Part 4 American Independence, 1781

27 Dutch Disaster 411

28 British Obsession 420

29 French Escapes 428

30 Allied Success 444

Epilogue 461

Glossary of Nautical Terms 477

Notes 481

Bibliography 523

Index 545

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2015
In the U.S., the American Revolution is generally seen as a land war, but in this thorough and satisfying account, British maritime historian Willis (In the Hour of Victory) convincingly argues that the colonies’ rebellion sparked the “greatest war of the age of sail.” Not confined to North America, the war was waged globally by “no fewer than 22 separate navies” across oceans, freshwater lakes, and rivers, as well as on land, where sailors played crucial roles in combat and logistics. None of this was easy: communications were slow, naval strategy as an organized concept barely existed, and navies were expensive to operate and difficult to maintain. What began as a naval war for control of North America’s littoral and inland waters churned into a contest of battle fleets in 1778, when France entered the war. Spain and the Netherlands joined shortly after. Initially ineffective, the allied navies learned from mistakes. By 1781, the British “had lost control of the sea,” and, Willis states, “the huge, combined, unopposed French fleet set off to change the war.” Franco-Spanish cooperation altered the Caribbean balance, and a British army lacking naval support surrendered at Yorktown. “The war taught the British significant lessons,” Willis writes, and American readers will likewise learn from this naval perspective on the revolution. Maps & illus. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2015
Naval historian Willis (In the Hour of Victory) delivers a comprehensive maritime history of the American Revolution, the first such treatment of this topic in over 20 years. According to Willis, "command of the water" was essential to virtually all aspects of the American war for independence. This conflict pitted America, France, Spain, and Holland against Britain and led to land and sea battles all over the world. Willis highlights the interconnectedness of the maritime with other spheres, observing that a naval clash in one place impacted the balance of power an ocean away; the mere appearance of a fleet could panic entire armies into retreat; and the Pennsylvania State Navy christened a warship the Hyder Ali, after a warlord resisting the British in India. The author devotes time to freshwater fleets, particularly the unheralded Anglo-American shipbuilding race as well as clashes on Lake Champlain along the Canada-U.S. border. VERDICT A mostly conventional military history, this narrative delivers a fresh look at the American Revolution's naval side. Aimed at the casual reader but comprehensive enough to attract specialists.—Michael Rodriguez, Hodges Univ. Lib., Naples, FL

Library Journal

★ 2015-11-01
A history of how the American revolt of 1775 evolved into a worldwide conflict. "Everyone knows that the first shot of this war was fired between soldiers on Lexington Common in 1775," writes highly acclaimed British naval historian Willis (In the Hour of Victory: The Royal Navy at War in the Age of Nelson, 2014, etc.), "but…the last was fired between warships at the battle of Cuddalore in the Bay of Bengal on 20 June 1783." The author takes nearly 500 pages to describe all this, but that includes many little-known distant campaigns, and readers can expect a thoroughly satisfying experience. Willis emphasizes that the Continental Congress' October 1775 resolution to create a navy marked the point of no return. Raising a militia was an ancient colonial right, so George Washington's army was technically legal. Raising a navy, however, was unprecedented. The resulting ragtag fleet never challenged the British Royal Navy, but showing the flag in foreign ports proclaimed that the rebellion was a going concern—and needed help. These ships—and those of 12 naval colonies—moved troops and equipment and harassed the enemy, but privateers inflicted the greatest pain, capturing thousands of merchant vessels during the years of the conflict. It was France and its allies that turned the tide, and Willis delivers an expert account of how they made independence a reality, but at considerable sacrifice. Spectacularly incompetent in America, Britain performed well almost everywhere else. Peace left Britain minus the American Colonies but with impressive gains in India, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. France, on the other hand, was bankrupt. A page-turner that delivers an eye-opening history of the American Revolution from a different perspective, as well as surprising details of what Willis maintains was the greatest war of the age of sail.

Kirkus Reviews