REVIEWS on this subject shou ld be welcomed by students of the period. Tuchman addresses the Revolution fro m vario us viewpoints, inc luding maritime trade and naval affairs, British poli cy, Admiral Rod ney's career, and the essential contributi on of George Washington to American victory. Tilley 's book is longer but sticks closer to naval affairs. Unfortunately, maritime hi story does not get the attenti on it deserves in America, and Tuchman ' s book seems to show the sad results. Her description of 18th century naval life has numerous and incred ible errors. Here are just two samples :
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Constructed in three sections, the three mainmasts of a ship of the line could suspend 36 sa il s, amo unting to four acres of fabr ic, and make a speed of ten knots . When mas ts were bent by a strong wi nd , the strain on the floorboards caused the leaks that required constant pumping . Guns, measured by the weig ht of their cannonballs, were 12-42 pounders (frigates carried 4-6 pounders), with a maximum ra nge of one mile whe n fired by 400 pounds of g unpowder. They fired not only cannon balls but al l kinds and shapes of missiles-pail s of na il s o r sharpened pieces of scrap iron-heated red hot to bum sai ls. Where can the autho r have found s uch ideas? This kind of thing is inexcusable from a professional hi stori an and throws doubt on the au thor 's ability to understand and address her subjects. The war on land fares no better. Any reader familiar with the American Revolution will find errors of fact in every topic, someti mes embedded in capable writing which may delude the unwary into thinking they are getting the real stuff. Ti lley's book is a fine exampl e of what naval hi story can be. It is very thorough, comp lete, and is as easy to read as Tuchman 's, though it is scho larship and not popular entertainment. Tilley gives a good brief introduction describing ships, crew, officers and promotion . A later chapter covers the prevailing ideas controlling sea battle. Tuchman wo uld have done well to consult Tilley ' s g lossary under " mainmast" for example, or hi s map of New York Harbor, a have n which she describes as " poor." Three hundred British naval vessels and transports were safely anchored there in A ugust, 1776. Tilley wen t to some lengths to find illustrations
of ships and naval actions from the period , many of which I had never seen. Hi s bibliographical essay is a good starting point for more reading about 18th century fighting sail. Tilley really concentirates on the British and French activitii es, which made up the major fleet and military transport operations in the war, to the excl usion of American naval actions. You won ' t find John Paul Jones in the book , but I can enthusiasticall y recommend it as a fine example of research and writing. Tilley's book has the accuracy and unde rstanding that Tuchman should have been striving for. First-rate, recent books are available on the other topics Tuchman addresses, though not as well publici zed as Tuchman 's. The land action s are well described in The Glorious Cause , by Ro be rt Middlekauff (Oxford , 1982), and W as hington 's role is the topic o f Washington the Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner (Little, Brown , 1974 ), a di stillati on of a career spent studying Washington. These are only samp les ofan abundant literature, though Tilley's book is espec iall y recom men ded . Lay yo ur hands on Till ey and STUART K. WEIR pass up Tuchman. Topsail & Battleaxe, by Tom Cunliffe (David & Charles, UK, 1989, 220pp, illus, $24.95 hb) Many sai lors, when they think of crui s ing, think of palm-fringed atoll s with names that sound like soft waves on a sandy beach, of running before warm trade winds across pale blue seas. Not Tom C unliffe . (And after last summe r 's baking heat on the eastern seaboard, not me e ither.) What Tom Cunliffe thinks of is sa iling north from England to Norway, bashing hi s way westward from Norway to Iceland , then pas t Greenland to L ' Anseiaux Meadows in northern Newfoundland-and making hi s way upwind in his 75-year-old pilot c utter Hirta with bulletproof canvas sail s, virtuall y no electronic gear and a "S LR " (Standard Leak Rate) of30 strokes per ho ur on her huge bilge pump. What possessed Cunliffe and hi s wife Ros, to gatherthe irfour-year-old daughter and a coupl e of friends and embark on this expedition? In Cunliffe 's case, and he was soon to infect the rest of the crew with hi s e nthusiasm , it was a burning desire to retrace the explorations of those terrors of the I 0th century-the Vikings. With considerable gusto, Cunliffe interweaves stories of Viking ex ploration with Hirta 's progress. Now you may have be lieved that I 0th-century Vikings like Erik the Red , hi s son Leif
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1989