REVIEWS The Gunboat Philadelphia and the Defense of Lake Champlain in 1776, by Philip K. Lundeberg (Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, RR #3 Box 4092, Basin Harbor VT, 1995, 102pp, illus, biblio, ISBN 0-9641856-1-X; $ l 4.95pb) George Washington's Schooners: The First American Navy, by Chester G. Hearn (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1995, 304pp, illus, appen, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-55750-358-3; $36.95hc) Together, these two books offer fascinating insights into the tumultuous gestation of the United States Navy. Philip Lundeberg uses the gunboat Philadelphia-sunk at the 1776 Battle ofValcour Island, then raised in 1935as the focal point for his depiction of naval activity on Lake Champlain in 1775-76. "Her plainly built, battlescarred hull, remarkably well preserved, gives form and substance to the memory of that tiny American fleet" which sallied forth at a time crucial to the outcome of the American Revolution. Here is the well told story of the Green Mountain Boys and raw recruits who, under the command of the charismatic, enigmatic Benedict Arnold, captured two British vessels to gain control of Lake Champlain in 1775. They proceeded to build a tiny naval fleet from raw, standing timber at Skenesborough (now Whitehall), New York , and maintained American control of Lake Champlain in 177 6, stalling the vaunted Royal Navy in Canada. The crucial action on the lake was the Battle of Valcour Island, 11-13 October 1776. No naval engagement during the Revolution involved as many vessels nor had the long-range implications of Valcour. Although the Americans' meager flotilla was overwhelmed, "the little American navy," by its very existence, forced the British to assemble a navy for the lake campaign. The ensuing delay gave the Continental Army time to prepare for the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 and to defeat the British under General John Burgoyne, resulting in French intervention on America' s side and, ultimately, American independence. "The little American navy on Lake Champlain was wiped out," wrote navy historian Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan , "but never had any force , big or small, lived to better purpose or died more gloriously." The volume is doubly enjoyable for its lavish illustrations and photographs, and for the description of how the origiSEA HISTORY 78, SUMMER 1996
nal Philadelphia was raised and brought to the Smithsonian Institution, where it is on display today . It also details the construction of Philadelphia II, a replica now sailed by volunteer crew at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. While Arnold's fleet challenged the British on Lake Champlain, George Washington commissioned a flotilla of eight fast, lightly-armed ships to harass British supply lines along the New England coast. Their story is told in Washington's Schooners, which reads like a swashbuckling adventure tale, but recounts, in fact, the little-known history of this earliest organized blue-water naval activity in the American Revolution. Heam brings to life an unlikely cast of captains, sailors, marines and naval agents-heroes and rogues-who contributed to the successes and developmental pains of our young navy. The successes of Washington 's light flotilla were substantive and indisputable: 55 prizes captured, the British decision to evacuate Boston accelerated, and the British army deprived of essential supplies which were diverted to Washington's desperately needy troops . Heam weaves a fascinating tale of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. He also presents George Washington's understanding of the importance of sea power. "He not only fathered the country . .. he gave birth to the American Navy." Since this activity occurred months before the Congress financed the first Continental fleet, much of America's early naval policy had its foundations "in Washington's instructions to his captains." HERBERT K. SAXE Croton-on-Hudson, New York The Shipbuilders of Essex: A Chronicle of Yankee Endeavor, by Dana Story (Ten Pound Island Book Co., Gloucester MA, 1995, 368pp, illus, appen, index, ISBN 0-938459-0900; $39.95hc) It is truly gratifying when a subject thought to have been consigned to the purview of the academic can be addressed by someone with firsthand experience and a depth of understanding born of a lifelong association. Such is the case with Dana Story's latest and most ambitious work. Mr. Story's own history, and that of his family , is inextricably tied to the town of Essex and its shipbuilding industry, from the arrival of his distant ancestor William Story from England in 1637, to the operation of one of its last
J:A~ MARITIME
BOOKS 1806 Laurel Crest Madison, Wisconsin 53705 (608) 238-SAIL
Out-of-Print and Rare Books about the Sea, Ship & Sailor Catalogue Upon Request
Old&Rare Maritime Boo~ at reasonable prices Send for free catalogues
We are also eager wpurchase old books of all kinds, especially maritime. Please can OT write.
ten pound island book company 76 Langsford Street., Gloucester, MA 0193-0 (508) 283-5299
W'INDJAMMER
MYSTIC WHAIER Sail for 1,2,3, or 5 Days! Comfortable aeeon>modatlon8, fabulou8 meal8, and the e:xperlenee of a lifetime, all for one low prlee!
MAIUTKMJE HKSTORY CRUXยงJEยง! Call today for free brochure:
1-800-697-8420 Mystic Whaler Cruises PO bo< 189 Mystic, CT 06355
29