REVIEWS fred Wall ace in 1894, th e shipya rd was The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and success full y run by three ge neratio ns of the Downfall ofNapoleon, The Biography Wallaces until its sale to o utsiders led ofa Ship ofthe Line, 1782-1836, by D avid to its ultim ate demise . Alfred Wallace, Cordingly (Bloo msbury, New Yo rk, 2003, a boatbuild er, and his wife immi grated 320pp, illus, appen, notes, glossa ry, biblio, to Canada in 1889 fro m E ngland and index, ISBN 0-7475-6537-6, $25.95 hc) eve ntuall y made their way to Va nco uver. David Co rdin gly's books present mariT here, he worked fo r a shipbuilder and time history in a refreshing way. His notebuilt lifeboats, with his wi fe's help, in hi s wo rth y abili ty is exemplified in The Billy spare tim e. Five yea rs la ter, he fo unded Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall his own shipya rd and delive red a wood- ofNapoleon. The Bellerophon, whose sobrien-stern wheeler in h is fi rst yea r. From quet was the "B illy Ruffi an," was both a then o n business flo uri shed, with Wal- witness to and parti cipant in three fam ous lace Shipya rd s steadil y ex pandin g, movin g to No rth Vanco uve r in 1909. It became Wallace Shipbuild ing & Drydock in 1920 and Burrard D ry Dock in 1921. THE BILLY T here were the usual ups and downs of RUFFIAN any shipya rd with wa rs a nd depress io ns, but good , ro ugh fa mil y managem ent ~¡:::~~.~:~ kept th e ya rd competi tive and the uni o ns l>1W m COROTNnt.Y relati vely peaceful. T he postwar saw a modest and un certain fl ow of naval and co mmercial busin ess, with th e elder Wallaces becom ing less involved and the yo un ger o nes quarrel ing over ma nageme nt. Finally in 1972 the ya rd sold to a di verse ho lding company, endin g nea rl y eigh ty yea rs of family in vo lve ment. T he name changed, sea battles-th e 1774 Glorious First of aggressive moderni zatio n program s we re June, the 1798 Battle of the N ile, and Trainstituted, and the yard was managed falgar in 1805. In 18 15 Na poleo n surrento make mo ney, not ships. G lobal com - dered o n her ve ry deck to Captain Fredpetitio n fo r shipbuildin g co ntracts had eri ck Maitland, six weeks after Waterloo beco me intense, and with its high-living- and after over twenty yea rs of pursui t. In cos t locatio n, the ya rd co uld no t co m- the biography of the ship the reader learns pete. So me 450 vessels and hull sections about the late eighteenth-century ship dehad been buil t over the years. Employ- sign, co nstructio n, rigging, and provisioning. T he autho r vividly defines the "Billy's" ment had peaked at 14,000 durin g Wo rld War II but was down to just ten wh en captains, their co mrades in arms, the trials they fin ally cl osed. Unfo rtunately, it is a and tribulati o ns of m en who served on fa miliar shipya rd histo ry, from hum ble board, her sea battles, plus the evolution of beginnin gs to great success to loss of fa m - gunnery, tactics and signals. Finally Cordingly describes the ship's humiliating use ily contro l to disaster in many cases . M any pho tographs and documenta- as a prison hulk before it was dismantled ti on of Wallace- built vessels co mplement in a knacker's yard. the text well. O ne could wish fo r a map T he exciting narrative is well written to illustrate the layo ut of Va nco uve r and and scholarly with the use of co ntempoth e locati o ns of the Co mpany's yards and rary art and primary sources including d ocks. Aside fr om that, this is a ve ry read- diaries, letters, and ships' logs . Billy Ruf able acco unt of the rise and fa ll of a fa m - ft.an is in truth a o ne-volume survey course ily business and of shipbuilding in British of this important period of British naval history. Columbia. TOWNSEND H ORNER LOU IS ARTHUR NORTON Osterville, M assachusetts Wes t Simsbury, Co nnecticut 1 1!1 l U .lt:Mo rt lH:>I
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Fo r God and Glory: Lord N elson and H is Way of Wa r, by Joel H aywa rd (Naval In stitute Press, A nn apolis, M D , 200 3, 25 0pp , m aps, illu s, notes, glossary, biblio, ISBN 1-59 11 4-35 1-9; $32.95 hc) H e re is H o ra ti o Nelso n ... aga in , respun . T hi s tim e "pro fess io na l mi litary a na lys t" Joe l H ayw a rd recas ts the legend a nd his tac ti cs in seemingly a busin ess sc hool tex tb oo k fo r th e masses. In un suppressed ado rati o n , H aywa rd explo res N el so n's life, wo rds a nd acti o ns for the winning fo rmu la-so urces of the "N elso n To uch. " It's a relat ive ly interes ting jo urn ey, es pecia lly wh en th e autho r reco unts specific biographical a nd ba ttle even ts to suppo rt his th esis of Ne lso n's releva nce to 21 st ce ntu ry wa rfa re. Be awa re o f t he w riting style. H aywa rd is a form er teacher of defense and st rategic studi es and has lectured a t mili ra ry co lleges . For God and Glory read s as if it may have o n ce been deli ve red in t he stand a rd o utline: "Tell 'm wh a t yo u're go ing to tell 'm . Tell 'm . A nd Tell 'm what you told 'm ." T he bo o k is a t its bes t w hen H aywa rd brings Ne lso n , the m an , to the fo re: "The Bard e of the N ile is a superb example of the m a neuve rist co nce pts o f su rfaces and ga ps and the appli ca ti o n o f strength aga in st wea kn ess, but it is o nly o ne of many exa mples to be fo und in N elson's ill ustrio us ca ree r. " T he trea tm ent of N elson's victo ri es is o f inte res t, b ut even m o re engaging are H aywa rd's a nalyses o f hi s handling of reversals (s uch as th e defea t at Santa C ru z), ch arac ter fl aws (e.g. va nity), his ow n insub o rdin a tio n , and inn er- mo ral co nflict rega rdin g his affair w ith E mma H ami lton. This h ero seem s m o re acces sible as the author describes hi s subj ect's grow th and m a rnra ti o n. Strucrnre a nd faw ning aside, For God
and Glory: Lord Nelson and His Way of War is en gagin g readin g fo r th e Nelso n fa n and tim e we ll spent fo r th ose seek in g a contemp o ra ry reexa min ati o n o f o ne of h istory's m os t intri guin g cha racte rs. PETER SORENSEN O ld M ys tic, Co nn ecticut
SEA HISTORY I 06, WINTER 2004