Reviews Young Men and the Sea: Yankee Seafarers in the Age of Sail by Daniel Vickers with Vince Walsh (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2005, 352pp, appen, illus, notes, index, ISBN 0-300-10067-1; $35hc) Young Men and the Sea, by Daniel Vickers and Vince Walsh, may be the finest single volume about American mariners during the age of sail yet written. Focusing on Salem, Massachusetts, the book explores American seafaring life in a typical port town from the rise of colonial shipping through the decades leading up to the Civil War. Based on more than a decade of graduate student research projects directed by Vickers, the book marshals an impressive array of evidence about the life course of thousands of individual sailors during the colonial and early national periods. At the book's core is a question fundamenD:miel Vickers •rm \'1~· tal in maritime history and literature: Why did young men go to sea? For the young men of Salem and similar maritime communities, the collective answer, according to Vickers, is clear. These young men went to sea, not in search of adventure, but because in a maritime town it was simply what you did. Vickers's conclusion that it was the normal yo ung man who went to sea is an important corrective to the romantic images conveyed by 19th-century sailor-authors such as Cooper, Dana, and Melville and the equally colorful and culturally exceptional sailors described by 20th-century historians from Samuel Eliot Morrison to Marcus Rediker. By reconstructing the lives of mariners from two distinct periods, Vickers illustrates both the continuities and patterns of change that characterized New England in the age of sail. Sailing during the colonial period offered more opportunity for advancement than during the early national period. Nonetheless, advancement and basic survival were far from guaranteed. Death from accidents, violence, or disease claimed nearly one third of all sailors. Opportunities •
for upward mobility and relative wages declined over time, especially when compared with opportunities ashore. Fewer and fewer made the jump from forecastle to quarterdeck. The one constant was the danger inherent in seafaring and the frequency of death among mariners. Vickers provides a fascinating treatment of the origin and evolution of Salem as a port city. By following mariners up the pier to shoreside work and households, the book contributes to a growing literature that is erasing the hard cultural lines separating maritime life on land from that at sea. Ultimately, what may distinguish Young Men and the Sea from the vast run of sea histories is the exquisite assembling, linking, and careful analysis of many types of historical evidence. While it offers profound insights into the nature of the American maritime world w.~u• during the age of sail, the book is also a model of proper historical methodology. It should become a staple in social and maritime history graduate seminars for decades to come. Beautifully written, the book is also an excellent read for any educated person interested in America's maritime past. JOHN ODIN JENSEN Wakefield, Rhode Island
SEA HISTORY 113, WINTER 2005-2006
Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History by Craig L. Symonds (Oxford University Press, NY, 2005, 378pp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 019-517145-4; $30hc) Craig Symonds's Decision At Sea examines the turning points, not just in maritime or naval history, but American, and even world history. Despite the subtitle, there are actually six battles discussed in the book, but Symonds correctly placed the first in the preface to avoid confusion because no American ships were involved in it. The "Battle of the Capes" (as in Capes Henry and Charles at the mouth of the Chesapeake) between British ships and the Caribbean Squadron under Admiral de
Grasse of the French navy proved as pivotal as the later battles studied in this book. With de Grasse denying the support of Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, it is clear that the British general had little choice but to surrender in 1781, thus ensuring American independence. The book is clearly written, sufficiently detailed, and well illustrated. The battles Symonds examines in detail include Perry's victory on Lake Erie (1813), the Battle of Hampton Roads (Monitor and Virginia, 1862) , the Battle of Manila Bay (1898), the Battle of Midway (1942), and, surprisingly, at least to me, Operation Praying Mantis (Persian Gulf, 1988). Each battle marked a significant change in either American policy or style of warfare. Similarities exist between each, which Symonds expresses succinctly and provides cohesiveness to the book as a whole. American policies, world situations, characters' backgrounds, and political ramifications are clearly explained. I cannot imagine any person with a love of American history who would not thoroughly enjoy this splendid book; I will certainly keep it on my bookshelf for future reference. WILLIAM
H. WHITE
Rumson, New Jersey
Ironclad: The Epic Battle, Calamitous Loss, and Historic Recovery of the USS Monitor by Paul Clancy (McGraw-Hill, NY, 2005, 245pp, photos, notes, index, ISBN: 0-07-143132-2; $24.95hc) Paul Clancy has melded two fascinating tales in his new book-the life of USS Monitor and the operation to salvage her most significant feature, the rotating turret that allowed her to train her guns in any direction without having to change course. Clancy alternates between the stories, chapter by chapter. He describes the brief career and loss of Monitor and reports of the stupendously difficult task of raising her remains from the sea floor. Clancy uses first person accounts to portray life aboard ship, and his report on the salvage operation is
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