Reviews Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea by Tim McGrath (New American LibraryPenguin Gro up, New York, 2014, 560pp, illus, index, notes, ISBN 978-0-45141-6100; $26.95 hc) Ir is fortunate that, every few years, maritime history enthusiasts are given the opportunity to feast upon a new effort to tell the story of the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. It is a subject that standard hisrories of the Revolutionary War often overlook, or mention only in passing. As is true in this book, nearly always included are the efforts ofJohnAdams and others on rhe Naval Committee of the Continental Congress to create a navy and rhe exploits of Captain (later Commodore) John Paul Jones. Bur Tim McGrath's Give Me a Fast Ship goes far beyond these staples to present an all-encompassing narrative portrait of rhe essential contributions of the Uni red Stares' first navy. The title of the book emanates from a ringing phrase penned by Jones in 1778: "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does nor sail fast, for I intend ro go in har m's way." In 1775, as rhe troubles in rhe Port of Boston worsened with rhe first battles ar Lexingron and Concord, people living along rhe New England coast with concerns about their liberty, property and livelihoods worried about rhe future actions of rhe British Crown, its army and rhe Royal Navy. If there were to be an outright rebellion, British warships were sure to interdict the American merchant trade, fisheries, and coastwise shipping. Wirhour a navy ro challenge rhe British fleer, import munitions, and harry British convoys, the colonies would be thrown back on their own reso urces. Author T im McGrath sers rhe scene by describing the rise of state navies and rhe initial acrs of rhe Naval Commirree of the Second Continental Congress, which called for arming rhe first two vessels of rhe Continental Navy and enacted legislation creating rhe Continental Marine Corps, regulations for rhe navy, and provisions for uniforms. Before the year was out, Co ngress also authorized the construction of thirteen warships, one for each of the newly united colonies. There was no governmental executive bureau or department of the navy for several years, which was one of its probSEA HISTORY 150, SPRING 2015
!ems. Congressional committees governed, or rather, misgoverned, the Co ntinental Navy, until the establishment of the Board of Admiralty in 1779. McGrath has a talent for portraying the personalities of the infant navy's commanders. Here the author reveals the friendships, feuds, mistakes, and heroics of this feisty band of revolutionary mariners with telling insights as well as droll remarks. These include the rivalry between Captain Hector McNeil in Boston and John Manley in Hancock; James Nicholson's disgraceful loss of the frigate Virginia; the bravery of Nicholas Biddle as his frigate Randolph confronted the ship of the line Yarmouth; the sacrifice of several Continental ships (Boston, Providence, Queen ofFrance, and Ranger) as floating batteries under Abraham Whipple's command during the siege of Charleston; the ignoble performance of Dudley Saltonstall in the failure of the Penobscot expedition; the superlative actions of John Paul Jones in the sloop Providence, sloop of war Ranger, and Bonhomme Richard; and the fine seamanship of John Barry in the brig Lexington and ships Raleigh and Alliance. McGrath allows that the Continental Navy's success capturing enemy ships rivaled that of America's privateers, on a ship-for-ship basis. Although France's participation was undoubtedly a key element in rhe final American victory, rhe author pays little attention to rhe French Navy's strategic contributions. As an operational narrative of considerable length and derail, this book succeeds beyond many ofirs predecessors, bur ir falls short in its lack of clarity in explaining rhe administration of rhe Continental Navy. Ir is difficult ro trace rhe acts of rhe Naval Committee, rhe Continental Marine Committee, rhe Naval Boards, and rhe transition ro rhe Board of Admiralty in McGrath's rexr. The index's lack of consistency in use of subenrries also presents some difficulties. For example, entries under John Barry, Nicholas Biddle, G ustavus Co nyngham, and John Paul Jones have ample subenrries, whereas with other entries, such as British Admiralty, Continental Marine Committee, and Eastern Navy Board, rhe reader is given only blocks of page numbers. These quibbles aside, rhe author is to be commended for his depth of research in primary and secondary sources and his ex-
tensive use of rhe published records in rhe series Naval Documents of the American Revolution, as well as his felicitous literary style. A sixteen-page gallery of color illustrations and eight maps enhance this excellent acco unt of rhe Continental Navy, which reminds us once again of the importance of sea power in rhe struggle for national independence. WILLIAM
S. DUDLEY
Easton, Maryland
The Great Ocean: Pacific WOrlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush by David Igler (Oxford University Press, New York, 20 13, 272pp, ISBN 978-0-19991-495-1; $29.95 hc) For many years, historians and others have focused on th e concept of "the Arlanric World,'' and have looked ar rhe biological, economic, cultural, and historical interplay between the peoples of Africa, rhe Americas, and Europe. Comparatively little attention has been paid to similar interactions in other regions of rhe globe. Thar is, until now. In The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush, noted historian David Igler examines rhe myriad
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