own, asserting a coherent naval strategy, and expanding the still-tiny naval bureaucracy. After the war, civilian supremacy was assured. The officers’ premium on honor gave way to restraint because, Sheppard points out, the navy no longer had to prove itself to adversaries or justify its existence at home. The Navy, whose very existence seemed in doubt when Jefferson was president, became a fixture, but it had grown too big and too complex for any secretary to administer alone. In response, Congress created the Board of Naval Commissioners, and successive secretaries understood they needed the commissioners’ professional advice on operational matters, even while they delegated to them control over technical matters, which further reduced individual officers’ autonomy. Sheppard provides an important gloss on the early republic’s navy. He builds a strong case that over time, “ideas of personal honor gave way to a more modern sensibility that expected men of honor to put the national or institutional good ahead of their own quest for status.” Along the way, Commanding Petty Despots provides vignettes that demonstrate the role of honor, as well as the ways that secretaries of the navy tried to assert control over their zealous officers. Well conceived, well researched, and well written, Commanding Petty Despots is a fine addition to the history of the sailing navy. Frederick C. Leiner Baltimore, Maryland Nelson’s Navy in 100 Objects by Gareth Glover (Frontline Books, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK, 2021, 301pp, index, 9781-52-673132-6; $49.95hc) One hundred might seem like a large number at first glance, but once the scope of the topic comes into full view, one tends to think how difficult it will be to limit the book to one hundred objects. And, in fact, the author goes well beyond that mark. First, though, he firmly defines the topic, stating that the book is not about Admiral Horatio Nelson himself, but his navy. Glover curates his selections from the top, with objects that stand for the great governmental agencies that made the navy so enormously successful in the late 18th SEA HISTORY 180, AUTUMN 2022
and early 19th centuries. The point is made, too, that it was a Herculean task; it took an army to properly manage a navy of a thousand ships scattered across the globe in an age of paper and ink. And so, the breadth of the canon of “objects” becomes even clearer. The book is profusely and colorfully illustrated, with as many as four or five images per chapter (if that is what each of the 100 sections should be called). Reading the book is like wandering through a collected museum of Nelson-era artifacts and memorabilia, and no topic is too obscure.
The author shifts seamlessly from nautical charts to carronades and cutlasses to surgeons’ tools with ease, while keeping a positive, logical flow from page to page. Each object is contextualized, dropped into its proper place in Royal Navy history. From time to time, Nelson does appear, or at least the objects most closely tied to him do, including his personal pocket sundial, the jacket he was wearing when he was fatally shot at Trafalgar, and the water barrel used to transport his body home. When you emerge from the depths of this book, you will realize we have been
“…Real, relevant, and deeply meaningful to anyone who has set sail and headed into harm’s way.” — James Stavridis, Ph.D., Admiral, US Navy (Retired)
“...An absolutely splendid read.” —Craig L. Symonds, Professor Emeritus of History, U.S. Naval Academy
“What a story, and how well told!” —Eric C. Rust, Professor of History, Baylor University
Available on Amazon.com and at www.hellgatepress.com
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