A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlantic-Wide Conflict over Independence and Empire
Theodore Corbett is at pains to show that by and large Britain and its Loyalist allies had the best of the maritime side of the Revolutionary War. Thirteen of the 26 British colonies in the Americas were retained for the Empire (although Florida was lost at the Peace), Gibraltar survived a three-year siege, the French failed in the West Indies and at the end of the war thousands of Loyalists, Black and white, were evacuated and resettled in Canada, Jamaica, Britain and eventually Africa. John Paul Jones’s exploits were chaotic and inconsequential. It’s a wonder Britain lost!
This is a careful and scholarly book which plays down the epic moments like the bombardment of Gibraltar and the duel between the Serapis and the Bonhomme Richard. In their place we have not only an account of all the main naval actions, including the combats on the lakes and rivers, but also of the organisation, supply and manning of the various navies on both sides.
We often overlook that this was a naval as well as a land war, and although it was won and lost on land, it could not have been fought without Britain’s command of the sea. If that command had not been lost locally, the outcome at Yorktown might have been different. If you are familiar only with the land war, then read this as a corrective.
