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(More customer reviews)During the upheavals of the French Revolution and the ensuing Napoleonic Wars, America was a new and growing country. To protect its seaborne trade, so vital to the growth of the nation, the United States created a small and effective naval force that fought wars in the Mediterranean and Caribbean and held its own in the War of 1812 against the greatest naval power at the time, Great Britain. Neither as grand or grandiose as the Royal Navy, the US Navy was given good ships and developed an officer corps second to none.
Christopher McKee has given us this excellent study of the genesis and operation of the naval officer corps that goes well beyond the standard hero worship of generations past. Anyone who has read his masterful biography of Edward Preble would not be surprised at the thoroughness and brilliance of this work. Not only does he discuss recruitment, advancement and training in the corps, but he covers in detail the various common and unusual problems the service encountered. He combines statistical analysis of extant material with anecdotes and examples from the written records locked in the US National Archives and other collections. Officers, otherwise unknown to history, emerge from the dusty records as human beings with all their natural preoccupations and prejudices rather than as mere icons. Of special note are the multiple paintings and illustrations of these sometimes obscure figures. As someone else has already said, this volume is not only first class but probably is the class itself.
As a lifelong devotee of the age of fighting sail, I've always felt the US Navy has been given much less credit than it deserves in this colorful era. Christopher McKee has gone a long way in redressing this oversight with the production of this work. It is a powerful reference of the time and a prudent and judicious work of history.
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