Facebook X YouTube Instagram TikTok NetGalley
Google Books previews are unavailable because you have chosen to turn off third party cookies for enhanced content. Visit our cookies page to review your cookie settings.

A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War (ePub)

An Atlantic-Wide Conflict over Independence and Empire

Maritime Military > Pre-WWI > American History P&S History > By Century > 18th Century

By Theodore Corbett
Imprint: Pen & Sword Maritime
File Size: 6.2 MB (.epub)
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399040433
Published: 24th April 2023

in_stock

£6.99 Print price £25.00

You save £18.01 (72%)

Click here for help on how to download our eBooks

Award Winner!

The Maritime Committee of the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) has awarded the 2024 Brewington Book Prize to Theodore Corbett for A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlantic-Wide Conflict Over Independence and Empire. Chosen from a competitive selection of titles on the Chesapeake Bay and U.S. maritime history published throughout 2023, Corbett’s text dives into the American Revolution from a seafaring standpoint.

You'll be £6.99 closer to your next £10.00 credit when you purchase A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War. What's this?
Need a currency converter? Check XE.com for live rates

Other formats available - Buy the Hardback and get the eBook for £1.99! Price
A Maritime History of the American… Hardback Add to Basket £25.00


While many books have been written on the naval history of the Revolution, this is one of the first to treat it in its entirety as an Atlantic-wide conflict. While its geographical scope is vast, it features overlooked aspects of the war in which sloops and barges fought, actions which proved to be as decisive as the familiar ship of the line confrontations. It is also history from the bottom up, emphasizing the role of the crew as much the not always heroic officers. From naval perspective the rebellious colonies did not gain a military victory, though Benjamin Franklin was able to secure their independence at the peace table in Europe. The final chapter on the Royal Navy’s evacuation of white and black loyalists, will be examined in more detail in the author’s forthcoming Pen & Sword book.

"While many books have been written on the naval history of the Revolution, this is one of the first to treat it in its entirety as an Atlantic-wide conflict. While the book’s geographical scope is vast, it features overlooked aspects of the war in which vessels like sloops and barges fought—actions which proved to be as decisive as the familiar ship-of-the-line confrontations. It is also an example of history from the bottom up, emphasizing the role of the crew as much as the not-always-heroic officers."

The Maritime Committee of the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC)

“Any reader interested in the American Revolutionary War will nevertheless find this interesting work to offer a refreshingly different spotlight on the subject, and one that illuminates the maritime operations and issues of all sides involved.”

Read the full review here

The Nautical Research Guild

“Corbett makes it his goal to bring the story under one cover and without impudence. His matter-of-fact style leaves no room for nationalistic interpretation… Corbett proves that the maritime history of the war was, indeed, worthy of in-depth study, and that the war was much more than just what happened on the fields at Yorktown and Saratoga.”

National Maritime Historical Society - Sea History Magazine, Issue #187, Summer 2024

"This is a very dense and detailed account...In conclusion, this is certainly a volume that should be placed on the shelves of the staff colleges."

Read the full review here.

The Naval Review

Historians will be thankful to Corbett for illuminating an overlooked aspect of the past...

Read the full review here.

Australian Naval Institute

"This is a book founded on wide research and packed with information..."

South West Soundings, South West Maritime History Society

A original, meticulous, detailed, documented, and fascinating historical study, "A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlantic-Wide Conflict over Independence and Empire" is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a section of b/w plates, thirty-eight pages of Notes, and a four page Index. A work of throughly impressive scholarship that is thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, and also available in a digital book format, "A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlantic-Wide Conflict" is highly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Revolutionary History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Read the full review here

Midwest Book Review

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.

If you are familiar only with the land war then read this as a corrective.

Historical Novels Review

About Theodore Corbett

Theodore Corbett is a scholar of the American Revolutionary War, an interest which grew during a career in teaching at several universities. He has published the award-winning No Turning Point, The Saratoga Campaign in Perspective and two community studies of the war, Revolutionary New Castle and Revolutionary Chestertown. For this maritime history, he has done research at the Caird Library, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Archives Centre, The Maritime Museum of Liverpool and the New York Historical Society as a Gilder Lehrman Fellow. He resides on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

More titles by Theodore Corbett

Customers who bought this title also bought...

Other titles in Pen & Sword Maritime...