Promotion

Use code BESTBOOKS24 for 25% off sitewide + free shipping over $35

If By Sea

The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812

If By Sea Open the full-size image

Contributors

By George C. Daughan

Formats and Prices

Price

$24.99

Price

$30.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Trade Paperback $24.99 $30.99 CAD
  2. ebook $12.99 $16.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 4, 2011. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

Also available from:

The American Revolution-and thus the history of the United States-began not on land but on the sea. Paul Revere began his famous midnight ride not by jumping on a horse, but by scrambling into a skiff with two other brave patriots to cross Boston Harbor to Charlestown. Revere and his companions rowed with muffled oars to avoid capture by the British warships closely guarding the harbor. As they paddled silently, Revere’s neighbor was flashing two lanterns from the belfry of Old North Church, signaling patriots in Charlestown that the redcoats were crossing the Charles River in longboats. In every major Revolutionary battle thereafter the sea would play a vital, if historically neglected, role. When the American colonies took up arms against Great Britain, they were confronting the greatest sea-power of the age. And it was during the War of Independence that the American Navy was born. But following the British naval model proved crushingly expensive, and the Founding Fathers fought viciously for decades over whether or not the fledgling republic truly needed a deep-water fleet. The debate ended only when the Federal Navy proved indispensable during the War of 1812. Drawing on decades of prodigious research, historian George C. Daughan chronicles the embattled origins of the U.S. Navy. From the bloody and gunpowder-drenched battles fought by American sailors on lakes and high seas to the fierce rhetorical combat waged by the Founders in Congress, If By Sea charts the course by which the Navy became a vital and celebrated American institution.

Genre:

On Sale
Oct 4, 2011
Page Count
576 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780465025145

You May Also Like

The New York Times Headlines in History Page-A-Day® Calendar 2025
The New York Times Headlines in History Page-A-Day® Calendar 2025 $17.99 $23.99 CAD
Sisters in Resistance
Sisters in Resistance $18.99 $24.99 CAD
History Decoded
History Decoded $12.99 $16.99 CAD
Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee $24.99 $31.99 CAD
Such Men as These
Such Men as These $24.99 $31.99 CAD

George C. Daughan

About the Author

George C. Daughan holds a Ph.D. in American History and Government from Harvard University. Author of If By Sea and 1812: The Navy’s War, Daughan lives in Portland, Maine.

Learn more about this author