Falcon Fans the Flames of Revolution: The Misadventures of Captain John Linzee
At the onset of the Revolutionary War, coastal towns north of Boston such as Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, and Gloucester were patrolled by British naval…
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Silas Talbot, Continental Army Mariner
Silas Talbot was a remarkable Revolutionary War notable who was astute and tactically flexible. He was at various times an artisan, entrepreneur, privateer, Rhode…
Print Media and Isaiah Thomas
‘Tis to ye Press & Pen we Mortals owe All we believe & almost all we know: —George Fischer, The American Instructor: or, Young…
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Plight of the Seamen: Incarceration, Escape, or Secured Freedom
During the Revolutionary War, the British were particularly sensitive to challenges to their maritime sovereignty. Members of the Continental Navy, states’ navy sailors or…
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The Marauder and Malefactor of Maine
The vast eastern province of Massachusetts, now the state of Maine, was the site of some important military events during the Revolutionary War. Several…
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The Revolutionary War Origin of the Whistleblower Law
The so called “whistleblower law” had a salty source. It did not emanate from the shrill sound of a boatswain’s pipe, but rather a…
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Joshua Barney, the Hyder-Ally‘s Triumph, and its Aftermath
One of the most colorful men to seek and earn an officer’s commission in the Continental Navy was Joshua Barney. He was a man…
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The Battle between Bonhomme Richard and Serapis
Author’s note: Continental Navy midshipman Nathaniel Fanning’s eyewitness account of the American Revolution’s most famous naval battle is among the most detailed available. This…
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The Revolutionary War’s Most Enigmatic Naval Captain: Pierre Landais
One American Revolutionary War naval captain, Pierre Landais, appeared paranoid and somewhat deranged. Landais was a French merchantman lieutenant who trafficked arms to America…
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The Battle of Beaufort
South Carolina, by several measures, was the most affluent and economically important pre-revolutionary British colony in North America. Largely agrarian and sparsely settled, it…
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The Connecticut Captivity of William Franklin, Loyalist
War, an odious invention of man, attempts to portray the enemy as subhuman, unworthy of normal sympathy. Civilized societies respected the sanctity of human…
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Admiral Rodney Ousts the Jews from St. Eustatius
An incongruous spectacle greeted a scorching Caribbean sun that shone upon a stone quay. Tall slim palms seemed to wave a mournful farewell while…
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Captain Gustavus Conynham: America’s Successful Naval Captain or Accidental Pirate?
Shortly after the onset of the Revolutionary War, Americans started to harass British commercial shipping close-to-home. One ship captain who engaged in this type…