The Struggle for Sea Power

November 16, 2015
In the U.S., the American Revolution is generally seen as a land war, but in this thorough and satisfying account, British maritime historian Willis (In the Hour of Victory) convincingly argues that the colonies’ rebellion sparked the “greatest war of the age of sail.” Not confined to North America, the war was waged globally by “no fewer than 22 separate navies” across oceans, freshwater lakes, and rivers, as well as on land, where sailors played crucial roles in combat and logistics. None of this was easy: communications were slow, naval strategy as an organized concept barely existed, and navies were expensive to operate and difficult to maintain. What began as a naval war for control of North America’s littoral and inland waters churned into a contest of battle fleets in 1778, when France entered the war. Spain and the Netherlands joined shortly after. Initially ineffective, the allied navies learned from mistakes. By 1781, the British “had lost control of the sea,” and, Willis states, “the huge, combined, unopposed French fleet set off to change the war.” Franco-Spanish cooperation altered the Caribbean balance, and a British army lacking naval support surrendered at Yorktown. “The war taught the British significant lessons,” Willis writes, and American readers will likewise learn from this naval perspective on the revolution. Maps & illus.