Ship's & Seamen of the American Revolution

[Matusalem]

While at the Wayne public library, I was looking for cd's to burn, and this book was at an end display, so I picked it up. it covers a lot in detail of the ships, crew, battles, attack techniques, weapons, repairing, diet, etc.

Typical British seaman, c. 1770

The Weather Gauge...as quoted in master & Commander a couple of times

Two types of melee

Rations

So on & so forth

[Littleneckhalfshell]

Sounds like a good one to look through, checked an my local library does not have one, but the Morris County Library in Morristown does as do many of the other towns in and arround this part of NJ. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Littleneckhalfshell]

Just a second note: one of the pages you showed said that Del. and NJ didn't have a state Navy, but NJ had a whole lot of Privateers and Privateers are just Pirates with papers

This book, about NJ, "A Nest of Rebel Pirates", by Franklin W. Kemp contains 208 pages including many illustrations. This is a detailed history and contains researched data concerning two Revolutionary War encounters between an 8 ship British Fleet and local Privateers. "The Little Egg Harbor Expedition of 1778" was the British title for these incidents

[hurricane]

Thanks for the recommend. I just ordered it off amazon.com to add to my collection. I just got a great CD of images to work and descriptions some might like. It's "Living and Working in Seventeenth Century England" with much of it devoted to the latter part of the century, on the cusp of GAoP but right spot on for buccaneers. The illustrations of surgeon tools and shoes was worth it alone. Comes with the text from the original book which was originally published in 1688. Overall, there are 2,500 illustrations spanning the century. The early ones weren't much used to me but the latter ones were a gold mine of original, period drawings of such basics as fireworks, machinery, instruments, jeweller's tools and household furnishings and kitchen utensils.

-- Hurricane

[Nathaniel Cross]

Thanks for the info. I will definitely check it out.

[blackjohn]

Thanks, but I'll pass. Too many post-periodisms. Saying this is useful for our period is like saying a book on WWII is useful for WWI reenactors.

[Matusalem]

Saying this is useful for our period is like saying a book on WWII is useful for WWI reenactors

Ah, Backjohn, the ships and the weapons themselves really didn't change that much over 50+years. You think about the period between the Civil War and WWI and we went from muzzle-loaders and horse cavalry to automatic weapons and airplanes.

I think this topic is related enough to be put on this board, (which this particular forum is labeled "Academic talk on maritime history, research, & interesting info")

and I hope this is of interest to at least a few of us.... I hope. To your point, I wish more people would post more literature and information about ships&info of the GAOP era. Not that anyone hasn't, but there seems to be far less concrete info about this era than books and illustrations seem to provide. Finding true info about GAOP oftens seems like shooting in the dark. There is much more info on the Revolutionary war, therefore it's a stepping stone and it *just might* offer insight what happened the fifty years prior. This board seems to move a bit slowly sometimes. Appreciate whatever comes your way...it may or may not be of use to you. Perhaps, I'll try to be as diplomatic as I can: I don't think it's necessary to take the role of GAOP police...which, btw, I don't think you did.

[blackjohn]

Ah, Backjohn, the ships and the weapons themselves really didn't change that much over 50+years.    You think about the period between the Civil War and WWI and we went from muzzle-loaders and horse cavalry to automatic weapons and airplanes.

Are you so sure? If you can't find info on ships and sailors of our era, is your assumption a sound one?

And if we take it back to the beginning of our period, say 1680, that's practically 100 years.

I think this topic is related enough to be put on this board, (which this particular forum is labeled "Academic talk on maritime history, research, & interesting info")

and I hope this is of interest to at least a few of us.... I hope.

I'll give you that. Though I might think there is an understood "as pertaining to pirates" after that. But as you point out below, this part of the board has atrophied...

To your point, I wish more people would post more literature and information about ships&info of the GAOP era.    Not that anyone hasn't, but there seems to be far less concrete info about this era than books and illustrations seem to provide.

Generally true. It's relatively easy to find books on later periods. You can't go into a Borders without getting hit over the head with some Napoleonic era ship book. And most of the pirate books are just... the same old thing.

Finding true info about GAOP oftens seems like shooting in the dark.  There is much more info on the Revolutionary war, therefore it's a stepping stone and it  *just might* offer insight what happened the fifty years prior.  This board seems to move a bit slowly sometimes.  Appreciate whatever comes your way...it may or may not be of use to you.    Perhaps, I'll try to be as diplomatic as I can:  I don't think it's necessary to take the role of GAOP police...which, btw, I don't think you did.

I'll give you that, that it might offer insight. My point is it might not. I believe having a dissenting opinion on these things can be healthy. I appreciate things that come my way, but I also feel compelled to question things. I believe that is how we advance our studies. I hope you understand.

[Matusalem]

Are you so sure? If you can't find info on ships and sailors of our era, is your assumption a sound one?

And if we take it back to the beginning of our period, say 1680, that's practically 100 years.

Well, I believe I did in this post:

The Best Ship Book Ever!....for ten bucks!!!!

It does have GAOP era vessels....and yes it also has info on Napoleonic era, and it was alos something I got at Borders.

Blackjohn, all your points duly noted. Better to show something than nothing at all. I would rather have this board morph into something not 100%related than to go by months and months of nothing at all. And as much as a "scatterbrain" I may appear to you all, I do have an interest in the event that goes down at Key West, when I'm in Florida. ...at the very least, whether an audiaence or as a participant.

[hurricane]

I didn't really take it as a period reference book - obviously, it's a work covering a later period, like the GAoP books don't work for us Buccaneer period lovers. But I still have GAoP in my collection as companion pieces to the Buccaneer books and resources I have. By comparing all the works, you get a good sense of what was and what wasn't at a particular period of time and can use comparisons to assess the progress made with particular items.

For instance, there's a tendency of GAoP's to mention making port in Port Royal. They were hunted there during this period. Even in the later Buccaneer era piracy, privateering and even buccaneering was a ticket to the gallows there. But little is mentioned in the contemporary books on GAoP regarding this... nor the fact that the once great city - "The Wickedest City in the World" was not so great in the GAoP, since it was 1/3 the size in landmass following the quake of 1692. You have to go back further to find the clues that lead to the truth.

In the 1688 piece I referenced, the one surgeon's saw looks much like later periods. So I can then look at those, knowing there were similar ones in the buccaneer period as well. Some things change greatly, some things change slowly and some thing don't change at all.

That's where I think others would find this of value, within that broader perspective.

- Hurricane