compiled and edited by Edmund Ogden Sawyer, Jr.
From the Foreword. "The purpose of this volume is to bring together under one cover original articles on the American merchant marine which have long been out of print. . . .These chronicles on the American sea power also deal with England for it was the conflict between the mother country and her North American colonists over the right to carry cargoes overseas and even between the colonies, which led to the War for Independence and was not settled until the War of 1812. . . .American supremacy on the seven seas was a natural development, for hardy mariners of England, France and Spain who fared forth upon an uncharted ocean founded this nation. Development of various craft of the colonizing period was guided by the requirements of a period in which defence and speed were of as great import as cargo capacity. England had long since discovered that her future depended upon fighting off invaders who could only reach her over a bridge of ships. The Romans or the Mongols might conquer the rest of Europe but could not levy tribute on Britain unless they first obtained mastery at sea. Forthwith began a battle for control of the Atlantic, with piracy rampant. Emerging from this period England began to sense that while she might not be able to conquer the world she might levy tribute on her neighbors by carrying cargoes, so forthwith she preempted the seven seas and thereafter made war on those who challenged her supremacy. Slowly a definite program was developed and in the meantime she began to establish colonies east and west. American colonists from England entered oversea trade in 1624 when Massachusetts sent home its first cargo of fish caught nearby and cured with salt of its own manufacture. The following year two cargoes of fish and furs were dispatched overseas but one was captured by a Turkish pirate when near the English coast. The natural reaction to this event laid the foundation for disputes which resulted one hundred and fifty years later in the War for Independence followed almost immediately by war on the pirates of Algiers and Tripoli. This saga covers the period of wooden packets and clipper ships which reached its climax following the discovery of gold in California. Its end was apparent at the outbreak of the Civil War, sail having to make way for steam, and wood for iron and steel, but the actual end came when Confederate cruisers, most successful of which was the English built Alabama and others, burned or drove American wind ships from the seas" . An essential reference for those interested in the history of sail and especially American sail. First published in 1929. 58 illustrations.
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