Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea

by Tim McGrath

America in 1775 was on the verge of revolution or, more likely, disastrous defeat. After the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, England s King George sent hundreds of ships westward to bottle up American harbors and prey on American shipping. Colonists had no force to defend their coastline and waterways until John Adams of Massachusetts proposed a bold solution: The Continental Congress should raise a navy. The Royal Navy was the mightiest floating arsenal in history, with a seemingly endless supply of vessels. More than a hundred of these were massive ships of the line, bristling with up to a hundred high-powered cannon that could level a city. The British were confident that His Majesty s warships would quickly bring the rebellious colonials to their knees."

Genres: History, American Revolution, American History, Nonfiction, American Revolutionary War, Military Fiction, War

543 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

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Reviews

[David Eppenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where do I begin? The Revolutionary War is one of my favorite, maybe my most favorite, area of history to read. Additionally, I am a big fan of all books dealing with navies during the Age of Fighting sail. In this book we have Revolutionary War history and a history no less of our Revolutionary War navy. What more could I ask for? Maybe a better author? I just can't place my finger on it but this book really dragged for me. It is thoroughly researched and detailed to an extreme and that might have been part of the problem. But this really is a thorough history of America's naval activity during our Revolution and I have never encountered any meaningful history of this part of the Revolution until now.

This book introduces the reader to just how important American naval activity was to the success of what happened with the armies on land. Without the thievery of naval privateers throughout the war the army would probably run out of ammunition and starved. If the privateers weren't capturing ships with military supplies they were capturing ships with other valuable cargos that would be sold or traded for the necessities of war. But it wasn't just the privateers that are featured in the book. What is also recounted is the attempt of the Continental Congress to create a viable American Navy. Trying to create this navy at the same time supporting privateering was clearly a nightmare added to the other nightmares of an ineffective Congress racked with financial woes and political bickering. The Navy was created and ships purchased and built but then the problem of staffing them arose. Officers quarreling about rank and ship assignments and insults to their "honor" just added to an environment of chaos. That any of these ships ever got to sea is an amazing achievement and that they were able to distinguish themselves at all is even a greater achievement but they did.

The book, however, goes to great lengths, maybe too great, to detail the actions of both the American Navy as well as the American privateers. Strangely, the officers of privateers were frequently the same officers from the Navy who would get fed up and leave to go privateering. After some successful profit making as privateers these same men would then be brought back into naval service. The revolving door of service between these two activities rendered any attempt at keeping a professional naval service a fantasy. Add to this Congress' gross mistreatment and neglect of sailors through non-payment of wages, prize shares, and pensions for permanent disability in action or death benefits to widows and children made naval service very unattractive. It was not surprising that naval ships were frequently unable to sail for lack of crew as sailors were unavailable because they preferred privateering.

The naval actions portrayed are all small ship actions as the large ships of this war were all British. What ships that sailed for the Americans were schooners and brigs and ships of that size. These ships weren't interested in military engagements. What these ships wanted was to find and seize merchant men and sell them for profit to aid the Revolution and themselves. Consequently, the naval actions depicted, with a few exceptions, lack the drama and excitement of typical Age of Sail adventures. Nevertheless, this is an interesting book if you are truly a student of the Revolution because it will probably tax your dedication to finish this book. I did it but it wasn't easy and I am glad I did because I learned a lot that I didn't know before. This really is a thorough treatment of American naval activity during the Revolution and just how important and chaotic it was.

[Breck Baumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both students of U.S. Naval history and faithful fans of the American Revolution will be delighted by Tim McGrath's elaborate undertaking in Give Me a Fast Ship, a brilliant work that captures the entire history of the Continental Navy and the ensuing ocean-fought Revolutionary War battles. The average 'landsman' need not worry or feel overwhelmed, for McGrath provides sea legs and expert support for nautical terms, specific rigs and sails, the duties of the crew and officers, their daily rations and medicine—down to the size and type of cannon and shot that would prove devastating for both ship and those afflicted.

A cast of characters (with a multitude of the lesser-known) includes John Paul Jones, Abraham Whipple, John Barry, Esek Hopkins, Nicholas Biddle, Gustavus Conyngham, Matthew Parke, Joshua Barney, Andrew Snape Hamond, Richard Dale, James Nicholson, and Sir George Collier among others. While the grit and fire of battles are retold with stunning detail and excitement, McGrath also covers the politics of rank, appropriate signals (flags) at sea, rules of war, and most importantly—the consequences of insubordination:

Barry dismissed the sailor and called for his officers. In a low voice, he laid out his own ruthless plan to quell the mutiny before it could start. The ensuing discussion was carried on in the same hushed, desperate tones as the mutineers’ meeting the night before, taking on the feel of a council of war. After determining who among the Yankee hands was capable of joining the marines in bearing arms—Barry could thank the stars he had those castle guards, after all—he sent his officers out to their tasks.

Once on deck Parke armed his marines, sending a detail below to arrest Crawford, Shelden, and McEllany and clap them in irons. Next, Parke assigned the marines in shifts to patrol the deck. Back in his cabin, Barry entered in his log that the three ringleaders were arrested for “Mutity Mutiny,” the crossed-out misspelling the only betrayal of his anxiety.

This is a massive tome of exceptional detail and research, with McGrath including both miniscule and major naval battle alike—and each being retold in full scope and glory. Typically, history works of this length can at times be slow and over-encumbering, yet fortunately Give Me a Fast Ship is a promising page-turner right to the very end, filled with several maps and numerous photo inserts. At times fast-paced and character-driven, McGrath's noteworthy contribution to the Continental Navy should line the shelves of both history and Revolutionary War buff alike.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough and lively history of the Continental Navy. McGrath gives us a great portrait of a band of heroic sailors fighting against all odds against both the British navy and the ignorance of inept American political leaders. McGrath’s book is smoothly written, with a dry humor and an eye for detail that will make it appeal to a wide audience. We learn of the exploits of all the expected heroes, like John Paul Jones, John Barry, Richard Dale, Edward Preble, and a good number of lesser-known naval commanders and privateer captains. We also get a good history of British raids, blockades, and ship-to-ship engagements, as well as the expansion of the naval war to European waters.

McGrath gives us vivid portraits of all the major engagements and the characters involved, as well as all the relevant political, economic and diplomatic issues and how they related to the European and international situation at the time.

Inevitably, McGrath includes a boatload of eighteenth-century naval terminology that has long since been forgotten. More detailed maps may have been helpful. Also, many of the naval engagements might be difficult to follow, since McGrath’s approach is both chronological and centered around the various naval commanders. The comings and goings of all the commanders and warships is daunting at times, but McGrath more than makes up for it with a dry sense of humor and firm grasp of the subject matter.

[Mike Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most histories of the American Revolution tend to begin and end with the Bonhomme Richard and neglect the exploits (and failures) of the Continental Navy. This book is a needed corrective. While interesting, the narrative lacks flow and is a little bit incoherent. The reader (at least this reader) has to keep looking back to keep the various captains straight and to remind himself what year events were taking place.

[Alex Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boy, this is a topic and an era that I have high interest in, and I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, although McGrath's research seems sound and exhaustive, his storytelling powers are lackluster, making this read very much like the proverbial history book. I couldn't finish it.

[Big H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great historical facts, but SUPER dry.

[Megargee · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Give me a fast ship" gave me a slow read. While the book's blurb promises epic adventures and rousing battles, and there are some of those, author McGrath's primary goal appears to have been to set forth in considerable detail the definitive history of what became the American Navy in the Revolutionary War. We learn how John Adams convinced the Continental Congress to build and commission several warships, how merchant vessels were converted to fighting ships, and the role played by privateers. A primary goal of these vessels was not the destruction of English men of war but capturing merchant vessels in order to supply the Continental army with gunpowder and other essentials not manufactured in America and to sell the captured vessels to enrich their captors.
Fine, but in the process, McGrath finds it necessary to describe what seems like every vessel from the largest frigate to the lowliest rowboat, list their personnel, and explore all their personal conflicts and jealousies that plagued them as they jockeyed for position and sometime even switched sides. The book is well written, but even well written books can be tedious. Eventually I ran up a white flag and surrendered, letting my need for entertainment outweigh my desire for erudition.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this three stars, maybe three and a half. I read this one immersively and struggled with it. I think the author was going for a casual, conversational tone, which wasn’t reflected by the narrator whose tone was somewhat more straightforward. That was my first problem. The second problem was the masses of detail. In the author’s defense, the book is described as a rousing “epic” tale of war on the high seas, and “meticulously researched”. That right there should’ve told me I was in for a long, sometimes tedious ride. My third problem with this book is that I found it difficult to track the naval events of the war with what was going on with the land battles. I wish the author had tied the two together better. It would have given me a better overall understanding of the Revolutionary War.

[Chiyaa Pasal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a novel. It is a meticulously researched history of the beginnings of the Continental Navy, the early precursor of the US Navy, when the US was a loose collection of 13 colonies. It was also a very good read. Despite it being an historical account, McGrath brought the battles and many of characters alive.

McGrath packs in a lot of information about the people, events and ships. While a few reviewers didn’t like the writing style, I did. I thought McGrath did an excellent job of bringing the history to life. If anything, there may have been a bit too much information at times as he would occasionally get side track on some minor detail or another (usually a side story about a person) but these were generally short side notes and, for me, added to the story.

To give an idea of how much information McGrath went through, there are over 100 pages of endnotes, bibliography and index.

The ship battles in particular are described in detail but without the Hollywood theatrics, just the manoeuvres. If you are looking for Master and Commander then get that. If you want an well written historical account of the Continental Navy, then get McGrath’s book.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boo! Sorry but if nothing lies like statistics, then the second caveat is no historian only tells one side of the story. I don't object to McGrath's research but his language which is so silly and hyperbolic that every English captain a condescending twit and every Loyalist a fool or a brigand. Sorry. Untrue. Yuck! As a better scholar once wrote, this was a "Cousin's War" and this sort of tomfoolery belongs in middle school story telling, not serious writing.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult work to judge, in that while possessing the bones of a history it often reads more as a collection of stories (which I suppose history always is). In telling the story of the Continental Navy during eight years of revolution, McGrath writes in a way that is very uneven in tempo. He will introduce a naval action, catch you up to speed on another ship or captain, and then return you to the initial action, though sometimes described after the fact. One can sympathize with McGrath’s requirement to cover a large amount of ground, both chronologically and geographically, as well as the need to introduce and describe the actions of dozens of sea captains and vessels. However, this is done in a frenetic style that leaves the reader jumping all over the globe, and not in a pleasing way. Likewise, McGrath could improve on his description of age-of-sail naval warfare. If it wasn't for my experience with Patrick O’Brian and Ian Toll, I would have been terribly confused.

While these faults take away from the experience as whole, McGrath is still capable of putting down some ripping good yarns. The Continental Navy fought scores of battles, many of them defeats, sure, but with enough victories to contribute to the ultimate victory. The fledgling United States was served by both excellent captains and fighters as well as those that were beyond hapless. American knowledge of local waters more often than not stood no chance against the skill, professionalism, and tenacity of the greatest maritime power in the world. While her most famous sailors, Barry and Jones, knew many victories and helped build the name and mythos of American seapower, the general experience was fraught with error, bureaucratic ineptitude (Arthur Lee, minister to France, has to be one of the chief serpents of American diplomatic history), and challenges of nature, both terrestrial and human. In this regard this work was very helpful: in helping the reader to better understanding the context in which the Continental navy fought. Whether it be the challenge of finding trustworthy sailors, or intricacies of prize rules, or the politicking of captains seeking commands, McGrath fills in much of the gray and ugly world that is often overlooked when examining the American Revolution at sea. So while less than satisfactory in its delivery, the stories and information found within this book are enough to create a positive reading experience.

[Robin Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast read, and the book fills in some needed gaps for me, and likely for many others: how did we pay for the war? How did we get supplies? Why did the French support us? A lot had to do with a navy that half behaved as pirates -- more than I'd have thought -- plus real pirates. On our side and on the British side. These are good yarns, stories rarely told, they could have been better chosen though.
This would be a 5 star book except that there are many battles described, too many ships and prizes to keep track of, too many captains to follow with too many missions and turns of fortune. While the politics is crucial, we could do with fewer examples of how mean and vindictive Lee and Adams were. I wish he'd focus on some critical examples and lessons learned from them, or understandings we might get from them.
Some evident patterns weren't remarked upon. The Alliance was a remarkably successful ship under many captains. Why? Speculate. Some captains were hated, others liked (and successful?) - tell us the patterns and speculate on why. It seems that our larger ships were bad, slow and wastes of money. Speculate on why. Some stories here had to be told; the rest, I think should have been picked for the lessons learned.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. While I consider myself an American history buff, I never really knew much about the Continental Navy in the Revolutionary War. This book filled that void in my knowledge and then some. The author has done extensive research on the Navy assembled by our Founding Fathers. He covers the many colorful characters, naval battles, and fascinating storylines along with the politics and economics behind them.

The contributions of the Continental Navy to the Revolutionary War and the huge sacrifices by the men that sailed these ships have been long under-appreciated. This book attempts to correct the record in this area. There were far more ships and patriots sailing them than most Americans know. They made huge contributions to the outcome of the Revolutionary War. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand those contributions and who those men were.

[Ethan S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly well researched and comprehensive but there’s just so much here and it can be very difficult to follow along as ship after ship and person after person is introduced, has their bit and leaves the story. In that way it’s a bit stuck between popular history and academic history. It lacks a main narrative or character to guide you through the story and as such it is often just a description of things that happened. As thorough as it is in the continental Navy, it often lacks context to what is happening in the political and other military aspects of the Revolutionary War. Still, if you are interested in the age of sail, and the early days of the United States naval development, you will find a lot of good information here.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed and filled with a good deal of descriptive accounts of battles at sea and the trials of the early US Navy and its heroes. It gets long-winded at times and will make you forget exactly where you’re at in the timeline of events often. There are points where I found myself re-reading prior pages because I had glazed over the drier sections. (History isn’t always glamorous). Regardless, a very nice read that helps explain much of where we get our Naval traditions and spirit from. Worth the time to read it!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten how much I loved Revolutionary War naval history until I read this book. Starting with a few incidents before the war, the author covers the entirety of naval combat between the Royal Navy and the Continental Navy. I learned quite a bit about some overlooked captains and learned some things about more well known captains. My only complaint is that I wish there had been a bit more on the French Navy, but I think that was outside the scope of what the author wanted to do.

[Kevin Harber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and exhaustive examination of the birth of the US Navy during the Revolution. Turns out it was a mess of political corruption, self-dealing, and nepotism that horribly exploited sailors (especially black sailors) and that most of the early captains were thin-skinned egotists, cowards, and/or idiots. It's a wonder we won our independence, all things considered.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work follows the American colonies in their movement toward revolution against England and the creation of an American navy. It emphasis some of the early naval commanders and their ships. This is a good historical account of the early American navy.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I have to mark this book as DNF. I wanted to enjoy this book. I love this period of history and hadn't read anything of the Continental Navy. Whether it was too may characters to track or not having a background in this area, the book felt inaccessible to me.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long and thorough; interesting but not hugely engaging. Well researched and clearly sourced but certainly narrative vice scholarly in tone and structure. Good but not great.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well referenced. May have tried to cover more ground than a single volume can encompass, but an easy, fun history lesson

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough, chronological history of the Colonial navy - McGrath covers a lot of ground, from the politicking (of both Congress and the captains, all jockeying for command), the ship building, the international diplomacy and disputes and, of course, the naval battles, and it's to his credit as a writer that it's mostly pretty easy as a reader to keep the many officers, sailors, politicians, and ships straight. He's got a lively, sometimes wry voice, and despite the breadth of his subject it's a very readable work.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some historians (e.g., Ian Toll on page 15 of "Six Frigates") concluded that "The Continental Navy, with few exceptions, was a wasteful and humiliating fiasco." Tim McGrath in this book tells a more balanced and detailed history of the Continental Navy. To be sure, there were fiascoes like the British destroying a Continental squadron in the Penobscot River in what is now Maine. And many Continental ships were captured by the British. But there are many other sides of the story.

John Paul Jones' epic capture of the Serapis off Flamborough Head in England was an epic and bloody victory. Yet almost no one remembers the successful cruises of Gustavus Conyngham, the "Dunkirk Pirate", around the British Isles that preceded Jones' cruises in the Ranger and the Bonhomme Richard. Conyngham was captured and imprisoned twice in England but he escaped both times and returned to sail again and again. John Barry, Joshua Barney, Nicholas Biddle and other captains captured numerous British merchant and naval ships as well as privateers.

The Continental Navy was hampered by British blockading ships, a constant lack of money and a desperate need for sailors. Many sailors and officers (including several of the navy's leading captains at various times during the war) sailed in privateers where there was better pay. Several members of the Continental Congress invested in privateers so they had conflicts of interest.

One thing that I learned is that one of the first actions by the U.S. Marines wasn't on the shores of Tripoli, it was on the shores of one of the islands in the Bahamas during a raid on British forts and shipping.

This book is 425 pages long (not counting acknowledgments and source notes) but it's a quick and engaging read. I highly recommend it.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of naval warfare nonfiction and fiction. I have a special affinity for the American Revolution war against England and with France. I have just finished GIVE ME A FAST SHIP by TIM McGRATH (ISBN 978-0451416100, $26.95, hardcover). It was published the summer of 2014. This is non-fiction.

The author gives a blow by blow description of most of the major engagements between American and British warships. He describes the politics and economics of what was going on in England, France, Spain and America regarding America's fledgling Navy. The lives of the major players on both sides of the Atlantic and the Conflict are examined. There are numerous maps of important engagements and paintings showing the men and ships involved. Some heroes such as John Paul Jones the reader will recognize. Others lesser personalities will become more familiar. At the end of the book, McGrath gives additional information about the men and ships into the early 19th Century. The author also provides an extensive bibliography if you desire to read more.

This book is a must read for readers of American Revolution and naval history. There are references to "original sources".

GO! BUY! READ!

[Chris Kostenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

We hear very little about the continental navy. We hear a lot about the British Navy, the best in the world, some say. The image of hundreds of ships at anchor in Sandy Hook is one I often think of relaxing at that beach.

The interesting thing is that the ships fought across the golbe: in the Caribbean, at the sugar plantations, in the North Atlantic, around Scotland, around Ireland, in Spanish ports, and in French ports (long before there was a specific alliance.

I knew about John Paul Jones, but there were so many others: Connyngham, Barry... and did we ever think of Americans as privateers. Fact is the continental governement had no money--there was no central government--and so privateering brought cash tothe table. However, like the army, the sailors often went unpaid for the term of their service.

Interesting to see the way prisoner exchanges went. If you were an officer you were treated differently and you might find your way back to the battlefield if you were exchanged. Again, the privateers were the ones who made this possible, because they were grabbing the British officers as part of their prizes.

[Anne Beardsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I hadn't read Six Frigates and known what a book about war at sea could be, I would have given this book four stars instead of three.

It was...good. But it takes more than 'good' to justify more than 600 pages. Mr. McGrath's knowledge is encyclopedic, and he does a really rather good job of writing in an interesting, engaging way.

But by 200 pages in I still hadn't met any characters I felt I would recognize if I met them at the supermarket. By the end of the book, only John Barry and John Paul Jones met that standard. I also lacked the sense of breathless wonder, the hopes and fears that carried me through Six Frigates and other really five-star historical works.

Instead, I will damn by moderate praise: it was a good book. The subject was interesting, the important parts were all made clear, the writing was not dense or stilted, and the author knew his material.

[Mark Luongo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well researched book on the doings of the naval service during the American Revolution. Though the Navy as we know it was not "born" until 1794, the Continental Congress managed to put together a force that give the Royal Navy fits. Names like Barry, Barney, Hopkins, Dale, Parke, Conyngham, and of course Jones are all liberally sprinkled throughout the text. Sea fights involving vessels like Alliance, Ranger, Ariel, Bon Homme Richard, Lexington against the best of His Majesty's captains bring the snap of canvas in the wind and gun smoke across a "mill pond sea" to the reader's mind.
It also brings to mind the fact that politics then, as it does now, play a role in inhibiting what needed to be done to protect American shores and commerce. But some how it was done in the face of great sacrifice with the help of people like Franklin, Adams, and Robert Morris.
Worth the time and a good introduction for anyone curious enough about the early days of the sea service.

[Martin Whatwouldthefoundersthink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prodigious is the best word to describe Tim McGrath’s latest naval history. Give Me A Fast Ship tells the story of America’s Navy as it sprang into existence during the Revolutionary War. In an awesome undertaking, McGrath covers the careers of every captain in America’s nascent navy. One has only to peruse the bibliography to get a sense of McGrath’s accomplishment.

My complete review is on What Would The Founders Think?

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are searching for a non-academic book about the biographical generalizations of the American navy, this is a great book. If you are looking for an academic book that has a thesis, supportive arguments, and doesn't stop short of answering a big question, this is not the book for you.

The research for this book is very in-depth and the whimsical storytelling is, well, just that, storytelling. McGrath is a fascinating narrator that fills in the black and white facts with colorful, yet questionable, narration. Although the book is very well written and would keep any preteen enthralled. I question its effectiveness on anyone that has studied history in depth as anything more than a footnote.

[Nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ask someone about the navy in the American Revolution and they may only tell you about Washington crossing the delaware with boats and the French cutting off the British at Yorktown. But heroes like John Paul Jones and the lesser known Gustavus Conyngham brought the fight to the British Isles and mainland Britain itself. Lake Champlain became a battleground of gunboats to wrestle control of New York and cut off the northern colonies.

While it may be a bit dry in some parts and a bit heavy with statistics, a fan of naval history and of the revolution will still enjoy the action. The heroes we all know and love and even some we never heard of. But just know it's less of a narrative and more of a reference book, but there's still plenty to get out of it.