Stoddert's War: Naval Operations During the Quasi-War with France, 1798-1801

by Michael A. Palmer

An award-winning study of the Franco-American undeclared naval war at the turn of the nineteenth century, this history of the nearly forgotten struggle is filled with the dramatic actions of such frigates as the Constellation and her capture of l'Insurgente, as well as the sundry operations that protected American commerce from the depredations of the French corsairs in the Caribbean. First published in 1987, the book avoids the parochialism of earlier studies by placing the American war within a European context. It takes a critical look at the command and operations of the first secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, and how under his direction the Navy proved itself ship for ship as--if not more--effective against French privateers than the Royal Navy.
The book also examines how the Navy served the nation's commercial and diplomatic interests, a pattern of activity that would become known as gunboat diplomacy, and how the Navy's successes assured it a permanency that had eluded the Continental Navy. Awarded prizes from the American Revolution Round Table of New York and other organizations, the respected work answers penetrating questions about what happened and why, and the author's judicious evaluations of participants and their policies make an important contribution to the literature. This new Classics edition is introduced by the author, chair of the maritime history department at East Carolina University and author of three other books, including Origins of Maritime Strategy.

Genres: American History

350 pages, Hardcover

First published December 12, 1987

About the author

Michael A. Palmer is a professor of History and Maritime Studies at East Carolina University.

Reviews

[QOH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: I had no intention of reading this book, except as a reference for some historical minutia.

But once I started reading, I couldn't stop. Now it's so tabbed and highlighted (multi-colored, because that's how OCD readers roll) that it looks like one of my law school casebooks.

With the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, there's been a lot of focus on that as a "forgotten war." (A minor rant: forgotten by whom? Isn't American history still required in high school? Please, publishers: stop calling it forgotten. Your target readership knows about it already. Really.)

Ahem.

The real forgotten war of the Early Republic is the Quasi-War with France. And if you though the US was unprepared for the War of 1812, it had nothing on the Quasi-War. And the primary reason the US came out of that conflict as well as it did was the leadership of Benjamin Stoddert.

Palmer's book is tightly written, authoritative, full of details I'd never read elsewhere, and--joy of joys--relies heavily on primary sources (although the bibliography is an amazing starting point for someone looking to dive into the history of this era with secondary sources).

This is not a broadside-by-broadside account of the war (although Palmer certainly relays battles with detail and fluency), but an illustration of how one man, by force of will and a knack for politicking, managed to produce a navy out of (almost) thin air. It's both social history of the early navy and diplomatic history of internecine American departments.

If you like age of sail history, it's definitely worth your time to track this book down.

[Eric Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, highly readable account of the forgotten war that launched the U.S. Navy.