Here’s a book for anyone who is a fan of the age of
sail. Donald Canney’s Sailing
Warships of the US Navy[1] presents a description and history of every
sailing warship the US built. The 200+
page, large format (10” x 12”) book is organized into chapters that address
specific time periods and trends such as “The Frigates”, which covers the
Constitution and her five sisters, “The Ships of the Line”, which covers the
larger ships, and “American Sloops of War”, among many others.
The individual ships are presented in a roughly
chronological order with context that places them within national and world
events so that the justification comes through clearly. Each ship write up includes a detailed
service history, contemporary artwork of the vessel, where available, and large
photos of the builder’s plans for those that exist and speculative plans for
those that lack surviving builder’s plans.
The plans are the highlight of the book, for me, as I love to study the
evolution of sailing ships through the sequential changes in their designs. It is interesting to compare the attractive,
curved, flowing lines of British ships with the harsher, more angular and
horizontal lines of American vessels.
The section on ships of the line was especially
fascinating. We’re all familiar with the
Constitution and her sisters but few are familiar with the American ships of
the line. The USS Franklin, for example,
built in 1815 was a stunningly attractive ship with magnificent lines and the
detailed plans bring it to life.
The ship histories are well written and informative without
being dry and offer a glimpse into the times and the challenges of building and
operating a navy. Even then, cost, Congressional
approval, material availability, production time lines, and fitting out were
concerns no less important or different than today.
At the other end of the spectrum, the chapters on the
smaller sloops, brigs, and schooners are equally fascinating.
The author even includes a chapter on “Vessels of the Northern
Lakes”. We forget that a robust naval
war occurred on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Remember Oliver Hazard Perry? It is interesting to see the how the ship
designs were modified for shallow draft operations on the lakes.
It is interesting to note some of the trends that manifest
throughout the various ship histories.
The American emphasis on armor (in the form of much heavier and stronger
framing than British counterparts) and firepower (overgunning) compared to
standard British practices stands out and one can’t help but believe that those
trends contributed to American naval successes.
These trends continued through WWII before being abandoned, unwisely, by
the Navy.
While the book is, admittedly, a niche book, I highly
recommend it for the naval historian. Potential
model makers will especially find the book to be a treasure trove of
information.
_____________________________