{"product_id":"george-washingtons-secret-navy-how-the-american-revolution-went-to-sea-hardcover","title":"George Washington's Secret Navy: How the American Revolution Went to Sea - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Nelson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn 1775 General George Washington secretly armed a handful of small ships and sent them to sea against the world's mightiest navy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the author of the critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eBenedict Arnold's Navy\u003c\/i\u003e, here is the story of how America's first commander-in-chief--whose previous military experience had been entirely on land--nursed the fledgling American Revolution through a season of stalemate by sending troops to sea. Mining previously overlooked sources, James L. Nelson's swiftly moving narrative shows that George Washington deliberately withheld knowledge of his tiny navy from the Continental Congress for more than two critical months, and that he did so precisely because he knew Congress would not approve.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMr. Nelson has taken an episode that occupies no more than a few paragraphs in other histories of the Revolution and, with convincing research and vivid narrative style, turned it into an important, marvelously readable book.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eThomas Fleming, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Perils of Peace: America's Struggle to Survive after Yorktown\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A gripping and fascinating book about the daring and heroic mariners who helped George Washington change the course of history and create a nation. Nelson wonderfully brings to life a largely forgotten but critically important piece of America's past.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eEric Jay Dolin, author of \u003ci\u003eLeviathan: The History of Whaling in America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The political machinations are as exciting as the blood-stirring ship actions in this meticulously researched story of the shadowy beginnings of American might on the seas.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eJohn Druett, author of \u003ci\u003eIsland of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"James Nelson is not the first historian to reveal this little-known albeit incredibly important aspect of our Revolution, but no one has done it more thoroughly or with greater literary grace.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eWilliam M. Fowler, author of \u003ci\u003eEmpires at War\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn July 1775, in his first inspection of the American encampment on the outskirts of Boston, the Continental Army's newly arrived commander-in-chief noted its haphazard design and shabby construction--clearly the work of men unprepared to face the world's most powerful fighting force. George Washington had inherited not only an army of woefully untrained and ill-equipped soldiers, but a daunting military prospect as well. To the east he could see the enemy's heavily fortified positions on Bunker Hill and a formidable naval presence on the river beyond. British-occupied Boston was defended by impressive redoubts that would easily repel any American assault, and Boston Harbor bristled with the masts of merchant ships delivering food, clothing, arms, ammunition, and other necessities to the British. Washington knew that the king's troops had all the arms and gunpowder they could want, whereas his own army lacked enough powder for even one hour of major combat. The Americans were in danger of losing a war before it had truly begun.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite his complete lack of naval experience, Washington recognized that harassing British merchant ships was his only means of carrying the fight to the enemy and sustaining an otherwise unsustainable stalemate. But he also knew that many in Congress still hoped for reconciliation with England, and in that climate Congressional approval for naval action was out of the question. So, without notifying Congress and with no real authority to do so, the general began arming small merchant schooners and sending them to sea to hunt down British transports \"in the Service of the ministerial Army.\" \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eGeorge Washington's Secret Navy\u003c\/i\u003e, award-winning author James L. Nelson tells the fascinating tale of how America's first commander-in-chief launched America's first navy. Nelson introduces us to another side of a general known for his unprecedented respect for civilian authority. Here we meet a man whose singular act of independence helped keep the Revolution alive in 1775. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames L. Nelson\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eBenedict Arnold's Navy\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as several novels that take place during the age of the sailing navies. His first book of nonfiction was \u003ci\u003eReign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.23 x 9.29 x 6.42 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 12, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45196230328422,"sku":"9780071493895","price":57.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/Sld3bXZ0S0k2clk2V0xQUE80TFFxUT09.webp?v=1773460227","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/george-washingtons-secret-navy-how-the-american-revolution-went-to-sea-hardcover","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}