Ryan was an Irish smuggler operating out of Dunkirk who became a privateer sailing with an American Letter of Marque from Benjamin Franklin and went on to command the Calonne, a 400 ton ex-French naval frigate of two decks and 36 guns with a crew of nearly 250 men of Irish, French, American and Dutch nationalities. A small band of ships sailed under his overall command.

Read More Review: Gather the Shadowmen by Mark M. McMillin – Historic Naval Fiction.

The clash between the American Bonhomme Richard and the British HMS Serapis during the American Revolutionary War is perhaps the most famous single-ship duel in history. This epic battle between two very similar ships – and crews – off the coast of Britain in September 1779 created two naval heroes: in victory John Paul Jones became a figure that all future American naval officers would aspire to emulate, while Richard Pearson, in defeat, became a hero to the British for a tenacious defense that allowed the merchant vessels under his protection to escape.

Read More Bonhomme Richard vs Serapis (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Read More The Winds of Folly Paperback now available for order – Historic Naval Fiction.

In short we have a well researched and excellently written book; one that reads as easily as any novel, and yet carries the accuracy and credibility of a good reference work. A difficult trick, but one that Maffeo has pulled off perfectly.

Read More Alaric Bond Review: The Perfect Wreck by Steven E. Maffeo – Historic Naval Fiction.

via Astreya: The Men of the Sea PB – Historic Naval Fiction.

When war broke out in 1812, neither the United States Navy nor the Royal Navy had more than a token force on the Great Lakes. However, once the shooting started, it sparked a ship-building arms race that continued throughout the war. This book examines the design and development of the warships built upon the lakes during the war, emphasizing their differences from their salt-water contemporaries. It then goes onto cover their operational use as they were pitted against each other in a number of clashes on the lakes that often saws ships captured, re-crewed, and thrown back against their pervious owners. Released in 2012 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the outbreak of the war, this is a timely look at a small, freshwater naval war.

Read More Great Lakes Warships 1812-1815 (PB).

In the second book, Astreya: The Men of the Sea, he finds himself aboard the three masted ships of his father’s people, the Men of the Sea, who have been wandering the oceans for years and are feared by those on land.

Read More Review: The Astreya Trilogy by Seymour Hamilton.

Astreya isn’t like the other boys in his remote fishing village. When Astreya leaves home, his widowed mother gives him his father’s knife, a riddling notebook, and a bracelet with a mysterious and powerful green stone. He sails south with an adventurous fishing boat skipper, hoping that in the world beyond, he can find out who his father was, what the three enigmatic gifts mean, and whether there is any value to the looks, skills and talents that have set him apart from everyone he has ever known.

Read More Astreya: The Voyage South (PB).

Traditionally, the history of English maritime adventures has focused on the great sea captains and swashbucklers. However, over the past few decades, social historians have begun to examine the less well-known seafarers who were on the dangerous voyages of commerce, exploration, privateering and piracy, as well as naval campaigns. This book brings together some of their findings. There is no comparable work that provides such an overview of our knowledge of English seamen during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the tumultuous world in which they lived. Subjects covered include trade, piracy, wives, widows and the wider maritime community, health and medicine at sea, religion and shipboard culture, how Tudor and Stuart ships were manned and provisioned, and what has been learned from the important wreck the Mary Rose.

via The Social History of English Seamen, 1485-1649 (HC).

The naval mutinies of 1797 were unprecedented in scale and impressive in their level of organisation. Under threat of French invasion, crews in the Royal Navy’s home fleet, after making clear demands, refused to sail until their demands were met. Subsequent mutinies affected the crews of more than one hundred ships in at least five home anchorages, replicated in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Indian Ocean.

Channel Fleet seamen pursued their grievances of pay and conditions by traditional petitions to their commanding officer, Admiral Richard Howe, but his flawed comprehension and communications were further exacerbated by the Admiralty. The Spithead mutiny became the seamen’s last resort. Ironically Howe acknowledged the justice of their position and was instrumental in resolving the Spithead mutiny, but this did not prevent occurrences at the Nore and elsewhere.

Read more The Naval Mutinies of 1797: Unity and Perseverance.