From Across the Sea

From Across the Sea: North Americans in Nelson’s Navy explores the varied contributions of North Americans to the Royal Navy during Great Britain’s wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. It is the first book that explores this topic in depth. As an edited compilation, top specialists in the field have contributed thematic essays (on topics ranging from impressment to the Anglo-American maritime relationship) as well as biographical essays on a range of North Americans from both the officer ranks and the lower deck. For the biographical portraits, special attention has been paid to individuals who have not already been the subject of extensive research and writing. Accompanying these essays are several never-before-published illustrations depicting some of the key North Americans as well as the ships and naval battles in which they were a part.

The book’s central focus is to challenge the common assumption that the Nelsonic-era Royal Navy was manned exclusively by British sailors and officers. Instead, Royal Navy personnel from this era often hailed from different parts of the world, with North Americans comprising a particularly significant contingent. For instance, Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar had hundreds of Americans as well as Canadians, not to mention individuals from the Caribbean. Thus, From Across the Sea sheds new light on these sailors and officers, showcasing years of original, primary source research on the subject.

The book also challenges the misconception that all North American-born sailors who served in the Royal Navy were pressed into service. Instead, a significant number volunteered for service of their own free will, lured into the Royal Navy by visions of adventure and prize money. Others volunteered more reluctantly, figuring that joining the Royal Navy on their own terms was preferable to being forced in by a press gang. Thus, From Across the Sea reveals that impressment was a more complicated topic than most generally assume.

Over all, From Across the Sea concludes that North Americans played an integral role in the Royal Navy during the Wars with France, from the lower deck all the way to the highest levels of command. While some of these North Americans operated in relative obscurity, others achieved high rank and formed lasting friendships with some of Great Britain’s foremost naval leaders of the age, including Lord Nelson and King William IV. Theirs is a story that needs to be told, and now it has been told for the first time through From Across the Sea.