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Book Review: The Fisherman's Cause: Atlantic Commerce and Maritime Dimensions of the American Revolution

normally associated with these captains which made him particularly obnoxious. In his brieftime in service he managed to accumulate a boatload ofenemies. Those foes got their chance to sink him when they pinned the blame for the disastrous American defeat at Penobscot Bay in 1779 on his shoulders. For his role in that ill-fated expedition Saltonstall was convicted by a court martial and eventually dismissed from the navy. In retrospect it seems probable this Connecticut captain was a scapegoat. No list ofnotable American naval commanders would be complete without John Paul Jones. His reputation has never been hurt by the fact that he was a skilled selfpromoter, and that he alone among his peers has had his papers published. More has been written about him than all the other Continental captains combined. The fame is well deserved. On land and sea Jones cut a wide swath. He was undoubtedly America's ablest naval commander of the Revolution. Norton reveals little about these men that we did not already know. He tells the stories well, but they have been told before. In a manner reminiscent of William James Morgan's classic Captains to theNorthward (1959) Norton has assembled his biographies. Unlike Morgan, however, who confined himself to New England captains, Norton has thrown a wider net, and most importantly he has given us a focus contentiousness. Indeed, by their behaviour, Norton's five "Dysfunctional Sons of the Brine" call into question whether or not there ever was an organization that might truly be termed the "Continental Navy." Ego and booty seem to have trumped patriotism and independence. John Adams was probably right when he lamented that when he recollected "the whole history of the rise and progress of our navy, it is very difficult to avoid tears." Such criticism was not meant to impugn the bravery and service of those who went to sea, but it is difficult to imagine how the Revolution might have ended differently had these men never sailed and had the Congress never founded a navy. The University of South Carolina Press must be applauded for their continuing commitment to publishing maritime history. The list of their "Studies in Maritime History" is impressive. Norton's work is a welcome addition to this growing scholarly library.