In 1844 the USS Yorktown sailed from New York, as part of the U.S. Navy's newly established African Squadron, to interdict slave ships leaving the African coast. Aboard the sloop of war, Master's Mate John C. Lawrence, an educated New Yorker in his early twenties, kept a private journal describing what happened during the extraordinary two-year voyage and his reactions ...
"For God and Glory stands apart from the usual biographical-social treatment that is commonplace nowadays and makes a distinct and important contribution to the field. The author's experience and perspective make him uniquely situated to comment on important aspects of the admiral's career."—Barry Gough, author of Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay
Taking a highly original ...
Every aspect of the common sailor's life in the Union navy—from recruiting, clothing, training, shipboard routine, entertainment, and wages to diet, health, and combat experience—is addressed in this study, the first to examine the subject in rich detail. The wealth of new facts it provides allows the reader to take a fresh look at nineteenth-century social history, including issues like ...