GUNBOATS AND EMPIRES: The Roots of Naval Policy in Early U.S. History

A study of Thomas Jefferson's naval strategy, examining how ideology and selective history shaped early American military policy. Reveals how Thomas Jefferson favored small, fast gunboats over a traditional ocean-going fleet, and how this was influenced by Enlightenment ideals and a selective interpretation of European military history. In the years before the War of 1812, Jefferson and his allies looked to the Russo-Turkish War, and especially the 1788 battle of the Liman, as validation of his belief in smallcraft tactics, despite the battle's contested interpretations and its limited relevance to the American context. Contains 5-10 illustrations.