A History of Sea Power

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A HISTORY OF SEA POWER

by

WILLIAM OLIVER STEVENS and ALLAN WESTCOTT

Professors in the United States Naval Academy

With Maps, Diagrams, and Illustrations







New York
George H. Doran Company




PREFACE

This volume has been called into being by the absence of any brief
work covering the evolution and influence of sea power from the
beginnings to the present time. In a survey at once so comprehensive
and so short, only the high points of naval history can be touched.
Yet it is the hope of the authors that they have not, for that
reason, slighted the significance of the story. Naval history is
more than a sequence of battles. Sea power has always been a vital
force in the rise and fall of nations and in the evolution of
civilization. It is this significance, this larger, related point
of view, which the authors have tried to make clear in recounting
the story of the sea. In regard to naval principles, also, this
general survey should reveal those unchanging truths of warfare
which have been demonstrated from Salamis to Jutland. The tendency
of our modern era of mechanical development has been to forget the
value of history. It is true that the 16" gun is a great advance
over the 32-pounder of Trafalgar, but it is equally true that the
naval officer of to-day must still sit at the feet of Nelson.

The authors would acknowledge their indebtedness to Professor F.
Wells Williams of Yale, and to the Classical Departments of Harvard
and the University of Chicago for valuable aid in bibliography.
Thanks are due also to Commander C. C. Gill, U. S. N., Captain T. G.
Frothingam, U. S. N. R., Dr. C. Alphonso Smith, and to colleagues of
the Department of English at the Naval Academy for helpful criticism.
As to the "References" at the conclusion of each chapter, it should
be said that they are merely references, not bibliographies. The
titles are recommended to the reader who may wish to study a period
in greater detail, and who would prefer a short list to a complete
bibliography.

    WILLIAM OLIVER STEVENS

    ALLAN WESTCOTT

United States Naval Academy,
  _June_, 1920.




CONTENTS

CHAPTER
     I  THE BEGINNINGS OF NAVIES
    II  ATHENS AS A SEA POWER:
           1. THE PERSIAN WAR
           2. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
   III  THE SEA POWER OF ROME:
           1. THE PUNIC WARS
           2. THE IMPERIAL NAVY
    IV  THE NAVIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES:
           THE EASTERN EMPIRE
     V  THE NAVIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES [_Continued_]:
           VENICE AND THE TURK
    VI  OPENING THE OCEAN ROUTES:
           1. PORTUGAL AND THE NEW ROUTE TO INDIA
           2. SPAIN AND THE NEW WORLD
   VII  SEA POWER IN THE NORTH:
           HOLLAND'S STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE
  VIII  ENGLAND AND THE ARMADA
    IX  RISE OF ENGLISH SEA POWER:
           WARS WITH THE DUTCH
     X  RISE OF ENGLISH SEA POWER [_continued_]:
           WARS WITH FRANCE TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
    XI  NAPOLEONIC WARS:
           THE FIRST OF JUNE AND CAMPERDOWN
   XII  NAPOLEONIC WARS [_Continued_]:
           THE RISE OF NELSON
  XIII  NAPOLEONIC WARS [_Concluded_]:
           TRAFALGAR AND AFTER
   XIV  REVOLUTION IN NAVAL WARFARE:
           HAMPTON ROADS AND LISSA
    XV  RIVALRY FOR WORLD POWER
   XVI  THE WORLD WAR:
           THE FIRST YEAR
  XVII  THE WORLD WAR [_Continued_]:
           THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND
 XVIII  THE WORLD WAR [_Concluded_]:
           COMMERCE WARFARE
   XIX  CONCLUSION
        INDEX




MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

EGYPTIAN SHIP
SCENE OF ANCIENT SEA POWER
GREEK WAR GALLEY
GREEK MERCHANT SHIP
ROUTE OF XERXES' FLEET TO BATTLE OF SALAMIS
SCENE OF PRELIMINARY NAVAL OPERATIONS, CAMPAIGN OF SALAMIS
THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS, 480 B. C.
THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE AT ITS HEIGHT--ABOUT 450 B. C.
SCENE OF PHORMIO'S CAMPAIGN
BATTLE OF THE CORINTHIAN GULF, 429 B. C.
SCENE OF THE PUNIC WARS
ROMAN FORMATION AT ECNOMUS
CARTHAGINIAN TACTICS AT THE BATTLE OF ECNOMUS, 256 B. C.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN THE FIRST PUNIC WAR
SCENE OF BATTLE OF ACTIUM, 31 B. C.
THE SARACEN EMPIRE AT ITS HEIGHT, ABOUT 715 A. D.
EUROPE'S EASTERN FRONTIER
CONSTANTINOPLE AND VICINITY
THEATER OF OPERATIONS, VENICE AND THE TURK
16TH CENTURY GALLEY
BATTLE OF LEPANTO, OCTOBER 7, 1571
CROSS-STAFF
THE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN WORLD IN 1450
PORTUGUESE VOYAGES AND POSSESSIONS
FLAGSHIP OF COLUMBUS
CHART OF A. D. 1589
THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 16TH CENTURY
GALLEON
CRUISE OF THE SPANISH ARMADA
ORIGINAL "EAGLE" FORMATION OF THE ARMADA
THE COURSE OF THE ARMADA UP THE CHANNEL
SCENE OF THE PRINCIPAL NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE 17TH CENTURY
  BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HOLLAND AND ENGLAND AND FRANCE
THE BATTLE OF PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 18, 1653
THE THAMES ESTUARY
THREE-DECKED SHIP OF THE LINE, 18TH CENTURY
THE WEST INDIES
SCENE OF THE YORKTOWN CAMPAIGN
BATTLE OF THE VIRGINIA CAPES, SEPTEMBER 5, 1781
BATTLE OF THE SAINTS' PASSAGE, APRIL 12, 1782
BATTLE OF THE FIRST OF JUNE, 1794
BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN, OCTOBER 11, 1797
BATTLE OF CAPE ST.