Sunday, May 16, 2010

Who we were. . .


A few fir-built frigates manned by a handful of bastards and outlaws.
—The London Times, 1812 (of the U.S. Navy)

3 comments:

  1. Brings to mind a quote I read some years ago in a letter from Alcibiades to one of his young officers (the younger Pericles) during the Peloponnesian war...

    "...The infantryman may fight without his captain and take to flight without him. But the Sailor advances to battle yoked to his commander, with naught dissevering him from hell but his faith in you and a thumb's-breadth of pine."

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  2. Captain Lambert.

    They were a ragtag outfit with less than one third of the ships being Navy and the other two thirds being privateers. The privateers brought British commercial shipping to a near standstill. And the privateers also fought and won many battles with British ships that typically had more armament, but not the spirit or tenacity of those bastards and outlaws.

    Very Respectfully,
    Navyman834

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