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Small Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy (Volume 66) (Campaigns and Commanders Series) Hardcover – April 18, 2019

by Benjamin Armstrong (Author)

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Two centuries before the daring exploits of Navy SEALs and Marine Raiders captured the public imagination, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were already engaged in similarly perilous missions: raiding pirate camps, attacking enemy ships in the dark of night, and striking enemy facilities and resources on shore. Even John Paul Jones, father of the American navy, saw such irregular operations as critical to naval warfare. With Jones’s own experience as a starting point, Benjamin Armstrong sets out to take irregular naval warfare out of the shadow of the blue-water battles that dominate naval history. This book, the first historical study of its kind, makes a compelling case for raiding and irregular naval warfare as key elements in the story of American sea power.

Beginning with the Continental Navy, Small Boats and Daring Men traces maritime missions through the wars of the early republic, from the coast of modern-day Libya to the rivers and inlets of the Chesapeake Bay. At the same time, Armstrong examines the era’s conflicts with nonstate enemies and threats to American peacetime interests along Pacific and Caribbean shores. Armstrong brings a uniquely informed perspective to his subject; and his work—with reference to original naval operational reports, sailors’ memoirs and diaries, and officers’ correspondence—is at once an exciting narrative of danger and combat at sea and a thoroughgoing analysis of how these events fit into concepts of American sea power.

Offering a critical new look at the naval history of the Early American era, this book also raises fundamental questions for naval strategy in the twenty-first century.

Editorial Reviews

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“Armstrong provides readers with an innovative history of a form of naval strategy often neglected by historians and strategists who focus on big fleets and guerre de course. His pioneering scholarship here is not just interesting naval history but enters into the realm of naval theory and strategy.”—John T. Kuehn, author of America’s First General Staff

“Armstrong takes the reader on an action-packed journey from the War for Independence to the decades immediately following the War of 1812. In retelling little-known stories of raids, ambushes, and explosive devices, he recasts the U.S. Navy’s early history. Small Boats and Daring Men brings irregular operations to the forefront of naval history.”—Kevin D. McCranie, author of Utmost Gallantry: The U.S. and Royal Navies at Sea in the War of 1812

“In this provocative study, Benjamin Armstrong employs the concept of guerre de razzia in order to highlight the prevalence of American raiding operations during the Age of Sail. Through carefully chosen studies, he shows how U.S. Navy forces frequently employed what he calls “naval irregular warfare” to pursue national goals.” —Craig L. Symonds, Ernest J. King Professor, U.S. Naval War College and author of A Concise History of the U.S. Navy

About the Author

Benjamin Armstrong is Assistant Professor of War Studies and Naval History at the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the editor of 21st Century Mahan and 21st Century Sims and the author of numerous articles on naval history, national security, and strategy.

Series: Campaigns and Commanders Series (Book 66)
Hardcover: 280 pages
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (April 18, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0806162821
ISBN-13: 978-0806162829
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 13 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #289 in Naval Military History
- #66 in Maritime History & Piracy (Books)
- #36 in War of 1812 History

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C.G. Berube

The book an author wishes they'd written

May 4, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Armstrong's new book, "Small Boats and Daring Men" is a survey of maritime raids and irregular warfare using case studies from the first fifty years of American naval warfare, from the American Revolution through the 1830s. Armstrong convincingly argues that guerre de razzia belongs alongside guerre d'escadre & guerre de course in teaching or understanding our naval history and that this type of naval operation has always been a part of what the navy has done.

In addition to the impeccable research, this book is easy to read and digest - not an insignificant achievement for a work based on a doctoral dissertation. Yet Armstrong manages it with ease conveying broader concepts and historical details without ever losing the reader. While some of the chapters are better known to historians and general readers alike (such as the Barbary War), Armstrong presents a lot of new perspectives on little-known operations. Again, not an easy task in a field that has had plenty of naval historians.

This work isn't simply a historical overview. It is a subtle, useful tool for naval policy-makers that these same operations continue in the 21st century and why policy-makers - whether on Capitol Hill or the Pentagon - ought to consider this in their deliberations about force structure and operations.

This isn't his first book or article - he's the most prolific naval officer writing today. But "Small Boats and Daring Men" firmly entrenches Armstrong as the preeminent naval historian of his generation.

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Ian

Should be central to any discussion by the Marine Corps of future naval conflict

August 2, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A recent discussion on this book I attended at Marine Corps University drove home to me the value this book offers to the future naval force and, if the new Commandant's Planning Guidance is any indication, the role the Marine Corps plays in that force. "Small Boats and Daring Men" takes the reader away from the famous ship-on-ship and fleet-on-fleet engagements that dominate histories of naval warfare, and places them in the midst of those engagements which, though smaller in scale (and blood-letting) were often more complex and required more creative answers. We learn about early American efforts to counter piracy, fight asymmetrically against a superior British Royal Navy, and otherwise engage in raiding, brown water warfare, and small-scale diplomatic encounters with significant strategic impact.

What lessons do these two-century old incidents have for the Marine Corps and Navy? Several. First, each engagement is characterized by a remarkable level of authority entrusted to very junior leaders often well out of reach of their next echelon of command. Ensigns and lieutenants left American shores with perfunctory orders on what they were achieve, and it was left to them how to achieve it. While modern American naval forces pride themselves on mission command, individual initiative, "centralized command but decentralized control," enough servicemembers have encountered incidents of command echelons far removed tactical units nevertheless offering micromanaging "guidance" on how they should conduct their affairs. When entire bases are ordered to have "stand-downs" to address the infractions of a single person, or parent headquarters demand a torrent of data daily transmitted to them to report "readiness" metrics that may or may not reflect actual unit capability, servicemembers might fairly wonder just how far their upper echelons actually trust them. It's a stark contrast to the sailors and Marines of old told to sail to the far corners of the world, trusted to carry out their mission and with no information reported back except the mission's success or failure.

Second, the irregular warfare depicted in "Small Boats" regularly demonstrates a remarkable capability for creativity and adaptation of local resources not readily found in today's "iron mountain" model of logistical support. In almost every episode, American sailors and Marines built, borrowed, lent, or stole local vessels and resources to adapt to the conditions of the unique environment they worked in. Reading about men at far-flung locations building their own ships to accomplish the missions presents another stark contrast to today, when military acquisitions processes and commercial vendors combine to drag out the production and fielding of needed equipment across years, even decades. There are a couple of sub-lessons in this: 1) in the near-peer conflict many American strategists are anticipating, US forces may have to get very creative with what they have on hand locally because of the near-peer competitor's ability to interdict resources that have to travel across the breadth of world oceans, over long periods of time, to arrive, and 2) we need to re-learn the ability not just to destroy an adversary's resources, but co-opt them and turn them back against him, thus doubling the value of the denial. We talk a great deal about sinking the enemy's ships or shooting down their planes. We SHOULD be talking about how we could board an enemy warship, and not just neutralize his ability to use it against us, but be able to crew it, operate it, and turn it back to fight against THEM.

Finally, "Small Boats" offers a model for those necessary operations that take place outside the scope of fleet-on-fleet battle. Especially as the Marine Corps and Navy consider how they'll have to operate in contested waters, where neither side may be able to gain an enduring advantage, they need a framework for conducting operations that still degrade the adversary while avoiding exposure of "expensive/exquisite" platforms whose loss can't be easily replaced. "Small Boats and Daring Men" offers such a model. The Navy and Marine Corps would be wise to see how they might use it in the future.

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Richard H

History you will enjoy!

May 4, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An amazing tale of sharpened cutlasses and deadly combat, with detailed history effortlessly woven in! Small Boats and Daring Men manages to be three things at once. It is first and foremost a thorough, detailed and well-researched history of the early U.S. Navy's "guerre de course" operations and tactics. In this respect it is essential reading for any navalist or historian. Secondly, it is an important reflection on modern naval tactics, as seen through the lens of history, thus essential for the bookshelf of any naval officer, or a professional of any kind interested in naval warfare. Last, and perhaps most enjoyably, it is an amazing read, spinning tales of daring expeditions deep into enemy ports, early waterborne IEDs and hand-to-hand engagements with bloodthirsty pirates. As such, it is a fast-paced read; one just about anyone who enjoys a tale of adventure on the briny shallows will be unable to put down.

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J. Redmond

A very good read even for the Amatuer Navalist (like me) among us.

June 13, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Well written, easy to follow, and enjoyable to read. BJ Armstrong succeeds to weave the traditional high-level naval concepts in way that is easy to understand for the non-historian or professional. He makes a compelling case for the little covered War of Raiding from the more known and written models of War of Commerce and War Between Fleets. This book presents the decisions and actions, the good and the ugly as well as the triumph and the mistakes, made by the Officers and Crew. Yes, they were daring.

While reading the historical chapters in this book you can also see the reflection in events today, both by actions of large and organized nation-state militaries, as well as by smaller groups and non-state actors.
Intriguing enough to certainly wonder when it will be made into a multi-part movie series or documentary.

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Kenneth Morris

Special Ops, Nothing New

October 24, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The history of unique daring men. Not much written about these men, maybe they are the Quiet Professionals. No movies and much less written. Did they set the stage? Do we recognize them in BUD/S and MARSOC training? Maybe it's time to look at our history and find what it took when they the first SEALS and Raiders.

The author, a USNA grad and retired Naval Officer, takes you back with John Paul and Robert Morris when raiding was in its infancy. All Guys and Glory and no place for the faint of heart.

Military Historians should add this one to their book collection along with: " Before They Were SEALS They Were Frogs and the first Frogmen."

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Small Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy (Volume 66) (Campaigns and Commanders Series) Hardcover – April 18, 2019

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