The virtues of the citizen-soldier are prominent in the history of the American Revolution, but less attention has been given to the citizen-sailor. However, there were state navies during the war, the seaward equivalent of the state militias, and the state of South Carolina put to sea the most important of these. Under the leadership of Commodore Alexander Gillon, a prominent and colorful Charleston merchant, the South Carolina navy secured the services of the largest warship under any American's command, the frigate South Carolina. Built in Holland and designed to combine speed with firepower, this frigate's most obstacle achievement was the capture of the British Bahamas in 1782 in the only American military maneuver to seize and hold foreign territory outside the borders of the Thirteen Colonies. With success, however, came controversy. At the end of the war, the South Carolina was chased to the ground by three British warships and captured. The state of South Carolina struggled for seventy years to honor the financial obligations in operating the frigate.
- ISBN10 1306303958
- ISBN13 9781306303958
- Publish Date 21 May 2014 (first published 27 October 1999)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 28 October 2014
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Kent State University Press
- Format eBook
- Pages 247
- Language English