New Perspectives on Maritime History & Nautical Archaeology S.
1 total work
Sir Peter Warren, one of the most imaginative officers of the British Navy, played a key role in the defense and expansion of British naval power in colonial America. In this biography, Julian Gwyn, the preeminent authority on Warren and an award-winning author, describes Warren's strategic military vision and sympathetic view of colonial life as well as his frustrated political aspirations and entrepreneurial real estate ventures in both New York and England. Born into an Irish Catholic family, Warren signed on as a seaman at age 13 and rapidly advanced in rank in the Royal Navy, a new profession in the early 1700s. Through the turmoil and warfare of the mid-18th century, Warren cruised up and down the North American coast, from one theater of conflict to the next, becoming particularly associated with colonial New York, New England, South Carolina, and the West Indies. He participated in the failed siege of St. Augustine in 1740, commanded the North American Squadron when it was first created in 1745, and cooperated with American forces at the successful siege of Fort Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.