David Curtis Skaggs's Books

Oliver Hazard Perry

Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S. Navy

By: David C Skaggs

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Oliver Hazard Perry

Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S. Navy

By: David C Skaggs

Hailed for his decisive victory over a Royal Navy squadron on Lake Erie in September 1813 and best known for his after-action report proclamation We have met the enemy and they are ours, Oliver Hazard Perry was one the early U.S. Navy s most famous heroes. In this modern, scholarly reassessment of the man and his career, Professor David Skaggs emphasizes Perry s place in naval history as an embodiment of the code of honor, an exemplar of combat courage, and a symbol of patriotism to his fellow officers and the American public. It is the first biography of Perry to be published in more than a quarter of a century and the first to offer an even-handed analysis of his career. After completing a thorough examination of primary sources, Skaggs traces Perry s development from a midshipman to commodore where he personified the best in seamanship, calmness in times of stress, and diplomatic skills. But this work is not a hagiographic treatment, for it offers a candid analysis of Perry s character flaws, particularly his short temper and his sometimes ineffective command and control procedures during the battle of Lake Erie. Skaggs also explains how Perry s short but dramatic naval career epitomized the emerging naval professionalism of the young republic, and he demonstrates how the Hero of Lake Erie fits into the most recent scholarship concerning the role of post-revolutionary generation in the development of American national identity. Finally, Skaggs explores in greater detail than anyone before the controversy over the conduct of his Lake Erie second, Jesse Duncan Elliott, that raged on for over a quarter century after Perry's death in 1819.

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Page Count

338

Publisher

Naval Institute Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612514391

ISBN 13

9781612514390

A Signal Victory

The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813

By: David C Skaggs,Gerard Altoff

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A Signal Victory

The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813

By: David C Skaggs,Gerard Altoff

The Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813 is considered by many to be the most important naval confrontation of the War of 1812. Made famous by the American fleet commander Oliver Hazard Perry's comment, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," the battle marked the U.S. Navy's first successful fleet action and was one of the rare occasions when the Royal Navy surrendered an entire squadron. This book draws on British, Canadian, and American documents to offer a totally impartial analysis of all sides of the struggle to control the lake. New diagrams of the battle are included that reflect the authors' modification of traditional positions of various vessels. The book also evaluates the strategic background and tactical conduct of the British and the Americans and the command leadership exercised by Perry and his British opponent, Commander Robert H. Barclay. Not since James Fenimore Cooper's 1843 book on the subject has the battle been examined in such detail, and not since Alfred Thayer Mahan's 1905 study of the war has there been such a significant reinterpretation of the engagement. First published in hardcover in 1997, the book is the winner of the North American Society for Oceanic History's John Lyman Book Award.

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Page Count

266

Publisher

Naval Institute Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612512267

ISBN 13

9781612512266

Bridging the Chesapeake

A ‘Fool Idea’ That Unified Maryland

By: David W. Guth

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Bridging the Chesapeake

A ‘Fool Idea’ That Unified Maryland

By: David W. Guth

When the first span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened July 30, 1952, it was a watershed moment in Marylands history. The construction of the bridge took political courage, creative engineering, people working together, and a determination to overcome pettiness. In this detailed history, journalism professor David W. Guth traces the bridges history from its planning to its post-construction effects on the region. From his boyhood memories of the bridge to the details of its construction, the book also tells the story of the people of Marylandoften referred to as a confederacy of two shores. The recurring themes during the debate over building the first, the second, and now possibly a third bridge highlight issues confronting all Americans, including social and political equality, the price of unrestrained growth, the role government should play in our lives, and the importance of enlightened and courageous leadership. While there were unintended consequences that went along with building a bridge to cross the Chesapeake, it began the process of removing social, political, racial, cultural, and economic barriers.

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Page Count

421

Publisher

Archway Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1480844462

ISBN 13

9781480844469

Foundations of Representative Government in Maryland, 1632-1715

By: David William Jordan

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Foundations of Representative Government in Maryland, 1632-1715

By: David William Jordan

This book traces the earliest forms of representative government which were found in Maryland.

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Page Count

272

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

052152122X

ISBN 13

9780521521222

William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

Frontier Fighting in the War of 1812

By: David Curtis Skaggs

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William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

Frontier Fighting in the War of 1812

By: David Curtis Skaggs

Who was William Henry Harrison, and what does his military career reveal about the War of 1812 in the Great Lakes Region? In his study of William Henry Harrison, David Curtis Skaggs sheds light on the role of citizen-soldiers in taming the wilderness of the old Northwest. Perhaps best known for the Whig slogan in 1840—"Tippecanoe and Tyler Too"—Harrison used his efforts to pacify Native Americans and defeat the British in the War of 1812 to promote a political career that eventually elevated him to the presidency. Harrison exemplified the citizen-soldier on the Ohio frontier in the days when white men settled on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains at their peril. Punctuated by almost continuous small-scale operations and sporadic larger engagements, warfare in this region revolved around a shifting system of alliances among various Indian tribes, government figures, white settlers, and business leaders. Skaggs focuses on Harrison’s early life and military exploits, especially his role on Major General Anthony Wayne's staff during the Fallen Timbers campaign and Harrison's leadership of the Tippecanoe campaign. He explores how the military and its leaders performed in the age of a small standing army and part-time, Cincinnatus-like forces. This richly detailed work reveals how the military and Indian policies of the early republic played out on the frontier, freshly revisiting a subject central to American history: how white settlers tamed the west—and at what cost.

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Page Count

326

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421405466

ISBN 13

9781421405469

Trial by Friendship

Anglo-American Relations, 1917-1918

By: David R. Woodward

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Trial by Friendship

Anglo-American Relations, 1917-1918

By: David R. Woodward

During the crucial period of 1917-1918, the United States superseded Great Britain as the premier power in the world. The differing strategic perspectives of London and Washington were central to the tensions and misunderstandings that separated the two dominant powers in 1918 and determined how these two countries would interact following the Armistice. David R. Woodward traces the projection of American military power to western Europe and analyzes in depth the strategic goals of the American political and military leadership in this first comprehensive study of Anglo-American relations in the land war in Europe. Based on extensive research in British and American archives, the study focuses on Woodrow Wilson and David Lloyd George, whose relationship was poisoned by the mutual suspicion and hostility generated by their disagreements over strategy and military policy. President Wilson sought to use his country's military effort in western Europe as a tool to gain acceptance for his "new diplomacy." The British, anxious over the Turko-German threat to Asia and their worsening manpower situation, sought to utilize American military intervention for their own political/military purposes. Woodward's use of unpublished sources provides new perspectives on war leadership, and his analysis of the British-American interaction serves as a case study of the inevitable tension between national self-interest and efforts at collective security, even among nations that share many cultural and political values. For historians and anyone interested in military history and World War I, Trial by Friendship fills a gap in the study of Anglo-American relations by providing a strong, well- written study on an area of American history that has received scant attention from scholars.

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Page Count

438

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813193494

ISBN 13

9780813193496

Braddock's Defeat

The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution

By: David Lee Preston

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Braddock's Defeat

The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution

By: David Lee Preston

On July 9, 1755, British and colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock suffered a crushing defeat to French and Native American enemy forces in Ohio Country. Known as the Battle of the Monongahela, the loss altered the trajectory of the Seven Years' War in America, escalating the fighting and shifting the balance of power. An unprecedented rout of a modern and powerful British army by a predominantly Indian force, Monongahela shocked the colonial world--and also planted the first seeds of an independent American consciousness. The culmination of a failed attempt to capture Fort Duquesne from the French, Braddock's Defeat was a pivotal moment in American and world history. While the defeat is often blamed on blundering and arrogance on the part of General Braddock--who was wounded in battle and died the next day--David Preston's gripping new work argues that such a claim diminishes the victory that Indian and French forces won by their superior discipline and leadership. In fact, the French Canadian officer Captain Beaujeu had greater tactical skill, reconnaissance, and execution, and his Indian allies were the most effective and disciplined troops on the field. Preston also explores the long shadow cast by Braddock's Defeat over the 18th century and the American Revolution two decades later. The campaign had been an awakening to empire for many British Americans, spawning ideas of American identity and anticipating many of the political and social divisions that would erupt with the outbreak of the Revolution. Braddock's Defeat was the defining generational experience for many British and American officers, including Thomas Gage, Horatio Gates, and perhaps most significantly, George Washington. A rich battle history driven by a gripping narrative and an abundance of new evidence,Braddock's Defeat presents the fullest account yet of this defining moment in early American history.

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481

Publisher

Pivotal Moments in American Hi

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199845328

ISBN 13

9780199845323

The Other Face of Battle

America's Forgotten Wars and the Experience of Combat

By: Wayne E. Lee,David L. Preston,Anthony E. Carlson,David Silbey

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The Other Face of Battle

America's Forgotten Wars and the Experience of Combat

By: Wayne E. Lee,David L. Preston,Anthony E. Carlson,David Silbey

Taking its title from The Face of Battle, John Keegan's canonical book on the nature of warfare, The Other Face of Battle illuminates the American experience of fighting in "irregular" and "intercultural" wars over the centuries. Sometimes known as "forgotten" wars, in part because they lacked triumphant clarity, they are the focus of the book. David Preston, David Silbey, and Anthony Carlson focus on, respectively, the Battle of Monongahela (1755), the Battle of Manila (1898), and the Battle of Makuan, Afghanistan (2020)--conflicts in which American soldiers were forced to engage in "irregular" warfare, confronting an enemy entirely alien to them. This enemy rejected the Western conventions of warfare and defined success and failure--victory and defeat--in entirely different ways. Symmetry of any kind is lost. Here was not ennobling engagement but atrocity, unanticipated insurgencies, and strategic stalemate. War is always hell. These wars, however, profoundly undermined any sense of purpose or proportion. Nightmarish and existentially bewildering, they nonetheless characterize how Americans have experienced combat and what its effects have been. They are therefore worth comparing for what they hold in common as well as what they reveal about our attitude toward war itself. The Other Face of Battle reminds us that "irregular" or "asymmetrical" warfare is now not the exception but the rule. Understanding its roots seems more crucial than ever.

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Page Count

320

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190920661

ISBN 13

9780190920661

Never Come to Peace Again

Pontiac's Uprising and the Fate of the British Empire in North America

By: David Dixon

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Never Come to Peace Again

Pontiac's Uprising and the Fate of the British Empire in North America

By: David Dixon

Prior to the American Revolution, the Ohio River Valley was a cauldron of competing interests: Indian, colonial, and imperial. The conflict known as Pontiac’s Uprising, which lasted from 1763 until 1766, erupted out of this volatile atmosphere. Never Come to Peace Again, the first complete account of Pontiac’s Uprising to appear in nearly fifty years, is a richly detailed account of the causes, conduct, and consequences of events that proved pivotal in American colonial history. When the Seven Years’ War ended in 1760, French forts across the wilderness passed into British possession. Recognizing that they were just exchanging one master for another, Native tribes of the Ohio valley were angered by this development. Led by an Ottawa chief named Pontiac, a confederation of tribes, including the Delaware, Seneca, Chippewa, Miami, Potawatomie, and Huron, rose up against the British. Ultimately unsuccessful, the prolonged and widespread rebellion nevertheless took a heavy toll on British forces. Even more devastating to the British was the rise in revolutionary sentiment among colonists in response to the rebellion. For Dixon, Pontiac’s Uprising was far more than a bloody interlude between Great Britain’s two wars of the eighteenth century. It was the bridge that linked the Seven Years’ War with the American Revolution.

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Page Count

384

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0806145013

ISBN 13

9780806145013

Red Brethren

The Brothertown and Stockbridge Indians and the Problem of Race in Early America

By: David J. Silverman

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Red Brethren

The Brothertown and Stockbridge Indians and the Problem of Race in Early America

By: David J. Silverman

New England Indians created the multitribal Brothertown and Stockbridge communities during the eighteenth century with the intent of using Christianity and civilized reforms to cope with white expansion. In Red Brethren, David J. Silverman considers the stories of these communities and argues that Indians in early America were racial thinkers in their own right and that indigenous people rallied together as Indians not only in the context of violent resistance but also in campaigns to adjust peacefully to white dominion. All too often, the Indians discovered that their many concessions to white demands earned them no relief. In the era of the American Revolution, the pressure of white settlements forced the Brothertowns and Stockbridges from New England to Oneida country in upstate New York. During the early nineteenth century, whites forced these Indians from Oneida country, too, until they finally wound up in Wisconsin. Tired of moving, in the 1830s and 1840s, the Brothertowns and Stockbridges became some of the first Indians to accept U.S. citizenship, which they called "becoming white," in the hope that this status would enable them to remain as Indians in Wisconsin. Even then, whites would not leave them alone. Red Brethren traces the evolution of Indian ideas about race under this relentless pressure. In the early seventeenth century, indigenous people did not conceive of themselves as Indian. They sharpened their sense of Indian identity as they realized that Christianity would not bridge their many differences with whites, and as they fought to keep blacks out of their communities. The stories of Brothertown and Stockbridge shed light on the dynamism of Indians' own racial history and the place of Indians in the racial history of early America.

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294

Publisher

Cornell University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1501704796

ISBN 13

9781501704796

George Washington

The Political Rise of America's Founding Father

By: David O. Stewart

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George Washington

The Political Rise of America's Founding Father

By: David O. Stewart

A fascinating and illuminating account of how George Washington became the dominant force in the creation of the United States of America, from award-winning author David O. Stewart “An outstanding biography . . . [George Washington] has a narrative drive such a life deserves.”—The Wall Street Journal Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his mid-twenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his mid-forties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-fifties, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America? In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician—and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington mastered the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation.

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Page Count

577

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0451489004

ISBN 13

9780451489005

Hacks, Sycophants, Adventurers & Heroes

Madison's Commanders in the War of 1812

By: David G. Fitz-Enz

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Hacks, Sycophants, Adventurers & Heroes

Madison's Commanders in the War of 1812

By: David G. Fitz-Enz

Often confused by advisors of little military talent, President James Madison put his trust, and that of the people, in the grasp of hacks, sycophants, adventurers, and a few good men. This is the story of the good, the bad, and the outrageous that held the future of the young nation in their hands and prevailed in spite of a twenty-one-ship navy and an amateur army, pitched at the greatest military machine of its time.

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369

Publisher

Taylor Trade Publications

Published Date

ISBN 10

1589797000

ISBN 13

9781589797000

Oliver Hazard Perry

Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S. Navy

By: David C Skaggs

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Oliver Hazard Perry

Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S. Navy

By: David C Skaggs

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Page Count

338

Publisher

Naval Institute Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612514391

ISBN 13

9781612514390

The Episcopalians

By: David Hein,Gardiner H. Shattuck

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The Episcopalians

By: David Hein,Gardiner H. Shattuck

This book offers a fresh account of the Episcopal Church's rise to prominence in America.

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386

Publisher

Church Publishing, Inc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

0898694973

ISBN 13

9780898694970

A Signal Victory

The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813

By: David C Skaggs,Gerard Altoff

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A Signal Victory

The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813

By: David C Skaggs,Gerard Altoff

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Page Count

266

Publisher

Naval Institute Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612512267

ISBN 13

9781612512266

William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

Frontier Fighting in the War of 1812

By: David Curtis Skaggs

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William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

Frontier Fighting in the War of 1812

By: David Curtis Skaggs

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Page Count

326

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421405466

ISBN 13

9781421405469

Book's by David Curtis Skaggs

Oliver Hazard Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry

A Signal Victory

A Signal Victory

Bridging the Chesapeake

Bridging the Chesapeake

Foundations of Representative Government in Maryland, 1632-1715

Foundations of Representative Government in Maryland, 1632-1715

William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

Trial by Friendship

Trial by Friendship

Braddock's Defeat

Braddock's Defeat

The Other Face of Battle

The Other Face of Battle

Never Come to Peace Again

Never Come to Peace Again

Red Brethren

Red Brethren

George Washington

George Washington

Hacks, Sycophants, Adventurers & Heroes

Hacks, Sycophants, Adventurers & Heroes

Oliver Hazard Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry

The Episcopalians

The Episcopalians

A Signal Victory

A Signal Victory

William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country

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