History Commons^™

Captain Jeremiah O’Brien: Maine Mariner, Sheldon S. Cohen

Maine History

In contrast to most of the major army campaigns, clashes, leadership personalities, effectiveness levels, and strategies of the major land combatants during the American Revolution, Patriot naval activities have not received the overall attention they deserve. William J. Morgan, a former editor of the monumental series, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, has noted, “all too frequently historians of the American Revolution have ignored the maritime aspects of the conflict, or, at best have reflected slight understanding of that decisive element.” Morgan's observations, made several decades ago, can be verified by surveying the contents then found in prominent writings of …