A History of the United States Nary from 1775 to
1893. By E. S. Maclay. 2 vols. (Bliss, Sands, and Foster.)—This book is a careful and seemingly complete record of the doings of the United States Naval Force from its beginning. It is not, like Captain Mahan's works, a philosophical study of naval warfare ; it appears, on the contrary, to be written with the object, laudable no doubt, of glorifying the deeds of American sailors, and of teaching Americans to take pride in their naval history and to prepare for future naval triumphs. It is therefore perhaps inevitable, though it is none the less regrettable, that it should be inspired by marked jealousy of British naval supremacy, and by sys- tematic depreciation of British seamanship. This blemish, however, does not prevent the work from being a most valuable record of facts. The size, the armament, and the career of every ship is duly chronicled, and the reader realises, perhaps for the first time, the great achievements and capabilities of American sailors. The war of 1812, in the course of which American frigates gained some notable victories over the hitherto invincible British vessels, and the superiority of the American gunnery practice was demon- strated—a war which brought so little credit to English arms and English statesmanship—is very fully described, and the great importance of the naval operations in the Civil War is well brought out. An interesting chapter, too, is that describing the conflicts at the beginning of the century between the United States and the Barbary pirates, though the Wiz against Great Britain is shown in the accusation that she encouraged the Mediterranean pirates in the interests of her own monopoly of the carrying trade, and in the omiEsion of any reference to Lord Exmouth's later bombardment of Algiers. The volumes contain a great number of interesting illustrations of sea-fights, and of vessels of all dates and types.
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