A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution (review)

From aloft comes the cry that the lookout has spotted a sail on the horizon. Below on the deck of the mighty war machine cries of "Beat to quarters!" and "Clear the decks!" ring out. Even though the lookout has spotted a possible foe, action lies hours away as the vessel, even with all sails crowded on, crawls toward its adversary. While the crew has been sent to a hearty and possibly last meal with an extra tot of rum to fortify their courage, in his cabin, Captain Jack Aubrey and his faithful friend and ship's surgeon Steven Maturin practice one of Vivaldi's concertos. On the quarterdeck the insecure Captain Horatio Hornblower paces endlessly, while below deck White Jacket, a common seaman, curses the tyrannical captain and plots desertion.¹

The Age of Fighting Sail has long held the aura of glory and fascination. In this important work of naval history, Claude Berube and John Rodgaard have combined the fast-paced thrill of fiction with the reality of history in their biography of Captain Charles Stewart. Along with his contemporary, General Winfield Scott, Stewart holds the record for longevity as an American military officer. Stewart's career extended from the birth of the navy in 1794 until 1860, when sail ships had already begun to evolve into steam-powered, iron-clad colossi.

Stewart's career reached its climax in the War of 1812. Stewart commanded the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," in what is perhaps the most famous single-ship battle in U.S. naval history, the one-sided victory over two British warships, HMS Levant and HMS Cyane. In an account of the battle better told by Tyrone Martin, the authors, as they do elsewhere in the book, miss an opportunity to make their work even more valuable by ignoring larger issues. Was this victory over the British due to Stewart's ability to fight a ship or to the overwhelming superiority of the ship itself? Was the American victory in the war due to the superiority of the United States Navy (although most of the United States Navy spent the war in port as victims of the British blockade) or to the depredation of American privateers on British commercial shipping.²

In Chapters 7 through 9, the heart of the work, Berube and Rodgaard cover Stewart's career from the end of the War of 1812 to the War with Mexico (1846–1848), a period of peace and almost total military inactivity. Here, they accurately portray the reality of early nineteenth-century military life: moments of fighting, for which an officer spends his entire career preparing, are few and far between, if they come at all. Perhaps the most difficult duty for a military commander was to maintain his professionalism and follow his orders in time of peace. The authors illustrate this conundrum during Stewart's command with the Mediterranean Squadron (1817–1821), and as commodore of the newly created Pacific Squadron (1822–1824).

Most of the world's population lives along the littoral of a great body of water and the vast bulk of the world's commerce moves across the sea. To a large extent, commercial prosperity is a perception of displayed power. Since early modern times, the most successful commercial nations have displayed that power in a naval way by "showing the colors" in economically vital ports. Under the aegis of civilian constitutional authority, "showing the colors" required great skill of nineteenth-century American naval officers, demanding discernment and the ability to act quickly upon orders written by a politician remote in time and distance. The role required diplomacy, tact, and skill in handling subordinate officers and common seamen. The authors demonstrate that Stewart possessed all of these traits. His command of the Pacific Squadron severely tested these qualities, due to the volatile situation along the coast of South America in the 1820s. Frequently criticized...