Profs & Pints DC: Those Who Gave Rise to Our Navy

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Those Who Gave Rise to Our Navy,” on the men who set sail for the American Revolution and their fates, with Abby Mullen, assistant professor of history at the United States Naval Academy and author of To Fix a National Character: The United States in the First Barbary War, 1800-1805.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-navy .]

Their ranks were Black as well as White and included the young and the old, the offspring of incredibly wealthy merchant families as well as the all-but-destitute. The British government called them pirates and charged them with treason. Even George Washington referred to some of them as rascals. Yet all were willing to take to sea and take great risks as sailors in the fight against Great Britain.

Why did they do it?

As we approach the 250th birthday of the U.S. Navy, let’s become familiar with the kinds of people who joined it at the outset, with Professor Abby Mullen, who teaches midshipmen classes on naval history and has given excellent Profs and Pints talks on the Barbary Wars.
We’ll look at where American Revolutionary sailors came from, what motivated them to go to sea, and what happened to them during their service. We’ll examine the many ways they could serve as part of the Continental Navy, as part of state navies, or as privateers.

Finally, we’ll look at what happened to them in the long run, and how some ended up imprisoned by the British after being captured while others were discharged from their ship after the war as the Continental Navy got sold off bit by bit. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: A 1779 naval battle involving American and British ships as painted by Richard Paton in 1780 (Royal Academy / Public Domain).