A Most Fortunate Ship

I never knew that Horatio Hornblower's ship the Hotspur was a real warship. Well, it was. Not that Horatio was real, unless you count the imaginations of readers worldwide. I discovered this tidbit of reality while reading A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of Old Ironsides, Revised Edition, by Tyrone G. Martin, a narrative history of The Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship in the world, AKA Old Ironsides.

A Most Fortunate Ship tells the tale of this famous ship from it's inception as an idea to it's place in history. What I found most enjoyable and fascinating about this book was the focus on what made a ship work, and the men who crewed it. There is a detailed examination of all the bits and pieces that make up what we now know as a Tall Ship. All this detail is put into the context of the crew, the ship, the politics of the time and the function of a Frigate as a naval vessel, defensive and offensive. In fact, although the politics that brought about the creation of The Constitution are a part of the story, The Constitution itself is the main actor in this story. Crews and Captains come and go with regularity and the ship sails on.

Instead of a dry explanation of why rigging rigged, why sails sail and how a wooden hulled ship managed to stay afloat, A Most Fortunate Ship gradually introduces you to the world of the ships of war that sailed during the early 19th Century. The author takes the time to explain new terms, to describe why something was necessary or a was a bad idea and exposes just how fragile these ships really were. Spars break, masts rot, hulls leak and the ship sails on.

In fact, so much of The Constitution has been replaced over it's lifetime it's a wonder the ship still looks as it almost always did. I say almost, but you'll have to read the book to discover what I mean by that vague statement. In fact, I began to feel sorry for the ship's carpenters and joiners. At times it seemed that in every other page these poor, beset souls were rebuilding what they had repaired or rebuilt just a few moments before.

And besides, if you do purchase this book through the Amazon link, you are supporting this blog, which is always a good thing.

A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of Old Ironsides, Revised Edition

Till next,

Gary