How out-of-work fishermen saved the American Revolution

A British ban stripped thousands of skilled mariners of their livelihoods overnight – and gave Washington a chance to turn the tide.

By: Christopher Magra, University of Tennessee, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 2, 2026

Words: 1,217

Last Updated: 1 month, 3 weeks ago

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By Christopher Magra, University of Tennessee

George Washington knew his forces could not win the American Revolutionary War without some measure of sea power. “It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day,” he later wrote in a letter, “that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it everything honorable and glorious.”

The problem was that the American commander did not have a navy.

As a

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