"The Painful Task of Thinking Belongs To Me:" Rethinking Royal Navy Signal Reform during the American War of Independence

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dc.contributor.authorOlex, Benjamin F.en
dc.contributor.committeechairEkirch, A. Rogeren
dc.contributor.committeememberBecker, Gertrude Harringtonen
dc.contributor.committeememberHirsh, Richard F.en
dc.contributor.departmentHistoryen
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-09T08:01:05Zen
dc.date.available2021-06-09T08:01:05Zen
dc.date.issued2021-06-08en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the context and causes of signal reform in the British Royal Navy during the American War of Independence. It argues that changes in the ethos of the officer corps before and during the American War of Independence led to a complex period of signal reform. The original system was tied to the General Printed Sailing and Fighting Instructions, more often referred to as the Fighting Instructions. For around a century (ca. 1690 to ca. 1790), the Royal Navy utilized the Fighting Instructions as its main system of communication. During the American War for Independence, however, some sea officers began to question the system and devise new methods of signaling. This change was brought on by changes within the officer corps. Among the changes were trends of centralization and the influence of Enlightenment ideals. Both of these shifts helped to inspire the signal reformers, while also creating the environment to sustain signal reforms. This thesis examines the signal reforms of the three principal signal reformers of the war: Richard Howe, Richard Kempenfelt, and George Rodney.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThis thesis examines the context and causes of signal reform in the British Royal Navy during the American War of Independence. It argues that changes in the ethos of the officer corps before and during the American War of Independence led to a complex period of signal reform. For nearly one hundred years, the navy utilized the same system of signaling to communicate between ships: the General Printed Sailing and Fighting Instructions, more commonly known as the Fighting Instructions. During the American War of Independence, some British sea officers began to question that system and propose alternate systems of their own design. Influenced by their lengthy naval experience, shifts in trends of centralization, and the influence of Enlightenment ideals, officers like Richard Howe, Richard Kempenfelt, and George Rodney experimented with new methods of signaling.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:31143en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/103710en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectBritish Historyen
dc.subjectRoyal Navyen
dc.subjectNaval Historyen
dc.subjectSignalsen
dc.subjectFighting Instructionsen
dc.subjectAmerican War of Independenceen
dc.subjectEighteenth Centuryen
dc.title"The Painful Task of Thinking Belongs To Me:" Rethinking Royal Navy Signal Reform during the American War of Independenceen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineHistoryen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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