"The age of fighting sail is usually seen as a contest on the oceans, but between 1754 and 1834 there was also a huge naval shipbuilding effort on both sides of the North American Great Lakes. In that period these great expanses of fresh water witnessed the construction of warships that ranged from simple rowing gunboats to gigantic three-deckers that could have held their own in Nelson's line of battle.

This book presents the history of the freshwater navies developed by the British, French and Americans as they struggled to control a wilderness frontier. It concentrates on the ships themselves, pointing up both the similarities and the differences compared with deep-water vessels. As many as possible are illustrated with original draughts and contemporary painting and prints.".

"The author also considers the logistics of the building operations, the provision of skilled labour and the supply of guns, revealing a story of human ingenuity and success against odds that surpasses the purely technical interest of the ships - probably the most astounding example being the pre-fabricated frigates that were built in Britain, dismantled, and laboriously hauled in pieces up the St. Lawrence for eventual reconstruction on Lake Ontario.".

"This is the first full-scale study of this fascinating aspect of the Nelsonian era, and is both an enthralling story as well as a first rate technical history of the ships themselves."--BOOK JACKET.