Unsinkable Patriot

In this biography, history sleuth Michael Schreiber digs into old letters, newspapers, and documents to tell the story of Thomas Cave, an "ordinary man" who had many extraordinary adventures in early America. Along the way, Schreiber provides insight into the revolutionary society of the late 18th and early 19th centuries-its politics, theatre, architecture, technical inventions, and daily life. We follow Cave from his childhood in Ireland to his labors as an indentured millhand in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. At the advent of the American Revolution, Cave enlists in the Continental Navy and is soon captured in battle. After two grim years in an English prison, he ships out again, fighting in the fleet led by John Paul Jones. Following the Revolution, Cave marries and settles in Philadelphia, the capital of the new republic, where he participates in the rancorous political feuds of the day. As a businessman, Cave sees his fortunes grow considerably, but swiftly loses it all and lands in prison for debt. Personal tragedies abound, as his wife dies in childbirth. "Unsinkable Patriot" offers a rare documented look at the role of the "middling" sort of people-craftsmen, farmers, and small shopkeepers-in revolutionary America.