Evan Wilson
@evanwilson.bsky.social
Naval historian. Associate Professor at US Naval War College. Views own. New book with Paul Kennedy: Planning for War at Sea: 400 Years of Great Power Competition.
Pinned
Evan Wilson
@evanwilson.bsky.social
· Mar 6
Re-Reading Patrick O'Brian
Introducing ... my dad!
evanmwilson.substack.com
Introducing a new series: Re-Reading Patrick O'Brian. The plan is to post about once a week on the historical and literary achievement of O'Brian's novels.
It's been done before, yes, but not by me! (or my dad)
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/re-reading...
It's been done before, yes, but not by me! (or my dad)
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/re-reading...
I wrote another post about how much I struggled with episode five of Ken Burns’ American Revolution: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...
January 12, 2026 at 9:09 PM
I wrote another post about how much I struggled with episode five of Ken Burns’ American Revolution: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...
Reposted by Evan Wilson
I have thoughts about the recent announcement that the US Navy will build battleships once more. @warontherocks.bsky.social was kind enough to publish them.
warontherocks.com/2026/01/why-...
warontherocks.com/2026/01/why-...
Why the U.S. Navy Doesn’t Build Battleships Anymore
On Apr. 7, 1945, aircraft from the U.S. Navy’s fast carrier task force sank the largest battleship ever built, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Yamato.
warontherocks.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:24 PM
I have thoughts about the recent announcement that the US Navy will build battleships once more. @warontherocks.bsky.social was kind enough to publish them.
warontherocks.com/2026/01/why-...
warontherocks.com/2026/01/why-...
I was not a fan of Ken Burns' American Revolution Episode 5. Some thoughts on the missing global context, and how events in Europe shaped events in the thirteen colonies.
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
Ken Burns' American Revolution, Episode 5 (1)
A narrow focus, and a missing perspective
evanmwilson.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:51 PM
I was not a fan of Ken Burns' American Revolution Episode 5. Some thoughts on the missing global context, and how events in Europe shaped events in the thirteen colonies.
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
Reposted by Evan Wilson
Issue 3 of Mainsheet, on Challenges in Maritime Archaeology, is online now. I am especially excited to see the publication of this article by a Ukrainian archaeologist about the underwater heritage of his country and the impacts of the war. 🏺 #oa www.mainsheet.mysticseaport.org/article/1475...
December 31, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Issue 3 of Mainsheet, on Challenges in Maritime Archaeology, is online now. I am especially excited to see the publication of this article by a Ukrainian archaeologist about the underwater heritage of his country and the impacts of the war. 🏺 #oa www.mainsheet.mysticseaport.org/article/1475...
Some background and context for Ken Burns' discussion of the Howe brothers: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
Ken Burns' American Revolution, Episode 3
The mysterious Howe brothers
evanmwilson.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Some background and context for Ken Burns' discussion of the Howe brothers: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
On the Benedicts Arnold and the family's connection to Newport, inspired by Ken Burns' American Revolution Episode 2:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
Ken Burns' American Revolution, Episode 2
The Arnold Family of Newport
evanmwilson.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:41 PM
On the Benedicts Arnold and the family's connection to Newport, inspired by Ken Burns' American Revolution Episode 2:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
Some additional commentary on Ken Burns' American Revolution Episode 1. I talk about missing India; Suffren; and sending the army to the colonies.
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
Ken Burns' American Revolution, Episode 1
Framing the war
evanmwilson.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Some additional commentary on Ken Burns' American Revolution Episode 1. I talk about missing India; Suffren; and sending the army to the colonies.
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/ken-burns-...
I tried to figure out what applied history is, and what it means that I have to care about it in my day job:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/applied-hi...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/applied-hi...
Applied History
An anatomy
evanmwilson.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I tried to figure out what applied history is, and what it means that I have to care about it in my day job:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/applied-hi...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/applied-hi...
Reposted by Evan Wilson
Reposted by Evan Wilson
Great read.
@smh-historians.bsky.social
@smh-historians.bsky.social
Why did convoys work?
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
Why did convoys work?
The answer might surprise you (sorry)
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Great read.
@smh-historians.bsky.social
@smh-historians.bsky.social
Why did convoys work?
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
Why did convoys work?
The answer might surprise you (sorry)
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Why did convoys work?
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
With apologies for the Buzzfeed-style subtitle...
#navalhistory
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/why-did-co...
A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
A Plan for Manning the Royal Navy, 1813
From the cutting-room floor
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
A Hurricane in Jamaica
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
A Hurricane in Jamaica
That one, but also another one.
substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 PM
A Hurricane in Jamaica
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
substack.com/@evanmwilson...
Retraction watch--a double whammy! Plagiarism AND a double submission! Don't see that every day.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
‘More Prussian than the Prussian’? Battlefield Prisoner Killing by British and Canadian Forces on the Western Front, 1914–1918 - RETRACTION | Transactions of the Royal Historical Society | Cambridge C...
‘More Prussian than the Prussian’? Battlefield Prisoner Killing by British and Canadian Forces on the Western Front, 1914–1918 - RETRACTION - Volume 3
www.cambridge.org
November 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Retraction watch--a double whammy! Plagiarism AND a double submission! Don't see that every day.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Admiral Lord Nelson in Context
A blast from the past
evanmwilson.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Evan Wilson
oh my god this.
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
The use of present tense in historical documentaries DRIVES ME INSANE.
October 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
oh my god this.
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
And it bleeds into writing. I have to yell to my students “if it’s in the past USE PAST TENSE.”
I wrote about the Continental Navy on its 250th birthday, specifically about why its dismal combat record obscures its other accomplishments. I've also got a section in there about the challenges the British faced in the early years of the Revolution. Check it out: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...
The 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Navy
From Britain's Perspective
open.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I wrote about the Continental Navy on its 250th birthday, specifically about why its dismal combat record obscures its other accomplishments. I've also got a section in there about the challenges the British faced in the early years of the Revolution. Check it out: open.substack.com/pub/evanmwil...
This.
If The Thieving AI Company Can Survive The Legal Settlement, Then It Is Not Big Enough | Defector
There is an easy answer to the question “How long does it take to write a book?” but it is not a true one. The easy answer is the duration between when you actually start putting your pen down on the ...
defector.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:34 PM
This.
I wrote about Charlton Heston writing about Patrick O'Brian in an academic book. What's not to like about that sentence?
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...
Arms and the Man
Charlton Heston takes on Patrick O'Brian
evanmwilson.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
I wrote about Charlton Heston writing about Patrick O'Brian in an academic book. What's not to like about that sentence?
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/arms-and-t...
Historian achievement unlocked: I've just had my own book explained to me by a stranger.
August 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Historian achievement unlocked: I've just had my own book explained to me by a stranger.
In Nelson's era, were British ships really worse than French and Spanish ships? I investigate Patrick O'Brian's claims:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...
Men-of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy 2
Part two of my review
evanmwilson.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 1:39 PM
In Nelson's era, were British ships really worse than French and Spanish ships? I investigate Patrick O'Brian's claims:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/men-of-war...
I wrote about Patrick O'Brian's evolving relationship with Lord Cochrane, and about how Stephen Maturin lies about his income to Diana Villiers when he proposes in HMS SURPRISE. Check it out!
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
HMS Surprise - Cochrane; Maturin's Pay
A Naval Miscellany
evanmwilson.substack.com
July 21, 2025 at 12:20 PM
I wrote about Patrick O'Brian's evolving relationship with Lord Cochrane, and about how Stephen Maturin lies about his income to Diana Villiers when he proposes in HMS SURPRISE. Check it out!
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
Stephen Maturin reflects on the types of naval officers in HMS Surprise. He wasn't the first to do that:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
HMS Surprise - Types of Naval Officers
Drawn from the History of the British Navy
evanmwilson.substack.com
July 14, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Stephen Maturin reflects on the types of naval officers in HMS Surprise. He wasn't the first to do that:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/hms-surpri...