This lecture will be the story of a voyage, with Herman Melville as my shipmate, through the age of sail, reflecting on the era of wooden ships and the iron men who sailed them. I will pay special attention to Melville’s depiction of the motley crew of sailors who appear in his six sea novels. It is well known that Melville himself had gone to sea (1841-1845), met seamen from all over the world, listened to their stories, and included them in his novels. It is not well known that Herman Melville was himself both a deserter and mutineer. Knowing maritime resistance first hand was of great importance to the writer who would become the bard of the global seafaring proletariat.