Mattera couldn’t get enough of these captains. Each needed to be fearless in vision and unflinchingly brave, and willing to visit terror on targets that resisted attack. Yet, the captain served at the pleasure of his crew. He was elected by popular vote and could be deposed by the same. If he were too lenient or too cruel, too aggressive or too passive, if he refused to be guided by the will of the ship, he was out and might be punished, even marooned, for his failures. And this was true even if, like Bannister, he owned the ship.
