“In Chandler’s day the Crown still had a navy and its tradition mattered.”
While the English army was a smart outfit it was the navy that made the Empire possible. What people seem to forget is our revolution was one small part of a world spanning war England was fighting against France, Spain and the Netherlands. If England had been able to assemble the fleet and transport sufficient troops they would have made short work of the pesky colonists.
As it was, England gave up the American colonies to preserve the larger Empire.
I remember about 40 years ago listening to a late night radio channel. The guest was an Englishman talking about how the US had been ascendant since WW2 while English prestige and ability to project power had waned. His message was to never lose a class A navy that could strike anywhere in the world with minimal notice.