Sea History 074 - Summer 1995

No. 74

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SUMMER 1995

THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA

TALL STACKS

1995: Riverboats in Cincinnati Inland Waterways Dickens on the Rivers Women At Sea Endeavour Forever!

ISSN 0146-9312

No. 74

SEA HISTORY 8 Otto Hersing Was the First

by Thomas J. Hajewski

IO Maryland's First Historic Shipwreck Preserve: U-1105

by Henry Keatts

POSTM ASTER : Send address changes to Sea History, 5 John Walsh Boulevard, PO Box 68, Peeksk ill NY 10566.

STEAMBOATING ON THE INLAND WATERWAYS

12 Snagboats of the Mississippi

by Jack Custer

MEMBERSHIP is invited. Afterguard $ 10,000; Benefactor $5 ,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponsor $ 1,000; Donor $500; Patron $250; Friend $ I 00; Contributor $50; Family $40; Regular $30; Student or Reti red$ I 5. All members outside the USA please add$ I 0 for postage. SEA HISTORY is sent to all members. Individual copies cost $3.75.

14 Mr. Dickens's Waterways Tour

by Philip R. Elmes

18 Tall Stacks ' 95 and The Howard Steamboat Museum

by Kevin Haydon

OFFICERS & TR USTEES: Chairman, Alan G. C hoate; Vice Chairmen, Richardo Lopes, Edward G. Zelinsky; President, Peter Stanford; Vice President, Norma Stanford; Treasu rer, Bradford Smith; Secretary, Donald Derr; Trustees, Walter R. Brown, W . Grove Conrad, George Lowery, Jeanmarie Maher, Warren Marr, II, Brian A. McAllister, James J . Moore, Douglas Muster, Nancy Pouch, Cra ig A . C. Reynolds , Ri chard W. Scheuing, Marsha ll Streibert, Dav id B. Vietor, Raymond E. Wallace, Jean Wort; Chairman Emeritus, Karl Kortum

ADV ISORS : Co-Chairmen, Frank 0 . Braynard, Melbourne Smith; D.K. Abbass, Raymond Aker, George F. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Brett, David Brink, Norman J. Brouwer, William M. Doerflinger, Francis J. Duffy, John S . Ewald , Joseph L. Farr , Timothy G. Foote , William Gilkerson , T ho mas Gillmer, Ric hard Goold Adams, Walter J . Hand e lm an, Charles E .

Herdendorf, Steven A. Hyman , Hajo Knuttel , Conrad Milster, William G. Muller, David E. Perkins, Richard Rath , Nancy Hughes Richardson, Timothy J. Runyan, George Sa lley, Ra lph L. Snow, John Stobart, A lbert Swanson , Shannon J. Wall , Thomas We ll s AMERICAN SHIP TRUST: International Chairman, Karl Kortum; Chairman, Peter Stanford; Trustees, F. Briggs Dalzell , William G . Muller, Richard Rath , Melbourne Smith, Edward G. Zelinsky SEA HISTORY STAFF: Editor, Peter Stanford; Executive Editor, Norma Stanford; Associate Editors, Kevin Haydon, Justine Ah lstrom ; Assistant Editor, Blair Benjamin ; Accounting, Joseph Cacciola; Membership Secretary, Patricia Anstett ; Membership Assistant, Erika Kurtenbach ; Advertisin g Assistant, Carmen McCallum ; Secretary to th e Presiden t, Karen Ritell ADVERTISING : Telephone 800 22 1-NMHS .

1995

FEATURES

SEA HISTORY is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Society, 5 John Walsh Boulevard, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY I 0566 . Second class postage paid at Peekski ll NY I 0566 and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT © 1995 by the Nationa l Maritime Historical Society . Tel : 914 737-7878.

OVERSEERS: Charles F. Adams, WalterCronk ite, Townsend Hornor, George Lamb, John Lehman, Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr. , J. William Middendorf, II, G raham H. Phillips, John Stobart, William G. Winterer

SUMMER

20 Whaling Wives, Sister Sailors

by Joan Druett

24

~he

Art of Frances F. Palmer

by A. J. Peluso, Jr.

30 Captain Cook's Endeavour

by Kevin Haydon

DEPARTMENTS 4 6 28 35

Deck Log & Letters NMHS News Marine Art News Shipnotes, Seaport & Museum News

42 Reviews 47 Dessert 48 Patrons

COVER: The Belle of Louisville, celebrating her 81 st year on the Ohio River this year, joins other traditional riverboats, old and new, in Tall Stacks ' 95. (See story on page 18.)

Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancient mariners of Greece and Portuguese navigators opening up the ocean world, to the heroic efforts of seamen in World War II. Each issue brings new insights and new discoveries.

If you love the sea and the legacy of those who sail in deep waters, if you love the rivers, lakes and bays and their workaday craft, then you belong with us. Stay in touch-joi n us today! Mail in the form below or phone:

1-800-221-NMHS

Yes, I want to j o in the Society and rece ive Sea History quarterly . My contribution* is enclosed: (*$ 15 of each contribution is for Sea History; any amount above th is is tax-deducti ble.)

D $30 R egula r Member D $40 Family Membe r D $ I00 Friend Mr./M s ._ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _

74

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"Margaret Creighton has written a fascinating book on the world of whalemen in whaling's golden era. From her reading in more than two hundred diaries and letters, Creighton ~ shows how factors such as gender, religion, 1; and the profit motive produced the whalemen 's rich and lively culture. This is an insightful piece ofhistorical scholarship and a good story as well. " - E. Antho ny Rotundo, Author of American M anhood Hardback Paperback

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DECK LOG The waterways of America, a shining national asset in the eyes of those who know them, go unrecognized too often in their vital contribution, from Indian times onward, to the development of America. In thi s Sea History we join our friends in the State Council on Waterways in New York on a watery inland trek designed to open the waterways to educational purposes. Through SCOW 's eyes more Americans may come to appreciate this shining asset, and use it with increased respect-and enjoyment!

During the peace negotiations in the American Revolution, which dragged on from 1781 until American independence was fully recognized in the Peace of Paris in 1783, our French and Spanish allies tried to keep the new nation 's borders short of the Mississippi, the main trunk of the inland waterways. In the American peace mission, New York 's John Jay insisted that our frontiers reach the Mississippi. Benjamin Vaughan, who carried Jay 's message to the British, secured their consent to this, so that, in Vaughan's words, we had secured a system of waterways that would "form a trading coast at the back of the American Colonies, somewhat as the Atlantic does at the front."

What we made of the glorious opportunity so tenuously sec ured (these negotiations had to be kept secret even from America's great friend the Marquis de Lafayette!) is set forth in the steamboating articles featured in this issue.

All Hail Endeavour!

It was the great dream of Alan Villiers (1903-82), Australian-born Cape Horn sailorman and author, to build and sail a replica of Captain Cook 's sturdy North Country bark Endeavour, both to honor the great navigator and to let yo ung people learn in their time the fascination and cha llenge of seafaring under sai l.

That dream is now realized in the new bark Endeavour, in a fashion one feels Alan wou ld have approved , as recounted on pages 30-33.

Perhaps you've noticed that one of our space shuttles is named Endeavour.

The name is in the English spelling because it honors James Cook's ship! The name was chosen through a school essay contest in which NMHS worked with NASA. We fought, it might be added, to keep the proper spelling of the name, so that the true intent of the children-who had stretched their minds to embrace Cook 's voyages-would be recognized.

PETER STANFORD 4

LETTERS Straightening Out "Bent" Officials Congratulations fo r that intelligent column on the Enola Gay, "The Wider View" in Sea History 73 by Norma Stanford! I thought it a closely reasoned and sober assessment of disgraceful bureaucratic bias.

The Smithsonian's rewriting of hi story is right out of Stalin's USSR and George Orwell. I was sorry you didn't call for di smi ssal of those dubiously qualified bureaucrats responsi ble forth is travesty!

The American Legion magazine's May issue recounts movingly their own efforts in Washington to show the light to unreceptive "bent" National Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian officials.

H. B. HUBBELL Rowayton , Connecticut You hit the nail on the head with your article "The Wider View: Hi story as the Enemy." The points yo u made have been of concern to me for some time, but the media has rarely done justice to the subject. I hope you will amplify that article by writing another, giving essential details of the planned invasion of Japan .

CAPT. DOUGLAS PHILLIPS, USN (Ret) Sherwood, Mary land

The End of the Progress I was happy to see the story of the brick battleship Illinois at the Columbian Exposition (SH 73). I' m glad we hereon the Lakes could share some of our rich mari time hi story with your readers.

I would like to add a footnote to the story concerning the US whaling bark Progress, which was ex hibited at the Columbian Exposition at the same time.

The Progress was one of the oldest working vessels then in American registry , built in 1843 in Rhode Island. After a long career as a whaler out of New Bedford, she was sold to a group of entrepreneurs from the East Coast and Chicago in 1892. The intent was to build a whaling museum in her belly and charge admission to fairgoers for the privilege of touring the timeworn craft. She was sailed in to Chicago via the Welland Canal and duly installed at the main wharf of the "World 's Fair. " The trip was probably an adventure in itself. Lakemen had long ago abandoned the use of squareriggers due to hi ghly variable winds and a lack of maneuverability in close quarters as well as for economic reasons.

Unfortunately for the investors, they vastly overestimated the interest of Mid-

westerners in whaling. By the end of the Fair they were more than $20,000 in the red. There was no money to sail the Progress back to the sea and little interest in converting s uch a diminutive craft-however sta unch-to a lake freighter. She was unceremoniou sly dumped into a backwater of the south branch of the Chicago River and allowed to sink. In July of 1895 she was sold for $300 to an individual who stripped her of her outfit to sell or junk and removed her copper hull -sheathing for its considerable scrap value. I have no information on what happened to her from there.

At the time it was uneconomical to di smantle wooden ships, and in a less populated area she would have been burned or just abandoned. In Chicago it was common practice to tow old hulks out into Lake Michigan and scuttle them.

I suspect thi s is what happened to the bones of the Progress and they still lie somewhere off Chicago with the remains of hundreds of other ships.

DAVE SWAYZE Mt. P leasant, Michigan

Kaiulani Lives!

In the Winter 1994-95 issue of Sea History, Karl Kortum notes that the Benjamin F. Packard was built in Bath, Maine, in 1883. Although built by Goss, Sawyer and Packard, she was managed and later owned by my great-grandfather's company, A. Sewall & Co. in the 1890s. Much of the fine woodwork from the Packard's captai n 's cabin is beautifully and most appropriately displayed at Mystic Seaport Museum.

The Sewal I shipyard on the Kennebec River in Bath built 105 sailing ships, mostly barks and schooners , between 1823 and 1903. We had the di stinction of building the only stee l sailing ships in this country, including Kaiulani, whose story is well known to Sea History readers. My mother was also named after the Hawaiian Crown PrincessKaiulani (called Lani) and I'm proud to say that at this writing there are eight Kaiulanis in our family. Thanks to Sea History, I've read numerous interesting articles on the Kaiulani and even wrote one with my brother Arthur about the Kaiulanis in our family .

She is a ship close to our family's heart.

H. SEWALL WILLIAMS Small Point, Maine A Falling Barometer I would like to make the Society aware of yet another milestone in the hi story of SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

the American flag fleet. I wish it were an upbeat story indicating good health , but I ' m afraid the barometer is about to dip a bit lower.

Texaco, Inc., has a long and proud hi story of a tanker fleet. At one time it had a true maritime force moving refined products and crude oil to meet domestic and world demand. Texaco vessels served in World War II and more recently in Desert Storm.

Thi s corporate entity is about to become a bit of history, as Texaco sells off all of its fleets, foreign and domestic. No one doubts the real cause. Journalists, politicians and environmentalists have united to make a corporate giant tremble in its boots. These factions have succeeded in yet another victory against big business, through the threat of ecologybased lawsuits.

Yes, the product will still be moved by someone. The third world will always answer the call to do the dirty work at a cutrate price. The Exxon Valdez fiasco makes it difficult to argue a case for the superiority of a US flag ship with a US crew.

ART HALL Pownal , Maine

Memories of Shoesmith I enjoyed the Spring '95 Sea History, especially the arti c le on Ke nneth Shoesmith. Here is an authentic postcard of his depicting the Cunard White Star Line 's Samaria for your co llection!

As a child in Bermuda in the earl y 1930s, I always enjoyed the Royal Mail/ Pacific Steam Navigation Co. large wall calendar. Each month there was one of Shoesmith ' s excellent renditions of one of their many passenger liners, usually in tropical waters.

C. SPANTON ASHDOWN New York , New York

Don't Forget Peter the Great One of the more than 60,000 Russ ian speaking emigres came to me at the Russian American Cultural Center in Boston with a copy of Sea History. He asked me to read Walter Cronkite ' s appeal for membership and yo ur descripSEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

tion of the Mi ss ion of the Society.

After reading the journal in the light of the hi storical underpinnings of the Russ ian American Cultural Center, of which I am the founder and president, I decided to respond to yo ur sa lutation as a "Friend of America' s Heritage." For several years now I have been documenting the post-revolutionary maritime trade between Boston and the North Shore Cities and St. Petersburg, Russia.

We have very close to me, in Salem, Massachusetts, the premier museum of the China trade, but nowhere is there any mention of the Russ ian trade.

I have participated in two International Conferences on Peter the Great and the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Navy , and ex pect to be in Russia in June of 1996 for the third and final conference. Anyone interested in information about the conference can contact me at the address below .

I am sending Sea History's Guide to American and Canadian Maritime Mu seums to the organizers of the Conference, The Ship Building Uni versity of St. Petersburg, and am notify ing some of the listed museums of the Conference.

Thanks to a donation from an interested associate, I am initiating a membership in NMHS forthe Russ ian American Cultural Center.

MARGAR ET COLEMAN, Director The Russian American Cultural Center at Russia Wharf, Inc. 78 Tyler Street Boston , Massachusetts 021 1 1- 183 1

New Help in an Old Art As the Rigging Instructor at the Phil adelphia Navy Yard for the last decade and a half, I've taught more than a few miles of knots. I have seen many wonderful examples of fancy work and have wondered why it is so rare. The only answer I can come up with is that folks don ' t know the wheres , hows and whats of the art.

So, through the readers of Sea History, I'm hoping to spread the word about an interesting group of folk s who have a love of one of the oldest arts known-The International Guild of Knot Tyers.

If yo u would like some more information about the Guild , send me a SASE at the address be low. At the very least the Guild will give yo u a use for all that old manila you have in the basement!

DAN CASHIN 1335 Harrington Road Havertown , Pennsylvania 19083

Peking Battles Cape Horn Again!

It ' s good to hear you 're getting out a new edition of my favorite book , Irving Johnson's Peking Battles Cape Horn. I would be honored to be a patron for the new edition.

My son Will, age 16, will be a crew member aboard the frigate Rose for the first part of the summer before heading to Norway for two weeks in Sorlandet. I think he has caught the ship bug (for better or worse). I plan to be on board Rose for three weeks of the Maritime Festivals in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, so it should be a suitabl y watery summer.

Aux THORNE George's Mill s, New Hampshire

Patrons and other supporters of the new edition of Captain Johnson's classic are welcome, with contributions (after publication costs are met) going to an Irving and Exy Johnson Fund to get disadvantaged youth to sea. Drop us a line for more information, or call 1-800 221-NMHS. See ad, page 11 , to order the book at the pre-publication price of $9.50.-ED. ERRATUM Your review of Simon Foster's 0 kinawa 1945 places the wreckage of the Japanese battleship Yamato " in 200 fathoms at 128 째04'W 30째43 'N." If correct, that would put her about 700 miles off the coast of northern Baj a. Not likely.

You ' ve put her in the wrong hemisphere! L 30째43 'N, Lo l 28째04 'E (navigators normally li st the latitude first) puts her some 240 miles due north of Okinawa, where, in fact, she went down.

In the spring of 1945 I was in Navy boot camp at San Diego. Part of our training was recognition- identifying the silhouettes of enemy ships and aircraft. I vividly recall the day our instructor ripped the poster of Yamato with her towering profi le from the wall and announced, " We sunk the SOB the other day. " (Actually , hi s words were considerably more colorful. ) With Yamato gone, we boots reali zed with mixed emotions that our war was nearing its end. By the time I got to the South Pacific, it was all over but the mopping up.

ROBERTF. MAXFIELD Grapevine, Texas

Several readers alerted us to this gaffe.

The incorrect position is quotedfrom the book-but we should have caught the error. - ED .

5

NMHSNEWS Membership up 25%Goal to Go! Membership on 29 April, the first anniversary of our Sea History membership campaign, stood at 13,495, a gain of 2,718, or 25%, over 1994, closing in on the first stage goal of 15,000. A massive volunteer effort sparked this drive, augmented by block enrollment of the graduating classes at the five state maritime academies (California, Great Lakes, New York, Maine, Massachusetts), the US Merchant Marine Academy, the Coast Guard Academy and Webb Institute of Naval Architecture. In addition, the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Foundation sponsors NMHS memberships for the college students in the Sea Education Association's Sea Semester in the schooners Westward and Corwith Cramer.

American Merchant Marine Museum And, in a most welcome development, the active members of the American Merchant Marine Museum at Kings Point, New York, have been enrolled as associate members. In his letter announcing this to Museum members, Curator Frank 0. Braynard called Sea History "Certainly the finest maritime history magazine published! " Special reports on merchant marine history and current affairs will appear in each iss ue of Sea History in the future-a development that confirms our Society's long-standing interest in the continuities of history, and in the future of the US merchant marine. Welcome aboard, American Merchant Marine Museum members!

Scheuing at Kings Point NMHS trustee Richard W. Scheuing presided over a luncheon at the US Merchant Marine Academy on National Maritime Day weekend on 20 May, at which the graduating class was presented with memberships in the Society. RADM Thomas T. Matteson thanked Mr. Scheuing for these memberships, given by Dick in honor of hi s friend Captain Frank T. Hayden.

Capt. Hayden served under Mr. Scheuing aboard the Liberty ship William N. Pendleton at Utah Beach on DDay in 1944. Capt. Hayden was then a Kings Point Midshipman , and as the years passed Mr. Scheuing did not forget this young man' s stalwart bearing, readiness to learn and effective execution of orders in a life-and-death situation.

6

"The usual suspects" gather aboard the Liberty ship Jeremiah 0 'Brien as Admiral Tom Patterson receives the World Ship Trust and American Ship Trust awards for saving the ship and taking her on her historic voyage to Normandy on the 50th anniversary ofD-Day last year. Seated from left to right , are Richard Brannon, Mrs. Anne Patterson , Admiral Patterson , Awards Luncheon Chairman Fred Hawkins , NMHS President Peter Stanford, NMHS Trustee Jeanmarie Mah er (with NMHS Trustee Scheu.ing directly behind her) , and standing, Commander James Benson and NMHS Vice Chairman Edward G. Zelinsky. Mr . Zelinsky , who presented the World Ship Trust Award to Admiral Patterson, was himself presented with the NMHS Distinguished Service Award for his leading role in maritime scholarship and support of the work of NMHS and the World Ship Trust.

D-Day veteran Dick Scheuing at the Cronkite Award presentation.

Peking Battles Cape Horn Again-in New Edition of Johnson Classic The Peking Battles Cape Horn, Irving Johnson 's account of a Cape Horn passage in the German bark Peking in 192930, is going back into print, augmented with a new preface by Electa (Exy) Johnson , Irving's wife and partner in his later round-the-world voyages in two Yankees . The new edition carries an account of Johnson 's life, as well as the now famous "Afterword" in which Captain Johnson reflected on the lessons of hi s seafaring in the "great big wagon," as he called the four-masted Peking, and hi s appreciation of the strong seamanly qualities of Captain Jurs.

With production costs covered by the NMHS Plankowners ' Club, the book is expected to make a profit, which will go into a special Irving and Exy Johnson fund , to help more young people get to sea in sail. Plankowners, NMHS supporters who donate $2500 or more per year, sponsor special projects that would not otherwise be feasible for NMHS to undertake.

Cronkite Award Goes to Pilgrim School Program The first presentation of NMHS Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Maritime Education was presented on 23 April to the Pilgrim School Program of the Orange County Marine Institute at Dana Point, California. Trustees Richard W. Scheuing and Ray Wallace were on hand with NMHS President Peter Stanford to present the award to Dr. Stanley L. Cummings, Executive Director of the Institute. The Pilgrim program was described by Daniel T. Stetson, Director of Maritime Affairs, in Sea History 72.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

NMHS Sails with SCOW-to Knoxville! " Knoxville? ft can 't be! He must have said Nashvi lle," I said to Justine, who had taken a message from NMHS Overseer Schuyler Meyer, calling in on the State Counci I on Waterways voyage from New York through rivers and canals to the heartland of Tennessee. There he was to pick up students for a return voyage through American and Canadian waterways to our headquarters in Peekskill , where we will welcome the argonauts of SCOW in a celebration of our interstate waterways heritage on 19 August.

Thi s epic journey began inNew York, proceeding up the Hudson and Mohawk rivers , waterways used by American Indians in their extensive trading networks for thousands of years before the first European arrived on the scene 400odd years ago. Just over 170 years ago, this highway from the ocean was lengthened by the Erie Canal, when Governor Clinton brought Lake Erie water to dump into New York harbor in 1825.

The SCOW crew had planned to push down the Ohio from Pittsburgh to Cairo, then turn north on the Mississippi and then off on the Missouri to reach Sioux City, Iowa. Raging floodwaters running faster than the top speed of the expedition 's boat, the Dr. R obt. Semo , blocked this course, and so the argonauts turned south on the mi ghty Tennessee River, stopping not at Nashville as we had supposed, but press ing right on, through stretches of Miss iss ippi and Alabama, to hook up to Knoxvi lle in the hills of Appalachia.

In all, it had been a 2,000-mile journey, 500 on New York State waterways , then (after a 300-mile portage) 900 miles on the Ohio, and 600 on the Tennessee.

The return journey will take them north again and through the St. Lawrence to Montreal before returning to Peekski ll with young students in crew.

The purpose of the voyage is to open people 's eyes to the shining asset we have in the nation ' s waterways, and to open the recreational and educational opportunity they offer to more Americans-a goal deeply shared by NMHS and SCOW. We are proud that our burgee flew on the jackstaff of the Dr. R obt. throughout the journey.

PS The voyage covered 2000 miles of waterways, reaching Knoxville in late May. The return passage , with students aboard, will reach up north to the Great Lakes returning by the St. Lawrence, Richelieu and Hu dson ri vers to Peekskill, New York .

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

Early in the journey, the NMHS flag flutters at the bow on a chilly, leafless day as the Dr. Robt. Semo approaches Lockport on the Erie Canal, 29 April 1995 .

The Dr. Robt. catches the last bit of evening light on a dreamlike avenue of southern waters.

The skipper, Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr., and shipmate Carl Briseno.

Route of the Dr. Robt.: Ponage: • • • • • • •

Otto Hersing Was the First

by Thomas J. Hajewski The modern era of naval warfare was pedo, ho wever, mi ssed and ex ploded warships in the Firth and U-21 , along succ inctly ushered in by the Confederate after a five-minute run , apparently when with its sister submarine of the same Secretary of the Navy Steven Mallory in it struck the shore. A second attempt at class, U-20, was ordered to intercept 1861 when he stated: " Inequality of num- scoring a hit on one of the destroyers, the them. Earlier Hersing had carefully bers may be compensated by invulner- Berc I Satwet, was likew ise unsuccess- watched some of the harbor activities off ability .. . not only does economy, but ful. The Turks immedi ate ly counterat- Edinburgh through the peri scope, yet no naval success , dictate the wisdom and tacked and launched the ir own torpe- vessels of any size were encountered and expedience of fightin g with iron against does and the Dolphin was forced to take the anxiety of the wait so near the large wood , without regard to cost." The re- evasive ac tion . After 30 minutes a look enemy port was beginning to te ll on the sulting construction of ironclad vessels through the s ubmarine ' s pe ri scope re- German crew . Was their boat indeed up changed fo rever the course of warfare at vealed no trace of the enemy ships. As to its assignment? Had perhaps another sea and brought about the development with so man y events only later recog- U-boat already had a chance at a shot? of weapons and strategies whose full and nized as be ing of special hi stori cal sig- Then they saw smoke off the horizondevastating potentia ls would only be re- nificance, thi s one was over probably in Hersing 's own words: "Thick, black ali zed in our own century . The appear- even before those takin g part in it real - promising smoke ! I didn ' t take my eyes from the peri scope's viewfinder. A tarance and employment of the South's ized what they had witnessed .

Merrimac, as well as the Union ' s MoniThe first sinking of an enemy ship by get?" It was an English cruiser from its tor, was onl y the beginning of continu - torpedo attac k occurred shortl y after the silhouette, recogni zable by its mas ts and ing ex perimentation by both antago ni sts beginning of hostilities in World War I. funnel s. in this conflict with armor plating, heavier On 5 September 1914, the German Hersing began to make the ca lculaca liber nava l guns, armor piercing she IIs, Unterseeboot U-21 , under the command tions necessary for an underwater attack, mines (then called torpedoes) and , in of Kapitanl eutnant Otto Hersing , was yet before long the enemy vesse l moved earl y 1864, wi th perhaps the most innova- patrolling in the Firth of Forth , between off and soon di sappeared altogether. The tive of modern weaponry, the submarine. Edinburgh and St. Abb's Head, in search crew ' s anxiety turned to bitter di sapDavid Bushnell ' s one-man submers- ofBritish targets. TheGerman hi gh com- pointment as news of the lost target ible, the Turtle , had been conceived and mand had rece ived information indicat- spread through the boat. Pursuit of the tested during the American Revolution , ing the presence of several large enemy cruiser would have been difficult, conand later Robert Fulton experimented sidering U-21 's speed of only 15 with an underwater craft. Yet until Th e American radio commentator Lowell Th omas , knots on the surface and 9 submerged; the Confederate Navy launched its interviewing Kapitiinleutnant Hersing ten years after the Englishman could qui ckly outcigar-shaped Hunley at C harleston , World War I.found him much aged compared to the di stance them . However, incredibly , South Carolina, in 1863, no ship had wartime photograph shown here. When Thomas asked the crui ser's smoke again became what the famous U- boat hero did with his time these ever been sunk by a subm arine in days , Hersing replied: "/ grow splendid potatoes. " visible after a few minutes and act ua l combat. In fact when the Hersing realized that hi s target had Hunley, under the command of Conchanged course, first away from his federate Lieutenant Di son, sank the boat, now coming directl y toward it!

Un ion sloop Housatonic on 17 FebThe submarine again was made ready ruary 1864, it accom pli shed the feat to launch torpedoes and its comnot by firing a torpedo at the target, mander must only now have reali zed but by ramming it with a contactthe significance of what was about to type mine attac hed by a long pole to ha ppen. It was exactly 1600 hours the bow of the undersea craft. The when he began hi s approach toward contraption must have close ly rethe target. The weather was perfect, sembled a meta l narwhal while glida bri 11 iant fa! I afternoon, the sea calm, ing through the water, its long tu sk and Hersing's view of the approachprojecting before it, tipped by the ing enemy ship through the periexplosive device. scope was unobstructed.

The first actual torpedo attack in At thi s point in the war ne ither the modern sense occurred over 40 Hersing nor any of hi s officers knew years after the American C ivil War what the effects of a torpedo explodwas over in the Aegean area of the ing against an enemy ship would Mediterranean Sea, off the Dardahave on their own vessel. Would nelles. On 9 December 19 12,a newlytheir boat remain watertight? Could commi ss ioned Greek subm arine, the the compressed air tanks and diesel Dolphin, under com mand of a Capcompartments (U-21 was one of the tain St. Paparrigopoulos , made two first in a series of German diese lseparate attacks on Turkish vessels equipped boats) take the concussion, with torpedoes. The crui ser Mednot to mention the effect on the storschidije, shi e lded by five destroyers , age batteries needed for electric and was the first target. The Greek torunderwater running? These and other

8

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

U-2 1 was part of the great surprise weapon of WWI, the submarine that gai•e Germany, the weaker naval power, the ability to challenge Britain's command of the seas. German U-boats came perilou!fly close to breaking the Allies' Atlantic supply line in both World Wars.

doubts were quickly di smi ssed from the Ge rm an co mm and e r 's mind as th e target's range closed. Two thousand five hundred meters . . . 1,900 meters ...

1,500 meters. At exactly 1645 hours, less than an hour since an attack course had been set, at a keel de pth of20 meters, Hersing electrically fired a single torpedo from one of hi s submarine's two bow tubes. The compressed air torpedo began its run , as Hersing immediately retracted hi s peri scope, which from all indications had not yet been seen by the Engli sh vesse l, despite the smoothness of the ocean 's surface. The seconds must have seemed intermina ble ... 10 ... 20 ... 30. Nothing .. . one minute ... still nothing. A mi ss, despite the care he had taken in calcul ating the shot, despite Hersing's reputation as the best scorer with torpedoes in the flotill a. One minute 15 seconds .. . much too long for a 1,500 meter run. And then the unbe li evably violent detonation as the torpedo struck the Engli sh ship! The micro-world of the German crew was turned nearly upsidedown by the severity of the bl ast, the entire submarine was lifted as if by some gigantic hand .

Hers ing's first thoughts after the tremendous ex plosion were of hi s submarine and crew: had the boat he ld together? had any of hi s men been injured? " A ll in o rde r, Kapitanl e utn ant," hi s he lmsman re ported . " Minimal damage, no visible leaking anyw here!" The periscope was raised and no trace of the cruiser cou ld be seen. Later Eng li sh reports of the attack indicated that the German torpedo had struck the vessel amidships, just below the first funne l, causing an explosion in the main ammunition magazine. Th is caused the funnel to literally fl y off the ship. The crui ser broke apart, the bow portion sinking first.

The stern section rose, turned over and likewise slipped beneath the surface. Only I I ofnearly 350crewmembers, including the badly wounded captain , surv ived the tragedy . They we re later rescued from the water by the escorting destroyers.

The luck less vesse l was the Pathfinder, a modern crui ser of 3,000 tons, mounting nine 4-inch guns. Ironically , the ship had recently been refitted at a cost to the British of nearly half a million pounds.

At the time it was struck by U-2 1's torpedo, the Pathfinder had been the

flagship of the crui ser flotill a based in the Firth of Forth.

Forth is ac tion , Captain Hersing, along with members of hi s crew, was awarded the Iron Cross Second C lass by direct order of the Kaiser. Yet surpri singly, it was not for hi s destruction of the first enemy vesse l by torpedo for wh ich he became so famo us as the war progressed, but rather for a later ex ploit. ln Apri l 19 15, Hers ingandU-2 1 were orde red to sa il from Wilhelmshave n, Germany , south through the Strait of Gibra ltar, and on into the eastern Mediterranean Sea to help s upport the Turkish fo rces at the Dardanell es. Despite the di stances in vo lved, the U- boat s uccessfully made the voyage, sank two British capita l ships in the process and dramati ca ll y he lped change the course of that campaign in hi s side's favo r. It was perhaps the most ironic twist of fate that the course of the war brought Otto Hersi ng, the first U-boat comm ander in hi story to sink an enemy vesse l by torpedo attack, to the Dardanelles, to nearly the same location where the first encounter between a submarine and surface vessels had taken pl ace only three yea rs before. t

A prof essor of German at Edinboro Univers ity in Penn syl va nia , Mr .

Hajewski has published numerous articles on military topics, including "With U-53 10 America" in Sea Hi story 55 and 56.

HMS Pathfinde r, shown here anchored peacefu lly before the war, was literally blown apart by U-2 1's torpedo on 5 September 19 14-lhe firsl hit a/ World War I. A li11/e over two weeks later, three British cruisers were sun/.: in succession by one German U-boat--hecaus e two cruisers stopped to pick up the menfrom thefirst one hit. Th ereajier there was no stopping to t.=::_;~;;_~~_'.:~~~~~~~:=_:==:..=;::;;:;:~~~!!E~~~~'.____::::::_j pick up casualties.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

9

Maryland's First Historic Shipwreck Preserve: U-1105

by Henry Keatts In World War I, German Unterseebooten crossed the Atlantic to deal a few shrewd blows at shipping on the US East Coast, even before American entry into the war in 1917. In World War II, 24 years later, all hell broke loose after Germany declared war against the US in December 1941. It was mid-summerof the following year, after dire warnings from Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall , that the US Navy brought the sinkings of American shipping under control, and building programs at last began to exceed losses. All this was not without cost, however, and today there are eleven sunken U-boats in American waters, all casualties of war except one, which was sunk after the war to test its defen sive strength.

The Maryland Hi storical Trust, an agency of the Maryland Division of Historical and Cultural Programs, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Navy to create Maryland 's first underwater dive preserve at the site of the sunken World War II German U-boat U-1105. The dive preserve will provide sport divers an opportunity to explore the virtually intact remains of a unique World War II German U-boat.

The Type VII C U-boat is in the Potomac River in about 85 feet of water.

State archaeologists were made aware of the wreck, di scovered by Uwe Lovas of Fredericksburg, Virginia, in my " Hi story Submerged" column ("The ' Black Panther ' U-boat Discovered in the Potomac") in the July 1992 issue of

Discover Diving magazine.

U-1105 was nicknamed "Schwarze Panther" by her crew because of her black hull color. The U-boat, in brackish water, is the best preserved U-boat in North American waters. Obtained as a war prize and sunk by the US Navy 's Underwater Explosive Research Divi sion in 1948, the U-1105 is the only known surviving example often rubberclad U-boats constructed near the end of the war as a part of Hitler 's much-heralded "super weapons" program. Built to neutralize Allied sonar detection equipment that was devastating the U-boat fleet, U-1105 represents one of the earliest uses of modern "stealth" technology fielded in wartime. The vesse l was launched 20 April 1944 and surrendered at Loch Eriboll on 10 May 1945. The British operated it as submarine N-16 until the US Navy took it over in 1946.

The Historic Shipwreck Preserve is an advanced dive in a low visibility environment accessible to appropriately qualified and ex perienced scuba divers .

Exhibits and support for the preserve are provided by the Maryland Historical Trust and the Museum Division of the St. Mary 's County Department of Recreation and Parks. The interpretive center is located at the county ' s hi storic Piney Point Lighthou se.

Dedication of the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum and Park and the U-1105 Historic Shipwreck Preserve took place on Monday, 8 May 1995. The U-1105 site is located approximately one mile west of Piney Point, Maryland, at Latitude 38 °08'10"N, LongiU-1105 is well preserved, and largely intact. Just forward of the tude 76°33' lO"W. Beconning tower, the rupture line caused by the 1948 demolition tween April and Decan he seen. J/lustration by James L. Christley. cember, a blue and white buoy marks the lower gun platform of the wreck. The connin g tower rises to within 68 feet of the surface.

U-1105 is a fragile hi storic site and remains the property of the US Navy as the government never abandoned title to the vessel it sank. Federal law prohibits the removal

10

U-1105 being prepared for a demolition test .

of objects from the U-boat. An inventory of the vessel has been completed by the State of Maryland. To prevent unauthorized di sturbance, the site is monitored by the US Coast Guard and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Marine Police. Divers are requested to report any unusual or important artifact they may observe to the Maryland State Underwater Archaeologist (410 5147662), the St. Clements Island-Potomac River Museum (3Ql 769-2222), or the St. Mary 's County ·Department of Recreation and Park s (301 475-562 1). 1 H enry Keatts , Professor of Biology & Oceanography at Suffolk Community College, Long Island, New York, has authored six books on maritime history.

To learn more about opportunities to explore sunken U-boats , pick up George Farr and Henry Keatts' Dive into History: Volume 3, U-boats-New, Expanded Edition.

The authors trace the development of Germany ' s legendary U-boats from the I 5th-century submarine design to the dreaded "gray wolves" that prowled the sea and wrought havoc during WWI and II .

Included are descriptions of U-boats sunk during dramatic battles with Allied forces or after being surrendered as war prizes, along with detailed historical background and character accounts of the crews. The volume focuses on eleven sunken Uboats-eight along the eastern seaboard from Florida to Prince Edward Island, Canada, one off California, one in Lake Michigan, and one in the Potomac River.

The book is available from Fathom Press, PO Box 191 , Eastport NY 11941 for $2 1.70 (NY residents add $1 .85) SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

National Maritime Historical Society Announces a New Edition of a Deepwater Classic:

The Peking Battles Cape Horn by Irving Johnson In 1929-30 young Irving Johnson went round Cape Horn on the great German sailing ship Peking and recorded the voyage in writing and on film. His words and photographs will once again be available in a new edition of this sea classic.

There will be new photographs and a memoir of Irving by his wife and partner, Exy Johnson. In her introduction, Exy says: "In the time since Irving died (1991) I have given much thought not only to him, but to his life as a whole. Few people are able to use theirfull talents happily in their way oflife. This Irving and Exy at the helm of Wander Bird in 1983. was his great blessing."

In a famous Afterword written half a century after this voyage, Capt. Johnson added what he felt he had learned from his lifetime association with the sea. That Afterword has become a testament of the sail training movement. Exy's testimony, added for this special edition, rounds out the picture of how the partnership of two very individual people worked-and why.

Order now at the pre-publication price of $9.50 soft cover, $17.50 hard cover.

(Prices after 1 September will be $11.75 soft cover, $21.75 hard cover.)

Also:

The Marine Society of the City of New York, 1770-1995: A Concise History This gem of a book covers the worldwide sweep of events, outstanding personalities and the changing currents of affairs that shaped the hi story of New York portand the nation. This slender volume opens with a foreword by Walter Cronkite, and is filled with abundant anecdotes, maps, drawings and photographs.

Available now for

$17.50.

Special offer on Frank Braynard's magnum opus:

The Leviathan

In six outsized volumes, with 1500 pictures and one million words, the ship and her varied careers under German and US flags, her captains and crews and fantastically varied passenger complements (from dough boys to robber barons) come to life at the hands of an acknowledged master in his field. The perfect book for any liner buff!

~egularly $240, now just $210 plus $25 shipping.

Or pick up the set at the American Merchant Marine Museum , Kings Point, New York.

To order by phone, call Erika at

1-800-221-NMHS.

Or mail your order and check to: National Maritime Historical Society 5 John Walsh Boulevard, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566

NMHS members are entitled to a 10% discount.

Snagboats of the Mississippi

by Jack Custer

E

arl y I 9th-century steamboat travel was done on totally unimproved rivers. When the water gave out, steamboats had to lay up and river transport ceased. But when rises came, rivers flu shed out their de bri s and were soon fill ed with trees and other items. As a result, steamboat travel was o ften interrupted by floatin g obstacles ca ll ed "snags" that could block channels, pi erce hull s or tear sidewheels to pieces.

The earl y steamboaters were a resourcefu l lot who solved pro bl ems in the most practical ways. A g iant of early steam boating was Henry Shreve, who is widely regarded as the man who advanced steamboat des ign by abandoning deep drau g ht hull s for s hallow draught hull s and pl ac ing eng ines on the main deck .

Shreve's lesser-known contribution to steamboating was the development of the snag boat in the late 1820s. Shreve devised a twin-hulled steamboat equipped with winches and hoists that could lift large snags from the river. The crew would then cut them into small pieces and hurl them back into the ri ver where they wo uld cause no further problem.

Shreve 's Heliopolis was a success and brought him much fame for her work at Plum Point in 1829 where by flatboaters, keel boate rs, and steamboat12

ers alike we re miracul ously freed from the menace of snags. Captain Shreve then won a contract from the US govern ment to remo ve snags and made much money in the process.

The notorious Red River " raft" was Shreve 's next challenge . Thi s was a mass o f floatin g detritus that clogged the Red River for a stretch of more than 150 mil es in Loui siana and Arkansas. In 1833 Shreve went to work on thi s infamous raft with several snagboats. It took five years to c lear out the raft, but it wou ld spontaneously regenerate. It was not until 1880 that the raft was finall y and perm anentl y rem oved . Shreve's workers camped in the wilderness alongside the Red Ri ve r whi le they worked.

The site of their main camp is now Shreveport, Loui siana.

The snagboat's deve lopment is mini mally chronic led . It appears that the resourceful Shreve came up with such a practi ca l proto type th a t its des ig n changed little over the decades. The standard snagboat was a sidewheeler with catamaran hulls, wh ich gave the snagboat the stability it needed to use its winches , spars and other equipment to pull bi g snags from the rivers.

Although we have few photographs of snagboats prior to the 1870s, it appears that they gained a nearly uniform design

everywhere, with both sidewheel and sternwheel snagboats in use in the 1870s.

Although their exteriors were frequentl y photographed in the 19th century, there are no decent interior photos of the ir cabin s or work spaces. Thi s is most unfortunate, because snagboats were noted for their large lav ishl y appointed cabins. And the wea lth of machinery on their main decks wou ld have been the envy of any sawmill owner.

Through an act of Congress in 1900, snagboats became a dream retirement position for rivermen who could maneuver their way into such appo intments.

The crews on snagboats worked for eight hours a day , from 8:00 AM to 4 :00 PM . One snagboat was stationed at St. Loui s and the other at New Orleans.

They would starttheiroperations in Apri l and run through August, with a lay-up for winter. In later years snagboats were required to make two trips a year, and thi s shortened their lay- up time. Snagboating was never done in a hurry. For example, it would typically take a snagboat 34 days to run between Memphi s and Cairo, a two-day run for most steamboats.

Snagboats tended to have big crews.

They had huge main cabins and there was a private cabin for each crewman.

The chief engi neer had two strikers (unSEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

At left: Probably the best known snagboat was the Horatio G. Wright, seen here ca.

1895 at St. Louis above the Eads Bridge.

She was built at Crondelet, Missouri , and measured 187' in length , 62' breadth , 8' draft. Note the castle atop the pilot house and the handsome railings.

licen sed assistants), one for each watch.

There were also two oilers, one day and one night man . There were four firemen , and the deck crew ranged from six to eight. There were also cooks and waiters and a night watchman. The night watch involved the second engineer and striker, a fireman and one or two men on the deck.

The other crew included a clerk, steward and two mates .

Snagboats were often havens for pi lots who were not interested in serious work. For example, in June 1902 the E.A. Woodruff made a " trip of observation " from Cincinnati to Cairo. That is to say, she did no snagging on that trip, and this kindled rivermen ' s ill-will toward the boat. They considered the Woodruff's official duty a colossal joke and facetiously suggested that she be converted to an excursion boat.

The snagboat Horatio G. Wright was noted for being a floating palace with a crew of 44. Her interior was exceptional. Because of her extreme breadth , her cabins were spacious and she was luxuriously outfitted. The Wright even had a library , and there was a Victrola in it with 500 selections for playing.

The Wright had plants for electric light, icemaking, refrigeration and filtration. Altogether there were some 41 steam engine cylinders aboard her. She had a complete machine and repair shop aboard. Much of the wood used to fit out the Wright had come from snags in the river. There were several steam powered saws aboard, making it easy to do woodwork. Her carpenter, Ike Richards, was a talented woodworker who made many of her furni shings from choice walnut and other desirable woods retrieved from the river.

Many snags were submerged and had to be located before they could be removed. A sweep chain was stretched from one catamaran bow to the other and lowered to find the obstruction.

In the fal I of 1913 the Ma comb dragged the crossing at Tomato Landing and removed the ends of a coal boat the Sprague had lost there in the summer of 1912. The Macomb would drop her SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

The Tom Stallings, on the lower Mississippi, has a sizeable snag on the foredeck. The crew will soon set about the task of cutting it into small pieces.

sweep chain as much as 16 feet and " feel " her way onto snags, which she would then remove.

After a snagboat had cleared an area, the local newspapers would publi sh a list of the snags removed, so that pilots would know what areas were no longer dangerous .

One mi sunderstood appurtenance of snagg ing was the big hook, also ca lled the Sampson hook , at the end of the Aframe. Thi s was not used to troll for snags. Instead , the hook was often lowered against a snag once it had been pulled out to steady the snag and keep it from moving or dropping suddenly.

Despite the number of easy jobs on snagboats, the deck crew had to be adept at handling and balancing big loads hi gh above them an<;l coordinating all their moves. One rash move could cause a death , so the deck crew was a cautious group and few people had the opportunity to see them at work, performing their mechanical aerial work.

The Sampson hook was also used in wrecking sunken steamboats after their boilers , engines and shafts had been removed. Once the wreckage was stripped of the recyclable iron , the Sampson hook was dropped into the water and dragged through the wreckage, ploughing back and forth until the wooden structure was broken up and floated away.

Occas iona ll y a snagboat could not

tear up wreckage. In that case a diver would go down and plant dynamite to do the job. When that happened, there wou Id be hundreds of dead fish killed by the concussion. In 1914, when the Macomb was removing the Shiloh's wreck at the Memphis wharf, some of the locals stood by with skiffs, waiting to pick up the dynamited fi sh.

We now use cable woven from small wire for innumerable applications. But there was no such thing as our cable in the days of 19th- and early 20th-century steamboating. Instead, they use d handforged chains. Snagboats had a Sampson chain made up of 30-pound links for use with the three-ton hook.

Despite their strength, these chains occasionally broke, sending shrapnel flying across the snagboat's foredeck .

After the disastrous 1927 flood on the lower Mississippi, levees were raised and riverbanks were paved with concrete revetments. Snagboats gradually disappeared in the 1940s, and although there is still abundant debris in the river, massive snags are rare. t

Mr. Custer and his wife, Sandra Miller Custer, own and operate Steamboat Masters & Associates, Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky, doing research and consulting work for museums , historians and others. Their Egregious SteamboatJournal is now in its fourth year.

13

Mr. Dickens's Water"Ways Tour

by Philip R. Elmes Late in the afternoon of Saturday the 22nd of January 1842, the steam packet Britannia , e ightee n days out of the Coburg dock at Liverpool, drew up to the busy docks at Boston harbor bearing Her Majesty's mail s, a cargo of trade goods, and e ighty-six ex hausted but happy passengers. Perhaps not so much happy as relieved , for the crossing had been the stormiest in yea rs: the battered ship arrived in port with its damaged stack las hed in pl ace, the sidewhee l paddle box planking Lorn away , and shattered lifeboats dangling useless from the ir davits. Prominent among the arrivals was the celebrated British author Charles Dickens, undaunted by his journey and full of enthusias m for his American adventure.

Di ckens, or " Boz" after the character of hi s first literary s uccess Sketches by Boz ( 1836), had come to America accompanied by hi s wife Catherine Hogarth to savor for himself hi s ideali zed view of American democracy. He had read Mrs. Trollope and Harriet Martineau and set out determined to correct the ir less than complimentary accounts of American life and manners. As one bi ographer has written , " Di ckens was convinced that he could understand , as neither of these ladies poss ibly co uld , a democrati c king less co untry freed from the shackles of class rule."

In fiv e months, Dickens toured major

eastern c ities then turned west, by canal and river boat, down the Ohio River and up the Mi ss iss ippi to St. Louis; returning, the travelers booked passage briefl y on a lake steamer bound from Sandusky down Lake Erie by way of C leveland to Buffalo. Chastened by hi s ex perience, he faithfully reported hi s adventure in American Notes , publi shed soon after his return home(October 1842). As chock full of descripti ve detail, humor and satire as we mi ght ex pect, in American Notes we find Dickens di sillusioned with hi s image of the American Dream. Nevertheless, from an hi storica l perspective, the writer's accounts of the waterborne leg of hi s journey are of particular interest.

Barely thirty in 1842, Dickens was already America 's best-selling author.

Sketches by Boz was followed in quick success ion by Th e Posthumous Papers ofthe Pickwick Club, Oliver Twist( 1838), The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ( 1839), and Th e Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge publi shed in book form in 184 1. As quick as the seriali zed novels were issued in the British press, pirated copies were ru shed on board fast steamers bound fo r the States and an eager American press. Ignoring British copyright conventions, newspapers across the country raced each other forthe latest Dickens piece. And America loved every word.

As an observer and reporter, Di ckens

Mr. Dickens' water route from Harrisburg to St. Louis: Byca nal : - - - - - - - ri\'erboat: - - - - -

By

14

was witho ut peer and , indeed, in the pages of hi s American Notes we find a viv id portrait of our country in the midi 9th century. Lionized by society at"Boz Balls" he ld in ci ty after city, and mobbed in the streets at every stop, Dickens's small entourage progressed from Boston to New York , then on to Phil adelphia, Baltimore and Washington . Much as he did at home, at every opportunity Dickens sought out pri sons, settl ement houses and factories , noting in deta il the living and working conditions of the lower classes and , inev itabl y, making compari sons with Britain. Sadly, given hi s he ightened ex pectation s, America suffered by the compari son.

A confirmed abo liti oni st, Dickens felt compe ll ed to tour the South and its plantations but got no further than Richmond. Deeply moved by the deso lation of Virginia ' s agriculturally spent fi elds and bleak abandoned homes, all formerly worked by slave labor, Dickens turned to the West in the hope of findin g America's promi se of liberty and equality. By way of Baltimore, he headed for Pennsylvania and the Vall ey of the Ohio.

West by Canal and Steamboat At Harrisburg Dickens boarded a canal boat bound for Pittsburgh and the Ohio Ri ver, and in hi s brief sketch we glimpse the dubious comfo rts of canal travel at the he ight of America's 19th-century canal boom . Stimulated by the success of the Erie Canal (opened in 1825), a quartercentury of canal construction created a network of canals stretching from the Atlantic westward to the Missi ssippi valley, and north to the Great Lakes. Dug at great expense of labor and capital, this short-lived canal system was for several decades the great conveyor of trade and settlement to the American inte rior.

Canal travel was surely no novelty to Dickens, for England, at the turn of the 19th century, possessed a mature canal system second to none . But thi s fact do ubtless served as little preparation for the rigors of the American frontier. Approaching the dock in Harri sburg, shoulders hunched against a cold March rain , Dickens described their transportation of choice as " a barge with a little house Th e route Charles Dickens followed by canal boat and steamboat on the inland waterways,from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , west to St . Louis.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

Cincinnati was one of the few sites Dickens praised unreservedly: "I have not often seen a place that commends itself so favourab ly and pleasantly to a stranger at the firs t glance as this does: with its clean houses of red and white, its well-paved roads , andfootways of bright tile. Nor does it become less prepossessing on a closer acquaintance. The streets are broad and airy, the shops extremely good, the private residences remarkable fo r their elegance and neatness. Th ere is something ofin vention andfancy in the varying styles ofthese latter erections , which, after the dull company ofthe steamboat, is perfectlydelightful. " This daguerreotype is one of eight panels showing the city' s wate1front in 1848,just six years after Dickens was so charmed. A close look at the steamboats re veals the open deck and machinery susceptible "to every wind that blows," as noted by Dickens. (From the Collection of Th e Public Librmy of Cincinnati and Hamilton County)

on it viewed from the outside; and a caravan at a fair, viewed from within."

Over thirty passengers were to be joined in the three-day passage to Pittsburgh .

Inside the main-indeed the on lycabi n, a red curtain separated the ladies' quarters from those of the men. A row of little tables and benches ex tended down both sides of the cabin , portable furniture which , when shoved together, provided the dining table and, separated ,

later provided the choice sleeping platforms for those spared the di scomfort and relative indignity of berths stacked three deep. A rusty stove provided heat when kindled for the purpose.

The only privacy accorded was that given the ladies, sequestered beyond the red c urtain , "carefully drawn and pinned up the centre, though ," according to Dickens, " as every cough, or sneeze, or whisper, behind this curtain, was perfec tly audible before it, we had still a lively consciousness of thei r soc iety. " Come morning, between five and six o 'clock, the gentlemen were free to repair to the deck where canal water was avai lable for those who chose to rinse the At top , inclined plane number 6 on the Allegheny Portage Railroad (from the Hugh Moore Historical Park ) where cars and sectional boats were drawn up by stationmy steam engines. Th e railway system of fi ve ascending and five descending planes, with tracks for horse-drawn cars between, allowed Mainlin e Canal passengers to cross the Alleghenies from Holidaysburg to Johnstown PA , a method used until 1854 when a tunnel through the mountains linked the two sections of canal. Dickens wrote: "Occasionally the rails are laid upon the extreme verge of a giddy precipice; and looking from the carriage window, the traveller gazes sheer down, without a stone or scrap of f ence between, into the mountain depths below. The journey is very carefully made . .. and, while proper precautions are taken, is not to be dreaded for its dc,ngers." Below, "Canal Locks," by George Storm ( 1830-1913), painted in 1906 from his memories of earlier days (from the State Museum of Pennsylvania).

Th e vessel behind the lock may be similar to the canal boat Dickens voyaged in and described as "a barge with a little house on it."

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

sleep from the ir eyes. Later, after breakfas t, a waiter appeared " in the character of a barber" and shaved those des iring the service.

Supper the first evening on board set the culinary tone for the voyage. Served up "famil y style" on the assembled ma in long table in the cabin , the menu included tea, coffee, bread and butter, salmon, shad, li ver, steaks , potatoes, pick les, ham , chops, black puddings and sausages. The ample fare was dispatched with little ceremony. In the morning and at lunch the offerings remained the same; those seeking variety were free to select as they would from this frontier smorgasbord. Breakfast Dickens found to be the least desirable meal of the day. Mingled with pleasant odors arising from the food "there were whiffs of gin, whiskey, brandy, and rum , from the little bar hard by, and a decided seasoning of stale tobacco."

Yet for all the di scomforts, Dickens waxes poetic in recounting the splendid rigors of his morning wash in the icy waters of the canal; in hi s bri sk walks along the tow path before breakfast; in the beauty of the dawn; in the lazy motion of the boat while layi ng idly on deck; in the deep blue of the sky and, at night, the shining out of the bright stars. "Sometimes at night," he writes, "the way wound through some lonely gorge, like a mountain pass in Scotland, shining and coldly glittering in the light of the moon."

From the deck, Dickens notes the signs of settlement along the way, "full of interest for strangers from an old country: cabins with simple ovens, outside, made of clay ; and lodgi ngs for the 15

John S1ohart' s rendering ofa small s1eamhoa1 making ils way on !he Mississippi in "Nigh! Run lo Friar' s Poin1. " This vessel appears 10 he 1hrow11 10ge1her hy !h e " varying las/es of a dozen men ," as Dickens described 1he Messenger.

pigs nearl y as good as many of the human quarters; broken w indows , patched w ith worn-o ut hats, o ld clo thes , o ld boards, fragments of blankets and pa per; and home-made dressers sta nding in the open air without the door, whe reon was ranged the ho useho ld store, not hard to count, of earthe rn j ars and pots."

On the third day, the canal boat delivered its passengers to the foot of the A ll eghe ny mo untai ns, which were to be crossed by ra ilroad; o n the othe r side, the canal connection resumed , o n to Pittsburgh. Afte rthreedays' restthere, where they lodged at "a most exce lle nt hote l, and were admirabl y served ," the Dickens party embarked o n the river steame r Messenger. Adv ised that western hi ghpressure steamboats tended to bl ow up " one or two a week in season," Dickens was pleased to be accommodated in a tiny stateroom off the ladi es lounge in the stern of the vessel- because, he was adv ised, " the steam-boats generall y blew up forward. " Dickens con tinued to be asto ni shed by the very nature of American inland watercraft which he fo und "still mo re fo re ig n to all the ideas we are acc ustomed to en tertain of boats." Noting the absence of mast, cordage, tack le or ri gging, Dickens fou nd little abo ut the very shape of the vesse l " at all ca lc ul ated to remind one of a boat's head, ste rn , s ides, or keel. " There was no vis ible deckmerely a long, black roof, covered with burnt-o ut "feathe ry" sparks above which loomed two iron c himneys and a g lass steerage house. Below the roofdeck were the s ides, doors and windows of the staterooms, "j umbled as oddly togethe r as though they formed a small street, built by the varying tastes of a dozen me n: the whole is supported on beams and pillars resting on a dirty barge, but a few inches above the water's edge: and in the narrow space between thi s uppe r structure and this barge's deck, are the furnace fires and mac hine ry, open at the sides to every wind that blows, and every stonn of ra in it drives alo ng its path ."

The Messenger, nevertheless , was a vast improve me nt in comfort over the canal boats of hi s acq uainta nce. Hi s fe llow passenge rs were anothe r matter. On board three days, he fo und the company do ur and uncommunicative; mea ltimes were s ilent affa irs conducted prima ril y for the purpose of eating. The spread included countless little dishes and plates with little of substance on them. There was no " socia lity" othe r than the silent

16

fellowship round the stove when the mea l was over. Dicke ns's lively pe rsonality was surely subdued as he compared "the whole ma le portion of the compan y [with] the mela nchol y ghosts of departed book-keepers, who had fallen dead at the desk."

Cheerful Cincinnati Landing in Cincinnati was a great relief: he found it "a beautiful city; cheerful , thriving and animated." fnd eed, Cincinnati at this time was the Queen City of the West, wealthy, industrious and cultured, with a population of over fifty thousand, well paved streets, fine shops, lovely homes and excellent free public schools. In the weeks that follo wed , Louisville and St. Louis paled by comparison though, in decades to come, first St. Louis, then Chicago, would each in turn claim C incinnati' s early pre-eminence.

Continuing down th e Ohio , th e Dickens party stopped briefl y in Loui sville (deemed dull and "over-built" though the hotel was excelle nt), the n boarded the steamboat Fulton , for St. Lo uis, the weste rnmost point of hi s itine rary.

Approaching the joining of the Ohio and Mi ssissippi , Dickens noted the dreary aspect of low-lying land, vast mud fl ats simmering under a re lentless sun , and trees stunted by periodic inundatio n. At the very junction of the two rivers, Dic ke ns describes " a di smal swamp , on which half-built houses rot away ... and teeming, then , with rank unwhol esome vegetati o n, in whose bal eful shade the wretched wanderers who are te mpted hithe r, droop, and die, and lay their bones; . .. a place without one s ing le quality, in earth or air or water, to comme nd it: suc h is thi s di smal Cairo."

And the Mi ss iss ippi itself, when compared with the c rys talline waters of the Ohio, he found nearly indescribable: " An enonnous ditc h, some times two or three mil es wide, running liquid mud, six miles an hour. " While on the rive r, they drank the muddy water "cons ide red wholesome by the natives . . . something more opaque than gruel. " After two days of laboring uprive r against the mighty current, the Fu/ ton delive red he r passengers at St. Lo ui s. And, after some days of ex ploring the c ity, the surrounding plains a nd quaint French-inflected villages, Dic kens turned back east a nd north to exp lore the Great Lakes and Canada.

The publi cation of American Notes

late that year was well rece ived in Eng land and vilified in America. In hi s caricatures of po liticians and colorful fellow travelers along the way , and in hi s descriptions of the unfortunate condi tion s of the lowe r classes, hi s writing was pure Dicke ns. For thi s the American press found him an ungrate ful g uest, while Ameri can men of lette rs found hi s writing engaging and fundamentally true.

Dic kens's satire and soc ial c ritici sm directed at English c ustom was ce le brated by hi s Ame rican reade rs; that same pen applied to American counterparts cut too close to the raw nerve e ndings of the young re public.

G. K. Chesterton tell s us that while Dic kens came to America to savor its freedoms and ex tol them to the world, he ultimately found them wanting. He despi sed cant of every kind , and to find Americans so re le ntless ly self-congratulato ry, so convinced of the young nation 's sole possess ion ofl iberty, was more than he co uld co unte nan ce. "A merica ," Chesterton ex pla ins, " will always affect an Englishman as being soft in the wrong place and hard in the wrong place; coarse exactly where all civili zed me n are delicate, delicate exactl y where all grow nup me n are coarse."

He had loved hi s trip, made many fri e nds, and was indeed awed by much that he saw. But as a true liberal , in the English radical tradition , with an absolute commitme nt to personal freedom , he left the States with grave mi sg ivings.

He wrote a fri e nd: " I do fear that the heaviest blow ever dealt liberty will be dealt by thi s country, in the failure of its example on the earth." Dickens understood our nation ' s promise a nd loved us we ll enough to tell the truth . .1

Philip R . Elmes , MA , a lifelong resident of the Chicago area, is founder of the Chicago Maritime Society , an organization currently looking for a site.

SEA HTSTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

Tall Stacks '95 Cincinnati)s Riverboat Era Tribute ou sense them even before you for morning tours and most will offer see them. Their whistles echo day excursions during the 5-day festival , down the Ohio River as they which organizers expect will exceed its emerge from the mists of the past. Steam 1.2 million 1992 attendance.

The steamboats wi ll be the stars of the billows from their tall, fluted stacks as their paddle wheels ripple the water be- show, but there will be plenty of hoopla low . Bands play and crowds cheer while and hoop skirts as well. Tall Stacks '95 passengers wave to friends and families takes up a 125-acre site, incorporating on shore. The shrill sounds of calliopes the riverfronts of Cincinnati, Ohio, and fill the air and announce:" The riverboats Covington and Newport, Kentucky.

Some of the features include continuous are back! " America was still a young country on-shore entertainment on six perforSteam rises from the Belle of Louisville as basking in the joy of freedom when mance stages, a Civil War encampment she docks at Cincinnari' s Public Landing. elegant steamships staked their claim at a reconstruction of the Newport Baron the hearts and imaginations of travel- racks, one of the nation's importantmili- ship models, a regatta of rad io-controlled ers west of the Alleghenies. Alriverboat model s, an exhibit of With paddlewheels churning, calliopes though the commercial steamoperational steamboat whistles boat had a relatively short life and calliopes and daily theatriclamoring and steam billowing, 19 span, the image of this truly cal performances on the travelriverboats will rendezvous in Cincinnati American icon lingers , and their ing showboat Majestic. Another heyday will be magnificently highlight will be a duel between relived during Tall Stacks '95, the two oldest and most historied 11-15 October 1995 along the boats, the 1926 Delta Queen and banks of the Ohio River.

1914 Belle of Louisville , for the Tall Stacks is a celebration Golden Antlers, an annual race that transforms the Cincinnati last won by the Belle. waterfront with the sights and Just as it was in the past, sounds of the mid- l 800s. For u. Cincinnati's Public Landing will this, the third Tall Stacks event 5 be the center of riverfront bustle, since 1988, nineteen riverboats ~ the site of official ceremonies, will steam to Cincinnati from ::3 riverboat boarding and plenty of ~ nine states and 13 river cities, -' good old-fashioned riverboatin' some traveling from as far as ~ music, storytellers and strolling New Orleans, a 1,718-mile river ~ barbershop singers. Access, orjourney. They will recreate a Thousands gather to watch riverboars steam through ganizers say, will be easy; buses period in the 1850s when Cin- Cincinnati's harbor during the Parade ofTall Stacks in 1992. will criss-cross the metropolitan cinnati was the principal center area bringing visitors to the waof Ohio River steamboat operations, a tary outposts during the 1800s, numer- terside. Tall Stacks ticket information , time when boats brought imports into ous other living history venues filled lodging and event information is availthe Queen City with a value of $65 with costumed characters, and tours of able by calling 513 333-4444, code million per year and steamboat arrivals Covington ' s historic Riverside Drive 9595, and more information on the and departures reached almost 8,000, or with its elegant townhouses and antebel- Greater Cincinnati area is available from more than 20 per day. lum mansions. the city's Visitors ' Bureau at 1-800 Of particular interest to maritime his- CINCYUSA. Leading the parade of paddle wheelers will be the so-called "Queen Team" tory enthusiasts will be a display of 80 -KEVIN HA YOON of the Delta Queen Steamship Company: the Mississippi Queen, the D elta Queen, and the newly-built American Tall Stacks '95 Steamboat Roster Queen. The three "Queens" are the only American Queen (1995), New Orleans LA Mark Twain (1962), Covington KY overnight excursion riverboats remain- Anson Northrup (1988), Minneapolis MN Majestic (1986) , Pittsburgh PA ing on America 's inland waterways, and Belle of Louisville ( 1914), Louisville KY Memphis Queen Ill (1979) , Memphis TN the new $65 million American Queen is Bonnie Belle (1969) , Madison IN Mississippi Queen ( 1976), New Orleans LA touted as the largest and longest (418 Creole Queen (1983), New Orleans LA Music City Queen (1984), Nashville TN feet) passenger steamboat ever built for Delta Queen (1926), Cincinnati OH P.A. Denny (1930), Charleston WV the river trade. The shortest steamboat Island Queen (1984), Memphis TN Queen of Hearts (1984), Moline IL present will be the Spirit of Cincinnati, Harriet Bishop (1987), St. Paul MN Southern Belle ( 1985), Chattanooga TN 77 feet in length; and the oldest, the Belle Jonathon Padelford (1970), St. Paul MN Spirit of Cincinnati (1967), Cincinnati OH ofLouisville, built in 1914. Al l will open Josiah Snelling (1963), St Paul MN

Y

18

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

On the Ohio, the Howard Shipyard -Largest and Oldest of Them All n 1834, nineteen-year-old James Howard started a shipyard on the banks of the Ohio in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and began to build his first boat, Hyperion.

During its three-generation , 107-year hi story, the Howard Shipyard would put over 3,000 vessels in the running waters of the Ohio and establish the largest inland shipyard in America. The story of the hard-working Howards and their famous riverboats, fortunately , is not lost to us . Rather it is being preserved and presented today by the Howard Steamboat Museum , housed in the century-old Howard mansion , a remarkable artifact in its own right.

The massi ve 22-room Romanesque Revival mansion was built adjacent to the old Howard Shipyard in 1894. Its location made it easy for Howard 's stable of craftsmen to help in its construction and their fine hand is ev ident in the interior gingerbread woodwork and the grand staircase, so reminiscent of those built in the elegant Howard Th e Howard mansion in Jeffersonville, Indiana steamboats. Visitors will admire the mansion's sumptuous late-Victorian interior, but if they are river and steamboat enthusiasts, they will get lost in the museum ' s co llection .

Among the many artifacts on display are item s from the legendary Robert E. Lee, the Natchez and the Howard-builtl. M. White. The largest single artifact is the shaft of the original paddlewheel of the Delta Queen. The museum also has a collection of 4-5 ,000photographs, a large collection of shipbuilding tools and documents, and numerous paintings (including several works by Harlan Hubbard), full ship model s and half breadth models from the steamboat era.

When James passed hi s shipyard to hi s son, Edmonds, in 1876, it had already struck a reputation for the finest steamboats, and Howard quality was in demand .

At times , Edmonds had to tum down contracts or bid ludicrously hi gh. Such was the case when the San Francisco-based Alaska Commercial Company wanted three packets and a towboat for the booming Klondike gold trade. Flooded with work in 1897, Edmonds made an outrageously high bid only to find it accepted! On hi s watch , Edmonds oversaw the construction of the famous J.M. White ( 1878), the most luxurious cotton packet to ply the inland ri vers, and the City of Louisville (1894) , which sti ll holds the speed record for the Ohio River.

Howard control of the shipyard ended in 1941 , when it was purchased by the US Navy for WWII construction of LSTs, sub chasers and other ocean-going vessels.

But the venerable Howard tradition of shipbuilding at the site continues. The yard is now occupied by Jeffboat, Inc., a subsidiary of the American Commercial Line Barge Service, which has built such riverboats as the Mississippi Queen ( 1973) and the General Jackson ( 1985). Jeffboat recently launched the $ 17 million , 310-ft City of Evansville, the newest product of"the oldest continually operated inland shipyard in the country." (HSM, 1101 E. Market St., Jeffersonville IN 471 31; 812 283-3728)

I

-KEVIN HA YOON

Th e J. M. White was launched from the Howard Shipyard in 1878 and was known as th e most luxurious cotton packet to ply the American rivers. She had an oak keel, a 2880pound roof bell, a fivetone whistle and sevenfoot leaves atop her 80foo t twin chimneys.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

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19

CW/1afin9 GWzves1 Sister Sai{ors

by Joan Druett ~e tradition that the average ~hal­

ing master was a pompous, pious, righteous citizen at home and a tough hard-userof hi s men once safely at sea, is an enduring one. In old Sag Harbor, for instance, when visitors commented that it always seemed as if the homecoming Pacifi c whalers took four days to beat in from first soundings to Gardiner's Bay, the townsfo lk used to nod wisely and say that it was because the whalemen needed a whole four days to get their consciences back into shape.

This was mostly a colorful fable , for there were many whaling captains who did not fit the flamboyant pattern. Every now and then a manuscript comes to light, however, which points out that in some cases the myth was not too far from the truth . One such is the journal kept by Nathaniel Morgan, who served as steerage boy- the cabin boy for boatsteerers, carpenter, boatswa in , cook and sa il maker--0n the whaleship Hannibal of New London in the years 1849 and 1850.

The master of the Hannibal was Captain Solomon L. Gray of Liberty Hill , Connecticut-35 years old, five foot six inches tall , possessing, it seems, an impressive vocabulary. As young Nathaniel testified , Captain Gray could "curse and swear beyond anythink in Webster's Dictionary .... The worst and most profane language I ever heard from mortal lips flows from his," the boy elaborated later.

"Son of b---h and Iike elegant expressions are hi s common address ... even in the presence of hi s'wife."

And that- in that year of 1850-is where Captain Solomon Gray was strikingly different from most of hi s whaling brethren. Cursing was to be ex pected in a tough whaling skipper, but carry ing a wife to sea a-whaling was a most uncommon practice. That voyage on the Hannibal was not hi s wife 's maiden excursion, e ither. Mrs. Gray was one of the trail-blazers , for she first sa iled in June 1844, on the whaleship Newbu ryport of Stonington, Connecticut.

Early as she was , however, Mrs. Gray was by no means the first American whaling wife. The earliest fully documented petticoat whaler voyage was heralded on a long summer's day in 1824, when a lonely twenty-seven-yearold woman whose husband had only just rece n~ly come home from a thirty-threemonth Pacific whaling voyage picked up hi s old logbook and penned a short entry on the flyleaf, at th e back.

20

Mary Brewster, pastel portrait, unknown artist, c. 1856 (Stonington Historical Society).

Born on 22 September 1822, Mary Burtch of Stonington, Connecticut , married wha ling captain William Brewster in March 1841.

Three months later he sailed on a voyage to New Zealand, not returning until May 1843.

After only two months at home he sailed again, not returning until April 1845, by which time Mary had made up her mind that she could not bear another separation, and so she sailed with him on 4 November 1845.

"Matti tuck, June 13th, 1824," she wrote.

"Sabbath day all alone upstairs very dull day . Husband Gone to New york." Then she signed the entry with her name, Polly H. Gardiner, and added her husband's name, Henry.

Polly 's name had appeared several times already in the logbook, written in the marg ins in Captai n Gardiner 's flowing script during moments of ev ident homesickness. Not yet forty, Captain " Harry" Gardiner had already spent 24 years at sea, far removed from friends and loved ones back home in the Long Island village of Quogue, and so it seems no surpri se that when the Dawn departed from the Port of New York for another Pacific voyage, sailing on Chri stmas Day, 1826, Polly went along too.

She left an enduring memento of thi s remarkable excursion, for her hobby was embroidering samplers. Polly headed each piece of fabric with the alphabet and numerals and then added a religious verse.

After that, if room allowed, she filled in the spare space at the bottom by crossstitching a personal message. "Polly H. Gardiner, March 6, 1828," she stitched on one of the several samplers that are now held by her descendants in Long Island.

Evidently she had mistaken the date and disliked to unpick her embroidery, for she

amended the year by inserting the embroidered numeral "27," and then went on in large silken letters, "Bound to the Pacific Ocean in the ship Dawn."

Her deci sion to sail was as extraordinary as the "document" itself. Whaling crews were notoriously rough and ready , the hard-drinking complement of the whaleship Dawn bei ng no exception, as a journal kept by the carpenter, Will Latimer, testifies. The ships themselves were small and utilitarian , most of them rated at less than 500 tons, but nevertheless heav ily manned. Four or five boats were kept out on the davits at all times on the whaling ground , ready to be lowered all together in the whale-chase, and each one of these had to be crewed by a mate and five oarsmen. Extra men were required to keep the ship while the boats were down , along with carpenter, cooper, cook , and steward, and so the average whaling crew numbered more than thirty-and thirty men took up a lot of space on a ship.

While the captain 's wife lived in quarters that were rather more extensive than those of a man before the mast, by the standards of homes as hore Polly's space was very limited indeed. Unless she had her own small room on deck, the only private area Polly Gardiner possessed was the narrow stateroom she shared wi th her husband, along with a tin y transom si tting room, which was crowded by a heavy sofa, chart table and chairs.

Meals were eaten in the " forward cabin," which was taken up with a massive table that had to be shared with the three or four mates, se ldom very cu lti vated men.

The food itself was not very appetizing, being based on hard sea-bread ("bi scuit"), salt beef, sa lt pork, dried beans, onions and potatoes, enlivened only occasionally by fresh food picked up along the way. And , if that daily existence was not suffic ientl y daunting, there was always the depressing reminder that Pacific whalers were not supposed to steer for home until each and every barrel in the capacious hold was full, a process that could take more than five years.

On a voyage of that length, there was the added ri sk that vital provisions cou ld run out, as indeed happened on the 1826 voyage of the Dawn, when so many of the crew were laid low with scurvy that the ship could not be worked. Luckily this happe ned in the South China Sea, where fertile islands abounded, but when the ship 's boat was rowed by the few SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

well men to one such atoll, Polly Gardiner fell overboard and nearl y drowned, before being rescued by Carpenter Latimer himself.

Even more exotic threats to life and health lay in wait on the crui sing grounds, lurking in a litany of uncharted reefs, vicious typhoons, and savage islanders.

On rounding the Cape of Good Hope in January 1850, Captain Gray of the Hannibal promptly gave the order to get up the guns, scour and clean them, and mount a cannon on wheels. Whaling itself was brutally dangerous. When Gray " lowered once alone, and was soon lost to sight in a dense fog," it is linle wonder that the steerage boy also recorded that " his wife was alarmed and cried ti 11 he came aboard again." Far from home and the support of friends and relatives, the lot of a seafaring woman whose husband had died of disease or accident was unenviable.

Naturally, therefore, Mrs. Gray cried even more on June 8, 1850, when she came on deck and announced to the crew that her husband had taken sick and was dying. The men, by contrast, were delighted , and the instant she had returned below a kind of party broke out. " Mahe the Kanaka danced , threw up hi s hat and kept saying in broken English-goodgood-good," wrote young Nat, "and many others expressed a similar feeling. " The celebration , however, had beg un too soon. The dy ing captain had taken leave of the first mate along with many solemn instructions, and the vessel was running "colors half mast, union down," when Captain Clark of th e H enry Kneeland came on board. Gray immedi ately felt the better for the company, and "at noon when I went aft to dinner he was sitting up in a chair, and called Franklin Brown (one of the owners) all the damn sons of bitches that he could think of, and that was by no means a few ," wrote Nat. " I thought then that the prospect of hi s dying was not so great as some of the crew wished it was," he concluded.

And so Captain Solomon Gray survived, and Mrs. Gray trave led a-whaling yet again, on the Montreal in 1853 . Then, in 1864, Captain Gray carried her off on yet another voyage, on th ela mes Maury.

This time, he did die. The ship 's log records that on Friday, March 24, 1865, " Light winds and pleasent wether at two PM our Captain expired." Next day, the crew made a cask, filled it with sp irits, and put the captain 's body inside.

Two months later the ship was taken by the Confederate raider Shenandoah, SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

"Th e Cam ," by Ron Druel/ . At any given moment the tedium of looking f or whales could be enlivened by raising the sail of another whaler.After hailing, the ships hauled aback, and boats were lowered to take visitors from one ship to the other. Women, if possible, were even more enthusiastic about this mid-sea visiting than their menfolk. "We have just finis hed arrangeing the rooms as nearly as possible," wrote Mal vina Marshall to herfamily from the Sea Queen in October 1852 , "taken up our carpet coverings, dusting, wiping the glasses &c &c as we should at home if we were preparing/ or company ."

but Captain Waddell of the cruiser was so touched by Mrs. Gray 's predicament that he did not burn the ship, but bonded the James Maury instead. And it seems only natura l that he should be sympathetic. Not only had Mrs. Gray lost a husband , but she had endured nearly twenty years of a sea-going existence, a most unnatural kind of life for a " true" woman of her era.

In the context of the times, this last was probably the most valid reason of all for not going to sea on a whaling voyage.

Beginning in the 1820s, while Polly Hubbard Gardiner was cruising the Pacific and Indian Oceans, influential American women like Sarah Josepha Hale (who became the editor of the wi ldly popular Codey' s Lady's Book) were describing a precise set of di stinctions between the two genders. According to Mrs. Hale's stem philosophy, the task of" true" women was to save the morals of the world, for an abyss divided the two sexes.

"The want of the world is moral power," she robustly pronounced, and went on to propound such didactic sentiments as, "woman 's divine ly appointed sphere" was to be"God ' sappo intedagent of morality. " This was beca use the male-as typified by the swashbuck ling whaleman of popular legend- was supposed to be proud , swaggeri ng, agg ressive and lusty , tamable onl y by the pure example of the patient, demure, and pious "true" woman , whose right and

proper place was the home. Strange as the philosophy mi ght seem today , the " true woman" became an extremely popul ar concept, because it gave wives, daughters and mothers a holy role, and made them feel important. It also meant, however, that any woman- like Mrs. Gray, for in stance- who abandoned her " true sphere" to go sailing about the wild oceans on a whaleship, became the subject of public disapproval.

It would seem logical , then , if only a very small cadre of brave (or foolhardy) women left home, hearth and divinely appointed responsibilities to go and live in the intensely masculine environment of a whaleship. This was not so, however, for despite the dangers, the discomfort, the length of the voyages, and the extremely doubtful quality of the company on board, an increasing tide of American women went a-whaling from the year 1850 on.

In December 1850 , the Honolulu newspaper The Friend remarked in tones of wonder that "the wives of some half a dozen of the Capts. accompanied their husbands " to the new ly opened Western Arctic , " with the same willingness that they would have gone to Saratoga or Newport. " Then, in February 1853, the same paper ca lcul ated that "one in six of all whaling captains is accompanied by hi s wife. " Obviously, something--0r someone- had made voyaging a fashionable avocation for the wives of whaling captains, and there is eloquent evidence that the person largely responsible for the growing fad was a remarkable young woman from Stonington, Connecticut.

Her name was Mary Louisa Burtch Brewster. Mary sailed on the whaleship Tiger of Stonington in November 1845 , for the very good reason that she was obsessively in love with her husband William and had bitterly resented the fact that in fo ur years of marriage they had been together for just five months. It was not easy for her to go: the first entry in her journal records defiantl y, " In coming my own conscience tells me I was doing right, and what do I care for the opinion of the world .... With much opposition I left my native land ... . Well thank Heaven it is all past, and I am on board of the good ship Tiger and with my dear Husband ."

And so she was , for the greater part of the nex t six years, and despite terrible seasick ness whenever the ship rolled and pitched, Mary never regretted her decision to accompany her beloved William. Eventually , more than 400 whaling sisters ado pted the same strange ex21

·/\.nice q,\,lia{e spoutednear our <]]oat and<flushand ... CJ!ersuedhim .....

At right, the main cabin , such as this one aboard th e Charles W. Morgan at Mystic, served as the li ving quarters fo r the captain and his fa mily.

Th e open doo r at leji leads to the captain' s private cabin , containing his bed , dresser and oth er personal items. To the right is th e settee and storage lockers topped by a shelf, with the stern cabin windows above.

"Raising a Whale" by Ron Druett .

"My f riends at home would be surprised at my courage in going and coming ji·om Ships in a small whaleboat," wrote Henrietta Deblois, who sailed on th e bark Me rl inji·om 1856 to 1859 . The trip could be even more nervewracking 1f a whale was raised. On 8 August 1855, Betsy Morey of the Nantucket whaleship Phoeni x wrote that while she was in one of the whaleboats, on the way to visit a bay in the Okhotsk Sea , "A nice Wh ale spouted near our Boat and Hu sband observed that 1f ! was not in the Boar perhaps he might have chance to strike him . I told him to go ahead , pay no Regard to me , he did so and Persued him fo r some rime , bur to no Purpose." Captain Israel Morey was so annoyed that when they met another whaling captain on shore, he gave Betsy's dog away to him, "which made me fee l verrysad," wrote Betsy.

istence, simpl y because thi s ex treme ly strong-minded yo ung sister sail or met so many of her husband ' s whaling brethren and inspired them to take the ir wives a long too, thanks to the wha leman custom o f parley ing with each other at sea.

Thi s seaborne vi siting, known as gamming, las ted hours or even days, as wh a les hip s lay haul e d a b ac k a nd wh ale boats were pulled from ship to ship so that everyone e ither visited or rece ived visitors. It was a practi ce peculi ar to the whalemen. While merchant ships did speak to each other, it was done hurri edl y, fo r they had ti ght schedules to keep and were intent on reaching port with the minimum of interruption. The whalemen, by contrast, were crui sing back and fo rth in their endless hunt for the ir quarry, going into port as infrequently as poss ible and , being hungry fo r company and conversation , they vi sited each other often and at length , so that not infrequentl y clusters of several ships all a-gamming we re recorded .

Thus, Mary met the first of many whaling skippers within weeks of sailing and, being blessed with a dry wit and a penetrating perception of human frailti es,

22

she penned intrig uing pictures of them all , not excluding the flamboyant rogues.

The whaling brethren we re certainl y in tri gued by her and many of them informed their do ubtless ly startl ed wives on arri val home that they were coming along nex t voyage.

One such was Captain William Tower of the ship Moctezuma , who met Mary in Jul y 1846,on the Alas kan whaling ground.

"He was very much surpri sed to see a lady on board ," Mary noted in her journal.

Tower seemed embarrassed too, and " made many apologies for his dress which caused me to notice it more particularly, and looked well enough save a little dirt which whalemen must expect. " And it seems that her broad-mindedness pleased the old salt, fo r William 's wife Betsy came along next voyage, and enjoyed a gam with Mrs. Brewster in December 184 7, off Cape Hom. " I was happy to meet with a female acquaintance, and was pleased with Mrs. Tower," wrote Mary. " Mrs. T. said a number of ladies were out thi s season with their husbands-I am glad they are following the late fashion. " Many of the foll o wers of thi s fad that she had started were not nearly so glad , even the ones who sailed for love, and not just meek obedi ence. " Honolulu Jan

14th 1855 ," wrote Caroline, wife ofCaptain Jetur Rose, in a letter to her young cousin Me lvin Halsey of Southampton , Long Island . " I suppose you wo uld like to know what I am doe ing, and how I like whaleing .. . what I have seen of it, it is hard service, don ' t never think of it ... when the ship is pitching and rolling so that I cannot stand up, I am ve rry seasick , and have been, ever since I le ft home, when the weather is rugged . . . . I tell you Me llvine," she wrote later in the same letter, with palpable pass ion , "there is no pl ace like home."

And yet Caroline Rose (called " the belle of Southampton" in her youth) sailed on another voyage and then another, spending a total of fourteen years at sea. A remarkable woman- but no more extraordinary than all those who sailed, both gladly and reluctantl y, on voyages that extended from the Arctic to the Antarctic, followin g in the wakes of their trai I-blazing sister sailors-Polly Gardiner, Mary Brewster and Mrs. Solomon Gray. t

Joan Druett , author of " She Was A Si ster Sailor," is scholar-in-residence at the Oysterponds Historical Society in Orient , New York , and guest curator of the exhibit described below.

Learn more about these bold sailors at the exhibit "The Sailing Circle: 19th-Century Seafaring Women from New York," opening at Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 2 July 1995 (Rte 25A, Main St., Cold Spring Harbor NY 11724; 516 367-3418).

Although hundreds of 19th-century women left their homes to join their husbands at sea, their presence aboard ship, often undocumented in the official ship 's log, is hard to ascertain. Once back ashore, the women's stories, as well as their souvenirs, became part of family folklore.

For four years researchers dug through historical collections, attics and local folklore to find the Long Island women featured in the "Sailing Circle".

Beginning with only six women, the study uncovered more than fifty new names.

The exhibit, a joint effort of the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum and the Three Village Historical Society, shows the variety of experiences 19th-century women encountered at sea. The exhibit will travel to Mystic Seaport Museum, South Street Seaport Museum and the Smithsonian.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

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The Marine Art of Frances F. Palmer

by A. J. Peluso, Jr.

F

ranees Flora Bond was born in Leicester, England, at the time of the Warof 1812. She was rai sed in a family of gentlefolk (her father was a successful London barrister) with the luxury of a "se lect" education at Mi ss Linwood 's School: fine music , fin e arts and fine literature. Some unknown family reverse sent her to America.

She arrived in New York in the 1840s with her sister Maria and her brother Robert. Mari a was musically inclined and managed to find employment as a music teacher at The Misses Day 's School. Robert, a graduate of Eton, could sing and pl ay the pianoforte and managed to sell his still lifes of fruit and flowers from a Fulton Street studio in M anhattan. The sisters each acted as governess and chaperon to young girls on steamboat excursions . They made and sold wax flowers, a craft then in vogue-talents a bit too deli cate and effete for the rigors of the New World.

Louis Maurer, a C urrier & Ives artist, remembered Frances Palmer as a "small , frail woman with large dark eyes, plain in appearance but of perfectly delightful manners. " Her appearance told nothing of her will nor her genius.

Frances also brought along her hus-

band , Edmund Seymour Palmer. It was an incongruous match. His principal talent was that of "gentleman." He was an accompli shed hunter and drinker and made little contribution to the family's support. They had daughters about whom we know little and a son who inherited hi s father's habits.

It fell to Frances to somehow ward off calamity.

There is nothing in the meager literature of the time which bears on the sources of her artistic talent nor on how that talent came to be expressed in lithography. Who taught her and when are questions for which I have no answers.

Nonetheless, there was soon a firm F. & S. Palmer, lithographers, at Ann Street in Manh a tt a n , pre s umably Frances and Seymour, which produced and marketed lithographs. Anything assoc iated with Seymour was doomed and , indeed , it failed in 1851. Still , they (or more likely , Frances) had created distingui shed work, much of it mari time : a Henry Clay packet ship in 1845 ; a California after James Bard in 1848 ; an Empire City of the New York and Chagres Line in 1849; and Reindeer, again after James Bard, in 1850.

As the firm ' s fortunes declined , she

"'Wooding Up' on the Mississippi" shows th e Princess at a rural landing taking on wood for fuel, as another steamboat approaches , possibly for th e same purpose.

These nighttime river scenes were Frances Palmer's most popular themes.

would do more and more contract or piece work (much of it done at home) for the mighty new Currier & Ives, their main competitor. Ives clearly needed expert help in satisfying the burgeoning demand for his products.

Her first signed work for Currier & Ives (the first of many) was done in 1849, a view of New York harbor. There is a hint of her presence at Currier & Ives even as early as 1846, when Ives produced a series of pointers , fox hounds, setters and stag hounds signed only "P ." Hunting subjects and dogs would be one of her later staples .

By 1852 she was working exclusively for Currier & Ives , as were, rumor has it, other members of the family.

Her business stock was eventually purchased by Currier & Ives.

In 185 1 she produced portraits of the clipper yacht America and the Royal Mail steamship Asia; in 1852 she did the clipper Hurricane; and in 1853 she finished the Royal M a il steam s hip Arabia and, with James Buttersworth, the Sweepstakes and Young America.

The family then settled in Brooklyn and she became a ferryboat commuter.

(She produced a small folio "Ferry Boat. ") There Edmund seems to have

To create her most memorable work, "A Midnight Race on the Mississippi ," Frances Palmer relied on a sketch of the Natchez by F. D. Manning , and surely she used other illustrative material f or the Eclipse. But her ability to capture the magic of moonlight and to create an irresistable scene was her unique gift. Mark Twain

wrote: "Two red-hot steamboats raging along . . . quaking and straining and groaning from stem to stern , spouting white steam from the pipes, pouring black smoke from the chimneys, raining down sparks , parting the river into long streaks of hissing f oam-this is sport that makes a body's very liver curl with enjoyment."

"Th e Clipper Yacht America," shows th e fam ous yacht in classic profile, enlivened by the inclusion of oth er vessels. ::>

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The extreme clipper Young America, drawn by James E. Buttersworth and converted to a lithograph by Palmer, was published in 1853, when American clipper ships were breaking records in all oceans and exciting the public's interest in their achievements.

found his true calling and became the keeper of "The Woodcock," a Brook! yn tavern, and later "The Abbey," once the gatehouse to a Brooklyn estate.

At first, Frances specialized in background and atmosphere, the results of sketching trips to Long Island in Nathaniel Currier's carriage. It is said that she chose the pigments which the colori sts added to the earliest Currier & Ives products. Later, she co-invented with Currier an advanced form oflithographic crayon that facilitated the actual rendering of an image on stone.

The work of Frances Palmer, artistlithographer, was always signed in the

neuter "F. F. Palmer." A list of large folio prints (about 18" x 24") by Palmer numbers some 140, an average of six per year, although she produced 24 in 1866 alone. And these numbers do not include the small folios (about IO" x 5"), which were rarely signed. She was a very busy lady.

When, in 1859, James Ives heard the news that Edmund Seymour Palmer had died in a drunken fall down the stairs of a Brook lyn hotel, he remarked , "That's the best thing he ever did. " Three years later Frances' s son died of tuberculosi s at the age of thirty-three.

Frances continued to work diligently

"The Hudson River Steamboat 'St. John"' was issued by Currier & Ives in 1864 . Here is the classic profile portrait of a river steamer slipping through the Hudson Highlands on almost mirror smooth water, an enticing image of what was then the most modern and comfortable transport available.

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and in thi s period she produced her grandest work , the memorable " A Midnight Race on the Mississ ippi" between the Natch ez and Eclipse, her most often reproduced work.

This print is unique in that it depicts not only a race , but one conducted at night. It was evidently quite popular and inspired other similar prints. In 1866 she recreated the theme in the outstanding "Champions of the Mi ssissippi (A Race for Buckhorns)," between Queen of th e West and Morning Star .

Her marines are, without exception, innovative and resourceful. While her male contemporaries were fashioning broadside, daylight views in numberless quantities, she turned them into three-quarter views, showed them racing, and at night. It was thi s "small, frail " woman who had the stature and strength to bring new ideas and fresh excitement to the otherwise formulaic work of the period.

Frances Palmer probably produced some of her plates from secondhand sketches and accounts , and from her colorful imagination. Tradition holds that she never traveled west of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Frances Flora Palmer died in 1876 of tuberculosis, a disease she must have endured for years. Her brief obituary note credited her, ironically, with only one achievement: having been the widow of Edmund S. Palmer! 1

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Mr. Peluso, a frequ ent contributor to the Maine Antiqllle Digest, is organizing the JamesBardex hibitatTheMariners' Mu8 seum,NewportNews, to openOctoberl996. ~ ii< =>

26

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

•

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MARINE ART NEWS Bard Alive and Well

dramatic renderings. In typ ica l Buttersworth style he wo uld alter the proportions of hi s vessels, elongate their sails and raise bows above sterns and ex periment with different anglesan approaching bow , a receding stem or a threeq uarter view.

Antonio Jacobsen ( 1850-1921 ) was another Cup painter, al- Antonio Jacobsen's "Yachts Puritan and Genesta Racing for the though his realism could Second America's Cup, 1885," 22 by361!2 ," oil on canvas ( 1886). se ldom approach Buttersworth ' s flair. Maranakos prai ses ( 1798), and two nautilus shells engraved Jacobsen's "Yachts Puritan and Genes ta with Brunel 's ships are a few of the Racing for the second America's Cup, hundreds of items illustrated in the new 1885 ," however (shown above), as a rare National Maritime Museum book, A Celdi splay of Jacobsen's talent for narrati ve ebration of the Sea. This treasury of the painting with perspective.

London museum 's decorative art collecMaren akos ' s Quester Gallery in tions is a nautical collector's "must have."

Stonington, Connecticut, is currentl y fea- The museum has a vast assortment of turing a numberofButtersworth 's yacht- popular art, including items of pottery, ing paintings and America's Cup paint- silver, glass, furniture, heraldic objects ings by two modem artists: and sailors' handicrafts, all embellished " 1934 Challenge for the with representations of Britain 's ships America's Cup, Endea- and seamen, great voyages, victories , vour vs. Rainbow," by Brit- di sasters and shipwrecks, and this book ish reali st William Bishop by NMM curator Rina Prentice shows (RSMA ) and " Sappho the best. A Celebration ofthe Sea is good Leading Livonia 1871: 2nd armchair admiral reading, appreciated Series America's Cup more if taken with brandy in a engraved Challenge R ace ," by nauti cal s nifter . (Ava ilable from Anglo-American Ro y UNIPUB, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Cross. Also in Stonington, Lanham MD 20706, 120pp, cloth, $49 .95) the Marguerite Riordan Gallery will show in Au- Art Notes gusttherecentworkofclas- Illustrating a children's book she wrote "Martha," steam tug, American, 1862- 1867, is one of the s ic yacht painter John for publi sher HarperCollins, marine artmany James Bard paintings held by The Marin ers' Museum. Mecray. Mecray 's new ist Loretta Krupinski found out someworks include "Columbia thing that some of her contemporaries America's Cup on Canvas & Shamrock, 1889" and a rendering of already knew. The book, entitled The new Buttersworth book produced "Puritan & Genesta , 1885."

Bluewater J ournal and based on authenWho then is settling down to paint the tic logs , journals and letters , is the story

by South Street Seaport Museum chimes in with the recent contest for the successful 1995 challenge? Destined to of a small boy 's voyage on a clipper ship America ' s Cup and raises the question the task surely is arti st A. D. Blake, from Boston to Honolulu. " I now have a of who has painted races for the vener- brother of victorious New Zealand skip- special appreciation for my fellow maable trophy. Buttersworth (1817-1894) per Peter Blake. Tony Blake has been rine artists who have chosen to paint was probably one of the first, but many painting and ex hibiting in the US for the clipper ships," wrote Krupinski in ASMA have followed . Buttersworth painted the last few years and in 1994 was com- News. "Iwouldneverhavebelievedhow schooner yacht America's cha I lenge that mi ss ioned to paint the New York Yacht complicated the rigging is on a clipper turned the lOO Guinea Cup into the Club's official l 50th anniversary print , ship . . . . In truth , for the sake of artistic America's Cup, and seven subsequent "The First Regatta. " license (and sanity), I left a lot of it out, with apologies to my contemporaries." challenges. As Jim Marenakos points Even her forebears would have sympaout in Quester News, nearly ha lf of A Collector's Treasury Butters worth ' s approximately 1,000 Two fabulously ornate chairs made from thized . Buttersworth was sometimes paintings are of yachts and hi s spec ialty timber salvaged from the wreck of HMS wanting on rigging detail, but a look at was small pane l pictures, often hung in Royal George, a go ld City of London the work of living artists Tom Wells and the staterooms of yachts. Hi s America ' s Freedom box presented to Captain Ed- Mark Myers, the former a deep sea merCup paintings remain some of the most ward Berry after the Battle of the Nile chant sa ilor , show s it all-shroud, Eyebrows were raised and pockets li ghtened at Sotheby ' s auction house in Janu ary when a series of oils by James Bard ( l 815-1897), recently deaccess ioned by the New-York Historical Society, went under the hammer. On the block for $60,000, but selling for a whopping $200,500, was Bard 's Hudson River steamboatCh1ystenah, and the same price was fetched for the sailing ship Emma Hendrix. Surprised but philosophical about the final high bids was art apprai ser Anthony J. Peluso, author of J. & J. Bard: Picture Painters ( 1977), who te ll s the story of Francis Palmer 's lithographs on pp. 24-26 of thi s Sea History .

Peluso, who first saw a Bard painting in 1952, remembers that Bards were "always at least a year's sa lary" for the well-compensated , "about $2,500 in those days." Peluso is now working on a major traveling exhibit of the Greenwich Village-based artist scheduled to open in October 1996 at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

28

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

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buntline and block.

Also compelled to join art and ship 's log in book form is waterco lori st Claus Hoie. Hoie was one of two arti sts featured in Mystic Maritime Gall ery 's recent "Masters of Marine Watercolor Painting" ex hibition . A Sag Harbor res ident and form er seaman, Hoie has made a stud y of whaling ship logs to produce a brief narrative of the fi cti ve bark Helena, bound out of Sag Harbor for the South Pac ifi c in 1843. Each of the 18 log entries is illustrated on the fac ing page with one ofHoie 's impressionistic, sometimes haunting, watercolors depicting the whaleman 's daily round of shipboard duti es and hi s hard chase for the quarry. (Available from Two Bytes Publi shing, 2 19 Long Neck Point Road, Darien, CT 06820; $24 .95 pb/$59.95hc) -

K EV IN H AY DON

Exhibitions

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• 7 April-14 January 1996, The Evolution of Marine Painting, 1800-1940.

Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington Street, Bath ME 04530; 207 443-1 3 16.

• 9 Apri1- 10 September, Modern Marine Masters. Mystic Maritime Gallery, Mystic CT 06355; 203 572-8524.

• 1 May-3 1 October, Southwestern Regional ASMA Exhibition , held on Th e Star of India at the San Di ego Maritime Museum . American Soc iety of Marine Artists, 1461 Cathy's Lane, North Wal es PA 19454; 2 15 283 -0888.

• 17 June-28 October, ScaleShip Model Competition and Exhibition. The Mari ners' Museum , 100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 804 595-0368.

• 25 June-3 September, Northwest Marine Exhibition , featuring the work of 55 artists. Kirsten Gallery, Inc., 5320 Roosevelt Way, NE, Seattle WA 98 105.

• 6-28 Jul y, The Great Steam and Sail Era In and Around the Port of New York , an ex hibit of paintings by William G. Muller at the Uni on League C lub Gallery, 38 East 37th Street, Ne w York NY; 2 12 685 -3800. Sponsored by the National Maritime Hi storical Society.

Opening reception with the arti st Tuesday , 11 Jul y, 5:30-7:30 (businessattire) .

• 12 August-5 September, New Works

by John Mecray. Marguerite Riordan Gallery, 8 Pearl Street, Stonin gton CT 06378; 203 535-251 I .

• 8 November through March 1996, Antonio Jacobsen's Painted Ships on Painted Oceans. Independence Seaport Museum ,2 11 S. Columbus Bl vd., Phil adelphi.a PA 19 106; 2 15 925-5439 . .t SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

A Match Race between "Xara" and "Babb oon" in 1888 In a limited edition of 350 Image Size 22" x 14"

RICHARD K. LOUD A.S.M.A. Highly acclaimed maritime artist Richard Loud has earned numerous awards and special mentions for his dramatic paintings . For additional information, a color brochure, or the name of a dealer in your area, please contact: Maritime Heritage Prints • Townhouse 23 • Union Wharf Boston, MA 02 109 (61 7) 227-011 2 Fax(617) 227-3899

29

Captain CookS

<Endeavour AN ew Replica of the Whitby Collier Will Retrace Cook's Voyages

by Kevin Haydon

The Endeavour is lau nched from her construction hangar in Freman/le in December 1993.

' ' S he is of a construction that will bear to take the ground from private donors brought the job to completion .

The original Endeavour was built as the Earl of Pembroke and in case of necessity may be safely and conveniently laid on shore to repair any accidental damage in 1764 in Whitby. Afterthree years of hauling coal around the or defect. These properties are not to be found in ships of war, British coast, she was commi ssioned into the Royal Navy, and in fri gates, or indeed in any other but North-country ships such renamed Endeavour. After the powerful Royal Society peti as are built for the coal trade." So wrote James Cook of the tioned King George II for a ship to take an expedition to the Whitby collier, the tough little coa l carrier that was Cook's Pacific, Endeavour was refitted and she left in Jul y 1768 for a ship of choice on hi s 1768- 1771 voyage. Her flat, wide bottom three-year circumnav igation under James Cook, who charted did allow the crew to careen her on many strange, sandy shores New Zealand and the east coast of Australia in her, claiming for repair. She survived the worst the sea could offer, including both fo r the British empire. Afterwards Endeavour made three a stranding and holing on the Great Barrier Reef. voyages to the Falklands Islands as a naval store ship, returned The original Endeavour rose from raw timber to sailing to coal hauling and in 1790 was refitted as a whaler in France.

ShewasrenamedLaLiberte.In 1793 the shipwasdamaged ship within 12 months, at a cost of about ÂŁ3 ,000. The in Newport, Rhode Island , and left to rot-ju st mete rs replica compl eted and now sailing the coast of Austrafrom where Alan Bond's successful America's lia has cost $ 16 million . The story of the replica's building is almost as arduous as the original ship 's Cup syndicate was based 190 years later. One voyages underCook 'scommand- butthey were surv iving timber, a portion of the rudder post, of shorter duration. The substantial sum reprewas preserved and presented to the Australian sen ts contributions from failed spon sors, loans National Maritime Museum by the Newport from timorou s banks and outright gifts from Historical Society in 1987. Today it is a feature of the Museum 's " Discovery" di splay. two generous millionaires. The ship itse lf What is so remarkable about the replica is represents the great amount of time donated he r faithfulness to the original Endeavour's by ex pert shipwrights and other volunteers.

Truly a labor of love, the new Endeavour design. The exhausti ve effort to make her as authentic as poss ibl e also accounts in large thus has no sing le spon sor but, as Project Leader John Longley has pointed out, now part for the high cost of her construction. belongs to all Australians.

Early on , the project enli sted the support of James Cook was not the first European to the National Maritime Museum, Greenw ich, which made avai lable its chiefarchitect and plans e ncounte r Australia, but as captai n of th e Endeavour he was the first to chart its east coast. from its archi ves that detai led the Endeavour's When Cook dropped anchor in Botany Bay (which he Captam Jam es Cook 1768 refit. The NMM's expert on 18th-century outfitting and arming, Brian Lavery, also assisted with so named), hi s only east coast landfa ll , he set in motion the colonizing activity that signaled the beginnings of a the fitting out in Fremantle, as did Antonia Macarthur, a dramatic new phase in the continent's human history. Thus, for British specialist who researched Endeavour's furni shings.

The reconstruction strategy called for the ship to be fitted Australians, Endeavour is a powerful icon standing symboli out authentically from the top of her masts to the lower mess ca ll y at the gateway to their nation 's modem history.

The replica project was first proposed in 1987 by yachting deck. Below that, in the hold , comes the "20th-century modwriter and broadcaster Bruce Stannard and was taken up by the ule" with a modern engine room and crew amenities. JudiBond Corporation as its Bicentennial gift to Australia. The c ious departures from original spec ifications were necessary kee l was laid in 1988 but Bond Corporation was forced by to meet safety standards. financial difficulties to withdraw in 1990. Work eventually But one area where replication was impossible was in the resumed under the management of H.M. Bark Endeavour choice of materials. Instead of traditional elm, oak or spruce, Foundation when Bond and other owners gave their equity in Endeavour is built of nati ve Australi an hardwoods. Frames the project to the Foundation , and the Commonwealth and and planking below the waterline are of jarrah, an Australian New South Wales governments together provided loans of eucalypt said to be more rot-resistant than oak , laminated with $2.25 million to enable work to proceed. Subsequent gifts epoxy resins to provide the large scantlings required . The 30

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

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Worke rs fa ir off th e qfler cant fra mes before fi lling bilge stringers in August 1989.

The new Endeavour piles on canvas on her first day of sail off Freman/le in March 1994 .

On the slipway in Fremanrle in Seprember 1994 , Endeavour is made ready for her voyage to Sydney .

topsides and weather deck are of knot-free, 500-year-o ld Douglas fir , as are the mas ts and spars. To prevent dry rot and fo r crew comfo rt the repli ca has better ventilation than the ori ginal. The running ri gging is of po lyester and the standing ri gg ing, whi ch was made on a 140-year-old rope walk to the exact specifications of the original rope, is of manila. Sails are made of Duradon, a synthetic that looks and handles like flax canvas . All wooden parts have been coated in preservatives and all iron components double-dipped in rust preventative coatings .

She is a working vessel built to last a long time.

Long-term plans for the vessel call fo r her to spend half the time as a maritime exhibit, the other half actively sailing, visiting Australi an and South Pac ifi c ports. While sailing, Endeavour will provide opportunities for c re w who already have experience of sailing vessels to learn advanced skill s, but she will not be able to operate as a sail training ship. According to the H. M. Bark Endeavour Foundation, the requirements for sail training class ification I A or I B would have confli cted with the primary aim of constructing an a uthentic repli ca.

Thus, her survey cl assification is US L 2A (unlimited range as a sailing cargo ship). Under sail , the Endeavo ur has a working crew of 34, including 12 permanent profess ionals. It is also able to accommodate up to 12 supernumeraries.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

The Foundation 's short term pl ans for Endeavour, however, are different, and ambitious. T he ship sailed in October 1994 from Fremantle, Western Australi a, to Sydney, where she is now berthed and open to the public at the Australi an National Maritime Museum. But perhaps as soon as 1996 she will retrace Cook 's homeward voyage to England before berthing at the National Maritime Museum , Greenwich. The repli ca will then continue the reenactment voyage on her return to the Pacific and Australi a. While in England , Endeavour will visit Whitby in Yorkshire, where the Earl of Pembroke was built, and Pl ymouth , where the renamed Endeavour departed for the voyage that wo uld immortalize Cook as one of the greatest Engli sh navi gators and earn him the admiration of a new nati on. t

"Captain Cook's Endeavour" was prepared by Kevin Haydon from sources including articles in Signals, magazine of the Australian National Maritime Mu seum, by Jeffrey Mel/ef ont, and Surv eyor ,journal of the American Bureau of Shipping, by Joe Evangelista , and with the assistance of H.M . Bark Endea vour Foundation Pty. Ltd.

How to Sail Endeavour Th e Endeavour is built to sail and opportunities exist fo r those who seek the experience. She is currently undergoing a series of voyages along the east coast ofAustralia and most voyages are of about fo ur days duration. Later in the year, the Foundation plans to sail her to New Zealand and carry out a similar program. Would-be sailors can apply to sail in one of two capacities. As Voyage Crew, applicants must ha ve experience as a crew member on an ocean-going sailing vessel. Voyage Crew are charged a victualling and chandlery f ee of A$50 per day and must purchase a A$200 Endeavour uniform. As Supernumeraries, applicants may choose to assist the ship' s crew but are not required to.

Supernumeraries are charged A$400 per day. For furth er details and the ship' s 1995 voyage program contact H.M. Bark Endeavour Foundation Pty. Ltd. , GPO Box 4555 , Sydney, NSW 2001 , Australia; tel. 61-2-283 1770;fax61-2-283 11 70.

31

Fitting Out the Endeavour

by Jeffrey Mellefont riti s h res toration specia li s t Antoni a M aca rthur 's first in vo lvement with the Endeavour replica was to undertake earl y research into the sturd y Whitby colli er wh ich was outfitted by the Admira lty for Cook 's voyage of 1768-71. She rejoined the project two years ago to concentrate on the below-decks fitout. Her brief covered everything from the paneling, furniture and soft furni shings to sma ll persona l items which were used by the ship 's officers and sc ienti sts.

The sources for her wo rk included archaeo log ical evidence, muse um arti facts, contemporary paintings , prints and drawings, including four Sidney Parkinson sketches of Endeavour , and written accounts, such as journals and logs by Cook, Joseph Banks and other officers, and Beaglehole's epic work on Cook.

She described the work as a process of cross-referenci ng many sources, including ev idence of 18th-century Engli sh joinery and furnishings from the land as we ll as on ships. " We have some quite clear ev idence in the form of deck plan s, cabin layo uts, and profi le drawings," Ms. Macarthur ex plained. "Then there was a document relating clearly to the joiner's work which was ordered spec iall y for the first voyage, for example a written order for four new sashes made for the stem ga ll ery.

Some of the information comes from bill s and estim ates at the time of the refitting. And Joseph Banks, who was ve ry keen to go on the second voyage with Cook, kept a great man y bill s and invoices whi ch tell us a lot about the sort of things that were carried on board. In the majority of cases, we are wo rkin g d irectl y fro m primary sources. " In the case of interior paneling in the officers ' quarters, it was first necessary to determine whether it existed or not and then to assess what kind. A key cl ue came from a fragment of pane l molding raised from a vesse l thought to be an 18th-century Whitby collier excavated from Yorktown harbor in C hesapeake Bay in I 984. There is also one very good oil painting in the National Maritime Museum , Greenwich, showing an English captain in hi s paneled cabin in 1770 ("Captain John Albert, Count Bentinck a nd hi s son Wi ll iam ," by Ma so n C hamberlin , 1775). Some of the Adm ira lty mode ls of the period have interior details whi ch can be studied by inserting modern surg ical viewing instruments.

Excavati on of the wreci< of the Pan-

B

32

dora , which foundered on the Great Barrier Reef whi le carrying Bounty mutineers back to England , provided an example for the stove fo und in the great cabin . " We know there was a red-painted floor c loth , a fore runner of modern Iinoleum , in the great cabin ," Ms. Macarthur relates. "The Admiralty, which had documented rules covering all sorts of aspects of ship fitout, specified thi s pa inted canvas coverin g o nl y fo r great cabin s ... . [In] Joseph Banks' acco unt of the voyage he speaks abo ut doing one of hi s

dence are found and married together, Antonia believes it is not hard to turn it all into written research, but finding out how things were actuall y made, she adds , is far more c hallen gi ng. With the Endeavour replica the need was to translate researc h into practi ca l cons truction s th at w ill work fo r th e replica 's crew. An example is the item of furniture desc ribed in Admiralty instructions as "swinging cots issued to the officers on board and the gentlemen." Different interpretations were tested before de-

Th e top picrure shows rhe Endeavour's great cabin , seen lookin g fmwa rd, and the boll om picture shows rh e crew's quarrers on the lower deck looking forwa rd past the main hatch.

ex periments with electricity, of which he was very fo nd , in the cabin on the red pai nted floor c loth ."

Banks is also a source fo r another important area of domesti c appliance.

While the seamen used the heads on e ither side of the bowsprit, or the chains and channe ls at the ship 's sides for call s of nature, we know that Banks carried a portable appli ance cal led a close stool or night stool with a copper pan-what might now be ca lled a commode . In part we know thi s because of hi s account of hi s dog, which died while lyi ng upon it.

Examples of copper pans of the pe riod exist in the Science Museum of London.

Once the man y tin y pieces of evi-

ciding on its design and construction.

Antoni a Macarthur works as a researcher and consultant to bodies such as the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and the Roya l Naval Museum in Portsmouth and has worked for fifteen years on ship restorations. As she notes , it is thi s sort of careful research that makes a project like the Endeavour repli ca so worthwhile. By actuall y replicating and using these item s, we test o ur own research and really understand how they actuall y fun ctioned. j,

Jeffrey Mellefonr is Public Affairs Man ager at the Australian Nationa l Maritime Museum in Sydney.

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

\

SHIP'S COMPLEMENT Endeavour sailed from Plymouth with 71 crew, 12 marines, 11 scientists and assistants , making a total of 94 personnel. Among the scientific party were the astronomer, Charles Green, and a rich naturalist, Joseph Banks. Banks brought with him : a Swedish botanist, Dr. Daniel Solander ; a Swedish naturalist, Herman Sporing; two artists, Sydney Parkinson and Alexander Buchan, and assistants.

SHIP PARTICULARS Length, overal l Length of Keel Length of Lower Deck Length of Upper Deck Length of Forecastle Length of Great Cabin Breadth , extreme Depth of Hold Draught fu lly laden Tonnage

106 feet 81 feet 97 feet 7 97 feet 8 18 feet 8 14 feet 4 29 feet 2 11 feet 4 14 feet 366tons

inches inches inches inches inches inches

H MS Bark

KEY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

TO ILLUSTRATION Stern Navigation Light Ensign Staff Stern Windows Swivel Gun (12) Quarter Deck Tiller Swivel Gun Mounting Mizzen Mast Shrouds Spanker Gaff Mizzen Cross-Jack Yard Mizzen Topsai l Yard Ship's Wheel Ventilation Hatch Capstan Hatch Sitts Bilge Pumps (4) Gallows Mainmast Main Lower Yard

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46

Main Topsail Yard Main Topgallant Yard Main Hatch Ti mberheads Upper Deck Fore Hatch Galley Stove Funnel Windlass Belfry Riding Sitts Foremast Fore Lower Yard Fore Topsail Yard Fore Topgallant Yard Forecastle Bower Anchor Cathead Hemp Cable Bowsprit Spritsai l Yard Jibboom Sprit Topsail Yard Tween Deck Great Cabin Master's Cabin

Endeavour

47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 76

77

2nd Lieutenant's Cabin Cabin for Captain 's Clerk Astronomer's Cabin (Charles Green) Naturalist's Cabin (Joseph Banks) Lobby Pantry Lower Deck Shipside Ladder Skids Grating Gun Port Glazed Port Removable Ladder Galley Stove Carpenter's Cabin Carpenter's Store/Workshop Sail Room (Forward) Gunner's Stores 4-pounder Carriage Gun (10) Rudder Captain's Store Room Fish Room Lower Hold Bilge Well Pump Shafts (4) Hull Sheathing Stores Placed Over Ballast Gunpowder Magazine Captain's Cabin (James Cook) Draughtsmen 's Cabins

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SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Hawaiian Voyagers to Make West Coast Landfall The Polynesian voyaging canoes Hawai 'iloa andHokule'a are touring the West Coast this summer. The replicas, wh ich retraced the 6,000-mile route of early Hawaiian settlers from the Marquesas in earl y May (see Sea History 70 and 73), did not sai l to the northwest, but were delivered to Seattle courtesy of the Matson Line in late May. From Seattle, H okule 'a, the 197 5 fiberglass-hulled voyaging canoe replica, headed for points south , including San Francisco, Santa Barbara and San Diego.

The new al I-wood H awa i 'iloa (launched in 1994) sailed north for visits with In dian nations, a gesture described as "taking the logs home" to the Tlingit and Haida Indi ans of Alaska who donated spruce logs for the sailing canoe's hull.

Both vessels return to Hawaii in late July.

(B ishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu HI 968 17; 808 847-35 11 ) Getting Around the Ships A tragic stranding on the Comi sh coast has left three crew members dead and an hi stori c sa ilin g ship sha tte red. The wooden brig Maria Asumpta was dashed aga in st the rocks at the entrance to Padstow harbor on 30 May when her engines failed and the crew was unabl e to claw her off the rocks in a moderate breeze and heavy swell. All but three of the crew were rescued by fishing vesse ls. The 127-ton, 92 ', Spanish-built Maria Asumpta of 1858 was probably the oldest sq uare-rigged merchant ship still sailing.

Work to save the ailing USS Constellation is underway in Baltimore. A Navy team from the USS Constitution has begun an extensive inspection and docu mentation of the 1855 frigate, the last sailing warship built for the US Navy.

They are videotaping and writing reports on virtually every sq uare inch of the sloop-of-war, taking wood samples to test for rot, installing cables to hold the vessel together and setting up laser devices to detect new distortions. This pierside inspection will use $265,000 of the $900,000 recentl y appropriated for the ship by Congress.

The National Park Service (NPS) is taking its plan to build an East lndiaman replica homeported at hi storic Derby Wharf in Salem, Massachusetts, to the next phase. The NPS accepted construction bids in May for the vessel, a reconstruction of Friendship of SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

Tug Hoga, Pearl HarborVeteran, Needs Help While the ap pearance of the tug/fireboat Hoga (YT- 146) as she rusts away at Treasure Island Naval Station in San Francisco Bay may be com monpl ace, her hi story is not. She is the only vessel left in the US that has the distinction of serving at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. On that horrific day , she rushed to the stricken ships along Battleship Row , rescuing sailors and attending to raging fires. Later that day, she helped move the USS Nevada to safety and for two days she stood by the USS Arizona pouring water on her smoldering wreck. For these reasons , many fee l she should be saved.

To bring attention to this need, the National Trust for Hi storic Preser. ' ' ·' vation has li sted her on their 1995 " America ' s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" li st. H oga is currentl y on the Naval Inactive Vessel Reg iste r, !t ' ...... awaiting disposal, after ..... .. ~' . ~ . having served 45 years as the Port of Oakland ---r ~ fireboat C ity o.f'Oak!and.

-. - "' - -- Ideal ly , the Trust believes Hoga, at right , )els water onlo the smoldering USS Arizona in the H oga should be trans- the aftermath of the a/lack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941 . ferred to an organization that can stabili ze and restore her to her 1941 condition.

Plans have been proposed in the past to return the tug to Pearl Harbor as part of the USS Arizona Memorial, but inadequate funding has kept her docked in San Francisco Bay. The Hoga may be headed toward the scrap yard if action isn ' t taken soon. For information contact Chri stopher Beakey, NTHP, 1785 Massachu setts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20036; 202 673-4000.

KH

'...... ..

•

1797. Plans ca ll for a three-masted fullrigged ship of 103' 9" LOD and 18 ' depth from rabbet to deck. In keeping with NPS ' s desire to certify the vesse l under both Subchapter T , Sm alI Passenger Vessel less than I 00 gross tons, and Subchapter R, Sailing School Vessel, modern material s and methods will be used in Friendship's construction. The hull will be of co ld-molded wood construction while the outer lamination will have the appearance of a planked vessel.

The contract is, however, subject to NPS funds being available forthe project.

By May, local supporters had raised half of the $700,000 in matching funds required, and they must raise the remainder by July so that Congress can consider appropriating the amount needed to start construction. (Sa lem Partnership, 6 Central Street, Salem MA 01970) The USS Cabot (CVL 28) Association remains determined to save the Cabot from the scrapping proposed by her current owners, the Cabot/Dedalo Muse um Foundation. A request for fund s in March resulted in strong support and donations of over $ 17,000. With thi s encouragement, the Association is developing plans to serve as a catalyst in making the Cabot

•

...

I

t

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a permanent mant1me museum. They intend to "package" the vesse l to appea l to an ex isting maritime museum or a waterfront city. (Bi ll Anderson,USSCA, 430 Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach FL 3256 1; 904 932-4 15 1) Underwater News On the day after hi s coronation as King of the Scots, Charles I of Eng land , aboard the man-of-war Dreadnought, saw hi s friends, servants and a treasure of go ld, si lver and other g ifts go down with the ferry The Blessing of Burntisland in the Firth of Forth during a sudden sq uall.

In recent years, several attempts have been made to find and sa lvage the wreck of the ferry , but poor visibi lity hindered the work of divers. Last year Prince Andrew became interested in the project and outfitted hi s minehunter, HMS Collesmore , with new SeaBatequipment, inc luding forward-looking sonar and a multibeam echo sounder, which have he lped locate and analyze severa l possibl e targets on the floorof the Firth. The search continues this spring.

A spec ial issue of C ultural Resource Management enti tied" Archaeology and the Federal Government" documents 35

SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS North Carolina to Host National VJ Day Observance

131 marm1 on Way Rockport . lllas sd chusrlls 01966 (508 ) 546-2211 Decided ly small - int entiona ll y q ui et. Gracio us hospita lity in luxurious surro undi ngs wi th magn ificent views. Our famo us complete brea kfast and tea incl uded. Spacious grou nds, lovely gardens a nd a mple parking. Sorry, no pets, not reco mmended for ch ildren. Read about us in COUNTRY IN NS & BAC K ROA DS, INN SPOTS & SPEC IA L PL ACES, BED & BR EAKFAST IN NEW

Freshly painted in her most stunning World War II camouflage scheme and properl y dressed with flags and bunting, the battleship North Carolina will be the setting for official VJ Day observances on 2 September. The North Carolina , BB-25 (19411960), a museum ship in Wilmington , North Caro- North Carolina pictured recently in her WWII camouflage_ lina, has been selected as a primary site for the Labor Day commemoration. In Bremerton, the Battleship Missouri, now part of the Navy ' s inactive fleet, site of the original surrender ceremony, will serve as the location of another commemorative ceremony.

(Battleship North Carolina, Eagle Island, Wilmington NC 28402; 919 752-1829)

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the federal government 's successes in protecting the nation' s archaeological heritage, highlighting projects developed in response to the 1991 National Strategy for Federal Archaeo logy. The legi slation underpinning the federal archaeology program is also published in the issue, which is avai lable free from the National Park Service Archaeological Assistance Division, PO Box 37127 , Washington DC 20013-7127; 202 3434101 , FAX: 202 523-1547.

In November 1994, the high winds and heavy surf of Hurricane Gordon delivered a large section of wooden sailing vessel to the shores of the Croatan section of Virginia Beach. When LifeSaving Museum of Virginia staff arrived to investigate, an intact 45-ft long section of bow from a turn-of-the-century schooner lay in the line of breakers. The Croatan wreck was promptly moved a quarter-mile to a secure site on

city property and the museum staff are now trying to identify it. The vessel has been initially determined to be of 400 to 700 tons displacement. (LSMV , PO Box 24, Virginia Beach VA 23458) Lighthouse News A rare sixth order lens has been added to the collection of the Shore Village Lighthouse Museum in Rockland , Maine. The 18-inch-high lens was manufactured by Henri LePaute of France.

While the provenance of thi s particular lens is not known , Coast Guard hi storians believe only 17 of its type exi sted at Coast Guard lighthouses. Coast Guard Master Chief Jim Clark and Capt. John Fli nt restored the lens to a gem- like condition. (SVLM , 104 Limerock St., Rockland ME 04841 ) The Save Huntington ' s Lighthouse group has signed an $850,000 contact with General Restoration of New York

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The Fair J eanne has joined Canada's sail training fleet. The steel-hulled, 110-foot yacht, built in 1980, has been converted to provide sai l trai ning for yo uths ages 16-25 on Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the Caribbean . Fair Jeanne was the private yacht of the late Capt. Thomas G. Fuller (RCN) , a Canadian war hero and real estate baron. It was Fuller' s wish that the ship be overhauled to accommodate 34 young trainees and professional crew.

(Bytown Brigantine, 2700 Queensview Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2B Th e well-found Fair Jeanne under full sail.

8H6 Canada; 613 596-6258) SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

SHIP MODELS SINCE 1975

City to repairthe base of the 82-year-old Long Island tower. The Coast G uard had intended to tear dow n the unsafe structu re, but leased it, instead, to the group fo r ten years. Under the term s of the lease, they have until 1998 to full y res tore the li ghthouse.

Offe ri ng an exte nsive se lection of fu lly documented, one of a kind ship models, by the world's finest marine mode l artists.

A lso : restorations, appra isa ls, disp lay cases, lighti ng and custom bu ilt models.

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Museum News Among the new permanent ga lle ries at the Yorktown Victory Center is an ex hi bit te lling the story of ships lost or sc uttl ed durin g the 178 1 S iege of Yorktown and sti ll lying at the bottom of the ri ver. The centerpiece of "Yorktown 's Sunken Fleet" is a rec reati o n of part of the excavation site of the Briti sh supp ly ship Betsy, the most extens ively studied of the wrecks. Artifacts fro m the ship are ex hi bited with a detailed model of the Betsy. The April opening of the new galleries cul mi nated a $3.86 m il lion, two-year renovation of the Victory Center. (Jamestown-Yorktown Foun dation, PO Drawe r JF, Willi amsburg VA 23 187-3630; 804 253-4 138) The fasc inating and turbulent h istory of the Mississippi Ri ver has come to life in the Mi ssissippi River Museum 's ex hibit "Magnificent River: The Mississippi from Minnesota to Missouri" (2 1 March- 17 September 1995). T he exhibit uncovers the relationship be tween people and the ri ver, exploring the river's geological evolution, the golden age of steamboating, the preservation of the ri ver's natu ral reso urces and its po te ntial fo r to uri sm . (MRM , PO Box 266 , Dubuque IA 52004-0266; 319 557-9545)

America's Glory Revisited The America's Cup may be leav ing US shores, but another symbol of Ame ri ca's greatest yachting success is just arriving. Thi s summer, a reproduction of the schooner America, which won the One Hundred G uinea Cup , now the America's Cup, in 1851 , will be launched in the Port of Albany, New York. The rec reation has been commiss ioned by Schooner America USA and is be ing built at Scarano Boat Building in Albany. While America will look like the original George Steers-designed schooner above water, she will be an example of the latest in modern boat design and will be campaigned as a world wide ambassador, demonstrating, in the words of her origi nators, "American exce lle nce in technology development, craftsmanship, and ingenuity." (Schooner Ame rica (Continued page 39) SEA HISTORY 74, SUM MER 1995

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SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS INVENI PORTAM Robert A. Weinstein (1914-1995)

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"Respected maritime hi storian ," as hi s friend Jon Wilkman called him , " authority on the photographic hi story of the American West and the city of Los Angeles, author, art director and illustrator of fine books and magazines, progress ive activist, husband, father and grandfather, Robert We instein led an astonishingly full and rich life." Lacking money to fini sh hi gh school in the Depression years, he educated himself while working in arti sts ' studios, and then mi grated west to work for Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, 1936-39.

He enlisted as an army private in World War II , serving in the European theater where he stayed on to serve as a reporter at the postwar Nuremberg trials.

Returning to the US , he became a magazine art director, and later a corporate art director in Los Angeles.

Hi storical photography fascinated him , and he did much to preserve glasspl ate photographs of shipping in West Coast ports, finding time also to help out with the fl edgling efforts of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York in collecting and interpreting hi storic ship photographs. He was the author of nine books, the most recent being Grays Harbor, 1885-191 3 ( 1978), and was in constant demand as a consultant to historical films and books, giving generously of hi s time and unique talents to struggling organizations that could never have paid hi s professional fees . He was a valued member of the Advisory Counci I of NMHS, among his many other charitable commitments.

With hi s wife Vivian , Bob was an ideali st and a committed social ac tivist. His kind and courtly manner, and his constant concern forothers, went with his fixed resolve to make thi s world a better place. These same qualities also enabled him to interpret and express the life of wharfingers, waterfront dudes, dock wallopers, and deepwater sailormen with deep truth and understanding, qualities which shine through hi s work as through hi s life .

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Robert Cary Caldwell , founder and president until recently of the Nantucket Life Saving Museum , died 20 April after a long battle with cancer.

Bob had a lifelong love affair (some would call it an obsession) with maritime hi story, and particularly with lifesaving. In the 1950s, when Bob couldn't convince the Nantucket Hi storical Association to buy the Surfside Life Saving Station, he, Edouard Stackpole, Paul Morri s, " Doc" Kynett, Robert Mooney , Charlie Sayle and Richard Deutsch (acting as incorporators) established the Nantucket Life Saving Museum , Inc . Its large and varied collection is testament to a lifetime of collecting and preserving .

Bob leaves a collection of scale mode ls of Nantucket 's hi storic steamers, ship ' s logs , papers, photographs and memorabilia of all areas of maritime hi story. He was a superb model maker and an accomplished painter. After years of searching , he located the builder' s pl ans of the old Naushon and completed a loving ly crafted five-foot scale model of the vessel only weeks before illness finally restricted hi s energetic life-style.

He was also a past president of the USCGC Spencer Association and proud of hi s service on her in the North Atlantic during World War II. As a descendant of James Cary, captain of the Rose, the first Nantucket vessel involved in the China trade, he collected artifacts re lated to that era of Nantucket's hi story , many of which are in the Nantucket Hi storical Association's China trade ex hibit.

Bob Caldwell has truly left hi s mark on Nantucket and the maritime world.

MAUR ICE E. GIBBS , CDR, USN (Rec) President and Executive Director Nantucket Life Saving Museum

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

'

USA, 100 North Union Street, A lexan dria VA 22314; 703 683-4654) And while we ' re in the heady realm of the America 's Cup--the New York Yacht Club has been accepted as Challenger of Record for America ' s Cup XXX, to be held by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron , probably during the summer of 1999-2000. There will be intense competition within the Yacht Club to be the team to bring the America's Cup back home.

National Maritime Heritage Act Grant Program News The recently enacted National Maritime Heritage Act (Public Law #103-451) promises, at some point, to provide significant federal assistance to the underfunded maritime heritage fie ld , but it has some legal obstacles to surmount first.

The new law requires that 25% of the proceeds from the scrapping of the Naval Defense Reserve Fleet go towards a grant program to preserve historic ships, lighthouses and other maritime artifacts.

The Environmental Protection Agency, however, has placed a freeze on further scrapping because of the possible export of PCB s found on board , while MARAD wants to scrap the vessels outside the US to maximize profits. Senator William Cohen (R-ME), who introduced the Act in November 1993 , is working with MARAD and the EPA to resolve the issue. The National Maritime A lliance, the National Trust for Hi storic Preservation and the Park Service are continuing plans to begin the grant application process in the autumn and di sburse funds early in 1996. For more info rmation, contact Ted Dunlap, NMA, 99 Commercial St., Bath ME 04530; 207 443-4550.

whi ch are in pri vate hands, as the fin est in the world , but noted that they are expensive to maintain and they cannot all cover the ir costs from visitati on fees alone. Hence the role of the database.

The database will sho w the state of all ship preservation projects in the UK. As such, it will be a tool used by the Nati ona l Historic Ships Committee to help provide ex pert advice to ship preservationi sts and direct fund s to the most important and deserving projects, says Dorrell. (Colin Allen, Sec retary, NHSC, c/o Press Offi ce, Natio na l Maritime Museum , Greenwich; 8 1 3 12 6745) Call for Papers • International Sail Training Safety Forum (2 1 October 1995) in conjunction with ASTA 's annua l confe rence, aimed at sa il training profess ionals in vo lved in the safe and professional con duct of sail training programs. Papers on all as pects of sail tra ining safety can be submitted to Forum Chairman, Capt.

Dav id Wood, c/o ASTA , PO Box 1459, New port RI 02840; fa x: 401 849-071 8.

• Albert 150: An International Conference to Mark the lSOth Anniversary of the Opening of Albert Dock, Liverpool (J ul y/A ugust 1996). Papers can explore any aspect of the Dock 's hi story. Contact A. Jarvis, Merseyside Maritime Muse um , Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4A A UK; fax: 5 1 709 3003 .

• Steam at Sea: The Application of Steam Power in the Maritime World (9- 12 September 1996). Proposa ls conside ring the impact of steam power on maritime acti vity should be submitted by 1 Octo be r to Dav id J. Starkey , Dept. of Hi story, Uni versity of Hull , Hull , HU6 7RX UK; fax : 1482 466 126.

Ship Database For UK In March, the British National Heritage Secre tary , Stephen Dorre ll , announced a £50 ,000 grant to the In stitute of Maritime Studies at St. Andre ws University in Fife for the establishment of an Historic Ships Database. In making the grant, Dorrell described Britain 's col lection of 400 preserved ships, most of

Spun Yarn The late Robert Weinstein' s unique co llection of photographs, manuscripts and nauti cal arti facts is going to enrich the we ll organi zed holding of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum , where it will be open to schol ars and the lay public, as Bob sure ly would have wanted it (see hi s obituary, page 38) . . . the

Minute of Silence, by Larry Reiner. "a terrifying tale of the high seas with a searing expose of a looming national disaster- the decline and fa ll of the once predominant U.S. merchant fleet."- National Marit ime Historical Society. $ 20 ppd . WSOC Press, PO Box 172, Avondale AZ 85323. 602-272-7497.

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SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

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SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Canadian Naval Heritage Foundation is raising fund s to save HMCS Fraser, the recentl y decommi ssioned 40-yearold St. Laurent class destroyer (C NHF, 1201 Cedar Street, Oshawa ONT LIJ 7M2; 905 576-0438) ... the Coast G uard has apparentl y decided not to g ive up the Massachusetts Eastern Point Lig hthouse to the Lighthouse Preserva ti o n Soc iety ... thought lost to the boneyard in January, the 1930 Boston tug Luna is being ke pt afl oat with a temporary hull repair while the Luna Preservati on Soc iety looks fo r a shore-based site fo r fu ture repairs (Patrick Otton , LPS, 56 Dearbo rn Street, West Newton M A 02 165; 6 17 244-276 1) ... the New Bedfo rd (Massachusetts) O ffice of To uri sm intends to restore the historic lightship LV-114 and hopes to sec ure grants and identify a preservation group willing to im ple me nt the restorati on and interpretati on of the ship ... the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich , London , has opened a new " Nelson Gallery" to commemorate the 200th anni ve rsaries of several of the great battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic W ars the Battl e of Cape St. Vincent ( l 797), the Battle of the Nile ( 1798) and Trafalgar ( I 805 )(NMM , Green wich London SE IO 9NF UK) . . . the John A lde n des ig n 72foo t staysail schooner Bagheera is the fo urth member of the Na uti cal Heritage Soc iety ' s fl eet and will be used fo r educati on and envi ronmenta l program s in Califo rni a (N HS, 245 32 Del Prado, D ana Point, CA 92629; 1-800-4 32-220 I ) .. . the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum cele brates its thi rtieth yea r w ith an

The Nati onal Trust fo r Hi storic Preservation will hold its 49th National Preservati on Conference in Fort W orth , Texas , 11 - 15 October 1995. Over 60 educati on sess ions and mobile wo rks hops w ill explore the hi story and strategies of hi storic preservati on. To receive a pre limi nary program and registration and ho te l materi al, ca ll 1-800-944-6847.

SEA HI STORY 74, SU MME R 1995

ex panded calenda r of events, a special anni ve rsary ex hibit and ne w restorati on proj ects (C BMM , PO Box 636, St. Michaels MD 2 1663; 30 I 745-29 16) ... before sailing fo r Florida last December, the 1960-built replica Bounty spent seven weeks in drydock fo r new bottom planks and will be jo ining a host of other sailing vessels in the Maritime Provinces thi s summer (Tall S hip Bo unty Foundation , Inc., PO Box 990, Fall Ri ve r MA 02722; 508 673-3886) ... the SS U nited States Preser vation Society reports that although the bi g liner is bac k in Istanbul after having her interi or accommodations stripped dow n to the bulkheads and her hull cleaned and painted , her future is still uncertain as hero wners have been unsuccessful in the ir search fo r fundin g (SS US PS, I 0 104 Earthstone Court, Raleigh NC 276 15; 9 19 848-6642).

•••••••••••••••••••• CALENDAR Festivals, Events, Lectures, Etc. • 5-6 August, Fifth Annual New York Ship and Boat Model Festival (So uth Street Seaport Museum , 207 Front Street, New York NY I 0038; 2 12 748-8600, fax: 2 12 748-86 10) • 5- 6 August, Mayor 's Cup Schooner Race, Port Townsend Bay WA (Wooden Boat Foundation, Cupola House, #2 Point Hudson, Port Townsend WA 98368) • 17-20 August, Old Boats, Old Friends in Racine, traditional watercraft and model show (OBOFR , PO Box 08 1400, Rac ine WI 53408- 1400; 4 14 634-235 1, fax: 414 634-2609) • 19-20 August, 4th Annual Antique Marine Engine Exposition (Mystic Seaport Museum , PO Box 6000, MysticCT 0635 50990; 203 572-53 17) • 22-27 August, United States Submarine Veterans Convention ' 95 in Manitowoc WI. Contact Owen Willi ams, PO Box 37, Fish Creek WI 542 12; 4 14 868-262 l.

• 25-27 August, Festi val of the Sea 1995 (San Francisco Maritime National Hi stori cal Park , Building E, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco CA 941 23 ; 41 5 556-1 659) • 1-3 September, 18th Annual Victoria Real Estate Boa rd C lassic Boat Festival , Inner Harbour, Victoria BC (V REBCBF, 3035 Nanaimo Street, Victoria BC V8T 4W2 Canada; 604 385-7766) • 8- 10 September, 19th Annual Port T ownsend (W A) Wooden Boat Festival (Wooden Boat Foun da tio n, #2 Po int Hudson, Port Townsend WA 98368) • I 0 September, Tall Ships & Sea Shan ties (Hud son Ri ve r Maritime Mu seum , One Rondo ut Land in g, Kin gston NY

1240 1; 9 14 338-007 1) • 13- 17 September, 6th Annual Reunion of the Nationa l Association of Fleet Tug Sailors, Inc. in Pensacola FL (George Kingston, 16 11 Woodbridge Circle, East, Foley AL 36535-2267; 205 943-7823) • 16- 17 September, T raditional Boat Race Festi val (Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum , PO Box 636, St. Michaels MD 2 1663; 4 10 745-29 16)

Conferences • 27 August, " Ports, Port Cities a nd Maritime Communities," Conference for the Intern ati onal Commi ss ion fo r Maritime Hi story (Pro f. Lewis Fischer, ICM H Organi zer, Maritime Studies Research Unit, Memori al Uni versity of Newfo und land , St. , Jo hn 's, NFLD, Canada A IC 5S7; 709 737-8424.

• 2- 6 October, Internationa l Conference on Historic Canals a nd the Southern Canal C onference, Augusta GA (Augusta Canal Authority, 706 733-2635) • 4-7 October, Annua l Meeting of the Historic Naval Ships Association, Baton Rouge LA (HNSA , 4640 Hoylake Dri ve, Virgini a Beach VA 23462; 804 499-69 19 (A M) or 804 425- 166 1 (PM)) • 14- 15 October, 20th Annual Wha ling Histor y Symposium (The Kendall Whaling Museum , POBox 297, Sharon MA 02067; 6 17 784-5642) • 18- 2 1 October, Annual Confer ence on Sail Training and T all Ships in Norfo lk VA (A merican Sai l Train ing Assoc iation, PO Box 1459, Newport RI 02840; 40 I 846- 1775 , fax: 40 1 849-5400) • 19-2 1 October, "U rba n Waterfronts 13-The C ha llenge of C hange," Portland OR, Annual Confe rence of the Waterfront Center, l 536 44th Street, NW, Washington DC 20007; 202 337-0356, FAX: 202 635- 1654.

Exhibitions • 30 March- 3 1 December, " . . . a work which is itself magnificent . . .": The Story of the Farmington Cana l (New Haven Historical Society, 11 4 Whi tney Ave., New Haven CT 065 l O; 203 526-4 183) • 7 April- 14 Ja nuary 1996 , The Evolution of Ma rin e Pa inting 1800-1940 (Maine Mari time Museum , 203 Was hington St. , Bath ME 04530; 207 443- 13 16) • from 5 May, Continuity, Conflict and C hange: The Hudson's Bay Compa ny on the Northwest Coast ( 1824- 186 1) (Vancouve r Ma ri time M useum, 1905 Ogden Avenue, Vancouver BC V6J IA3 Canada; 604 736-443 l) • l 0 August- 15 Ja nuary 1996, T reasures from The Ma riners' Museum (The Mariners' Museum , 100 Museum Dr., Newport News VA 23606-3759; 804 595-0368) 41

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The Marine Society of the City of New York, 1770-1995: A Concise History ,

by Gerald J. Barry, foreword by Walter Cronkite (One Hundred Year Association and Sea History Press, New York NY , 1995, 96pp, illus, appen, biblio, index; $17.50hc) A story of worldwide sweep and consequence in small compass, this lively work brings the reader close to the realities of the changing times of the last 225 years of sea captains' experience sailing from New York. In fact, this gem of a book covers virtually all the leading currents and outstanding events and personalities that shaped the history of New York port-and thereby the nation.

As Walter Cronkite, an honorary member of the Marine Society, observed in his foreword, "New York sea captains have written illustrious chapters in this continuing saga of a ci ty built from the sea." And that pivotal fact gave Mr. Barry, commissioned by the Marine Society to write its brief history on its 225th anniversary , a grand opportunity to tell the story of the port through the history of its honor society of sea captains. And what a story it is, from buccaneering privateers of the American Revolution and War of 1812 to the dedicated skippers, some of them leaders in the Society today , who shipped out to help keep America's strength pouring down the arteries of ocean traffic in World War II. In the process, they suffered higher casualties than the US Navy, whose men went out in ships designed to fight the war, rather than slow , vulnerable freighters carrying the victuals, munitions and troops in their holds that produced the victory.

We were impressed by this slender, abundantly illustrated volume, with its abundant anecdote and sound insights, when it was submitted to us for review in the course of publication. NMHS therefore stepped forward to help market the book through our Sea History Press.

Otherwise it would have had only the most limited "insider" circulation. It could be considered technically improper for me to be reviewing thi s work, since we are now involved in its distribution.

But I am not letting this stand in the way of commending this brief, authentic and lively narrative to anyone who wants to understand how New York became the world capital of international trade.

It was a matter of these ships, you see-and of the men , masters of their trade, and riders of the tides of hi story,

who drove them. For one who knows this story well , this slim volume will be a refresher course-and it is written in a manner to refresh and challenge one's thinking-and for those who do not, it is the best brief introduction to New York's relation to the sea that this reviewer knows.

PETER STANFORD

Anchored Within the Vail: A Pictorial History of the Seamen's Church Institute, by Leah Robinson Rousmaniere (The Seamen 's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, New York NY , 1995, l 35pp, photos, illus, biblio, notes, ISBN 0-9643657-0-7; $18pb) This handsome volume provides an institutional history of the most influential church-related service organization for seamen in the United States. The Seamen's Church Institute, founded in New York City in 1843, was part of that revival of religious enthusiasm known as "the Second Great Awakening." However, a commitment to practical assistance and a canny willingness to adapt to changing conditions are continuing themes in the hi story of the SCI. Attempts by church groups in other ports to ameliorate the condition of seamen foundered because their pompous religiosity failed to establish rapport with the seamen. From the beginning, practical assistance to sai lors was central to SCI's religious ministry .

SCl's ministry soon expanded beyond that ofa Seamen 's bethel, although its first headquarters (1844), a floating church built on the hull of an abandoned ferry, provided an easily identified and centrally located waterfront focus that continued after SCI "came ashore" in 1868.

Perceiving the need for clean, secure, and affordable lodging, safe from crimps and other waterfront predators, SCI provided accommodation for seamen ( 1851) and a rudimentary banking service (1852), which would spin off as the Seamen's Bank for Savings. These were followed by an employment bureau for seamen, a mail receiving and forwarding service, an "office ofintelligence" where seamen could obtain reliable information on world events, and a finding service for lost or missing seamen. Of more enduring importance were the SCI-sponsored Seamen ' s Service of the Legal Aid Society, and active lobbying efforts advocating a series of maritime reform bills. During World War I, SCI inaugurated its Navigation and Marine Engineering School to prepare seamen for SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

examinations to upgrade the ir crede ntial s. Such practical services expl ain the loyalty held by many hardened seame n.

A book ought not to be judged by its cover. However, one glance at the color reproduction of the New-York Histo rical Society 's "View ofthe Harborfrom Brooklyn Heights," c. 1860, which graces the cover, and I expected a treat. After all , an illustrated hi story stands or fa ll s o n its images, its raison d'etre. Author Leah Rousmaniere, wife of yachtsman and marine writer John Rousmaniere, has enhanced an authoritative text with remarkable archival photographs and graphics attractively presented in sidebars.

Anchored Within the Vail joins Barnett Shepherd ' s illustrated hi story, Sailors' Snug Harbor, 1801- 1976 (1 979), in an expanding historiography of the age ncies that supported the men whose ships and sweat made New York "the G reat Port."

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The three parts of the tex tbook provide: a basic introduction to the di scipline; an examination of select studies of ancient, m edi eval and postmedi eval wrecks; and an expos ition on the tec hniques of recording wrecks, assembling archival info rmation, reconstructing vessels and publi shing the results. E xcell e nt ship ' s plans, photograph s and site plans as well as vari ous appendices and a glossary support Steffy 's text.

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Appointment in Normandy, by Walter Jaffee (The Glencannon Press, Palo Alto CA, 1995, 590pp, illus, appen, biblio, index, ISBN 0-9637586-4-0; $3 l.95hc) "Nobody who was aboard yesterday will ever forget it," said Carl Nolte the day after D-Day observances at Normandy aboard the Liberty shipleremiah 0 ' Brien, who made her famous trip all the way from San Francisco to be there.

In a clear and well-paced narrative, greatly enriched by the recorded remarks of members of the ship 's company as the long voyage unfolded, Captain Jaffee brings the reader aboard in an historical experience the like of which the world had never seen: the volunteered effort of 60- and 70-year-old veterans that repaired a 51-year-old freighter the size of a city block, restored her to steaming condition, and then sailed her from one ocean to another to honor the heroes of D-Day in a way the world would really notice and remember.

Jaffee's canvas is broad and full of humanity. He even remembers us shorebound supporters in NMHS , who helped get the needed legislation through the Congress, and then pitched in with an every-member mailing to solicit matching funds . The voyage was undertaken and carried out in a generous spirit, and the reward, in the deep-seated, overflowingly expressed gratitude of our French and British allies, was worth all the effort. You will share in that reward, and in the need we feel to perpetuate the D-Day story in enduring gratitude, when you read this exciting true life adventure story.

PS Captain's Daughter, Coasterman's Wife: Carrie Hubbard Davis of Orient, by Joan Druett (Oystcrponds Historical Society, Box 844, Orient NY 11957, 1995,64pp,illus;$9pb+$1.50s&h, NY residents add 8.5% sales tax) This entrancing story of the marriage and sailing experience of Carrie Hubbard Davis, a young woman of the seaport vi ll age of Orient on New York 's Long Island, in the 1870s and ' 80s,cameabout through the happy chance that the maritime scholar Joan Druett found herself li ving in the house that Carrie lived in with her husband, Charles Davis. Davis sai led in the coasting trade to the Connecticut shore across the Sound in a small schooner commanded by William Hubbard, Carrie's father.

Carrie in her letters offers unending homey details about her way of life,

delighting in the seasons, and in friends and neighbors and the exquisite manners of her somewhat feckless husband, who seemed to charm everyone but did not have much stick-to-itiveness. Their second son (the first died in infancy) grew up to become the distinguished photographer, inventor, author and marine artist William Steeple Davis, whose marine photographs and drawings add greatly to the feeling of this narrativeso much so one wishes a complete picture book of his work in this genre might be published! In his will he provided an artist-in-residence fund to enable artists to work in the quietude of what Ms. Druett calls "the sea-girt Long Island hamlet" of Orient-and so when Ms. Druett's husband Ron became the Davis artist-in-residence in 1994, the author came to live in Carrie 's house.

It is sheer magic that it was Joan Druett who happened on these letters with their memorable scenes of ordinary life which so seldom get noted down because everybody at the time knows all about them .

PS Stealth at Sea: The History of the Submarine, by Dan van der Vat (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston MA and New YorkNY, 1995,374pp,iUus,appen,biblio, index, ISBN 0-395-65242-1 ; $24.95 hc) To say that the submarine revolutionized naval warfare in this century is no exaggeration. The technical achievement of getting a warship capable of dealing ship-killing blows to travel long distances concealed underwater had far more than a tactical impact on naval warfare: it gave new meaning, and devastating possibilities, to the "guerre de course," or war against enemy shipping, which had been the traditional strategy of the weaker naval power. This strategy , used most effectively by the Americans in the American Revolution and War of 1812, was practiced brilliantly by the Germans using the U-boat (Unterseeboot) as their primary weapon .

They came perilously close to shutti ng down England as an operating belligerent in both World War I and II. And US submarines operating in the Pacific had hamstrung the Japanese war economy even before the atomic bomb brought a quick conclusion to World War II in the Pacific.

Van der Vat 's book provides an authoritative review of these operations, and of the strategies of submarine attack and shipping defense, closely tied to SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

U.S. NAVY COLOR

GUARD TEAM rapidly changing technologies on both sides in that desperately fought battle.

And desperate it was: nearly two thirds of all who served in U-boats were lost.

Even in American submarines the casualty rate was shockingly high, with nearly one out of four US submariners never coming home from the war. In the heartless arithmetic of war, submarines were a very good investment, however. US submarines sank 23 enemy ships for every submarine lost, the British sank 9 for each lost submarine. The Germans (with by far the largest submarine force) sank 20 ships per sub lost up until August 1942, but thereafter sank fewer than 2, for a wartime average of about 3. Besides the overview offered in such measurements as these, the author provides a close-in picture of strategic decision-making, and key actions at sea.

PS Ships Versus Shore: Civil War Engagements Along Southern Shores and Rivers, by Dave Page (Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville TN, 1994, 41 Opp, illus, notes, biblio, index: $22.95hc) In this state-by-state guide to Confederate river and shore fortifications the author provides historical background to the little known and largely unheralded conflict between ship and shore. Sympathetic to the South and basing his research largely on the secondary literature of thi s conflict, he gives three- to six-page descriptions of all engagements of this nature throughout the South.

Particularly interesting are his views on strategy, such as Federal control of water routes in and around the southern states as being the most significant strategic event responsible for the defeat of the South. Indeed, in his view the outcome of the war was decided in the West due to the Union controlling inland rivers while attempting to blockade southern ports. The war lasted as long as it did because of the Union ' s poor utilization of its naval advantages, such as not seizing southern ports and failing to have a sizable Marine Corps to support what is now termed amphibious warfare.

While historians of this conflict will find Page's views thought-provoking, this book tries to be both a guidebook with travel tips to the hi storic sites and a serious explanation of "brown-water" warfare during the Civil War. As such it is an admirable effort that fails to do justice to either goal.

HAROLD N. BOYER Aston, Pennsylvania SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

The Shipping Board's"Agency Ships": Part I, The "Sub Boats," by Mark Goldberg (American Merchant Marine Museum , Kings Point NY, 1994, 402pp, illus, appen, biblio, ISBN 1-879180-011O; $24.95 pb + $2.50s&h) In the midst of World War I, America was large Iy discounted as a fighting force because, with less than 8% of the world's shipping capability in US flag ships , American men, materiel and supplies could not have reached the front. When Congress recognized this state of affairs in 1916, it created the United States Shipping Board, "charged with amassing a fleet of merchant ships in a hurry."

One result of this effort was a contract with the Submarine Boat Company, which proceeded to build a shipyard in Newark, New Jersey, designed to assemble fabricated steel 3500-ton cargo carriers. This sixth volume of the American Merchant Marine History series provides a biography of each of the 150 "Sub Boats" to come out of that yard. JA To Foreign Shores: US Amphibious Operations in World War II, by John A. Lore II i (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1995, 392pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-55750-520-9; $38.95hc) Through probing, widespread research, sound strategic insight and a lively, ondeck and on-the-beach narrative style, this review of American landings on enemy shores in World War II provides a valid picture of how US forces confronted that dangerous moment when fighting men have to quit their ships to assault enemy land forces . Fortunately, by prewar study and by the development of everimproving doctrine under the pressure of combat experience, the far-flung landings necessary to bring the war home to the Axis powers ended up being far more dangerous for the enemy than the assaulting Americans-though the loss in casualties was often scarifyingly high . For here was where the worldwide resources of an oceanic coalition came to bear-and hot as it was for the landing Americans, in the end it always proved hotter for the defenders, no matter how skilled and valiant their defense.

PS Tidewater Time Capsule: History Beneath the Patuxent, by Donald G. Shomette (Tidewater Publishers, Centreville MD, 1995,384pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 0-87033-463-8; $29.95hc) Shomette's latest book provides a balanced blend of solid scholarship and

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CLASSIFIED ADS Ship Paintings Restored . Museum qu alit y restoration of o ld pai ntings. Peter Willi ams, 30 Ipsw ich St. , Boston MA 022 15. By appointment: 6 17-536-4092 Original Engravings, v iews : maritim e, yac hting ( 1800s) and published in Harper 's Weekly , etc. Vessels, sail ors, life-sav ing, waterfronts, racing. List free. Don Pitcher, Box 64, North Haven CT 06473.

SeaPhoto Now ship modelers have a source for deta iled, o n-board photographs of US naval , foreign nava l and c ivilian ships, we ll over I00' For a cata log send $5 ($8 overseas) to SeaPhoto, 1145 Oakwood Dr., De pt. 7, Mil lbrae CA 94030.

Historical Fiction fro m the age of fi g htin g sail. Pope, O ' Brian , Forester, Hardy and more, new and used. Free catalog. Tall Ships Books, Box 8027 , Cedar Rapid s, Iowa 52408 Co mpa ss and Binnacle restora ti on, repairs and adj usting. J. K. & E. Enterprises, lilc. , 7075 12 1Way North, Seminol e FL 34642.

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Ca pe Horn , One Man 's Drea m , One Wo man 's Ni ghtm are by Reanne Hemingway-Do ug lass. The story of a woman who would n ' t give up. Peter Spectre w rites, " Easily the hairy-c hested adventure ya rn of the decade." "Shou ld be required reading for all male Captains!" -Barbara Marrett $22 .50 Orders: 6 19-934-3240.

Ship Models. Museum qu ali ty ship models from all eras : power, sail and steam . Windjammer Scale Models. 6 17-332-7089.

Di vin g Helmets Wanted! Al so di vin g pumps, shoes, fi lms, etc . 510-866-0848 .

South African Maritime Histo ri ca l Research: answers to American shipping interes ts in Sou th African wa ters. Write Port & Starboard, SAM HR, PO Box 50892 , Waterfront , 8002, SA Maine Coast, Peno bscot Bay: 2 bedroom hou se, 3 ac res , 130 fee t of shorefront. $ 150,000. Ca ll : 1-207-567-3503

SurvivorsofS1ee/Seafarerand.lnh11 With erspoon please contact Richard Starrett, Box 92, Mendoci no CA 95460.

Solid Mahogany Dugout canoe, 24-foot.

Perfect conditi o n, bare hull , very heavy. This log cont ai ned over 2,000 board ft. I think it ' s worth $2,400. Will consider any offer. Hank Pa lmer, 8 13-896-7733.

Video Ca mera Needed to reco rd lec tures, seminars, etc. Your donation is ta x-deductible. Ca ll Justineat 1-800-221-NMHS (6647).

Laser Printer Needed! NM HS is now overworking o ne Texas Instrum ents Mi crolase r Plus. We tru ly need a second machine! Taxded uctibl e. Call 1-800-22 1 NM HS (6647) .

To place your classified ad at $1.60 per word, phone Kathleen at 914-737-7878. Or mail your message and payment to Sea History, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

46

REVIEWS popular prose, of hi storical narrati ve and From the crossi ng of the Panama first-person descripti on. A talented ra- Canal with a Russian freighter to the conteur, he paints vivid scenes with wit, complicated passage of the Suez Canal , the trip and the book are fill ed with verve and not a little humor.

Historical commentary detail s human anecdotes and experiences entertaining interaction with the Patuxent from the to the sailor and the reader. Waterborne first Europeans ' records of the region , its hazards, such as an approaching typhoon , inhabitants and the ir li feways to the de- are matched in the narrative by the mise of the steamboat era, with consid- author 's political navigations between erable attention focu sed on Commodore every sailor 's own Scylla and CharybJoshua Barney's " much vaunted flotill a" dis -ubiquitous customs officials and of 18 14. Di scuss ion then shi fts to de- manipulating chandlers of foreign ports.

Like all armchai r sai!ors, and readers scri ption of the archaeological survey of the ri ver and the underwater testing and of poetry, however, the spirit of the book excavation of c ultural remains from a and the voyage which the author evokes variety of site types culminating in the . and embodies recall Robert Frost's "West discovery of the ex treme ly well pre- Running Brook": " It must be the brook/ served vessel Scorpion of Barney ' s fl eet. Can trust itself to go by contraries. " By Unlike Shomette 's prior work, Flotilla , "contraries" Dom Degnon furni shes a Battle for the Patuxent ( 198 1), for which delightful and entertaining account of it is an excellent companion piece, this hi s westward voyage around the g lobe.

THAD K OZA vo lume is rich in photographs, maps and Wickford, Rhode Island diagrams.

Occasionally the narrati ve appears to drift from the subject at hand , but never From Sea Cliff to Barcelona: A Lifewithout purpose and is soon brought time in Sketches, by Frank 0. Braynard seamlessly full c ircle. There is a danger (Frank 0 . Bray nard, 98 DuBoi s Avenue, that some aspects of thi s comprehensive SeaCliffNY 11579, 1995 , 173pp, illus, stud y will not appea l to certain readers: ISBN 1-879-1 80- 11 ; $29hc) the detailed geo logical strata underlying Frank Bray nard , impresario of Opthe river or the minutiae of crew compo- eration Sail, acti ve in the founding of the sition, fo r example; however, these indi- Steamship Hi storical Society , South vid uals wi ll be in the minority. Even in Street Seaport Museum and NMHS , galley form thi s volume provided infor- among others, loves to travel by sea, as mati on which fo restall ed construction in he tell s us in thi s charming book of the Patuxent until the area could be in- sketches of Alaskan glaciers, back streets spected for cultural remains documented in Li sbon, Maine fis hing piers, and the as being near Bened ict. wild beach growth of hi s and Doris's Overall, thi s book will make you haul hideaway on Fire Island . A reflective out road maps and plan weekend jaunts, text ambles along with the over 200 viewing fa miliar places with fresh inter- sketches, and it is a joy to share in the est. Shomette 's books should form the affection he fee ls fo r these spec ial places PS core library of anyo ne seriously inter- in the wide world he's traveled . ested in the maritime history of Maryland.

SUSAN LANGLEY, State Underwa- New York and New Jersey Coastal Adter Archaeolog ist for Maryland ventures: Whales, Beaches, Packets, Reprinted with permission from the Tugs, Tall Ships, Lighthouses, and Maritime Archaeolog ica l and Hi storical More, by Betsy Frawley Haggerty (CounSoc iety News, March/April 1995 . try Roads Press, Castine ME, 1995, 182pp, illus, index, ISBN 1-56626-097-3; $9.95pb) Sails Full and By, by Dom Degnon This guidebook is a treasure chest of (S heridan House Inc., Dobbs Ferry NY, opportunities to enjoy-from museums, 1995, 244pp, illus, ISBN 0-924486-75-9; to shoreside hikes, to whale watching $27.50hc) and whitewater rafting. Waterways devoWith all the resolve of a Boswell and tees could spend a lifetime searching for the imaginative verve of a Keats, Dom all these ways to get down to the water Degnon records his experience of aseven- and never find half the hidden glories year circumnav igation on a 41 ' ketch, revealed by the author. It is a model for Taku. He re lies on hi s sailing experience guidebooks-dear and conci se descripas much as hi s literary background , and tions of sites and activities combined with those combined skill s detail s a voy- with a writing style that makes it a pleaage that is as leisure ly as it is enviable. sure to read.

JA SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

,.

by Melbourne Z. Myerson

M

Luckily , no enemy subs y being assigned as an Engine ter on the exterior of the found us during our preRoom Cadet to the SS Mormac - boiler drums with the main dicament. gull, a C 1 dry cargo carrier, made Octo- fire system-a risky step Several hours later, when ber 26, 1943 a fateful day for the mari- but necessary if we were to order had been restored and time service. I had doubts about becom- get steam back up anytime we were underway again, ing a marine engineer; I wanted to be a soon. the chief came to call. Acdeck officer--certainly a more romantic The chief engineer had position, where I might utter phrases come down from hi s office at the first tually he did not appear angry , just consuch as "Hard a-port!" rather than com- sign of trouble and instructed me to go cerned. He asked whether the first engiplain about the heat in the engine room. topside to my cabin and await him there . neer had queried me as to what was to be In planning the job, I had overlooked done, and I replied he had. The chief Unfortunately, the cadet corps assigned me to an engineering section, as the deck the fact that the pump was also a stand- then gave me an assignment to chart the by boiler feed water pump, and I hadn 't feed water system. It was to be comofficer quotas were filled.

On a beautiful autumn day , we were isolated the discharge side. This allowed pleted by 0800 hours the following steaming along at a good 15 knots in the a goodly portion of the water in the morning . That meant I would be bilge and bulkhead climbing the whole night South Pacific leading a convoy of six boiler to dump into the bilges.

More problems were to come. The to locate all lines and control valves. ships. We had aboard the Convoy ComAs I re-entered the engine room to modore, who sported a four-inch stripe escorting destroyers commenced dropon hi s uniform sleeve. ping depth charges almost immediately commence the task, the men on watch That day a leaky relief valve on the after the valve blew . They had heard had a great time giving me a bad time. stand-by fire pump caused the first en- suspicious underwater noises and de- They gave me verbal instructions as to gineer to order me to repair it. He was termined that enemy submarines were what I could do with the next relief careful to ask if I knew what to do. nearby . (Probably what they had heard valve I would work on. (Impossible.)

Always optimistic, though inwardly was the sound of our valve exploding But their badinage did not last long . somewhat doubtful, I answered affir- skyward !) So there we were, convoy At dinner time, which 1 dreaded because of the further roasting I matively. I realized I must isolate the pump before disfully expected, there came a The valve blew up and away as a tremendous knock on my cabin door and mantling it and proceeded stream ofscalding water rose, like Old Faithful, the Convoy Commodore enwith the removal of the valve tered. I could hardly believe bonnet. Hot water under to a height of twenty to thirty feet. that a high-ranking, goldpressure began spewing from the base of the valve. I waited a leader, dead in the water with a pos- braided officer would lower himself to short time for the pressure to dissipate, sible sub licking its torpedo tubes come and further berate me, but that was but failed to ask myself why it was hot waiting for us. The remainder of the notthecase. "Well, cadet," he said, "you've water flowing out. Thinking the flow convoy sa iled off into the sunset leav- had a helluva day and I think you should have dinner in the wardroom with me had lessened, I put the pipe wrench back ing us one destroyer for protection .

It was lonely in my cabin and I was tonight. Let's go!" on the valve for a few more turns. All As we entered the wardroom, I could hell broke loose! The valve blew up and desolate for several hours waiting for away as a tremendous stream of scald- the chief engineer to arrive. I can't pos- see the gleams in the eyes of those ing water rose, like Old Faithful, to a sibly describe my feelings. My inepti- awaiting me, but their smi les vanished tude placed our ship in harm's way and when the Commodore put an arm about height of twenty to thirty feet.

To keep from being burned I hopped we could take a torpedo at any moment. my shoulders and announced: "Gentleback a few steps and called for help-a Sitting on my bunk I wasn ' t sure whether men, Mr. Myerson is my guest tonight needless action, as the watch engineer I preferred the torpedo or the tongue and I would be very unhappy should could see the problem and hear the lashing that was sure to come. I peered anyone here take it upon himself to boiler low-water- level alarm. There out my cabin porthole to see the de- castigate him for the day 's events." And seemed no way for anyone to approach stroyer circling about the Mormacgull no one did.

I completed the chief engineer's asat flank speed, dropping depth charges. the valve and cap it. signment, which he personThe bridge, notified imAbove, the author during his naval service in 1948. al Iy reviewed and approved. mediately, understood our Below, the Mormacdove, a sister to the Mormacgull , in warFunny thing, though, no one problem and we secured the time service. Photo courtesy the Frank 0 . Braynard Collection. ever again asked me to remain engines, as water pair a relief valve. t carryover from the boilers to the turbine blades could damMr.Myersonservedinthemerage the engine. To make the chant marine from 1943 to si tuation worse, the boilers 1945,then was an engineer in were now overheated and the both the maritime service and water reintroduced immedithe US Navy. He is now a ately flashed into steam . It freelance writer in California. was decided to spray cold wa-

SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995

47

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SIGN UP A FRIEND! If yo u love ships and the sea and enjoy reading Sea History, you probably have friends who would also enjoy our magazine. Sea History makes a fine giftwe ' ll send a gift packet with yo ur greeting on a "Welcome Aboard" card , along with our decal and cloth patch. Sign up a friend today!

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MODEL

SUCCESS STORY' "The Maritime Prepositioning Ship program is a model success story, and I couldn't be more pleased . MPS is on schedule and proving to be an extremely valuable strategic asset."

- General PX. Kelley Commandant U.S. Marine Corp s

AMERICAN

* MARITIME *

OFFICERS

AFFILIATED WITH THE AFL-CIO MARITIME TRADES DEPARTMENT 650 FOURTH AVENUE BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11232 (718) 965-6700

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TEXACO Salutes the Tall Ships • • •

and invites you to join the National Maritime Historical Society to help keep them sailing!

I

. I

- I

I

... iiiiiiiliii:i::;;~~~;::= · ~ ~·- J

-~

~~ -==-~-Each print measures 12" x 13"

Join the NMHS today and Texaco will send you, absolutely free, a handsome portfolio of fourteen tall ship prints. As a member, you will also receive SEA HISTORY quarterly-and you'll be helping to keep the maritime heritage alive.

The original paintings were commissioned by Texaco and painted by the renowned artist James E. Mitchell. It's our way of saying thank you for joining the National Maritime Historical Society and supporting their good work.

Since the supply is limited, we urge you to send in your membership enrollment today.

Use the return postcard or call toll free 1-800-221-NMHS to enroll by credit card. And be sure to mention the Tall Ships prints!

Texaco Fuel and Marine Marketing invites you to learn more about the broad range of Texaco quality products and services by calling or faxing us at the numbers shown below.

If the NMHS postcard is mi ssing, please send in your $30 or phone us. (See below .) Members interested in receiving the prints should call the Membership Office for details.

~TEXACO

W

..

Fuel and Marine Marketing Texaco Inc.

National Maritimre Historical Society

Fuel and Marine Marketing Dept.

2000 Westchester Avenue White Plains, NY 10650 Tel: 914-253-4000 Fax: 914-253-6002

Wal ~ h Boulevard PO Blox 68 Peellkski II New Yo>rk l 0566 Tel: 800-221--NMHS (6647)

5 John