No. 100
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SPRING 2002
SEA HISTORY.:
75
THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA
Cefebrati119Issue100: A GCanceAstent
JOHN PAUL ]ONES AND THE RANGER
A Centennial of Destroyers Art from the National Maritime Museum, Paris
300 Years of Service "Your staunch pilot boats are always ready in storm and fog, and it takes skill, courage and long years of experience to carry on this important and hazardous work so necessary to our commerce. I congratulate you on your remarkable record..."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
201 EDGEWATER ST., STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. 10305 • 718-448-3900
No. 100
SEA HISTORY
SPRING 2002
CONTENTS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE NATIONAL ARCH IVES
9 John Paul Jones, the Ranger, and the Value of the Continental Navy by Dennis Conrad, PhD john Paul Jones led the way in forging the Continental Navy into a professional service that pursued strategy over prizes, inspired American citizens in their fight for independence, and demonstrated to the world American determination to win.
15 A Centennial of American Destroyers, by David F. Winkler, PhD A century ago, the threat oftorpedo gunboats spurred the evolution oftorpedo boat destroyers, small but lethal vessels that developed a reputation for dash and daring during two world wars and into the present.
19 ''We Were There to Prove Ourselves": Veteran Destroyerman Lorenzo
19 MUSEE NATIONAL DE lA MARINF
DuFau Celebrates His Ship and Her People, by Peter Stanford In 1943, the US Navy initiated a program to integrate the service, choosing the destroyer escort USS Mason as the first ship to have an African-American crew; the men and their ship more than proved themselves in the dangerous missions that followed.
22 MARINE ART: "Le Grand Voyage": Treasures of the National Maritime Museum, Paris The United States welcomes a rich harvest ofart and artifacts representing 500 years ofthe French maritime heritage. 28 Casting a Glance Astern: A Selection from Sea Historys Past 28 Sign On With Me, Said John Paul Jones, by Admiral Arleigh Burke (Sea History 12, Autumn 1978) 29 In Clio's Cause: Pete Seeger, Bill Buckley and Others Respond {Sea History 7 & 8, Spring & Summer 1977) 31 OpSail '92 by Way of Cape Horn, by Ian Hutchinson (Sea History 62, Summer 1992) 34 The Sea People of Exeter, by Peter Stanford and Passage to Exeter, by Mark Myers (Sea History 33, Autumn 1984) 39 Oxford's Nautical Archaeology Team: The First Ten Years of MARE, by Timothy G. Dingemans (Sea History 57, Spring 1991)
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COVER: The early morning spirit of the young American Republic shines in this Stobart painting ofthe sloop ofwar Ranger 225 years ago. Under john PaulJones, Ranger will upset Britain s Royal Navy in homewaters and set US naval traditions that live on today. ("Portsmouth. Preparing to launch John Paul Jones' Sloop of War 'Ranger,' May 1777, "by john Stobart, courtesy Maritime Heritage Prints) (See pages 9-13)
DEPARTMENTS 2 D ECK LOG & LETTERS 6 NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION &
42
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS/CALENDAR
45 48 50 56
AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM NEWS CROSSWORD PUZZLE REVIEWS PATRONS
33 SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is publi shed quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Society, 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. Periodicals posrage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add'! mailing offices. COPYRIGHT© 2002 by the National Maritime Historical Society. Tel: 914-737-7878. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
DECK LOG Pat Garvey, a longtime friend and supporter of the National Maritime Historical Society, came to NMHS just over two years ago to get the Society m oving on new programs to carry out our national educational mission. As executive directo r and then president, he also strengthened business procedures, ens uring effective board formulation of our basic policies and oversight of operations. With these things accomplished or well under way, Par has now resigned as pres ident to pursue other interests, including work with Colo nel Jim Johnson, Military Historian of the Hudso n River Valley, on the observances of the 225 th anniversary of the American Revolution in the Hudson Valley. T he Hudson, as both George Washington and the British realized, was the "sear of war," where rh e fate of American independence would be decided. Par conti nues as co unselor to rhe Society. Ir has been a great pleasure to me as former president, and to our trustees, our staff and many m embers to work with Pat and enj oy his robust sense of humor and humanity. We look forward to his continued role with NMHS.
You Are Needed for Our Voyage into History! The Society faces a considerable challenge in funding o ur work, both to keep sailing today and to establish a secure future for Sea History. Our finances are imperilled from the impact of last year's recession, compounded by cutbacks in philanthropic giving following the terrorist arrack on America last September. We were carrying too much sail fo r these developments, which caught us aback with all the wash hung our, as sailors put it. We had embarked on a variety of h opeful projects, including new educational ventures and m easures to build rhe capi ral campaign we need to mount to provide a fiscal foundatio n for the Society's future growth. We have now shortened sail and are concentrating o ur efforts on the lo ng-haul voyage ahead, charring a course to strengthen this magazine Sea History and to build the Society's m embership, the viral force of our business in great waters. We are asking the help of all m embers to support this recovery. A volunteer member known to m any of us through her leading role in our work for the heritage of the working vessels of New York, wh o prefers to remain ano nymo us in this case, has now advanced NMH S $ 150,000 interest-free to provide financial stability and rime to get the new Campaign for Sea History under way. T he campaign calls for $500,000 to be raised this year, and we are dedicated to raising that sum, I hope with the help of you who read th ese words. T his is the 1OOth issue of Sea History !To celebrate we sail with the indomitable Captain John Paul Jones. While the struggle for the Hudson Valley was being fought at home 225 years ago, he sailed 3,000 miles in the sloop of war Ranger to disrupt British commerce in their home waters. Under Jones the little ship tackled and defeated a Royal Navy ship of equal rare, an unheard-of feat in that era. We pursue the Jones tradition of defending America in distant waters in the hardhirrin g class of warships known as destroyers in the 1900s (whose ce ntennial we celebrate this spring). And we visit with Lorenzo DuFau, Signalman 2nd C lass, aboard USS M ason (DE 529). This destroyer esco rt established a superb record keeping the sea lanes open in World War II, while trying our employm ent of an African-American crew led by black ratings, in a happy an d successful step forward in the slow, often painful story of achieving equal opportunity for all Americans. T hanks to a special grant from an old friend and supporter, in this special issue of Sea History we have added pages in which we revisit Pere Seeger, Bill Buckley, our founder Karl Kortum, and o ther early contributors. T heir words m ay seem dared in spots-and then, no r so dared after all. Thar is histo1y. Thar's what we do, and we can do it only with your participation and support. PETER STANFORD, Editor at Large 2
LETTERS Planting Seeds "H eralds of rh e Morning," Perer Stanford's "Oceani c M ission" in Sea History 99, has an important message-that New York C ity comes from the sea, and the sea and its values are still resoundingly part of our lives today. So I'll send NMHS gift memberships to nieces and nephews in Phoenix, New York, Maryland, Boston and San Francisco. In the afte rmath of 11 September, they all need to know rhe relevance of th e sea and irs values, even if rhey are in another port city, on another coast, or in the middle of th e desert. I wis h I could fund your whole maritime mission in New York. As it is, I will ask these new members to read their Sea Historys and pass them along to their local libraries. My hope is to planr seeds, of course, and selfis hl y to feel the optimi sm of doing so. TERRY WALTON
Cold Spring Harbor, New York
A Crippled Ship Steams On Kudos for rh e sto ry of the World War I Q ueenstown Naval Co mm and (SH99) by RADM Langen berg. The cool profess ionalism of our personnel there was in the finest rradirion of rhe US Navy. Certainly this is uue of Commander W illiam A. G lassford, USN, co mmanding USS Shaw (DD 68), whi ch on 9 October 1918, wirh three ocher Sampso n-class destroyers, was esco rting the British transport Aquitania loaded with thousands of US troops eas tbound at 23 knots in the E nglish Channel. Shaw's steering gear fa iled and a collision wirh Aquitania was inevitable. G lassford decided to sacrifice rhe least number of lives by all owin g the transport to ram his ship . Shaw was cut in two and caugh t fire as ready ammunition exploded. T he mainmast co llapsed and fou led the
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
starboard propeller; twelve crewmen we re ki lled and fifteen injured . T he commander offloaded 80 of his crew onto a sister escort and with th e remainin g eighteen fo ught the fire and flooding, jettiso ned ammunition , secured depth charge racks, and cleared th e fo uled propeller. They got Shaw underway at 11 knots for Portla nd Bill , E ngland, 40 mi les north, steerin g with the engines, and with the after 4" gu n and torpedo tubes manned and ready. Fourteen men who had been in the cur-off bow section swam away when it sank and we re picked up by another escort. One of these, a 20-year-o ld quartermas ter first class, USNR, became my father. CAPT.DAVIDE.SWAN, USNR(Ret) Jackso nville, Florida " Bayly's Navy" Rear Admiral Langenberg's excellent article on the Queenstown Naval Command (SH99) has done a great service in bringing attention to the close relationship spawned between the Royal Navy and the US Navy in Wo rld War I, which continues today. To add just a bit to RADM Langenberg's article, readers should know that when the Queen stow n Association disba nded in 1960, the survi ving members voted to turn over the o rganization 's papers and funds to the Naval Historical Foundation. Using the papers, the Foundation published in 1980 retired V ice Admiral Walter S. Delany' s mo nograph "Bayly' s Navy" (co pies are still available for purchase). In 1998 , the Fou ndation donated the Queenstown Association Papers to the Library of Congress, where rhey are accessible to researchers in rhe Manuscript Division. CAPTA! CHARLES T. CREEKMA , USN (RET), Executive Director Naval Historical Foundation Washington D C
Circle Line XI Forever It was nice to read in Sea H istory 99 abo ut the fireboat j ohn J H arvey's participation in the evacuation and firefighting efforrs fo llowing the World Trade Center tragedy. The H arvey was not the only historic vessel to assist in the aftermath, however. Another 70-year-old vessel-not a museum ship, but a merchant vessel that earns her keep in regular commercial service-carried 575 passengers at a rime across the Hudson. M/V Circle Line XI, launched in JanuSEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
C ircle Line XI on the job in 1983 (a bove), and her engine switchboard (Courtesy Brian Bailey)
ary of 1932, is one of the few engin eroo mcontrolled vessels left in the US fla g fleet. Originally USCG cutter Calypso (WPC 104), she was also a co mmiss io ned naval vessel (AG 35) and served as support ship for the presidential yacht Potomac fo r a while until she was returned to rhe Coast G uard in late 1941. After carrying o ut antisubmarine warfare during Wo rld War II, she was put in mothball s from 1947 to 1955, then sold as government surplus. C ircle Line eventually bought her, and her superstructure was rebuilt as a twindeck passenger vessel; she started taking to urs aro und Manhattan in 1958. Now, at the venerable age of70, she still makes daily sightseeing trips aro und Manhattan and New York harbor during the tourist season. On 11 September, she made continuous
trips from Pier 83 to a New Jersey marina, carryin g thousands of people to safety. W hat makes her unique is that sh e is still running on her original Winton-model 158-6 direct drive diesels. For the past 22 seasons, I have been answering bells on those engines, which in my opinio n are far superior to anything built today. And yes, I like the old D C generators and openfrontswitchboard with those beautiful copper knife swi tches. By running the engines myself, I feel like a real marine engineer, and not a m echanic si tting in an air-co ndi tion ed co ntrol roo m watching ga uges as deck officers control the machinery from the bridge. And my vessel's engines use less fuel than our repowered vessels. Yo u can put all the computer control yo u want on modern engines, but there is simply no way to beat the fuel efficiency of low-speed , large-bo re, direct-drive, fo ur-stroke des ign. For more information and pi ctures, see o ur web sire at http :// members.aol. com / wpcl04. B RIAN BAJLEY
New Yo rk, New Yo rk
Visible Far at Sea Peter Stanford 's article, "H eralds of the Morning, " o n the World Trade Center (SH99) brought to mind an excerpt from my log from 28 September 1983: "0732 Fire Island buoy. We held her off dead downwind for the New Jersey sh o re. T here was a big grou ndswell from the south east and as th e breeze cam e up towards 20 knots
Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage co mes alive in the pages of Sea Histo ry, from the ancient mariners of Greece to Portuguese naviga tors opening up the ocean wo rld to the heroic efforts of seamen in this century's conflicts . Each iss ue brings new insights and new di scoveries. If you love the sea, rivers, lakes,
and bays-if yo u love the legacy of those who sai l in deep water and their workaday craft, then you belong with us. Join today! Mail in the form below, phone: 1 800 221-NMHS (6647) or visit us at:
www.seahistory.org.
Yes, I want to join the Society and receive Sea History quarterl y. My contribution is enclosed. ($ 17.50 is fo r Sea History ; any amount above that i ta x deductible.) Sign me up as: 0 $35 Regular Member 0 $50 Fami ly Member 0 $ 100 Friend 0 $250 Patron 0 $500 Donor 100 Mr./M s. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Z IP _ _ _ _ __
ati onal Maritime Hi stori cal Society, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566
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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman , Howard Slotnick; Vice Chairmen, Richardo R. Lopes, Edward G. Zelinsky; Vice Presidents, Burchenal Green, Norma Sranford; Treasurer, David B. Vietor; Secretary, Marshall Streiberc; Trustees, Donald M. Birney, Walter R. Brown, Sabato Carucci, Richard T. du Mou lin, David Fowler,] ack Gaffney, Fred C. Hawkins, Rodney N. Houghton, Sreven W. Jones, Richard M. Larrabee II, Warren G. Leback, Guy E. C. Maitland, Karen E. Markoe, Michael R. McKay, James J. McNamara, David A. O'Neil, Ronald L. Oswald , David Planner, Craig A. C. Reynolds, Bradford D. Smirh, Harry E. Vinall, Ill, William H. White, Jean Wore, Alexander E. Zagoreos; Chairmen Emeriti, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Maitland, Craig A. C. Reynolds; President Emeritus, Perer Stanford FOUNDER: Karl Kortum (191 7-1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown; Walter Cronkite, Alan D. Hurchison, Jakobisbrandrsen,John Lehman, Warren Marr, II, Brian A. McAllister, John Stobarr, William G. Winterer ADVISORS: Co-Chairmen, Frank 0. Braynard, Melbourne Smith; D.K. Abbass, RaymondAker, George F. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Bren , Norman J. Brouwer, RADM Joseph F. Callo, Francis J. Duffy, John W . Ewald, Joseph L. Farr, Timothy Foore, William Gilkerson , Thomas C. Gillmer, Walter J. Handelman, Charles E. Herdendorf, Steven A. Hyman, Hajo Knunel, Gunnar Lundeberg, Conrad Milster, William G. Mu ller, David E. Perkins, Nancy Hughes Richardson, Timothy J. Runyan, Shannon J. Wall, Thomas Wells NMHS STAFF: ChiefofStaff,Burch enal Green; Director ofEducation, David B. Allen; Development". Andrew Scrivan; Membership Coordinator, Nancy Sch naars; Membership Secretary, Irene Eisenfeld; Membership Assistant, Ann Makelainen; Accounting, Jill Romeo; Secretary to the President, Karen Rirell; SEAHISTORYSTAFF: Editor, Justin e Ahlstrom; Executive Editor, Norma Stanford; Editor at large, Peter Stanford; Advertising, Marin Engler TO GET IN T OUCH WITH US:
Address: 5 John Walsh Boulevard PO Box 68 Peekskill NY 10566 Phone: 914 73 7-7878 Fax: 914 737-7816 Web sire: www.seahistory.org E-mail: nmhs@seahisrory.org MEMBERSHIP is invired.Afrerguard $10,000; Benefactor $5,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponsor $1,000; Donor $500; Parron $250; Friend $100; Contributor $75; Family $50; Regular $35. All members outside rhe USA please add $10 for postage. SEA HISTORY is sent to all members. Individual copies cosr $3.75. Advertising: 1 800 221-NMHS (6647), x235
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I reefed her down. T he motion was quite violent but it was a beautiful day mindful of the trade winds. It was h ard ro believe we were offN ew York C ity but for a while the rowers of the World Trade Center were fain tly visib le ro the northwest. In the afternoon we jibed near shore and ran down ro the seab uoy offManasquam .... " In reading yo ur article in Sea History I was reminded of that ghos tly vision of the Towers many years ago as Shirl and I were off for a year on the boat. The summer haze hid the base and the shafts were faint, perhaps 25 miles away, but indeed they were v isibl e far at sea to people like this couple embarked on a distant voyage. IRV1NG C. SHELDON Saundersrown, Rhode Island
A Captain Salutes His Helmsman Joe Calla's review (SH98) ofBill Gilbert's Ship ofMiracles, which recounts how Capt. Leonard LaRue, as master of the SS Meredith Victory, evacuated 14,000 refugees from North Korea in December 1950, really stuck with me. So when I came across an obituary for Brother Marinus Leonard LaRuein The Virginia Pilot, reprinted from The New York Times, I read it and learned that Capt. LaRue " received Amer ican and South Korean government citations for his rescue work, and the Meredith Victory was designated a Gallant Ship by Congress. "In 1954, he lefr the sea ro join the Benedictines at St. Paul's Abbey, where he lived until his death [at age 87] . . . . He looked back on the rescue as a turning point in his life. "As h e put it: 'I think often of that voyage. I think of how such a small vessel was able ro hold so many persons and surmount endless perils without harm ro a soul. The clear, unmistakable message comes ro me that on that Christmastide, in the bleak and bitter waters off the shores of Korea, God's own hand was at the helm of my ship. "' What a srory, what a captain! ]IM BOSWELL Niceville, Florida
Views of the Hudson We at the Riverkeeper were intrigued by the Fall 2001 issue of Sea History, which featured Dominic Serres's historical painting on the cover, depicting a skirmish between British ships and American de-
fenders at Forts Washingron and Lee, where roday the George Washington Bridge spans the Hudson River. The caption noted that the artist dramatically narrowed the river in order ro encompass the entire scene. During a routine patrol/ data-collection run on the Hudson River, Capt. John Lipscomb and legal investigaror Basil Seggos of Riverkeeper, an environmental organization founded 35 years ago to confront polluters, shot a series of photos showing the stretch of river featured in the painting. T h e river's actual width here is about 3000'. We enjoyed the article and are pleased to offer these photos. Keep up the good work! ALEX MATTHIESSEN Riverkeeper, Executive Director Garr ison, New York
A Gift, Not an Exchange After reading RADM Calla's article on Bermuda's maritime heritage (SH95) and Capt. Monroe's article on the destroyer USS Fairfax (SH98), I'd like to add a point concerning US base rights in Bermuda. They were, as stated, acqu ired as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal between Churchill and Roosevelt. However, whi le most of the base rights granted by Britain in that agreement were on a 99-year-lease basis, Bermuda and Newfoundland were granred as permanent rights, and Churchill characterized them as "gifts" separate from the "exchange" of other bases for 50 old US destroyers. He made these arrangements without consulting or even notifying the locals in Bermuda or Newfoundland, and thus they were not very popular in those locations. The Bermuda arrangements were converted ro leases after WWII. CAPT. HAROLD]. SUTPHEN, USN (Ret) Kilmarnock, Virginia ,t
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
Captive Passage The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas The Mariners' Museum Published in conjunction with a traveling exhibition opening at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, these 8 essays and 160 color illustrations examine the complex causes, outcomes, and legacies of the 400-year slave trade. Eleven to thirteen million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic in ships, making this "captive passage" history's greatest maritime tragedy.
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This important book considers a number of different aspects of the slave trade: its social and economic basis, why many African leaders facilitated the slave trade, and how enslaved African Americans forged their own cultures and forever changed the Americas. The history and legacy of the abolitionist movement and the struggle for racial justice are also fully explored.
The book features a wealth of material from the collections of the Mariners' Museum and other items from around the world. Included are rare engravings, published here for the first time, of slave forts along the west coast of Africa; a sailor's sea chest illustrated with slaving motifs; a Colombian postage stamp honoring Jesuit priest Fray Pedro Claver, known as the "apostle of the Negroes" for his kindness; and period images of the Amistad rebellion. The exhibition opens at the Mariners' Museum in April 2002. 160 color illustrations • 256 pp. • Hardcover $39.95 • Paperback $21.95
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Smithsonian Institution Press 800.782.4612 • www.sipress.si.edu • Also at bookstores
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NMHS: A CAUSE I N M O T ION
NMHS ANNUAL MEETING to be Held 20 April 2002 at West Point, New York The 39 th Annual M eeting of the National M aritime Historical Society will be held overlooking the Hudson River in th e imposin g granite-built Hotel Thayer on the grounds of W est Point, the U nited States Military Academy, on Saturday, 20 April 2002. All m embers are encouraged to attend this meeting taking place during Wes t Point's bicentennial year. The H o tel T hayer resemb les a m edieval fortr ess w ith G othic w indo ws, c ren u la ted roof lin es and turrets ove rlo okin g a steep , roc ky cliff that rises above the rive r, a view we will enj oy fr om bo th our m eeting and luncheon rooms. Registration with a contin ental b rea kfas t Hotel Thayer starts at 9AM in the Garden T errace Room; the Business M eeting fo llows at 1OAM . T he meeting includes reports from the officers of the Board of T rustees, N MHS staff and Co mmittee chairmen , and the election of trustees, foll owed bya report from Barn ab us M cH enry on the Hudson River Valley as a National H eritage Area. In additio n, Captain Robin Walbridge of the replica H MS Bounty will provide an update on the ship's renovation and future p lans for her. After the m eeting we will enjoy a cash
bar and buffet luncheon. In the afternoon we will take an hour-and-a-half coach to ur of W est Point; the coaches will m eet us at the Thayer at 2:30PM and return us at 4PM. Due to securi ty regulations, please leave yo urself extra time. T he guards will direct you to the co rrect lan e for securi ty clearance fo r the T hayer. Everyone in yo ur party will need a picture ID , and your car m ay be searched at the gate; video cam eras are no t permitted. T he Hotel T haye r has comp leted a remodeling of their guest rooms, including the additio n of dual data ports and voice mail, as well as other am enities and tas teful new interiors. T hey are holding a block of rooms fo r us for the evenings of Friday, 19 April, and Satu rday, 20 April, for $ 139 for a single o r double. Let themknowyou arewith NMH S to get this rate. Please book immediately to ensure room availabili ty. Call the hotel at 800 247-5074 or 845 446-473 1 to make your reservations. T he cost of the luncheon and the tour is $50 per person. Use the fo rm provided, call us at 91 4 737-7878 xOo r 800 22 1-6647 xO, fax us at 91 4 737-78 16, o r e-m ail us at nmhs@seahistory.org to sign up . Your early registration helps us plan th e day's events.
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NMHS Annual Meeting 2002 Registration
n
I/we will attend the Annual Meeting and luncheon. Please reserve __ places at $50 each. J Please send me directions to the H otel T haye r. I D Please make me a Patron of the Annual Meeting. My $25 0 co ntribution includes two places at the luncheo n. (I will use _l _2 _ neither of these places .) Please make me a Sponsor of the An nual Meeting. My $ 1000 contribution includes two places at th e luncheon and a full -page listing in the Annual Meeting program. (I will use _l _2 _ neither of these places .) [.., I would like to help N MHS with this donation: _ __ [ My check fo r $_ _ _ is enclosed. NAME _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ ADDRESS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Please charge $ to my D Visa [_, MasterCard D AmExp CARD# _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
SIGNATURE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ EXl'. DATE _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ PHO N E # - - - - - - - - - - - To MAKE A RESERVATION, mail or fax this fo rm to: NMHS, PO Box 68 , Peekskill NY
10566; 914 737-78 16 (fax). You may also call us at 800 22 1-6647 xO or e- mail us at n mhs@seahistory.org.
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P RESIDENT'S M ESSAGE It is with sadness and regret that I must advise our members and readers th at as yo u receive this issue of Sea H istory I will have resigned as the National M ari time Histo rical Society's chief executive, and this is the last column that will carry my byline as your president. In at least on e respect, this will co me as a relief to o ur hard-wo rking, no-nonsense edi to r Justin e Ahlstrom, who inevitably has had to chase m e down fo r these three hundred words as sh e is going to press. I take this opportunity to tell her how much I truly appreciated her dedication and commitment to the cause of m aritime history and the highest editorial standards. Justine, in combination with Nor m a and Pete r Stanford, are a unique collection of talents in the m aritime history publish ing business and it h as been an hono r to have served as their "publisher. " Whatever m odest co ntributions I may have made to the life of the Society du ring my wa tch , I am co ntent ro let the verdict of hisrory decide, but I do want to express my special gratitude to yo u, our loyal mem bers, who have been the critical co re of our support during these difficult fin ancial times in the afrermath of 11 September. NMHS needs yo ur enthusiasm and enco uragement now mo re th an ever, and m y parting w ish for the Society is "May yo ur tribe increase and pros per! " While I have resigned as yo ur president, I remain, as I told th e trustees, "to tally co mmitted to the Society's vital m aritime missio n and its educatio nal programs." I w il l return to the ranks as an unpaid volunteer to suppo rt our fund-raising effo rts with a fo cus on our educatio n program and th e activities co nnected with the 225 th anniversary of the Am erican Revolution. T he pres idency of NMHS is, in all likelih ood, the las t full -time position of my wo rking career. In all of my endeavors, from my days as a lieutenant of Marines to the presidency of the Na tional Maritime Historical Sociery, my 7-24-365 operating style wo uld not have been possible witho ut the tender loving care of the "W arid' s G reatest Nurse," my wife, Elizabeth. T o her, I am eternally gratefu l. Semper Fidelis. PATRICK J. GARVEY
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Geoff Hunt Captures the Ships of the American Revolution. General Washington realized the importance of striking at British ships, and the first war vessels to serve the United States were commissioned by him. From a collection of small and unsuitable vessels, under diverse commands and flying different flags, a Continental Navy was eventually created.
The paintings are reproduced on acid.free paper with colorfast inks. Each is sign,ed and numbered and 75 ofeach limited edition of 700 are also remarqued and available for an additional $225.
"The Bonhomme Richard, John Paul Jones's famous flagship " Image: 21 x 13 3/4 in ches Trim size: 25 1I4 x 19 inches Two of the most famo us names in American naval history are John Paul Jones and Bonhomme Richard, ye t the ship was a French-built merchantman and never crossed the Atlantic under Jones's co mmand. $125.
"General Washington's Wolfpack; Continental Army schooners raiding British supply ships, 1776" Image: 19 3 /4 x 13 1/4 inches Trim size: 24 x 18 1/z inches Encamped outside Boston, Washington's forces outnumbered the British within the city, but the British commanded the sea. Washington wanted to intercept their supply ships and, if possible, capture munitions, which his army desperately needed . He leased eight small schooners and manned them with soldiers from sea-minded units, such as the 2 l st Massachusetts from Marblehead. These littl e vessels pl ayed havoc with British shipping and eventually captured the longed-for powder ship. $125.
"H.M.S. Augusta: Philadelphia, 1777. British 64-gun ship under fire from Fort Mifflin and Pennsylvania State Navy gunboats" Image: 19 3/ 4 x 14 1/z inches Trim size: 24 x 19 3/ 4 inches The Royal Navy tried to force its way up the Delaware River to make contact with British troops in Philadelphia. On 23 October the Augusta ran agro und off Fort Mifflin, then caught fire. U nder heavy attack from shore batteri es, galleys and guardboats, the Augusta had to be abandoned and her magazine later exploded, destroying the larges t British warship lost in action in the co urse of the war. $125.
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John Pau[ Jones~ the Ranger and the Value of the Continenta[ Navy by Dennis Conrad, PhD n the earl y months of the American Revolution , the need for a professional navy was not universally recognized, despite the American colonies' reliance o n seafa rin g industries and their intimate knowledge of the capabilities of G reat Britai n's navy. While John Paul Jones's earl y years as a Continental Navy officer, and especially his tenure as captain of the sloop of war Ranger, were marked by many of the complaints and controve rsies that made so me revolutionaries reluctant to create the new service, in the end, the co ntribution of Jones goes far to prove the good value the new nation received from its navy. Certain members of the Co ntin ental Congress feared that creating a navy wou ld turn the full might of the Royal Navy against the colonies and end the possibili ty of reconciliation. Some Southerners also perceived a navy as a New England concern , as th e southern economy did not rely so heavily as the North on sea-go ing trade. Those critics and some later historians further contended that the reso urces needed to es tablish and maintain a navy could be better spent elsewhere. Historian Jonat han Dull has argued that the role ass igned to the new Contin ental Navy by Congress could have been performed equally well by a combination of state navies, the Continental Army, privateers, and chartered vessels-th ese larrer to execute such tasks as carrying messages, diplomats, and suppli es. Once Co ngress officially authorized the development of a navy, the embryo nic service was plagued by sectional conflict, internal divisiveness, political maneuvering, acc usations of preferment, recruiting difficulties, a shortage of ships, and inactivity. T hese problems have led some scholars to comment on the "indirect costs" associated with the new Continental Navy. Included am ong these non-material costs were the drain on the attention and energy of
I
SEA HISTORY I 00, SPRING 2002
American diplom ats, Congressional delegates and other civil servants, and the "bad feeling" created among th e officers of the service and their supporters in Congress by the shortage of vessels. Jones received his commiss ion as a lieutenant in the new Navy on 7 December 1775, less than six weeks after the service had been authorized by Congress. Moreover, it appears that Jo nes had been working for the Naval Comm ittee of Co ngress for nearly a month before the date of his commission, fittin g out the armed ship Alfted. As the senior first lieutenant in the Navy, Jones, who srood sixth in order of seniority, co uld have had his own command, but chose instead ro serve in Alfted, a 30-gun ship of war, under the direct command of Captain Dudley Saltonstall and the overall command ofEsek Hopkins, the "Commander in C hief" of the Navy. He did so, Jones late r explain ed, because he believed he could be more immediately useful in that position and learn more about ship handling and fleet maneuvering serving under a flag captain. Ir was a decision he was later to regrer. While serving in Alfted, Jo nes parti cipated in the raid on New Providence in the Bahama Islands and the squadro n's engagement with HMS Glasgow, near Block Island, Rhode Island . T he mishandling of the latter engagement by Hopkins convin ced Jon es that he had nothing to learn fro m either Sal ronstall , whose style of command Jones had already co me to despise, or Hopkins and prompted him to criticize both of these New England officers-but particularly Saltonstall- in letters to Joseph H ewes, a delegate to Co ngress from North Carolina and Jones's friend and benefactor. G iven another chance at an independent command , Jones eagerly accepted Providence, a "li ghtl y arm ed" sloop. With Providence, Jones-who sho rtly
john Paul Jo nes, by Charles Willson Peale, ca. 1781 (Courtesy Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia PA) after taking command received a captain 's commission in the Continental Navymade a cruise to the Grand Banks in September 1776 . During that cruise, which lasted "Six weeks and five days," Jo nes captured sixteen British merchant vessels and des troyed the local fishing fl eets at Canso and Isle Madame, Nova Scotia. In November, he made a second cruise to the Grand Banks, this time as captain of the larger Alfted. Accompanying Jones was Providence, co mma nded by Hoysteed H acker. During this cruise, Jones rook seven more prizes, including the armed transport Melish and its cargo of winter uniforms, which were distributed to the then near-naked Continental Army. While o n the cruise, Providence began taking on water and her officers agitated to return to Rh ode Island. Jones, whose own ship had a pump goi ng continuously, believed the agitation to be "Unacco unrab le murmuring" and tried to persuade the crew to continue and complete the squadron 's mission, which was to "relieve a number of our Citi ze ns from Slavery in the Coal mines" of Cape Breton. Bur the following night, during a "slight Snow Squall," Hacker gave Jo nes "the Slip" and sailed back to Rhode Island. 1 Despite the desertion of Providence and disco ntenr among his own crew, Jones continued the mission and, though unable to "relieve" the American priso ners who had enlisted in the Royal Navy, captured or destroyed six addition al British vessels.
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Im agin e Jo n es's reac ri o n w he n he learned a sho rt rime after rerurning fro m rhis voyage rhar, despire his norable successes, he had been ranked eighreenth on rhe lisr of Co nrinental N avy cap rain s se r by C ongress in O ctober 1776 and that ranked above him, at sixteenth o n the list, was Hoys teed H acker. T his ranking caused Jones to launch a letter-writing campaign aim ed at advancing himself and discrediting several of the captains ra nked above him , particularly Hacker. Obvio usly Congress, in co nstructing rhe senio ri ry lisr, was mo re drive n by political consideratio ns and the abili ry of officers to arrract seamen recruits than with proven command abiliry, andJo nes's belief that he must sully the repuratio ns of others to advance his own chances of command jibes with crirics' accusations of preferment. Ir is impo rtant to no te, however, th at Jo nes was included on the list and did ger a command. Jo nes was a recent immigra nt to Am erica, havin g arrived in thi s country in 1773 after fleeing Tobago under threat of prosecuti o n for having killed an alleged mutineer o n a merchant ship he com manded. Once in Am erica, Jo nes changed his name fro m John Paul, his birth name, to John Paul Jones. Given rhese circum stances and his lack of political connecti o ns and influence in any one colony, Jo nes may not have had a comm and ar all had rhere been no C ontinental Navy. W ithout a national navy, therefore, it is possible that the fin est fi ghting co mm ander the United States produced during th e Revolutio n would never have had a chance to demonstrare rhar abiliry. Imagination, Initiative, and Audacity In 1777, while pressing his case fo r adva ncement, Jones advocated a new strategy for rhe Navy that demonstrated imaginatio n, iniriative, and audaciry. It was also a strategy rhat neither state navies no r privateers, the alternati ves to a Continental Navy, could have executed . Understanding thar the small Am erican navy was not strong eno ugh to protecr the country's coas tssom ething that the state navies attempted unsuccessfully to do-and that there was minimal strategic advantage in naval ships acting as privateers and preying o n Brirish co mmercial shipping, he and Robert M orris, a delegate to Co ngress, m ember of the Marin e Committee, and a Jones patron, advoca ted a different role for the Continen-
10
tal Navy. As srared by Morris in alerter to Jo nes, they believed that the Navy's m issio n should be to "attack rhe Enemies defenceless places & thereby oblige them to Station more of their Ships in their own Countries or to keep them employed in fo llowing ours and either way we are relieved so fa r as rhey do ir. " 3 In other words, the Navy should attack the Bri tish where they leas t expected it and we re m ost vulnerable. Jones firsr suggested executing th is strategy by his lead in g a fl otilla to Africa to prey on the "English .African T rade which wo uld not soon be recovered by not leaving them a M as t Standing on that Coast. " 4 M o rris, speakin g for Co ngress, endo rsed the main o utlines of Jo nes's plan but o rdered rhar the attack be against Bri tish pos ts in the Caribbean , Wes t Florida, and near the mo uth of the M ississippi Ri ver. T his expeditio n never took pl ace, however. Jones blamed rhe jealo usy and backwardness of th e commander of the Co ntin ental Navy, Esek Hopkins; H opkins cited the inability of rhe N avy to man rhe ships needed forrh e pro posed expediti on. Instead , Jo nes was given command of Ranger, a sloop of war rhen under constructi o n at Portsmourh, New Hampshire, and was o rdered to Euro pe. As ir turned o ut, this assignment gave Jo nes rhe perfect o pportuni ry to execu te his plan of attackin g rhe Bri tish where they leasr expecred it. Befor e that co uld happen, however, Jo nes had to spend several mo nths readying Ranger fo r sea. His experi ence validates what the critics co ntended, thar rhe Co ntinental Navy was a significant fin ancial burden to th e new Am erican governmen t, which lacked the power to rax. Because building ships was so expensive, co nstructio n of naval vessels such as Ranger were marked by eco nomi es th at delayed completio n, affected vessel perfo rmance, and fo rced officers to beg and cajole for the materials needed. Jon es later wro te rhar completing and ourfitting this "small ship" was "mo re rro ubl e" and cosr him "m ore anxiery and U neasiness th an all the other duty" th at he "perfo rmed in the service. " 5 Even when rhe vessel was completed, Jo nes was dissatisfied with it. H e decided that it was too lightly built to carry twen ry canno n and reduced its armam enr to eighteen. Also, in order to save mo ney, secondhand m aterials had bee n used, incl uding spars intended fo r a larger vessel. As a result, the ship was over-sparred, a judg-
ment that was confirm ed by the voyage to France, d urin g w hich Ranger, acco rding to Jones, sailed "ve ry C rank. "6 To co rrect this defect, Jo nes, while anchored in the Ri ver Lo ire in D ecember and January, o rdered rhe spars shorrened , added th irry to ns of lead to the ballas r, and had th e sa il s recur. H e then, as a test voyage, rook Ranger in to the ro ugh winds and wa rers between Q uiberon Bay and Bres t, after which, in April and May 1778, Jones ordered further alterations to the vessel ho ping to imp rove its abili ry to sail to windward. H e set th e mas ts fa rther aft, sho rtened the sails on the lower spars, and repositio ned the ballas t. H e also had his crew scrape and clean the vessel 's botto m, maximizing its speed . With all of th ese alterarions, Ranger was as ready as Jo nes co uld m ake her to fulfill his srraregic plans. In the midstof rhese preparatio ns, Ranger had the hono r to be the first vessel flying the Stars and Srripes to receive fo rm al recognition . On 13 Februa1y, Jo nes anchored at Q uibero n Bay where a squadron oflin e-ofbattle ships and rhree fri gates under the command of Admiral La Motte-Picquet of France we re at anchor, giving Jones the oppo rtuni ry he had long coveted to exchange salu res with a French fl ag officer. Jo nes inform ed La Mo tte-P icquet thar he was prepared to discharge a thi rteen-gun salute if the French admiral wo uld "return G un fo r G un ." Jo nes was insul ted when La Motte-Picquet responded rhar he wo uld reply with a salu te of nine guns, but was mollifi ed o n learnin g rhat nine guns was the sa me salute that was offered to "an Admi ral ofH olland orofanyo rher Republic. " Jones also saw ir as an important sym bolic mome nt because the salute was rhe fi rsr ti me rhe fl ag of Ameri ca was "recognized in rhe fullest and amplest m anner by the Flag of France" and ir was "an Acknowledgement of Am eri can Independence." 7 In this exchange, the Co ntinental Navy was playin g a ro le-representati ve of rhe new rep ublic-that could not have been performed nea rly as well by no n-Navy vessels. Ar about the sam e time, Jo nes received orders concern in g his m ission fro m Benjamin Franklin , Silas D eane, and Arthur Lee, the.American co mmissioners in France. Jo nes had sailed to Europe antici pating that he wo uld receive a frigate, L 1ndien, which th e America n government had arranged ro have buil t in a Durch shipya rd. T he British learn ed of these plans, how-
SEA HISTORY l 00, SPRING 2002
Work began on the sloop ofwar Ranger on 11January 1777 at Langdon Shipyard across the Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Here, the ship is being readiedfor her 10 May launching, ever, and persuad ed rhe Durch nor to deliver L 1ndien into American hands. The American co mmissioners, who we re rh en in rhe midsr of delicare negoriarions wir h rhe French, decided nor to press rhe marrer. As a resulr, Jones was denied a new frigare and ordered to remain in Ranger and, in char vessel, to arrack rhe enemy. The srraregy Jones had advocared is ro be found in rhe orders given him by rhe commissioners, vague rhough rheir direcrive was. H e was ro disrress rhe enemy "by Sea, or otherwise." Jones had spelled our his intentions in an earlier letter ro rhe commissioners: "I have always since we have had Ships ofWar been persuaded that small Squadrons could be employed ro far better Advantage on private expeditions and wou ld distress the Enemy infinitely more than the same force co uld do by cruising either Join rly or Seperately-were strict Secrecy Observed on our part the Enemy have many important Places in such a defenceless Situation char they might be effectually Surprised and Attacked with no considerable Force." 8 In a letter ro the Marine Comm ittee of
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
proudlyjlyingjlags ofthe Revolutionary period. ("Portsmouth. Preparing to launch John PaulJones' Sloop ofWar 'Ranger,' May 1777, "by John Stobart, courtesy Maritime Heritage Prints)
Congress in February 1778, Jones reiterated his ideas, adding: "I have in contemplation several enterprizes of some importance-the Comm iss ioners do nor even promise to J usrify me should I fail in any bold attempt-I will nor however, under rhis discouragement, alter my designs.When an Enemy chink a design againsr them improbable they can always be Surprised and Attacked wirhAdvanrage.-ir is true I must run great risque-bur no Gallant action was ever performed without danger-therefore, rho' I cannot insure Success I will endeavour ro deserve ir. "9 As seen in these two letters, Jones understood that America ns must fight a kind of guerilla war ar sea. They could not engage the enemy fl eer against fleer, nor was commerce raiding the answer. While the latter might be profitable for the captains and crews involved, it did nor, in the end, significantly help the nation 's interest. Striking the enemy where least expected would keep the British dispersed and force them ro redeploy some of rheir squadrons away from the American coast. Jones's ideas reflected a patriotism rhar was
wi lling ro sacrifice personal gain and advancement for a greater good, so mething privateers rarely did. Ir was nor, however, a strategy that appealed to his crew, who saw commerce raiding and the attendant prize money as their best chance to supplement meager wages . In Ranger and subsequent commands, Jones had problems with dissatisfied crews because of his repu ration as a risk raker and hard fighter who eschewed commerce raiding for more perilous missio ns. The cruise of Ranger, which began in April 1778, was truly remarkable. Ir lasted 28 days, and in that rime, according ro Jones biographer Samuel Eliot Moriso n, Jon es and his crew "performed one of the most brilliant exploirs of rhe naval war. " 10 In addition ro raking two merchantm enJones was nor against capturing merchant ships when it did nor derracr from rhe overal I strategic goal-and desrroyi ng several others, Ranger cap tured a British manof-war, rook so me 200 prisoners, and, most no tably, executed a land raid. Ir was the latter that caught the attention of the public in both England and America.
11
Jones had planned to destroy a British coastal ci ty as retaliation fo r English raids against tow ns on the Co nnecticut coast. On the night of 22 April, Jones and his crew raided Whitehave n, the third largest port city in England. They successfully spiked the guns of the fort protecting Whitehaven harbor and set fire to colliers anchored nearby. T he damage inflicted was minimal, but the alarm that the raid created was significant. No t since 1667 had an enemy successfull y raided a British seaport, and, in the weeks and months following this raid, the citizenry demanded and received a redeployment of British naval resources to protect them. On the day following the raid on W hitehaven, Jones led a parry as hore on St. M ary's Island in Kirkcudbrigh t Bay. This raid was intended to seize an "important" prisoner who might force a change in the British policy co nce rning Ameri can naval prisoners. T he British government was willing to exchange captured American army officers and soldiers, but insisted on treating American naval prisoners as pirates who had no rights as belligerents. T hus, many Ame rican seamen languished in British jails. The British could pursue such a policy because American priva teers captured few British prisoners and kept even fewer. Co ncerned about the fate of these American naval prisoners, ] ones hoped that by taking an English nobleman captive, he would fo rce the British ministry to authorize "a general and fa ir Eschange of Prisoners, as well in Europe as inAmerica. " 11 Jones' s miscalculation was in supposing that Lord Selkirk, his intended ta rget, was a great lord whose capture wo uld force the British to alter their policy. Selkirk was, in fac t, an unimportant Scottish peer. M oreover, he was away from home when the raiding parry arrived so Jones-at the insistence of his crew-did nothing mo re than authorize his men to loot the Selkirk household silver, which they did. Jones refused to accompany his men on their plundering expedi tion and later purchased the silver from his men and returned it to the Selkirks. These raids ro used the countryside and caused the Admiralty to send warships in pursuit of Ranger. Jones, unawa re that he was being ch ased , decided to attack the 20gun British shi p Drake, th ough "both officers & men discovr'd great unwillingness to make the attempt. " 12 It was an even match. Ranger had more and heavier armament but
12
Drake had more men, which led Jones to fi ght an action designed to disable Drake with cannon fire while preventing the British warship from closing with Ranger and boarding it. In a battle that las ted just over an hour and was "warm close and obstinate," Ranger fo rced Drake to surrender. It was also a testament of Jones's ability as a captai n. In the battle, Jones lost only three killed and five wo unded, while th e British suffered forty-two cas ualties. 13 Morison contends that Jones was able to "take the lee gauge so that Ranger's angle of heel wo uld elevate her guns and enable grape and chainshot to tear through sails, spars, and rigging; while Drake, her guns depressed, could only hit Ranger's hull near the waterline with her ligh t six-pound cannon balls." 14 Because of this advantage, Ranger suffered little damage and few casualties. Jones, understanding the publiciry value of bringing a British warship into a French port after having executed his daring land raid, decided to take Drake, whose ri gging was in tatters, with him to France. For almos t twen ty-fo ur hours, therefore, he remained off Whitehaven, England, jury rigging the damaged Drake. Jo nes then sailed fo r France via the northern tip of Ireland, which was an inspired choice because British pursuers had taken up positions south and east of Whitehaven on the more direct route to the continent. W ith him , Jones too k 200 prisoners, including the surviving members of Drake's crew. T hese prisoners were later exchanged for Americans held in England, so one ofJones' s goals was at leas t partially met. 1s T he end of Ranger's remarkable voyage was marked by co ntroversy. Jones put his first lieutenant, T homas Simpson, in charge of the captured Drake, which was under tow by Ranger. On 4 M ay, as the two vessels were approaching the French coast, Jones saw a ship in the distance that he believed might be a potential prize. Casting off the towline, he called to Simpson to fo llow him as he took Ranger to inves tigate. Simpson either deliberately disobeyed orders Qones's version) or misunderstood the orders (S impson's contention) and co ntinued on a course for Brest. W h en Jones overtook Drake two days later, he relieved Simpson of his command and had him arrested. T he situatio n was compli ca ted by the fac t that Simpso n was the brother-in-law of the builder of Ranger, John Langdon , and knew and was liked by most of the
crew, the maj ority of whom cam e from the area aro und Portsmouth, New H ampshi re, where the vessel had been built. Recall also that Jones had been expected to com mand Ranger only until it first arrived in France, when he would leave the ship to take command of L 1ndien. At that point, Ranger was to pass to Sim pson. Finally, the crew and Simpson wan ted Ranger to act more like a privateer and were not in terested in the dangerous, less lucrative, though strategically more valuable, mission that Jones execu ted. All of th ese fac tors, com b ined withJones's tendency to act in "a ve1y high handed and pres umptious" manner led many of the crew and offi cers to support Simpso n against Jones . 16 In the end, Jones dropped his demand that Simpson becourtmarri aled , and Simpson and Ranger return ed to America while Jones remained in France and began to assemble the fl otilla that he took into English waters in 1779. Reaction to the raid in England is interesting. In some publications, Jones was characterized as a bloodthirsty pirate interested only in murder and mayhem . T h ese newspaper accoun ts described Jones, who was approximately 5'6", had ligh t brown hair, fair skin, and hazel eyes, as big, dark and swarthy-just how a buccaneer is supposed to appear. Despite the attempt to demonize Jones, many among the English lower classes came to see him as a Robin Hood figure, who rook from the upper classes but was considerate of the English workingman. T his impression was solidified when, on his return voyage to France, Jones set ashore fishermen h e had earlier captured to ga in knowledge of the local waters and reportedly gave them mo ney to replace their ships. While the Simpso n affair dimmed the luster of the voyage among the American co mmissioners in France, in America Jones was lionized . It was thought that he had repaid the British in kind for their attacks on American coastal towns. John Banister, an American delegate to Co ngress from Virginia, wrote that Jo nes's raid gave the Bri tish "a small specimen of that Conflagrati on & distress, we have so often experienced ." Anoth er delegate, James Lovell , appreciated the strategic value of th e attac k w riting that it wo uld "make England keep her ships at home." Even Abigail Adams was smitten, w riting her husband John: "] oh n Paul] ones is at present the subj ect of co nve rsation and admiration. I wish to
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
know the History of this adventurous Hero ." 17 Jones's raid calls into question the co ntention that the American Co ntinental Navy h ad no value. While the raid did not profoundly alter the course of the war, it did have an impact. As can be seen from the reaction in America and England, it boosted the morale of Americans and brought home the war to the British . It also validated the strategic ideas of Jon es and Rob ert Morris, as the raid caused the British Adm iralty to statio n five ships, a sloop of war, and many other small er vessels-ships that otherwise might have been used against the Americans-in the Irish Sea and o n th e West Scottish coast to protect agai nst future incursions. Jones' s activity also gave the Americans a forward presence. Operating out of European ports, Jones and other American naval captains, such as Lambert Wickes and G ustav us Co nyngham , helped to m ake the American co nflict with Britain more visible in Europe and to "persuade friendly European powers that the United States was capable of collective effort on the high Sources Dudley, Wi lliam S. and Michael A. Palmer, " o Mistake About It: A Response to Jonath an R. Du ll ," The American Neptune, vol. XLV (1985) D ull , Jonathan R., "Was the Continental Navy a M israke?" The American Neptune, vol. XLIV ( 1984). Fowler, W illi am M., Jr., Rebels Under Sail: The American Navy during the Revolution (New York NY: C harl es Scrib ner's So ns, 1976) john Paul Jon.es and the Ranger, edited by Joseph G. Sawtelle (Po rtsmouth N H: Portsmouth Marin e Sociery, 1994) Jones, Joh n Pau l, john Paul Jon.es' Memoir of the American. Revolution., ed. and trans. by Gerard W. Gawalt(Wash ington DC: Library ofCongress, 1979) journals ofthe Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vo ls, ed. by Worthingto n C. Ford, er al (Was hington DC: Governmen t Printing Office, 1904-37) Morison , Samuel El iot, john Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography. Reprint (Boston MA: Northeastern Univers ity Press, 1985) Naval Documents ofthe American Revolution, edited by William Bell C larke, er al. (Wash ington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1964-) Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archi ves, Washi ngton DC Notes l. Jones to the Cont in ental Marin e Committee, 16 Novem ber 1776 and 12 Jan uary 1777, Wi lli am Bel l
SEA HISTORY I 00, SPRING 2002
John Paul Jones receives the first foreign recognition ofthe new national flag ofthe US from a French fleet in February 1778. ("Ranger's Flag Saluted by La Motte Piquet 's Squadron at Quiberon Bay," by William Gilkerson, courtesy the artist) seas." 18 Their actions also served to introduce irritants in the relations between England and these European co untries, which in turn helped to bring the latter into the war as American allies. Finally, Jones captured some 200 British prisoners, which led to an exchange of British and American seam en and forced the British to at leas t temporarily alter their policy of treating American seam en as pirates and no t exchangi ng them . As none of the alternatives to the Co ntin ental Navythe state navies, privateers, o r leased ves-
sels-wo uld have, or probably could have, execu ted such a raid, it is clear that the Co ntinental Navy, in the person of John Paul Jones, did "earn its keep" for the fledgling United States. And beyond that, Jones established a level of profession alism and purpose that gave the new Navy a firm foundation and a legacy for the future. J,
Clark, er al., eds. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, I 0 vols. to dare (Was hin gto n DC: US Government Printing Office, 1964-), 7: 183, 935. H ereafter NDA R; John Paul Jon es to the Presid ent of Co ngress, 7 December 1779, Papers of the Continental Co ngress, item 168, vo l. 2: 107, Natio nal Archives, Washington DC. H ereafter PCCand DNA. 3. Robert Morris to Jones, 5 Feb. 1777, NDAR, 7: 1109. 4. Jones to Robert Morris, 17 Oct. 1776, NDAR, 6: 1302. 5.JonestoJohn Brown,3 1Oct.1777, NDAR, 10: 362. 6. Jones to the Continental Marine Committee, 10 December 1777, item 58, p. 137, DNA. 7. Jones to W illi am Carmi chael, 13 Feberuary 1778, (H enry Hu ntin gto n Library, San Marino CA) a nd 14 Februa ry 1778, D NA; Jon es to the Cont inenta l Marin e Committee, 22 February 1778, PCC, item 58, p. 143, DNA. 8. American Comm issioners to Jones, 16 Jan uary 1778, PCC, DNA; Jo nes to the America n Com missioners in France, 5 D ecember 1777, D A. 9. Jones to the Continental Marine Com mittee, 22 February 1778, DNA. l 0. Morison, Jones, p. 162. 11 . Jones to the Countess of Selki rk, 8 May 1778, PCC, item 168, vol. I: 75, D NA. 12. Ezra Green , "Diary of Dr. Ezra Gree n," entry of 24 Apri l, JPJ and the Ranger. (Porrsmo urh , N.H., Portsmouth Marine Society, 1994), p. 205. Hereaf-
1778, Library of Congress, Washin gto n, D.C. H ereafter DLC. Ibid. T he British set th eir offi cial losses at four killed and twenty-three wou nded (Pub I ic Reco rd Office, Admiralty Papers, l-3972). 14. Morison, Jones, p. 158. 15. Jones to the American Com mi ss ione rs, 9 May 1778, D A; there is some discrepency about rh e number of prisoners from the Drake. Two lists of them exist at Histo rical Society of Penn sylva nia; o ne gives the number as 133, rhe other 145. 16. Lyman H . Butterfield, ed., Diary and AutobiographyofjohnAdams, 4vols. (Cambridge MA: Harvard U ni ve rsity Press , 1961) 4: 165; Crew of the Ra nger to th e Am erica n Co mmi ss ioners, [3) Jun e 1778, PPAm P; Warrant and Petty Officers of the Ranger to the America n Co mmissioners, 15 Jun e 1778, PPAmP. 17. James Lovell to W illiam W hippl e, 14 Ju ly 1778, Joh n Bani ste r to Th eodorick Bla nd , J r., 3 1 Jul y 1778, Pau l H. Smith , ed., Letter to th e Delegates of Co ngress, 26 vols. (Washingto n DC: Libra ry of Co ngress, 1976-200) JO: 278, 376). Ab iga il Adams to John Ad ams, 18 J an uary 178 0, Ly ma n H . Butterfie ld , er.al., eds., Adam s Fam ily Correspondence. 4 vo ls . (Cambridge MA: Harvard U ni ve rsity Press, 1963-1973), 3: 262 . 18. W illiam S. Dudley and M ichael A. Palmer, "No Mis rake About Ir: A Response to Jonathan R. D ull ," The American Neptune, vol. XLV (1985), p248.
Dr. Conrad is with the Early History Branch of the Naval Historical Center. He was formerly editor and project director of T he Papers of General Nathanael G reene.
rer, Green, "Diary."
13. Jones to the American Commissioners, 27 May
13
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SEA HISTORY I 00, SPRING 2002
ACentennial ot American Destrovers by David F. Winkler, PhD
T
hi s yea r mark s the censrroye r No. 5, USS D ecatur, entertennial of a US Navy waring service on 5 May 1902, more ship rype: the destroye r. Alrhan six mon rhs before rh e comm isthough th e United States was nor sion in g of rhe "first destroyer," USS the first to introduce this ship, it has Bainbridge. built them in greater numbersOrganized into flotillas, m any of more than 1,000 co untin g th e rhe new ships were deployed overguided miss ile variants-and has seas, conducting the "show-the-flag" put rhem to mo re di versified use miss ion rhar has long been pan of than any orher country. US naval operations. Although fast, In the !are 1800s, so me co unwirh speeds up to and over 30 knots, tries, including th e US, acquired due to their limited tonn age the fas r shipsarm ed wit h torpedoes as a first sixteen ships lacked "sea legs." defensive counter to armored battl e Co ngress auth orized additional fl eets. When th e Chilean revoludestroye rs in 1906 and during the tion sta rred, rheworld's navies rook subsequent yea rs leading to World note when the torpedo gunboats War I. T hese wars hips progress ively Almirante Condell and A lmirante increased in size and in arm ament. Lynch torpedoed and sank rhe ironT he te n destroye rs authorized in 1908 used a new fuel-o il-which clad Blanco Encalada. Validating the torpedo boar as a deadly weapon enabl ed them to refu el at sea. T he system, rh e C hilean action also reeight destroyers authorized in 1911 broke the 1,000-ton mark in disminded naval commanders rhat methods to coumer rhe formidab le place ment. With Europe embroiled in "The craft were needed. Great W ar," a new model of torIn 1892, to coun rer rhe threat of pedo boat posed an ominous threat. French and German torpedo boats, rhe BririshAdmiralryordered "TorBuilding on techn ology introduced pedo Boat Catchers," ships capable USS Bainbridge (DD I) was the first destroyer ordered, but by American John Holland, rhe of hi gh seas o perati o ns. Befo re lo ng, the fifth to be commissioned, on 24 November 1902. (ALL Ge rmans put to sea submersibl e photos from the Naval H istorical Center) however, rhe term "Torpedo Boar torpedo boars, otherw ise known as Destroyer" was pencil ed in o n offi cial co r- ships of this new rypeo n 4 May 1898. Afrer submarin es . W hen America entered rhe respondence and the term sruck. By rhe defeating Cerve ra at th e Barde of Santiago war in Apri l 1917, th e US Navy deployed turn of rhe cenru ry, British shipya rds had on 3 Jul y 1898, the US moved ahead with D es troyer Squadro n 8 to Queenstown , Ireproduced more than 100 of th e new class of co nsrrucrion of torpedo boat destroye rs. land, to augmem the Royal Navy's defense ships for rhe Royal Navy plus som e for The new vessels, which had an average against the Ge rm an undersea menace. expo rt to other countries, such as Spain. di splacement of 420 tons, were armed w ith When Co mmander Joseph K. Taussig' s six When war with Spain was pending in light guns and torpedoes. They we re named des troyers ar rived on 4 May, the British March 1898, a report from rhe Naval War for naval heroes, a tradition char would co mmander, Vi ceAdmiral Sir Lewis Bayly, as ked the American when his squadron Board, headed by Ass istant Secretary of the Navy T heodore Roosevel t, noted that rhe would be ready for service. Taussig replied, "We especially need "We are ready now, sir. " Spanish torpedo- boat destroyers station ed torpedo boat destroyers" in rhe Ca nary Islands offered "rhe only real W hile newer American destroyers were menace to us." T he report co ncluded : "We immediately assigned to patrol and conespecially need torpedo boar des rroyers"- continue over the next century and be- voy-esco rt miss ions in th e North Atlantic, and recommended their immedi ate pro- yond- with some exceptions, such as the several of rh e Navy's first sixteen "tin cans" curem ent. O n 29 April, Spanish admi ral rece ntl y co mmi ss ion ed USS Winston found th emselves performing similar duPascual Cervera bega n his trek across th e Churchill and USS Roosevelt (named for ties in the calmer M editerranean . D espite Arlamic to Puerto Rico with four cruisers Franklin and Eleano r). Because the Navy being armed with recently-developed depth contracted co nstru ctio n to a va ri ery of ci- charges, and with so me of rhe ships emand three torpedo boat destroyers. With rh e threat of imminent Spanish vilian and government shipyards, th e ships ploying new underwater sound detecting bo mbardm ent of American port citi es had different outward appearances, al- devices call ed hydrophones, the Am eri can bringing fear and panic to the eastern sea- though all fea rured a raised forecastle to wa rships co uld hardly claim they swept the board of the Un ired States, it was hardly a minimize water over the bow in heavy seas seas of the U-boar menace. Indeed, only Uco incidence rhar Congress authorized co n- and all were coal-burners. The delivery 58 fell victim when, on 17 November struction of rh e US Navy's first sixteen dates also varied, with Torpedo-Boar D e- 191 7, she was forced to surface afte r being
SEA HISTORY J00, SPRING 2002
15
destroyers were nearly 3 14 feet in length with a narrow beam of 3 1 feet. The very fin e length-to-beam ratio enabled the flushdeckers to cut through the seas at speeds up to 35 kn ots, but also caused them to have a large turning radius-a disadvantage for sub hunting. Yet Navy leaders were impressed by the way in which the Germans and British had employed destroyers in the Battle of]udand and envisioned sending squadrons of these fast ships ah ead of the battle force to fire spreads of torpedoes at an oncoming enemy. In addition to participating in fleet exercises, the flushdeckers perfo rmed duties ranging from showing the flag, search and rescue, and humanitarian reli ef, to oceanographic research and guiding oceanic fli ght crossi ngs. Another new miss ion that continues today was "plane guard"trailing the newly- introduced aircrafr carriers during fli ght operatio ns as a safety measure. With a large number of flushdeckers in service, and encumbered by naval limitation treaties, the Navy put off new destroyer construction for USS Fairfax (DD 93), commissioned in 19 18, a decade. Obsolete at the outwas one of the vessels turned over to Great Britain break of World War II , fifty in the destroyers-for-bases deal in 1940. flushdeckers were transferred to Britain in 1940 to bolster the Ro ya l Navy's effo rts against the German U-boats. Once America entered the war, many of the flushdeckers remaining in the US Navy's order of battle fo ught as destroyers, but others were converted to mi nelayers, mine-
depth charged by USS Fanning (DD 37) and USS Nicholson (DD 52). After removing his crew, the German skipper opened th e U-boat's seacocks and the submarine took one last plunge. However, their m ere presence as convoy escorts deterred U-boat torpedo attacks. In the month of America's en try, the German submarines claimed over 900,000 tons ofallied shipping. By November 191 7, losses had been cut by two thirds. More important, not one American soldier was lost to enemy action en route to France. In the fin al months of the war, the first of50 destroyers authorized in 1916 joined the effort against the Ge rm ans. Affectionately called "Four-Pipers" by former crewm en, the nicknam e was not entirely an accurate descriptor as three of the eventual 273 ships of this class had three stacks. All of them, however, had flush decks, wi th a high freeboard forward and a gradual taper to the stern . H ence "Flushdeckers" is a better label for the class. Displacing an average of 1,200 tons full y loaded, these
The destroyer USS Gearing (DD 11O) underway in the M editerranean in 1968.
16
sweepers, seaplane tenders, fast troop transports, and auxiliary ships. Most of the fi ghting again st the Axis, however, was performed by destroyers built from the 1930s through the war. The 1930s classes, nicknam ed the "Goldpl aters" because of the costly propulsion and weapons system s built into the ships, fearured oneor two-s tack silhouettes that were pleasing to the eye. T he eight destroyers of the Porter class that entered service in 1936 and 1937, displacing 1,85 0 tons, packed a grea ter punch, having a main battery of eight 5" 38-caliber guns for surface action , and were designed to lead destroyer squadrons into combat. Afrer WWII, warships designed to perform these fun ctions would be designated "D estroyer Leaders" (DL). Capable of speeds approaching 40 knots, the Goldplaters served as test beds for design concepts inco rporated into the wartime Fletcher, Allen M. Sumner and Gearing classes-destroyers so capable and seaworthy that som e still remain in servi ce w ith foreign navies. Whilesonar-equippeddesrroyers joined the fight against the U-boat menace, a smaller and m ore m aneuverable type of warship- the destroyer escort-was designed and built for convoy duties . These new ships freed destroyers to screen carrier task gro ups, perform shore bombardrn en t, and engage in surface action. Because of the air threat, the WWIIgeneration destroyers featured 5" 38-caliber dual-purpose guns that could fire common rounds at ships or antiaircraft rounds, soon firted with proximi ty fuzes, at attacking aircraft. They also bristled with 20mm
USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG 5)
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
and 40mm anti-aircraft guns and radars for detecting and tracking targets and co ntrolling 5" gunfire. Agai nst enemy gro und emplacemem s, soldiers and marines grew to cover the quick response and accuracy of gunfire support called in from the offshore destroyers. ManyGls at No rmandy's Omaha Beach owe their lives to the Destroyer Squadro n (DesRon) 18 "tin cans" that steam ed almost up to the beach line to engage German fortifications. Against Japanese warships, the exploits of D esRon 23 led by Arleigh "3 1-Knot" Burke in the South Pacific in the fall of 1943 captured the public imaginatio n. "The Little Beavers," as the squadron was called, demonstrated that ably led American warships could fight with superior ferocity and Captain Arleigh ''3 1-Knot" Burke was the most famous of America's destroyermen. As skill at night, long thought of as a Japanese commander ofSquadron 23 in the Pacific during WWII, he pioneered destroyer tactics that hallmark. revolutionized naval strategy and command structure. H ere, he reads on the bridge wing of Serving in all theaters, World War II his flagship, USS C harles Ausburne (DD 570) during operations in the Solomons in 1943"tin cans" contributed to the final victory, 44. The squadron's "Little Beaver" insignia is painted on the side of the bridge, and an bur not without cost. Ar Normandy, three impressive scoreboard is evident on the side ofthe Mark 37 director over the bridge. destroyers were lost to mines and enemy gunfire. In the Pacific, Japanese kamikaze (FRAM) refirs. Unde r FRAM I, 79 Wo rld (DD 7 12) roa proto type missile ship (DDG aircraft plunged imo dozens of destroyers War II vi ntage destroyers had a section 1) proved unsatisfactory, as the Terrier performing radar picket duties off Okinawa added berween engine compartments to missile system was too cumbersome for the in the final months of the war, causing high host Anti-Submarine Rocker (ASROC) ship to handle. Co nsequently, the C harles loss of li fe. It was most firring that 39 launchers, a flight deck aft for the un- F. Adams class and larger Farragut cl ass American destroyers were present in Tokyo manned Drone Anti-Submarine Helicop- entering service in the early 1960s incorpoBay on 2 September 1945 to observe the ter (DASH ), and a modern hull-mounted rated hull and engin eering features of the sonar. Less extensive FRAM II conversio ns Forrest Sherman and Mirscher classes. Arformal surrender of the Japanese Empire. Flushed with victory and with no im- rook another 52 wa rtime destroyers and guably some of the finest-looking warships mediate threat, the Navy scrapped and laid added a rowed variable depth sonar. So the Navy has ever built, the 4,5 00 ton up hundreds of destroyers. T he dras tic refirred, these des troyers proved capable of Charles F. Adams class co uld meet chaldecline came to a halt on 25 June 1950 tracking Soviet submarines during the lenges posed by submarine, surface and air when No rth Ko rea invaded So uth Korea, C uban missile crisis and providing gunfire threats with an array of sensors and weapprompting a UN response. Naval Reserv- support during the Vietnam War. When the "Fram-Cans" returned to ists joined with active du ty sailors to bring many World War II tin cans back to life. service after their modernizations, they augOnce on station in the Western Pacific, mented a destroye r fo rce that included destroyers co nducted sho re bombardment, 3,900-ton Forrest Sherman-class destroyscreened carrier task forces, and performed ers and larger 7,200-ron Mirscher-class dem yriad other chores. With a Soviet bomber stroyer leaders. Enterin g service in the threat looming, the Navy moumed large air 195 0s, these warships feat ured new 5" 54search radars on some of the ships, desig- caliber rapid-fire single-mount guns. However, their weak anti-air defenses nating them radar picker destroyers (DD R). With the post-war development of jet influenced the deployment of these WWII aircraft and rhe improvements to subma- and post-war destroyers during the crisis as rines, surface ships became more vulner- naval commanders feared that moving the able during the early Cold War. Improve- quarantine line closer to Cuba wo uld make ments were made to the WWII destroyer the ships vulnerable. As the crisis unfolded, fleet that fo rmed the backbone of the Navy the Navy was in the process of introducing from the late 1940s into the '70s. For a new destroyer type carrying a surface-roexample, many of the Allen M. Sumner- air missile system-the DDG. An attempt to address the problem and Gearing-class destroye rs underwe nt Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization thro ugh the conversion of the USS Gyatt
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
17
·'·',, '
ons. Ships we re fitted with sin gle or twin armed T artar missile launchers. The ten ships ofthe 5,400-ton Farragut class boasted the longer-range T errier missile system . The fo llow on Leahy (DLG 16) sparked co ntroversy with the installation of missile lau nchers fore and aft, eliminating 5" gun batteries. The " double-enders" proved useless in Vietnam when fire-support missions we re requested , al though they capably performed air-control duties. The final doubleender, USS Bainbridge (DLGN 25) , had nuclear propulsion. USS Belknap (DLG 26) and sister ships replaced the after missile laun cher with a 5" 54-caliber gun mount. USS Truxtun (DLGN 35) also had nuclear propul sion . In 1975, th e Navy changed its classification sys tem . The Leahy and Belknap classes, along with Bainbridge and Truxtun were reclass ified as cruisers. The older Farragut class were renumbered and classifi ed as DD Gs. Mea nwhile a new destroyer class began to join the fleet. Whereas the C harl es F. Adams class had admirers for its elegant design, the Spruance class could claim no such devotees. Decried as a "shoebox" on a hull, the new warships appeared lightly armed when compared to their Soviet co unterparts. Commissioned on 20 September 1975 , the 7,600-ton USS Sp ruance (DD 963) was powered by four LM-2500 gas turbines of the type found on commercial airliners. The engines allowed for quick responsiveness and easy maintenance. The ships' primary mission was anti-submarine warfare, and they were "quieted" to enhance their ability to detect, and avo id detection by, enemy submarines. W ith the introd uction of the Tomahawk mi ss ile in the 1980s, the Navy backfitted many of the "S pru-cans" with these long-range strike weapons, enabling the warships to perform overland strike miss ion s. More impressive looking is the Arleigh Burke class with the lead ship commi ssioned in 199 1. Its angled surfaces give the class the traditional "greyhound" look and enhances its stealthin ess. Armed with the Aegis air defense system , the ships could be modified to perform a limited-theater ballistic missi le defense miss ion. The ruggedness of the design was demonstrated when terrorists attempted to sink USS Cole (DDG 67) in October 2000. New ships of this class are still under construction, and a new
18
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), America's newest destroyer, was launched in 1991 from the Bath Iron Works in Maine, lead builders ofthe Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. destroyer class is being studied , ass uring the presence of destroyers on the high seas for decades to come. At this ship type's centennial, it is appropriate to look back on how destroyers have evolved along with the people who served on them. Service on these ships has evoked pride and fond memories for many generations of fo rmer bluejackets. T his
pride and fondness co ntinues and is shared by the men and women serving on today's destroyers. -1
Dr. Winkler is an historian with the Naval Historical Foundation in Washington DC He thanks fellow Foundation historian john C. Reilly, author of US Navy Destroye rs of WWII, for his assistance with this article.
To LEARN MORE For more information , check our rh e US Navy web site's D es troye r Ce ntenni al section atwww.n avy.mil or go to the T in Can Sailors Association web site arwww.rincansailors.o rg or comacr rhem ar PO Box 100, Somerset MA 02726; pho ne: 508 677-0515. DESTROYERS PRESERVED AS M USEUM SHIPS
•USS Barry (DD 933) (1955), Pier 2, Washington Navy Yard, Washingto n DC 20374500 1; 202 433-3377 • USS Cassin Young (DD 793) (1943) , Bosto n National Histori cal Park, C harl es town N avy Yard, Boston MA02 129-4543; 617 2425601; web site: www.nps.gov/bosr/cass in .hrm • HMS Cavalier (D 73) (1944), C hat ham Historic Dockya rd, Kent HE4 4TZ, England; 44 1634 823800; web sire: hmscavalier.org. uk •USS Edson (DD 946) (1958), lmrepid SeaAir-Space Museum, Pier 86, West 46r h St. & 12th Avenue, New York NY 10036; 212 2450072; web site: www. inrrepidmuseum .o rg • HMCS H aida (G 63) (1942), Ontario Place, 95 5 Lakeshore Blvd. W , Toronto ON , M6K 3B9, Ca nada; 416 3 14-9755; web sire: www3.symparico.ca/hrc/ haida/home. hrm • USS]osephP. Kennedy,jr. (DD 850) (1945), USS Massachusetts Memorial, Battl es hip
Cove, Fall Ri ve r MA 0272 1; 508 678- 1100; web site: www.battles hipcove.co m • USS Kidd (DD 661) (1943), Louisiana Naval War Memorial, 305 So uth Ri ve r Road , Baron Rouge LA 70802; 225 342-1942; web site: www. usskidd. com /ind ex. hnnl • USS Laffey (DD 724) (1943), Pat ri ots Point Naval & Mari rime Museum, 40 Parriors Point Road , Moum Pleasant SC 29464; 843 8842727; web site: www.srare.sc.us/ patpr • USS Or/eek (DD 886) (19 45), So uth eas t T exas Wa r Memorial and H eritage Fo und ation, 2606Eddleman Road , Ora nge TX 77632; 409 883-8346; web site: www.orleck. co m • USS TheSulLivans (DD 537), 1 Nava l Park Cove, Buffalo NY 14202; 7 16 847- 1773 •USS Turner]oy(DD 95 1) (19 58), Bremerto n Histori c Shi ps Association, 300 Wash ingto n Beach Ave nue, Bremerton WA 98337-5668; 360 792-2457 • HMAS Vampire (D 11 ) (1956) , Austra lian Na tion al Mar irim e Museum , GPO Bx 513 1, Sydney NSW, 1042Australi a; 6 1 92983777; web site: www.anmm. gov.a u (F rom H istoric Naval Ships: A Guide to More than 13 0 Classic Warships on Public Display (Historic Naval Ships Association and C hallenge Publi cations, Canoga Park CA, 2001 ))
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
"We Were There to Prove Ourselves" Veteran D estroyerman Lorenz o DuFau Celebrates His Ship and Her People by Peter Stanford
T
hey were like family to me," said rhe co urrlyge nrlem an sirring across rhe aisle from me in rhe rrain, "a nd rhey srill are. We stick togerher, we've been rhrough a lot togerher-and we made some histo iy togerher." The speaker, Lorenzo DuFau , fo rmer Signalman 2nd C lass, US Naval Reserve, was answering my quesrion abour rhe cap he was wearing, which bore rhe legend "USS MASON-DE 529." T he ship's name was fami liar, bur so mehow I couldn 'r place ir. Mr. DuFau courteously remedied my ignoran ce. "We were rhe first black US Navy crew. Before we sailed, people of co lor co uld sail on ly as messmen in the galley. We were rrained to man a destroyer escort in the Barrie of th e Acl ancic in World War II, and we did just chat aboa rd USS Mason." H e went on to explain chat he had just come from a ceremony at the Great Lakes Naval T raining Center in C hicago-where he and ochers of the Mason crew trained for their jobs aflo ar. In the event, they did so well chey we re put up for a special commendation, which however they did nor receive unri l half a century after their service, due to ingrained racial attitudes wh ich die hard in rhe Navy, as in society at large. A book was wrirren about rhe experiences of the men of USS Mason, in which Mary Pac Kelly reco rded Mr. DuFau's reasons for enlisting in a dangerous service: Captain William Blackford, LCDR, USNR, recalled Lorenzo Dufau, "was a captain indeed. " H e trusted his crew and they trusted him. Captain and crew gather on the fantail at the ships commissioning on an icy March morning in 1944. (US Navy photo, NationalArchives)
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
I n Boston, in the winter of 1943-4, patriotic black seamen join their brand new ship-which has no heat! (National Archives) Personally, I felr responsible as an American citize n firsr. I had a wife and kid down in New Orleans. I had a 3-A classificarion, so I was not go ing to be drafted. Bue once th e navy anno unced rhey were opening the doors for us-chat they were go ing to give races-I decided co enlisr. ... I had a yo ung so n (he wasn 't two yea rs old at chat rim e) , and I felt ifl could gee into rhe service and do good, ir would be an opening for him and ochers like him. Ir's just inbred in a man co wane his chi ld co be a lirrle berrer off than he. That was one thing. Also at char rime I was hearin g in th e news about what was happening over in Ge rmany with the repression char was going on, the te rrible actions aga in st the Jews . ... And I said, I can kill two birds with one scone, I could take part in trying co stop chis actio n and also open doors here ar home. As Mr. DuFau was explaining rhese things co me, a yo ung student on the train asked him why he would enlist "to defend a racist society." DuFau gave me a look (he knew that I had served in rhe Navy in that era), and sa id : "Youn g man, when yo ur ho me is attacked, yo u go out co defend ir. T hat's the natural thing to do . We have no home bur here in America, and I am proud thar I played my pare in defending rhis count ry." In her book, Ms. Kelly adds a few more of DuFau' s wo rds on chis subj ect: T here were problems, but we just couldn 't fi ght hate with hate. T hat wasn' t our role there, co fight hare. We were there co prove ourselves. Nowadays, yo u see so m any black offi cers. To rhink that we were part of thar beginning ... . It's wonder-
19
Lorenzo DuFau (second from Left) and other Mason crew receive signal-Lamp instruction at the Norfolk Naval Training Station, Virginia. (US Navy photo, National Archives) ful to know that I played a small role in giving others an opportunity. I have the dream of all Americans together. As we neared the end of our journey, I as ked Mr. DuFau to se nd us a note about his experiences aboard USS Mason, and bring his relation with the ship's people up to dare. H ere is what he sent us: On November 27, 2001, I attended the dedication of a building for USS Mason (DE 529) at the Grear Lakes Training Station in Grear Lakes, Illinois. I was one of four Plankow ners there. It was a reunion for us who had served in USS Mason and also a very emotional experience for all. Our ship was an experiment by the US Navy to see if black sailors co uld do the job of running a ship. I enlisted June 1942. I received my "Boot Training" and attended Service School, Signalman at Great Lakes Naval T raining Center in Chicago. After about ten months' service on the li ghtship Fire Island, outside New York harbor, I was sent to DE Training School in
Virginia and assigned to USS Mason. It was ve ry rough being a member of a group trying to break down th e walls of prejudice that had been policy for years. Our ship was commissioned M arch 20, 1944. The Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, was cluttered with ice. We went aboard this ship of steel with no heat at all. I slept wirh my Dress Blues, turtleneck sweater and peacoat on. Our task gro up escorted several convoys across the Atlantic Ocean. We performed our jobs well, which made our ship look good . T he story is told in a book and video name Proudly We Served: The Men ofthe USS Mason, written by Mary Par Kelly. Our ship was decommi ss ion ed and sold to be scrapped following World War II. After many years of struggle, my shipmate James W. Graham, RM2C, succeeded in reuniting our crew in rhe USS Mason (DE 529) Association. So many things have brought us together in recenr years. A new ship, USS Mason (DDG 87) has been launched and is bein g fitted to be commissioned in 2003. When I look back over m y life I feel so proud that I have been abl e to be a part of something that has made rhis country a lirrle better. We all have rhe responsibility to preserve this nation. We began by having respect for ourselves and others. I am still looking forward to the day we become truly One Nation Under God. Mr. DuFau lives retired in th e Bronx, bur gets our on salt water on fishing trips from Sheepshead Bay whenever he can, while he works actively to keep alive the heritage of USS Mason. Ar our invitation, he tells his story next to the Ship Lore & Model C lub at South Street Seaport Museum in New York C ity. 1SUGGESTED READ! G: Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason, by Mary Pat Kelly (Annapo lis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995). USS Mason's valiant se rvice in wartime is described in The Ordeal ofConvoy NY 119, by C harles Dana G ibso n (Camden M E: Ensign Press, 1973 & 1976)
Quartermasters receive compass and navigation training at the Norfolk Naval Training Station, Virginia, in January 1944. (US Navy photo, National Archives) .-:....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--.,
20
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
''Le Grand WJyage:" Treasures from ••
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Above, "View ofthe Port ofDieppe, " by J oseph Vernet (1714-1789), painted in 1765 as one ofa series of large paintings to celebrate the splendor of France 5principal ports. Oil on canvas, 2 63 x 165 cm (1 03'12 x 65 inches) Below, the figurehead from Marie-Antoinette pleasure craft, 1777, anonymous. The elegant 10-meter-long boat lay forgotten in an abandoned boathouse in Versailles until 1899. Only the bow and stern could be salvaged.
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22
More than 200 items from the collections ofthe Musee National de la Marine have come to North America for the first time. The exhibit, sponsored by the Musee National and the Musee de la Civilisation, Quebec, can be seen in Wilmington, Delaware, at the First USA Riverfront Arts Center from 16 February to 19 May 2002, under the title "Le Grand Voyage: Treasures of the Musee National de la Marine, " and in Salem, Massachusetts, at the Peabody Essex Museum from 12 July to 14 October 2002 as "Rendezvous with the Sea: The Glory of the French Maritime Tradition. " The exhibition features items from the past five centuries, including paintings, ship models, navigational instruments, maps, prints and photographs, sculptures and toys. The collection offers a rare opportunity to see superb examples of marine art and artifacts from an era rich in French maritime activity. The following text has been excerpted from the exhibit catalog.
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
the National Maritime Museum, Paris
Above, "Sceneftom the Battle ojTrafalgar, "by Auguste Mayer (1805-1890), waspainted in 1836 as one ofsix canvases depicting the battle of the Bucentaure against five English vessels. Oil on canvas, 162 x 105 cm (64 x 41 inches) Below, the V ill e de Paris silver and steel model was crafted by a silversmith and may have been a gift to Napoleon !. H eight: 34 cm (13 inches)
K
ing. C harles X signed the official act fo r the fo unding of the M usee de la Ma rine in D ecember 1827 . T he "Musee D auphin," nam ed for his so n, was established at the Louvre with the intent o f making th e royal collectio ns access ibl e to the general public. T he inspector general of the Navy, H enri Louis Duham el du Mo nceau (1700-1 782), had al ready installed his own collectio n of model ships and dockyard machinery there in 1748 to be used in the instructio n of students at the School of Naval Architecmre, whi ch he had established a few yea rs ea rli er. A number of o th er coll ecti o ns we re added, so me fro m the Navy itself, o thers fro m the dockyards at Brest, Rochefo rt and Toulo n, where models of vessels had been p roduced prio r to construction of the actual ships. Whi le the m useum was ini tia.lly devoted enri rely to the navy, arti facts fro m voyages of scientific explo rati o n we re also incl ud ed from abo ut 1830, by which time the instimrion was called rh e M usee Naval. As of 1836 the coll ectio n was exten ded
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
23
"The Port ofBrest" by Leon-Antoine Morel-Fatio (1810-1871) depicts the port in 1854, alive with activity. In the right middleground is the masting machine andjust to its Left is an old ship roofed over and converted to a prison ship. Oil on canvas, 260 x 163 cm (102 x 64 inches)
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SEA HISTORY l 00, SPRING 2002
Facing page, bottom, "Portulan Chart of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, "by Vesconte de Maggio/a. Drawn in Genoa, this chart of 1537 covers the Atlantic from Senegal to Norway and the entire Mediterranean region. Painted parchment, 102 x 7 0.5 cm (40 x 27 314 inches)
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
"Crew in a Gun D eck," by Julien Le Blant (1851- 1930) was painted in 1890 and shows the crew eating a meal among the ships guns, a scene that tells much about the life of the ordinary seaman. Oil on canvas, 12 1 x224 cm (88 1/4 x 47 '12 inches)
Below, "Funeral Aboard the terre-neuvas, "by H enri Rudaux (18651925), shows a burial at sea on what may be a Grand Banks fisherman. Pencil and watercolor, 65 x 45.5 cm (25 '12 x 18 inches)
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Above, this dockyard model ofa 74-gun ship was completed by shipwright Augustin Pie in 1755. It took over one year to build and was used for educational purposes at the Academie de Marine in Brest. Open on its starboad side, it affords a view of the hold and gun decks. The figurehead is Minerva holding a compass and a ships plan. Walnut and pear wood, scale 1124, length: 268 cm (8 ' 9 '12 ''.)
to the fine arts with an extensive addition of drawings, marble busts and paintings. New dockyard models were regularly added as new ships were designed and built. Franyois Edmond Paris was appointed director in 1871 and undertook an ambitious acquisition policy. He travelled around the world twice, bringing back plans of all types of vessels, and ordered more than 230 models built, mostly nonEuropean boats, but also pleas ure and fishing craft from the No rth Atlantic and Mediterranean. H e also added numerous volumes and ship 's plans to the library. In the early 1900s the ethnographic 26
collection was dispersed and a sizeable collection on merchant vessels was started and continued to grow through donations from various shipping companies and shipyards. Between 1939 and 1943 the Musee de la Marine, as it was then called, moved from the Louvre to the Palais de Chaillot. It was further expanded with collections from various ports , primarily work from model and sculpture workshops. Today the Musee National de la M arine, with its head office and main site at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, also has seven large exhibition centers along the coast, all under the French Ministry of Defence. .t
For information on the addresses, phone numbers and web sitesfor the First USA Riverfront Arts Center and Peabody Essex Museum, see the "Calendar" on page 47.
PLEASE JOIN NMHS TRUSTEES AND STAFF on Wednesday, 8 May 2002 for a special tour of the exhibit (3: 004:30PM) at the First USA Arts Center, Wilmington D E, followed by a reception with light refres hments (cash bar) to 6:00. The cost for the event is $25. RSVP to NMHS at 800 221-6647 xO. If yo u plan to stay overnight, we can send yo u lodging information .
SEA HISTORY I 00, SPRING 2002
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Casting A Glance Astern As the 1OOth issue of Sea History makes its appearance, it seems a good occasion to look back at the course we've been steerin g, the ports visited and the cargoes we've brought home since we first launched Sea History in 1972. W e offer here a few of our favorite stories, and some of the thinking on the importance of history that has appeared our pages. These selectio ns are from our early issues, so they are, of course, somewhat dated. Operation Sai l '92 seems long past, and the wonderful collection of sailing craft assembled in the harbor at Exe ter, England, is no longer there, since the C ity Council annulled their lease in 1998. The collection is now in storage in Lowestoft, Suffolk and the owners, the International Sailing C raft Association, are looking for a new home for the vessels.* Still, these items offer insights to our heritage that are as valid today as they were decades ago . And the observations on John Paul Jones by Arleigh Burke, that great destroyerman, which appear on this page are evergreen. We hope our newer m embers will read these iterns with fresh interest and, we hope, pleasure. Older members may enjoy this glance astern.
SEA HISTORY
*Serious inquiries about the IS CA collection may be addressed to: Mr. Andrew Thornhill, QC, 16 Bedford Ro w, London WClR 4EB, UK; tel: 011-44-207-41 48080; email: clerks@ pumptax.co m
28
The young American Republic was a threatened and risky experiment when John Paul Jones wrote his famous appeal to patriots to sail with him against the armed might of the British Empire. The actual words of his call are worth reading today:
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong and the free. Heed my call. Come to the sea. Come sail with me." Jones was no easy man to sail under. He announced his intention to steer in harm's way, and he carried out that mission to the letter. While the barely united colonies waged their desperate struggle on this side of the ocean, he sailed two hundred years ago to Europe, to carry the struggle to the chops of the English Channel and beyond-into the lions mouth. In doing so he aroused the world and gave confidence to friends of the American cause everywhere . It's worth noticing how he framed his appeal in those long-past dangerous days . The stature of the nation is measured not by its size or might. For Jones, an avid reader in history, knew that the greatest empire can be defeated, and ultimately destroyed . No, it is to be measured in the citizen's devotion to it-that defines the nation and gives it its standing and declares what it shall be. And he links the freedom at home to freedom in the world. Freedom in his eyes was not a thing that belonged to anyone, but a thing to be striven for, and the thing this nation, or any nation, should be dedicated to as the only legitimate basis for national authority. In this belief, which he spoke of on many other occasions, he carried truly the message of the founding fathers, who were then struggling to forge a nation on the principles of the newly adopted Declaration of Independence in the land he left behind him, which he sailed to defend. Finally, his call is to the young. As an old admiral now long retired in the service Jones helped to found, I like to think he meant the young in spirit. For the cause of freedom is always young . It has to be reborn, and fought for, in each generation . Its service demands people who respond to young ideas, and whose
spirits are not corroded and jaded or worn down by disappointments but ever alert to its young appeal. Freedom always looks weak, like a child, because it is always young, always trying to become something, always looking to the future-and nourished by the past. It's dangerous, we're told, to draw hard and fast lessons from history . Situations keep changing . But John Paul Jones was a rare commander, a man of action who was deeply aware of history, and who clearly felt he was living in history, even living/or history. Perhaps that explains, or helps explain, his seemingly magic touch in overcoming invincible odds, and achieving things that live for all who follow his story today. Certainly his voice and his acts speak clearly to us across two hundred years, in the quite different world we sail in today. In this issue of SEA HISTORY we take a look at the ships John Paul Jones commanded , and at the reproduction of his beloved sloop Providence, which sails out of Newport , Rhode Island, today, manned by a very dedicated crew, and at the project to recover the remains of his most famous command , the Bon homme Richard, from the floor of the North Sea, where she sank after her immortal fight with the Serapis off Flambrough Head on England ' s East Coast. These are good works and good proj-¡ ects. Through research , and through art , through active sailing, and through recovering historic artifacts, we are not merely rummaging the past. These projects, which are the projects of the Ship Trust in this country today, help us understand how people kept the young idea of freedom alive in this time, and help us keep its torch alight today. Let me invite all who follow the sea and take an interest in its heritage to sign on for the Ship Trust of the National Maritime Historical Society, and so support its good projects which bring life to the message of John Pqul Jones and other sailors who helped win the freedom we enjoy today .
Admiral Burke has written undying chapters in our naval history, in hisservice career. He earned the nickname "31 -Knot Burke " in command of destroyers in the Pacific in World War II, and many decorations from a grate!ul nation. SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
We asked for comment on the proposition that we should stop debasing history by demanding that it be "relevant" to our lives and, instead, begin to find out how we can relate our lives to the challenge of history. Five sailors respond here. Two have slipped their earthly cables: Stanley Gerr, who sailed in the fullrigged ship Tusitala, and Karl Kortum of the bark Kaiulani. We are delighted at the idea of our cultural inheritance in language as a f unctional item of our voyaging in time, and at Pete Seeger's defiance of doomsayers, on behalf of the forecastle gang. Reader, we hope you share our delight. -ED.
IN CLIO'S CAUSE
Geo rge Stree t at Hunter, Sydn ey, Australia, in the 1880s. A photograph given to Karl Kortum by th e ma rine artist Oswald L. Brett in March 1973.
Pete Seeger, Bill Buckley and Others Respond Needed for the Voyage Your co ncern about the dec line in the study of hi story des pite its imme nse im portance provokes in me th e fo ll owing thought: The whole intell ectu a l e nterpri se of man is, I believe, to corre late the two clearl y recog ni zable aspects of reality: structure and functi o n. He ' s constantl y addressed to this task in all areas of hi s ex perience and of hi s inte rventi o n in the world- the phys ical uni verse, the socia l scheme of things, etc. In so fa r as soc iety is concerned , onl y the pas t has structure (the future is unbo rn and the present too fleeting), so th at we must study hi story if we are to rea li ze how soc iety function s (has functioned) in terms of its structure, and how the structure is and becomes e ver more entwined with functi on: history must provide the key. The evolution of the language of co mmand at sea, a thing much in m y mind , is an ex ample of thi s. This hi ghl y structured spec ia l language, cast from the crucible of experie nce, becomes an essential part of the functi onal equipme nt of th e ship. It is as vita l to her sailing as bl ock and tackl e, yards and sail. Without it the machine of the ship cannot fun cti on, not
Clio, Greek goddess of histo ry, is one of the nine Muses who preside over man 's arts. Th e f irst museum, Plato's Academy, source of a disco urse not ended in our time, was dedica ted as a temple to the Mu ses. SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
with the efficiency req uired to make the voyage. STANL EY GERR
East Haddam, Connecticut
Out of a Common Past ... a Future for Man I don ' t know for sure who Cli o was, but I know that the ingeni ous men and wo men, the daring and hardwo rkin g peop le who during the last ten thousand years developed the art and craft of sailin g, deserve to be reme mbered . They li ve on in us, of course, but we' ll do a better j ob of steering for the future if we know better from where we came. The hi story of boats and ships shows that good ideas have co me fro m every corner of the world . It's well know n that the invention of the compass came to E urope fro m Chin a. Less well known is the fac t that the idea fo r retractable keelsdaggerboards and later centerboards, also came from the Ori ent. The idea of tacking against the wind came to Europe from North Afri ca. In the 15th century Italian sailors with their squaresailed ships were amazed to see Arab ships literall y sailing rings around them with their tri ang ular lateen rigs . T he first Ita lian admi ral who tri ed such tri ang ular sail s was threatened with excommunication if he used them. "Only someone in league with the devil could sail against the wind." Obviously somewhere along the line the admiral must have persuaded the authorities that the tri angular sail was just a
good idea that ought to be swiped . Our nauti cal lang uage holds bits and pi eces from every continent. Catamaran from Malaya; starboard from the Viking' s steerboard where the steering oar was he ld . And in tool s, ropes and materials we draw upon dozens of ancient cultures, perhaps hundreds of cultures . Now so me say that technology, having made it easier and easier for fewer and fewe r people to do more and more damage, has doomed the human race to an earl y death . They may be right, but they may not be . Old-time sailors know that so me mi ghty heavy jobs could be done if enou gh people hauled in rhythm upon a rope . And we know that the strongest ropes are only made up of tin y fibers whi ch are onl y strong because they are in c lose contact with each other. M ay our four billi on human s get in ever closer contact w ith each other, knowing our common pas t. Then we, and history, will have a future. PETE SEEGER
Beacon, New York
At the Bottom of a Downswing, Hope from Man's Organic Inheritance Os Brett's photograph , with its goodlooking omnibuses , comes to us from better times. Everything went slower; there was, consequ e ntly , more interacti on between human be ings. There was a warming feeling for the beasts that labored along with man. The buildings were still in re lation ship to the creatures that
29
put them up; they were not data-processing machines forty stories hi gh. Things were so ineffi cient that there was-above all-work. And out of work came selfrespect. It was the breed at a happier point in time. Since then we have done a better job of abating pain, and there is now an electronic screen with entertainme nt for invalid and shut-in s. We have extended life but thrown the old people out of the hou se. We have instituted so me measure of soc ial security, but spoiled it with the movement to the cities. We have done some wondrous scientific thinking with the comparatively paltry net benefit me ntioned above. The deficit side of our science (the capacity for mass destruction) we all know. In addition to scientific thinking, we have done other kinds of thinking. Philosophy, which used to be the highest mani fes tation of thi s other kind of thinking, is in disrepute, which in itself says so mething. We have li ghtened the work load (and that probably should be added to my li st of two achieveme nts), but, characteristically, have let the li ghtening process run on until there is a whole stratum of society whocan'tgetany work at all. They frighten the rest of us-and they should . That part of the daily grist that gives a lift to life is increased at almost all levels in western society, ranging from the arts to TV to consumer goods. But thi s has taken a course somewhat like the li ghtening of work; it has gone on until there is too much and we are di soriented. The craftsman with a single skill and strong purpose to follow is a conte mporary hero. My great-great-grandfather, who knew how to make snowshoes and made them from oxbows , and sent hi s daughters over Donner Pass on the snowshoes to get help for the stranded wagon train , meets the dictionary's definition of that presently popular word organic: he was "not secondary, or accidentaJ. " The affl uent citizen, practicing hi s hobby today, would be in seventh heaven if hi s special knowledge could count that much-if he could count that much.
** * **
I read somewhere that hope is a ki nd of religion , and may be that is so. Hope bubbles in some of us-the lucky ones. I am not ultimately di sco uraged or I wouldn ' t bother to save all thi s fin e stuff 30
around here or be a museum man. I just say that we are at the bottom of a downswing. The massive structure of organized religion doesn ' t seem to make much difference, although I a m sure we would be worse off without it. One thing is certain : only God' s indulgence-up to now-lets this fa ulty crew stumble on. There is hope in the fact that we have knowledge of what is wrong as never before ... and methods to communicate that knowledge as never before. KARL K ORTUM, Director San Francisco Maritime Museum
its capital without regard for the form , affection fo r the matrix, or devotion to the divine seed. It is a small co mmunity, those who concern themselves with the mu seums-arti stic, archaeological, and philosophical-ofthis world, and they need to spend much of their time, as Ortega would have predicted, begging the despoilers for help. But even in doing so, they kindle an interest in Clio, and it is what maintains such civilization as we have.
Refreshing the Wells from Which We Drink
We have turned our backs on hi story on the premi se that it no longer has anything to teach us-now that we have jets and television and modern medicine. What could we learn from the Greeks, Romans, Elizabethans or America's founding fathers that could possibly be of any use? But technology has only superficially changed our condition. The basic nature and needs of man as indi vidual and social animal continue through changing times. Our fragile veneer of civilization covers a genetic makeup unchanged since we started painting lovely outlines of animals on cave walls. It is an arrogant ass umption that we cannot learn from those living in conditions less developed than ours, whether they live today or lived 3000 years ago. How people handle problems common to us all is of uni versal interest to manki nd . Clio has endless information for us gathered over the mille nnia-a long record of successes and failures in the human experiment. She can show us cities that worked, while many of ours are failing; people who had less of everything, but had more joy and stability and produced art and music of lasting beauty. Clio can show us all the splendor and wickedness of humanity as she reveals the long struggle over the centuries that brought us our freedoms and our advances. By understanding that long process we should be better able to protect what has been achieved and to take our next steps with more wisdom.
WM. F. B UCKLEY, JR.
New York, New York
We Have Met Clio and She Is Us Ortega y Gasset, in his resonant little book Revolt of the Masses , discovered (that is a good word fo r it: he di scovered this as surely as Columbus discovered America) that the sali ent characteristic of modern man is hi s ahistorical selfconfidence. It is more nearl y fat uity than self-confidence, if self-confidence connotes self-reliance. Ortega 's intuition was profoundl y conservationist. He felt that modern man uses up hi s patrimony without any thought to refresh the wells from which he drinks so voluptuously. But how can one refresh wells di scovered for us by the divine dowsers of the past? How does one repay one' s obligati on to Aristotle, or to Shakespeare, or to Fleming? The answer is as simple as it is satisfying: by reverence. Piety is the coin of appreciation . It is what hi story asks of us, and what we owe to it. Ortega's Revolt of the Masses was as explosive a book in the thirties as The Treason of the Clerks: and , in the end, it justified its own thesis by being practically ignored. It is said about Ghandi that he became the idol of Indi a in proportion as he was ignored by Indi ans. When he was lonely and unobserved, except by a few disciples, there were those few who sought to live by a Ghandian philosophy. The nerve Ortega struck was that of a community that saw the terrible truth of indictment: modern man, the swaggerer, unconscious of his dependence on what went before, insouciant toward the blessings others contrived for him, ignorant of any sense of obligation to reach out and extend the great circuit to another generation. The vi ndication of Ortega's thesis was in the heedl essness of those he addressed. By and large, they-we, perhaps?-ignore history, chewing away at
NORMA STANFORD
Yorktown Heights, New York
SEA HIISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
Op Sail '92 by-way of
CAPE DORN by Ian Hutchinson In early October 1991, a special reunion of the Cape Homers Association took place aboard a British square rigger in Sydney Harbor. The ship S¢ren Larsen was about to depart on a unique sixmonth voyage to Europe that would take her across the empty tracks of the Southern Ocean and into the Atlantic by way of the infamous Cape Hom. There were some poignant moments as the old-timers walked the decks and looked wistfully up into the rigging and earnestly gave us, the present crew, the benefits of their experience in the P amir, Pas sat and Joseph Conrad and told tales of past captains, comrades and gales off the Hom. "Homeward 'Round the Horn" planned to take two ships (the wooden hermaphrodite brig S¢ren Larsen and the iron-hulled brigantine Eye of the Wind) via Auckland, New Zealand, to Montevideo, on the river Plate, around Cape Hom. The opportunity to make The S¢ren Larsen such a passage was too good to miss and I quit my job in shipbroking to join S¢ren Larsen' s crew. On the 7th of October we sailed out of Sydney Heads in excited anticipation. For Tony Davies, S¢ren Larsen's owner and captain, the commitment to bring the ship to the North Atlantic to participate in the Columbus celebrations allowed him to fullfill a lifetime ambition: to sail a traditional square rigger en route around Cape Hom. As with previous projects, the voyage costs were covered by the 21 "voyage crew," who paid for their berths aboard and stood watches alongside the captain, mates, bo' sun, sailmaker, shipwright, purser and deckhands of the professional permanent crew. Our first mate, Jim Cottier, was the former mate of the Sorlandet and a fiercely traditional square-rig seafarer. "There will be no passengers on this trip," he explained in a stem but reasonable tone as he organized us into three watches and outlined the ship's routine, sail handling and deck duties. The voyage crew were a SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
diverse mixture of backgrounds and ages. Some had sailed on the ship before and saw the Southern Ocean as the ultimate sailing challenge. Others had never even set foot on a sailing ship and looked as if they were wondering if they had made a very grave mistake indeed as they hung miserably over the lee rail, failing to get their sea legs in the first days across the Tasman. It took S¢ren nine days to cover the 1352 miles to Auckland, S¢ren's Pacific base, where the bulk of the provisioning was done for the long passage ahead. The ship absorbed impossibly vast quantities of meat and dry stores into every available compartment and locker within her hull. On deck, a brand new mainsail, upper topsail and staysails were bent on, and the deck house reinforced in anticipation of the heavy weather"down south." On the 29th of October, our fourth day out, we had NNW force 6 to 7 on our port quarter with steady rain. The still fresh crew was tested for the first time, as watches struggled to reef down the main. By mid-morning we were making 9 knots, sailing SE into the Southern Pacific. This didn't last long, and we ran into light headwinds. On the 7th of November the log despondently read "Eby N force 2-3, 48°40' South, 165°35' West. Wore ship at midnight thick fog and drizzle . . . 97 miles by log but 5 miles easting made today. Stuck in the Southern Ocean .. . ." The forties were certainly not roaring for us at this stage, and for the next week progress was painfully slow. Inclement weather kept us below decks when not on watch. For the crew this was a period of consolidation. The ship's routine slowly took over our lives: four hours on/eight hours off, the clamor of meal times, the ritual of clambering into damp oilskins to go out on deck, and the daily navigation and ropework classes held by our tireless first mate, Jim Cottier. "People come to the ship for different things," explained Captain Tony Davies. "Some to experi3l
Decks awash, the Sl'lren Larsen ploughs through heavy seas in the Southern Ocean nearing Cape Horn in December of 1991 . "There will be no passengers on this trip"--thefirst mate's words assume theirfull meaning as crew and voyage crew haul lines in heavy seas.
ence a unique adventure, others to learn traditional seamanship skills and sail training with a 19th century rig. Others come to see an alternative to modem urban living. The experience should not be the sole preserve of the 16- to 25-yearolds of the youth sail training ships. There is a nearly sixty-year range between the youngest apprentice and the most seasoned voyager and it really makes no difference-everyone has a role to play. There are not many communities today as dependent on themselves as a ship in deep ocean passage. The experience can be very rewarding." S¢ren Larsen was built in Nykobing Mors, northern Denmark, in 1949. She was one of the last single-hold Baltic traders and operated around Scandinavia and northern Europe in general cargo, timberand grain until 1972. She has a sparred length of 145' (105 feet on deck) with a beam of25' 6" and a displacement of 350 tons. Her hull is carve! construction with three-inch planking over seven-inch oak frames with a twoinch ceiling (lining), entirely iron-fastened. Part of the affection we grew to have for S¢ren Larsen and her consort, the 132-ft Eye of the Wind, 81 years old herself, was, undoubtedly, their ability to retain the spirit of their working pasts. On S¢ren's deck the weathered pin rail and heavily-built hatch coamings, and below, the huge oak beams and frames of the former cargo hold, which surround the main salon and recently-built cabins, speak of her past. The constant creaking as her hull works through the water and the unique aroma of tar and tallow that only a wooden ship exudes add to the atmosphere. She remains a working vessel, not a pristine museum piece-"a sailor's sailing ship," as someone said. She began her illustrious modem career in 1978, when Captain Davies bought the hull and fully re-decked and rerigged her in Essex, England, as a hermaphrodite brig. For five years she earned her living in film work and achieved fame in many films and TV series including "The French Lieutenant's Woman," and "In Search of the Marie Celeste." In 1982 Captain Tony Davies sailed S¢ren north, deep in the Arctic pack ice, for the filming of BBC 's "Shackleton" series. The following three years she operated under charter to the British Jubilee Sailing Trust, where she was adapted to give handicapped people of all ages the chance of sail training voyages. Overcoming the problems of a blind or wheelchair32
bound crew was especially rewarding and the success of
S¢ren's program led to the Trust commissioning a specially designed 152-ft bark, the Lord Nelson. In 1987, S¢ren Larsen was invited to participate in the First Fleet Re-enactment voyage from Portsmouth to Sydney as part of the Australian Bicentennial celebrations. S¢ren was the fleet flagship for the 22,000 mile journey via Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope and led the 11-ship fleet into Sydney as the centerpiece of the Australia Day 1988 celebrations. Ship and crew then established themselves in New Zealand, running sailing cruises around the South Pacific Islands. By mid-November 1991, those idyllic tropical trips seemed far away indeed! At 0340 I was awakened for my watch and wearily wrenched myself from a warm sleeping bag to the sound of deep heavy thuds-crashing waves booming through the thick oak hull. Getting dressed in semi-weightless darkness could have been comical if it weren't such hard work. Up in the deckhouse a figure in dripping oilskins was struggling to steady a steaming kettle as he poured us a mug of coffee, looking distinctly relieved that his tum on deck was over. "Getting up out there," Charlie commented nonchalantly. The door required an unusual effort to open, I dimly thought to myself as I pushed it against the wind and stumbled on deck. The noise that assaulted me left me initially stunned, and any lingering sleepiness was instantly swept away by the howling wind. As water surged across the main deck, I could see that the l 2AM to 4AM watch was in a state of some excitement-not just at the awesome sight of the white sea crashing around us, but because the ship's longboat was at that moment attempting to brceak free of its lashings on the weather side of the deckhouse. Crouching low against the wind, three of us tottered about the deckhouse roof like stuntmen atop a speeding train as we resecured the boat. Much stirring stuff has been written about Southern Ocean gales, but whatever one reads, nothing really prepares one for the power and beauty of the reality. Feeling exhilarated and energized by the immensity of it all, we watched the seas build in the eerie pre-dawn light; felt no cold as the sea surged to our waists on the lee braces; and grinned as torrents of water crashed over the deck while we held on to the safety lines. Shorter than the old irom windjammers and with more SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
reserve buoyancy, the horizon. As we drew S¢ren's stern rose closer , the other sharply to meet each watches were called big roller with ease. from below. By 0520 Her decks, though on December 9, our steep and awash, were 45th day out, the sheer, grey cliffs of not as treacherous as on the big metal ships. the Hom were finally By 0700 we had a two miles abeam as NNW Force 10 and we made 8 knots the reefed mainsail under an ominous Two crew aloft on S~ren leaden sky and a folhad to be handed and S~ren Larsen and Eye of the Wind stowed. Getting the lowing Force 6 wind. S¢ren Larsen had become the first Britheavy swinging boom down safely on the ish wooden square rigger to round the gallows required all the cool judgment of Hom for many a year. Twenty-six hours Mate Cottier. Running under main stays' 1, lowertops'l and fore topmast stays' 1, we later, Eye of the Wind followed suit. We romped along, making 212 miles in our paused from the celebration and photobestday's run so far. The weather was not graphs as Captain Tony Davies held a moment's silence to remember those sustained, but we were reassured to find that ship and crew were up to it. The day seafarers of all nationalities who had took its toll with various sprains and perished in these waters in the years gone by. bruises, the worst being suffered by Dick Scotland from New Zealand. He received It was three more days before we could feel solid ground beneath our feet in Port a gash to the forehead after being thrown Capt. Tony Davies and First Mate Jim Cottier into the scuppers and had to be stitched up Stanley in the Falkland Islands. We had by Cath Pigott, the young Irish doctor aboard. the briefest chance to visit the many historic wrecks there, Days and weeks rolled by. The winds were oddly variable, including the Lady Elizabeth andlhelum, before sailing to make but the temperature grew steadily colder as we reached 50°-55° Montevideo for Christmas. South. As we sailed farther from land, we were acutely aware The second leg of the Homeward 'Round the Hom voyage of the vastness of that ocean and our own isolation. One tookS¢renLarsonandEyeoftheWindeastandnorththroughthe wonderedatthefortitudeofformerCapeHomersintheselonely Tradewinds to the remote South Atlantic Islands. In three waters, without even the comfort of radio contact. For the crew, months we watched the stars slowly tum upside down, realizing their way of life prior to the start of the trip was now a dim our circumnavigation was nearly complete as we saw the Pole memory;sleepwaswonin short Star again for the first time on the northern horizon and snatches, day and night had no distinction, personal space did watched the Southern Cross not exist, tallowed and salty fade from sight to the South. damp clothes were reworn After 17,778 miles and 130 againandagain,andeveneightdays, 21 hours, we made the day intervals between freshport of Lisbon. water showers were accepted. It was the end of a unique But rather than focusing on the voyage and I knew I would rough, cold and wet, I will remiss the big ocean skies, the creak and moan of the rigmember the Southern Ocean as big-very big. ging, the exacting care of On December 6, at 58°22' working aloft on the open sea, the encounters with visiting South, we wore ship in light winds and made our final tack dolphins and whales, the ever northeast toward the Hom . It present wheeling albatross, was a fine 4°c on deck, al- "Cape Horn in sight!"-from the the aft deck the conical shape of and, above all, the comradethough Eye of the Wind had Cape Horn can be seen in the background. ship of our crew. Perhaps in some snow and hail during the night. 40 or 50 years' time I may even stand on the deck of a tall ship Twodayslater,ourfirstsightofland waslsleDiegoRamirez- with a shipmate and tell another generation of sailors of the some miles SW of the Cape where the seabed shelves steeply time we went round the Horn with Davies and Cottier in the from 4500 meters to 400 meters-where we spoke to the S¢ren Larsen, back in 1991! bemused Chilean Lighthouse keeper on VHF. The ship's bread is baked nightly by the midnight to 0400 A shipbroker, chartering bulk cargo ships, Ian Hutchinson watch, and, it being my tum, I was in the galley kneading sailed out to Australia on the S0ren Larsen in 1988 and chose dough when the door was flung open and an excited figure the Cape Horn voyage to make his return to England in 1992 . cried: "Cape Hom in sight!" Even at 0215 it was getting light For more information contact Ocean Voyages, 1709 and I could just make out a small conical irregularity on the Bridgeway, Sausalito CA 94965. SEA HISTORY JOO, SPRING 2002
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THE SEA PEOPLE OF by Peter Stanford
Ihe doughty steam tug St. Canute served in Danish waters, doubling in brass as firefighter and iceboat, until brought to Exeter where she is maintained in operating condition.
Ihe Bedford lifeboat, built in 1886and launched from the beach to save shipwrecked mariners, served into the 1930s. it now rests in the old fish market with the elegant Customs House of1689 in the background.
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!SCA-International Sailing Craft Association-is the banner they came ashore under, with the verve that is a hallmark of the founding director, David Goddard (and of the body of likeminded souls he and his wife have gathered around them). It is also the Roman name for the old Roman port of Exeter. The town , with the old half timbered hostelries of pastoral England surviving among more modern brick buildings of the industrial era , crowds with its crooked streets and narrow lanes under the imposing towers of its great Cathedral-a quiet-seeming town , located some way up the River Exe in Devon's rolling countryside, in the West Country. Being inland gave it some protection from sea marauders and the river made a convenient roadway to the English Channel, that broad avenue of European trade which even before Roman times may have been connected by ships with the more advanced Mediterranean world. In 1566 a canal was dug to improve Exeter's access to the sea particularly for the wool trade that had flourished by then for some centuries from this port. Later, as ships grew in size, other ports took the lead and Exeter became a backwater frequented by coasters and fishing craft , its vanished glories honored in the superb cathedral and history books. After World War II the last local maritime commerce died out, and for a few decades the city waterfront slumbered on, populated only by weekend strollers and occasional motorcyclists who staged races on its long wharf-until a young Major Goddard opted for early retirement in order to settle in Exeter and make the old harbor a center for the preservation of traditional sail. Strange craft began to arrive from all over-a pearling dhow from Bahrein , where Goddard had served, the old Bristol pilot cutter Cariad, immortalized in Frank Carr's A lachtsman's Log, and others. By June 1969 when Goddard and his gang opened shop as the Exeter Maritime Museum, they had 23 craft on display in the Canal basin and in one old building fronting on the basin. From there they rapidly expanded, saving craft from far corners of the world , and training a highly skilled corps of volunteers (with a very small cadre of permanent staff) to restore and to sail them . Quaint, even amusing as the jumbledtogether hulls of the craft that once again crowd the Exeter waterfront may be, they do not make up a grab bag of curios. The vessels are collected because they are vanishing from the ken of the human race, to whose progress each has in its way contributed . The skilJs, and yes, the attitudes
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
EXETER of mind and world outlook of the peoples that built and sailed them , are to the degree possible kept alive. The xavega illustrated here-a monster craft of immemorially ancient design , used in special fishing operations on the Portuguese coast-became extinct after the Museum's example of the type was saved . A French tunnyboat, the kind that I saw lavishly kited with topsails and flying jobs, fishing under sail off the Breton Coast when I sailed that way in the late 1940s, now also is passing into legend: currently ISCA seeks to preserve (and sail) what they believe to be the last example of these buxom , saucy-sheered craft that would otherwise be remembered only in fugitive photographs and some memorable paintings by the French Impressionists who haunted such ports as Quimper and Concarneau . This living and growing collection is described in the article that follows by sailorman-artist Mark Myers. It includes an Australian surf boat, a Chinese junk, and the famous old French pilot cutter Jolie Brise. Jolie Brise is used for sail training cruises as far afield as the Baltic and Spain, whence she annually imports the rioja wine of Bilbao, continuing a trade in sail older than any written records, the inspiration of the grandest of sea songs, "Spanish Ladies." The determined sea people who descended upon Exeter were fortunate to be welcomed ashore by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, who has maintained a steady interest in the Museum , and who serves as President of England's Maritime Trust (see SH19) , and they have enjoyed the continued participation of Frank G.G. Carr, former director of the National Maritime Museum and Chairman of the World Ship Trust, of which SEA HISTORY is the official journal. Frank is Vice President of the Museum. "There has scarcely been a moment," reports Director David Goddard , " when some crisis has not either just been averted or has been seen approaching. However, we have survived and, moreover, steadily improved our position in Exeter, and our collection of craft." That it continue to do so, must be the hope of everyone who values the sailing heritage of mankind .
The formidable jumble ofexotic-looking craft includes the richly ad<Jmed Tagus sailing lighter Sotero, astern ofher an iron dredge of 1843 and the tug St. Canute. At right (and below) is the unique .xavega which was launched from a Portuguese beach to spread a great fishnet , with eleven men on each of its four oars.
Sadly, the Exeter M aritime Museum is no more, disbanded in August 1998 after a negative decision by the Exeter City Council. All but two of the vessels are in storage. See note page 28, col. 1.
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
35
The Sea People of Exeter
A Passage by Mark Myers
The intimacy and charm of the sheltered river port, already a backwater and ha ven of more glorious memories a century ago, survive today-enhanced by the burgeoning new life brought to it by people seeking to preserve a far-ranging seaborne culture. The museum must be approached by ferry across the river, an ideal way to come to its vessels. Below, the gallant ketch Nonsuch , visiting Exeter on August 15, 1969, with the author/artist aboard.
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'
'"
Exeter is not the easiest of ports to reach from the sea , as I found out in the summer of 1969. I was then bo'sun of the Nonsuch Ketch , a replica of the little 17th century square-rigger which founded the fortunes of the Hudsons Bay Company some 300 years before. After taking her from the builder's yard at Appledore, North Devon , we had been passage-making along the south coast of England under the command of Adrian Small, flying the company flag and nosing into a score of ports between London and Land's End which hadn't seen a sailing ship for fifty years or more. We sailed for Exeter at sunset on August 14, standing out of Salcombe harbor under topsails and slipping quietly past the grave of the Herzagin Cecilie. As we bore to the east to pass Prawle Point and the Start, the sky astern was alive with color, our rigging etched jet black against it. My memory of that night is still fresh and clear-a picture of the Nonsuch beating silently up Lyme Bay against light north-northeast airs, under starlight bright enough to make her sails glow in muted tones of green and blue. To the west were the lights ofBrixham, that premier port of fishermen and fast trawlers. Beneath us the seabed was scarred with the bite of innumerable anchors-a legacy of the great days of the Channel Squadron on blockade duty in the Napoleonic Wars, and others back to the times of Romans , and perhaps before them the Phoenicians who had come this way. Early next morning, we picked up the pilot off Straight Point and stood into the estuary of the River Exe. Just past Exmouth (still a busy port for motor coasters) the river widened into a vast expanse of water, most of it shallow. The pilot cheerily guided us past the sandbanks with the aid of a few buoys and a lot of local knowledge. Some distance up the river he steered us toward a desolate looking spot where a solitary building and the entrance to a small lock mark the beginning of the Exeter Ship Canal . We learned while making fast outside the lock that the building was a pub-the Turf Hotel , no less-and we seemed to be the only customers for miles. Then a few locals materialized from nowhere and we lent them our muscle in working the old lock gates. They told us that although Turf Lock and this first stretch of the canal were fairly new (ca. 1830) some of the highe:r reaches and pound locks had been dug im 1564, the first in England . While waitimg in the pub for the water to rise we also I heard the tale of the big Dutch schomner Trio which had had her bowsprit SJEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
to Exeter sawn off in order to fit into the lock while bound up to Exeter in 1938. We squeezed past a small outwardbound tanker outside the lock, grateful to be meeting her here rather than in the narrow "one lane" body of the canal. This sludge boat and an occasional tiny oil tanker were then the only regular users of the canal, apart from the odd yacht. We motored along the canal proper, passing through miles of flat meadowland . The only spectators were herds of fat dairy cows and a few indignant anglers, although the lockmaster, pedalling along the towpatch on his bicycle, managed to pass us. And then followed the finest stretch of all along the canal-a sea path through green fields and trees leading to the heart of Exeter. We watched as the ancient city rose on its hillside ahead. There were tall masts in sight and above them, shops and houses spilling down past the old Roman walls. The skyline was crowned by a magnificent medieval cathedral. We rounded a bend , and arrived at Exeter Basin . The quayside was ringed by tall 19th century warehouses and its banks were lined with the queerest collection of craft we had yet encountered-everything from a super-streamlined racing yacht to a weather-stained Arab pearling dhow. Promising ourselves a closer look at this maritime menagerie when time permitted , we fired two of our iron cannon in salute and came alongside the quay wall astern of the dhow. Over the next few days we explored the Exeter Maritime Museum , in whose precincts we lay and by whose initiative this remarkable fleet of workjng craft had been brought together. The museum had opened just over a month before, yet already its collections were impressive. A
large stone warehouse on the quay held most of the smaller craft. There was a room full of Arab boats complete with their gear, even down to the traditional brass cooking pots. In other rooms we found reed boats, coracles, dugouts , and dinghies-a whole United Nations of boats, from Irish curraghs to Polynesian proas. The scene was dominated by the noble schooner Result. She was not on exhibit, but sadly laid up here after the death of her master and owner Peter Welch, two years before. A stalwart of the sailing coasters since her launch in 1893, she had even survived a stint as a " Q" ship in the First World War. When we saw her she had been much reduced in rig for the sake of economy, but in the next year she was sold for restoration to her original glory at the Ulster Folk Museum in Carrickfergus, where she was built. AlongsidetheResultwastheSt. Canutea snub-nosed steam tug built in Denmark in 1931. She had been workjng out of Fowey in Cornwall until the year before and was still in full seagoing order from the top of her lofty funnel to the depths of her stoke hold . The pearling dhow ahead of us hailed from Bahrein, and she, too, was kept ready for sea. We marvelled at her construction-the frames were twisted, unsquared limbs from some ironhard desert tree and the planks simply nailed on where they touched . Her lines, however, were sheer poetry. Nearby lay a fine little gaff cutter named Moonraker. She had been built as a Looe fishing lugger in 1896 but since her conversion to a cruising yacht had notched up half a dozen transatlantic passages. Her sturdy, typically Cornish build contrasted with the sweeping sheer and light clinker construction of the vessel next ahead-an opulent State Barge built
A Nigerian sailing dugout (above) and a nimble Fijian proa (below) are actively sailed today. These vessels were built for the Museum in their places of origin in order to preserve the type.
A variety of craft (left), driven by paddling, rowing, punting and quanting are carefully studied and preserved. The blade less oars of the Irish curragh in the foreground testify to the easily driven quality of the light, flexible hull-and to the harshness of the seas she is born to swim. The 1-i?netian gondola (right) is usually rowed from one side and has a lopsided hull to compensate.
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
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I
A pearling dhow, the Museum 'sfirst overseas craft, was built by the Sheik of Bahrein as a present, in the living tradition in which no plans are used, but only the shipwright's eye, ''coupled with experience and instinct. "
for film work as a replica of the Queen's Shallop of 1698. When Sir Alec Rose came to open the Museum in late July that year, he had been rowed up to the basin in style aboard her. Two more sharply contrasting craft were on display ashore. One was the racing proa Cheers, a bright yellow futuristic-looking object sporting two sliverlike hulls. She had been built for the 1968 Singlehanded Transatlantic Race and had done well , placing third. Swelling above Cheers was the ample bosom of the Bedford, a beamy pulling lifeboat built in 1886 for the Tyne Lifeboat Society. A fat cork belt encircling her upper strakes did nothing for her looks , but the extra
buoyancy it provided had seen her safel y through decades of hard weather service on a particularly nasty stretch of coast. We sailed from Exeter on August 21 , continuing around the coast, but returned to the Basin and our friends at the Museum in October. We laid up there for three months, preparing the ship for her eventual passage to Canada. This visit was bracketed by trouble at Turf: we went firmly aground in the lock entrance going up and remained there until the pub ran out of beer and the spring tides made again a few days later. Bound out en route for Bristol in January we were _weatherbound there for another three days. No, Exeter is not the easiest place to
Jolie Brise, built as a French pilot cutterjust before World War I, and sailed between the wars by yachting immortals E.G. Martin and Bobby Somerset, is owned by the Museum and operated by Dauntsey's Sailing School.
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The 61ft Hong Kong fishing junk Keying II, was new-built fo r a Hong Kong festival in London-with Exeter and the world ofhistoric ships the ultimate beneficiaries.
reach by sea, even less so since the completion of the new motorway bridge which would have had the masts out of our ship. But the Exeter Maritime Museum is thriving, adding significantly to the collection of working craft and bringing lustre and new life to what had been a seedy part of a beautiful city. Let us hope that it will long continue to do so! ..ti Mr. Myers, an artist, who has done much work for the National Maritime Museum , San Francisco, and the National Society, is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the American Society of Marine Artists, and has sailed with the likes of Alan Villiers and Adrian Small. He lives with his wife in Cornwall.
The Exeter Philosophy No one knows how the Greeks managed to row their triremes, with their three great banks of oars, for none survive. Experience with modem replicas of Elizabethan sailing ships seems to indicate that we have either failed to reproduce correctly or have too little experience of how to sail such ships, for we do not seem to be able to get them to go as Drake must have done. The Arabs are forgetting how, only fifty years ago, they sailed their beautiful baggalas down the African coast. And are we not ourselves losing sight of the intricacies of firing a coal burning boiler or the pitfalls of running a reciprocating steam engine-the heartbeats of the industrial revolution? If an object is worthy of preservation , so, surely, is the knowledge of how it was used , but better still the technique of actually using it. So, for this reason the museum sails a number of its craft and raises steam both in the tug and in Brunel's drag-boat which has been in wo rking order for more than one hundred and thirty years. Unfortunately it does not follow that because the museum can sail its pearling shewe or its Shetland fourern that it can therefore get the best out of these boats for this requires much experience. The museum would therefore be very chary at making any firm deductions as to the ability of this or that craft in relation to another or to the wind itself. Nevertheless, the practice will continue for those in the future to make their own deductions, for the technique, if not the expertise, will be preserved . - D.A. GODDARD
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
OXFORD'S
The First Ten Years of MARE By Timothy G. Dingemans Many great institutions are founded on the tery in the home of one of the people who had enthusiasm, foresight and inspiration of one been looting the wreck 20 years before. Reindividual. This is certainly the case of Oxalizing its potential importance, Mensun ford University MARE (Maritime Archaeobegan to ask questions, but was told that to logical Research), one of the biggest and learn more he would have to see Reg most successful maritime archaeological Vallintine, the wreck's discoverer who had teams in the world, started by Mensun Bound tried to prevent the plunder by establishing a museum on the island. It was at a meeting a decade ago. Since Sea History was the first magazine with Reg that the decision was made to put together a team to relocate the site. In effect, to champion seriously the cause of the Falkland Island Cape Homers, it is approprithat day saw the birth of MARE. ate that this tribute should appear in these It was at this point, through an arrangement made by Peter Throckmorton, that pages, because Mensun is a Falkland IsMensun, the young man of the sea, met the lander whose interest in maritime archaeology was first sparked off by a fascination Grand Old Man of the Sea, Frank Carr, thus with the old square-riggers from the great beginning a relationship between Oxford and age of sai l whose hulked remains dot his the World Ship Trust (of which Frank was the native shores. After school in Uruguay , founding chairman) that has resulted in many Mensun went to sea in an old steamer that MARE Director Mensun Bound. fine ships being surveyed or excavated. Othplied between the Falklands, South Georgia, ers who were crucial to the success of MARE Uruguay and Chile. In 1971 he jumped ship in the Straits of and who joined at this time were Sir John Boardman, Lincoln Magellan and, over eight months, hitched to the States in Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, Lord Bullock, a search of a university education. He spent over six years former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, Prof. Francesco Nicosia, working and studying in New York, during which time he the Superintendent of Archaeology for Tuscany and Dr. Paola drove taxis, loaded trucks, worked as a research assistant at the Rendini, the Archaeological InspectorofGiglio. Reg Vallintine Metropolitan Museum of Art, and spent many afternoons with joined to become the team's first Chief Diver. his books on the deck of the Wavertree (which regular readers One important person who has not yet been mentioned is will remember has a special association with the Falklands, as Joanna Yellowlees. She was studying at Oxford when she met she was condemned there) . In 1979, Mensun left his beloved Men sun. She was to be as enthusiastic as he about the world of Greenwich Village apartment, and, with top academic honors maritime archaeology. Indeed, so much so that she ended up in ancient history and archaeology, moved to Oxford to con- marrying him; they now have a baby boy. Much of the earl y tinue his studies amidst the "dreaming spires." Soon after this, footwork was done by Joanna as they traveled around Europe he joined George Bass's team in Turkey, and then went on to securing information and support. The excavation of the Giglio ship, which was in 50m of work with the French on the famous Madraque de Giens wreck, followed by several stints on the Mary Rose in the mud water and can be dated to circa 600 BC, lasted six years and of the Solent. With this experience of the best universities, culminated in the recovery of a 10-foot length of keel and its museums and archaeological teams in the world, the stage was associated lower timbers. This was an event that was widely covered by the world's press, so that overset for the formation of MARE. night, the work of MARE became famous. MARE's Past Once the remains of the hull were ashore it The story of MARE begins with the Giglio The Oxford University MARE was evident that the ship was of sewn conship. This was an Etruscan wreck that was research vessel Ghibli. struction. Numerous other items were, of cou rse, found in the early 1960s by a British diver, Reg Vallintine, off the Tu scan island of excavated, but since these will be the subject Giglio. Unfortunately, the artifacts showing of a future article, I will here content myself above the surface of the seabed were soon by mentioning only the musical pipes which the ship was carrying. These have recently plundered, but much of what was beneath the been conserved in Florence. Through these sand survived. The most spectacu lar item to be taken at this time was a Greek helmet pipes for the first time scholars have been able to reconstruct the Etruscan musical scale. beautifuliy engraved with wi ld boars and Replicas of the pipes have been made at the serpents: The quality of its workmanship and Conservatoire of Music in Florence and later artistry indicates that it was not only a functhis year there will be a special recital. tional item of warfare but also a prestige Concurrently with the work on Giglio, object that was owned by a man of some conthe team was conducting a three-year survey siderable status. Sadly, it is now in a private of the ancient Punic-Roman harbor of Marcollection in a bank vault in Germany. The sala in Sici ly. In addition to amphorae, the helmet is featured in the MARE crest. After the initial looting, the wreck beteam recovered ancient anchors and items of came lost in time until 1981 when Mensun fine ware and statuary. Other surveys carried saw by chance a fragment of Etruscan potout during the first half of the 80s were at SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
39
Top , Oxford University MARE team descending to a site with grid-poles. At left, divers raise an amphora from the Roman wreck at Punta Fennaio in the Tuscan Islands. At bottom right, a diver at work at Monte Cristo is being watched by the team's "yellow eyeball," a remote operated vehicle (ROV)fitted with video cameras that allows staff on the bridge above to monitor operations.
Lazaretto, Punto Fennaio and team 's project manager, Gigi "I shall never forget the moment at Panarea Giannutri , all of which places Sacco, a nuclear physici st when, after many hours of excavation, a are in the Tuscan archipelfrom Tori no. ago. Panarea in the Lipari (or complete skyphos seemingly jumped clear of the After the completion of sediment and came to rest in my hands, the first Aeoli an) Is la nd s bec ame MARE ' s next centerof printhe Giglio wreck, the team hands to touch it in 2400 years." turned its attention to the cipal activity. Here, off the rock of Dattilo, the team benearby fabled island of Monte Cristo, made famous by the Count in Alexander Dumas ' epic gan the excavation of an early 4th century BC wreck. This novel. Monte Cristo is a tiny uninhabited, prohibited island wreck had been carrying a large cargo of delicate blackwhere no boats are allowed to land unless authorized by both painted pottery fine wares. This site has the unusual feature of the Italian Ministry of Defense and the Mini stry of Forestry. being situated in the crater of a sunken volcano which , being On thi s island the center of interest was a Roman wreck in still active, means that the bottom is heavi ly punctuated by 50-60m of water off the tip of Devil 's Point. The point turned open, gas-releasing vents. As the gas rises, it dissolves in the out to be aptly named and di ving was extremely difficult. The water to create a dilute sulphuric acid, which , over time, has discovery of a World War fl mine (complete with all its horns) destroyed all the wood and other organic remains. The draby the team's submersible ROY (Remote Operated Vehicle) matic nature of this site, and the profusion of pottery from the provided excitement, but it was not of the period of history the classical era, made it an obvious choice to feat ure in the BBCteam was attempting to investigate . The island also has a PBS series " Di scoveries Underwater." resident population of extremely venomous snakes. They are The year 1989 saw the third MARE dinner and also its descendents of the vipers bred by medieval monks who, from second conference, held at the Institute of Archaeology, on the the parapets of their monastery high on the hill , threw them at theme of underwater archaeology in Italy. This included attacking pirates and Saracens. Because of these vipers, the speakers from all over Europe and over one hundred attendees team lived and worked on a small cruiser provided by the from around the world. 40
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
MARE's Present This past year MARE was also active off the Greek island of Zakynthos. This was the first work to be conducted in these waters by a foreign team since Peter Throckmorton ' s work in the 60s and 70s. The project was a collaboration with the Ephoria of Underwater Antiquities and was co-directed by Mensun and the esteemed Greek archaeologist Caterina Delaportas. The island proved to have a remarkably rich submerged cultural heritage which ranged from a sunken habitation site, to a 6th century BC amphora wreck, and even a vessel from the period of Venetian occupation. Later in the year the team went to the tiny Italian island of Gorgona,just west ofLivorno (Leghorn). Because Gorgona is a prison island (in fact, it is frequently called the Alcatraz of Italy), it is closed to the public and thus has never been dived. This work was a collaboration with the Superintendency of Archaeology for Tuscany and involved the well-known Italian diving team Naupegos, led by Enrico Ciabatti . The operation proved very successful; many sites were surveyed and a wide range of articles were raised for examination. The team also made much use of its new underwater video equipment to film every aspect of the work. But MARE is not only interested in wrecks from antiquity , for as this article goes to press, survey work under the direction of Mensun is being carried out on some of the 19th century hulks in the Falklands in an attempt to record them before they disintegrate. As with all MARE's projects, this one is also being done in collaboration with the World Ship Trust. On March 23, 1991, MARE in collaboration with the World Ship Trust will host an international conference on the
underwater archaeology of Greece. This will be followed by its annual dinner, held this year aboard HMS Belfast. Once again it is aiming to provide a forum in which new relationships can be formed and existing ones enhanced. To secure a report on this conference write to Oxford University MARE (4 Butts Rd, Horspath, Oxford OX9 lRH).
The Future In 1986 the governing body of the University of Oxford formally recognized the importance of the work being conducted, and itmade MAREa permanent unit of the University. More recently the University has offered a one and two year graduate degree program in maritime archaeology which is already attracting students from around the world. The academic program, together with the field work, make Oxford the leading center for maritime archaeological studies in England. There is now a large group of people dedicated to the continued success of MARE. Overten years, one man 's enthusiasm has rubbed off on many. The growing awareness of the wealth of material hidden beneath our great oceans and lakes will keep the members of MARE busy for many generations to come. As always, the challenges will be many, but so are the rewards. I shall never forget the moment at Panarea when, after many hours of excavation, a complete skyphos (drinking tumbler) seemingly jumped clear of the sediment and came to rest in my hands, the first hands to touch it in 2400 years.
Timothy Dingemans worked as a volunteer diver on the Mary Rose project and has been active in MARE/or several years, most recently serving as Administration Director.
Help our historic ships deliver their message! At 113 off the list price, buy a copy of this vital compendium for yourself or your local school or library.*
International Register of Historic Ships by Norman J. Brouwer The third edition of the World Ship Trust's authoritative Register, published with Sea History Press, is the most comprehensive listing of surviving historic ships ever published, featuring nearly 2,000 historic ships from over 50 countries. The Register delivers the full story, providing updates on restoration projects, remains of historic ships preserved in museums, and contact information for all the vessels. Price : $50 for the hardcover edition ; $30 softcover, plus $5 each shipping and handling in the USA. ($10 Foreign shipping, surface mail) Price for members of the National Maritime Historical Society (10 % member's discount): $45hc; $27sc + $5s/h .
* Order3 copies or more, and we ' ll bring the discount to 50% off to get the word out: $37.50 hardcover, $23 softcover. To order by credit card, call 800
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National Maritime Historical Society, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
41
SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS SPUN YARN The San Francisco Maritime Park plans to build the first Chinese shrimp junk constructed locally in more than a century. John Mui r, curator of smal l craft, developed the design using historic photographs, oral histories and archaeological data. T he bui lders will use traditional Chinese techniques, including direct application of fire to bend wood , rather than steam, and nailing planks along their edges. (SFM P, PO Box4703 10, San Francisco CA94 1470 3 l O; 4 15 56 1-6 662; e- m ail : in fo @ maritime.org; web site: www.maritime.org) . .. Due to n ew Coast G uard regulations, the sternwheel steamer Portland is confin ed to her dock. She has been placed in a different certificatio n category, demanding additional drydock inspections, vessel upgrades and changes, and adherence to
The steamer Portland naval codes . T he Oregon M aritime Center and Museum will have to get a co ngressional waiver for some requirements that would be impossible fo r an historic ship to meet. (OMC M , 11 3 SW Front Ave nue, Portland OR 97204; 503 224-7724) ... A T EA-21 grant through the US D epartment of Transportation fo r $583,000 h as been awarded to No rthwes t Seaport fo r the restoration of the 1904 lightship Swiftsure. (NS , M aritime H eritage Center, 1002 Valley Street, Seattle WA 98 12 1; 206 447-9800; e-mail: seaport@oz.net; web sire: www.nwseaporr. org) ... America's first atomic-powered co mmiss ioned naval vessel is getting a $4.7-million overhaul. On 16 January2002, Nautilus (SSN 571) left her berth at the Submarine Force Library and M useum , where the submarine has been open to visito rs sin ce 1985, to go to General D ynamic's Electric Boat Company. W ork will include hull repairs, new paint, a special underwa ter coating and a new ironwood deck. She will return to her berth by the end of May. T he Submarine Force Libraty and M useum Association has also acquired the experim ental mini-
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HMS Vengeance of 1942. She saw action in the N orth Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific and served in the Royal and Royal Australian Navies before being so ld to Brazil in 19 56, where she was recommissioned as Minas Gerais; Brazil deco mmissio ned her las t O ctober. O rganizers are attempting to raise $6 million to bring her to the M idget Aero n auti ca H eritage Co mplex in So uthsubX-1 am pto n, England, as a museum of global fly US colors. She was stricken fro m the naval aviation. (Save the Vengeance M uNaval Vessel Register in 1973. (S FLMA, seum Appeal, c/o Barde of the Adanric Box 50 1, NAVSUBBASE New Lo ndon, Memo rial Ships, East Lea, Main Road, Groton CT 06349-5 000; web si re: www Burto n Agnes, Driffield, East Yorkshire, .ussnamilus.org) .. . For the past 20 years, Y0 25 4NA, UK; 44 1262 490248; e-mail: the E uropean U nion and the U ni ted King- vengean cecampaign@fl ee tairarm arch ive dom have wo rked together to deco m mis- .net; we b site: www. fleetairarmarchi ve. net/ sion as many Bri tish fis hing vessels as pos- vengeance) . . . T he three-masted topsail sible, a program which has led to the de- schooner Tole Tole Mour under sail struction of more than 800 vessels. T he Mour, built in 40+ Fishing Boat Association is working 1988 to supto preserve as many of the boats as possi ble po rt prim ary before generations of fis hing vessels be- health care and co me extin ct. In an article in the European education proMaritime H eritage Newsletter, M ike Smylie, grams in Micofounder of the Association, comments cronesia, ts now that, so far, m useums have no t afforded working as a much pro tection, fearing that they will sailin g school beco me sto rage facilities fo r derelict boars. shi p with the Smylie also calls upon the British govern- Catalina Island ment to look to other options for reducing M arin e Insti the fleet. (Mike Smylie, Gwynfo r, New- tu te, p art of borough, Angelsey, LL6 1 6SY, U K; web G uid ed Di ssire: homepages.e nterprise. ner/ mlrscraine cove ri es, Inc. (Tall Ship Expedition s, 00000 / ind ex .hrm ; e- m ail: mi ke @ G uided D iscoveries, Inc., PO Box 1360, kipperman.freeserve.co.uk: EM H web site: Claremont CA 9 17 11 ; 1 800 645-1 423; www.euro pean- maritime-heritage.org) ... web site: www .guid eddi scove ri es. org/ BAE Sys tems of G reat Bri tai n has donated tallship) . . . In November 2001 , the ConÂŁ 150,000 to the Royal Navy Sub marine vention of the Protection of the UnderM useum to help cover the cost of restor- water Cultural Heritage was ratifi ed by ing the submarine Holland I , launched in the plen ary session of UNESCO 's 3 l st October 1901. (RNSM, H aslarJetry Road, General Conference. T he convention binds Gosport, H am pshi re, P01 2 2AS, UK; 44 its signatories "to prevent the entry into (23) 9252 92 17; web site: www. rnsubmus th eir territo ry, the dealing in, or the posses.co. uk) ... British mari time preservation- sion of, underwater cultural heritage illi cists are worki ng to save th e aircraft carrier itly exported and/o r recovered" and gives them the power to seize such boo ty. Sites M inas Gerais (ex Vengeance) 100 years old or older are the prim ary focus of the program. (web site: www. unesco.org/ cul tu re/legalp ro tection/warer/h tml_e ng/ co nvemion.shrml) . . . T he LaSalle Odyssey Planning Committee has received $3 00 ,000 from th e Texas State Legislamre to help fund the coalitio n of seven instimtion s fro m six co unties to present the story of the French explorer Robert Cavalier de La Salle and his ship La Belle, which was sub USS X-1 of 1955, fo rmerly displayed on the grounds of the US Naval Academy. Designed to p rovide covert inland water capabilities, X-1 was the first midget sub to
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
New from Sea History Prints • • • a superb new limited edition Giclee art print by
WILLIAM G. MULLER
Crnising up tk J{udson on the steamer Mary Powe[[ in 1890 The view north up the Hudson River toward the Catskills is seen from the upper deck of the steamboat Mary Powell as she heads home to Rondout, New York, on a summer evening in 1890. Approaching on the left is the freight schooner Lizzie A. Tolles with a cargo of brick on deck. She, in turn, is passing the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, which was built in 1871 and still stands today. Coming downriver in the farther distance is the steamboat M. Martin of the Newburgh-Albany line. In years past, the traveling public delighted in the re-
nowned Hudson River steamer trip. Swift and majestic sidewheel steamboats, like the famous Mary Powell (1861-1918), graced the river and provided commodious breeze-swept decks from which passengers could view the beautiful and ever-beckoning Hudson River vistas. Image size: 16.5 x 30 inches Sheet: 21x34 inches Printed on the highest quality 125 lb., 100% cotton rag, acid-free paper using archival inks. A Certificate of Authenticity accompanies each print
A limited edition of 200 prints: 190 signed and numbered Giclee prints at $260.00, plus JO Artist's Proofs, signed and numbered at $300.00. (Add $15 s/h.) Order your print now from
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SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT &
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CLASSIFIED ADS ArtPrints. NYCFireboats 16 x20" ,$ 18 each. Also available for commissioned work. Call Steve White 718-31 7-5025, E-mail: fdn yartist @aol.com Marine Paintings by Robert W . Young. 41 1 Elliott Sr., Beverly MA 01915-2353. Free brochure. Website: http: //shop.townonline.com/ marinepaimings. Tel: 978-922-7469, E-mail: RY192l @aol.com Model Restoration/Construction, Captain Norman Smith, Great Island Model Shipyard, 106 Lombos Hole Road, HarpsweU, ME 04079, 207-833-6670, E-mail: dysmith@gwi.net Door County Lighthouse Walle May 18 & 19, 2002 in fabled Door County Wisconsin. Two days of self-guided tours of 5 mainland lighthouses and boat tours by 4 island lights. Actors will portray past keepers or residents at selected sites. Tickets $12 unril May 1, $15 thereafter. Call 920-743-4045 or log onro Website: www.dcmm.org Custom Ship Models Free Catalog. Spencer, Box 1034, Quakenown, PA 1895 1 Clipper MaritimeAntiques specializes in genuine maritime antiques/ nautical collectibles. Website: www.maritime-anriques.co.uk Emai l: robin@maritime-antiques.co. uk Steamboat Prints by Currier & Ives. Twenty scenes. Dormann 's Gifts, 330 Alby Sr., POB 473, Alton, IL, 62002. 618-462-2654 or 800 899-4438. Website: www.dormanns.com Email: dormanns@dormanns.com To placeyourclassifiedadat$ l .60 per word, phone Marin at 914-737-7878, ext. 235 . Or you may mail your message and payment to Sea History, Attn: Advertising Desk, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.
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The conning tower of U- 166 (Shell)
CROSSWORD ANSWERS ACROSS 4 Very Crank 6 Hoysteed Hacker 10 Cariad 12 Bucentaure 14 Cole 15 Soren Larsen 18 C harles F Adams 21 Amphorae 22 Proa 23 Coracle 27 MarieAmoinette 29 Torpedo Gunboat 31 Mason 32 Goldplater 35 Bound 36Exe 37 Heat 38 Bainbridge 39 Etruscan 40 Flushdecker 42 Belknap 43 Giglio Ship
44Melish
DOWN 1 Thirry-one Knot 2 Pete Seeger 3 Langdon Shipyard 5 Centennial 7 Dufau 8 Dugo uts
9 Bedford 10 Carvel 11 Keeper 13 Come Sail With Me 16 Compass 17 DASH 20 Continental Navy 24 Little Beavers 25FRAM 26 Circle Line XI 28 John Patti 30 Bill Buckley 330il 34 D attilo 4 1 Raid
and Shell oil companies. In its first patrol, the U-boat sank four ships, including the Robert E. Lee. She was fo und upright in 5,000 feet ofwarer less than a mile from the Lee. (Shell web site: www.shellus. com/ news/ press_releases/2001 Ipress-08JUNO1a. htm) . . . The Swedish ship Vasa, which has been a model of archaeological conservation since it was raised 4 1 years ago, is facing a new chemical threat. During the unusually wet summer of 2000, moisture drew sulfur deposits to the surface. The acid that results w hen the deposits com e into contact with oxygen is causing the hull to deteriorate. Conservationists have put together an exhibit focusing on the issue and are exploring so lutio ns. (Vasa Museer, PO Box2713 l , S-102 52 Stockholm, Sweden; 46 8 519 548 00 ; web site: www.vasa museer. se/indexeng.hrml) . .. An exp edition from Britain 's ITN/C hannel 4 found the remains of HMS Hood 10,000 feet down in the D enmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. In May 194 1 she was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck with the loss ofl,415 men. The wreck is in poor condition. (web site: www.channel4 .com/hood) . . . The destroyer HMS Exmouth, sunk by a U-boar in January 1940 with the loss of all 189 men on board, was found by divers from the European T echnical Dive Center after a three-year search near W ick, on Scotland's northeast coast. T he destroye r was struck by a torpedo on a passage from Aberdeen to Scapa Flow. (web sire: www.hmsexmouth.com) ... The Naval Historical Foundation has received a $ 150,000 preservation grant from the Dillon Fund to digitize more than
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
MUSEUM NEWS 6,000 cassen e and reel-to-reel tapes and to make tra nscripts of histo rically signifi cant tapes. Eventually transcripts and audio recordings will be available over the internet. (N H F, 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE, W ashington Navy Yard, Washington DC 203745055 ; 202 678-4333; web site: www. histo ry .navy. mil) ... A new museum complex planned for T he Shipya rds developm ent on the North Vancouver waterfront will encompass local industri es including logging, wartime shipbuilding, and the evolution of the port, as well as a science center focusing on submarine design and i nnovation in undersea technology. T he shipbui lding component wi ll center arou nd the triple-expansion steam engine and stern
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH
The stern o/Cape Breton at the site ofthe new museum. section recovered from the Victory ship HM CS Cape Breton (built as HMS Flamborough H ead in 1944-45); the ship itself was sunk as a dive site. The undersea technology center is expected to include
AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM NEWS Captai n Felix Riesenberg and the tanker Manhattan were inducted into the National Maritime Hall of Fame on 12 Jan uary 2002 at a luncheo n at the US Merchant Marine Academy. Each year the American Merchant Marine Museum, on the gro unds of the Academy, inducts one person and one ship from our co untry's maritime past into rhe Hall. The H all of Fame is celebrating its 20th annive rsary this year. Established in 1982, it was the "brain child" of Frank Braynard, then the Museum 's curator, to focus publi c attention o n our nation 's great maritime heritage. Selections for induction are made each year by a prestigious national committee of maritime scholars. The ranker Manhattan was built in 1962 in Bethlehem Steel's shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. Ar 105,000 tons, she was briefly the largest merchant vessel in rhe wo rld. She is, however, most remembered for being the only major vessel to make the fab led Northwest Passage in an histo ric undertaking sponsored by Humble Oil joined by British Petroleum and Atlantic Richfield. Their goal was to find a way to bring oil from the newly discovered Alaskan oil fie ld to the East Coast. Captain Felix Riesenberg, author, sailin g ship master and educator, was born in 1879. H e trained aboard the school ship St. Mary 's and later served as cap rain of the school ship Newport. In 1926 he made a record passage in that swift barkentin e from Santa C ruz de Tenerife to New London, Connecticut, running before a West Indian hurricane. His book Seamanship for the M erchant Service was the text used by all budding third mates in the early days at Kings Point, and Under Sail, his acco unt of doubling Cape Horn in the three-skysail ship A. J Fuller has become a classic. In addition to a master's license in both sail and steam and a civil engineering degree from Columbia U ni versity, Captain Riesenberg was the author of some 25 books. The 2001 American Merchant Marine Seamanship Trophy was also presented to the captains and crews of two H annah Marine Corp . vessels, MV Donald C. Hannah and MV James A. H annah. The award recognizes the highes t standards of profess ional competence at sea in the presence of extrem e peril to life and property, or under severe weather conditions. On 8 October 2000, in gale force winds, snow, and 12-foot seas on Lake Michigan, these two vessels came to assist a tug suffering substantial waterline dam age after an emergency breakaway with its barge in tow, and to secure the adrift barge. T he crew of th e Donald C. Ha nnah skillfully retrieved th e barge, whil e the James A. Hannah crew helped the impaired rug reach safe haven. Nominations of people and ships for the National Maritime Hall of Fame (people must have been dead for at least fi ve years and ships lost or scrapped for fi ve years), as well as candidates for the American Me rchant Marine Seamanship Trophy wo uld be appreciated and should be sent to the Director, American Merchant Marine M useum, Kings Po int NY 11024. -CAPT. CHARLES RENI CK, President Emeritus AMMM, USMMA, Kings Point NY 11024; 516 773-5 515; e-mail: ammmuseum@aol. com
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
The Nat ional Ma ritim e Hi sto ri cal Society (publi sher of Sea History magaz ine) is a no n-profit educational orga n iza ti on, headq uartered in Peekskill NY , dedicated to explo ring, und erstanding and commu ni catin g the importance of the seafa rin g heritage in American hi story, culture and character through pub Iicati ons, education programs and the preservation of hi storic ships, and maritime sk ill s and lore. The executive director will be charged with advancin g "Passage Making," a ca mpaig n to increase funding , spur membership growth, and ga in public support fo r o ur work. The ideal cand id ate wi ll ha ve proven fund-rai sin g ab ility, a broad nati o nal and inte rn ation al o utl ook, ex peri ence in a membership assoc iati o n, and the ab ility to work we ll w ith phi lanthropi sts, governm ent agencies and indi vidual members; inte rest in maritime hi story is a must. The exec uti ve director w ill d irect fund-ra isin g effo rts and w ill work with tru stees and staff to promote the goa ls and acti viti es of the Nation a l Mari time Hi storica l Soc iety. Sa lary comme nsurate wit h ex perience. Please se nd a cove r letter with your res um e to: Executive Director Search, NMHS , 5 John Wa lsh Blvd., PO Box 68, Peekskill NY I 0566 o r via e- mail to nmh s@sea hi story .org.
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Contemporary artists bring our maritime heritage to glorious life in images of historic vessels ranging from full-rigged ships and gaff-rigged fishing schooners, to America' s Cup yachts, grand ocean liners, and working tugs . Royalties from sales of this calendar benefit the National Maritime Historical Society. Wall-hanging, full-color calendar, 11" x 14" is NOW $6.00 ($5.40 for NMHS members)+ $3.50 s/h (NYS residents add applicable sales tax). Send check or money order to :
NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566
Or to order by credit card, phone: 1800221-NMHS (6647) 46
the submarine Pisces II of 1969, donated to the Historical Diving Society, Canada. (North Vancouver Museum, 209 West 4th Street, North Vancouver BC, V7M 1HS , Canada; e-mail: museum@northvan .museum .be.ca; web site: www.district .north-van.bc.ca/nvma) ... Vision Iowa has granted $40 million toward a $188million waterfront revitalization in Dubuque. The America's River Project is a joint program of the City of Dubuque, the Dubuque County Historical Society's Mississippi River Museum, and the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce. H alf the money will go to the Mississippi River Discovery Center and National Rivers Hall of Fame and half to the City of Dubuque's adjacent Mississippi River National Education and Conference Center. (DCHSNRHF, PO Box 266, Dubuque IA 52004-0266; 563 557-9545; web site: www.nationalrivershalloffame.com; Vision Iowa's web site: www.visioniowa.org) . . . Staten Island, New York, borough president Guy Molinari has earmarked $1.7 million for the National Lighthouse Museum to go toward renovation ofBuilding #10, a lamp shop built in 1907. (NLM, 1 Lighthouse Plaza, Staten Island NY 10301; 7 18 556-1681; web site: www .lighthousemuseum.org) . . . The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was closed in June 2001 when a piece of the iron stairway dropped off. After a complete inspection, the National Park Service reported that repairs will run to at least $500,000 and the lighthouse will remain closed through the spring. (National Parks Service web site: www.nps.gov/caha) ... Lighthouse Digest is looking for photographs, old postcards and historical information on lighthouses along the Mississippi River (except the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse). Contact Tim Harrison, Lighthouse Digest, PO Box 1690, Wells ME 04090; email: Timh@lhdigesr.com.
Full information on these and other stories is in Sea History Gazette, October-December 2001. To subscribe for one year, send $18.75 (+$10 for foreign postage) to NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. For credit card orders, call 1 800 221NMHS (6647), xO, or sign up online at www.seahistory.org. Membership at the Friend level and higher includes a complimentary Gazette subscription. SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
MUSEUM NEWS CALENDAR Festivals, Events, Lectures, Etc.
Exhibits
•Brick Store M useum : 14-15 Jun e 2002, So ngs of Sail Festival (117 Main Srreer, Kennebunk ME 04043; 207 985-4802; email: info@brickstoremuseum.org; web sire: www.br ickstoremuse um. org) • Michigan Mari time Museum: 13 Jul y 2002, 20th Annual Classic Boar Show (260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven MI 49090; 800 747-3810; web site: www.mi ch igan maririmemuseum.org) • Mystic Seaport: 6-9 Jun e 2002, 23rd Annual Sea Music Festival ; 30 July-4 August 2002, Model Yacht Regatta (75 Greenmanvi lleAvenue, PO Box6000, MysricCT063550990; 888 973-2767; web site: www.mystic seaport.org) • SanDiegoMaritimeMuseum : 12-16Seprember 2002, Festival of Sail (1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego CA 92 101 ; 6 19 234-9153; web site: www.sd maririme.org)
• Cold Spring H arbo r Whaling Museum: 16 September 2001-2 Septemb er 2002, "Maritime Min iatures: Sa il in g in a Bottl e" (PO Box 25, Main Street, Cold Spring H arbor NY 11 724; 631 367-34 18) • First USA Riverfront Arts Center: 16 February-19 May2002, "LeGrand Voyage: T reasures from rhe National Maritime Museum of Paris" (800 South Madison Srreer, Wi lmington DE 19801 ; 888 862-ARTS; web site: www.rive rfronrwilmin gto n.com) • T he Mariners' Museum: 4 May-31 December 2002, "Captive Passage: The TransAdanric Slave Trade and rhe Making of rh e Americas" (100 Muse um Drive, Newport News VA 23606-3759; 757 596-2222; web sire: www. marine r. org) • Maritiem Museum Rotterdam: 16 March15 September 2002, "Asia in Europe: National Jub ilee Exhib ition VOC (Durch East India Co mpany), 1602-2002 (Leuvehave n 1, 3011 EA Rotterd am; 011-31-10-413 26 80; web sire: www. mariti emmuseum .nl) • MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collection: 7 March-3 November 2002, "Perils of rhe Sea": An Exhibition and Lecture Series (265 MassachuserrsAve., Cambridge MA 02 139; 617 2534444; web site: web.mir. ed u/ museum) • National Geographic Society, Explorers H all: 10 April 2002-2 September 2002, "Icons of rh e Sea: The Artistry of Ship Models (l 7rh and M Streets, NW, Washington DC 20036; 202 857-7588; we b sire: www .narional geographic.com) • National M aritime Museum , London: from 23 February 2002 , "The C radle of the Navy: T he Roya l Hospital School ar Greenwich," a new permanent d isplay; from 14 March 2002, "Making Waves"; from 22 March 2002, "Skin Deep-A Histo ry ofTartooing" (G ree nw ich, London SE l 0 9NF, UK; web site: www. nmm .ac. uk) • N ederlands Scheepvaartm use um Amsterdam (Durch Maritime Museum): 2 Septembe r 2001 -29 September 2002, "Ships and Sla ves: One-Way Only, D estinatio n Unknown" (Karrenburgerplai n 1, 101 8 KK Amsterdam; 3 1 (20) 5232222; web sire: www.scheepvaa rtmuseum .nl) •Peabody Essex Museum: 12 July- 14 October 2002: "Rend ezvo us with the Sea: G lory of rhe French Maritime Tradition " (1 East India Square, Salem MA 01970; 978 7456776; web sire: www. pem.org) • St. Augustine Lighthouse & M useum: from 1April2002, "Guardi ans of rhe Coast": US Coast Guard in WWII, a new permanent ex hibit (81 Lighth ouse Avenue, St. Augustin e FL 32080; 904 829-0745; web sire: www.sraugustinelighrhouse.co m)
Conferences • Canadian Nautical Research Society: 2022 June 2002, "Halifax & rhe North Arlanric in Peace & War," Annual Co nference in H ali fax NS, Canada (Box51 l , Kingston ON, K72 4W5, Canada; website: www.marmus.ca /CNRS/) • Council on America's Military Past: 1014 July 2002, 36th Annual M ilitary History Conference in San Juan PR (CAM P '02, PO Box 1151 , Fon Myer VA 22211; e- mail: camphart l @aol.co m, phone: 703 912-6 124) • Internatio nal Congress of Maritime M useums: 8-13 September 2002, Xlrh Triennial Congress in Grado, Italy, and Portorose, Slovenia (Pete r Cerce, Pomorski mu zej "Sergej Masera" (Maririme Museum), PO Box 103Dl-6330 Piran, Sloveni a; e-mai l: peter.cerce @pommuz-pi.si) • Maine Maritime Museum: 3-5 May2002, 30th Ann ual Maritime History Symposi um (243 Was hingto n Street, Barb ME 04530; 207 443-13 16; e-mail: maritime@bathmaine .com; web site: www .bathmai ne.com) • North American Society for Oceanic H istory: 16-18 May 2002 , Annual Co nference in Honolulu HI (Maritime Co nfere nce Registration , Marine Option Program UHM , 2525 Correa Road, H IG214, Honolulu HI 96822; web site: www2. hawai i.edu /mop/ gmal1Cp/mop_symp2002. html; NASOH, PO Box 18108, Washington D C 20036-8 108) • Council of American Maritime Museums: 26-27 September 2002, Ann ual Meeting (Susanne Drumm, Maine Maritime Muse um 243 Washington Sr. , Bath ME 04530; 207 443-13 16; e-mail : www. bar hm aine.co m; e- mail : drumm@barhmaine.co m)
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SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Now WHERE DID I READ ABOUT THAT? ACROSS 4 How Ranger sailed her first transAtlantic crossmg 6 Sixteenth on Co ngress's list of Continental Navy captains, October 1776 10 A Bristol pilot cutter immortalized in A Yachtsman Log 12 French ship featured in a Battle ofT rafalgar painting by Mayer 14 A destroye r that came under attack in October 2000 15 This square rigger came to OpSail '92 by way of Cape Horn 18 A destroyer class known for its elegant design 21 Treasure troves of these containers are often found at the sites of ancient shipwrecks 22 A Fijian craft preserved and sailed by ISCA 23 With 8 Down, one of the many examples ofancient shipbuilding skills on display at the Exeter Maritime Museum 27 The figurehead from her pleasure craft was sa lvaged from an abandoned boathouse in 1899 29 The threat constituted by these ships led to the development of destroyers 3 1 A des troyer that led the way in desegregation of the US Navy 32 A nickname for the costly destroyers of th e 193 0s 35 Founder of MARE 36 The ri ver on which the port town of Isca flourished in Roman times 37 There was a lack of this on board the destroyer berthed in Boston in 1943-4 38 The first American des troyer 39 Th e ephemeral notes of this scale were recovered with the discovery of ancient musical pipes at a shipw reck site 40 A better name for a "fo ur piper" 42 DLG 26 43 Shipwreck that resulted in th e birth of MARE 44 This ship 's cargo wa rmed American troops
s
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DOWN 2 3 5 7 8 9 10
11 13 16 17 20
W hat Arleigh Burke co uld coax out of a des troyer Letterwriter who found ed Clearwater Where Ranger was built The destroyer anniversary commemorated in this issue of Sea History Destroyerm an met on Amtrak See 23 Across A beamy li feboat of 1886 This construction type contrasts with the light clinker style Letterwriter and photo s upplier, Rive r_ _ __ Jones' call to patriots, as noted by Burke Mi nerva on the bow carries a ship's plan and this instrument A flight deck for these was added to WWII-vintage destroyers Esek Hopkins was the first commander of this service
24 A destroyer squadro n famed for its actions in the Pacific 25 Acronym for refits of WW1I-vimage destroyers 26 A 70-year-old vessel that wo rks in New York harbor 28 Birth name of the man d escribed by Abigail Adams as "this adventurous H ero" 30 Letterwriter who defends C li o 33 New method of propulsion in 1908 34 A wreck off this rock res ts in a crater 4 1 Jones staged this type of attack on W hitehaven (Answers on page 44) A different crossword puzzle can be found on our web site (www.seahistory.org) in the members section.
SEA HISTORY l 00, SPRING 2002
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IEWS The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas Archaeology has shown an extensive the Greek, by Barry Cunliffe (Walker & rrade in wines and other luxuries along this Co., New York NY, 2002, 178 pp, illus, route from I tali an cities which used Massalia maps, nores, biblio, ISBN 0-80 27- 1393-9; as an entrepor. Pytheas would have been aware of this trade flowin g norrh as well as $24hc) The voyage of rhe ancienr mariner rhe up rhe nearby Rhone River to rhe Celric aurhor calls rh e "ever-fascinaring G reek" settlements in central France and beyond . Pytheas from Massalia (roday's M arseille) T he two great commodities these less adro Brirain and remore lands of norrhern vanced peoples could offer were-besides Europe was a formative experience in Eu- the long-accustomed traffic in slaves traded ropeans' awareness of rheir world. The away or captured in wars-tin and amber, voyage, underraken aro und both rare in the Medirerra.â&#x20AC;˘ nean wo rld . 330 BC, began a coherent Cunliffe's case for Pypicture of Europe. It was a rheas' use of the inland river srep that had reverberating consequences for hundreds ro ute rarher than rhe much of years ro come, though sevlonger and more hazardous e ral later commentators sea roure around Spain is found Pytheas' discoveries powerfully supported by the so fantastic rhat they rejected facr that Pyrheas makes scant th e idea that rh e voyage had mention of rhe imporrant been made at all. Carrhaginean seaports rangIt is to these large param... ing along the Iberian coast from Cadiz northward. T hi s eters of the sto ry char Barry Cunliffe, classicist, archaecontrasts sharply with his ologist and philoso ph er of intensely derailed descriphistory, addresses himself in Cunliffe 's calculation of tions of rin-minin g in Britain 's Cornwall-countelling rhe srory of rhe voy- Pytheas' route age, and in brief compass he tryside he definitely did visit limns in rhe civilizations of rhe ancienr and study. Pyrheas recorded that he travworld with striking color and clariry. The eled on foot and hi s inland journeys seem voyage becomes, in effect, a device to open to supporr C unliffe's hypothesis that he the European worlds of 2300 yea rs ago to made his way, either as a solitary traveler or roday's reader, as it opened rhose worlds to wirh a parry, via such local shipping as he readers of Pytheas' own day and after. co uld catch. Thus he fitted in to the existThe M edirerrean wo rld of 330 BC was ing patterns of rrade. at the apogee of rhe H ellenisric empire of In Cunliffe's wo rds, "Pyrheas had Alexander the Great, which spread Greek dem ys tifi ed rhe system, opening up for language and culture from Persia, rhe Le- orhers to develop furth er and to regularize. va nt and Egypr to rhe scattered G reek ciries Thereafter the corridor to the Atlantic of Sicily, sourhern I raly, and as far west as played an increasingly importanr part in M assalia, founded by colonisrs from the the western Mediterranean economy." Greek ciry of Phocaea aro und 600 BC. In It is because of the intense usefuln ess of Pyr heas' rime, 300 years later, ir was a cos- Pyrheas' voyage rhar historians and geogramopolitan center dominating rrade along phers in succeeding generations kepr citing rhe south coasr of France. Beyond this rhe his wo rk, often in extensive quorarions great sea power of Carthage held sway. from the original text now lost to us. In Today's scholars have wrestled with the sifting out the overlapping cirarions of problem of how Pytheas could sail th rough th ese later critics, C unliffe, one feels, gets Ca rrhaginean-controll ed waters ro pass us close ro the actual text of Pyrheas' book. rhrough th e Straits of Gibralrar into the The author draws nor just on literary Atlantic. C unliffe, however, offers rhe con- reco rds, but rhe silent res rimony of the vincingsolurion that he did nor go char way northern peoples Pyrheas enco untered and at all , bur by way of rhe River Aude to make observed. In Cunliffe's magisrerial work the shorr overland hike to the Garonne, Facing the Ocean, published in 2001 (Oxflowin g pasr today's Bordeaux into the Bay ford Universiry Press), he explored the of Biscay and rhe limitless, wild A tlanti c. interco nnected Neolithic and Bronze Age
t~;~;,\ ;~.;~6;:~::~;~
50
cultures of the seaboard peoples of northern Europe. His knowledge of the living patterns of these peoples who had been seafarers for centuries enables him to draw fascinating pi ctures of how rhese people lived and how Pytheas mighr have fared among them . C unliffe's deep and extensive knowledge of their li ves gives extraordinary color and veraciry ro rhe srory he rells. To anyone seized of mankind's enco unrer wirh rhe sea rhar enfolds our globe, C unliffe's exploration of Pyrheas and his wo rld is more than jusr readable, it is a grand and enthralling adventure in ancient seafaring. PETERSTAN FORD , EditoratLarge Martin Frobisher: Elizabethan Privateer, by James McDermott (Yale University Press, New H aven CT and Lo ndon UK, 2001 , 509pp, ISBN 0-300-0 8380-7;$3 5h c) Marrin Frobisher was one of Queen Elizabeth I's famous "sea dogs," both a compatriot and a rival of Sir Francis Drake. He commanded three English expeditions in search of rhe Norrhwesr Passage (and gold), caprained rhe largest ship in rhc English fleer against rhe Spanish Arm ada (leading a squadron from her and beating four galleases in a bloody fight rhar kept rhe Armada our of Portland harbor), earned his Q ueen's personal if somewhat grudging regard, and died of a wo und sustained in raking a Spanish forr in France in 1594. Both his career and his character were emblematic of his time. T he strength of rhis biography is less its rreatment of Frobisher than rhe context ir provides. Sixteenth-century England was a country in turmoil eco nomically, religiously and socially. The medieval order was gone, but the new order soon ro be provided by the stare was embryonic. Externally, England was beginning her rise from minor power to wo rld em pire. James McDermott captures rhis chaotic environment well, and adds subsran ti ally to our understa nding of it, especially as it affected English seafaring. Indeed , the pre-stare environ ment is ever more relevant to the 2 l st centu ry, a rime when rhe state is decli ning. Marrin Frobisher wo uld feel ar home in today's West Africa or Afghan istan, and perhaps also among the pirates who again infest the Sourh C hina Sea. The book's depiction of Frobisher himself is less satisfying. McDermott simply
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does nor like Marrin Frobisher, and this warps his portrayal of his subject. Frobisher was entirely a man of his time, but McDermott insists on fo llowing modern conceir in judging Frobisher by the standards of our own time. Worse, he displays the anti-E uropean bias now too fas hionable in academic circles. Despite these flaws, Martin Frobisher: Elizabethan Privateer is a good read and more. It is the story ofa man whose courage and leadership abilities enabled him to rise from poverry to a leading role in England's navy in its greatesr fight against odds. WILLIAM 5. LIND Washington DC The Tudor Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation, 1485-1603, by Arthur Nelson (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2001, 224pp, illus, notes, biblio, gloss, appen, index, ISBN 1-55750-8 16-X; $56.95 hc) Arthur Nelson 's book is a valuable resource for background information about the genesis of the T udor navy, its vessels and the organization of its personnel. Its many tables, illustrations, and source marerials form a literary appetizer for more indepth information. The author devotes the first 25 pages to the Royal Navy prior to 1485, rhe complex history of rhe formarion of rhe English nation, and the development of the small naval forces required by the parade of rapidly deposed monarchs. With rhe stabiliry of Tudor England, Nelson explores rhe history of rhe monarchy and irs need for and use of a navy through rhe dearh of Queen Elizaberh I, tracing the development and evolution of the era's vessels-carracks, caravels, galleons, galleys, galleases, pinnaces, and row barges-and their armament-demi-, royal, serpentine, and stone cannons, as well as Falcons, Minions, Sakers, culverins, swivels, and mortars. In addition, Nelson explains ship measurement variarions such as rhe two Bakers' formulae plus ballasr/ buoyancy problems and solutions. The seco nd sectio n of the book enco mpasses a detailed and masterful account of the navy's encounters with the Spanish Armada, particularly the contrib utions of Francis Drake and John Hawkins to this complex series of engagements .
Lours ARTHUR NORTO N West Simsbury, Connecticut
The Sailing Navy, 1775-1854, by Paul H. Silverstone (Naval Institure Press, Annapolis MD, 2000, I 44 pp, illus, appen, biblio, ind ex , ISBN 1-55750-893-3; $38.95hc) This first volume of a seri es on United States warships details vessels from the earliest days of rhe US Navy to those used in the Mexican War. While not a book one would read cover to cover, ir provides, in tabular form, important details about each of the ships of the period, from rhe mighty ships of the line through fri gates and brigs all the way to smaller gunboats. The organization of the material is good , with the "freshwa ter" navy shown separately. A concise listing of the particulars of each ship , or class of ship, along with their significant battles, prizes and modifications makes this a valuable reference. Drawings-some done by the officers or men who served on the ship- and, in later cases, photographs of the ships provide a rich visual adj unct to the text. A brief section on the Texas navy, the Reven ue C utter Service, and a listing of the losses suffered by the Royal Navy in North American waters during the American Revolution and the War of 1812 round out this excellent work.While I would have liked some additional detail, I found the volume useful. I look fo rwa rd to the furure volumes. WILLIAM H. WHITE Trustee, NMHS Rumson, New Jersey Lost Towns of Tidewater Maryland, by Donald G. Shomerre (Tidewater Publishers, Centreville MD, 2000, 39 1pp , illus, appen, nores, index, ISBN 0-87033-527-8; $36.95hc) When Maryland was being settled as a colony of the Crown, the royal governors-Lord Baltimore and his successor Lord Baltimores-decreed char towns be established on both shores of C hesapeake Bay. Between 1668 and 1751, some 130 towns and pons were legislared by fiat or other government action; it was "an urban developm ent program unrivaled in scope byanyothercolonyexcep t Virginia." Fourreen of rhese survived into the 21st century. Some-Annapolis, Baltimore, Oxford, Chestertown, and Bladensburg among them-are populous and well known; others-Green Hill, Fredericktown, Georgetown, Hallowing Point, and John Wes rs,
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
to name a few-are either vanished or consolidated into other municipalities. In one volume, Shometce could not detail the histories of all the "lost" towns of the tidewater. Instead, he has chosen ten of the more notable, including some still extant today, and through exhaustive research combined with his own personal exploration of the sites, provides the reader with a detailed look into the genesis of each town and how it fared. Unfortunately, Shomette's effort is diminished by poor editing; there is simply too much information that has little bearing on the story he tells. This abundance of facts can be overwhelming and creates nonseq uitors and fragmented bits of a story where the reader-at least this readerwould like to have learned more. However, for a researcher, or an aficionado of Maryland histo1y or of the events that took place during the early days of settlement, and even into modern times, this volume will answer nicely. WILLIAM H. WHITE
An Ocean in Common: American Naval Officers, Scientists, and the Ocean Environment, by Dr. Gary E. Weir (Texas A&M Press, College Station TX, 2001, 420pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 158544-114-7; $44.95hc) In An Ocean in Common Gary Weir, head of the Contemporary History Branch of the Naval Historical Center, details the contributions of oceanographers or" ocean scientists" during the early Cold War, citing such accomplishments as the creation of the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), the measurement of gravitational fields affecting ballistic missile trajectories, Arctic exploration, and a dive to the ocean's deepest depths. The book opens up the hushhush relationship between oceanography and the navy bureaucracy, combining a wealth of materials from nineteen archives as well as interviews into a precise narrative covering five crucial decades. Few fields in science have flourished from the largesse of a military benefactor as has oceanography. By the mid-1950s, the US Navy underwrote between 80 and 90 percent of all oceanographic research being conducted by institutions such as Woods Hole and Scripps and various universities. However, the navy's generosity had been earned. What makes this an important, but
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
unfortunately at times a tedious read, is Weir's exposition of an evolving relationship between the civilian science and professional navy communities. The two communities first broke bread at the onset of World War I and the German U-Boat menace. Ties were maintained after the Allied victory in an era oflimited resources. Between the wars, several productive partnerships built a dialogue between them. World War II consummated the courtship as scientists and naval personnel joined to meet the threat of the German U-boats. An understanding of thermal layering enabled more efficient use of sonar and, perhaps more significantly, showed American submarine skippers how to avoid detection by Japanese pursuers. Navy leaders kept the funding spigots open during the postwar period in anticipation of an agile Soviet submarine fleet, leading to the exploitation of the discovery of a deep sound channel that enabled hydrophones to pick up noise from sources thousands of miles away, the installation ofSOSUS and other undersea advances. An alphabet soup of abbreviations and acronyms hinders Weir's presentation; the lack of supporting materials such as a glossa1y, diagrams or a chronology and a poor index do not help. Still, Weir has taken us to new ocean depths. As a history on oceanography, this book is path-breaking. DAVID F. WINKLER, PHD Naval Historical Foundation Washington DC Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers, by David Wright and David Zoby (Scribner, New York NY, 2001, 335pp, biblio, notes, sources, index, ISBN 0-684-87304-4; $26hc) The US Life-Saving Service (USLSS), one of the predecessors of the US Coast Guard (USCG), is little known today. Even less known is the service's Pea Island Station, North Carolina, commanded and crewed by African Americans. The authors focus on the life of the first person in charge of the station and devote only 97 pages to the life of the station's crew. The authors state: "for narrative drive, we occasionally took small liberties with the available records, although, as a practice, we avoided it." They add that in other portions of the book "we allowed our imagi-
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REVIEWS nations to help drive the scenes forward" (p308). Wright and Zo by relate how difficult it was to obtain information on Etheridge's career in the army, but quote him giving orders during a battle without a citation (p 100). The result is not a creditable history of the Pea Island Station. Four errors concerning the USLSS are found on page 15. In fact, very few chapters on the USLSS, or the USCG, are free from mistakes . So many little mistakes throughout bring into question the validity of the whole book. In short, the authors were wrecked upon the rocks of scholarship, with no one from the Pea Island Station to rescue them . DR. D ENNIS NOBLE Sequim, W ashington Find and Destroy: Antisubmarine Warfare in World War I, by Dwight R. Messimer (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2001, 352 pp, illus, appen, notes, biblio , index, ISBN 1-5575 0-447 -4; $37.5 0hc) Germany, for various reasons, as the author of Find and Destroy points out, did not take fu ll advantage of submarine potential during the first World War. Despite this, their still relatively primitive subs exacted a toll on Allied shipping, resulting in an array of countermeasures which met with varied success. The author describes and evaluates rhe development, use and effectiveness of various countermeasures, gathering information from British and German declassifed documents. H e enlivens his straightforward narrative with the reaction of German sub commanders to the threat of antisubmarine warfare-including stories such as that of the men, trapped in a disabled submarine on rhe bottom, who go t our and made their way to the surface. Accounts of rhe ill-fated British raids on Zeebrugge and O stend also complement the sto ry. The countermeasures were deadly to so many German U-boats that one wonders today what motivated the men who ventured out in rhem . ARTHUR KELLNER Roseland, New Jersey The Fire of His Genius: Robert Fulton and the American Dream, by Kirkpatrick Sale (The Free Press, Simon & Schuster,
54
New York NY, 2001 , 242pp, notes, sources, index, ISBN 0-684-86715-X; $24 hc) Sale has succeeded in bringing forth a thoughtful and entertaining biography that readresses earlier inaccurate and romantic treatments of the father of the American commercial steamboat industry. H e deftly portrays the conflicted private man whose vision and drive so impacted Am erica's commercial and military destiny, telling the fascinating sto ry of Robert Fulton's ambition, avarice, finan cial and arristic insecurity, sexual adventurism, and eventual triumph as one of the most imporrant American inventors and entrepreneurs of the 1800s. The author clearly makes a solid case that Fulton served as the de facto catalys t for the American Industri al Revolution and was indirectly responsible for the rapid expansion into the Miss issippi Rive r valley that inadvertently further entrenched the institution of slavery. The author captured this reader, and novice historians and serious scholars alike will wish to add this quality work to th eir libraries. ]AMES P. H ERSON, JR. , PhD, LT COL (USA) Fort Eustis, Virginia The Splendid Little War: The Dramatic Story of the Spanish-American War, by Frank Freidel (Burford Books, 2002 , orig 1958 , 256 pp, illus, biblio, index, !SB 158080-093-9; $ 18 .95 pb) The timel y reissue of this close-in, gritty reporting on the four-month US war with Spain in 1898 is ably related to today's concerns in a foreword by Mark Clodfelter of th e National War College-parricularly in the mix of humane and strategic interests which marked America's entry onto the world stage. PS A Great Fleet of Ships: The Canadian Forts & Parks, by S. C. Heal (Vanwell Publi shing Ltd ., St. Catharines ON , Canada, 1999, 3 12pp, illus, biblio, index, !SB 1-55125-023-3; $45hc) World War II had been raging in Europe for over a yea r when a British purchasing mission visited the US and Canada to co ntract for the first hulls in what evolved into the American Liberty ships and the Canadian-built Fort (British flag) and Park (Ca nadian flag) ships. In light of the essential role played by these 3123 vessels built
in No rth America, this v1s1t was timely indeed. The Canadian con tin gent, amounting to 13 percent of total North American production-a critically important co ntribution!-is fully documented and illustrated in this authoritative account, with the careers of the Canadian merchant navy ships recounted in fascinating derail. PS The Early Republic and the Sea: Essays on the Naval and Maritime History of the Early United States, edited by William S. Dudley and Michael J . Crawford (Brassey's, Inc. , Washingto n D C, 2001 , 27lpp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 1-57488372-0; $35hc) These essays from the NASOH (North American Society fo r Oceanic History) conferences of 1996-98 co mbine subj ects ranging from Robert Morris 's vital role in financing the navy of the yo ung American Republic to the later opening of the China trade and the supression of the slave tradesubjects surely vital to an understanding of America's involvement with the world by sea, presented with co lor , ve rve and thought-provoking authenticity. PS NEW&NOTED Warships in Miniature: A Guide to Naval Waterline Shipmodelling in 1:1200 Scale, by Michael Ai nsworth (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2001 , 224pp, illus, ap pen, index, ISBN 1-5575 0-437-7; $45 hc) Dancing with the Tide: Watermen of the Chesapeake, by Mick Blackisrone (Tidewater Publishers, Co rnell Maritime Press, Inc., Centreville MD, 2001 , 284pp, illus, index, ISBN 0-87033-532-4; $24.95hc) Storm Warriors, by Elisa Carbone (Alfred A. Knopf, New Yo rk NY, 2001, 169pp, ISBN 0-375 -80664-4; $ l 6 .95hc) Ficrion for yo ung adults bringing to life the courage and heroism of th e African-American crew of the Pea Island lifesaving station. American Maritime Prisoners in the Revolutionary War: The Captivity of William Russell, by Francis D. Cogliano (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2001 , 240pp, notes, biblio, index, ISB N 155750-194-7; $4 5hc) Traditions and Tales of the Navy, by Marrin Davis (Pictorial Histo ries Publishing Co., Inc., Missoula MT, 2001 , 251 pp, illus; $ 19.95pb) National Geographic Atlas of the Ocean:
SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002
The Deep Frontier, by Sylvia A. Earle (National Geographi c, Washington DC, 2001 , 192pp, illus, index, ISBN 0-79226426-6; $50hc) Fifty More Years Below Zero: Tributes and Meditations for the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory First Half Century at Barrow, Alaska, edited by David W. Norton (Universicy of Alaska Press, Fairbanks AK, 2001 , 576pp, illus, index, ISBN 0-9 19034-98-5; $20pb) The Crafty Glencannon, by Guy Gilpatric (The Glencannon Press, Benicia CA, 2001 , 210pp, illus, ISBN 1-889901-1 7-2; $35 hc) The Arctic Voyages of Martin Frobisher: An Elizabethan Venture, by Robert McGhee (Universicy ofWashington Press, Seatde WA, with the Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2002, 200pp, illus, index, ISBN 0-295-98163-6; $40hc) The Rescue: A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII, by Steven T rent Smith Qohn Wiley & So ns, Inc., New Yo rk NY, 2001 , 245 pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 0-471 -4 129 1-0; $24.95hc) Theodore Roosevelt, the US Navy, and the Spanish-American War, edited by Edward]. Marolda (Palgrave, St. Martin's Press, New York NY, 2001 , 127pp, index, ISBN 0-312-24023-6; $49.95 hc) The Third Voyage of Martin Frobisher to Baffin Island, 1578, edited by James McDermott (T he H akluyt Sociecy, London GB, 2001 , maps, bibli o, index, ISBN 0904 180-69-7; $79 .95 hc) The Wreck of the Belle, the Ruin of La Salle, by Robert S. Weddle (T exas A&M U niversicy Press, College Station TX, 2001 , 343pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 158544-12 1-X; $29 .95 hc) Long Day's Journey into War: Pearl Harbor and a World at War-December 7, 1941, by Stanley Weintraub (Lyons Press, New York NY, 2001 , orig 1991 , 736pp, illus, index, ISBN 1-58574-255-4; $19 .95pb) Historic Maritime Maps Used for HistoricExploration, 1290-1699, by Donald W igal (Parkstone Press, New York NY, 2000, 264pp, illus, notes, gloss, index, ISBN 1-85995-75 0-1; $55 hc) Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the US Navy in World War II, by Ka thleen Broome Williams (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD , 2001 , 304pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-5575096 1-1 ; $34.95 hc) .t
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