No. 103
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
WINTER 2002- 03
THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA
JOHN A. NOBLE'S LEGACY AT SNUG HARBOR
America's First Thirteen Frigates · The American Achievements by Sea
FROM SEA HISTORY PRINTS /
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS BY
John Chanceffor 'Easter[y Jlaze
$165
During the Blockade of Brest in 1803-05, the frigate Endymion and other vessels have been relieved fro m their ro und-the-clock vigilance off the French port and would normally take on stores in Cawsand Bay. The weather having been fro m the south 'd, they opted for the peaceful anchorage of Torbay, but a change to a force six easterl y, producing conditions known locally as "easterl y haze," has exposed them to the hazard of a lee shore. They will possibly face a couple of hours of hard sailing to beat out of the bay. Image size: 17.5" x 25.5 "; sheet size: 23" x 30.75"
Coasting
$138
The Tamar barge Shamrock, with her boat in tow, stands across Start Bay, Devon, near the mouth of the river Dart. Shamrock was built in 1899 and had unusual features including a pair of drop keels. Her principal cargo was fertilizer and she later sailed in the stone trade. Having been abandoned as a hulk, she was eventually full y restored. Image size: 14" x 22.5"; sheet size: 19.25" x 28.5"
Spring Ticfe ~reigfit
$64
John Chancellor lived on and sailed a Thames barge fo r eleven years. Here he has shown a typical creek in Essex or Suffok where barges could only reach on a high tide. The grass would be swamped in the areas called Saltings, and to prevent the barges going agro und "withy sticks" were placed to aid navigation. Image size: 10.5'' x 14.5"; sheet size: 16.25" x 20" ~1--
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SEA HISTORY
No. 103
WINTER 2002-03
CONTENTS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
8 The American Achievement by Sea, by Peter Stanfo rd Seafaring &unched Americas involvement in the world and sustains it today. Now, when Americas role is challenged, it seems well to look at what American intervention by sea has meant to the world-and to America.
13 America's First Frigates: The Luck of Thirteen, by Salvatore R. Mercogliano Thirteen frigates ordered by Congress in 1775 launched the new nations navy with grand intentions, but carrying out their mission proved a greater challenge than the founders imagined.
18 My Own Little Leaking Monticello: John A. Noble's Legacy for the Snugs, by Erin Urban john Noble's legacy lives on in the extraordinary work of The Noble Maritime Collection in Staten Island, New York, where art, education programs and community volunteers breathe life into Sailors' Snug H arbor.
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~-----N'A_ TI O _N_ A I_G_ . EO ~ GRAPHIC, DEC EMIJ ER 1954
22 MARINE ART: John A. Noble's Paintings: A Schooner Testament, by Peter Stanfo rd john Noble, best known for his lithographs ofthe ships' graveyards ofNew York harbor, also produced oil paintings evincing the fates ofthose ships and their people, and the industrial life ofthe harbor.
26 The Life of a London Waterfront in 1600, by Frank Meddens A recent archaeological excavation reveals the exotic tastes and worldly experience ofthe seafaring community ofRatcliff, home to sailors, officers, shipowners, merchants, explorers, and privateers.
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30 The Spirit of Atlantic Challenge, by Cate Cro nin Young people from around the world gathered last summer in Maine for Atlantic Challenge Contests ofSeamanship, competing in elegant and fast Bantry Bay boats they built themselves.
46 DESSERT: Jack Corbett, Mariner, by A. S. H atch Financier A. S. H atch, who went to sea for his health at age twenty, vividly recounted his seafaring days, and the help he receivedfrom j ack Corbett, thirty years later. His tale has now been published by Quantuck Lane Press.
CO VER: The marine artistjohn A. Noble, well known for his depictions ofthe ships 'graveyards in the backwaters ofNew York harbor, here evokes a fantasy ofone ofthose ships during her sailing days, coming out of the darkness in the gleam of a cresting sea. (Man, Moon and Bowsprit, oil painting, collection ofDudley Livingston Miller) See pages 18-25.
DEPARTMENTS 2 D ECK LOG & LETTERS
5 NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION 34 EXPLORING SEA HISTORY FOR KIDS 36 SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS/CALENDAR
38 AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE
40 48
MUSEUM NEWS REVIEWS P ATRONS
30 SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is published quarterly by the ational Maritime Historical Society, 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box 68, Peekski ll NY 10566. Periodicals postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add'! mai ling offices. COPYRIGHT © 2002 by the Natio nal Maritime Historical Society. Tel: 914-737-7878. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, PO Box 68, Peekskill Y l 0566.
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
LETTERS
DECK LOG W h en J ohn No ble d ied in 1983, we said that we would be seeing him again in these pages. T h e co mpellin g power of his sch ooner paintings in this iss ue explains w hy. J o hn's work sp eaks fo r itself, but it is good to know so m ethin g m o re of the m an , his inn er tho ughts and turmo il, and his p assio n ate devo ti o n to a concept of beau ty w hich h as littl e to d o w ith "prettiness ." And it is a rewa rding thing to see his work as the centerpiece of the No ble M aritime Co ll ect io n in Snug H arbo r in Staten Island, New Yo rk. In this iss ue, E rin U rban is o ur guide to this m aritime center, which h as develo ped its ow n life and style in passion ate devotion to its subj ect. Last spring the C oll ecti o n celebrated the o pening of the restored studio barge, J ohn No ble's "little, leakin g Mo nti cello," aboard which h e did much of his wo rk . In this pho tograph, thirty-odd yea rs ago, yo u can see J ohn (right) and From left, PS, Squire, Ko rtum, m e (l eft), welcoming Karl Ko rtum , paMcAllister, N oble. triarch of o ur Society, aboard th e studi o barge, accompani ed by a co upl e o f ou r Wh arf Ra ts, Ed Squire and Jim McAl lister, III. M ay you share, in these pages, th e joy in th e wo rk w e all felt on that grand occasion! And d o look over "Ame ri can Achievem ents by Sea, " o n pages 8-11. The venture undo ubtedly h as its risks, but it w ill help o ur cause. Let us have your views, whi ch w ill be taken to h eart. P ETER STANFORD, Editor at l arge
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A Poignant Tribute from the East End I was fascin a ted a nd greatly impressed by th e excelle m a rticle in Sea History 101 on Havengore, th e laun ch which served as Sir Winston C hurchill's fun eral barge a nd carri es its message to day. Th e act oflowerin g rhe cranes o n th e Thames as a m ark of res pect to Sir Win ston C hurchill when the fun eral cam e uprive r was tou ching. The poig na ncy of th e ac tio n being taken in rhe Eas t End of Lo ndo n must h ave bee n g reat amon g th e peo ple wh o suffered so much from rhe tyrann y fro m which Sir W inston had fou ght to defe nd them. Of special no te is that rhe lowe ring of th e c ra nes was insti ga ted by Sir D av id Burne tt, Baro ne t, at the rim e he was chairm a n of th e Lo nd o n Assoc ia ti o n of W ha rfin ge rs. Sadly, Sir D av id di ed in May o f rhis yea r. As we ll as having h ad a di stinguished co mme rcial life, he was th e most seni o r Past Mas ter of the Co mpa ny of W aterm en & Lighte rm e n o f th e Ri ver Tham es. T h e co mpa ny was established durin g th e reign o f Qu een M a ry a nd Philip of Spain and was gra nted a Coat o f Arms by E li za beth I. In E lizabeth an tim es the W aterm en we re in effect the Lo nd o n tax is. D AV lD
L. GEAVES
Burnham on Cro uch, E ngla nd
On the High Seas Again! I am ninety- three yea rs o ld a nd li ving in a retirem enr ho me. Eve ry seaso n I loo k fo rward to Sea History a nd while I read it, I'm nor nin ety- three and in a retire m ent ho me, I'm o n th e high seas a nd yo un g aga in! Thank yo u!
As pa rt of o ur m embers survey in the 1 OOth iss ue of Sea H istory, this past spring, we as ked your opinion abour including p ages designed for stud en ts in Sea H istory, w ith the aim of getting the children and grandchildren of o u r m embers involved in th e challenging story of America's m aritime h eritage. Sixty-fi ve p ercent of th ose respo nding to the survey said that they wo uld purch ase a m embership for a yo ung person in thei r lives if we publish ed a sectio n for children . We begin this in a sm al l way in this issue, o n pages 34 and 3 5, and we ask fo r yo ur ideas and suggest io ns. T he goal, d ependent o n the success of fund raising fo r this project, is to have a fo ur- or eight-page insert in each issue and to encourage teach ers and students to actively pursue th e topics and proj ects di scussed in the in sert. Please let us k n ow w ha t yo u think! A nd fo r ano ther oppo rtuni ty to get involved in th e Nati o nal M aritime H istorical Society, co me to th e US Naval Acad em y in A nn apoli s, M aryland, on Satu rd ay, 10 May 2003, fo r o ur Annual M eeting (see p6). W e are entering our 40 th year w ith agreat record ofaccomplishments in preserving a nd promoting the m a ritim e history of the U nited States-and that is due to th e d edication and co mmi tm ent of o ur m embers! W e look to you for yo ur ideas and comments on o ur work toge ther as we move forward into our fifth decade. B URC HENAL G REEN, Executive Vice President
I was deli ghted to receive th e lates t iss ue of Sea History. I es pecially enjoyed the va ri ety of articl es. I have fo ur children w ho all read the m agazin e. T he youn ge r children enj oy the M a rin e Art section a nd th e ph o tographs. M y o lder on es use th e arti cles as a resource for th eir high school repo rts. Altho ugh I grew up around boa rs a nd ri vers, my fa mily and I now li ve in the middle of rhe m o umains o f W yo min g. M y husband is an Arapah o Indian and a lifetime ran cher. We live 1000 miles fro m any ocean and quire a distan ce from a ny ma ri time muse um , a nd I was puzzled when I first go t Sea History.
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SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
E VE LYN
S. TROTT
C hes mu r Hill , Massac husetts
A Challenge to NMHS Members
However, I learned that I had bee n given a gift membership in the National Maritime Historical Society by an older brother. H e had given a membership to each of our siblings (16 of us in all). I am now a great fan of Sea H istory an d die Society. And I would like ro propose a challenge to each NMHS m ember-send a gift membership to just one brother, sister, o r ocher family member. We can double MHS m embership and double the reach and effecti ve ness of the organization. Just to let yo u know what NMHS and m y brother have started: My husband is trying to deci de what his next project wi ll be. H e is clea ning out the tack shed and experimenting with plans to build something that looks to be a small Viking ship . I am not sure when it wi ll be fin ished or what it will look li ke, but it sure will get plenty of attention o n the lakes aro und here! KELLY A
E H EADLEY
Lander, Wyoming
"Drawing a Dead Horse" I very mu ch enjoyed the interesting and in format ive article by Dr. Louis Norton on "S uperstiti o ns of Fishermen" in Sea History 101. Even in today's navy, taking an advance in pay for a du ty statio n move o r for uniforms is cal led "drawing a dead ho rse." I had always wondered about the derivatio n of that rather strange term. Now I know! CAPT. P. G. HAAG, USNR (RET) Mountain View, Californi a A Forgotten Tragedy Following th e success of the movie Titanic, bookstores seem to be full of publications about great sea disaste rs. I feel the tragic bombing of Lubeck Bay in May 1945 overshadows all th e published stories, but is ignored in the literature. On 3 May 1945 (fo ur days before Ge rman y's surrender), three ships were anchored in Lubeck Bayon the Baltic Sea: th e CapArcona, a 27,560-ton German luxury lin er, fl ags hip of the H amburg-So uth America Line; the 2 I ,046-ton German liner Deutschfandof rhe Hamburg-America Line; and the Ge rman freighter Thiefbek. The Cap Arcona and the Thiefbek were loaded with prisoners from the concentrat io n camps of Neuengamme, Danzig and others. T he Deutschfand was bein g co nverted to a hospical ship and it's uncl ea r whether there were prisoners on board. In any event,
SEA HISTORY I 03 , WINTER 2002-03
so me 15 ,000 persons-pnsoners, crew members and SS guards-were aboard the three ships. At 2:30 th at afternoon, the ships were attacked by British fi ghter-bombers. The Cap Arcona, on fire, rolled over and lay pardy submerged. The Deutschland burned, keeled over, and sank in about four hours. The Thiefbek burned o ut and sank in 45 minutes. T he estim ated number of deaths varies from 8,000 to as high as 13,400. Reports indicate the RAF was unaware that most of the people aboard were prisoners. A survi vo r of the horrifi c event still wonders why th e attack was necessa ry, especially with the AJlied armies so close. The events of this day are rarely mentioned in accounts of World War II and lisrs of maritime tragedies. Perhaps readers of Sea History co uld expand o n or add to my acco unt. THOMAS H. MORRIS
Houston, Texas
Steam Schooners Forever! It came to my attention that the National Maritime Historical Society has Shannon Wall as an ad visor. Shan non was my shipmate in World War II on an old woodenhulled steam schooner call ed the Barbara C. We were both ABs but lacer Shannon became the bosun. He was a great shipmate and a superb bosun, and late r became president of the National Maritime U ni o n. T he woode n-hulled steam schoo ners were ve ry commo n before WWII o n the
West Coast of the U nited States. A coupl e of years afterthewar, I was o n the SS Wayne Victory in Manila harbo r and saw th e Barbara C, but by then she was sailing under the fl ag of C hina. PAT STOPPELMAN
Camano Island, Washington
Seeking Bassett-Lowke Ship Models I am wo rkin g with the Museum fur H amburgische Geschi chte (th e Museum of Hamburg History), which is pl anning an exhibition for late 2003 dedicated to the histo ry of 1:1200/1: 1250 scale models. I have been advi sin g th em on previous ship model exhibition s as I am a coll ecto r of 1:400 scale woode n ship models. I wo uld be most grateful if readers of Sea History cou ld let me know the whereabouts of ship models from the Bassett-Lowke company so that I can contact the owners regarding information about the models and the possibility of borrowing them for the exhibiti on. HANS-jUERGEN STEFFEN
Stri ndbergweg 71 22587 H amb urg GERMANY phone: 011 +49 (40) 86 63 4 10 e-mai l: HaJueSte@aol.com
Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancie nt marin ers of Greece to Portuguese navigators opening up the ocean world to the hero ic efforts of seamen in thi s ce ntury's conflicts. Each issu e brings new in sights and new discoveries. If yo u love the sea, ri vers, lakes,
and bays-if yo u love the legacy of rhose who sail in deep water and their workaday craft, then yo u belong wid1 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 quarterly. My contri bution is enclosed. ( 17.50 is for Sea /-liston¡; any amount above that is tax deductib le.) Sign me up as: 0 $35 Regular Member $50 Family Member 0 100 Friend 0 $250 Patron 0 $500 Donor 10.>
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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, H oward Slotnick; Vice Chairmen, Richardo R. Lopes, Edwa rd G . Zelinsky; Executive Vice President, Burchenal G reen; Treasurer, W illiam H . W hite; Secretary, Marshall Screibert; Trustees, Do nald M . Birney, Walcer R. Brown, Sabato Carucci, Richard T. du Moulin , David S. Fowler, Jack Gaffn ey, Virginia Steele Grubb, Rodney N. H oughto n, Steve n W . Jones, Ri chard M . La rrabee, Warren G . Leback, Guy E. C. M aidand, Karen E. Markoe, Michael R. M cKay, James J. M cNamara, David A. O 'Neil, Ronald L. Oswald, D avid Plann er, Bradford D . Smith , D avid B. Vietor, Alexander E. Zagoreos; Chairmen Emeriti, Alan G . C hoace, G uy E. C. Maitland, C raig A. C. Reynolds; President Emeritus, Peter Stanfo rd FOUN DER: Karl Kortum (191 7-1996)
Clipper, Phantom, At Sea 18" x 24" o il
WORKS BY JEFF ELDREDGE
O VERSEERS: Chairman, RADM D avid C. Brown; Walter Cronkite, Alan D . Hutchiso n, Jakob Isbrand tsen,John Lehman , Wa rren Marr, II, Brian A. McAl lister, VADM John R. Ryan, John Stobarr, W illi am G . W in terer ADVISORS: Co-Chairmen, FrankO . Braynard, M elbourne Smich; D. K. Ab bass, Raymo nd Aker, George F. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, O swald L. Brett, Norm an J. Bro uwer, RADM Joseph F. Callo, Francis J. Du ffy, John W . Ewald, Joseph E. Farr, T imoth y Foore, W ill iam G ilkerso n, T homas C. G ill mer, Walter J. Handelman, ScevenA. H yman, H ajo Knurrel, G unnar Lundeberg, Joseph A. Maggio, Conrad M ilster, W illiam G. Mull er, D av id E. Perkins, Nancy Hughes Richardson, T im od1y J. Runyan, Shannon J. W all, T homas Wells NMH S STAFF: Executive Officer, Burchenal Green; Director of Development, S. W illard C rossan , III; Director of Education, David B. AJlen;Membership Coordinator, Nancy Schnaars; Membership Secretary, Irene Eisenfeld; Membership Assistant, Ann Makelain en; Accounting, Jill Romeo; Executive Assistant, Karen Ritell; SEA HISTORY STAFF: Editor, Justine Ahlstrom ; Executive Editor, Norm a Stanfo rd ; Editorat Large, Peter Stanford; Advertising, Lisa Di Benedetto T O GET IN TOUCH WlTH US:
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SEA HISTORY J03, WINTER 2002-03
NMHS:
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A CAUSE IN MOTION
NMHS Recognizes Two Organizations Using Ships to Protect and Save Lives In the bes t tradition of the National M aritime H istorical Society- bringin g public recognition to ships, organizations and indi viduals in the maritime history fi eldwe recognized rwo organizations that are making maritim e histo ry in their dedi cation to savin g and protecting life, at our Annual Awa rds Dinner on 23 October 2002 at the New York Yacht C lub . M ercy Ships, with volunteer crew, uses ocea n-go ing ships to provide free medi cal care and other relief services to peo ple in developing co untries, funded by pri va te do nati ons. Since 1978, M ercy Ships has perfo rmed 8,000 operations on boa rd their three ships, treated more than 200,000 peo ple in village medical clinics, ca rried our 100,000 dental treatments, and co mFrom left: Mercy Ships chairman Mike Ullman, founder Donald Stephens, Lord Ian McColl D eyon Stephens, NMHS dinner chairman Clay M aitland and NMHS chairman H oward Slotnick (Photos by JeffA mram)
plered proj ects in more than 70 pons around the wo rld. M ercy Ships exemplifi es the histo ric tradition of using ships to care for th e sick. T he organization is run by a group of accomplished From left: NMH S chairman H oward Slotnick; RADM and dedicated people, from Richard Larrabee, USCG (Ret.); Clay Maitland; A DM founders Donald and Deyo n James M . Loy, USCG (Ret.), Acting Undersecretary of Stephens, to Brett C urtis, Transportation for Security; Petty Officer James Roddy, vice pres ident of operati ons, USCG; CDR MichaelMcAffister, USCG; L T D avid Cefell, and Mike Ullman, chairm an USCG; RADM D ouglas Teeson, USCG (Ret.), President, of the board. M ercy Ships Mystic Seaport; RADM Robert Papp, USCG volunteer and surgeo n Lord Ian M cColl accepted the NMH S Distin- more than one hundred public and priva te guished Service Award. A life peer since ferries, rugs and to ur boa rs that evacuated as 1989, Lord M cCo ll is a pro fesso r of surgery many as fi ve million people from M anhatat the U nited M edical Schools of G uy's and tan after New Yo rk C ity's bridges and tun Sr. Thomas H ospi tals, Lond on. H e is a nels we re closed . compelling spokesman fo r Mercy Ships, Op erati o n G uarding Lib erty was demonstrating how their program exem- launched al most immediately after th e atplifies the growing rol e of ships as a means tack. M ore than one thousand perso nn el of access to care throughout the world. fro m 95 Coast G uard units around th e NMHS trustee RADM Richard Larra- New York area reported . W ithin 72 hours bee, USCG (Rer. ), who was at his offi ce in they secured needed vessels, fac ilities and the Wo rld T rade Center when it was at- naval engineering logistical support includtacked on 11 September 2001 , paid hom- ing foo d service (serving up to rwo thouage to the men and wo men of US Coas t sand meals a day) , securi ty, transportati on, G uard Activities New York fo r their work medi cal aid, berthing, and supplies. T he in New Yo rk harbor afte r th e terrorist at- men and wo men of US C oast G uard Actack. Lr. D avid Gefell and Petty Officer tivities New Yo rk wo rked long and hard to p ro tect New Yo rk harbor and its citizens. James Roddy accepted the awa rd. The Coas t G uard supervised the fleet of - B URCH ENAL GREEN
NMHS Commemorates Naval Battles of the American Revolution On 5 October 2002, as part of the celebration of the US Mil itary Academy's bi ce ntenni al, th e N ational Maritime Historical Soc iety H MS Bounty, Providence and C learwater staged a commemoon the H udson River. (Photo: Joe Deutsch) ration of critical naval activities on the Hudson River 225 years ago. Broadside answe red broadside as the repli ca British frigate HMS Bounty met the Am eri ca n sloop Providence, a replica of ] ohn Paul] ones' s first command. ] oining in th e fray was rhe sloop Clearwater, commandeered by reenacto rs portraying Bri tish troo ps. Hundreds of re-enacto rs fro m th e Brigade of the American Revolution fired at the ships fro m the sho re. T he historic M /V Commander of 19 17 carried
SEA HISTORY I 03, WINTER 2002-03
N MHS observers imo th e midst of the cannon and musket fire. T he following day, Governor George Pataki of New York dedicated the Fon M ontgome1y Bartle Sire, where the American rebels established defensive works to prevent the Bri tish from navigating up the Hudson to join General Burgoyne, thereby splitting the colonies. T wo hundred and rwenry-five years earlier, the fort had been destroyed and, al though the Americans had been defeated, they delayed the British and Americans won a critical victo ry against Burgoyne's fo rces at Saratoga, New York. In commemoration, Providence, H MS Bounty and Clearwater fired on Fort Montgomery during the dedication. Clearwater and Prov idence before West Point (Photo: B. Green)
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NMHS:
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A CAUSE IN MOTION
India House Club Exhibits WTC Anchor and Raises Funds for Its Conservation W h ile excavating the sire of the World Trade Center's Tower o ut the city, this exhibit, entitl ed "Fo rged by Fire," is a testament Two in New Yo rk C ity in 1967 , co nstru ction workers unea rthed to the resi lience o f New Yo rkers. Since 19 14, India H o use has o perated as a private club fo r an 11 -foot anchor. T he ancho r was later stowed in a subbaseshippin g executives and m erchants. Its Lower M anhattan site, ment of the Wo rld T rade C ente r. ln 1999, members of U nio n Electricia n Local # 3 , anxious to preserve the histor ic b u r deterio- co nside red rhe first wo rld trad e cen ter, is a particularly ap p rop rirating anchor, and with the cooperation of the Pon A uthority of ate locatio n fo r "Fo rged by F ire," mea nt to inspire the rege neratio n of Lower Ma nhatta n. New Yo rk and New Jersey, brough t the anchor to NMHS NMHS is ho no red ro have the histori c ancho r stand as the headquarters in Peekski ll , N ew York. It therefore survived the ce nterpi ece of the exhibi t. And we are parattack on the World Trade Center in 200 l . ticularly grateful that, as a res ult o f the P rel iminary research by conservator Gary exhibi t, fund s have been d onated fo r the McGowa n suggests that it is a wrough tco nservatio n of thi s artifac t. iro n bower anchor (a n anchor d eployed fro m the bow of a shi p) manu fact u red between 17 90 and 1815 , probably from an The anchor at India House with, ftorn left, E nglish sh ip of abo u t 225 tons . NMH S's trustee Ron Oswald and education I n the au tu mn of2002, the In d ia House director David Allen, conservator Gary C lu b in Lowe r Ma nhatta n insta lled an exMcGowan, India H ouse's curator Margaret hi bit docume nting New Yo rk C ity' res urStocker and president George Gregor, NMH S's chairman Howard Slotnick and rnernber Brian rection from major disasters over the past Young, who first brought the anchor to our three hu nd red years. With paintings and artifacts from museum collections through- ..:.-..__..-~.._-=:;;;..--..-.i~:___:'ll attention (Photo: Robert Sirnko)
Join Us inAnna.poCis for NMIIS'sAnnuaÂŁMeeti119 As we begin o u r 40rh yea r, we will ga ther to elect trustees, discuss NMHS activities, and plan fo r rhe Society's future at the Officers' C lu b of the US N aval Academy in A nnapolis, Ma ryland, o n Saturday, 10 M ay 2003 . Eve nts wi ll include a mo rnin g visit to the US N aval Academy M useum (8:30-9:45, with coffee), the Business Meeting ( 10- 12:30), lun cheo n (with cash bar), and afternoon tours of rhe Yard-as rhe Academy is known-and rh e m useu m. W e are also looking into a special tour for mem bers at another mari time h isto ry sire o n Su nday, fo ll owed by lun ch . Full d era il s will be avai lable o n our web sire even ts calenda r
(www.seah istory.org) in Febru ary. W e have reserved a block of roo ms at T he O 'Callaghan H otel An napolis, 174 West Street, A nnapo lis M D 2 14 01 , fo r the evenings of Friday, 9 M ay, and Sa turday, 10 M ay. To get our special rate of $ 160 per nigh t, call rhe hotel at 4 10 263-7700 and req uest Na tional M ari rime H isto rical Society rooms. Please boo k early; the block will be ava ilable u ntil 9 April 2003, w hile roo ms las t. Parki ng is $ 11 per nigh t. T he hotel is within walkin g distance of the Naval Academ y, and a shu ttle will be provided between the Academ y and the hotel in the mo rning and afternoon.
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I/we will arrend the Annual Meeting and luncheon in Annapolis, Maryland. Please reserve _ _ places at $50 each.* Please make me a Parro n of the Annual Meeting. My $25 0 co ntribution includes two places at the luncheon. (I will use _ 1 _2 _ neith er of these places.*)
I I I
Please make me a Sponsor of th e Annual Meetin g. My $ 1000 co ntribution includes two places at the lun cheon and a half- page listi ng I in the Annual Meetin g program. (1 will use _ l _2 _ neither of these places.*) I wo uld like to help NMHS with this don ation: _ _ _ M y check for $_ _ _ is enclosed. NAME _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ ADDRESS _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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SEA HISTORY J03, WINTER 2002- 03
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7
The American Achievement by Sea Seafaring launched America's involvement in the world and sustains it today. Now, when America's role is challenged, it seems well to look at what American intervention by sea has meant to the world-and to America. by Peter Stanford
T
he im porrance of seafaring in American life becomes violem suppression of dissent. T h e message we're looking apparent to mosr cirizens when rhe narion 's interesrs for is not chiseled into stone, it is a live, organic, evolvin g and co mmirments are rhrearened overseas. We be- message, which will be seen differen tly by differem peo ple and must always celebrate variery camevividlyaware of rhose commirand rise to challenge, welcoming ments in rhe grear wars of rhe cenchange. mry jusr ended, and in rhe Cold War T h e seafaring experience permeended rhirreen years ago . U nderates the great achievements that make srandin g how rhose involvements up the burden of this message. Felipe rook shape becomes virally imporFern a ndez-Arm es to said in th e ranr in rhe era we' re livin g in, when W orld Marine Millennial C onferrhe narion, and all ir srands for, is ence, which our Sociery co-sponchal lenged by a worldwide terrorist sored wirh the Peabody Essex Mum ovem en t. Ques ti ons like wh y seum in 2000: "M aritime hi sto ry is Am eri cans took to the sea in the first world histo ry. " It is wirh this breadrh place, how we fared, and whar were of vision char we should pursue our the outcomes ca n reveal a !or abour ques t, embracing purposes and prothe American role in the wo rld , and cess as well as omcomes-above all whar mighr be called rhe Am eri can in the rich learning gen erated in the message. encounter of varied cultures. W e T hat message exisrs and ir has had T111·_ 01.1>1-s1 S1111• 11' lilt' HMS a definire impacr on rhe world. In put this m essage across in should Bo:-.10"1 H·\IUJOR TLG TIU I \'>T Al\TIC.)tl rRt:IC.lfll RS academi a, where it h as becom e fas hseeking to get a broad picm re of rhar Hl1W Wt ('10:-.u 1111. Por.ro1 N1.w Yow.K ionable to foc us on rhe fa ilures and message, we need to look at how ir crimes of the American pas t, which was developed across a goodly stretch USS Co nsrirn rion puts to sea in 1803 to fight of rime. W e should nor be distracred may be fo und in any story invol ving Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. hum anity. T hi s cramped and sterile by noisy windsqualls chasing each Painting by Michel Felice Corne other across the face of rime's ocean; approach burkes and discourages the we should seek out rhose deeper, slower-moving groundswell learning to be got from the positive achievemem s. So let us developments, which profoundly affecr rhe movement of take a positive tack to see what the nation, and the world, might learn from the American experience by sea. history. H ere, then are some of the great th emes or areas of W e need to pursue such giam ques ti ons as how slavery came to be abolished in rhe las t few hundred years, after achievement whi ch we have found over the years in the pages rhousands of years of rhis universal evil, and how parliamen- of Sea H istory. W e take up rhe US N avy first, because tary democracies arose aro und the wo rld, replacing seem- without the US Navy rh ere wo uld be no story- or not one ingly more effi ciem desporic regimes imposed by force and to change rhe world as America has. NAf!ONAI M.\Rnl .. IEHI
Ofll('AL :..Xlf'TY
SEA HISTORY~
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The Navy of Old Ironsides T he US Navy has been viral to rh e defense o f Am eri can inreres rs since rh e first irregular fo rces rook to sea to harry British bl ockaders and caprnre suppli es fo r Ge neral Washingto n's army. H ow its miss ion grew and changed is o ne fo r the books-rhar is, any boo k that seeks ro get at Ame ri ca's ro le in th e world . But the naval sto ry has been neglected in much maritime histo ry and for yea rs ir was excluded fr om most mari time museums. Perhaps this sprang from a
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benign emphas is on the an s o f peace rather than the horrors of war- bur rece nr hard experience shows this neglect is a Iuxury we ca nno t afford. T he Navy carri ed o u t its changing mission driven by sheer necess ity, and then by st rategic vision. A t first we see rh e naval fo rces of the Co ntin ental Co ngress ac ting as auxiliaries to the armi es fightin g asho re, wagin g d es perate los in g battles which slowed down the British plan o f co nques t, keeping the Revolutio n alive until France
jo in ed the wa r, ass uring Am erican victo ry. Am eri can p ri va teers raiding British shipping p rov ided supply fo r ragtag Ame ri can armi es, and mad e a costly and unp opular wa r still mo re cos dy ro Bri rain . And Jo hn Paul Jo nes wro te an imperishab le chapter in naval histo ry by bea rin g British wa rships in their ho me wa ters-fo undi ng a tradi tio n of the o ffensive which is ar rhe co re of US Navy doctrine today. A curious and wo nderfu l thin g happened as the Am erican Revolutio n wo und
SEA HISTORY I 03, WINTER 2002- 03
NATIONAi. MARITIME IHSTORICALSOCIETY
NATIONAL M ARm'4 e HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SEA HISTORYn TI~E
SEA HISTORYn
ART. LITERATURE. ADVENTURE. LORE & LEARN ING OF THE SEA
Ian Marshall's Marine Watercolors THE FKiHT OFF SA MAR THEA¡WISTAD'S LEGACY OF LIBERTY A SmP FOR THE CAPE l-IORN ROAD
HMS Renown welcomes USS New York to Bermuda in 1898 following US victory in the Spanish-American War. Continental European opinion had predicted Spanish victory; the British, however, had good reason to know better and welcomed US strength. Painting by Ian Marshall
down, following the French intervention by sea, whi ch led to the surrender of Cornwallis's army in Yorktown in rhe autumn ofl 781. New York's JohnJay, one of the peace commissioners meeting in Paris, learned from English friends that the British government now wanted to see a strong America reaching in to the continental mass to the Mississippi as its western border, and north to the Great Lakes. America's allies, France and Spa in , wanted to see the colonies confined to the Atlantic seaboard. These strong military powers, dominant in Europe, had ambitions of their own in th e virgin American continent. Britain was now winning the war at sea, and France was going broke, so the American delegation was able to apply pressure to get their enemy's terms accepted-terms infin itely more favora bl e to the new republic than its allies' terms. W h en America declared war agains t Britain in 1812, the yo ung American Republic showed what it could do at sea in the powerful frigates which] oshua Hurn phreys designed to beat their British counterparts. Led by USS Constitution these ships proceeded to do just that, in a series of singlesh ip victories that rocked the British Admiralty. Interestingly enough, the third ship in Constitution's class, USS President, was redesigned by a British-trained naval architect who reduced her scan ding so she'd sail faste r, thus botching Humphreys's rough SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
T HE ART. LITERATURE. ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA
design, which gave the original ship her nickname "Old Ironsides." T hese ships were superb ly handled by captains trained in the hard school of the Barbary Wars, which taught them to slug it out at close quarters. Privateers played a major role in bringing Britain to the peace table, bur the decisive battles on land were won by hastily built ships on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, where Commodores Perry and MacDonough turned back invading British armies by wiping our rhe warships that kept them in supp ly. British arrogance in drafting American seamen fo r their wo rldwide war against Napoleon was the ostensible cause of the outbreak of the War of 18 12. But other currents were running in this war. First was the American drive, supported even by such a statesman as T homas Jefferson, to "liberate" Canada. The Canadians repulsed the resulting American invasion and mounted a successful counter-invas ion of their own, arrested only by Perry's victory on Lake Erie. After this to-and-fro, a 3,000-mile unfortified border was set up berween the rwo nations-surely a worthwhile lesson for America and the wo rld! A deeper current was the growing bond of common interest berween America and NATIONA L MARITIM E HISTORICAL SOC11:."TY
SEA HISTORYn THE ART. LITER ATURE, ADVEi\'TURE. LORE & LEARNING OF TH E SEA
" PULL-TOGETHER" : THE Q UEENSTO\XIN NAVAL CoMMAND
Herman Melville's Seafaring Days A Concours d'Elegance of Canoes \Xli lliam Fakoner: Marine Lexicographer
Fishermen cheer US destroyers arriving in Ireland in 1917 to support the Royal Navy in the battle with the U-boat. America supplied brains as well in Admiral Sims, who pushed through the convoy system to finally overcome the U-boat menace in WW I Painting by Bernard R. Gribble
"The Venturesome Pursuic" on THE CAPE HORN ROAD The Historic Journey of the Sloop b.periment
Casualties of rhe Undeclared Naval War A BaJtic Schooner Reborn as che Brig Pilgrim Srudenrs under Sail in rhe Summer of 1998
The Black Ball packet Orpheus leaving New York in 1835 epitomizes the energy that gave American ships the leading role in the commerce binding the Old World to the New. Black Ballers are still celebrated in sailors' songs. Painting by j ohn Stobart
Britain in rescraining European militarism. This bond was felt mainly by maritime leaders, who knew enough of che world to appreciate British freedoms (however imperfect in American eyes) versus Napoleonic totalitarianism. This did not prove strong enough to prevent the war, but it did lead rhe New England states ro mount an initiative to stop it. Ir helped to end the war wi th no gain by either side, save for notable improvement in British respecc for American rights, and American acceptance of Canadian independence. In the following years a tacit arrangement arose whereby the British navy guaranteed the Americas against European military incursions. European militarism was fueled by the leading autocratic states banded together in rhe infamous Holy Alliance, a coalition rhar capitalized on the British-led victory in the Napoleo nic Wars by acting in co ncert to suppress all dissent to their rule. British leaders, appalled by this abuse of victory, reverted to what they called "splendid isolation" -a role made possible by the worldwide dominance of British commerce backed by the Royal Navy. American leaders, for their part, were determined both to avoid embroilment in European affairs and to keep the formidable European armies out of the American hemisphere. Like the founders of the Republic, they looked at America as a nation beyo nd nations, above the need for wagmg war.
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The lofty clipper Flying Cloud of 1851 won undying fame by her fast passages around Cape Horn, as the ultimate sailing ship for this stormiest corner of the ocean world. The learning of centuries of seafaring culminated in the matchless clipper ships.
So, when Britain decided on a policy to block with their superior sea power any European adventures in the Americas, Foreign Minister Lord Canning invited the US to join them in a joint declaration. President Monroe, having taken counsel with for m er Presidents Adams and Jefferson, decided it would be better if the US ann ounced this policy as their own, and accordingly in 1823 he proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, barring Europea n intervention in the Americas. Ir was understood on both sides of the Atlantic that the Royal Navy wo uld put teeth in the doctrine. And capitalizing on the generous terms that had ended the Revoluti on forty years ea rlier, Canning was able to announce to Parliament that he had summoned the New World to redress the balance of the Old (a sentiment W inston C hurchill was to echo in the 1940s as the US began to aid Britain when she stood alone against Nazi-do minated Europe in World War II). British sea power ass ured defeat of Spanish efforts to quash the independence movements in their South American coloni es. British and American volunteers supported these mo vemems and, later, in a Mediterranean extension of the Atlantic compact, helped to win freedom for Greece from its Ottoman overlords. T he abolition of the America opens the Pacific Coast by way of Cape H orn, as Captain Gray takes the Columbia Rediviva into the mouth of the Colum bia River, named for the ship whose voyage made Americas presence felt in the Pacific. Painting by Steve Mayo NAT lO~-'l . MAR ITIMf:
lllSTORIClll. SOCIET Y
SEA HISTORY:,. THE ART. LITER ATURE, ADVENTURE. LOl<E & LEARN ING OF T ME SEA
TH £ CAPE HORN ROAD 'fakes America ns inco che Pacific The US Changes Co u ~ in the Spanish¡American War Deror.uive Ouv ing.<i on Chesapeake Bay Dredge Bom'S The Skipper & rhe &igle: The Voyage Begins!
IO
slave trade, launched by an Anglo-American treaty in 1805 , and the abolition of slavery itself, achieved first in Britain in 1772, spread irres istibly through the Atlantic world, led by free black seamen who carried freedom 's message everywhere. T hese developmems were part of a liberalizing movement that swept aro und the world in the wake of both British commerce and, to a greater degree, American com merce-under the protection of the British navy. It was a movement full of contradictions and backslidin gs. Both nations benefited from the opium trade to China, for example, and cultural differences were too commonly translated into sentiments of racial superio ri ty. But the seedbeds of parliamentary democracy were laid, and such practices as burning widows alive and stoning women to death for sexual irregularities were ended in many societies. The United States Navy did not seek to match Bri rish power, but rather built steam fri gates like the big USS Princeton, an Old Ironsides-style ship , able to escape from anything that could beat her. We built only a few of the battleships needed for victory in a fleet ac tion to es tabli sh sea co ntrol, the intent being rather to make anyo ne think twice about riding roughshod over American righ ts and interests-a lesson the world, including the British, needed to be reminded of from time to time. The C ivil War brought a new challenge to the Navy, making necessary the rapid creation of large fleets to blockade the Southern coast and fi ght the amphibious Mississippi River battles that split the Sou th and led to victory in the nati on's most terrible wa r. Northern industry built the ships, the nation found admirals who co uld lead the fleets, and Yankee know-how launched the wo rld's first turret wa rship in USS Monitor, whil e Southern in genui ty and guts launched CSS Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in war. When the fratricidal strife ended, the reunited nation was left with a huge fleet of aging ships and piles of wartim e munitions,
THE Fl VINC CLOUD, BY WARR EN SHEPPARD
in an age of rapidly develop ing techn ology. T he nation fa ced no major threat in an age dominated by British sea power, but the rise of modern fleets in So uth America led to a Naval D efense Act which produced the famous ABCD cruisers in 1883- modern, speedy vessels able to take care of themselves as the frigates of the early 1800s had done. In fo llowing yea rs we built a growing number of battleships. 0 nee again America, whil e benefiting from British sea com ro l, was able to contain threatening situations and face down the Royal Navy itself if the occasion called for it. Bur despite inbredAmerican anti-imperialism, both Britain and America cooperated more than they came into conflict. There were differences, of course, beginning with the fact that A meri ca had been born in war with Britain . But broadly shared values and usages, and a com mon language, bound the people of Am erica and the British Empire together, as it did their two navies. The British Empire grew prodigiously during the 1800s, so that by the end of the century fully one qu arter of the wo rld's population was part of it, garrisoned with trivial forces largely made up of . . nanve connngents. Problems there were, most noticeablyand tragically close to home-the failure to reach a just, honorable and humane settlement with Ireland. Nonetheless a web of common interests, law and custo m grew up in the ramshackle and unplanned worldwide structure of the Empire, which tended to advance the freedom and welfare of the peoples in volved. This stood them and the wo rld in good stead when Armageddon burst on the world in the summer of 191 4, in the form of totalitarian European nationalism which it took the co mmitment of a wo rldwide oceanic coalition to subdue.
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
Pieh, leader of the revolt, inspired Americans with a vision ofa nation where allpeople would be fee, a vision celebrated in the sailing ofa new Amistad today (at left).
The revolt of Afticans being transported to slavery aboard the Amistad in 1839 did not end slavery but underlined the outlawing ofthe slave trade by Anglo-American compact. Singbe
From a century's perspective we can see the foundations of this coalition being laid. Fortunately there were American naval offi cers who could see this body of common interest at the ti me. Among them was Alfred Thayer Mal1an, a prophet of sea power, who saluted the historic role of the Royal Navy in repelling Napoleon 's drive for domination in the early 1800s in these m emorable words: "Those far-distant, stormbeaten ships, upon whi ch the G rand Army never looked, stood berween it and the dominion of the world. " A yo unger sea officer, William S. Sims, fort unately read those words and played a great role in making them come true again, when the US joined Britain in the war against militarist aggression in World War I. By the 1890s, America had become a form idable power, but did not exercise that power in the wo rld. That changed in 1898, in the Spanish-American War. American co mmercial interests saw vas t opportunity in extending the ind ustri al reach of America ac ross the Pacific to As ia, where the decaying Spanish emp ire wielded ruthless but fa iling control over the Philippine archi pelago, and similar opportunity in the Caribbean, where C ubans were in revolt against the same European empire. At the same time, quite naturally,Ame rican volunteers had been aiding the C uban independence movement as they had the earlier breakaway of the So uth American countries under Spanish rul e, and in the tense atmosphere created by these co nfluent strains the blowing up of the US battleship Maine in H ava na harbor was taken as an act of war by Spain. America's declaration of war against Spain followed in short order, leadi ng to great exci tement in the US and, in European circles, to a widespread feeling that the ancient and proud monarchy of Spain wo uld teach a sharp lesson to the upstart Americans. Exactly the reve rse happened. US ships and guns made has h of the aging Spanish wa rships in C uba and the Philippines, with Spanish colonies falling to American arms in both the Caribbean and Asiatic waters. It is fashionab le to denigrate US moti ves and actions in the Spanish-American War, bur what were the actual outcom es? C uba and Puerto Rico were freed, the latter choosing to remain in a protectorate relationship with the US, C uba later choosing an anti-
SEA HISTORY I 03 , WINTER 2002-03
The Atlantic Community From early European settlements in th e Americas, to the ever-stronger US ties to Europe and the UK, the exchange of ideas has been a shaping factor of the Atlantic communi ty. This brings in the ethos of great trading ci ti es, the innovation s of American capitalism and American democracy, as well as technological developments from the fast Western Ocean packets to today's contain er ships. MYSTIC SEAPORT PHOTO
US role; the Philippin es were kept as a protectorate for the first half-century after the war, and th en became the independent republic they are today. US commercial interests and, yes, a kind of aggressive triumphalism played a role, but the peoples involved benefited by American victorywhich gave th em freedom to work out their own destinies. The US now stood forth as a major power fo llowing this first great oceanic intervention in 1898. This wou ld soo n be underlined by President Theodore Roosevelt sending the "G reat W hite Fleet" of US warships around the wo rld to announce the American presence on the wo rld stage-in wh ich US Navy ships wo uld soon be in volved on much less festive occasions to turn back the tide of militarist aggression.
America in the Pacific World America intervened in the Pacific through the fur trade to C h ina, then on the US West Coast by way of Cape Horn , overcoming Spanish, Russian and British footholds on the American coast and establishing its own oceanic base in Hawaii. The US became a major power in the Pacific World, encountering varied cultures with growing respect for native autonomy.
The End of Slavery (1772-1865) From the abolition ofslavery in Britai n and Ca nada in 1772, throu gh rh e outlawin g of the slave trade in 1805, in which the US joined Brita in, followed by other nations, to the freeing of Caribbean slaves in the 1830s, and, fin ally, the T hirteen th Amendment, we trace how the initiatives of free black seamen overcam e odds to help end slavery for the first time in history.
Developing the US Message by Sea
Ships for the Voyage
Additonal themes are proposed below to round out the picture ofAmerican achi evem ent by sea . Ships and replica vessels are available to illustrate these themes, and authentic ways can be found to bring them to life for more Americans-including schoolchildren.
A Navy Second to None
We'll consider how different peoples have looked seawa rd for different reaso ns and how the ocean-go ing ship evolved to m eet their differing needs, from Egyptian ships trading to Lebanon onward through to ships of the era of discovery, and how America got into this scene and what kind of ships we built to m eet our evolving needs in seafaring.
America took an increasingly forward role in world affai rs as the 1900s opened and the tread of ever-growing armi es was felt in Europe and Asia. In World Wars I and II the US Navy picked up Britains's trident to make possible the wo rldwide coaliti on that stemmed totalitarian aggression. T he Atlantic Charter, adopted by the US and Britain in the depths of WWII, declared their shared aims memorably, and every promise made was kept, including the foundin g of the United Nations.
Toward a National Program A committee of Council of American Maritime Museums members is working on a national program of exhibits, lectureships, debates, conferences and reenactments to bring the great themes of American Achievement by Sea before the American public. Comment is invited and should be sent to American Achievement, NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566; orfax 914-737-7816. .t
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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 signed 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 inch es Trim size: 25 1/4 x 19 inches T wo of the most famous 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 Jon es's command. $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 18 112 inches Encamped outside Boston, Washington's forces outnumbered the British within the city, but the British commanded the sea. W ashington wanted to intercept their supply ships and, if poss ible, 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 1st M assachusetts from Marblehead . Th ese little vessels played 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 T rim size: 24 x 19 3/ 4 inches The Royal Navy tried to fo rce its way up the Delaware River to make co ntact with British troops in Philadelphia. O n 23 O ctober the A ugusta ran aground off Fort M ifflin, then caught fire. U nder heavy attack from shore batteries, galleys and guardboats, the A ugusta had to be abandoned and her magazine later exploded, destroying the largest British warship lost in ac tion in the course of th e war. $125.
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America's First Frigates: The Luck of Thirteen by Salvatore R. Mercogliano n 1775 rhe Brirish milirary siruarion in N orrh America appeared desperare. New England miliria, and Conrinenral rroops under rhe command of General George Washingron, besieged rhe Brirish army in Bosron. In Quebec, a successful campaign by General Philip Schuyler left G eneral Sir Guy Carleron fac ing a similar predicamenr ro rhar of General T h omas Gage in Massachuserrs. Forrunarely for the British, the Royal Navy prov ided resupply, reinforcemenr, and redeployment of fo rces as needed . D espite the fac t that British attenrion was focused on conflicts in Europe, Brirish command of rhe sea posed a severe threat ro the thirreen colonies. Given thei r navy and merchant marine, royal forces co uld range unmoles ted along the shores, outman euver rebel armies, and blockade trade. In response ro rhis threar, the Rhode Island General Assembly sponsored a pro posal ro consuucr a fleet of Conrinental wa rships in the summer of 1775 . On 11 D ecember, Congress fo rmed a co mmirree of thirteen ro discuss rhe marrer, and two days later the committee passed a resolution aurhori zing rhe construcrion of rhirreen fri gates. These ships represented a concerred efforr on the parr of Congress ro interdict British supply lines in rhe Atlanti c O cean and ro limit their abiliry ro range forces
I
along the coast. T hough heroic efforts were undertaken to co mplete them, these thirteen vessels proved a disappoinrmenr ro the war effort. In ro ta!, one was lost due ro enemy action, seven surrendered, and five were destroyed ro prevenr their capture, an unglamorous end, but the beginning ro the legacy of the U nited States Navy. T hough acco unts of these thirreen frigates exist in Revolutionary War naval hisrories, little is known of the period from the authorization of the ships ro their initial sailing. The diffic ulties that the colonies experienced in outfitting these thirteen ships plagued the navy throughout the war. The Conrinental Navy attempred ro wage a guerre-de-course sryle of warfare, an action later criticized by Alfred T. M ahan, who advocated the construction of a large battle fleet ro counrer the Royal Navy. But this manner of fighting on the high seas, along with the outfitting of priva te men-of-warprivateers-proved the only possible course of action open ro the colonies .
* * * * * America had a long tradition of shipbuilding and outfitting of both commercial and naval vessels in the decades prior ro the Revolution . H owever, the contracts for the frigates were awarded based on political considerations rather than shipbuilding capabilities. T his decision delayed construe-
n on and resulted in the destruction and caprure of some of the ships. Following the awarding of the co ntracts in December, the design of the frigates becam e the next major issue. Congress inrended fo r all the ships ro be completed by March 1776 according ro plans drafted by Joshua Humphreys-an extremely optimistic goal- but the plans did not leave Philadelphia unril February.John Langdon, who left the Continental Congress ro become the naval agent in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, wrote ro his replacement Josiah Bartlett, on 26 February 1776, that since he had yet ro receive any plans, he intended to proceed with a local design. In N ewburyport, Massachusetts, naval agenr Thomas C ushing informed John H ancock of the awa rding of two conrracts. Yet even with the plans in hand, the local builders probably used their own plans, or modified the original design, ro speed construction. T his is corroborated by Admiral ry records from captured C ontinenral vessels, which indicate differences in the construction of the fr igates H ancock and Bosto n from the original design . T he consrruction of the ships themselves did not pose a great difficulry, but the acquisition of cannon proved an other matter. T he original plan devised by C ongress called fo r four Pennsylvania fo undries ro
Draft ofthe ftigate Randolph, by J oshua H umphreys and j ohn Wharton (National A rchives; courtesy, Naval H istorical Center)
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
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The construction of the ships themselves did not pose a great difficulty, but the acquisition of cannon proved another matter. produce the needed armament. According to the authorized designs, the sh ips would require nearly four hundred cannon, together with supporting carriages, tackle, wads and shot. As it happened, American foundr ies had little experi ence in casting cannon, and as a consequence more than half of the guns that were produced split on their initial trials. Additionally, the frigates had to compete with the army and private ship owners, who paid top dollar to outfit their vessels as privateers. The plight of the frigate Raleigh exemplified the difficulty in obtaining cannon. John Langdon intended his frigate to be th e finest one in the fleet. H e repeatedly bombarded Congress with requests for the ship 's guns. It soon becam e apparent that he would have to procure his own guns if he wished to get Raleigh to sea. In September 1776, Massachuserrs agreed to lend him the necessary armament, if he agreed to clear Massachusetts Bay of a patrolling British frigate. The next week, the colony reversed its decision and decided to use them to outfit the uncompleted frigates Boston and Hancock. The loss of these cannon was offset by news that the Rhode Island assembly had agreed to provide the weapons from their frigates , if Langdon agreed to reimburse the colony. The producer, realizing the opportunity for a quick profit, quoted a pri ce of fl 00 per ton, nearly four times the figure specified in the original contract. Langdon agreed to pay this infl ated price, but when the foundry added a proviso demanding that half of the money be paid in advance, he refused. H e was co nvinced that these maneuvers were an effort to deny him the guns and keep them for the Rhode Island frigates. The apparent solution to the problem came from Congressman William Whipple of Co nnecticut, who proposed that Raleigh use the guns from the uncompleted frigate Trumbull. Unfortunately, Captain John Manley of Hancock traveled to Phil adelphia and demanded the remaining cannon needed to outfit his ship, or he would resign his commission . His position as the second-ranked captain in the Continental Navy, along with his reputation, allowed him to seize Trumbull's guns and mount them on Hancock. Langdon wrote to John Hancock reminding him of Congress's previous deci-
14
sion to allocate Trumbull's cannon to Raleigh. Whipple called for an investigation into the "villainy" committed by Man ley. T hese actions, however, fai led to provide the needed guns or the censure of Massachusetts captain. In an attempt to resolve the problem, Continental Navy age nt John Bradford proposed to remove the pig iron ballast from the warship Alfred and use the colony's furnaces to cast the necessary cannon. The Massachuserrs legislature agreed. The poor quality of th e pig iron, and the lack of experience in the manufacture of weapons, resulted in only twenty cannon being fitted by June 1777, more than a year after the launching of the ship. Impatient, the Marine Committee ordered Raleigh to France to acquire its final allotment of cannon. The fo llowing month Hancock, mounting the guns promised to John Langdon, fell into British hands fo llowing an inadequate defense by John Manley. In September the following yea r, th e frigate that John Langdon agonized over during its outfitting attempted to elude a British patrol and was captured off the coast of Maine.
* * * * * A British force landed on Staten Isl and in the summer of 1776 and launched a campaign to capture the strategic port of New York C ity. Concurrently, British forces in Canada planned to descend Lake C ham plain. At Poughkeepsie, up the Hudso n River from New York City, work proceeded slowly on the 28-gun frigate Congress and the 24-gunMontgomery. The threat posed by these two armies forced a delay in construction, while the shipwrights were diverted to build fleets of gunboats on the Hudso n Ri ve r and Lake Champ lain. George Washington personally reques ted not only th e New York builders but also those working on the four frigates in Philadelphia. The successful delaying action by G eneral Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island in October vindicated this decision . The holdup in construction, however, sealed the fate of the two frigates and they were destroyed below West Point in October 1777. While General Burgoyne advanced from Canada, and General Clinton launched his expedition north ward, General Willi am Howe loaded the bulk of his army on transports and moved on the rebel capital at Philadelphia. On th e Delaware River, four frigates were in varying stages of
comp letion, and the head of the Marine Co mmittee, Robert Morris, attempted to save these ships from the fate of Congress and Montgomery. The 32-gun Randolph, commanded by Nicholas Biddle, was the only one of the four to escape from Philadelphia. The captain's inability to recruit a crew, a co mmon occurrence among Continental Navy warships, caused him to repeatedly postpone his sailing. Morris pleaded with him to save the ship, and, to provide the needed incentive, Co ngress offered Biddle $ 10,000 if he managed to get his ship clear of the Delaware. Morris finally ordered Biddle to sail for the Caribbean and to complete the crewing of his ship by "encouraging" crews of captured British ships to en list. Randolph sailed short-handed and cleared the Delaware Capes on 4 February 1777. After a series of mishaps with faulty masts and spars, the undermanned ship met her end in a battle with the 64-gun British ship-ofthe-line Yarmouth off Charleston on 7 March 1778. Biddle's initial ability to elude British patrols gave hope to Morris that the 24gun Delaware co uld follow its larger sister ship to sea. John Adams reported that the ship stood ready for sea and that "s he makes a fine appearance." The two other frigates being constructed at Philadelphia, the 32-gun Washington and the 28-gun Effingham, lacked the necessaty crews to sail, as the men were then serving with General Washington as part of his artillery corps. As Adams watched Delaware set sail on 11 Apri l, he did not realize that the British had effectively sealed off the rive r and that the three frigates were stuck like ships in a bottle. T he defeat of Washington's army at Brandywine Creek opened the way for General Howe and the British Army to occupy Philadelphia. Yet rebel defenses at Forts Mifflin and Mercer prevented British ships from sailing directly to the city and resupplying their army. Commodore John Hazelwood of the Pennsylva nia State Navy ordered the frigate Delaware to assist in the defense of the capital, while the other two incomplete ships were moved to White Hill, New Jersey. During an action before British shore batteries, Delaware grounded. Unable to respond to the enemy fire, Captain Charles Alexa nder had Ii ttle cho ice but to surrender. This gave the British posses-
SEA HISTORY J 03, WINTER 2002-03
I n this painting for Captain Brisbane of HMS Flora, Francis Holman depicted the battle between the Con tinental Navy frigates Hancock (second from left), Bosrnn (fourth from left) and Fox (formerly HMS Fox) and HMS Flora (engaging Hancock) and
sion of naval fo rces on borh sides of rhe fores, and following a massive bombardment borh fores fell, rhereby opening rhe river rn Brirish shipping. As rh e Conrinenral Army rerreared, rhe exposed posirion of Effingham and Washington caused grear co ncern among rh e American leadership . Norwanring chem rn fall inro enemy hands, bur also no r wishing rn squander rhe reso urces commirred rn rheir co nsrrucrion, General Washingrn n proposed char rhe rwo be scurried in such a way char rhey could lacer be raised and pur back in rn service. Cap rains John Barry and Thomas Read supervised rhe sinking of rheir prospecrive commands. T h e nexr spring, Co nrinental forces raised the ships by parching rhe hulls and pumping our rhe wa rer. Howeve r, Caprain John H enry of rhe Royal Navy led seven hundred m en up rhe D elaware on 7 May 1778 and roured rhe rebel defenders, sening fire rn the ships. In Rhode Island, Connecricur, and Maryland, Brirish efforrs rn blockade rhe remaining four frigares met with limi ted success. Ar Newporr, Commodore Esek Hopkins supervised rhe final ourfining of rhe 32-gun Warren and rhe 28-gun Providence. Delays in consrrucrion , due rn alteration of the plans and difficulry in enlisring crews, prevented them from sa iling and joining the fri gates H ancock and Boston, whi ch co uld have been an imposing demo n s rra rion of Ame ri can na va l force. Hopkins's plan did nor come rn fruition , for a British force landed ar Newport in December 1776 and blockaded Narragansett Bay. The sh ips remained bottled up in port unril 1778, when Cap tai n John
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
HMS Rainbow (far right) in J uly 1777. The B ritish retook Fox and captured H ancock; the frigate, renamed Iris, later captured the Continental Navy frigate T rumbull. (Courtesy, the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts)
B. Hopkins navigared Wa rren past th e British fl eet and arrived in Bosrnn on 23 March. T he nexr monrh, Cap rain Abraham W hipple fo llowed in Providence. In Con necticut, rh e efforts rn get Trumbull rn sea also met w ith difficulries . Incessa nt delays in obtaining duck and cordage for rh e ri gging led naval agenr Jeremiah Wadsworth rn co mmenr, "I chink chis country is older in fraud and C hicanery [sic] then G reat Britain. " Builr on rhe Connecricur River, rhe ship an empted rn sail in January 1777 for her final outfirring, bur rwo Brirish fri gares blocked her departure. To prevenr capture, Captain Dudley Salrnnsrall decided rn arm rheship in the ri ver, bur rh e guns and srn res so loaded down rhe vessel char she co uld nor navigare over rhe bar. The ulrimare soluri on rn rhe dilemma came from General Benedict Ar nold. He recommended char several lighrers be secured alongside and conn ecred w ith scraps under the keel. T hey could rhen be unloaded, rhereby lifong rhe fri gare and allowing her rn clear rhe shoal. Ir was nor unril rhe appoinrmenr of Elisha Hindman as caprain, in March 1779, char rhe idea was implemenred and rhe shi p final ly broke free from irs capriviry. T he sole so uthern-bui lr fri gare, Virginia of Balrimore, Maryland, had one of rhe srrangesr careers of any of rhe thirteen ships. Anxious rn gee Virginia rn sea, Co ngress ordered Caprain James N icholson in April 1777 rn sail for rhe Wesr Indi es, and ifhe needed , rn "encourage" caprured sailors rn enlisr, as ir had previously instrucred Caprain Biddle. Nicholson inrerprered the order differenrly, and insread of seeking
Brirish crews, he decided rn impress local sailors. On l 3April, Caprain George Cook of rhe Maryland Scare Navy ship D efense, N icholson's old command, repon ed rn Governor Thomas Johnson rhe impressm enr of one of his crew. The sailor in quesrion, Philip Miller, escaped from Virginia and reporred the poor rrearmenr he had received wh ile on board. N ichol son defended himself by scaring char, alrhough he had no direcr orders rn impress resi denrs of rhe colony, he believed Congress wo uld nor disapprove of his acrion . This represenred one of rhe earliesr co nfronrarions berween rhe powers of rhe scare and the federal governmenr. In this case, Congress ordered N icholso n rn release any impressed sailors and co remain in port unril furrher orders. Maryland did nor push for his dismi ssa l since ir favo red keep in g a sourherner as the ranking caprain in rhe Conrinenral Navy. This conrroversy, and Brirish parrols in Chesapeake Bay, prevenred rhe sailing of Virginia until 30 March 1778 . Nearly rwo years afrer rhe ship 's launch , N icholson finally aimed his ship for rhe open sea. Whi le navigaring rhrough rhe V irginia Capes, however, rhe ship ran up on a sand bank. Accusing rhe local pilor of saborage, N icholson ordered additional sail rn push rhe ship over rhe bar. As rhe ship careened over rhe obstacle, her rudd er was ripped from its mounrs. U nable rn maneuver, Nicho lson ordered Virginia anchored and hoped that rhe tide wo uld push her back inro rhe H am pron Roads. As the sun rose on 1 Ap ril, Brirish warships closed on her posirion. Nicholson gathered the ship's
15
The Origins and Fates of America's First Thirteen Frigates Ship & Guns Hancock 32
Raleigh 32
Builder Jonathan Green leaf James Hackett, Stephan Paul, & James Hill
Location
Launch Date
Newburyport MA
July 10, 1776
Portsmouth NH
May 21, 1776
Fate Captured off Nova Soctia by HMS Rainbow on Julv 8, 1777. Captured by British squadron off Wooden Island, Maine, Sept. 28, 1778.
Randolph 32
John Wharton and Joshua Humphreys
Kensington PA
July 10, 1776
Warren 32
Benjamin Talman
Warren RI
May 15, 1776
Washington 32
Manuel, Jehu, & Benjamin Eyre
Kensington PA
August 7, 1776
Congress 28
Lancaster Burling
Poughkeepsie NY
Oct. 29, 1776?
Effingham 28
Joseph and Thomas Grice
Southwark PA
October 31 , 1776
Providence 28
Sylvester Bowers
Providence RI
May 18, 1776
Trumbull 28
John Colton
Portland CT
Virginia 28
George Wells
Fells Point MD
August 12, 1776
Captured by British squadron off Hampton, Virginia, March 31 , 1778.
Boston 24
Stephen and Ralph Cross
Newburyport MA
June 3, 1776
Captured at Charleston , May 12, 1780
Delaware 24
Warwick Coats
Southwark PA
July 21 , 1776?
Captured in Delaware River on Sept. 27, 1777.
Montgomery 24
Lancaster Burling
Poughkeepsie NY
November 4, 1776
Burned to avoid capture on Oct. 7, 1777
papers and fled the vessel. C ongress held an inquiry into this action bur acquitted Nicholson of any wrongdoing, again .
* * * * * In historical studies of rhe Revolutionary War, the performance of rhe Conrinenral Navy and the thirteen fri gates remain unimportant footnotes to outcome of rh e conflict. Al rho ugh it could have relied solely on privateers and stare navies, Congress decided to establish a national force. The difficulties encountered in outfitting these thirteen ships did nor deter Congress from authorizing additional ships. On 20 N ovember 1776 ir passed an act calling for the construction of five new frigates, several smaller ships, and three 74-gun ship-ofrhe-line blockade busters. Although construction of most of these ships never even began, the gesture demonstrated the resolve of the fledgling nation nor to accede to Britain 's control of rhe seas. The delays in construction and outfitting the frigates prevented their sailing upon the Atlantic en masse. Such a force could have posed a threat to British lines of communica tion. Although the C ontinental Navy could never have directly challenged the British fleer, it could have pounced on supply ships while eluding ships-o f- rheline. With such a force committed to a guerre de course, the British wo uld have been
16
Blown up in action with HMS Yarmouth on March 7, 1778. Burned to avoid captu re near Frankfort, Maine on August 14, 1779. Scuttled at White Hill, NJ on Nov. 2, 1777 and burned on May 8, 1778. Burned to avoid capture on Oct. 7, 1777 Scuttled at White Hilll , NJ on Nov. 2, 1777 and burned on May 8, 1778. Captured at Charleston .May 12, 1780.
Captured by HMS Iris and September 5, 1776 General Monk off Delaware Capes on August 28, 1781.
compelled ro respond by dispatching large naval fo rces to hum down the Americans, much like the strategy used by the Confederacy against the U nion navy in the C ivil War. Instead, rhe stagge red compl etion of the ships enabled the British to hum them down and eliminate them individually, or even before they were completed. This performance of the fri gates rends to reflect the notion that the United Stares never had a serious chance of challenging rhe British . By 1779, nine of the rhirreen ships had been destroyed or captured, and the others did nor remain at large for long. T har year, Warren served as the flagship for the ill-fared Penobscot Bay expedition and was burned to prevent her capture. The follo wing year, General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered C harleston to the forces of General C linton, and the frigates Providence and Boston fell into enemy hands. T he last of the thirteen mer its end at rhe hands of one of its sister ships. Trum bull, finally free ofirs captivity in rhe Connecti cut Rive r and comm anded by Jam es N icholson, suffered damage in a storm while escorting a fleer of merchantmen in August 178 1. U nable ro elude pursuing British warships, and accusing his crew of cowardice, N icholson surrendered to the Royal Navy wa rship Iris, which had been H ancock, rhe firs t of rhe rhirreen fri gates to
be lost to rhe enemy. T he performance of the first thirteen Co ntinental fri gates was lackluster despite rhe best effort of many to get them into the war. N onetheless, the ships represented the U nited States' initial effo rt to become a naval power and the legacy of these fri gates remained strong in the US N avy. In 1801 , fo llowing the end of the Q uasi-War, the Peace Establishment Act requi red President T homas Jefferson to retain thirteen fri gates-Constitution, President, United States, Constellation, Congress, Chesapeake, Philadelphia, New Yo rk, Boston, Essex, General Greene, j ohn Adams, and Adams- as the core of the new navy. A decade later, a third set of th in een was authorizedGuerriere,java, Columbia (I) , Brandywine, Potomac, Columbia (II) , Santee, Savannah, Sabine, Raritan, Cumberland, St. Lawrence, and Congress-followin g in the tradition of their predecessors. Each of this trio of thi rteen frigates served as th e bulwark of rhe American sailing navy during its time period, and until the navy turned to steam and iron, rhe first thirteen, although neither glorious nor even successful, es tablished an 1. inspiring tradition for the US Navy. Salvatore M ercogliano is Lecturer ofH istory at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, andAdjunct Professor ofH istory at Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina.
SOURCES Allen, Gardn er W .ANavalHistoryoftheAmerican Revolution. (Bosto n, 19 13) Bauer, K. Jack and Stephen S. Ro berts. Register ofShips ofthe US Navy, 1775-1990 (Wesrpo rr, 1991 ) C hapelle, H owa rd l. The History ofthe A merican Sailing Navy: The Ships and Their D evelopment (New Yo rk, 1949) Mackesy, Piers. The War far America, 17761783. (Lin coln, 1992) Mah an, Alfred T. The Influence of Sea Power Up on History, 1660- 1783. (Bosto n, 19 18) McCusker, John J. "T he Rise of rhe Shi pp ing Industry in Colonial Ame ri ca, " Americas Maritime Legacy: A History of the US M erchant Marine and Shipbuilding Industry Since Colonial Tim es. (Bould er, 1979) M iller, Nathan. Sea ofGlory:A Naval History of the A merican Revolution. (Ann apolis, 1974) Naval Documents of the American Revolution. (Washin gto n, 1964-1996).
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
NEW FROM SEA HISTORY PRINTS
NiÂŁJfit view from the Battery) New York. City) in 1854 BY WILLIAM
G.
MULLER
The Bl ack Ball Line's packet ship Yorkshire passes Castl e Garde n a nd the lower tip of M anhatta n' s B attery Park as she sail s o ut of the East Ri ver o n her way to ea under the moonlig ht in 1854.
An exclusive limited edition of 250 signed and numbered giclee prints from the original oil painting at $150 each. (Add $15 s&h in the US) Image size: 13" x 20"; Sheet size: 16" x 22" Prin ted on 300 lb. I 00% cotton rag stock using archival in ks. A Certificate of Authenti c ity acco mpani es each print.
Order your print from
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566 Or phone in your credit card order to
1 800 221-NMHS (6647), xO (NYS res idents add appli cable sales tax. For orders outside the US , call or e-mail (nmhs@seahi story.org) fo r shipping.)
The Art of the Sea Calendar for
2003 The glory and beauty of ships and the sea have in spired great works of art through the centuri es and continue to inspire the artists of today. Brilliant im ages, from fullrigged ships and fi shing schooners to grand ocean liners, workaday tugs and small pl easure craft, fill thi s calendar and will bri ghten your days. Royalties from sales of this calendar benefit the National Maritime Historical Society. Calendar is wa ll hanging, full color, 11 x 14 inches; 11.95 + $3 .50 s/h. Send $ 15.45 (or $14.25 fo r NMHS members) to:
NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566 Or order by credit card by ph oning:
1-800-221-NMHS (6647) SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
17
My Own Little Leaking Monticello: John A. Noble's Legacy for the Snugs by Erin Urban
I
t was a stroke of good fortune that my first glimmer of life on th e water came from artist John A.Noble. I met him in 1983,j ust a few weeks before he died. I was wo rking for Wagner Coll ege in Staten Islan d, New York, in the Publicati o ns Office when the college was celebrating its centennial. We we re give n permission to interview fam o us people, and because we agreed o n a thirty-minute interview, we go t in the door with a few. I lobbied to interview Nob le and expected to be o ut of his house in thir ty minutes, too. The college's photographer, Bill Higgins, and I met there earl y that morning. I felt a little un easy when I asked my first question, "What brou ght yo u to State n Island?" and No ble replied in his gravelly vo ice, with its distinct cadence, "The Harlem River brought me to Staten Island ." As he d rew me in , though, I realized he was n' t a slightly demented old salt, but rather a mas ter sto ryteller ten steps ahead of me. We touched o n many things-from the life of his father, the famo us romanti c painter Jo hn "Wichita Bill" Noble, to why he used a rowboat to navigate the little inl ets, creeks, and islands of the harbor. "Well, how else wo uld yo u do it?" he asked. T he interview stretched into lunchtime, when we adjourned for a m artini, and then we set off for Bayo nne to visit his houseboat studio. "Higgins, " Nob le decl ared "H iggins. T hat's a good name for a chauffeur. You drive, Higgins." Bill took the wheel of Noble's convertible jeep, and as we roa red past Sailors' Snug H arbor, the famo us retirement hom e for mariners, Nob le stood and saluted . T he houseboat was beached and boarded up, bu t it was important to No ble that we see it. He slammed som e loose boards back in place over a window and seemed thoughtfu l and sad . I recall the soft breeze in the meadow grass. We returned to Staten Island and dropped Noble at home. I remember how Bill and I emb raced before we separated. We were excited, and I could not take my eyes off the wate r. John Noble died three weeks late r, the evening before I was to visit him to go over the text of the interview. His vo ice had filled o ut offices at Wagner for days as I transcribed almost eight hours of tape. I
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j ohn Noble working aboard his studio barge thirty years before the author interviewed him for Wagner College. The photograph was taken for the 1954 National Geographic article "Here's New York Harbor." (Courtesy Nation al Geographi c, December 1954) mourn ed my loss, and I was angry. A n art historian by training, I had at last found a subj ect and original resource, and he was go ne. But not a week went by when some mention of John Nob le did not come across my desk. Finally, fearfully, but with incipient excitement, I decided to accept th e Nob le family's offer to wo rk for the estate and write a book about No ble. Opossum Acres, the Nob le home at 270 Richmo nd Terrace, was a treasure trove of art and original writings, and it was a piece of No ble in the material sense, with its po rthole through the living room floor and captain 's bell to summ o n the artist from upstairs. So much histo ry-art, w ritings, photographs, and artifacts-re m ained in the house that when I applied for a Charities Registratio n to raise mo ney for the houseboat-still languishing on the shore of the Kill van Kull-my attorney recommended we apply for a museum charter. We did, and we formed a Board of Trustees and received the Provisional Museum C harter in 1987. In 199 1, the problems of renting the house from the new owners and its shrine-like nature made it impractical as a museum . We needed a home for the collection and the houseboat. T he Nob le Collection came to Building
D at old Sai lo rs' Sn ug H arbor to bring the spirit of the sailo rs back to their hi sto ric home. No ble loved Snug Harbor; he had gone to sea with some of the Snugs, and he knew about their lives and the hardships they had faced . We co uld thinkofno m o re appropri ate home for his work. Nob le was in the fo refront of a successful co mmunity effo rt to preserve the eigh tyacre site from developers when Sailors' Snug H arbor so ld the site in the late 1970s and relocated the las t seamen to North Carolina. His passion helped convince New York C ity mayo r Jo hn V. Lindsay to defy his advisors and buy the property back from the developers. In 1991, just before moving to Building D, the Co ll ectio n gain ed the support of the State n Island borough president, G uy V. Molinari . H e provid ed the first in a series of allocatio ns totaling $2.4 million to adapt the landmark do rmitory, built in 184 1, in to a code-compliant and accessible museum and study center. At the sam e time, an extraord in ary partnership formed. On a cold morning in March 1992, a coterie of volunteers cam e toge ther to wo rk on the bui lding, and the No ble C rew began. T he idea of the C rew was born at the Open House to Close the House, a party in
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
Building D, home to the Noble Maritime Collection. {Unless otherwise noted, all photos are by Michael Falco, ŠThe Noble Maritime Collection, 2002)
Some ofthe stellar work ofthe Noble Crew is evident in these before-andafter photographs of the ceiling ofthe former writing room, featuring a trompe f'oeil glasshouse roof 1991 to close the Noble home and initiate the move to Snug H arbor. Jo hn Santore, a pal of mine for years, and I were the last to leave. I was fretting about leaving the Noble ho use and scared of Buildin g D . Ir was huge and de olate, with no bathroom, no locks on the doo rs, gaping holes in the Aoo r, and cracked and crumbling walls. "I don 't know how I am going to do this," I sa id. John replied, "I' ll help yo u do it. " And he did. We called o ther fri ends and set the first Crew dare. John go t here early and built a ramp down the front steps of th e stately granite portico for his wheelbarrow. People started bagging trash inside, Jo hn 's wheel barrow rook it down the ramp-and rhe No ble C rew was rollin' . In rh e eight years from that first Crew date to the museum's opening in November 2000, the C rew did all kinds of essential work-ca rpentry, plumbing, electrical wo rk, cleaning, painting, sheetrocking and hauling debris. They built display cases, catalogued the collection, framed art, and did things like mounting the wheel of the schoo ner Garrett at the end of the second Aoor, so kids can see the size and feel a sense of the weight of that enormo us vessel. In all, the C rew co ntributed over $ 1 million in
SEA HISTORY I 03, WINTER 2002- 03
services and materials to transform the building-a contributio n of rime and materials symbolizing Staten Island 's love of history. When the rehabilitatio n was almost complete, John suggested that we leave o ne roo m unfinished "ro give a sense of the ' befo re' and 'afrer. '" The Noble Crew Exhibition on the third Aoo r is a tribute to the volunteers, even tho ugh with heavy hearts, we recently dedicated it to John. A New Yo rk C ity fireman nine mo nths from retirement, he was killed in the Wo rld T rade Cen rer o n 1 I September 2001 . C rew members decided to establish the J ohn A. San to re Fund for Educa tio n, with which the museum offers free school programs. T he C rew's sensibili ty is re Aecred everywhere in rhe building. Nob le called Snug H arbo r "a home and a cl ub , a ducal estate, for a distinguished breed of men," and Building D is elegant and exquisitely appointed . The re habili tatio n garnered a number of awa rds, in cluding the 1999 Preserva ti o n Award fro m the M unicipal Art Sociery of New Yo rk. In M arch 2001 , with rime running our o n our bid fo r permanent fundin g fro m the C ity of New Yo rk, Borough President Molinari had o nce again hand -delivered our request to Mayo r Rudolf G iuliani . Bur
he knew rhar som ething had to shake up the situati o n. T he cl o uds began to part afte r Brian Lalin e, editor of the Staten Island Advance, rook a to ur of rhe faciliry. Imp ressed with its spaciousness, he was pleased to find out it was available for gatherings. Co incidentally he ran into the borough president that day, and they came up with a plan . W hy nor persuade the mayo r to hold his nex t cabinet meeting at the No bl e Collecti o n? T he excitement in the air on the m orning o f 14 M arch was tangible. East Randall W ay fill ed up with limousin es, and then the m ayo r swept o nto the elevator and up to our Map Class room. While the cabinet meeting progressed, PR folk wondered where M ayo r G iuli ani could hold a press co nference. We hurri edl y cleared another classroo m fo r reporters and TV crews . Fi nally, the mom ent came to make o ur pitch. T he borough president, at the ready, rook the mayo r in to o ur Sail o rs' Snug H arbor Gallery and reminded him that he is a trustee of that ve nerable instirurio nhe knew al ready. H e surveyed the exhibition, and then crossed to the Eas t Gallery. Q uo ringNo ble from the wall text, he joked, '"Artists in smoke-fill ed rooms, drinking booze, and discuss ing compositi on and the meaning of life-' Sounds pre rry good, huh , G uy?" "So unds better than being borough presid ent! " Molinari shot back. I was keenly aware that he was running late when I asked the mayor ifhe had rime to visit the third Aoor. "Of course I have rim e," he answered . Up he we nt to the Noble Crew Exhibition. Seeing ph otographs of New Yorkers volunteering and the state of rhe building when we started co nve rted him . Six weeks later Borough President Moli na ri announced that G iuliani had allocated $250,000 o n a perm anent line in th e budget fo r the city's newest museum .
Education, Exhibitions and Archives Central to our missio n is rh e educati o n program. Ir includes arr, history, music, and boat trips out to the ships' graveya rds of New York H arbor, and we offer programs noronly to schoolchildren and ad ulrs, but also to teachers. Mo re than te n th ousand schoo l chil dren have parri cipared in wo rkshops since
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we srarted rhe programs in 1998 . Our classrooms overlook rhe Kill , o ne of rhe wo rld's busiesr warerways. W hile Nob le ofren chided adul rs for seldom noricing ships pass ing rhrough rhe Ki ll righr before rheir eyes, he'd be p leased ro know rhar few chi ldren fail robe rhri lled by rhe sighr. We have also esrab lished a wo rkin g prinrmakingsrudio, wirh borh erching and li thography presses. The srudios are o pen to working arrists, and we have renovated two dormitory rooms as a Print Gallery. Our education program for adulrs includes a class called Making Memory Boxes, in which people learn how ro preserve rheir old documenrs in archival environmenrs. We also offer memoir wriring and anorher class called Remembering Sailors ' Snug Harbor, parr of our oral hisrory projecr, Haunting Building D. We began rhe Haunting Building D projecr ro answer a lo ng-heard cry from rhe communiry ro preserve rhe hisrory of rhe harbor. From the mom enr we arrived ar Snug H arbor, people have approached us ro relare rheir srories. The museum's exh ibirions are anorher approach ro srudying hi story. Thomas Randall and the Early Days ofSailors' Snug Harbor, for example, exam ines rhe founding and early years of rhe firsr seamen's reriremenr home in America. Since we
opened, we have looked ar the work produced by No bl e's lirhography firm , Geo rge C. Miller & Son, and conducred a rerrospecrive of rhe wo rk of the venera ble " mezzorinr masrer" Herm an Zaage. We have recreared a rypical sailor's dormitory roo m in 1880. We are displaying Noble's own photographs of rhe Porr Johnsro n bo neyard on a 12,5 00-square-foor mural, co mmissioned by rhe museum and pai n red by C hris Protas. In 1993, an appeal to members and friends mustered donations ro refurbish a suite ro house the library, archives, and library office. We have received several grams for the lib rary, and we are consran rly in the process of expanding ir.
The Houseboat Studio By fa r our mosr significant exhi birio n is Noble's houseboat srudio, wh ich opened in April 2002. No ble wrore that the studio was the place where "mosr of my picrures have been clumsily breech birched fo r nigh unro forry years wirh grea t effort and small grace." In 1977 he wrote an essay for his self-porrrair lithograph Wreck, Studio, Artist and 3 Barrels-or 3 Wrecks and 2 Barrels-or 2 Barrels and 3 Wrecks. In ir he described rhe srudio's hisrory, and no one could do ir better.
Stalwarts ofthe Noble Crew stand on the portico of Building D. One oftheir number, john Santore, a fireman lost on 11 September 2 001, is remembered in T he Nob le Crew Exhibirion with a portrait by Bill Murphy. A mural ofNobles lithograph So ul of Sai l is featured on the waif ofa classroom (below right).
,..r
The i.,o
ble Crew
Exhibition
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He found the old cabin, occupi ed by T illiso n Gorton, the warchman of th e O ld Porr Johnston coal docks in Bayo nne, New Jersey, in rhe early 1930s. \'{/hen Tilli son died, No ble began ro adapt rhe cabi n, a teak saloo n from a Euro pean yachr, inro a srudio. Port Johnsron was "rhe wo rld's grearesr hard coal complex" unril a fire so metime in the ea rly 192 0s destroyed ir, and it became "a great boneya rd." "I first laid eyes on these acres o f new, old, and dead vessels as a boy in 1928 from the deck of a sto ne schooner," No blewrore. "I must say rhe sight affected m e for lifeand shordy rhereafrer I was drawing them . . .. Well, it was but a few years more, and I was making m y living there, keeping the vessels which had not yet sunk pumped out and watching their lines. "Now rhis great length of pier was puncruated by odd cab ins thar had been thrown as ide in wrecking operarions. O ne of rhese was the teak saloo n of a European yach r. One summer day when things were slack I had a sudden impulse. I cut a hole in its roof and fashioned a makeshift skylight. T hrough rhe yea rs I rebuilt and collected teak fittings-adding, changi ng. Unknown ro me was how much I was becoming wedded ro my cab in studio . T he shock ro me was deep when the dock, already badly collapsing, was aba ndoned, and in panic I builr rhe wooden barge which enab led me ro escape from the boneyard. For years now I have been plagued wirh Oh! the artist with the floating studio, etc. etc. T here is no cureness nor color in all rhis for me-rhe only small romance is thar I did escape. "Thus ir came abo ut rhat now my own litde leaking Monricello pitches and survives in rhe wake of rhe passing tugs." No ble anricipated a final mooring on land fo rrhe cabin when he began in 1982 ro disassemble ir and move ir to Opossum Acres. His wife Susan was ill , and he no longer wanred ro leave her ro go ro Bayonne. T hough rhe cab in and barge were inracr when he died, he had removed rhe inrerior paneling and furnishings and srored rhem in his basemenr. Susan's dearh in January 1983 inrerrupred his disassembly projecr, and he died in May of the sam e year. H e had beached rhe barge, an d ir was languishing on rhe sh ores of rhe Kill van Ku ll. When pirates took rhe teak doors, No ble's fri end Joe Dirsa feared rhe barge would be desrroyed and enlisred rhe help of rhe Narional Maririme Hisrorical Sociery in rhe spring of 1984. Perer Sranford, presi-
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
j ohn N oble's lithograp h Wreck, Srudio, Anisr and 2 Barrels- or-3 Barrels and 2 Wrecks-or 3 Wrecks and 2 Barrels depicts the "strange cabin" he rescued and placed on a barge. The cabin has now been restored by the Noble M aritime Collection in Staten Island and is on display in Building D . (Edition 3 00, 1377, 3 7/s" x 13 3/4 ''; Š The Noble Maritime Collection, 2 002) The work to restore N oble's studio, inside and out, culminated in its opening in April 2 002.
dent of N MHS, organized the effort to row it across rhe Kill. Joe vividly recalled the harrowing trip. The barge nearl y sank beneath his feet before it finally gor to the M arine Powe r and Light boatyard in Staten Island. T he museum 's trustees decided in the winter of 1986 that its delicate condition wo uld preclude ever floating the srudio again, and, to preserve the teak saloo n, it had to go indoo rs. Peter Yuschak, a carpenter who had worked for Noble, rook rhe cabin off the barge in 1985 , and A. Timothy Pouch, then the treasurer o f NMHS, agreed to move the cabin to Pouch T erminal. After Tim died, his wife N ancy watched over it for seven years, until the museum moved to Snug Harbor. In 1992 the trustees commissioned Island Housewrights, under the supervision of Russell Powell, ro restore the srudio. H e photographed and catalogued it, disassembled it to flt it through the museum 's front doo r, and moved ir to Buildin g D. In 1993 he worked on restoring th e teak sides. The rehabili ta tion of the building interrupted work on the houseboat, but with funds from the Empire State D evelopm ent Co rporati on, secured by New Yo rk State senator John V. M archi, the museum hired Powell to return and complete the project. H e bega n in August 2001 with his assistant, D on D eFillo, workin g bes ide him . They sorted through boxes of interior
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
pieces of the houseboat- paneling, shelves, wo rkbench, bed, windows-and fill ed four rooms in rhe basement with the pieces, so me of which did nor belong to the puzzle, but which were at Opossum Acres when rhe museum moved to Snug Harbor. They srudied photographs fo r architecrural details, like how the baseboards fir together and rhe design of the missing doors, which D eF illo rebuilt. Powell sanded through the individual paint laye rs to identi fy colors and their locations. Noble had painted, repainted and refini shed many areas. The houseboat was a work in progress, and he co nstanrly tinkered with it. Furnishing the studio came toge ther as if by an invisibl e hand, as Powell often commented. Mo re and more pieces of the interior surfaced as th e proj ect wo und down. W ho can say what it meant when, after Allan N oble we nt to great lengths to draw the lower portion of the desk, the missing pieces appeared , camoufl aged as a disca rded window shutter, in a box one morning? How is it that a can of turquoise blue Benjamin Moore paint survived a trip from Port Johnston, back to OpossumAcres, and then to Building D ? T he result is an exhibition that intrigues and delights, and explains N oble as nothing else can. T he houseboat brings yo u back ro the summerof 1954, when National Geographic magazine photographed Port J ohnsron fo r an article called "H ere's N ew York Har-
bor. " Allan N oble recalls how his father worked that summer ro get the cabin into pristin e co ndition. The brass throughout was gleaming, rhe teak oiled, the anchors and fittings painted brighrly. National Geograp hic all owed us to reproduce the photographs fro m their D ecember 1954 iss ue, and they show N obl e in hi s prime working on the lithograph Overhaul. We plan ro continue ro develop our archives of Sailors' Snug H arbor history. Upcoming exhibitions will focus on th e work of our newest trustee, the artist John Srobart. In 2003 the Caddell Dry-dock Co mpany is turning one hundred , and we will celebrate that occas ion with an exhibition about shipbuilding and dry-docking. Mea nwhile, as resident mad curator/ execu tive di rector, I dream of the building next doo r. It reminds me of the winter of 1992. I kn ow what it can become. Our work on Building D has paid offin spadesa Nation al Landm ark has been restored , a flourishing maritime museum exists, and Sailors' Snug H arbor has a repository for its histo ry at its original home. Wh y nor keep on ro llin '? t, Erin Urban, executive director of the Noble Maritime Collection, is author of Hulls and Hul ks in rhe Tide of T ime: The Life and Work ofJohn A. No bleandJohn A. No ble: T he Rowboat Drawings. Contact information for the Noble Collection is on page 25.
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MARINE ART
John A. Noble's Paintings: A SCHOONER by Peter Stanford
t rook a schoonerman to tell the story of these las t great wooden windships and their peo ple, to record the feel of the wind ac ross slanting sea-washed decks, the heave of rhe mi ghrywooden hull shouldering its way through th e sea, and the pull of straining canvas, chirping blocks and thrumming halyards. All th ese wo rkings of the last great carriers under sail in American waters needed som eone who' d been there, who had shared bad food, h ard work, broken sleep and all the miseries of the seaman's life, together with the wild exultation of the vessel bearing out a foamin g track across the indifferent ocean. In 1928, when at age fifteen he saw chese great cargo schooners lying in New York's Harlem River, John No ble felt th e pull of chese ships and the tru th of their hard and valiant service. So ac that early age, over the obj ections ofhis artist fa ther, John "Wichita Bill" N oble, but wich the support of his strong mother, Amelia Peische No ble, he went to sea in the Anna Sophia. T he Sophia was big for a two-mas ted schooner, bur small compared to the fo ur- and five-m asters th at domin ated the las t of the coasting trade in sail, and sailing in her had a family quali ty to it. As Noble's biographer Erin U rban tells us: "Young John was terribly excited when he boarded the Sophia and rowed down the H arlem Ri ve r, through the Ease Ri ver and across the Bay to the Kill van Kull. " And she cites N oble's own words: "M y mind was ready to be etched very deeply. And good night, what a sight! From Sr. George [at the entrance to the Kill van Kull] to Perth Amboy, it was something! T he sheer amount of vessels was unbelievable! Everywhere yo u looked, rugs were puffing. Co nstantly everything, everything was in motion."* Everything, that is, except fo r what he call ed "th e great silent city of forgo tten ships" that came into sight as they passed Port Johnston. T here N oble was to es tablish his studio on an abandoned coal dock in the early 1930s, and when he set up house with his wife Susan, it was directly across the Kill , in Staten Island. O n graduaring fromhigh school, No ble we nt fo r a year's education in France, where he met Susan Ames . Six years his elder, Susan felt they had to break off their budding relationship, bur on parting he pressed in to her hand a piece of cardboard on
I
''Man, Moon and Bowsprit" (no date), collection ofDudley Livingston Miller. This is a powerful dream-like vision ofa schooner plunging into a rising head sea in the moonlight, with water streaming after her last forward lunge, with a hand at the bowsprit end securing the fifth jib as the skipper shortens sail against the growing wind. Noble's visionary sense is given fitll scope here, with the white gleam ofa cresting sea suggesting the dangerous attraction ofthe vast and windswept night. In fact, this painting, with all its physicality of broken water, weathered planks and gilded bow carvings, is a fantasy. The artist painted it after his visit to a vessel he had seen from this angle in a rowboat, as shown in the lithograph "Morituri" (1949) at right. In the later painting, he revives her drooping rigging and brings the ship and at least one ofher people back to life, voyaging toward an unknown future in a rising wind.
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SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
TESTAMENT "Building of Tidewater" (ca. 1937), Noble Maritime Collection, gift ofMr. & Mrs. Harold G. Tucker. Noble's spiritual home was in the working waterways ofNew York and often his actual home as well; he spent days on end exploring backwaters, sleeping aboard old hulks with the rats as his companions. When he took up a more settled home Life with his wife Susan, he rented an apartment, and Later a house, in Staten Island overlooking the industrial waterway ofthe Kill van Kull, where the abandoned hulks of wooden ships moldered away as new construction of the expanding oil industry sprang up behind them. H ere Noble shows men, dwarfed by what they are building, beginning the task of bringing a giant pipe ashore to become part ofthe new Tidewater Refinery in Bayonne, New j ersey, helped out by a Linehandler on a wooden raft in the foreground.
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"Full and Bye" (1963), collection ofjohn E. Wendell. Slogging along to windward, the schooner dips her rail into a growing sea as two hands clew up the topsail above the big gaff-headed mainsail. These great fore-and-aft sails give the schooner all the power she needs in this breeze. It's wet work, but she 'll go easier shortened down to her Lowers.
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"Outer jib" (1963), collection ofRichard
& Patricia Simon. A four-masted schooner thunders along, running hard in a rising wind and sea, while the hands struggle to shorten sail. In john Noble 's own words: "The wind is strong and is increasing. The topsails (not shown in the picture) have already been clewed and tied up some time ago. Now, at the time of the picture, the great spanker (the after-mast sail) has been lowered and the outer j ib has also come down to comp ensate for the loss ofthrust aft, to keep the sail mechanics balanced. ... " The four-master, patterned on the Annie C. Ross, aboard which Noble sailed in a number ofcoastal passages, carries seven in crew: captain, mate, cook and four seamen. The two at work here passing a gasket on the outer jib are the watch on deck, with the skipper aft at the helm. The Ross was built in 1917 at the Percy & Small Shipyard in Bath, M aine (today restored as part ofthe Maine Maritime Museum). Some 2 00 feet long, she carried 2 000 tons of cargo-coal in the early days, and southern pine .from Georgia until her last cargo run ended in New York in 194 0.
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which h e h ad w ricren rhe o ne wo rd "BEAUTY. " T his to rhem was the o ne thing worth pursuing in this wo rld, and soon after they bo th had returned to the US, they got toge ther fo r good-a process launched by a lette r fro m John in which he spoke of "grear rrurhs . . . hidden fro m me to find and bring to yo u." Their honeymoon was a 500-mile trip from New York to Burlington , Vermo nt, and back, a voyage m ade in Jo hn's rowboat by river, canal and lake, which he m em o rialized in a book of skerches. Susan often we nr with him in explo rario ns of New Yo rk Harbor by boar, in which , o n occasion, they we re joined by th eir children John and Allan . I sat by Susan's bed as she and John reli ved their rowing rri ps sho rdy befo re her dea th in early 1983, and so strong was rhe experi ence th ey wove together, that I felt I had been in thar boar too. M uch of that passion is captured in the No bl e M ari rime Co llecri o n's eleganr book j ohn A. N oble: The Rowboat Drawings. Ir was nor the pi crure-pos rcard quainrness of a lost pas t thar Jo hn and Susan soughr in rheir shared explo rarions of rhe harbor in a rowboar; ir was rhe living realiry of a way of li fe rhar we nr over rime's ho rizon as rhey pursued ir. Noble despised
being rhoughr of as a "low purveyo r of nosralgia." H e said: "Frankly, I'd rarher be co nsidered dead." T he inrensirywirh which he depicred rhe life of schoo ners, rugs, freighrers, scows and rhe indusrri al wa rerfro nr of New Yo rk was infused in to his lirhographs. T hose images were crayo ned o n sto ne, which he said he had to "walk around in" befo re he could ger rhe image our, chasre in irs fin e-grained reali ry. In rhe larer 1930s he began painring serio usly, going o n to produce some 150 oils in his career. Ir is a few of rhese oils rhar we presenr here. T hey are disrinctively di ffe rent from rhe li rhographs rhar made hi s name-fr eer, bolder, even blowzier, like rhe man himself, ruddy and asse rrive, bur, as if despire himself, devored ro whar anorher seafarer, John Masefi eld, once called "rhar one beaury God pur me here to find ." So John kepr his p romise, wrirren in a rail road srarion in G renoble in 193 1, to his green-eyed Susan , ro our enduring reward. J, J, J, *E rin U rban, H ulls and H ulks in the Tide of Time: The Life and Work ofj ohn A. Noble (New York, 1993) . Available wirh orher Nob le m arerial fro m rhe No bl e Mari time Co llecrio n , 10 00 Richm o nd Te rrace, Sraren Island NY 10301 ; 718-447-6490.
SEA HISTORY I 03, WINTER 2002- 03
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"Quickwater" (1967), collection of William Chambers. The power, even the sovereignty, ofthe steam-driven propeller that drove the high canvas ofthe sailing ship from the seas is caught here unforgettably in the moiled wake ofa steamer making a turn, with the water piled up against her angled rudder, while the great propeller blades crashing over in a welter ofspray and foam drive the light-loaded ship forward with the assistance ofan attendant tug. Only a harbor denizen could ever have seen this and, true to form, Noble catches an extra bit ofharbor industrialia in the form ofa floating grain elevator ambling by, with just a hint ofthe metropolis all this power seroes shown beyond the toiling ships that keep the seaport city running.
"Whale Creek" (no date). An aged Nova Scotia three-master spits out her cargo of northern spruce through her bow ports, which permit long lengths to be carried. These poles became the masts for washing lines in tenement bacleyards in Noble's time, as he noted. Beyond this old-timer with her wooden-stocked anchors, y ou catch the topmasts ofan American schooner, while another hangs about in the offing, a vessel ofthe breed Noble called "wondrous, "a splendid wild creature waiting her turn patiently in the Stygian creek. """''""""'~~~~,,....,..'"""':-r'
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SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
25
The Life of a London Waterfront in 1600 by Frank Meddens
T
he waterfront of the Ratcliff area of London has long been a haven for seamen, merchant captains, privateers and every manner of activiry that accompanies ships and mariners. In the late 1600s the area around Narrow Street (then known as Below the Cross) was made up of wharves and shipyard facilities, chandleries, victuallers, boarding houses and residences. T his area, which once pulsed with the varied life ofa major metropolitan waterfront, is now rhe sireofa new housing development. An archaeological excavation by Pre-Construct Archaeo logy Ltd. , supervised by Douglas Killock, was undertaken before co nstruction began and was completed in 2000. The excavations of remains of buildings and their cesspits and rubbish pits revealed a great deal about the lives of the people who lived there and the transient mariners and workers who frequented the neighborhood.
The Bustling London Waterfront The most interesting period of site use dates from the late 1500s to rhe final decades of the 1600s. Cesspirs and rubbish pits associated with the remains of buildings of this period produced large amo unts of imported pottery, glass, metal finds and animal bone considered unusual on British sires. There is considerable evidence for iron working, such as slag and hammer-scale as well as hearth bortoms. The site's maritime links are indicated by the presence of an iron band from a ship's spar, a miniature anchor from a model vessel, and a 9-pound, 1OOmm cannonball as well as a number of boat hooks (see below).
T he historical records show that ships were fined out and victualled at Ratcliff in the 16th and 17 th centuries and rhanhere was a naval victualling srorehouse nearby. Many of the late-16th-century English voyages of discovery began at Ratcliff. In May 15 53 Sir H ugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor set off from here on
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N
t
This map shows the excavated areas with wall foundations and basements shown, together with 1 lthcentury property outlines and the names ofsome of the occupants and owners. Below, an iron boat hook. I mages courtesy the author.
I
n
i
!.._,
l,
Below the Cross 10m
one of rhese voyages of discovery to find the rwice its Master. In the 1590s he offered ro norrheasr passage to Cathay, estab lishing, spy for England in Lisbon or Seville. H e on the way, trade with Russia through owned shares in rhe caraveljohn and Francis, Archangel. In June 1576 Martin Frobisher rwo other ships -the Timothy and the Sea sailed from Ratcliff ro find rhe No rrhwesr Flower- and the hoy Revenge. His so ns Passage, and in 15 89 William Burrough, John and Wi lli am built ships for th e East Comptroller of the Navy and a resid ent of India Company. th e adjo ining Limehouse area, fitted out John Maynard, who had property at the another fleet for Frobisher. John Davis set site, was part of a crew of the Benjamin, off from Ratcliff bound for America, and which, in October 1602, rook and deWilliam Adams for Japan. spoiled the French ship Lewis Bonaventure Sea caprains prominent in the Ar mada at Cape Garr in the Mediterranean in an act campaign and the later privateering expe- of piracy. T he French ship was laden with ditions against the Spanish Main li ved in nuts and other goods, and the Englishmen the Ratcliff and adjoining Limehouse ar- maltreated its crew. eas, and privateer crews were largely reThe southeas t co rn er of th e sire was cruited from the merchant seamen there. occup ied by the Noah's Ark Inn , which Mari ners made up 61 perce nt of th e existed by 1627 . Ir and the adjoining tenewo rkforce of Ratcliff and Limehouse be- ment were purchased by William and Elizarween 1640 and 1660. Many served regu- beth Bunne. Captain W illiam Ellis of larly as privateers from 1585 onwards, and Ratcliff may have been Elizabeth's second they were often shareho lders in the ships. husband. Captain Thomas H arriso n, who By 16 5 2 Admiral Blake had difficul ty man- bought rhe inn and neighboring properties ning naval ships because of the ri val anrac- in 1655, was listed as one of the captains fir rion of privateers-where co nditions and for a command at sea in 1653. Little is known of his life at sea but he did have a potential gains were superior. Among the mariners in residence was share in a London ship called the Prince Will iam Ivey Junior, who was described as with the Sha/lops. H e also had links to a ship wright in 15 80. H e served as master Captain C hristopher Newport, a priva teer on board a London pri vateer called the from Limehouse. In his wi ll , H arrison left a Tiger, commanded by a Dutchman by rhe clock ro his daughter which was kept at name of Captain Barnestrawe. The Eng- Newport's house. Harrison 's family owned lish crew had linle respect for the Dutch- properties in rhe area until late in the 1600s. man, whom they called Coppernose, and John H eaman, who also owned propsaid "that he was fitter ro drin cke ale then erty on the site, was a mariner and ship master and held a wharf on the ri verfront. In to be a Captaine." Another was John Burrell , mariner, who May 1629 he was iss ued with len ers of was an Elder Brother of Trin ity House and marque for his ship the Patience ofLondon
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
The developments observed on the Narrow Street site from the end of the 1500s to the final decades of the 1600s indicate that this was a period of increasing wealth for those involved in private naval ventures.
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L mzd"an Fe~ ld I .I I I
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to operate as a privateer. H e served as his own captain and died in 1657. In his will he left twenty houses in Ratcliff to his children and grandchildren. Privateers were usually volunteers and had a say and a share in the enterprise they were involved in. T his allowed them a level of free dom which was unheard of in any cont em poraty land-based activity common people co uld have been involved in. Their material culture demonstrates that their exposure to exotic influences provided them with a tas te fo r foreign commodities when they returned home. Indications are that they had a simil ar cosmopolitan taste when they we re fa rther afield.
Digging into the Past The buildings along Narrow Street occupied by these sailors were initially timberframed structu res. Substantial brick houses replaced these toward th e middle of the 1600s, which was a peri od o f expansion and increased activity in the area. Late in the 1600s a building that probably was a classical double-fr onted structure was erected along the southeas tern side of the site. Flemish floor tiles used in its base ment suggest that it was a building of substance. SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
.
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Iron fittings in the area between the wall and the fl oo r indicate that there had been timber panelling on the walls. Use of panelling and tiling of this nature for a basement was unusual, so the rooms appear to have been a kitchen and a scullery. T he presence of an almost complete M etropolitan slipware jug from deposits of this era bearing the legend "SEARVE GOD" indicates that co ntemporary national politics did not pass by Ratcliff. This type of decoration with its expression of piety was popular during the Commonwealth period (1649-60), fo llowing the execution of Charles I, when O live r C rom well became Lord Protector of England. Nearly a third of the late 16th- to l 7thcentury ceramic assemblages are made up of Italian and Spanish majolicas, Spanish coarse wares and olive jars. T his is comparable to the percentage of Spanish and Italian cerami cs found on E uropean sites in Hispaniola (dating from the 1500s) and Florida (dating from the 1700s) . T his sort of material, when found on sites in the Caribbean, has been the res ult of immigrant Spanish communities endeavo ring to maintain a relatively Iberian way of life. The glass assemblage at the Narrow
Street site is large and distinctly domestic in nature and fea tures a wide variety of vessels . O ne of the most common types fo und is case bottles (see above) for spirits, mos t of Continental European origin . O f parti cular no te are the remains of five Venetian tea bowls, one with a pinched handle, in white opaque glass with applied and rolled blue, red and white fragments. Spanish and Dutch imports are also represented. A Spanish fo ur-maravedi coin of Johanna and Carlos I (15 16-5 5) , which is likely to have been minted in Mexico, was recovered , and a further ten of these were fo und at the nearby Victoria W harf site.
* * * * * T he artifac t assemblage from this excavation demonstrates the cosmopolitan tastes prevalent on the site and is indicative of the broader long-distance contacts and resulting "exotic" tas tes of the site's inhabitants. The ceramics fo und include Montelupo pottery, north Italian marbled slipware, Pisa ware, Spanish olive jars, Valencian lustre wares, M erida wares, utilitarian Spanish coarse wares, Portuguese tin-glazed wares, T urkish Izn ik wares, Iranian (Persian) wares, oriental Celadon porcelain, Chinese porcelain, and Martabani stone27
At right, Italian Montelupo wares. Below, a Persian dish in soft paste stoneware made in the Kirman region of South-central Iran. The decoration is derived ftom Chinese porcelain. Bottom, Spanish olive jars.
ware. T here is one rim sherd of native Caribbean pottery, of a wheel-thrown jar representing a late Suazoid rype, dated to the 1600s, a find so-far unique in archaeologically excavated sites in Great Britain. In addition there were the more co mmonly imported Dutch, German and French wares and contemporary English ceram ics. T he range, variety and number of exotic artifacts on the site do not indicate opportunistic collecting and disposal of casually encountered goods, but a sustained taste for particular foreign fas hio ns. T he use oflarge amo unts of particular fore ign crockery and glassware was not limited to a single household, nor was it a single short-term occurrence. Numerous adjoi ning families who were intimately connected in similar activities had a taste for these items for a period
of over a century. T hey wo uld have been difficult and expensive to obtain for members of the normal English household of the time, had they been interested in doing so in the first place. The developments observed on the Narrow Street site from the end of the 1500s to the final decades of the 1600s indicate that this was a period of increasing wealth for those involved in private naval ve ntures. Their m aterial possessions increased in range of origin and variety, and their houses grew bigger and more luxurious. 1Forfarther information contact: FrankMeddem at meddens@vossnet.co.uk, or write to PreConstructArchaeology, Unit 54, Brackley Cross Business Centre, 96 Endwell Road, London SE42PD, UK
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SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
29
The Spirit Atfantic
c
e by Cate Cronin
Atlantic Challenge boats from across Europe-France's Zou Mai, Denmark's Solid ari te and Ireland's Unite- tie up at a dock in Rockland, Maine. (All photos by George Hoyt unless otherwise noted) s the las t 38-foo t gig is loaded in to its shipping co nrainer, I no re rhar a Station Maine crew member is helping the Indonesian crew with this final project. I marvel at the co nnecti ons made during the two weeks of the Atlantic C hallenge Comest among the local team , the USA team, and the teams fro m nine orher nanons. For four years, the Atlantic C hall enge Foundation (ACF) foc used on bri nging th e Atlanti c C hal lenge Biennial Co nrests
A
Work progresses on an Atlantic Challenge Foundation boat at the Apprenticeshop. (ACF photo)
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30
of Seamanship to Rockland , Maine. Begun in 1972, the Atlantic C hallenge Foundation is a non-profit educational instituti on whose mission is to develop the indivi dual and the communi ty through the experi ence of app renticeship and the practice of traditional skills. The program focuses on th ree elemenrs: the Rockport Apprenticeshop in Maine where students from aro und th e wo rld learn to build and repair fi ne wooden boats; the Communi ty Education Cenrer, which p rovides a yearro und opportu nity ro learn the art and skills of sailing and boarbuilding; and the Atlantic Challenge international program , which combines traditional boatbuilding with exciting co ntests of seamanship. T he contests, fo unded in 1986 by Lance Lee, were created ro foste r cul tural and global understanding, perso nal development through challenge, and education about our rich maritime heri tage. Lee and co fo under Bernard Cadoret of Douarnenez, F ranee, selected a French l 8th-cemury ship 's longboat as the primary educational vehicle of the program. T hey were used by Aeets in harbor and at sea for ship-ro-ship or ship-to-sh ore transport. T he lines were take n fro m a longboat captured fro m the invading French squadro n of 1796 off Bear Island in Bantry Bay, Ireland. T he 38-foo t Bantry Bay gigs are elega nt and fas t, bur they requi re serious effo rt and teamwo rk on rhe part of rheir yo ung crews. T hey are rowed with ten 18-foo r oars and also have three masts and sails (two dipping
lug sails and o ne standin g lug sa il ), which are kept down in the boar whi le rh e crew is rowing. A really good Atl antic Challenge crew can go fro m rowing ro sailing in about half a minu te. Each boat carries a crew of thirteen, who train together fo r months prior ro the co ntests and who have often built their vessel themselves . Lee Scarboro ugh, international trustee and di recro r of the Atlantic Challenge station on Cape Cod, reports that "with their long keels, rhe boats do not like ro turn. And so racki ng must be done just righ t, or the gig will fi nd itself go ing backwards in stays .... T h e gig's glaring weakness is its strength," fo r onl y through practice and teamwo rk can a rack be smartly completed . T he firs t two boats, Libertr!and Egalitt!, we re buil t at the Apprenticeshop at Rockport, Maine. Egalite was presented ro France as her entrant in the fi rst contest between the US and France in New Yo rk harbor in 1986 on rhe occasion of the Statue of Liberty's centennial. T he p rogram quickly grew and students from aro und rhe world went back home, often ro start sim ilar projects in their own communities, returning ro the contests with boats th ey had buil t and new students. Liberti and Egalite were soon joined by Mai ne's Felicite, Tacoma's Veritiand Ca pe Cod 's Loyaute, Russ ia's Enchante, and Britain 's l ntegrite and new Bien Trouvi. More th an forty of these gigs, yolles or longboats have been constructed around th e wo rld, from N 01-way ro Indonesia, and
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
"The spirit ofAtlantic Challenge is international friendship." others have been begun or are in the planning stages in France, Germany, G uadeloupe, No rthern Ireland , Sco tland, Switzerland, Wales, and the Yucatan . Every two years parti cipants are hosted by a member organ izatio n fo r fri endly contests of sea manship, sportsmanship and style. When the International A tlantic Challenge organ ization proposed that the 2002 co ntests he held in Rockland, Maine, the Atlantic Challenge Fo undation had just secured waterfront property in Rockland's north end but had li ttle capacity to host a fleet of boats. With tremendous support from MBNA tofu nd co nstru ction of a pier and help with renovations to our buildings, ACF's infrastr ucture was ready to welcome up to fourteen gigs and a dozen support boats. Other key playe rs helped make it possible for us to host the co ntests. WoodenBoat magazine of Brooklin , Maine, agreed to be our parmer in hosting the International Festi val of Seamanship and Boatbui lding, which, in addition to the A tlantic C hallenge Co ntests, included the WoodenBoat Show and Watercraft Challenge. More than two hundred volunteers from Maine and participati ng co untries signed on to handle crew training, plan the maritime skill events and races, organize a week of housing, feeding, and entertainin g 260 Atlantic Ch all enge crew members, and provide support fo r the Watercrafr C hallenge events. "W here do these crews come from and
where do they go now? " was an oft asked question during the event. These 16- to 26-year-old "ambassadors in seaboots" are recruited by their country's team to train in home waters aboard matched 38-foo t, three-masted and ten-oa red gigs (most of them built by rhe reams themselves). T hey came here for a week ro celebrate maritime skills, foster cultural and global understanding, and perso nally grow through challenge. T he teams came from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. T he yo ung people participated in nin e contes t events, lived (in the local high school), played soccer, and danced togeth er. T hey worked hard and helped each other a lot, exchanging crews for the first event and souvenirs before they all left. T hey learned to communicate despite twelve different languages and gain ed cul tural understanding. They spoke passionately abo ut doing their best and trying new things. Back at home, they' ll help their local Atlantic C hallenge "stations" and foster the development of new stations. So me will become trainers and support the next generation of crews. Each team is made up of twenty crew, half of each crew must be under twentyone, and at least four of each gender. T he competitions include: the Captain's Gig, a ceremony involving laying the "Admiral" alongside his vessel; jackstay transfer of a package from the shore to the gig along a
suspended line; slalom under oars with no rudder; a race under sail and oars; a race under sail alone; man overboard and navigation ; and a !'Esprit race with crews of mixed nationality. W hat's next? The International Atlantic Challenge trustees will vote on where the 2004 and future contests will be held. W ith the momentum gained from these co ntests, Station Maine will become its own non-profit entity and will train local crews for future contests and participate in local events throughout the year. H ere at Atlantic Challenge Foundation, we will support other stations and community programs. In addition ro Communaute, an Apprenticeshop-built gig now used by Station Maine, our three other gigs are being used byo theryouth andcommunity groups: Humanite is in Belfast with Come Boating! ; Felicite is with the East River Apprenticeshop with teens from Queens, New York; and Loyauteis with Cape Challenge, the gro up that built this gig and a program over the past ten years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. T hose wh o knew of the roots of the Atlantic C hallenge when it was created at the RockportApprenticeshop in 1986 can see how significantly it has grown. There are now roughly sixty of these elegant gigs built or being constructed worldwide, and much interest in starting more stations. With untold hours from numerous international (all volunteer) trustees, new pro-
Atlantic Challenge "ambassadors in seaboots" participate in sailing and rowing competitions.
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
31
An American team in Loyame heads out from the pier for the Captains Gig ceremony.
grams rhroughom rhe world are given support. People from Texas, Algeria, Egypr, Iraly, Sweden, and Viernam were here co ga in knowledge and inspirarion co bu ild programs back home. Since scoring is a poinr of discussion, nor on ly in rhe press, bur also am ong rhe Inrernarional Adan ric Challenge membership, I rhoughr ir imporranr co close wirh a brief com menr on comperirion in chis conresr. Ar rhe end of rhe day, yes, rhe crews were looki ng ar rhe scores. Bm whar we heard discussed mosr among rhe crews was learn ing from each ocher and aspiring co
pur chis learning inco pracrice-in boars and in life. When rheirishcrewwasawarded rhe Perperual Troph y for rheir accu mulared achievemenr ar each of rhe nine evems, Lee Scarboro ugh said , "This ream has sec a famasr icsrandard for all of us." Crews from ocher ream s chimed in wirh, "We learned a lor from rhe Irish . They' re rhe besr and rhey deserve ir. " When rhe Indonesian crew was awarded rhe Spirir of Adamic C hallenge Trophy, no wo rds co uld be spoken, rhe applause was so srrong. Ir had been said earlier in rhe evening by Am o n of rheir crew, "The spirir of Adamic C hallenge is
imernarional friendship. I chink all of you know who we are as Indonesians. We are small people bur we have big spirir. " T he scory of whar hap pened here is really coo sizable co be confined co a single scory, and coo rich co be described. The very besr way co co nvey rhe spirir is for me co enco urage yo ur involvemenr wirh rh ese J, programs.
Cate Cronin is executive director of the Atlantic Chaffenge Foundation (643 Main Street, RocklandME 04841; 207 594- 1800; web site: www.atlanticchaffenge.com).
U7hen the Indonesian crew was awarded the Spirit ofAtlantic Challenge Trophy, no words could be spoken, the applause was so strong.
The international fleet is rafted together (below, photo by Emmett Sutton) and the French team in Acrion maneuvers their boat under sail.
32
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
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w
hen the students at Old Saybrook High School in Connecticut decided to build a submarine, they took a page from their own history books. The students are building a working replica of David Bushnell's one-man wooden submarine, which was sent out alone against the invading British fleet in the fall of 1776. The submarine worked great but the fleet escaped unharmed. The students hope that underwater testing with this new replica will help solve the question of why the pilot could not complete his mission. David Bushnell and his brother lived in the Old Saybrook area, not far from the high school, and built their submarine, nicknamed Turtle, 226 years ago in a shed nearby. The entire school is involved in the proj ect. In fac t, some of the teachers and students at Old
Saybrook High are descendants of David Bushnell's family. Next year, the school will test this full-size one-man working submarine underwater against a small fleet of Revolutionary War-era ships. Engineers from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center will pilot the sub after they install up to fifty electronic sensors (including real-time video) to monitor the temperature and the oxygen inside the submarine as well as the heart rate and stress level of the pilot. Kids around the world can watch the construction and the underwater trial s by logTHE ging onto the new website HISTORY being developed. The History CHANNEL Channel is partnering with the National Maritime Historical Society in the education program for thi s project. Ask your teacher to contact us at www.seahistory.org.
C
an a 12-year-old girl handle a large sailing ship? Ask Mary Betts. That's her furling the sail of the Rose, a replica of a British warship of the late 1700s. Mary lived and crewed aboard the ship for a week. She slept in a tiny bunk, steered the ship, and even climbed the rigging at night to help set sail. She worked hard but made a lot of new friends and had the adventure of her life.
Land Ships? o sailing ships only travel through water? This silver land ship was designed by artist Richard Loftin as a concept for fast overland transportation that uses no fuel. Powered by the wind pushing past the wing, this craft should be able to reach speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. Versions of sailing land ships have popped up throughout the centuries. This wagon-like "prairie schooner" was tested in the 1800s. Do you think it looks successful?
D
SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS SPUN YARN The Essex-bu ii t schooner Highlander Sea is sailing under an American flag once again as part of Michigan businessman James C. Acheson's mission to "put the 'port' back in Port Huron. " The gaff topsail schooner, christened Pilot in 1924,
Highlander Sea (Photo: j. S. Thomas) served as a Boston harbor pilot vessel for 44 years. (Acheson Ventures, 600 Fort Street, Suite 101 , Port Huron MI 48060-3930; 8 10 966-8811) .. . The schooner Roseway, built in Essex, Massachusetts, in 1925, has been purchased by the First Nation al Bank of Damariscotta at a foreclosure auction . T he bank donated her to the World Ocean School of Camden, Mai ne, newly founded by Abby Kidder and Dwight Deckelmann,
who plan to restore Roseway and use her as an educational pl atfo rm. (WOS, 18 1/i Sp ring Street, Camden ME 04843; 207 236-7482; e-mail: wos@worldoceanschool .org; web site: www.worldoceanschool. org) .. . T he tugb oat Hay-De,the for mer New York Central 13, buil t in 1887 by the John Dialogue Co. of Ca mden , New Jersey, has narrowly escaped sinking into New Jersey Fisheries' "Jack's Spot" artificial reef. New owner Eric Fischer intends to restore her. In the movie Billy Bathgate, the rug was the scene of a scuffle between Dustin Hoffman and Bruce Willis .... Volunteers at the Pump House Steam Museum of the Marine Museum of the G reat Lakes at Kingston, Ontario, are restoring the 88year-old steam launch Phoebe, built in 1914 by the Davis Dry Dock Company in Kingsto n, Ontario. Phoebe, which received Canadian H eritage designation in 1979, is a unique example of steam-dri ven pleasure boats of the late 1800s and early 1900s. (PHSM, Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, 55 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Y2, Canada; email: wevers@me. queensu.ca) ... The T ug Pegasus Preservation Project has received
a $ 150,000 matching grant from the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, administered through the New York State Office of Parks , Recreation and Historic Preservation , for the restoration of the N ew York harbor tug Pegasus of 1907. (TPPP, 83 Murray Street, New York NY 10007; 212 406-2225; web site: www.rugpegasus.org) ... The 88-year-old wooden Lehigh Valley R ailroad Barge #79, which houses The Waterfront Museum in Brooklyn, New York, underwent extensive repairs this summer to counter the effects of wood-eating shipworms, newly returned to New York
Lehigh Vall ey Railroad Barge #79
The restored coastal passenger stea mer SS Virginia V made her public debut last May afrer six years of extensive renovation, at a cost of $6. 1 million. The historic 400-horsepower, tripleexpansion steam engine, built by Heffernan Iron Works in 1898 and originally installed in the Virginia !V, received an overhaul, and the boat Virginia V dewas renovated inside and our to bring buted in May her closer to the look she sported 2002 (above) af ter work that induring her heyday, with some concescluded restorasions made for modern passe nger tion ofher origisafety and comfort. nal engine. The 122-foot steam-powered passenger vessel was built in 1921 by Anderson & Co. of Olalla, Washington, and was laun ched on 9 March 1922. Virginia V is the last steam-powered survivor of Puget Sound's "Mosquito Fleet," which carried passengers and freight between Seattle and Tacoma, Washi ngton, prior to the development of the Washington State Ferry System. She is one of only two operating steam-powered, wooden-hulled passenger ships in the US. (The other is Sabino at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut.) Virginia Vwas designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992. (The Steamer Virginia V Foundation, In c., c/o Maritime Heritage Center at South Lake U nion, PO Box 24805, Seattle WA 981240805; 206 624-9119; web site: www.virgi niav.org/; e-mail: info@virginiav.org)
harbor as a result of cleaner waters. (The Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge, 290 Co nover Street at Pier 45, Brooklyn NY 1123 1; 718 624-4719; web site: www .wa terfro ntmuseum .o rg) . .. The USS Saratoga Museum Foundation has brought the fo rm er Soviet submarine ] uliett 484 of 1968 to Rhode Island. T he movie-going p ublic wi ll recognize the submarine from the 2002 movie K-19: The Widowmaker. (USMF, PO Box 28581, Providence RI 02908; 401 831-8696; web site: www .saratogamuseum.org) ... Princess Cruises' 640-passenger cruise ship Pacific Princess, which played the title role in the weekly television series The Love Boat, retired in O ctober after 27 yea rs of service. (Princess Cruises, 24844 Avenue Rockefeller, Santa Clarita CA 91355; web site: www.princess .com) ... The mayor of New Rochelle, New York, and Jacques Cousteau's widow, Francine, announced in July that, pending fundin g, C ousteau 's fo rmer research ship Calyp so may be brought to New York from La Rochel le, France, to be resto red and displayed in co njunction with a Co usteau museum. (Cousteau Society-US, 870 Greenbrier Circle, Suite 402, Chesapeake VA 23320; 800 441-4395; web site: www.co usteausociety. org) . .. The Port of
36
SEA HISTORY l 03 , WINTER 2002-03
Mosquito Fleet Veteran Virginia VSteams Again Under Her Own Power
Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, is hosting the fo urth International Festival of the Sea. The four-day event, 23-26 May 2003, will offer its proj ected 150,000 visitors a wide range of maritime experiences, from rail ships to local small crafr, musicians, theater, parades and storytelling. (For tickets: 011 +44 (13 1) 473 2000 or web site: www.fesrivalofthesea.co. uk) ... The threemasted bark Picton Castle is signing on crew and sail trainees for its third yearlongworld voyage, from] une 2003 to June 2004. (David Robinson , Coordinator, Barque Picton Castle, 1 Woodbine Lane, Amherst NH 03031; 603 424-0219; email: info@p icton-castle.com; web sire: www.picton-castle.com) . .. The Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum completed building the Alewife, a 25-foot replica of a colonial-era lighter, for the Saugus Iron Works Natio nal Historic Sire, where it helps the National Park Service interp ret the first successful iron wo rks in the American colonies. (SIWNHS, 244 Central Sr., Saugus MA 019062107; 78 1 233-0050; web site: www.n ps. gov/sair) ... Gesell schafr Welrkulrurgur Hansestadt Lubeck (Society for the World's C ultural Assets of the H anseatic City of Lubeck) is working on the reconstruction of a kraweel, a 15th-century Hanseatic sa iling ship. (GWHL, Han seschiff Werft, WillyBrandr-Allee 19, 23554 Lubeck, Germany; 011 +49 (45 1) 798 27 40; web sire: www .welrkulrurgur-luebeck.de/) . .. A group in Rostock, Germany, is working to build a replica of the Passat for sail training and environmental education. The original Passat, now a museum ship in Travemunde, Germany, was built by Blohm & Voss in 1911 for F. Laeisz of H amburg. (Passatwind Sailing e.V., Fuchringstrasse 14, 235 58 Lubeck, Ge rm a n y; web sit e: www. dienelt. com/passatwind-sailing.de) ... The newly renovated galleries of th e New Bedford Whaling M useum are th e site of the debut of "Treasures of the Kendall Collection" the world's most comprehensive collection related to whaling and rel ated endeavo rs. The Kendall Whaling Museum transferred its co llection to the NBWM one year ago. (NBWM, 18 SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
Johnn y Cake Hill, New Bedford MA 02 740-6398; 508 997-0046; web site: whal ingmuseum .o rg) . . . The Mare Island Historic Park Foundation is co nverting a building at the old naval shipyard into the new Mare Island Artifacts Museum in Vallejo, Cali fornia, to accom modate artifacts from the ballistic nuclear subm arine USS Mariano G. Vallejo and a collection of more than 4, 000 artifacts relating to the people who worked or were stationed at the shipyard. (MIHPF , 328 Seawind Drive, Vallejo CA 94590; 707 557-1538; web site: www.mareis landhpf.org) ... The Michigan D epartment of Natural Resources has begun restoring the historic Lake Huron Tawas Point Lighthouse of 1876; the restoration will bring the lighthouse back to its early 1900's appearance. (Tawas Point State Park, 686 Ta was Beach Road, East Tawas MI 4873 0; 517 362-504 1) ... The Maine Maritime Museum has renovated its Percy & Small Shipyard exhibits based on new research into the shipyard; the newly built McEvoy Alewife Gallery, an addition to the Maritime History Building, now serves as an introductory space. (MMM , 243 Washington Street, Bath ME 04530; 207 443-1 3 16; web site: www.bathmaine.co m) ... The May 2002 nine-alarm fire in the historic Rope Walk building of 1837 at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston was ruled arson. T he National Park Service and the Boston Redevelopmem Agency say that they wi ll co minue with pl ans to renovate the buildin g. USS Constitution, berthed nearby, was unharmed. (Boston National Historical Park, C harlestown Navy Yard, Bosto n MA 021 29-4543; 617 242-5642; web site: www. nps.gov/bost) ... T he National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, has acquired a collection of material representing a graphic depiction of slavery across the wo rld from the mid- 18th century.Also at the museum , a tactical battle diagram hand-drawn by Admiral Horatio Nelson prior to the Battle of Trafalgar has been identified on the back of a page of handwritten notes. The sketch is on display at the Natio nal Maritime Museum, London. (NMM , Greenwich, London SElO 9NF, UK; 011 +44
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SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS (20) 8858 4422; we b sire: www.nmm .ac. uk) ... The new Norfolk Nelson Museum, housed in a histo ri c building in what was once Norfolk's port of Great Yarmouth , explores Nelson 's home life and roots in Norfolk as well as what life was like aboard ship in Nelson 's navy. (NNM, 26, South Quay, Grear Yarmouth NR30 2RG, UK; 011 +44 (1493) 850 698; web si re: www. nelson-museum .co. u k/index.htm) ... The Heritage Lottery Fund in Great Britain has awarded a grant of ÂŁ10 .69 million toward rhe ÂŁ30-m illion project to develop a National Waterfront Museum at Swansea, Wales, to house a collection of more than 200,000 artifacts, jeopardized when rhe former National Maritime Museum site in Cardiff was demolished in 1998. (National Museums and Galleries of Wales, e-mail : posr@nmgw.ac.uk; City and County of Swansea, County Hall , Oystermourh Road, Swansea, SAl 3SN, UK; email: Tourism @Swansea.gov. uk) ... Marine archaeologist and explorer Robert Ballard has joined the faculty of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, where he will establish rhe Center for Marine Cultural Resources to continue his search for human cultural remains on rhe ocean floor. Ballard envisions co llabo rative projects between rhe new insrirution and his Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut. (Office of Community Relations, URI Bay Campus, Box 62, Narragansett RI 02882-1197; 401 874-6642) ... After rwentyyea rs as president of the Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Rafe Parker retired in June. When Parker began his tenure, SEA had one ship and a budget of $700,000; roday the organization sponsors programs aboard three ships and oversees a budget of more than $4 million. In 1997 he received rhe NMHS/Walrer Cronkite Award for Excellence in Mari ti me Education .... Succeeding Rafe Parker as president of SEA is John Bullard. Bullard has served as rhe director of the Office of Sustainab le Development & Intergovernmental Affairs at NOAA and was a three-term mayor of his native New Bedford, Massachuserrs. (SEA, PO Box 6, Woods Hole MA 02543; 508 540-3954; web site: www.sea.edu) ... The 2002 inductees into the America's Cup Hall of Fame are Sranley Rosenfeld, rhe photographic chronicler of America's C up 38
races; Sir Michael Fay, who was instrumental in New Zealand's America's Cup success; and Malin Burnham, who has been involved in rhe competition for nearly three decades. The Hall of Fame Induction wi ll take place in February ar rhe Auckland Museum New Zealand. (Herreshoff Marine Museum/America's C up Hall of Fame, PO Box 450, One Burnside Street, Bristol RI 02809-0450 ; 40 1 253-5000; web sire: www.herreshoff.org) ... EdwardL. Beach ( 1918-2002) leaves a remarkab le legacy as a submariner and as an author. He earned ren decorations for gallamty in World War II and ensured his place in naval history by raking the submarin e USS Triton around rhe world underwater in 84 days in 1960a record rhar stands today. Among his dozen books are the novel Run Silent, Run Deep; his account of Triton's voyage, Around the World Submerged; and Scapegoats.' A Defense of Kimmel and Short at Pearl Harbor . .. . Historian David Beers Quinn died in Liverpool on 19 March 2002. Over six decades he revolutionized modern undersrandi ng of earl y European voyages of exp loration, expansion into new lands, and settlement patterns, by rediscovering original sources, reinterpreting what we rhoughr we knew, and publishing his findings for
rhe benefit of scholars and lay readers .... Archaeologists have found a treasure trove of information excavating the ancient port of Berenike in the Egyptian desert nea r the border with Sudan. Items found indicate trade with places as far away as Java and Thailand, and eleven languages have been identified in written materials. (Berenike Project web site: www.archbase .com/berenike/) .. . The New Bedford Free Public Library has made its Whaling Crew List Index available on-line at www.ci.new-bedford.ma. us/ nbfpl .h tm (fo llow the button marked "Whaling Voyages Crewlisr"). (New Bedford Free Public Library, 613 Pl easant Street, New Bedford MA02740-6203; 508 961-3104) .... The on-line International journal of Naval History, funded by d1e Naval Historical Foundation, debuted at www. ijnhon lin e.org.
Full information on these and other stories can be found in Sea History Gazette, Summer and Autumn 2002. To subscribe, send $18. 75 (add $10 for foreign postage) toNMHS, POBox68, Peekskill NY 10566. For credit card order, call 1 800 221-NMHS (6647), x O, or sign up online at www.seahistory.org.
AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM NEWS NATIONAL MARJTIME HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS: On Saturday, 18 January, rhe industrialist James A. Farrell and "rhe last two Liberty ships," rhejohn W Brown and rhe Jeremiah O'Brien, will be formally inducted into rhe National Maritime Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held in Melville Hall ar rhe US Merchant Marine Academy starring ar 12 noon. Reservations may be made by calling 516 773-55 15. ART EXHIBITION: On Saturday, 25 January, the American Merchant Marine Museum will open an exhibition of 40 paintings by the world's premier marine artists, organized by rhe J. Russell Jinishian Gallery of Fairfield, Connecticut. The show will feature a wide variety of ships from the l 9rh-centllly, from clipper ships by Montague Dawson and Jim Griffiths to New York harbor mgs in action; Lykes Lines and U nited Fruit freighters; mm-of-the-century steamships by William G. Muller and Bill Ewen; 20th-century American and European passenger liners on locaiton in ports arou nd the world by artist/ hi storian Ian Marshall; salvage tugs at sea by former mg engineer Marek Sarba. Paintings by John Stobart and Victor Mays will depict well-known American ports as rh ey ap peared in rhe !are 19th century. T he workin g fishing vessel under sail wi ll come to life in the paintings of C hristopher Blossom and Thomas Hoyne. Paintings of the mod ern steel navy will also be included, from rhe Grear White Fleet through the carrier Enterprise depicted off Vietnam in the 1960s. Other artists included will be John Atwater, Len Tantillo, scrimshaw by Robert Weiss, Donald Thimgan, Lou Bonamarte, Geoff Hunt (known for hi s paintings for rh e covers of Patrick O'Brian's novels) , Robert Sticker. All artwork will be on sale, with proceeds going to benefit the co llection fund of the Museum. Many artists will be on hand on 25 January to discuss their work. The exhibition wi ll be on view through 8 February. CAPT. CHARLES M. RENICK, President Emeritus AMMM, USMMA, Kings Point NY 11024; 516 773-5515; e-mail ammmuseum@aolcom SEA HISTORY I 03 , WINTER 2002-03
CALENDAR Festivals, Events, Lectures, Etc. •Calvert Marine Museum: 18-19 Janu ary 2003, "Winter Lights" : A Celebration of C hesapeake Bay Lighthouses (PO Box 97, Solomons MO 20688; 410 326-2042; web sire: www.ca lverrmarinemuseum.com) • International Festival of the Sea: 23-26 May 2003, in Ed inburgh, Sco tl and (Tickers: 011 +44 ( 13 1) 473 2000 or we b sir e: www.fesri valofrh esea.co. uk) •Texas Maritime Museum: 15- 16 February 2003, Music of the Sea Festival (1202 Navigation C ircl e, Rockport TX 78382; 36 1 729- 12 7 1; we b site : www.rexasmarir im e niuseum.org)
Conferences • CALL FOR PAPERS: Canadian Nautical Research Society: 13- 16 August 2003, Annual Conference: "Ships: Their Lives, Work and People," in Vancouver BC, Ca nada; 1215 May 2004, "A Celebrati o n of H ydrography," to mark the ce ntenary of the Canad ian H ydrographicService, in Ottawa ON, Canada (Dr. William G lover, Co nference Program C hair, fax: 613 546-8428, e- mail: wi lli am glover@symparico.ca; web sire: www.marm us .ca/CNRS/confeOOO.hrm) • CALL FOR PAPERS: Maritime Historical Studies Center, Hull, England: 10- 12 Jul y 2003, "Beyond Shippin g and Shipbuildin g: Britain's Ancilla ry Mar it im e Interes ts in th e 20 th Ce ntury" (Se nd proposals by 28 Feb ruary 2003 to Or. David]. Sta rkey, D ep t. of Hi story, University of Hull , Cottin gham Road , Hull, East Yorkshire, HU6 7RX, UK; web sire: www. hull. ac.u k/history/MHSC/ mhschome.h rm) • Naval Dockyards Society: 5 Apri l 2003, 7th Annua l Co nference: "Preservation , Co nservation and Re-Use of Dockyard Si res and Buildings," at the Na ti o nal Maritime Muse um , G reenwich UK (D r. Ann Coa ts, Nava l Dockyards Society, 44 Lindley Avenue, Sourhsea, P04 9NU, UK; ph /fax : 011 +44 (23) 9286 3799; e-ma il: ann@dockya rds.o rg; web sire: www.hanrs.gov.uk/navaldockyard/ index.htm) • Niagara Divers' Association: 22 M arch 2003, 9th Annual Symposium on Shipwrecks, in Welland ON, Canada (Ian & Barbara Marshall, Shipwrecks/2003 Commi ttee, 905 382-2389; marshal l@vaxx in e.com; web sire: www.vaxxin e.co m/ nd a)
Exhibits •Australian National Maritime Museum: 25 Jul y 2002-February 2003, "Pattiorism, Persuasion Propaganda: Ameri can War Posters" (Darling Harbo ur, GPO Box 5131, Syd ney NSW 200 1 Australi a; 0 11 +6 1 (2)
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
9298 3777; fax: 011 +6 1 (2) 9298 3780; web sire: www.anm m. gov.au) •Fleet Air Arm Museum: 5 Feb ruary-2 June 2003, "A Go ld en Jubil ee": A photographic exhibiti o n to mark 50 years of Queen E liza beth 's association with the Royal Navy and the Commonwealth Navies (Roya l Navy Air Station Yeov ilton , ll chesre r, So merset, B22 8HT, UK; 011 +44 (19 35) 840 565; web sire: www. fl eera irarm.com) •James L. Kochan FineArt &Antiques: 23 Nove mber 200 2-23 February 2003, " H earts of Oak and Ya nkee Pluck: The British and American Naval Experience in rhe Age of Fightin g Sail , 1755- 18 15" (14 1 West German Street, PO Box 250, Sheph erd stown WV 25443; 304 876- 1102; e- mail: marsp ubs @ea rrhlin k.net) • Museu Calouste Gulbenkian: FebruaryApril 2003, "O Mare a Luz," 103 wo rks by JMW Turn er from rhe Tare Gall ery (Av. d e Berna 45A, 1067-00 1 Lisbon Codex, Porruga l; 011 +35 1 (2 1) 782-3000; web sire: museu.gulbenkian. pt) • National Maritime Museum, London: 6 D ecember 2002-7 Se ptember 2003, "The Beagle Voyage-Fro m Earth to Mars" linkin g rwo great voyages uf exp lurarion and discovery; from 23 February 2002, "The C radl e of the Navy: T he Royal H osp ital School ar G reenwich," a new permanent di spl ay at Queen 's House (G ree nwich, London, SE 10 9NF, UK; 011 +44 (2 0) 8858 4422; we b sire: www. nmm .ac.uk) •Noble Maritime Collection: 15 Feb ru ary! Jun e 2003, "John Sto barr's Wo rld of Sail and Steam " (10 00 Ri chmond T errace, Staten Island NY 10301 ; 7 18 447-6490; web sire: www.noblemaririm e.o rg) • Penobscot Marine Museum: "D ow n ro the Sea in Painted Ships," works fro m the co ll ection , in cludin g Thomas an d James Burtersworrh, Robert Salmon , William Yo rke and Antonio Jaco bsen (Church Street, PO Box 498, Sea rsport ME 04974-0498; 207 548-2529; web site: www.penobscor marin e museum.org) • South Street Seaport Museum: fro m 23 March 2002 , "All Avai lab le Boars: H arbor Voices & Images 9. 11 .01 ";o n-go in g, "Gold Medal Rescue Se ri es" celebrating rh e most famo us English coast rescues by the RNLl, by painter Tim T ho mpso n (2 07 Fro nt Street, New York NY 10038; 2 12 748-8600; web sire: www.sourhstseaporr.o rg) •The Whaling Museum: from 2 1 Se ptember 2002, "Inside and Our: C raftin g the American W hale Ship" (PO Box 25, 279 Main Srreer, Cold Sprin g H arbor NY 11 724; 63 1 367-34 18; web sire: www.cs hw halin g mu seum.org)
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T he prison-ship experience told Forren A Gentleman of Color: The Life of] am es Forten, by Jul ie Wi nch (Oxford Univer- something o f the conditio ns his greatsity Press, New Yo rk NY, 2002, 5 12pp, grandfa ther had endured as a slave on the illus, notes, bi bli o, index, IS BN 0- 19- hideo us Middle Passage fro m Africa. Years later, going aboa rd a cuscomer's ship co 508691-0; $35 hc) T his valuable work tracks the prod uc- meas ure her fo r sails, he recognized the tive li fe and leadership role ofa free colored smell of d ose-packed bodies in the ship's sail or and businessman born in Philadel- timbers below decks. By that time the US phi a in 1766, who served as a teenage r in had join ed Britain in outlawing the slave rrade, while still not joining in the American Revolution, beoutlawing slavery itself. "A fucame the leading sailmaker in ~,,...;r_fi,,!1.. rious James Forren threatened h is seaport city by 18 10, and the shipowner with the full pursued an active business and fo rce of the law and expressed philanth ro pic ro le in his comin no uncertain terms his sense m unity and beyond, until his o f pe rso nal o utr age," Dr. death in 1842, soon afte r the W inch reports. freeing of theAmistadcaptives . T he author's scholarship Typ ically, Forren was active gives dep th as well as authenon behalfoftheAmistad people, ticiry to this acco unt; fo r exwith whom he had a peculiar ample, in recounting the taklink in that Singbe Pieh, leader ing of th e privateer, sh e cites of th e captives, had been sold th e British ships' logs as well as into slavery by King Sherker, an African prince whom Fo rren had at- American acco unts, and in the main matter te mpted, years before, to wean fro m the of the book-Forten's life and business career- the breadth of this careful research lucrative slave trade. Forren was wealthy enough-and dedi- adds the richness of family and communi ry cated enough-co lend W illi am Lloyd relati ons co the tale. D r. Winch does a Ga rrison mo ney to fo und his impo rtant grand job bringing all this before us, from newspaper, The Liberator, in Boston. Fight- the work of the freedom movement co the ing slavery on the one ha nd, he strongly disciplines of sailmaking and the w hole opposed the idea of a new homeland in variegated li fe of the seaport city of PhilaAfrica on the oth er, rejecting even the title delphia in the early 1800s, when the lives of "Afric-Am erican" which to him evidently a few people like James Forren shone like suggested the wro ng co ntinent as home: he beaco ns against the dark night of slave1y . PETER STANFORD was an Ame rican and stood his gro und on his na tive soi l, insisti ng on his rights as a citizen. Em pl oyees in h is fl o uri shin g The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Israeli sailmaki ng business were both whi te and Attack on the US Navy Spy Ship, by A. black, and to a perhaps surprising degree so Jay C ristal (Brassey's, W as hin gton D C, 2002 , 320pp , illus, appen, notes, biblio, were his business associates. T he early chapters of this tale read like index, ISBN 1-57488-4 14-X; $27.50hc) On 8 June 1967, as Israeli forces were an adve ntu re story, as 14-year-old Fo rren sails in a privateer which takes a British completing their stunning victory over the sloop carrying vital dispatches . O n his next Arab armies ranged aga inst them , Israeli air voyage h is shi p is taken by a Bri tish fri gate, and naval forces attacked th e US N avy bur he wins the favor of the captai n, who intelligence-gathering ship Liberty, killing appoints him to watch over his yo ung son 34 Am eri cans and wo unding 17 1. Shock and offers to take him back to England. and outrage we re the natural reaction, Yo ung Forren refuses this offer and is im- fa nned by sensational stories and kept alive priso ned aboard the hell-ship jersey in New by conspiracy theorists to this day. The US State Depa rtment didn' t help York's East Rive r. T here he gives up a chance fo r escape to a whi te fr iend (who things by announ cing th at the ship was in became a great friend later, going on record the wa r zone to see w the safety of US to attest to Forren 's selfless deed) but sur- citizens . Only much la ter did it emerge vives and is ultimately released to begin his that the vessel was a sp y ship using elecsuccessfu l business career in Philadelphia. tronics to listen in on the battle raging
1
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
ashore in Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Somehow the Israelis had not bee n advised of th e ship's presence in sight of the battleground. The troops as hore were being shelled, and thought q uire naturally that the strange shi p had som ething ro do with this. Help was called in from the Israeli Air Force. No respo nse being made to challenges, the Israeli fig hters strafed the ship, causing casualties and setting fires. At high speed the pilots could not read the ship 's name, and what they co uld read of the identifi catio n letters o n her bow sugges ted that sh e was a Soviet ship-the Soviets being neutral allies of the Arabs, mu ch as the US was of the Israelis. Two Israeli to rpedo boats jo in ed in the attack. C losi ng with the ship they go t an ambiguous res ponse to their query as to her identification- the same ambiguous response used by an Egyptian ship in a prior engagement-and at that point w ith the boats seeking clear identification of the target, the Liberty opened machine-gun fire o n them. T hese torpedo boars were li ght wooden vessels whose commanders justifiably decided to wait no furth er, and fir ed their torpedoes. O ne of these hit, bl asting a huge hole in the Liberty's side forward. Ar that point o ne of the boars came upon one of the life rafts blown off the Liberty, with "United Stares Navy" clearly painted on it. T he boars stopped their arrack and came alongside to offer ass istance by lo ud hailer. This was refused, and the Liberty was rescued by ships of the US Mediterranean fleet. C risrol, a US Navy veteran, trained historian and federal judge, devo ted ten years to fully documenting this tragedy. His book clears up the multiplying confusio ns set up by official obfuscation and media frenzy, focusing sharpl y, with dramati c effect, on actual communications from aircrafr pilots and others involved in the attack, including US Navy and Israel Defense Fo rce authorities . C risto l's find ings, as roughly set forth above, have been endorsed by leading naval authorities including Admiral Leon Ed n ey, fo rm er NATO supreme commander, who said : "Only those w ith an ulterior motive can still cling to the conspiracy theo ries" in the face of Cristo!' s findings. T hese theo ries ran ged from the Soviet newspaper Pravda's finding that the US authori zed the Israeli arrack to co nceal US
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REVIEWS THE GLENCANNON PRESS MARITIME BOOKS Books on ships and the sea. NEW! The Glencannon Encyclopedia. Also the complete Mr. Glencannon stories, and more. For info and a Free Catalog, call 800-711-8985. P.O . Box 633, Benicia , CA 94510 www.glencannon.com
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participation in the wa r, to a story in the American magazine Penthouse that the Israelis attacked th e ship because the US had refused to withdraw her from the combat zone, and, lamentably, a sorry acco unt in the otherw ise reputable US Naval Institute Proceedings to the effect that th e Israelis had knocked out Liberty to prevent th e US learning abo ut the extent of the Israeli gains, which the Israelis wanted to announce to rheworld asa fait acco mpli . This las t was particul arly egregious, for the victories had already been announced in the world press. T he author ends up ass igning fa ult to no person but to fai led m echani sms (fo r instance, the US Navy had sem out an order to Liberty to stay 100 miles o uts ide the war zo ne, which unfortunately never reached her). His mission is to clear the record rather than to point fin gers. T his reviewer believes a finger should be pointed at the rash and ill-coordinated policy of sending unescorted spy ships into dangerous wa ters. Six months after the attack another ship on a similar mission , US S Pueblo, was captured by No rth Korean forces in the Sea of Japan-the first US ship to surrender since the W ar of 18 12 . A finger should also be pointed at the madly counterproductive policy of the M cNam ara Defense D eparrmem in no t releasing the fu ll , known facts of the encounter, which had no real military signifi cance. One can't well fa ult the Israeli attack, ca rried out under combat conditions. C ristol's account makes harrowing but instructive reading and should help prevent such tragedies in th e future. PS Caught in Irons: North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail, by Michael W ayne Santos (Susquehanna U niversity Press, Selinsgrove PA, and Associated U niversity Presses, London U K, C ranbu ry NJ , and M ississauga O N, Canada, 2002, 204pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 15759 1-053-5 ; $37. 50hc) A sailing vessel "in irons" has come up into the wind, losing its headway and most of its ability to change course. Being"caught in irons" po rtends difficult times ahead and is therefore a fittin g metaphorical tide for the sto ry of the demise of the sailing fi sheries of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Lun enburg, N ova Scotia. T he efficiency of m echanically powered
beam traw lers led to the retirement of the m ore picturesque sa ilin g fishing schooners and the passing of the sailing captain highliner, the independent fis herman, and a unique hands-on relationship between the dorym an and his m other ship . In its place em erged big- business fish eries replete with labor unio ns, moneyed bosses, engines, and ill-res pected engineers. San tos sympathetically describes the socioeconomic evolution of G loucester, its hard working vessels, and its ro ugh-and-tumbl e fishermen . The autho r also tells a fascin ating sto ry of anach ro nistic fis hing schooner races, the wo rkaday spo rt of ordinary fis hermen appropri ated by wealthy summer boarders, and the public relations scheme that exploited the international races and th e colorful characters of the sea captains. Caught in Irons is a scholarl y, wellwritten tale that displaces many m yth s. It is highly recommended fo r those interested in the history of the New England fi shing industry, especially this reviewer's hometown , the po rt of Glo uces ter. D R. LOUIS A. NORTON Wes t Sim sbury, Connecticut Famous American Admirals, by C lark G . Reynolds (Na val Insti tu re Press, Anna polis MD , 2002, o rig 1978, 468pp, illus, appen, ref, index, ISBN 1-5575 0-006-1 ; $36.95 hc) "Provoca ti ve" is hardly the wo rd one would tend to apply to a book entitled Famous American A d mirals. In the case of this new publication of a wo rk that o riginally appeared in 1978, however, th at adjective definitely firs. T he more than two hundred brief biographies of the autho r's selectio n ofouts tanding US Navy fl ag officers provo ke questions and answers about the co re elements ofleadership. So m e of the choi ces, such as Arleigh A. ''Thir ry-O neKnot" Burke, are relatively fresh in o ur collecti ve memory. Others, like Ro bley D . "Fighting Bo b" Evans and C ha rles F. "H andle Bars" Hughes, are shro uded in the mists of o ur mo re distam histo ry. But cumul ati vely the profiles ofasweeping va riety of strategists, tacticians, reformers and hardnosed co mbatants generate serio us tho ught about what has made the US Navy great. T his book does not do yo ur thinking for yo u; it simply gives yo u th e basic facts and allows yo u to take it fro m there. Reynolds provides helpful backgro und fo r his wo rk wirh a brief fo reword that goes SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
into [he history of "fl ag rank, " including shorr descrip[ions of such phenomena as tombstone promo[ions an d [he esrablishment of [he five-s[ar flee[ admiral rank. In addi[ion [here are eleven appendices [ha[ range from derails abour rhe Deparrment of [he Navy to basic fac[s abour rhe Confederare Srates Navy. And, by the way, this is also an essential reference wo rk for students and wri ters of naval history. RADMJOSEPH F. CALLO, USNR(RET.) New York, New York
The Autobiography of a Yankee Mariner: Christopher Prince and the American Revolution, edited by Michael J . Crawford (Brassey's, Washington D C, 2002 , 263pp, illus, notes, appen, biblio , glossary, index, ISBN 1-5 7 488-440-9; $26.95 hc) Michael Crawfo rd, the noted naval historian, has skillfully edited a rare autobiography of a Massachusetts mariner who participated in the American Revolution as a seaman and ship's captain. C rawford adds hi sto rical contex[ and apropos and erudite footnotes to C hrisLOpher Prince's narrative. Prince was a witness to many milirary and naval actions of the War of Independence. His reminiscences corroborate and, in so me cases, add depth ro exis[ing historical data. Some recollections of detailed co nversations are perhaps literary license, but Prince's explanation of [h e choices that he made, his feelings and those of hi s contemporaries, plus the moral dil emm as he faced are a uniqu e social co mmentary of the times . DR. LOUIS A. NORTON Jack Nastyface: Memoirs of an English Seaman, by William Robinson (Naval In stitute Press, Annapolis MD, 2002, l 60pp, illus, ISBN 1-5575 0-011 -8; $ 16.95pb) Like a voice from th e past, this brief book is a republication of a sto ry that was originally primed in 1836. Jack N astyface, a stirring name for a sailor in the Royal Navy in the early 1800s, is actually William Robinson , an in[elli gem and reaso nable naval seaman. In sketchy but authentic fas hion Robinson portrays [he life of a seaman in the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Among other topics he addresses, our seaman decries [he punishments meted o ut indiscriminately to the sai lors and objec[s suongly to [he practice
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03
of impressing citizens into the Royal Navy. The story is worth looking a[ for [he historical informa[ion it provides, but Richard H enry Dana was a much more eloquent spokesman for [he sailor and his oppressed life in [he 1800s. ARTHUR KELLNER Roseland, New Jersey
Deadly Winter: The Life of Sir John Franklin, by Marryn Beardsley (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD , 2002, 296pp, illus, biblio, no[es, index, ISBN 1-5575 0179-3; $34.95 hc) Sir John Franklin (1786- 1847), officer of the Royal Navy, explorer, diplom a[, and folk hero, was, to his admirers, [he epitome ofBri[ish single-mindedness and a "presson-regardless-a[titude." To his deuacto rs, he was a misguided, hesitant, and as often as no[ inep[ leader. To Mr. Beardsley, he was not only a hero, bur "a good man" who accomplished 'far [aurhor'semphasis] more than, for example, better-remembered figures such as Scott and Shackleton." Unfortunately, the author gives us li[tle opportuniLy [O co me to our own mind regarding Franklin due to his almos[ reverent [rea[ment of [he man's life, a superfi cial and ofren denigrating look at wha[ migh[ have mo[iva[ed his hero's de[ractors, and an uncompromising Bricish parochialism. Prior [O [he publica[ion of [his wellresearched bi ograph y, Beardsley had been a wri[er of children's fi c[ion. his appare m from [he inclusion of unnecessa ry charac[ers, a ple[hora ofi nsignifi cant fac[s, and an abundance of Lady Jan e Franklin's poetry [ha[ he wall(s his readers to share in his emhusias rn and know as much as he does abou[ his subj ect. This reader found such an excess of riches to be dis[raC[ing. fr adds li[tl e to [he [ale and no[hing to [he perso na of John Franklin. Howeve r, by [he fin al tl1ird of [he book, Beardsley finds hi s vo ice: [he prose becomes more cogent and fewer extraneous details inrrude on the story. While Sir John's exploi[s, no[ [he leas[ of which was his effo rt on three separa[e occas ions to search ou[ [he Nonhwest Passage (an effon which finally took his life) , were ill(eres ting, the book does no[ do justice to the author's feeling [hat his subject was a real hero who histo ry overlooked. WI LUAM H. WHITE Author: 1812 Trilogy Rumson, N ew Jersey
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CLASSIFIED ADS Model Restoration/Construction, Captain No rman Smith, G reat Island Model Shipyard, 106 Lo mbos Hole Road, H arpswell , ME 04079 , 207-833-6670, E-mai l: dys mi th @gwi.net Peter Williams I Museum Services. New England 's premier reso urce fo r the restorati on of mari time paintings. 30 Ipswich St., Boston, MA 022 15. Byapp't: 617-536-4092. See our webs ite: www.peterwilliams.org Art Prints. NYC Fireboats 16x20", $ 18 each. Also ava il able for commissioned work. Call Steve W hite 718-3 17-5025, E- mail : fdnyarrist@aol. co m SOS Korea 1950 Illustrated. ISBN 1931646-9 1-0. T he fi rs r 3 days officers' communicarions recorded and revealed! Join the Ameri ca ns in Korea when North invaded. 424 pages incl. 149 photos 6x9 perfect bound paperback, US$ 16.95 + S&H . Call ro ll free (877) 43 0-0044 fo r credit cards or mail check or money order to M idwes t Book.h ouse, 3 100 Paci fi c St. , M inneapolis, MN 554 11. Visit www.mi dwestbookhouse.com on the web.
To place your classified ad at $1.60 per word, mail your complete classified message along with payment, to Sea History , Attn: Advertising Desk, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. OWNER'S STATEMENT Statement fil ed lO/OI /02 req uired by the Act of Aug. 12, 1970, Sec. 3685, Title39, US Code:SeaHistory ispu blished quarterly at 5 John Wa lsh Blvd., Peekskill NY I 0566; minimum subscriprio n price is $ 17.SO. Pu bl isher and ed iror-in-chief: one; ed iro r is Juscine Ahlsrrom; owner is National Maritime Historical Sociery, a non- profit corporati o n; all are located at 5 John Wals h Blvd. , Peekskill NY I 0566. During the 12 months p reced ing Octo ber 2002 the average numberof (A) copies princed eac h iss ue was 25,45 1; (B) paid and/or req uested ci rcul at io n was: ( I) oucsideco uncy mail subscriptio ns 9, 124; (2) in-cou ncy subscripcions O; (3) sales rhrough dealers, ca rriers, cou nce r saJes, o ther non-USPS paid distr ibution 440; (4) other classes mailed through USPS 393; (C) total paid and/or requ ested circu lac ion was 9,957; (0 ) free disrr iburion by mail, samples, complimentary and o ther 13,899; (E) free distribmion omside che ma ils 562; (F) rora l free di srr iburion was 14,46 1; (G) total distribution 24,4 18; (H ) co pies not distributed 1,033; (I) total [of 15G and H J 25,451; U) Percem age paid and/o r requesced ci rcu lacion 4 1o/o. T he ac mal numbers fo r chc single issue preceding Ocrober 2001 are: (A) meal number printed was 26,000; (B) paid and/or requesced circular ion was ( I) ourside-cou ncy mail subscriptions 8,588; (2) in-co un ty subscriptio ns O; (3) sales rhrough dealers, ca rri ers, co unrer sales, orher non-US PS paid di stribution 443; (4) other classes mailed thro ugh USPS 203; (C) tota l paid and/or req uested circulat ion was 9,234 ; (D) free d istribution by mai l, sa mpl es, co mpl imenta ry and othe r 15,000; (E) free d istribution o utside th e ma ils O; (F) total free d istribution was 15,000; (G) total discr ibu ti on 24,234; (H) cop ies not distr ibu ted 1,766; (I) meal [of 15G and HJ 26,000; (I) Percentage paid a nd/o r requesred ci rcu lari on 36%. I ce rci fy char che above scacemencs are co rrect and complece. (signed) Justi ne M. Ah lstro m, Edicor, Nac io nal Maririme Hisro ri cal Sociecy.
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REVIEWS The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940-1943, by Jack G reen and Alessandro M assignani (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD , 2002, 35 2pp , illus, notes, biblio , index, ISBN 1-861 76190-2; $2 1. 95pb) In W orld War II , rh eAllies were in great danger oflosing the naval war in rhe M editerranean and, thus, the war itself. This is the position of Green and Massignani , who argue rhat Italy's fa ilure to build aircraft carriers before the war and develop modern naval and air technology led to her defeat. They absolve Mussolini from some blame in these matters, but surely he was largely responsible fo r nor converting Icaly to a wartime econo my and nor thinking in modern technological terms. The strength of this study is the excellent linking of military technology with battle results, whi ch brings clari ry to the main naval encounters. Bur the authors do nor overlook the human element. For instance, they give hi gh marks to Vice Admiral C unningham fo r his leadership and strategic decisions. Furth ermore, they laud the heroism of rhe peo ple of Malta, who deployed pitch fo rks to prevent their island from fal ling in to the hands of the Axis. Contrary to so me scholars, G reen and Massignani demonstrate rhe significance of this theater, arguing rhar a quick victory here wo uld have, as in the first wo rld war, led to th e coll apse of the German military in the Balkans, ending the war. In the las t chapter the authors cite the efforts of British offi cers, without the authorization of their superi ors, to make alli es of the Italian forces after the armistices of September 1943. W hether this was possible and why British offi cers co uld rake such important ini tiatives on their own needs to be analyzed in greater depth. This wo rk, however, whi ch is based on archival materi al and seco ndary literature in various European languages, will be rhe standard book on rhis subj ect. ANTHONY ]. PAPALAS
East Carolina U niversity G reenville, No rth Carolina American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the US Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, by Jack Sweetman (Naval Insti tute Press, Annapolis MD, 3rd ed., 2002, 408pp, illus, biblio, indexes, ISBN l -5 5750-867-4; $55hc; ISBN 1-5 575 0430-X; $38.95 pb) This richly illustrated
compendium reads in lively, balanced fas hion, with colorful incidents and thoughtful insights, while serving irs primary purpose of suppl yin g hard facts quickly. PS The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and N apoleonic Wars, Vol. 1 (1793-1796) and 2 (1797-1799) , byW. M. James, with a new introduction by Andrew Lambert (Stackpole Books, Mechani csburg PA, 2002, illus, index; Vol. 1: 4 10pp, ISBN 0-811 7- 1004-1 ; $29.95 hc) First published in 1822-24, rhis in-progress reprint of James's classic sixvolume histo ry, as historian Andrew Lambert tells us in his introduction, "can still provide insight to any who read it, evidence of the nature of naval warfare in an age long pas t, and first hand testimony from a host of great co mmanders." PS Trincomalee: The Last ofNelson's Frigates, by Andrew Lambert (Naval I nstitu te Press, Annapolis MD, 2002, l 92pp, illus, a pp en , index, ISBN 1-5 5 75 0 -4 0 5-9; $36 .95 hc) A model account of a first-class restoration of a frigate built in India at th e end of rhe Na poleonic W ars, this handsome volum e embraces rhe ship's genesis, naval career, and later role as a training ship and , today, a museum ship recentl y granted th e W orld Ship T rust Maritime H eritage Award. T he distinguished histori an Dr. Lambert makes the ship's multifarious career come to life in this very readable, wellillusrrared account. PS Wendameen: The Life of an American Schooner from 1912 to the Present, by Neal Parker (Down East Books, Camden M E, 2002, 94pp, illus, appen, ISBN 089272-582-6; $ 16.95 pb) Captain Parker's hearrwarming and exciting narra tive of the life of rhe 67-foor Alden schooner he resto red conveys a lively picture of the different worlds this handso me yacht sailed in, as well as a spirited account of the vessel's restoration , with full technical derail. PS NEW&NOTED White Hurricane: A Great Lakes November Gale and America's Deadliest Maritime Disaster, by D avid G. Brown (M cGraw- Hill , New Yo rk NY, 2002, 250pp, illus, appen, biblio, index, ISBN 007- 13803 7-X; $24.95hc) Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and SEA HISTORY I 03 , WINTER 2002- 03
Terror on the High Seas, by John S. Burnert (D utton, New Yo rk NY, 2002, 352pp, notes, gloss, biblio, index, ISBN 0525-94679-9; $24.95hc) Latitude: How American Astronomers Solved the Mystery of Variation, by Bill Carter and Merri Sue Carter (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 20 02, 272pp , illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-5575 0016-9; $24. 95hc) Great Water: An Atlantic Passage, by Deborah Cramer (W. W. Norton, New York NY, 2002, 4 16pp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 0-393-32334-X; $15.95pb) A natural history of the Atlantic. Mad Jack Percival: Legend of the Old Navy, by James H. Ellis (Naval Institute Press, Ann apolis MD, 2002, 288pp, illus, ch ro n, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-5575 0204-8; $34.95hc) Fishing Yesterday's Gulf Coast, by Barney Farl ey (TexasA&M University Press, College Station TX, 2002, 168pp , illus, ISBN 1-58544- 165-1 ; $22.95 hc) US Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History, by No rman Friedman (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2002, 688 pp , illus, appen, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-55750-25 0- 1; $85 hc) Gunboat on the Yangtze: The Diary of Captain Glenn F. Howell of the USS Palos, 1920-1921 , edited by Dennis L. Nob le (McFarland & Co., Jefferso n NC and Londo n UK, 2002 , 188pp, illus, biblio, index, ISBN 0-7864-1232-1; $29.95pb) Dangerous Waters: W reeks and Rescues off the BC Coast, by Keith Keller (H arbo ur Publishing, Madeira Park BC, Canada, 2002, orig 1997, 304pp , illus, index, ISBN 1-5501 7-288-3; $24. 95pb) Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard, by C. Douglas Kro ll (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2002, 192pp, illus, ch ro n, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-5575 0-474- 1; $36.95 hc) The Navy List, March 1766, edited by E. C. Coleman (Ancholme Publishing, Swallow House, Well Street, Bishop Norto n, Lines. LN8 2AZ, UK, 2001 , 200pp, illus, ISBN 0-954 1443-0-9; $2 l. 40pb incl. s/h) The Amazing Book of Paper Boats, text by Jerry Roberts, illustrations by W illy Bullock (Chro nicle Books, San Francisco CA, 2001 , 128pp, illus, 18 boats to build and fl oat, ISBN 0-8118-2939-1 ; $ l 8.95pb)
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New from ~Mt~tBcck<l
WEND AMEEN The Life of an American Schooner from 1912 to the Present
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by Capt. Neal Parlier
The fascinating story of the very first schooner designed by john Alden, and how a young man discovered her in ruins, brought her to Maine, and rebuilt her virtually from the keel up. Today, the 67-foot Wendameen , built in Boothbay Harbor, is sailing again along the coast of Maine. 96 page trade paperback, 100 b&w photos, original builder's specs & plans. $16.95 Available al bookstores or d irect from th e publis her (plus $4 s&h)
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DESSERT
Jack Corbett, Mariner
This vivid account ofseafaring 150years ago was retrieved from family papers and published for the first time in November this year. It is narrated by A. S. Hatch, son ofa Vermont doctor who went to sea at age twenty in 1849 as a "cure of Kill" treatment for his chronic asthma. On the New York waterfront he met jack Corbett, who showed him the ropes aboard the Western Ocean packet New World. The cure worked and Hatch kept sailing until he came ashore to become one of the nation's leading financiers. Meeting his old seadog mentor thirty years later, he adopted Corbett as family boatman and wrote up their time at sea together for his children's enjoyment. This excerpt brings to life for us the experience of sailing before the mast in a crack Yankee packet. An Exultant Dash H avin g dropped tugboats and pilot, with all plain sa il set and straining at th e ya rds in a stron g northwest wind , the New World was layin g her co urse fo r the G ulf Stream . T here was a buoya ncy in her rise and fall to the ocean swell and so rt of exultant das h in the way she threw the spray fro m her bow that seemed to say she was glad to be fr ee at las t of the wharf, th e ancho r and puffing steam tugs, cl ear of shoals and buoys and muddy channels, with th e broad ocean before her and fa th o ml ess depths of blue and briny wa ter under her keel. The ocean too see med glad to welco me her and tossed her o n irs boso m and ca ressed her sides and smil ed in the bright sunlight as ifi n pl ayful sa tisfacti o n, whil e the rush and whistl e of the wind through the rigging was not witho ut its no te of gladness . All this seemin g exhilaration of ship and sea and wind was contagious. Passe nge rs and crew caught it and reveled in it, forgetful fo r the rim e of the comin g perils of sto rm and fog, and of the ho rro rs of im pending seas ickn ess . Towa rds night I was on the poo p aft, where I had been sent for some triAin g tas k. W hen it was fini shed, I linge red for a las t loo k at th e land now fas t sinkin g fro m sight as tern. M y blood had been racing and my nerves thrilling all day with the ge neral
46
exaltation that had pervaded the ship, and with th e excitem ent of th e novelty of it all to me. Mingling with these feelings there now cam e a pensive mood , softenin g but not subduing them. As the rw ili ghr gathered, I realized for the first time that I was losing sight of the land o n whi ch all my life had been spent. T he sun went d own in a blaze of glory behind the Highlands. Fleecy clo uds, thro ugh which had gleamed streaks and parches of blue sky, hun g fro m the zenith down the wes tern sky, fo rming themselves in to strange and fa ntas ti c shapes and raking on brilliant hues of crimso n and gold and purple and o range as they neared the ho rizo n .
The famous Swallow Tail Line packet New Wo rld in Liverpool. Then, as the deepening rwilighr lost itself in darkness, th e rwin Aas hes of the Highland Lights sho t out over th e sea. The outlin e of the coast, which had grown dim and hazy, disappeared , and the rwo lights we re all that rem ai ned in sight of my native land. I had never seen them before and did not know what they were. But as the las t visible links berween my hea rt -now filled with tender memo ries-and what I had left behind, the Li ghts ca me to represent to me ho me, kindred, fri ends, country, and all that I loved. As I looked at them th ey becam e to my qui ckened imagination a pair of wa tchful eyes, taking no te of al l the ships that we nt out to sea and the hum an lives and interests th at we nt with them . . . . Afterwards, on the remrn voyage, I used to thin k of them, es pecially in the dark nigh rs, as watching th ere still, with un fa iling co nstancy, to guide and welco me us home.
A Slippery Start O ne day I was sent up to slush the fore
topgal lant mas t. I fill ed my slush bu cket at the barrel that stood just o utside the cook's galley and we nt gail y to my tas k. T he weath er was fin e and bracing, just a fr esh breeze blow in g, and t he sun shinin g brightl y. I made my way up the to pgallant rigging to the mas th ead, made my bu cket fas t by its la nya rd to a backs ray with a slipkno t so that I could move ir alon g d own as I worked fro m th e masthead dow nward, and we nt at it. I had bur just begun, w hen, as I was reaching to the bucker for a h a ndful of slush, it suddenly disappeared. Lo oking downwa rd, I saw it sliding swiftly down the backsray. Ir fetched up o n the rail w ith a bang, go ing all to pi eces and scatte ring its con ten ts over deck and bulwarks. I had no t m ade my slip kn ot right, and it had sli pped p remamrely o n its own respo n sibili ty with o ut any help fro m m e. Luckil y the chief mate w as on th e poop aft, intent o n raki n g the sun, and th e thi rd ma te and m ost of th e wa tch were busy a t somerhi ng o n the forecastl e fo rwa rd. I succeeded in getting do wn o n deck, secu rin g ano ther bucket, fillin g it, and getting back to my post of d uty without attracting attenti o n except from old Du ffy the cook, who remarked wi th a grin that perhaps I had better rake the barre l alo ng with me at o nce a nd be donewirh it ifI was going to slush th e whole ship . Th is time I made out to keep my bu cket fro m go ing down any fas ter than I did . W hen I had , as I supposed, suffi cie ntly slushed the m ast, I went d own on d eck. I met the third mate going afr. He stop ped and looked me over and laughed. "W hat have yo u been do ing, boy? " he asked. "Slushin g the fo re to pgallant mas t , Sir, " I replied, pro ud as a drum major. "What we re yo u slushing mos tly, the mas t or yo urself?" he as ked . I knew th at I was pret ty well covered with the stuff, bur had supposed th at was a necessary inc ident to the occupatio n of slushing a m ast in a fres h breeze. "S up pose yo u try the weather sid e next time, " he sa id , and turned away wi th a fres h laugh. I had go ne up o n the lee side o f the mas t and slushed against the wind, with the res ult that mos t of what was intend ed fo r the mas t had been blown back over me.
SEA HISTORY I 03, WINTER 2002-03
At right, four ofthe author's eleven children with j ack in the Lower foreground.
Alfrederick Smith (/'1. S.) Hatch (1829- 1904) became a wealthy financier and, Later, j ack's protector.
T he next time I had to grease a mast, I took Mr. Sargent's advice and we nt up on the weather side.
Furling the Mizzen Royal In furling the royals, it was cusro maiy in this ship to send two boys, or two of the lightest men, to the fo re or main royal ya rds, while one boy was expected to tie up the mizzen alone. I had seen the other boys do it, and from the deck it looked an easy thing to do. I was ambitious to try my hand at it. Aday or two afte r the slushing incident, while the ship was carryi ng all plain sail with the wind abeam , the breeze suddenly freshened and the order came to rake th e royals in a hurry. The hal ya rds we re let go all at once, and , while the men we re hauling on the cl ew lines and bunt lin es, the order was given to "lay alofr and fur l. " I had been on the fore- and main royal yards with another boy or man two or three rimes, bur had never attempted the mizzen alone. This time I made for the m izze n rigging, and, before anyo ne noti ced me, I was over the top and halfway up th e topmast shrouds. T here were ratlines on the fore and main topgallant rigging. On the mizzen there we re none, and, from the topmast crosstrees to the topgallant masthead, it was a case of shinning up the two bare sh rouds, abo ut eighteen feet. T his was an arr in which I had as yet no experience or practice. I did not see just how I was going to do it; but, serring my teeth and gripping the sh rouds, I twisted my legs aro und them and went at it. When I had go t up about six feet, I was panting for breath and m y arms seemed to be pulling our of their sockets. I
SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
had done all my shinning with my hands, liftin g my dead weight by main strength, totally ignorant of the part my shins were to perform in the operation . I could hold on no longer and went sliding down to the crossrrees. Taking breath , I tried again . I got a little higher this time, but was compelled to take another slide. After repeating this performance three or four times, I succeeded at las t in reaching the royal ya rd, breathless, with hands and shins skinless and smarting. From the deck the mizzen royal looked little more than a small sized tablecloth that a child could handle. Up there, thrashing in the freshening wind, it was quire another affair. I went to work at th e bunt, leaving the parts on either side of it flying loose. Then commenced the hardes t tussle I ever had in m y life. I would get th e bunt of the sail well in hand, as I supposed, wh en a fresh puff of wind, or a roll of th e ship, would pull it away from me, and everything would be flying as before. After thi s had been repeated half a dozen times, and the sail was no nearer being furled than when I first reached the yard, I stopped to take a breath and consider the siruarion. By this time the other two royals were furl ed and the boys were down on the deck. As I looked down, I became awa re that I was the center of observation to a large part of the watch on deck. The third mare was shouting something to me that, between the roar of the wind and the flapping of the sail, I could not und erstand. T he sail, afte r bellying our to the breeze, wo uld fl y back and bury me in its folds, and several tim es I thought it would pull me off the yard. Some of the men were making motions that were unintelligible, and one of the boys, a mischievous monkey of a chap, was making faces at me and putting his thumb to hi s nose and wiggling his fingers up at me from the main top . After taking breath, I tackled the sa il again . The wind had increased to half a gale. T he sea was getting up , and the ship was beginning to pitch and roll in a manner not calculated to increase the comfort or sense of security of a yo ungs ter not yet ten days at sea and swinging th rough th e air on a jerking yard with seventy-five or a hundred square ya rds of ca nvas flapping viciously around him. After tugging at the bunt awh ile, with no better success than befo re, I sudden ly thought ifl co uld only contrive to keep the rest of th e sail quiet for a few minutes, I
could handle it. T hen I crept out on the lee yardarm and, shaking our the gasket wo und it loosely around the sail and yard. I then repeated the operation to windward. Going back to the bunt, I found no difficulty in controlling it and soon had it snugly, if not artistically, tied up . I had discovered the secret of furling a square sail by one person alone, by first "smothering the yardarms, " as it is called, then making up the bunt and, fina lly, rolling up the sail on the yard, winding the gaskets tight around it and making them fast. Having finished the latter operation, I went down on deck. I had been half an hour doing what I afterwards lea rned to do in ten minutes . Ir was not very scientifically done, the furled sail looking bunchy and uneve n in spots, but I felt quite pro ud to have done it at all without help or instruction. Jack in formed me that it was a wo nderful perfo rm ance for a boy but little over a week at sea, and I was very willing to believe him. He acco mpanied his complimentary remarks with the blunt reproof, "Ye orter asked me about it an' let me told ye how ter do it. Don't ye try none o' them lubberly monkeyshines agi' n 'ithout larnin' from them as knows." "But I had not time," I answered. "Ifl had stopped to ask questions, some other boy would have got there ahead of me and I wouldn't have had a chance to do it at all. "-1 Jack Co rbett, Mariner, by A. S. Hatch (Quan tuck Lane Press, WW Norton, New York NY, 2002, 270pp, illus, biblio, gloss, ISBN 0-9714548-2-5; $24.95hc)
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