No. 138
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SPRING 201 2
SEA HISTORY.:
5
THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA
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No. 138
SEA HISTORY
SPRING 201 2
CONTENTS 12 Bernie's Brownie and Harry's Jars-a Tale of Titanic, by Paul F. Johnston A century after Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, curators at the Smithsonian discovered items in their collection related to the Carparhia' s heroic efforts to rescue the survivors. These artifacts are now part ofa new exhibit, On the Water; their stories are published here for the first time.
18 They Were All Strangers: The Wreck of the John Milton at Montauk, New York, by Henry Osmers A change in a lighthouse's signal was intended to make navigating the south shore ofLong Island easier for mariners. Tragically, news ofthe new configuration did not reach all ofthe vessels returning.from extended ocean voyages, and the signal intended to save lives guided the crew of this cargo schooner to their doom. 12
22 The War of 1812 on the Inland Seas, by Captain Walter Rybka The largest fleet actions in the mzr of 1812, a war waged in part to fight for "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights" on the high seas, occurred on the Great Lakes and on Lake Champlain.
28 Painting History with Patrick O'Brien, by Patrick O 'Brien Marine artist Patrick O'Brien is currently working on painting all ofthe sea battles from the mzr of 1812. In this issue, he shares the challenges of recreating, on canvas, maritime scenes from history that have to incorporate so much detail ofship design, wind and weather, armament, and other elements to get it right.
36 History Beneath the Waves-Florida's Underwater Archaeological Preserves, by Frankli n H. Price
18
The long coastline ofthe Florida peninsula is littered with shipwrecks, from the Panhandle to the Keys and up the east coast. Established in 1987, the Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves program not only protects these shipwreck sites, it also encourages visitation by divers on site and by the public online as a way to both preserve and share their history.
40 Literary Littoral, Poetry of the Water's Edge, edited by Deirdre O'Regan The littoral zone is where the land and sea meet and has long attracted landsmen, particularly artists, whose gaze seaward is one ofawe, wonder, fantasy, and longing. We often examine the results oftheir work through the visual arts, but in this issue, we take a look at some ofthe classic poetry of the littoral zone.
22
Cover: Battle of Lake Erie, painting by Patrick O'Brien, oil on canvas. (See pages 22-26 for more about the role of the navy on the "inland seas " in the War of 18 12; see pages 28-31 for insights on how marine painter Patrick O'Brien recreates the sea battles from the Age of Sail through art.)
DEPARTMENTS DECK LOG AND LETTERS 8 NMH S: A CAUSE IN MOTION 32 SEA HISTORY FOR Kms 39 MARrTIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET
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42 SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT 49 CALENDAR 51 REVIEWS 56 PATRONS
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MUSEUM NEWS
Sea History and the National Maritime Historical Society Sea History e-mail: editorial@seahistory.org; NMHS e-mail: nmhs@seahisrory.org; Web sire: www.seahistory.org. Ph: 914 737-7878; 800 221-NMHS MEMBERSHIP is invited. Afrerguard $10,000; Benefactor $5,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponsor $1,000; Donor $500; Parron $250; Friend $100; Comributor $75; Family $50; Regular $35.
All members outside the USA please add $10 for postage. Sea History is sem to all members. Individual copies cost $3.75.
36 SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Sociery, 5 John Walsh Blvd., POB 68, Peekskill NY I 0566. Periodicals postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add'] mailing offices. COPYRIGHTŠ 2012 by the National Maritime Historical Sociery. Tel: 914 737-7878. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
DECK LOG Community Boating
A
ll over the country, communities are waking up to the benefits of teaching underserved youth to build boats and then get them out on the water, sailing and rowing. In addition to boatbuilding experience, such programs instill in their young participants self-confidence, discipline, problem-solving skills, and the abiliry to work as part of a team. NMHS members have a lot to offer these programs, and we are hoping you'll get involved at yo ur local level. An excellent resource for communiry boatbuilding projects is the Teaching with Small Boats Conference, to be held at Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats Cama Beach Faciliry on 27-29 April. At last year's conference, 87 attendees, representing 63 programs and serving 27 ,000 young people, gathered to share ideas and best practices, resulting in more partnerships between organizations and the start of nationally coordinated programming. Joe Youcha of Alexandria Seaport will run a three-day "Building To Teach" session on how to teach math while building a simple boat. We encourage you to volunteer with your communiry boatbuilding group, and get them to send someone-perhaps you-to this conference. There are two growing communiry boating organizations that are making a great difference. The Young Mariners in Stamford, Connecticut, is a non-profit organization offering after-school and summer programs in swimming and sailing to underserved students. In 2011, 63 students participated in their summer and fall sailing programs, increasing their knowledge of science, math, and social studies. In 2008, former elementary school principal Jim Taylor started a program in Peekskill, New York, where NMHS is headquartered, teaching young people to build and row boats. The Peekskill Youth Bureau oversees the program, which Mr. Taylor d irects. They worked with the Peekskill Middle School to build 14-foot rowboats. The group is working to get non-profit status for the project under the name Communiry Boatworks of the Hudson Valley. They held their first-ever fundraiser this past November, just after the area had been hit with an early snowstorm that left many residents without power and Jim Taylor, director ofthe Community Boatworks ofthe the roads dangerous. It was Hudson Valley, working with students to build a boat. · · · h ow th e pee kskill mspmng communiry turned out, despite the conditions outside, to support the project. Their motto: "Kids building boats. Boats building kids. Kids and boats building communities." I am continuously impressed by the dedication , talent and imagination of the board members. As I see the program grow, I wonder if its success is unique to the qualiry of the adults making it a realiry. But these programs are working all across the country. I can only surmise that there are many more really good and caring people than I will ever get to know. To learn more about: the Teaching with Small Boats Conference, contact Tyson Trudel at TTrudel@cwb.org; Alexandria Seaport and Joe Youcha's "Building to Teach" program, contact yo ucha@alexandriaseaport.org; or Young Mariners, go to www.youngmarinersfoundation.org; Communiry Boatworks of the Hudson Valley, contact the program's chairman Charlie Gruetzner at Charlie@oceanismarine.com. To let us know about your local boatbuilding program, contact us at nmhs@seahistory.org. - Burchenal Green, President 4
a'W'
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLISHER'S C IRC LE: Peter Aron, Guy E.
C. Maitland, W illiam H. White OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ronald L. Oswald; Vice Chairman, Ri chardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, D eirdre O'Regan, Na ncy Schn aars; Treasurer, Howard Slorn ick; Secretary, Thomas F. Daly; Trustees: Charles B. Anderson; Walter R. Brown; RADM Josep h F. Callo, USNR (Rer.); James Carter; D avid S. Fowler; W illiam Jackson G reen; Virginia Steele Grubb; Karen Helmerso n; Robert Kamm; Richard M . Larrabee; Capt. Sally Chin McElwreath, USNR (Ret.); James J. McNamara; M ichael W. Morrow; Timothy J. Runyan; Richard Scarano; Philip J. Shapiro; Bradford D . Smith; H. C. Bowen Smith; Cesare Sorio; Philip J . Webster; Daniel W. Whalen; William H . W hite; Jean Wort Chairmen Emeriti, Walter R. Brown, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Mai tland, H oward Slotnick; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUND ER: Karl Kortum (19 17-1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown, USMS(Rer.); Clive C ussler; Richard du Moulin; Alan D. Hutchison; Jakob Isbrandtsen; Gary Jobson; Sir Robin Knox-Johnsron; John Lehman; Brian McAllister; John Stobart; W illiam Winterer NMH S ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbourne Smith; D . K. Abbass, George Bass, Oswald Brett, Francis J. Duffy, John S. Ewald, Timothy Foore, William G ilkerson, Steven A. Hyman, J. Russell Jinishian, H ajo Knuttel, Gunnar Lundeberg, Joseph A. Maggio, Conrad Milster, William G. Muller, Stuart Parnes, Lori Dillard Rech, Nancy Hughes Richardson, Bert Rogers, Joyce Huber Smith SEA HISTORY EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chairman, Timothy J. Runyan; Norma n J. Brouwer, Rob ert Browning , W illiam S. Dudley, Dan iel Finamore, Kevin Foster, John O di n Jensen, Joseph F. Meany, Lisa No rling, Carla Rahn Phillips, Walter Rybka, Quentin Snediker, William H . White
NMHS STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal Green; Membership Director, Nancy Schnaars; Communications Director, Suzanne Isaksen; Marketing Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Accounting, Jill Romeo; Store Sales & Volunteer Coordinator, Jane Maurice SEA HISTORY: Editor, D eirdre O'Regan; Advertising Director, Wendy Paggiotta; Copy Editor, Shelley Reid; Editor-at-Large, Peter Stanford
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
LETTERS Local Battle, National Hero
that, they run a top-notch conservation lab The Mount Washington was launched at the
As a Vermonter, I was so pleased to see our so that they can take care of artifacts they Beth Steel Quincy yard in 1963 for Viclocal hero on the cover of the last issue of collect through their Maritime Research tory Carriers. This company was owned Sea H istory. Here in the NATIONA Lro•TRAJTG•u••v Institute, which conducts by Aristotle Onassis and featured a grand Lake Champlain Valley, nautical archaeology ex- piano as an O nassis standard. Onassis had we sometimes claim to be peditions to the hundreds originally wanted a supertanker like the the birthplace of the US of shipwrecks on the lake rwin-screw SS Manhattan but decided to bottom. The museum is make four smaller single-screw tankers Navy (Whitehall, New York), but that is often small compared to some instead. Since the equipment had already disputed. We also claimed, of the more well-known been p urchased for the supertanker, one set for a short time in 1998, muse ums we so often of machi nery went to the Montpelier lhctory to be one of the "Grear read about in your maga- and one set went to the Mount Washington. Lakes,'' bur that designazine, but they do a first- As rwin-screwvessels have one righ t-turning tion didn't last more than class job of interpreting and one left-turning propeller, the Mount a couple of weeks. This our local history. I was Washington was fitted with a left-handed claim was apparently more glad to see it recognized propeller. The ship was fitted with a 2 1,500about money than about that our local history is hp power plant from the supertanker project, Lt. Thomas Macdonough, hero geography or history-it an important part of our which was much higher than the standards ofthe Battle ofPlattsburgh was to allow federal fundnational history. of the day and allowed the Mount Washinging earmarked for the Great Lakes to apply ROBERT T. DALY ton to have a loaded service speed of 17 knots to our terrific and large, if not "great," lake. Burlington, Vermont and a ballast speed of 17.5 knots. Upo n Lake Champlain is just a fraction of the size delivery, the vessel was chartered by MSTS of any of the Great Lakes, bur historically, Before They Were Ghost Ships (Military Sea Transportation Service)-now it has played a critical role in our nation's I have been a member of NMHS for many Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC) years but never thought that an article would and spent many years trading in Southeast history for hundreds of years. This 125-mile long lake is, in some bring back so many personal memories. Your Asia during the Vietnam conflict. After that, pans, more like a wide river than a lake, article "Ghost Ships of the Mothball Fleet" the vessel traded berween Panama and the and within its waters meet the borders of (Autumn 2011) hit me square in the face, US East/Gulf Coast loaded with Alaskan New York, Vermont, and, to the north, as I wo rked aboard rwo of the highligh ted crude oil. I worked on this vessel for the Canada. In the days before interstate high- vessels (SS Mount Washington and SS Cape last rwo years of her commercial life, which ways, Lake C hamplain provided the only Fear). While all the vessels pictured in the ended in 1987. The US Navy converted her transportation route north and south be- article lay in the ultimate still ness awaiting to transfer fuel to troops from deepwarer to rween the Hudson River and Canada. Be- their end, these rwo vessels had some very the beach . She was a fre quent participant cause of that, this out-of-the way rural area, interesting careers in both the commercial in military maneuvers and exercises for far from the coast, was hotly contested. service and in the MARAD fleet. many years. Important battles in both the War of Independence and the "Second War of Independence," a.k.a. the War of 1812, were fought on the lake and along its shores. Our seafaring heritage comes alive bays-if you appreciate the legacy of Thomas Macdonough, hero of the Battle of in the pages of Sea History, from those who sail in deep water and Plattsburgh, was feted by New Yorkers and the ancient mariners of Greece to their workaday craft, then you Vermonters after his stunning and crucial Portuguese navigators opening belong with us. up the ocean world to the heroic victory on Lake Champlain in 1814, and Join Today ! efforts of sailors in modern-day Mail in the form below, phone we still admire him today, bur I am afraid conflicts. Each issue brings new 1 800 221-NMHS (6647), or visit that his name isn't quite as well known as insights and discoveries. If you us at: www.seahistory.org some of the other naval heroes of his day. love the sea, rivers, lakes, and (e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org) We have a great little museum here that does a fantastic job of interpreting the full gamur of our maritime history in the Yes, I want co join the Society and receive Sea History quarterly. My contribution is enclosed. Champlain Valley, from military craft to ($ 17.50 is for Sea History; any amount above that is tax deductible.) Sign me up as: D $35 Regul ar Member D $50 Fami ly Member D $100 Friend small boats, from pre-history to modern 138 D $250 Patron D $500 Donor history. The Lake Champlain Maritime Mr./Ms. Museum has replicas of a colonial gunboat and an 18th-century canal barge, plus ----------------------~ZIP _ _ _ _ __ Return co: National Maritime Hisrori cal Society, PO Box 68, Peekskill, NY I 0566 a number of small boars. All actively sail in the summer months. In addition to all
Join Us for a Voyage into History
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
5
SS Cape Fear was built at the Avondale Shipyard and was delivered to Prudential Lines as the LASH (Lighter Aboard SHip) Espania in 1971. This vessel was acquired by Farrell lines in the 1970s and renamed the Austral Lightning. The Austral Lightning was on a regular service with two other sister ships from the US West Coast to Tahiti, American Samoa, Australia, and New Zealand. My last trip as a cadet was on the sister ship Austral Moon, often carrying frozen beef from Australia and New Zealand to the US for fast food companies. After the Austral Lightning was withdrawn from service, it was chartered to the US
government and spent five years in Diego Garcia as a prepositioned ammunition ship.
SS Mount Washington
MARAD eventually acquired her and she made many voyages to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. I worked as a first engineer on the Austral
History in Miniature Custom Built Ship & Yacht Models • Research Service
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Lightning for two years trading between Saudi Arabia and the US. My time as cadet on her sister vessel proved invaluable, as I was the only crewmember that had served on this type of vessel before. She could easily make the trip from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia without stopping, and we carried Patriot missiles, helicopters, trucks, aircraft bombs, and black powder canisters for the US Marines. After Desert Storm, MARAD renamed her SS Cape Fear to be in line with MARAD's other "Cape F-" LASH ships. Many retrofits were made to the cranes and engine room. Eventually the Cape Fear's MARAD status was reduced and some equipment was removed for use on other vessels. MIKE ELBERS
New York, New York
View from the Ferry
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When I was in my teens living in Queens, New York, I would take the subway down to the Battery and rake a ride on the Staten Island Ferry across the Hudson River and back again. I would stand at the bow, see the ships in the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, while listening to the water splashing against the hull as we made our way across. Later, when I was a midshipman at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, we traveled from the academy to the Battery by ferry for the Maritime Day parade, where we then marched down Broadway for the ceremonies. Before the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was built (1964), the fastest way to visit friends in Staten Island was by ferry. Standing in the wind and seeing the New York skyline, we enjoyed every minute of the thirty-minute trip. Your card each year is sent to customers and friends who enjoy getting them. Thank you for giving me good memories and selecting such wonderful pictures. SIDNEY HILL
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NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION NMHS Annual Meeting at Peabody Essex Museum, 19 May 2012 Including a cruise on the Privateer Fame and a visit to Fort Sewall NMHS Program Chairman Captain Cesare Sario is delighted to invite you to join us for the 2012 Ann ual Meeting, 19 May, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Sea History advisor Daniel Finamore, the museum's Russell W Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History, will be our host for the event and give us a behind-the scenes tour of the museum's artifacts from 1812. Naval historian Dr. William Dudley, noted authority on the War of 1812, will be our keynote speaker. Registration opens at 8:30AM and you can enjoy a continental breakfast before the start of the meeting, which begins promptly at 9:30AM. After the morning presentations, we will have a luncheon catered for us at the museum before we head out for an excursion to Fort Sewall in Marblehead, where in April of 1814, the Constitution raced into the harbor, seeking protection from the fort's guns, as she was being chased by rwo British frigates just offshore. Want to experience sailing aboard a replica War of 1812 privateer? Come a day early and join us for an afternoon sail aboard the schooner Fame out of Salem. On Friday 18 May, NMHS has chartered Fame for a rwo-hour cruise. The vessel can only rake forty passengers; reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and will Dan Finamore will be our host. cost $35 each. The annual meeting is a great way to meet fellow members and discuss the future of the Society with its leadership. You'll also be able to learn more about the exciting events coming up related to the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Finally, the meeting is also yo ur opportunity to elect the Society's trustees. Standing for re-election The Peabody Essex Museum is housed in a specto the class of 2015 are: Walter R. Brown, Thomas tucular facility designed by world-renowned F. Daly, David S. Fowler, Richardo R. Lopes, architect Moshe Sa/die. The Jive diverse roof C lay Maitland, and Bradford D. Smith. New silhouettes, seen here, represent the shapes and candidates up for election are Dr. W illiam Dudley forms of local architectural styles within Salem. and Captain Brian McAllister. In addition to its extensive maritime collection, the museum collects and exhibits contemporary and historic American, Asian, Oceanic, Native American, and African art and cultural artifacts.
Registration: Cost for the NMHS Annual Meeting, including the continental breakfast and gourmet luncheon, is $60 each, plus cash bar. The cruise aboard the Schooner Fame requires advanced reservations. Remember, space on board is limited, so make your reservation early if you want to sail. Please register using the form on the inside back wrapper of this issue of Sea History, online through our website at www.seahistory.org, or by calling NMHS at 1 800 221-6647, ext. 0 or 914 737-7878, ext. 0. Hotel Accommodations: We have booked a block of rooms at the Salem Waterfront Hotel and Suites for May 18'h and 19'". You must make your reservation before the block is filled and not later than April 6'h. (You can cancel up to 72 hours before the day if yo ur plans change.) Call 1-888-337-2536 and refer to the National Maritime Historical Society when you reserve your room. The price is $205 per night plus tax. join your NMHS shipmates for an afternoon sail aboard the Fame, a reproduction of the Salem schooner from the "W0r of 1812 that made twelve privateering cruises, capturing twenty vessels.
8
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
A Timely Cruise into American History
The Privateering Stroke First Hand Narratives Books, CDs, Resources
The Origina( :Monhegan Js(ancf :Mai(6oat 'Exyerience .A6oarcf the Jfistoric Laura 'B.
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It is 1812. Salem is symbolic of a nation deeply divided - home to both Republicans and Federalists, privateers and smugglers. Salem commissions 43 cruisers, from great ships owned by merchant princes to The rtvateering open boats manned by unemployed sailors. Her privateers prowl the seas Stroke Snkm's p 11Vatee1J ¡ from Norway to Brazil - and also in tz.,n rraro ur ifIlla patrol the harbors of New England, searching out smugglers. Here are tales of heroism and cowardice, generosity and greed, astonishing luck and deep personal tragedy.
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To order, call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext. 0, or visit our web site at www.seahistory.org. Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery. Shipping within USA only. Satisfaction guaranteed! SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
9
National Maritime Historical Society Washington Awards Dinner
12 April 2012
William and Donna Dudley, co-chairs for the 201 2 NMH S Washington Awards Dinner, are pleased to announce that this year's gala will be held at the National Press Club on Thursday, 12 April 201 2. The NMHS Distinguished Service Award will be presented to three eminently qualified candidates. Admiral Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret.) , is recognized for actively promoting the important hisrory of the US Navy. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Admiral DeMars served in the US Navy from 1957 ro 1996, during which time he served as D irector, Nuclear Naval Propulsion, directi ng the transition of the program into the post-Cold War period. Previous pos itions included the Chief of Naval Operations principal assistant for submarine matters, and the Commander US Naval Forces Marianas. As chairman of the Naval Historical Foundation, Admiral DeMars has used his expertise to support the navy's Cold War Museum in the Washington Navy Yard and has developed partnerships with organizations aro und the country to tell the navy's story. The award will be presented by Senator Christopher J . Dodd.
Bruce K. Farr OBE is Director and Vice President of Farr Yacht Design, Ltd. of Annapolis, considered the top racing yach t design firm in the world fo r its extensive history of yacht-racing victories. Farr Yacht Design has won more than forty world championships, including the America's C up, the Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Around-The-World Race, the Vendee Globe, the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, the Barcelona World Race, the Transat Jacques Vabre, and the Copa Del Rey. George J. Collins, former CEO of T. Rowe Price, owner of Chessie Racing and other Farr yachts, will make the presentation.
Admiral Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret.)
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Patrick O'Brien
is one of America's ourstanding contemporary maritime artists. For the bicentennial of the War of 181 2, he is using his remarkable talents to commemorate the C; Age of Fighting Sail by painting all the sea ~ __________ s..__ battles of the war, both the famous ship-to-ship fights and some lesser-known but still imporBruce K Farr tant battles. With this issue, his original art has thrice graced the cover of Sea History magazine. Patrick is a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA), the nation's leading and most prestigious professional organization devoted to educating the public about American marine art and history. Charles Raskob Robinson, a Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists and its former president, will present the award .
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Gary Jobson, distinguished yachtsman, author and commentator, and president of US Sailing, returns as our Master of Ceremonies extraordinaire, and he will update us on the America's Cup competition, which he once won with Ted Turner. The Colonial Music Institute's David and Ginger Hildebrand will perform an 1814era version of"The Star-Spangled Banner" and other 1812-era songs. They specialize in the Patrick O'Brien interpretation of early American music on reproduction instruments, performing at such venues as the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, William Clements Library (University of Michigan), Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg. Look for an article by Mr. Hildebrand in the next issue of Sea History. NMHS Trustee Philip Webster is organizing the Washington Awards Dinner Art Gallery that will feature original art works from Tim Bell, Marc Castelli, John Barber, and Patrick O'Brien. Purchase of the art will also support the Society. NMHS members are encouraged to attend the event or support it in a number of ways. An individual reservation is $250. Information or a sponsorship package is available by emailing nmhs@seahistory.org or calling 914-737-7878, ext. 0. This is a great opportunity to meet other members and congratulate the recipients. -Burchenal Green, President 10
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
A Chance to Invest in Great Marine Art-AND Support the NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY ... Four renowned marine artists will exhibit their work at the Maritime Art Gallery at NMHS 's Washington Awards Dinner, 12 April 2012, at the National Press Club. Here's a previewand a chance to purchase a painting ahead of the event. And best of all, 25% of the purchase price will benefit the Society and is a tax-deductible contribution to you!
Patrick O'Brien "The Original Pride of Baltimore: The Privateer Chasseur Fires a Salute to Fort McHenry" Oil on canvas Image Size 24" x 30", Framed Size 30" x 36" Framed Price: $7,500
Tim Bell "Know Thine Enemy" Oil on linen Image Size 36" x 36", Framed Size 45 1/ 2" x 45 1/z'' Framed Price: $5,900
Marc Castelli "1st of November/Thomas Clyde on 6 ft Knoll" Watercolor Image Size 22" x 30", Framed Size 32" x 40" Framed Price: $5,800
John Barber "Twilight Dredgers" Oil on stretched linen canvas Image Size 8" x 14", Framed Size 13" x 19" Framed Price: $3,000
You can purchase these paintings by calling Wendy Paggiotta at 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext 235. They will be displayed as "SOLD" at the 12 April Washington Awards Dinner and delivered after that. Keep watching our website at www.seahistory.org to see more art.
Bernie's Brownie and Harry's Jars:
T
he loss of the White Star ocean liner Titanic to a North Atlantic iceberg on 15 April 1912 was not the worst maritime disaster in history, nor the one that killed the most people. And Titanic was neither the first nor the last famous ship to sink on her maiden voyage. Nevertheless, she is without question the world's most famous and iconic shipwreck, still discussed, debated, and adj udicated today, no less so because the loss took place a century ago. There are more books, articles, movies, websites, and journals devoted to the famous ocean liner than any other ship ever built. Titanic is the equivalent ofWilliam Shakespeare in English literature or the Ford Mustang in automotive history. It would be easy to think there is nothing more to be learned, discovered, disputed, or discussed about the storied vessel. Titanic clearing Southampton fo r the first and last time.
W
hen we were inves tigating ocean lin e rs for our n ew pe rm an ent maritim e exhibit On the 'Xater at the Smithsoni a n's Na tion al Muse um of American History in Washington, D C, we scoured all the diverse collections within the museum for any sort of nautical materials. We came upon two groups of Titanic-related artifacts in the Photographic History and Electricity collections, and with them two stories previously unknown both to the general public and within the maritime history communi ty.
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T he story begins in 1900, w hen the Eastman Kodak Company cam e ou t with the handheld box camera kn own as rhe "Brownie." An immediate hit, more than 100,000 were sold in its first year. Kodak marketed it to young and older alike through its name, which was taken from a mischievous fairy popularized in contemporary children's tales by Canadian author and artist Palmer Cox. 1he cam era gave regular people-even children- the power to take a casual snapsho t, a wholly new type of pictorial record of an event, place, or person. N o longer did yo u have to be a professional photographer with heavy gear and a chemical-filled darkroom to produce a visual so uvenir; this was a novel and liberating concept to the general public. To bro ad e n the camera's appeal even more, Kodak marketed the "Kodak Girl " in 1910, and widely promoted the Brownie through the tall, confident, active yo ung lady in the blue-and-white-striped dress holding one outd oors or while traveling. The popular Kodak G irl campaign las ted for decades, and the company sent lifesize cuto ut figures-and even live Kodak Girls-to local events to sell its products.
T he advertising camp aign landed squ arely o n its intended targe t with sixteenyea r-old Bernice Palmer of Galt, Canada, in the fall of 19 11. Bernie's birthday on 11 Janu ary 1912 came close eno ugh to Ch ristmas, and, mo re than anything, she wanted a Browni e. H er parents m ade sure she got one. O ne of her earliest pictures
Bernie Palmer posing in her sailor suit in the winter of 19 12 with her new Kodak Brownie camera. She donated the camera to the Smithsonian in 1985.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
A Tale of Titania by Paul F. Johnston , Smithsonian Institution shows her standing in a sailor suit in front of her house, smiling and proudly holding her new gift in both hands. A few months later, she tucked her camera into her luggage for a Mediterranean cruise that her mother Florance had planned for them. In April 1912, Bernie and her mother traveled to New York and boarded a steamship bound for the Mediterranean. Cunard liner RMS Carpathia cleared Pier 54 in the Port ofNew York late Thursday on 11 April bound for Fiume, a Hungarian emigration port in present-day C roatia. The ship had barely worked up a full head of steam off C ape Cod, when her radio operator Harold Thomas Cottam received the famous Morse code distress signal from Titanic. Wireless radios were the very latest technology for ships in 1912. In fact, Harry Cottam was not an employee of the White Star Line, but worked for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company. Carp athia's captainArthur H. Rostron promptly set a course for the Titanic. To m aximize his ship's steam power, he immediately shut down all heat and hot water to the staterooms and sped sixty miles at seventeen knots to the doomed liner's last
Bernie Palmer's photos of Titanic survivors aboard Carpathia "wearing borrowed clothes."
reported location. Carpathia arrived there at 3:30AM, just over an hour after the huge ship sank, only to find an empty sea. Shortly afterwards her lookouts spotted Titanic lifeboat #2, and by 9:00 the next morning Carpathia had rescued the last of about 705 of Titanic's 2,200 passengers
from the crowded lifeboats adrift in the frigid Atlantic waters. Some of the survivors came aboard Carpathia wearing the bulky, cork-filled life preservers that were standard at the time. Bernie Palmer began photographing the Titanic passengers on Carpathia's
Underwood & Underwood, the copyright holders for the teenager's photos, identified the facing couple (bottom) as Mr. and Mrs. George A. H arder of Brooklyn, New York, newlyweds aboard Titanic returning from their honeymoon. The woman with her back to the camera is M rs. Charles M . H ays, whose husband was president of the Grand Trunk Railway. He did not survive the shipwreck; Mrs. Hays and their two daughters were among the rescued. (bottom right) Chicago physician Frank Blackmarr saved this life vest from a Titanic survivor. Dr. Blackmarr was a p assenger aboard Carpathia; he assisted the Titanic's survivors, many of whom were suffering from hypothermia, shock, and exposure. Contemporary newspaper photos show a large pile ofthese life preservers on Carpath ia 's main deck. Dr. Blackmarr donated his souvenir to the Chicago Historical Society, which gave it to the Smithsonian in 1982.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRJNG 2012
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Bernie Palmer took this snapshot ofice and icebergs from the deck ofCarpathia; she identified the larger ofthe icebergs as the one that sank the Titanic. She likely got this information from one of the survivors, who would have been in a lifeboat in the vicinity for some time before being rescued by Carpathia.
Somerville, Massachusetts. He served as president of the Somerville High School Wireless Society from 1906 to 1909, after which he went to sea for a voyage or two. Back on shore, he joined a friend installing radio stations along the Massachusem coast, which resulted in a job with the Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company in Boston, inscalling, maintaining, and servicing radios. This was what he was doing when the call came in from the Globe. Unfortunately, the heavy volume of amateur calls, bad static, and "general bad conditions" prevented them from hearing any of Carpathia's messages from the Boston area. Cheetham and Stevens borrowed a crystal receiver from their employers and hopped aboard a northbound train from Boston to the fishing town of Gloucester on Cape Ann, a neck of land that sticks out easterly into the Atlantic. Once there, the local Globe representative
deck, and she even snapped a shot of the iceberg that had sunk the invincible ocean liner. She also took photos of the ice floes in the vicinity of the wreck before Carpathia left the area. Without enough food for everyone aboard to continue the cruise to the Mediterranean, Captain Rostron aborted the original itinerary and headed back to New York to disembark the traumatized Titanic passengers. Carpathia stayed in communication with the shore while steaming for New York. Suspecting this might present an opportunity to eavesdrop, W D. Sullivan, city editor of the Boston Globe, commissioned local radio operators J.M. Stevens and Harry Cheetham to try to intercept Carpathia messages for exclusive news scoops. Henry R. C heetham was one of the pioneers of American radio. As a boy, he communicated over distances with tin cans on a string and signal flags, and, as a youth, he made his first radio antenna out of wire snipped from hay bales from a neighbor's barn near his family's home in Harry Cheetham was a proud member ofthe Signal Troops ofthe Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. In this photo from 1916, he is in civilian clothing, to the right of the wireless radio unit.
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
Harry Cheetham's 1911 radio operator certificate. drove them in a torrential downpour to the home of Howard F. Smith, president of the Gloucester National Bank. Smith's son Malcolm was an avid radio buff, and Cheetham crawled out on the slippery slate roof to hook up his Marconi wireless to Malcolm's roof antenna. Stevens and Cheetham stood halfhour watches, straining to overhear any transmissions between Carpathia and the shore or other ships. Ar the same time, they were enjoying their host's hospitality and steadily depleting his stock of old dark beer. As a result, Cheetham was not in great shape when the antenna toppled over in the storm around l:OOAM . Since it happened on his watch, he was forced to inch out in the driving rai n onto the wet, slippery roof and reattach the wires. His efforts were rewarded on his next shift around
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
2:10AM, when he copied rhe message "Maj. Archie Bum [sic] not among the survivors" sent from Carpathia to US president William Howard Taft. Major Archibald W. Butt (1865-1912) was a personal aide to the president, following a distinguished military and diplomatic career. He was returning from a ren-day European vacation aboard Titanic, and the news of his loss was a genuine scoop. Earlier, C heetham had secured an open phone line in G loucester to Boston, and he called in his tidbit to the Globe editor for the next edition of the paper. For their night's intercept of the private message, Cheetham and Stevens were "one hundred and seventy five dollars richer" upon their return to Boston the next day. Shortly before Carpathia reached the pier in Manharran, enterprising newsmen in search of exclusive stories chartered boats and headed out to meet the heroic liner. Caprain Rostron, however, turned away the press boats, and the reporters were not permitted on board until after Carpathia
had docked and disembarked the Titanic survivors. One of the pressmen, a journalist for the Underwood & Underwood Company, met Bernie Palmer and listened closely to her story of photographing not only Titanic survivors, bur also the iceberg that sank the famous steamship. H e made a deal with her: he wo uld not only develop Bernie's pictures and give her back her negatives and a free set of prints, he wo uld also give her $10 for exclusive use of her pictures in his newspaper! With little sense of their true value, Bernie handed over her Brow nie. The newsman, whose nam e is unrecorded , carried off his prize and the rest was history. When he found out, Bernie's father was livid, bur by then it was too late-the pictures had already been published as a n exclusive from aboard the rescue liner Carpathia. Bernie a nd her mother co ntinued their voyage aboard Carpathia, and their local newspaper, the Galt Reporter, published a letter from Mrs. Palmer dared 27 April that delivered new details of the tragic shipwreck and dramatic rescue. In 1985-73 years after Titanic sankBernie donated her camera, negatives, prints, and, most importantly, her story to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Bur the Titanic's story wit hin rhe Smithsonian's holdings doesn't end there. Shortly after Carpathia's rescue mission, the liner was in port at Boston. Parts of her radio apparatus, in cluding two Leyden jars and a transmitter switch lever, had been damaged while in operation during the rescue of Titanic passengers and needed to be replaced. As a certified Marconi inspector, H arry C heetham was sent to
RMS Carpathia
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Carpathia to serv ice the wireless. H e swapped out the broken Leyden jars and the lever, keeping the dam aged ones as souvenirs of the world 's most famo us shipwreck. In 1930, he began to donate his precious relics of ea rly radio gear to the Smithsonian, along with some other early hardware, images, and documents. A mong the items were the Carpathia ja rs a nd telegraph lever, artifacts which tie toge ther the many facets of Titanic's sto ry. Carpathia and her crew were justly h ailed as heroes, and post-wreck inquiries and court testimonies revealed that Carpathia alone responded to Titanic's d istress calls, despite the presence of other ships in the vicinity. The images a nd obj ects held by the museum fo rm a tribute to Carpathia's brief but d ram atic rescue voyage of Titanic's survivors. Bernie Palmer and H arry Cheetham treasured their mementos commemorating the wo rld 's mos t fa m ous shipwreck and understood their worth beyond their monetary value. Today, the artifacts continue to serve as reminders of the iconic and transcendent tragedy, which resonates on the centennial of the Titanic loss just as strongly as it did a cent ury ago. t. Dr. Paul F J ohnston is Curator of Maritime H istory at the Smithsonian's National Museum ofAmerican H istory, andsecretary ofthe Council ofAmerican Maritime Museums. The museum is located on the National M all in Washington, D C, at 14th Street and Constitu tion Ave., N W (http://americanhistory.si. edu).
Harry Cheetham's two Leyden jars and switch lever from RMS Carpathia. The Leyden jars stored an electrical charge, and the lever was probably for disconnecting the antenna from the radio in lightning storms.
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
llrey hWere All Strangers: the WJ!eck of the john Milton ~t Montauk, New Ye>~k
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by H enry Osmers
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ontauk, Long Island, today a mecca for tourists seeking beautiful beaches, great fishing, and spectacular scenery, was for about 265 years (1660-1925) a very desolate, lonely place, where the only regular visitors were the cattle and sheep our to pasture. The rocky coastline on the eastern tip of Long Island had claimed numerous vessels from the midl 600s, and their numbers were increasing
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by the late 1700s with the development of overseas trade in the years following the American Revolution. Once the Montauk Point Lighthouse went into operation in April 1797, the number of maritime mishaps in the region sharply decreased. Given this improvement to navigation, it is surprising to discover that the lighthouse actually contributed to a terrible shipwreck in February 1858, when the schooner John Milton was
on the final leg of its 16,000-mile journey home to New Bedford, Massachusetts, from San Francisco. With the development of numerous communities along the South Shore of Long Island and the ever-increasing growth of New York City in the 1800s came a great surge of shipping that sailed past Monrauk Point. Its steady and reliable Bame guided these vessels safely past the rocks and shores of the East End. For vessels headed our of
This 1856 map represents what Captain Harding would have known about the region when he Left far California Late in 1856 in command ofthe schooner John Milton. At the time ofhis departure, the only Lighthouse iLluminating the south shore of Long Island, west of Fire Island, was the Lighthouse at Montauk Point.
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
A lighthouse is on/,y as useful as the observer's ability to determine where it is on a navigational chart. The steady beam of light that the John Milton's crew would have seen-and understood to be comingfrom the lighthouse on Montauk Point-was instead the new signal coming from Shinnecock Light, to the west. Long Island Sound to points south, once they passed Montauk Point, the shoreline to the wes t was for the most part dark. To help illuminate this stretch of coast, in 1826 the US government built a lighthouse ninety miles west ofMontauk on the western end of Fire Island, on the barrier beach opposite Bay Shore on the south shore of Long Island. The US Lighthouse Board added an additional lighthouse between the other two in 1858 to illuminate the area that was still left in the dark. On 1 January 1858, the Shinnecock Lighthouse went into operation at Good Ground (now Hampton Bays). There were many lighthouses in operation in and aro und Long Island and Long Island Sound, and to help differentiate them, plans were m ade to alter the signals at certain lights to appear as flashing signals rather than as a steady beam . On theday thatShinnecockLight went into operation, the Montauk Lighthouse was changed to a flashing signal, its beam visible every two minutes. Mariners who frequently navigated to and from ports in the region knew of the impending changes and adjusted to them without difficulty. Ships away on long ocean voyages, such as whaling expeditions, foreign trade, etc. , that kept them away for months or sometimes years, had no knowledge of these changes to their charted navigational aids. One such ship was the schooner john Milton, which had left for the West Coast more than a year before.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
Built at Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in 1854 by Reuben Fish and considered "one of the most beautiful ships afloat," the medium cargo schooner set sail on her maiden voyage from New Bedford and was soon headed for San Francisco, passing through the Golden Gate in July 1855 . In addition to cargo, it carried men eager to make their fortune during the waning days of the famous California Gold Rush. In December 1856 the john Milton, captained by Ephraim Harding of Martha's Vineyard, set sail from New York on a second voyage to San Francisco around Cape
The John Milton wrecked near this site of!Shadmoor State Park in Montauk. (below) This artist's conception of the wrecking of the John Milton was published in Harper's Magazine in 1871.
Horn . Upon her arrival in May 1857, the crew scattered, many heading for the hills in search of gold, never to return . Captain Harding rounded up a new crew and soon the ship departed the Golden Gate, setting a course home for New Bedford, 16,000 miles away. As the ship sailed up the Eastern seaboard and was approaching Long Island on 18 February 1858, Captain Harding and his crew were battling a heavy snowstorm and rough seas, navigating in poor visibility by dead reckoning alone. It is generally accepted by historians that, at som e point during the thick blizzard-like conditions, Captain Harding was abl e to make our what he believed to be the steady beam from Montauk Light, not realizing it was the new lighthouse at Shinnecock. He set his course accordingly, planning
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to leave Montauk Point to port and head towa rds Block Island Sound. Instead, he fell short of h is course, heading north into the blinding snow. W ith all sails set and heavy winds pushing the ship ahead in the turbulent sea, the john Milton was un knowingly steering a collision course with the rocky Montauk sho re. So me time after daybreak on 20 February, the schooner cras hed on the rocks at Mo ntauk about five miles to the wes t of the ligh thouse. The ship hit with such force that it we nt to pieces instantly, throwing the crew of thirty- three inro the icy, angry sea. There were no survivors. Th e ship was a total wreck and pieces of it came ashore, covering several miles of beach. Over the coming days, the local pop ulace recovered about two- thirds of the frozen bodies as they was hed up on rhe beach and bu ried them in a mass grave at the O ld South End Burying Gro und in East H am pto n, fo llowing a poignant sermon by the Presbyterian minister Stephen Mershon. Many of the crew's bodi es were never identified, bur Captain H arding's body was taken ro his hometown in M artha's Vineyard fo r burial. His teenage son Rodolphus, who had joined his fa ther fo r
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Two-thirds of the John Mi lto n's crew are buried in the Old South End Burying Ground in East Hamp ton, NY This monument was erected by the Local citizens to honor the Lost sailors.
the voyage, was never found. The Long Islanders later raised money to erect a monument to the lost sailors, having witnessed one of the worst maritime disasters in Long Island's history. Though the crew of theJohn M ilton were all strangers to them, they were buried with digni ty. 1, Henry Osmers is the author of four books covering asp ects ofthe history ofeastern Long Respectful scattering of
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Commemorations of the War of 1812 Bicentennial
The SEA HrsTORY Quick-Reference Guide Every effort has been made to provide accurate informati on about upcoming events related to the War of 1812. However, details may change as the dates approach. We strongly recommend that you contact or visit the website of event sponsors to obtain the most up-to-date information. w ill be camp-li fe act1 v1t1es, musket and artill ery demonstrations, battle demonstrations, and acti viti es for the kids. Fort Me igs, PO Box 3, 29 l 00 W. River Rd ., Perrysburg, OH 4355 2. Ph : 800 283 -89 16. www.fo rtmeigs. org
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Events • Reenactment of the Battle of New Orleans-6- 7 Ja nuary 20 12; 11 - 12 Ja nuary 20 13; 10- 11 January 20 14; 9- 10 Ja nu ary 20 15; annua l eve nt. The at iona l Park Serv ice (N PS) holds li vi ng history producti ons and wea pons demonstrati ons at the battlefie ld . Reenactment of the battl e will be held on 6 January in the De La Ronde Oak Grove at the intersecti on of Sai nt Bernard Highway and Paris Road in Cha lmette. Jean Lafitte NHP anct Preserve, 419 Decatur Street, New O rl ea ns, LA 70 130. Ph : 504 589-2 133 . www. nps.gov/jela/battleof-new-orleans-anni versary-dates. htm
• Wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the Battle of N ew Or/eans- 8 Ja nuary 20 12; annua l event, always on 8 Ja nuary. www. nps.gov/ jela/battle-of-new-orl eans-an n iversary-dates.htm
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ii • PortlandRoseFestivalFleet- 6-10 ~ June201 2. Nava l vessels from the Unit~ ed States Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Ca nadi an M aritim e Forces arrive • Fleet WeekPortEverglades 2012- from around the world fo r a four-day Bicentennia/ Commemoration of the visit to the C ity of Roses. Ship tours Warofl812- 25- 30 A pril 201 2. Fleet w ill be ava il abl e daily. Ships will be Week will provide an opportunity fo r berthed along Tom McCa ll Waterfront c iti zens of South Florida to meet sa il- Park's esplanade seawa ll fro m the Steel ors, Marines, and Coast G uardsmen Bridge to Sa lmon Springs Fountain. as we ll as witness first-hand the latest Portl and Rose Festi va l Foundation , capabili ties of today 's modern navy l 020 SW Na ito Parkway, Portl and, OR and mari time services. 25 April: All 97204. www.rosefestiva l. org/events/ Hands Pa1ty atthe Semino le Hard Rock fleet/ Hote l and Casino. 26 April : Damage Control Competiti on atReso lve Marine • "M usic of the War of 1812,'' St. F ire Schoo l, Port Everg lades. 28 April: Mark's Concert Chorale and the HilSK Run , Party Downtown Ft. Lauder- debrands-20 M ay 201 2. Thi s concert dale. www. browardnavydays inc.org w ill combine Dav id and Ginger Hildebrand 's know ledge of 19th century • ReenactmentoftheBattle ofHavre music with the chora l arti stry of the St. de Grace-5 May 20 12, reenactment Mark's Co ncert Choral e. St. Mark's at 10AM; 5- 6 May 201 3. A two-day U nited Methodi st C hurch, 100 Peachevent is pl anned for the 201 3 200'" bl ossom Road , Easton, MD 21601. ann iversa ry of the battle. The prog ram Ph : 410 822 -0 773. www.hstc.org/ inc ludes a reenactment of the British eventsandprograms. htm bo mbardm ent of the tow n and the defense of the tow n by loca l hero f< '· . ~ .l J. , II. H· T /J .. ;. John O 'Ne ill and fe ll ow militi amen /'~ ~ : ~ Q! l·.!1! ··~ !,!!! . f~ -~- , _, [~~ !.~ . •t-- . .· on 3 May 18 13, as we ll as a military . , ,,,,..--. ' ~-i·· · :·1· ~··· i: ;:•' :: .. j ·! ! . . drill and ca nno n demonstratio n. The Susquehanna M useum at the Lock House, PO Box 253 , 8 17 Conesteo ' - ; : · ·1 ~~ :;: ·. · :::; Street, Hav re de G race, MD 2 1078. ..: . 1 ·.-:,... ~ :,. . .- ;Ph : 4 10 939 -5 78 0. ww w. th e lockho usemu sellln .org .,./ •
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• New Orleans N avy Week- I 7- 23 Apri l 20 12. 17 April : Arriva l of the ships. View ing of the ta ll shi ps and vesse ls w ill be from Upper Po land Avenue up to Erato, with prim e v iewing a long Wo ldenberg Park, Ri verwa lk, Spani sh Pl aza, and Moonwa lk areas . M usic an d firewo rks are a lso pl anned. l 8- 22 Apri l: Docks ide to urs of ships . 20 Ap ril : Seafood cook-off. 2 1- 22 A pri l: Blue Ange ls air show. 23 A pril : Departure ceremonies , in c ludin g the Bless ing of the Fleet. www. no lanavyweek .com
•
• Comm emoration of th e A nniversary of the First Siege of Fort M eigs- 26-27 May 20 12; 4-5 May 20 13, annual event. Fort Meigs will host reenactors fro m across No rth America, who will recreate li fe at Fort Meigs in the spring of 18 13. T here
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• OpSail N ew York/ Fleet Week - 23- 30 May 20 12. View the parade of sai l and nava l vessels, tour the ships in the port. There w ill be an air show presented by the Blu e A ngel s 21 - 23 May over the Hudson Ri ver, and then on 26- 27 May over Jones Beach. 23
COMMEMORATIONS OF THE WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL • WWWSEAHISTORY.O RG
May: Parade of Ships. 26 May : Sunset parade, Staten Island. 27 May: Sunset parade, Manhattan . 26- 28 May: Ships open for public visitation, 8AM- 5PM www.ourflagwasstillthere.org/events/ new-york-ny.html
• Blackbeard Pirate Festival in Hampton, Virginia- 1- 3 June 2012. Led by Blackbeard the Pirate himself, reenactors help visitors step back in time and re-live the history and legends of 1718 Hampton . The festival , coordinating with OpSail Virginia festivities , offers a variety of chi ldren 's activities, live musical entertainment, fireworks, period vendors, and arts and crafts. www.blackbeardpiratefestival.com
org/events/baltimore-md.html ; www. starspangled200.com/
• Opening of the War of 1812 Exhibit-29- 30 June 2012. Living history programs, historic house tours, and family activities will be offered . North Carolina Maritime M useum,315 Front St., Beaufort, NC285 I 6. Ph: 252 728-7317. www.ncmaritimemuseum. org/beaufort.html
• Boston Harborfest- 30 June- 6 July 2012. 30 June: Ships open to the public, Noon- 5PM . 4 July: Parade, 9:30- 10:30AM ; the USS Constitution wi ll be underway ; Blue Angels air show, Noon-lPM ; sh ips open to the public, Noon- 5:30PM; Boston Pops concert, 7:30PM. 5 July: Ships open to the public, Noon- 5PM . 6 July : Ships depart8AM. www.ourflagwasstillthere. org/events/boston-event.html
• War of 1812 Living History Weekend--4 August 2012 ; annual event. Experience living-history camp life, mi li tary demonstrations with musket and cannon firing, and bateaux rowing demonstrations. Sackets Harbor Batt lefield A lli ance , West Main Street, Sackets Harbor, NY 13685. Ph : 315 646-3634. sackets harborba ttl efi e Id .o rg/
• OpSail Milwaukee-8- 13 A ugust 20 12. www.ourflagwassti llthere.org/ events/rni lwaukee-wi .html
• OpSail Chicago- 15- 20 August 2012. www.ourtlagwassti llth ere.org/ events/chicago-i I.htm l
• OpSail Virginia: Norfolk, Virginia-2- 12 June 20 12. 6 June: The lst A nnual Sea &A ir Parade. Participants wi ll include naval vesse ls and aircraft, USCG vessels and a ircraft, tugboats, representatives of local shipyards and maritime services. T he ro ute wi ll include all of the E lizabeth River from Hampton Roads to downtown Norfolk. 7- 8 June: A selection of naval vessels w ill be open for public tours. 8 June: OpSail 20 12 Virginia Tall Ships Parade of Sai l. 8- 11 June: The ta ll ships wi ll be open to the public; visitation hours wi ll be noon-6PM daily. 8- 12 June: Downtown Norfolk w ill be the site of Harborfest, "Hampton Roads' Largest Dock Party." 9 June: Fireworks. 12 June: Parade of Sa il Up the Bay. www. opsai l20 12virg ini a.com ; www.festevents.org/mini-site/norfolk-harborfest
• OpSail Baltimore: Star-Spangled Sailabration- 13- 19 June 2012. 13 June: ParadeofSail , 8AM-4PM. 14June: Flag Day fireworks, 9PM. 15- 18 June: Sh ips open to the public, Noon- 6PM. 19 June: Parade of Sail of Tall Ships departing 1OAM. A lso planned are fireworks, living-history displays, and a new symphonic work in tribute to the bicentenn ial. www.ourflagwassti IIthere. 2
•Algoma 1812-17- 22 July 20 12. The City of Sau lt Ste. Marie wi ll be 2 ~--~3111--_JlJ ~ partnering with Fort St. Joseph His~ torical S ite , Ermati nger C lergue ~ National Historic Site, and the Rotary Club of Sau lt Ste. Marie to • OpSail New London: New London, commemorate the region 's role in the Connecticut-? July 2012 : Parade War of 1812, with planned reenactof sail, beginning mid-morning. The ments and weapons demonstrations, ships will be sailing east from Niantic encampments, artisans, and enterand will be visible from Harkness tainers . a lgoma 1812.ca/Home.aspx Memorial State Park in Waterford and Ocean Beach Park in New London. The • OpSail Toledo-22- 27 August 2012. evening 's fireworks will be best seen www.ourflagwassti1 1there.org/events/ from either side of the Thames River toledo-oh.html opposite downtown New London. The barges shooting off the fireworks will • War of 1812 Commemoration at be in the middle of the harbor. OpSail Dumbarton House- Late August, an20 I 2CT, 239 Bank Street, New Lon- nual event. Tours are offered to honor the don, CT 06320. Ph: 860 447-2519. ann iversary of Doll ey Madison 's flight to "Belle Vue" (Dumba1ton House), as www.opsai12012CT.org the British advanced on Washington • Sea/air/Fleet Week, Seattle, Wash- on 24 August 1814. 2715 Q St. NW, ington- 1- 5 August 2012. I August, Georgetown, Wash ington, DC 20007. l- 3PM : Parade of ships . 2 August: Ph: 202 337-2288. www.D umbartonBreakfast and The Blues at Boeing House.org Field. 3- 5 August: Ship Tours, Boeing Air Show, Blue Angels at Lake Wash- • Reenactment of the Battle of ington. Seafair, 2200 Sixth Avenue, Bladensburg- 24- 26 August and 30 Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98121. Ph: 206 August- I September 2012; 23- 25 728-0123. www.seafair.com and 29- 31 Augu st 2013; 22- 24 and
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WWW.SEAHISTORY.ORG •COMMEMORATIONS OF THE WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL
28- 31 August 2014. The reenactment of the historic Battle of Bladensburg is tentatively scheduled for the first weekend, with focus on everyday life in 1812 the second weekend. Battle of Bladensburg Task Force, cl o Anacostia Trails Heritage Area, 4310 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, MD 20781. Ph: 301 887-0777. www.battleofbladensburgl812.org
• OpSail Cleveland-27 August- 4 September2012. www.ourflagwasstillthere .org/city _page_ Cleveland_ 2012_ main.htm
• Reenactment ofthe War of1812 on the N iagara Frontier- 1-2 September 2012. 31 August- 1 September 2013; 30- 31 August 2014; annual event. Presentations will include a drill demonstration, artillery demonstrations, and mi Iitary music, with a reenactment of the capture off ort Niagara on Saturday evening. 0 Id Fort Niagara, PO Box 169, Youngstown, NY 14174. Ph : 716 745-7611. www.oldfortniagara.org • OpSail Detroit- 5- 10 September 2012. www.ourflagwasstillthere.org/ events/detroi t-event.htm I • Reenactment of the Siege of Fort Wayne-8- 9 September2012. Historic FortWayne, POBox 12650, 1201 Spy Run Ave., Fort Wayne, IN 46805. Ph: 260 43 7-2836. www.oldfortwayne.org • OpSai/Bujfalo-12- 17 September 2012. www.ourflagwasstillthere.org/ events/buffalo-ny.html • Fleet Week San Diego--Late September 2012. Fleet Week San Diego honors the men and women of the military. Planned are ship visitations, an air show, and other events. Fleet Week San Diego, 5330NapaStreet, San Diego, CA 92110. Ph: 619 858-1545. www.fleetweeksandiego.org
• Reenactment of the Battle of St. Leonard Creek- 22 September 2012, annual event. Watch the reenactment of the largest naval engagement in Maryland's history. Event features tactical demonstrations and reenactments, camp life, live entertainment, and hands-on activities. Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, 10515 Mackal IRoad, St. Leonard, MD 20685 . Ph: 410 586-8501. www.jefpat.org
• The Battle ofLake Erie- Permanent exhibit featuring a replica of the hull oftheLawrence, Oliver Hazard Perry's original flagship, with a recreation of the damage caused by the shot of another ship's guns in battle. Erie Maritime Museum, Homeport Flagship Niagara, 150 East Front Street, Erie, PA 16507. Ph: 814 452-2744. WWW. eriernaritirnernuseum.org/
• San Francisco Fleet Week-5- 7 October 2012. With the purpose of honoring and thanking the men and women of the US Armed Forces for their contributions, San Francisco Fleet Week will feature naval ship visitation, an air show, and other festivities. San Francisco Fleet Week Association, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. Ph: 650 599.5057. www.fleetweek.us/index.html • Reenactment of the Battle of Mississinewa- 12- 14 October 2012; 11- 13 October 2013; 2014 is TBD; annual event. This reenactment commemorates the Battle ofMississinewa, fought on 12- 18 December 1812. Mississinewa Battlefield Society, 402 South Washington Street, Suite 509, PO Box 1812, Marion, IN 46953 . Ph: 765 662- J809/800 822-1812. WWW. mississinewa 1812.com/
Exhibits ~
• 1812: A Nation Emerges- 15 June 2012- 27 January 2013. National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW, Washington, DC 20001 . Ph: 202 6338300. www.npg.si.edu/ • All Hands on Deck: A Sailor's Life in 1812-Permanent exhibit. Based on the Museum's ongoing research into the personal stories of sailors and officers and their lives onboard USS Constitution during the Warofl 812. Using these stories as a framework, visitors not only learn about our past- they connect with it. USS Constitution Museum , Charlestown Navy Yard, Building 22, Charlestown, MA 02129. Mailing address : PO Box 291812, Boston, MA 02129-0215 . Ph: 617 426-1812. WWW. ussconstitutionrnuseurn.org
• The Battle of North Point-June 2012- 2016. Historical pictures and artifacts from the Battle ofNorth Point. Dundalk-Patapsco Neck Historical Society, 43 Shipping Place, Dundalk, MD 21222. Ph : 410 284-2331. • The Battle.field Today: The War of 1812 Relived-July and August of 2012; 2013; 2014. The Sackets Harbor Battlefield and its role in the War of 1812 are interpreted to the public by exhibits, outdoor signs, guided and self-guided tours, and a restored l 850's Navy Yard and Commandant's House. Sackets Harbor Battlefield Alliance, West Main Street, Sackets Harbor, NY 13685. Ph: 315 646-3634. sacketsharborbattlefield.org/ • Becoming the Volunteer State: Tennessee in the War of 1812-16 February- 24 June 2012. This exhibit focuses on the role of Tennessee in the war. Tennessee State Museum, Polk Center, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243-1120. Ph: 615 253-0103. www.tnmuseum.org • The British Landing in EssexPerrnanent exhibit. The Connecticut River Museum is located on the site of the British raid on 8 Apri I 1814, when British troops destroyed 27 American ships- the largest single
COMMEMORATIONS OF THE WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL• WWWSEAHISTORY.ORG
3
loss of American shipping during the war. Ex hibit interprets the raid. Connecticut River Museum , 67 Main St. , Essex , CT 06426. Ph : 860 767-8269 . www.ctrivermuseum.org
• Farmers, Patriots and Traitors: Southern Maryland and the War of 1812-Saturdays I 0-4 and Sundays 12-4. Jefferson Patterson Park and Mu seum , 10515 Mackall Road, St. Leonard, MD 20685. Ph: 410 58685 0 I . www.jefpat.org/ l 8 I 2war. html • Old Ironsides in War and PeacePermanentexhibit. Chronicles Constitution's first 200 years. USS Constitution Museum , Charlestown Navy Yard, Building 22, Charl estown, MA 02129. Ph : 617 426-1 8 12 www. ussconstitutionmuseum .org c(f)
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• The Rockets' Red Glare-6 July 2012-December2012. The centerpiece of this show will be the Stonington Battle Flag, a very special relic of the Battle ofStonington. Lyman Allyn Art Museum , 625 William s Street, New London , CT 06320. Ph : 860 443-2545. www. lymanall yn.org/ • Preserv'd Us a Nation- Permanent exhibit. Portrays the stories of American life under the blockade of the Chesapeake Bay during the war. The Star-Spangled Flag House, 844 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 2 1202. Ph : 410 837-1 793. www.flaghouse.org • War of 1812-Permanent exhibit. Features the iconic Don 't Give Up the Ship fl ag. US Naval Academy, 12 1 Blake Road , Annapoli s, MD 2 1402. www.usna.edu
• War of 1812-Through 20 13 . This War of 18 l 2 exhibit takes yo u through the British campaign in the Upper C hesapeake Bay that culminated in the burnin g of the town of Havre de Grace on 3 May 1813. The Susq uehanna Museum at the Lock House, PO Box 253 , 817 Conesteo Street, Havre de Grace, MD 2 1078. Ph : 410 939-5780. WWW. thelockhousemuseum.org • War of 1812-Permane nt exhibit, explores li fe in frontier Ohio, the War of 18 12, and the role Fort Meigs played. Fort Meigs Museum and Visitor Center, PO Box 3, 29 100 W. River Rd ., Perrysburg, OH 43552. Ph : 800 283 -8916. www.fortmeigs.org • The Warof1812intheChamplain Valley-Long-term exhibit on the Warof 18 12 in the Champl ain Va ll ey. Lake C ha mpl a in Maritime Museum, 44 72 Basin Harbor Road, Vergennes, VT 05491. Ph : 802 475-2022 . WWW. lcmm.org • War of 1812 Lecture Series-Occasional series offered throughout 2012 hi ghli ghting impo rtant events and dates surrounding the War of 1812. T he Mariners' Museum , 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606 . Ph: 757 591-7749 . WWW. m a riners museum . o rg/ ed uca ti on/ lecture-seri es • The War of 1812 Museum-Features a gall ery oforiginal works ofart related to the Battles at Plattsburgh and the War of 18 12. Battle of Plattsburgh Assoc iation , 3 1 Washington Road, Plattsburgh, NY 12903.Ph: 5 18 566-1814. www. battl eofpl atts burgh. org/museum • With Broad Stripes and Bright Stars-This new permanent exh ibi t focuses on the role of Baltimore in th e war. Maryland Hi storical Soc ie ty, 201 West Monument St., Baltimore, MD 2120 1-4674. Ph : 410 685 -3750. www.mdhs.org/
Symposia • War of 1812 Symposium: "The Beginning: The War of 1812, the Atlantic World, and Tennessee"- 15-17 March 20 12. Contact Ann Top lovich for information at 615 741 -8934. • War of 1812 in the West Symposium-24- 25 March 2012: Fort Osage, MO; 23- 24 March 20 13: Arrow Rock, MO; 15- 16 Marc h 20 14: St. Louis, MO, ann ual event. www. l stusinfantry. com/1 8 12-symposium.html • Oswego War of 1812 Symposium-3 1 March 2012, annual event. Friends off ort Ontario, Inc., 1 East 4'" Street, Oswego, NY 13 126. Ph: 3 15 343-47 11 . www.fortontario.com • Warof 1812Symposium-28Apri l 20 12; 27 April 2013; 26 April 20 14. Fort La Presentation Association , PO Box 1749, Ogdensburg, NY 13669. www.fort l 749.org/war-of-1 812-symposium/ • Symposium: "The Naval War and Privateering"-29- 30 Jun e20 12. 3 15 FrontSt. , Beaufort, NC 285 16. Ph : 252 728-7317. www.ncmaritim emuseum . org/beaufort. htm I • War of 1812 Bicentennial Symposium-30 June 2012: " Harri son Takes Command " ; 29 June 20 13 : " March to Thames;" annual event. Held at Vincennes Un iversity campus, Vincennes, IN. Sponsored by Hi storic Southern Indiana, University of Southern Indi a na, 8600 Uni versity Boulevard, Evansv ill e, IN 47712. Ph : 812 465-7014. www.usi.edu/hsi/ warofl 812.asp • 1812 Symposium-20 October 20 12. Brunsw ick Town, 8884 St. Philip 's Rd. SE, Winnabow, NC28479 . Ph: 9 10 37 1-66 13. www.nchi storicsites. org/brunswic/brunswic.htm
This removable Quick-Reference Guide gives you an overview of major War of 1812 Bicentennial events coming up in 2012. For more information, see William H. White's Our Flag Was Still There. available in our Ship's Store, www.seahistory.org. You may also visit our website for an updated calendar of events. Another valuable resource is www.ourflagwasstillthere.org, compiled by the US Naval History and Heritage Command Commemorations Office, which provides a wealth of information about the bicentennial of the war, including up-to-date information about the OpSail port events, and links to other useful sites. 4
WWW.SEAHISTORY.ORG • COMMEMORATIONS OF THE WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
21
THE WAR OF 1812 ON THE INLAND SEAS by Captain Walter P. Rybka he War of 1812 is a catalogue of ironies. In the US Congress, the party arguing for a strong defense was shouted down by the party oflow taxation, which then voted in large majority for war. What were they thinking? Declared largely over Atlantic trade issues, the war was fought most intensely on the inland border between the United States and British Canada, a border that was not in contest and indeed had so many recent immigrants from the US that the British Government had grave doubts about being able to hang on to Upper Canada (Ontario). The immigrants from the States were generally an apolitical lot who were there because land was cheap and they wanted only to be left alone to build their new lives. These settlers ended up not being trusted by either side-the British suspicious of their American origins, and the Americans suspicious of their having left. The primary military objective of the US was the conquest of Canada, thought to be "a mere matter of marching." The British quite agreed with the Americans and despaired of holding Ontario, until cheered by the incompetence of the invaders. Although it was an inland front, naval power was discovered to be every bit as important here as on the high seas. The Great Lakes were the key to movement through the region. The best way to move anything heavy has always been to Boat it, especially when the adjacent land is mostly a roadless, heavily wooded wilderness . These woods were full of natives, who correctly viewed a US victory as their eviction notice, and who made the land routes perilous for the Americans even where roads existed. For the British it was a great help that the majority of natives regarded their presence as the lesser evil, but this advantage was offset by the much greater d istances supplies had to travel, all the way from England. Logistics, as is usually the case in war, was the overriding problem for both sides, and both sides underestimated the difficulty of trying to move masses of men and heavy equipment in a wilderness. The extraordinary levels of difficulty faced on land made waterborne transport all the more critical. Once afloat on fresh water, however, salt-water mariners of both
22
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navies soon found out how dangerous the lakes could be. The most fundamental danger to a sailing ship is the lee shore, and in the Great Lakes a vessel is never far from one. Good harbors were few, rocks and shoals abounded, and in 1812 none of it was charted. The naval officers found themselves heavily dependent upon the local masters of small merchant sloops and schooners to serve as pilots. What informed their navigation is a bit of a mystery; in a pristine and undeveloped environment, one heavily wooded stretch of shoreline looks much like the next, and even the lead line will tell the same story for many a mile. Much of the short season was beset by fog, and the rest of the year was plagued by snow and ice. Look at the Great Lakes on a world map or globe and they look miniscule and benign compared to vast stretches of ocean, but any who underestimated the lakes would find them a terrifying place to sail a ship, long before an arrow had been loosed or a shot fired. The greatest single item of expense for both sides was freight-getting supplies and munitions to distant places. This applied to food as well as military equipment. Scarcity of food in the heart of a rich continent is counterintuitive. Remember, however, that in 1812 the land was only sparsely settled by agricultural communities. They may have had a marketable surplus after the fall harvest, but descend upon them with
thousands of troops in spring and summer and the locals would be starved out within a week. From a logistical standpoint, the campaign may as well have been fought across a vast desert. The natural strategic objective for the Americans was the capture of Montreal, or even better, Quebec. Sever the Sr. Lawrence River supply route from the coast and everything to the west would fall. Both of those fortified cities, however, were too heavily defended for the Americans to have any chance of taking them . Built at the head of navigation (pre-lock systems) on the Sr. Lawrence, immediately below the Lachine Rapids, Montreal defined the limits of British reach. The Lachine Rapids would prove the salvation of the United States. The might of the Royal Navy could not be brought to bear any further into the continent. That both sides had to build their naval squadrons on the Great Lakes from scratch gave the Americans a fighting chance. The fulcrum of effort shifted west to Lake Ontario. It was on this lake that both sides concentrated their efforts for the duration of the war. The British base at Kingston and the American Navy Yard at Sackets Harbor were just thirty miles apart. The British raided Sackets Harbor once in 1813, and Oswego once in 1814, but the Americans never deemed it feasible to attempt a direct assault on Kingston during
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
CO U RT ESY ERI E MA RIT I M E MUSEUM
The campaign on Lake Ontario was called the "Shipwright's War" because each navy had to build its fleets in situ. In April 1813, the Americans attacked York (above) and set fire to a British frigate (below, right) still under construction at the shipyard.
rhe entire war. Both sides invested massive efforrs in shipbuilding, leading ro the Lake Ontario campaign becoming known as "the Shipwright's War." As one squadron added a more powerful ship to its fleer, rhe other would be on the defensive until its next ship resto red the balance or even gave a perceived edge. The largest fleer actions of rhe War of 1812 rook place on Lake Ontario, bur th ey are little known today because they were indecisive draws. Both commanders, Captain Sir James Yeo for the British and Captain Isaac C hauncey for the United Stares, were cautious m en . They were keenly aware that if either suffered a catastrophic loss of multiple ships, either to weather, navigational hazards, or enemy action, he had probably lost the war for his side. In 1812 both rhe Americans and rhe British were scrambling to buy up the few available merchant vessels on the lakes and convert them to warships. As they were doing this, the US Army was sufferin g an
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRJNG 2012
unmitigated string of losses across the northern borders: l'vfackinac, Fort [)earborn , [)erroir, Queenscon Heights, and the River Raisin. In April of 181 3, as soon as the ice melted , C hauncey launched an amphibious assault on York (Toronto). His men burned the public buildings and set fire to a fri gate on the stocks; guns and equipment intended for the Lake Erie squadron were seized. Thus, the seeds of British defeat on Lake Erie were sewn early. The American success at York was marred by some indiscipline and looting and overshadowed by heavy losses suffered when the magazine of the fort exploded just as the troops arrived. A month later, Chauncey followed up with an invasion across the Niagara River. Ir was while he was away that the British raid on Sackets Harbor was m ade from Kingston. The Sackets raid did extensive damage, chiefly by pro mp ring the Americans co burn their own vessel on the ways and much of the scores co keep them from enemy hands, bur the defenders rallied and forced the raiders co retreat. The Niagara invasion was initially a great success, forcing the British to abandon Fort George, Fort Erie, and rhe entire Niagara Peninsula. The British fell back in good order and rallied at Stony Creek, while the American advance haired at what became a line of stalem ate over the summer. By year's end, the Americans were back across the Niagara River co the west and had been defeated at C rysler's Farm and Chareauguay in the East-bur we are getting ahead of ourselves. In early August 1813, both squadrons were o ur in force and maneuvering for ad-
vantage along rhe south shore of the lake in hot, light air. They were barely in range of each other; few shots were exchanged. Nevertheless, the Americans lost four schooners in three days. The schooners H amilton and Scourge, caught with all sail set by a severe squall in the middle of the night, capsized and sank with the loss of 53 officers and m en. Two days later the schooners Growler and Julia misread a wind shift, racked the wrong way, and found themselves cut off from the fl eer and surrounded by the enemy, co whom they surrendered . The squadrons mer agai n a month later in !are September, this rime in a rising gale on a lee shore at the western end of Lake Ontario. With a northeas terly wind, the Americans had both the weight of m etal and the weather ga uge. Chauncey likely would have achieved a m ajor victory had the weather nor been so bad. The British were desperate enough to risk a run towards a lee shore off Burlington (Hamil con) , co get under the protective guns of shore batteries. Ar that rime the bar had not yet been cur through and the British squadron was trapped on a lee shore exposed co the full fetch of rhe lake. Incredibly, their hemp anchor cables held and not one vessel was lost. Armchair sailors may fault Chauncey for failing to seize the opportunity to destroy 23
the enemy, but he had to have felt they would not survive for long, and he had plenty of reason to fear the loss of his own ships if he did not make ground to windward. The Americans clawed their way to anchorage in the Niagara River. When the weather cleared, Yeo was the first to get underway. Chauncey pursued and almost overtook, capturing four slow straggling gunboats just before Yeo reached Kingston. The rwo commanders spent the rest of the year refitting their vessels and ordering ever larger ships. In 1814 there was another round of shipbuilding and maneuvers, but never an action. Lake Erie, to the west and isolated from Lake Ontario by Niagara Falls, was by its geography its own theater of operations-but not a separate command. This last fact became a sensitive issue berween Chauncey and his impetuous subordinate, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry. Strategically, Lake Erie was a sideshow; if the Americans had triumphed on Lake Ontario, the British position on Lake Erie would have collapsed with or without an American squadron there. If the British had decisively defeated Chauncey, at best, Perry would have been able to defend the US side of the lake. The earliest actions of the war had started far to the west, and, from the local point of view-one that held that British support for the Indians retaining their land as a
primary cause-it could be argued the first battle of the War of 1812 had occurred in November of 1811 at Tippecanoe. Indiana Governor General William Henry Harrison had led a pre-emptive strike to burn Prophetstown, an Indian village, and, with it, its winter food stocks. Tenskwatawa, the "Prophet," preached separation from whites and a return to native ways as the key to their survival. His brother Tecumseh, most famed of Shawnee chiefs, strove for a military alliance of tribes as the only way to hold their ground. General Harrison grasped the implications of both of them, and if either one succeeded it would be the end of his real estate business. The destruction of Prophetstown, however, had the unintended consequence of pushing Tecumseh into seeking a military alliance with the British. The catastrophic fl.aw in the "mere matter of marching" theory was that it ignored the Native Americans' grievances and completely underestimated the capabilities of "His Majesty's Indian allies." Within weeks of the declaration of war in June, 1812, the garrison at Fort Dearborn (Chicago) had been massacred, while Mackinac Island bloodlessly surrendered and Detroit did so as well. The entire Northwest territory had fallen to a few hundred redcoats, backed up by several thousand native warriors. Daniel Dobbins, master of a merchanr schooner captured at Mackinac and witness
to the surrender of Detroit, brought news of the debacle to Erie. The militia commander asked him to go to Washington and give a firsthand account to the president and cabinet. Dobbins did so and made the case for a squadron, built in Erie, as essential for regaining the territory. The British had a head start on Lake Erie, already having several armed vessels in the Provincial Marine, a transport service for the army. There any advantage ended. The British base at Amherstburg, opposite Detroit, was a good central location for the fur trade, but it lay 500 hazardous miles west of Montrealitself 3,000 miles west of the foundries and mills of England. Erie was only 120 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The Battle of Lake Erie by Thomas Birch (1779-1 851)
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
For th e Americans laboring under primitive conditions at Erie, the situation was difficult-for the British it was next to impossible. Both commanders, Perry and Robert Barclay, were constantly beseeching their superiors for more men and supplies of every kind. By the time they met in battle on 10 September 1813, Perry had the stronger squadron in numbers and weight of metal. His advantage was dissipated, however, by his smaller vessels which lagged behind out of range, and by the lack of support from Master Commandant Jesse D. Elliott, Perry's second in command. The resul ting battle was an extremely hardfought and bloody action at close range among the cluster of vessels at the center. (A fuller description of the Bartle of Lake Erie will be the subject of a subsequent article in Sea History in 2013). The rwo best-known phrases in US naval history"Don't Give Up The Ship" and "We have met the enemy and they are ours"-are both associated with this battle. The dramatic American victory had equally dramatic results. Cut off from supply by water, the British abandoned Detroit and Amherstburg. Perry's vessels executed a textbook model of an amphibious landing to set General Harrison in hot pursuit of the retreating British force, which was overtaken and defeated ar Moraviantown. Harrison did not pursue the routed remnants, being logistically overextended
COURTESY LIDRARY 01' CONGRESS
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
himself, but the most important event at this barde was the death ofTecumseh, after which the British-Indian alliance fell apart. The Barde of Lake Erie was not the turning point of the war, because the war didn't really have one. The significance of this battle was that the US regained what had been bungled away at the beginning of the war. H ad the British and Indian allies been in possession ofDetroitat the time of the peace negotiation, the Canadian border might now run along the Michigan/Indiana line. In 1814 the Lake Erie squadron made a failed attempt to recapture Mackinac, but by then the west had become a backwater of the war. Lake Ontario proved a shipbuilding stalemate, while the Niagara peninsula was invaded once again and became the scene of the most intense fighting of the war: Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, and Fort Erie. By this time the US Army had learned from its early mistakes and was promoting younger, more aggressive generals who understood rhe need for intense training. It proved it could stand toe-totoe against British regulars. Still, it had to withdraw across the Niagara River for the third year in a row. In the fal l, the British could claim to have chased the Americans back into port with the commissioning of rhe St. Lawrence, a 100-gun first rare. To the commander of such a large ship in a lake that only offered a half-dozen anchorages, Lake Ontario probably felt about as large as a skating rink. Had the war lasted into 1815, the Americans would have commissioned rwo even larger first rates, the Chippewa and New Orleans, which were
being built at the Navy Yard at Sackets Harbor at the turn of the new year. 1814 was a year of dire peril for the United States. The defeat and abdication of Napoleon in April 1814 freed up seasoned British troops and seamen, who were sent to reinforce their North American countrymen and to fin ally put paid to the American nuisance. While the US focused its efforts on making one more attempt to take the Niagara Peninsula, rwo British expeditions sailed to the United States, one from across the Adantic to the Chesapeake, and the other southwards from Canada down rhe Richelieu-ChamplainHudson River corridor. The first was an extended raid of the Chesapeake Bay economy. Norfolk was bypassed, having put up a stout defense in 1813; the real target was Baltimore, a rich city for prize money and the nest of American privateering. Washington, DC, was attacked only when the weakness and incompetence of its defense was revealed. Ironically, the time spent burning Washington ultimately saved Baltimore by providing both time and addition al incentive to strengthen entrenchments and batteries aro und the approaches. The British gave up when rhey couldn't get past Fort McHenry at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. Out of the failed British assault, rhe United States preserved the city of Baltimore and got its national anthem . The more dangerous threat was coming from the other expedition, which was rwice as large-more than 10,000 menand poised to invade from the north via the 25
Macdonough's Victory on Lake Champlain, by Edward Tufnell. (l-r): Macdonough's flagship USS Saratoga, HMS Confiance, and the US Brig Eagle, offPlattsburgh, New York, 11 September 1814. Richelieu and Hudson Rivers, connected by Lake Champlain between them. This force was opposed by a mere 2,500 men who were dug in on the south bank of the Saranac River at the town of Plattsburgh, New York, near the US-Canadian border. Lake Champlain, not one of the Great Lakes, was about to be the scene of a most crucial battle. While the Americans held a strong position at Plattsburgh, few doubt that the British could have taken it. Once they were past this small force, there was no US army within hundreds of miles to stop them. It's hard to say how far into the United States the British would have penetrated, suffice it to say this large a force astride a strategic invasion route would have had very bad consequences for the US. But there was a catch. Sir George Prevost, the British commander, was loath to proceed south without a protected waterborne supply line. To protect this line, another hastily built squadron, under Captain Robert Downie, sailed to confront the just-completed ships of the US Navy, commanded by Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough. Macdonough had wisely positioned his ships at anchor in Plattsburgh Bay, open to the
26
south. To sail down from their base on the Richelieu River, the British would need a northerly wind, but, once around the point at Cumberland Head, they would have to work to windward to get at the Americans. On Sunday, 11 September 1814, a year and a day after Perry's victory on Lake Erie, a combined army-navy attack was made on the American position at Plattsburgh. The British army was taking its time, waiting on artillery to soften up the American position and reduce British casualties in assaulting the dug-in defenders. On the lake, Downie's squadron did its best to close the range as rapidly as possible and anchor abeam of its opponents. As at Lake Erie, the battle was hard fought and bloody, and at the center was another artillery duel at close range between stationary ships. The Americans, for a time, appeared to be getting the worst of it, but Macdonough had prudently rigged multiple anchors and spring lines to be able to warp his flagship around at the crucial moment and present a fresh broadside to the enemy. Soon thereafter the British were compelled to surrender in a sinking condition. A few small gunboats managed to escape, but the victory was complete.
Two-and-a-half hours after the shooting started, it died off. As the powder smoke cleared, Prevost looked out over the harbor to see the Stars and Stripes flying from every vessel, not a Royal Navy ensign in sight. With no means of protecting his waterborne supply column, Prevost saw no point in risking casualties to make an assault on Plattsburgh if he could go no further. To the chagrin of his officers and the inestimable relief of the Americans, the British invasion turned back, into Canada. National salvation has never hung on a more slender thread than the anchor cables of Macdonough's ships. There be the short tour of two-and-ahalf years of toil and blood on the northern waters of our Inland Seas, whereby the US Navy pulled the national fat out of the fire and preserved us a nation. j:, Captain "Walter Rybka serves as administrator for the combined Erie Maritime Museum and US Brig Niagara's operations, a project of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, and is Niagara's senior captain. He is an editorial advisor for Sea History and a member of the Tall Ships America advisory board, and he serves as president of the Council ofAmerican Maritime Museums.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
MERICA'S PRIVATEER
tells the story of Lynx, a ship with two lives that sailed in two different centuries. Woodson K. Woods, an entrepreneur a nd lifelo ng sailor, brought the 1812 Lynx back to life as a modern privateer in 2001. The first square-topsail, wooden schooner built in Rockport, Maine, since 1885, Lynx sails America's coasts, teaching young people about the craft of sailing a tall ship and about the Warofl812. J. Dennis Robinson captures the drama in the true story of the swift vessel, its stealthy origins, its heroic missions, and its ama zing reappearance. An informative and moving "sea yarn" for a contemporary audience, this engaging account, accompanied by over 190 color photographs, maps, and paintings, is for every reader, sailors and landlubbers alike.
*
"The War of1812 privateer Lynx comes to life brilliantly in America's Privateer... an inspiring book." -PETER STANFORD
President Emeritus National Maritime Historical Society
Admission by_Donation
ltl
uss
O:>i1stiLutic>n Museum
~
Hardbound, 184 pages, 9 x 11", $34-95 NOW AVAILABLE FROM
Lynx Educational Foundation 509 29th Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.privateerlynx.com
JOIN TODAY! National Historic Landmark & National Memorial to Coast Guardsmen who lost their lives during WWII through Viet Nam . • Awarded two Naval Presidential Unit Citations for her service during WWII & Vietnam. • Credited with sinking U-Boat 626 during convoy duty in the North Atlantic Don't miss the opportunity to tour this ship, learn about its remarkable history, the recently completely underwater re-fit and the current work being done restoring her topside. USCGC INGHAM is located in Key West on the Truman Waterfront, alongside USS MOHAWK (CGC).
You Can Visit ... You Can Help The foundation seeks donations to continue restoration of this important vessel. Please send your tax-deductible contributions to:
USCGC INGHAM Memorial Museum P. 0. Box 186, Key West, Florida 33041 • Phone: (305)-219-6600 www.uscgcingham.org
Become a stakeholder in our Navy's exciting history and inspiring heritage! Besides becoming a part of th e nation's premier naval heritage organi zation, Naval Histori cal Foundation members rece ive discounts on photographic/art research and reproduction servi ces, crui se-book copies, and other services! For info ca ll 202-678-43 33 or vis it :
WWW.NAVVHISTORV.ORG 1396 Dahlgren Ave., SE Washingto n Navy Yard, DC 20374-5055
Photo: Andy Newman
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
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Painting History with Artist Patrick 0 'Brien "Paint what you see." This is comm on advice fo r artists; however, as a painter of maritime history, I don't have that option. The Age of Sail has lo ng passed, and the great seaports have been transformed. W hen beginning a new painting of a maritime scene from history, the fi rs t step is the research. I study old ships' logs, captains' letters, and first-person narratives. I consult sailing m anuals, shipbuilders' drafts, and old sail plans. Contemporary paintings from the eighteenth- and nineteenth centuries, completed when the artist had the advantage of actually seeing his subj ects before him, can be an invaluable reso urce, though sometimes these depictions prove inaccurate and must be used judicio usly. I study every resource available so that my depiction of a vessel or an event can be as accurate as it is possible to be. When I paint, I have two audiences in m ind: those who do n't know o r care about the specifics but simply want to see an aes thetically pleasing painting of ships at sea, and the m aritime history buff who will scru ti nize every detail, searching fo r historical or nautical errors. The challenge is to m eld these goals and create a painting that is not only historically accurate, but also pleasing to the eye. With the bicentennial years of the War of 18 12 now upon us, I am worki ng my way th ro ugh all of the sea battles of that "second war of independence." I have painted the great fri gate duels m any times, but I find that the lesser-know n battles of the brigs and schooners have been largely neglected in maritime art. I hope to remedy this defici t, and create definitively accurate portrayals of these classic battles of the age of fighti ng sail. I'll start with a case study of how I created my most popular battle scene and then describe briefly a few of my other paintings.
The Battle of the Chesapeake Bay The Battle of the Chesapeake Bay was a turning point in the American Revolution: the Royal Navy's loss of this battle in the fall of 1781 ultimately allowed General George Washington to defeat the British at Yorktown a few weeks later, thereby ending the war. The battle was waged just outside the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781 between the British and French fleets. Neither fleet was decisively defeated, but the French wo n the day by denying the British entrance into the Bay. This preven ted the British from resupplying their troops and allowed reinfo rcement of Washington's army. As a result, the British were forced to surrender to General Washingto n on 19 O ctober. 28
In 2008 I was commissioned to do a large painting of this battle. I began by consulting charts and acco unts of the actio n, plus the adm irals' jo urnals fro m both fleets. From these, I determined the placem ent of the vessels relative to one ano ther, as well as the ti me of day, direction of the sun, and wind condi tio ns. For the depiction of the ships themselves (43 ships engaged in the battle-24 British and 19 French), I studied manuals of building, rigging, and handling of eighteen th-century sailing shi ps. I also examined and photographed dockyard models at the US Naval Academy Museum . These builders' m odels we re made at the sam e time and in th e sam e shipyards as the actual ships. SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 201 2
Finally, I consulted an original Royal Navy signal book from the 1770s to determine w ha t flags wo uld have been used to signal "Engage the Enemy." In the painting, the Bri tish and French lines are sailing parallel co urses, formi n g a traditional "line of battle": the British line on the right and the French line to the left. Traditional
m aritime paintings generally depict battles at sea fro m afar, as if the viewer is watching from a safe distance. I have chosen a viewpoint from inside the action . The fi rst ships of both lines have already passed the viewer, and at the center are the o nly two ships that approached close to each other, the French Auguste and the British Princessa.
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The Great White Fleet in the Straits of Magellan W hen President Theod ore Roosevelt sought to demo nstrate the US Navy's capabilities and America's growing military power, he sent a fleet of sixteen battleships, along with various escorts, on an around-the-wo rld cruise. These ships became known as the Great White Fleet after their white pai nt-scheme. The 14-month voyage, from 1907 to 1909, began and ended at H am pton Roads,
r
V irginia. Th e painting depicts the fleet as it passes through the Straits of Magellan near the southern tip of South America, en ro ute to the Pacific Ocean . This painting won the M useum Purchase Award at the 2010 Mystic Intern ati onal Marine Art Exhibition, whereby Mystic Seaport M useum purchased the painting fo r their permanen t collection.
Patrick O'Brien is an artist living in Baltimore, Maryland. He is not related to the famous deceased author of the same name. O'Brien was a draftsman in a naval architecture firm before becoming an artist. Since 1985, he has worked as an illustrator and painter, his clients including National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, and the Smithsonian. His art has appeared in magazines and newspapers, on posters and greeting cards, and even on billboards. In addition, O'Brien is the author and illustrator of twelve picture books for children. In 2 003 O'Brien entered the marine art field, and his first entry to the prestigious Mystic International Marine Art Exhibition won an Award of Excellence. In 2 010 he won Mystic's Museum Purchase Award, whereby the Mystic Seaport Museum bought the painting for its permanent collection. A lso in 2 010 the US Naval Academy Museum mounted an exhibition entitled The Maritime Art of Patrick O'Brien, featuring twenty-eight oil paintings by the artist. O'Brien's paintings have been used four times on the cover of Naval H istory magazine, published by The US Naval Institute, and several times on the cover of Sea Histo ry. SEA HISTORY 13 8, SPRING 201 2
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Constellation vs. L'Insurgente The USS Constellation was one of the original six frigates built fo r the new US Navy. Built in 1797 in Baltimore, Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, manned by abo ut 340 men . During the Quasi-War with France in 1799, under Captain Thomas Truxton, Constellation defeated the French frigate 36gun L1nsurgente. The Constellation was broken up in the Norfolk Navy Yard in 1853, one year before a new frigate of the same name was built. This second Constellation sti II exists as a restored museum ship in Baltimore and is open to the public.
CSS Shenandoah The Shenandoah was a British-built screw steam cruiser secretly purchased by the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. She was converted to an armed raider in October 1864 and set our to prey upon US-flag merchant ships. During the war she traveled the globe, sinking or capturing 38 Union merchant ships, including many of the North's largely unarmed whaling ships in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea in June 1865. Shenandoah's captai n, James Waddell, had heard rumors of the end of the war, but he chose to continue his depredations until he could be sure . About ten weeks after General Lee's surrender, he met a British ship out from San Francisco that carried n ewspapers co nfirming the end of the war. CSS Shenandoah was the only Confederate ship to have circled the globe and has the distinction of firing the laseshots of the Civil War (tchey were fired after the >War's official end). 30
SEA HISTORW 138, SPRING 2012
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USS Enterprise By the end of the eighteenth century, the Barbary states on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa had been harassing shipping for generations. The Barbary pirates would capture merchant ships in the Mediterranean Sea and make slaves of the sailors. This practice encouraged fore ign n ations to pay large tributes to the sultans to guarantee safe passage past their shores. Like other seafaring nations, the new United States of America was forced to pay great sums to protect their trade in the Mediterranean. In
1801, President Thomas Jefferson decided to rake up arms against the Barbary States rather than continue to pay the exorbitant tributes. USS Enterprise, one of the ships of the fledgling US Navy, was sent to the Mediterranean to deal with the pirates. Built in Baltimore in 1799, she was a topsail schooner of the type that would later become known as a Baltimore Clipper. Here she is shown firing a warning shot at a suspected pirate.
The Battle of Lake Erie The Bartle of Lake Erie was fought on 10 September 18 13 during the War of 1812. The nine vessels of the American fleet under the 28-year-old Captain Oliver Hazard Perry were ourweighed and outgunned by the six Royal Navy ships under the command of Robert Barclay. Perry's flagship USS Lawrence was destroyed in the
I'
firefight with most of its crew killed or wounded. Undaunted, Perry got into a ship's boat and was rowed a half-mile through heavy gunfire to transfer his command to the brig Niagara. He sailed Niagara into close action, forcing the British to surrender. After the battle, Perry dispatched his now-famous message ro General William Henry Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." The American's decisive victory over the British fleet guaranteed control of the Great Lakes, which was critical to maintaining control of the region. The painting depicts the decisive moment when the Niagara sailed across the bows of the rwo British ships Detroit and Queen Charlotte, which had collided with each other. Perry's battle flag bearing the words "Don't Give Up the Ship," is flying from Niagara's masthead. The flag has been preserved and is on display at the US Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. ,!, Patrick O'Brien's work is represented at several galleries, and he is available for commission. This spring, he will be the recipient of the National Maritime Historical Society's Distinguished Service Award at the NMHS Washington, DC, Awards Dinner. You can learn more about the artist and his works at www.PatrickOBrienStudio.com.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
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f(ffls fall Ships are Cot11ittg! This summer, fall ships from all over the wo rld will be visiting the United States. Check out OpSail (www.opsail.org) and fall Ships AtMerica (www.sailtraining.org) events, from New Orleans, up the East Coast, to the Great Lakes and Canada. You and your family can go onboard most visiting ships for a tour in port, and, if you are really ambitious, you can even go sailing as a trainee aboard one for a day, a week, or even longer. You don't have to know how to sail; you just have to be willing and able. To learn more about what kinds of ships and programs are available, visit the Tall Ships America website.
What is a "tall ship"a'(lyway? How tall does a ship have to be? A tall ship is not actually any specific kind of vessel, but the term usually refers to large traditionally rigged sailing ships. Sailing vessels are identified by their rigs: brigs, barques, and schooners are a few examples. The number of masts and how they are arranged, plus the use of fore-and-aft sails or square . sails-or combinations of both-determine how a ship is identified. A "ship"is both a generic term that refers to any large watercraft, and a highly specific term } · · identifying a vessel with three or more masts that sets square sails on all masts. •· .:._ / These models of basic rig types below will help you learn to identify th e different types of ships that will visit the United States this summer.
/
tall
The Arge'(lti'(le san trai'(li'(lg vessel, Libertad, is a full-rigged ship. schooner
barquetttitte
SEA HIISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
Careers in the Marine and Maritime Field
Whale Watch Videographer by Christopher Hamilton I live in a little beach town on Cape Cod, and almost everyone I know here works in the tourism industry. Some work at restaurants, some sell t-shirts, and others work out on the water on charter boats that take people out for a few hours to sail, go fishing, or take a sightseeing tour. When I was a kid in this same town, we found all sorts of ways to earn money from the tourists-selling seashells, diving for coins at the pier, even using our bikes as taxis. Business is all about supply and demand. Somebody needs or wants something (the demand), and, if others can supply it, they can charge a fee for it. Sometimes the "it" is a thing, such as a t-shirt or a hotdog, and other times the "it" is a service, such as a taxi ride or providing entertainment. We have a special kind of sightseeing tour here, where the "sights" are the whales that come to feed just off rhe coast of 4 Cape Cod in the summer. Whale watching is a big business here. Almost everyone brings a camera and takes lots of pictures, but part of the thrill of seeing whales is watching them as they swim,
I started my business with a friend who knew all about videography; she taught me how to shoot video and we starred the business together. We made a lot of mistakes in the beginning, but enough people wanted our videos (the demand) rhar we kept doing it (the supply).
feed, and even leap all the way our of the water. The best way ro share rhar is with video, and that's what I do for a business-I am a whale watch videographer. When people go on a whale watch trip, I shoot a video of their experience, and rhe passengers can get a DVD of the whales they saw.
'" the Wild ProductiOHS, at
Chris Hamilton
We now film trips on several whale watch boats on Cape Cod, and I hire other people to work on these boats each summer. I look for three things in a person when I hire them: they have to be responsible (because they have to work hard and handle money), they have to be easy to get alongwirh (because they work with customers and the crew on the boars), and they have to be able to learn videograp hy. I can teach almost anybody good video skills, but I can't reach people to be responsible or be easy to get along with if that isn't rhe kind of person they are already. These two qualities can bring yo u many opportunities in life, regardless of what yo u decide to do. As a whale watch videographer, I get to work outdoors-on boars and with whales. Sometimes I feel lucky, but luck had little to do with it; I made this happen by taking a chance with a good idea, partnering with rhe right person, and working really hard. I am fortunate to be among the dwindling number of people in my town who sti ll get to work on rhe water. Years ago, !ors of people in my town worked on rhe water, fishing and-a long rime ago-whaling. Today, I go to sea with rhe greatgrandchildren of the m en who once hunted the great whales. When we find whales, however, we shoot them with video cameras instead of harpoon guns. J. Learn more about Chris's company,
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
www.inrhewildproductions.com; and to go whale watching from Cape Cod, check our www.whales.net and www.whalewatch.com.
Finding Jack Tar-USS Constitution's Crew by Matthew Brenckle, USS Constimtion Museum
SS Constitution was one of the first six ships built for the new United States Navy in 1797. Constitution, a wooden ship, is often called "Old Ironsides," a nickname she got in battle during the War of 1812 when sailors watched in amazement as cannonballs bounced off her thick oak sides. The famous frigate is still aRoat today; nearly a million people visit her every year in Boston Harbor. When you step on board Constitution, the first thing you notice is how big she is. She stretches 207 feet long and the mainmast towers 210 feet high, as rail as a 20-story building. All three masts could carry a total of 44 sails-almost an acre of canvas. When she sailed in battle, she carried as many as 5 5 heavy cannons on two decks, making her a force to be reckoned with. If you walked the deck 200 years ago, you would have noticed how crowded it was. Today, the active-duty US Navy crew numbers between 60 and 70 men and women, but when Constitution set sail from Boston during the War of 1812, she carried more than 480 officers, sailors, and Marines. The ship needed most of those hands to control the sails and fire the guns, but the officers also knew that they would need extra hands; some men would
U
Two young Constitution
SEA HIST O>RY 138, SPRING 2012
die from accidents and disease, and if they captured any enemy vessels, they'd need sailors to navigate those ships to friendly ports. Therefore, navy ships always tried to sail with as many men as they could fit on board. What kind of people signed on as crew back then? The USS Constitution Museum in Boston has been researching each individual sailor in the ship's War of 1812 crew to learn what his life was like. Using all sorts of government records stored in the National Archives in Washington, DC, as well as birth, death, and census records, we've learned a lot about them. The typical navy sailor back then was young. Although the average age in a full crew was 26 years old, some sailors were as young as 9 and others as old as 52. Most of Constitution's crew was born in Massachusetts, but there were also crewmembers on board from all over the United States, Great Britain, and Western Europe. 7 to 14 percent of the crew were free men of color who, at a time when slavery was still legal in this country, earned the same wages as their white shipmates.
USS Constitution's 21st-century crew farling the main topsail. Count them- there are 23 people on the yard. Under fall sail, Constitution set 44 sails, enough canvas to cover almost a fall acre!
sailors from the late 1860s.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
Most navy seamen had worked as sailors for years before they joined the service. Most of the 40 men from Marblehead, MA, for example, were fishermen by trade. Even though the able seamen were skilled sailors, they probably could not read or even write their own names. Constitution was undefeated during the War of 1812, and, compared to the experiences of sailors in other navy ships in battle, relatively few of her crewmen died or were wounded in battle. With luck, the typical sailor who served in Old Ironsides survived the war without a scratch, and when his rwoyear enlistment ended, he returned home with a pocket full of prize money! This is the common experience-the average taken from the life stories of nearly 1,200 men who sailed on the ship during between 1812 and 1815. As historians do more research, we continue to learn about the sailors and Marines who fought for "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights!" j:, You can learn more about USS Constitution and her crew online at www.asailorslifeforme.org andwww.ussconstitutionmuseum.org.
Florida's Underwater Archaeological Preserves: History Beneath the Waves by Franklin H . Price
I
n twenty-five feet of water, near the entrance to Port Sr. Joe in Florida, wreckage covers nearly 200 feet of the seafloor. A steam engine, hull plates, connecting rods, hull beams, and a rudder are all recognizable amid the chaotic jumble of what had decades ago been the tramp steamer Vtimar. The freighter has an interesting history, complete with numerous name changes, storied exploration, and a demise clouded in intrigue. C hristened Kilmarnock in Ireland in 1904, she was confiscated by the US government as the rum runner Chelsea during prohibition . Admiral Richard Byrd purchased the vessel at auction and renam ed her Eleanor Bolling. The freighter hauled supplies and airplanes to Antarctica as part of Byrd's successful expeditio n as rhe first person to fly over the South Pole. Changing hands and nam es again, in March of 1942 she steamed our of Po rt Sr. Joe as Vtimar, bound for H avana, C uba. The freighter's deck load of lumber made the ship top-heavy and she was listing to po rt, far enough to be overcom e by the waves just a few miles outside the harbor. She sank, stern first.
Vtimar
by state decree. Local groups nominate each sire to the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research and have to demonstrate that public interest exists, no r only in creating a preserve bu r also in their willingness to rake an active role visiting and m ai ntaining it. These sites often have a non-profit organization affiliated with them (think "friends of" organizations), which are tasked with moni to ring the sire. Local involvement is a viral par t of the success of the program, but allowing unlimited access to the public at large is also a key elem ent. The state recognizes that these sires are, after all, public pro perty, and th at making them available furth ers our collective knowledge and helps engage the publi c in learning m ore about maritime heritage. The Florida Keys attract both local and visiting divers, who com e to experience the clear wa rm water and abundant tropical sea life. Some of the spectacular coral reefs rhar divers like to visi t have g rown up aro und shipwrecks, wh ich become home to a wide va riety of marine life, from sponges and corals to reef fish and invertebrates. The w reck of rhe San Pedro, just south of Indian Key, is a great example. Divers can swim along rhe 90-foor-long mound of river cobbles circled by schools of striped snapper. These are the ballas t stones from the San Pedro, a galleon that was lost in a tempest in the Straits of Florida, along with twenty other Spanish ships that were broken up and scattered along eighty miles of the Florida Keys in 1733 . Concerns regarding the permanent loss of artifacts to looters are in ev idence at this site: the m assive cannons from the 2 87-ton vessel were removed long The San Ped ro was two days out from Havana when she sailed into the path of a hurricane and wrecked in the Florida Keys. Reproductions of contemporary guns (p. 37, upper Left) have been p laced in the vicinity to enhance the divers' experience at the site. The archaeological site p lan (below) reveals the ship's massive ballast pile.
America had entered World War II a few months before, and the ocean had become dangerous for m erchant m ariners. German U -Boars prowled the seas, wreaking havoc on allied shipping. Vtimar's international crew of Yugoslavs, Spaniards, and C ubans survived the loss of their ship and spent the next two weeks in Port Sr. Joe. Suspicions arose among the townsfolk, who thought that the fo reigners must have been involved in sinking Vtimar as an ac t of Nazi espionage. An official inves tigation found that the fre ighter san k because she was overloaded and top-heavy. No netheless, suspicions remained, including reports of the captai n's repeated m eetings with a m ys terious woman in a local bar and their hushed conspi rato rial tones. The story of Vtimar is just o ne am o ng Flo rida's eleven Underwater Archaeological Preserves . The program i$ a partnership between the public and state resource managers, which began in 1987 with rhe designation of a 1715 Spanish shipwreck, Urea de Lima. The program was born out of public desire to preserve their maritime heritage. Looting of the historic vessel raised concerns am ong the citizens of Fort Pierce, who asked the stare to create a preserve to protect it from further disturbance. ~es tate's positive response to public concern led to a unique fearurq of the preserves program, one that has continued since its inception . Sires are selected fo r the Preserves program by the communi ty, not dictated
36
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SE;A HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
Traveling north and wes t of the Keys to Florida's Panhandle, divers willing to go a Ii tde deeper can d rop to a hundred feet, where they will fi nd a boiler res ting silently in the green gloom in the waters off Panam a C ity. Nearby, a steam engine lies on th e flattened rem ains of an iron-hulled ship with more debris and equipment scattered on the seaf!oor around it. These are all that rem ain of the 130-foot SS Tarpon, a twin-screw freight and passenge r steam er that sank in 1937. Known for her reliability, SS Tarpon was on her l ,735'h trip along the sam e ro ute. W ith the mom entum of thirty years of seagoing service behind him, Cap tain Willis G . Barrow made the decision to keep on course lo ng after the wea ther had turned foul. Even as the danger becam e apparent, he o rdered the ship to hold fast. H e had traversed the same ro ute alo ng Florida's Panhandle countless times before, and at 8 1 years of age, he saw this storm as m erely another of many dangers to be encountered and overcome in the line of du ty. H e once q uipped, "God makes the weather, and God willing I make the trip." The Tarpon, however, was overloaded and began taking on water
SS Tarpon
Cannons at the San Ped ro wreck site.
ago by treas u re hunters. To give today's visitors the experience of seeing the site as it looked before it was looted, archaeologists have placed seven replica cannons, cas t from a cannon fo und at anothe r 1733 shipwreck, aro und the ballas t pile. Covered in marine encrustation, these con crete cannons a re visually indisting uishable fro m the origina ls. A contemporary eighteenthcentury anchor is also part of the preserve, while a bronze plaque mounted on the seaf!oor on the sou th end of the site helps visitors unde rstand what they are looking at.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
37
faster than the men could pump it out. When the steamer went down, it sank too fast for all hands to escape; several remai ned trapped below decks. Only 18 of the 3 1 people on board made it through the ordeal alive. Captain Barrow was not among the survivors, but the story lives on in local lore. As a peninsula, Florida has long been influenced by the waters surrounding it. Poignant tales of adversity and adventure-of mariners braving the elements-pique the public's interest and provide an excellent starting point to share the state's history and
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arc haeology. Florida's Underwater Archaeological Preserves keep these stories alive, preserving our history through the shipwrecks that lie just offshore, waiting to tell their story of what they are doing there and who sailed them . Florida h as hundreds of sh ipwrecks that could becom e candidates for preserves. A public nomination is the first step in the process. Pre- Remains of the C ity of Hawkinsville's serves must meet the stern paddlewheel are easily recognizable following criteria: they on this preserve in the Suwannee River. should be in state waters, be accessible to the public, be safe for diving, have recognizable features, and be home to sea life. If yo u have a suggestion for a site that meets these criteria, please visit our website and download a nomination form at www.flh eritage. com/ archaeology/ underwater/ docs/questionnaire. pdf 1,.
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For more information on Florida's Underwater Archaeological Preserves, visit them online at www.museumsinthesea.com or contact Franklin H Price, Senior Archaeologist, B. Calvin Jones Center for Archaeology, 1001 DeSoto Park Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32301; email: Franklin.Price@DOS.MyFlorida.com.
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SEA !HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
by Peter McCracken
MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET
Searching for Statistics Online ·nding accurate statistics online can be a nerve-wracki ng and fru strating process. It sho uld be easy-shouldn't it?-to determine the change in the percentage of Americans em ployed by maritime industri es over the pas t two centuries? As is often the case, much depends o n what question is asked, h ow it is asked, and how o ne interprets the results fo und. Most statistical data is collected and published by governm ents, which makes sense because the work is time-consuming and often seems to be oflittle immediate or economic value. Over tim e, howeve r, this value grows-and most historians can think of data they wo uld wish someo ne had accurately collected and published thro ugh the ages . In the United States, each federal agency independently collects data and publishes it onli ne. Resources like FedSrats (http://www.fedstats.gov) provide some insight into what can be fo und and where. The CIA World Factbook (https:/ /www.cia.gov / library/ publications/ the-w orldfactbook/) has provided public informa tion abou t nations since 1975. Fo r the past 135 years, the Statistical Abstract of the United States (h ttp:// www.cens u s . gov/ com p en di a / statab/) h as bro ught together m any of the m ost impo rtant statistics in a very useful guide. Alas, to save mere pennies, in late 2011 the federal government suspended publication of the Statistical Abstract. To return to the example question abo ut m aritime industries employment, a quick search in Google provides some useful info rmation: the top link I fo und took m e to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics's Occupational O utlook H andbook (http://www. bls.gov/oco/), which listed 2008 emp loyment numbers fo r "water transportation occupations." Looking down the page, however, I discovered that this number does no t include "fishers and fishing vessel operators," wh o add alm ost half again as many wo rkers. Finding data not collected by government agencies can prove to be a more difficult tas k. Often, the next best approach is to ask, "Who would be interes ted enough in this information
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to research and generate this data?" Trade organizations can be useful places to turn. After yo u identify the largest relevant trade organizations, you can check their websites to search fo r statistics . It's a slightly roundabout approach but can provide good results. Also, it's important to consider who would be willing to share or give away such data fo r free-a trade organization that wants to promote its industry by emphasizing the number of individuals employed by it is much mo re likely to offer this info rmation fo r free online versus a co nsulting or marke ting firm that primarily works fo r industry insiders. Rem ember, too, that an o rganization's goals may impact its res ults: perhaps the maritime industry trade associatio n counts the cumulative number of individuals employed by the industry over the pas t year, rather than the number of positio ns in the industry-some of which might be filled by a dozen different individuals over the course of a single year. If you feel stymied by the website layo ut of an appropriate trade organizati on, yo u can bypass their we b design by using Google to search just within that site by using the "+site: __ " operaror. For example, a search fo r "employment statistics +site:americanwaterways.com" will return any menti on of the words "employment," "statistics," or similar terms (" labo r," "jobs," "figures," etc.) only from the pages on the americanwaterways. com website. There are m any other places to turn, as well. Most academic and large public libraries have access to collections of expensive databases and directories that will guide you to many more statistical sources, and, fo r particularly challenging searches, they are often wo rth using fo r both their vas t resources and the expert help available from their professional librarians. W hen yo u are at the library, be sure to look at the American Statistics Index, a guide to all of the statistical publications produced by the US government; Statistical Reference Index, which helps locate non-governmen ta! statistical data; and Index to International Statistics fo r non-US statistics. Suggestions fo r other sites wo rth mentioning are welcome at peter@shipindex.org. See http://shipindex.org for a free compilation of over 140,000 ship names from indexes to dozens of books and journals. .t
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Literary Littoral Poetry of the Wa ter's Edge But look! here come more crowds, pacing straight for the water, and seemingly bound for a dive. Strange! Nothing will content them but the extremest limit of the land; loitering under the shady lee of yonder warehouses will not suffice. No. They must get just as nigh the water as they possibly can without falling. And there they stand- miles of them-leagues. Inlanders all, they come from lanes and alleys, streets and avenues-north, east, south, and west. Yet here they all unite. Tell me, does the magnetic virtue of the needles of the compasses of all those ships attract them thither? (excerpt from Chapter 1, "Loomings," Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville)
The littoral zone-where the land meets the sea- has long attracted landsmen, whose seaward gaze is one of awe, wonder, fantasy, and longing. Poets across the ages have found inspiration at the water's edge, seeking answers from what lies beyond the horizon or in the acknowledgment of the ephemerality of life symbolized by the waves that wash away what they see in front of them in the littoral. - Deirdre O'Regan
Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Robert Frost
The people along the sand All turn and look one way. They turn their back on the land. They look at the sea all day. As long as it takes to pass A ship keeps raising its hull; The wetter ground like glass Reflects a standing gull. The land may vary more; But wherever the truth may beThe water comes ashore, And the people look to the sea. They cannot look out far. They cannot look in deep. But when was that ever a bar To any watch they keep?
40
Break Break Break by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Break, break, break, On thy cold gray stones, 0 Sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me. 0, well for the fisherman's boy, That he shouts with his sister at play! 0, well for the sailor lad, That he sings in his boat on the bay! And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill; But 0 for the touch of a vanish' d hand, And the sound of a voice that is still! Break, break, break At the foot of thy crags, 0 Sea! But the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me. SEA HIISTORY 138, SPRING 201 2
Sand Dunes by Robert Frost
Smooth Between Sea and Land by A. E. Housman
Smooth between sea and land Is laid the yellow sand, And here through summer days The seed of Adam plays. Here the child comes to found His umemaining mound, And the grown lad to score Two names upon the shore. Here, on the level sand, Between the sea and land, What shall I build or write Against the fall of night? Tell me of runes to grave That hold the bursting wave, Or bastions to design For longer date than mine. Shall it be Troy or Rome I fence against the foam, Or my own name, to stay When I depart for aye? Nothing: too near at hand, Planing the figure sand, Effacing clean and fast Cities not built to last And charms devised in vain, Pours the confounding main.
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
Sea waves are green and wet, But up from where they die, Rise others vaster yet, And those are brown and dry. They are the sea made land To come at the fisher town, And bury in solid sand The men she could not drown. She may know cove and cape, But she does not know mankind If by any change of shape, She hopes to cut off mind. Men left her a ship to sink: They can leave her a hut as well; And be but more free to think For the one more cast-off shell. ... And for those landsmen who get the opportunity to go on their first sea journey, it's a feeling of exultation, a feeling that those left onshore will never understand and one that those who work on the sea have long forgotten.
Exultation is the Going by Emily Dickinson
Exultation is the going Of an inland soul to sea, Past the houses, past the headlands, Into deep eternity! Bred are we, among the mountains, Can the sailor understand The divine intoxication Of the first league out from land.
41
SIDP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Imagine if some of the famous ships from world history were made of fiberglass and not wood. In late January, the Spanish coast guard, Salvamento Madtimo, discovered a 26-foot fishing boat adrift off the northern coast of Spain, about 20 miles off the coast of Llanes on the Bay of Biscay. The boat has been
identified as the vessel owned by Scort Douglas of Nantucket. On 25 August 2008, Douglas and his brother-in-law were thrown from the boat by a large wave off the western tip of Nantucket. The boat was in gear when the wave struck and sheered away from rhem. They managed ro swim ro shore safely, and that was the last they ever heard of their boar, until recently. The boat was pulled into shore in Spain, with the home port "Nantucket" plainly visible, irs rwo outboards still anached to the transom, and the first-aid kit, fire extinguishers, radio, and charts still inside. . . . This spring, construction will start on the new Coos Historical and Maritime Center on the waterfront in Coos, Oregon. The 11 ,000-square-foot facility is being built on bayfront property, which was donated ro rhe Coos County Historical Society by rhe City of Coos Bay's Urban Renewal Agency. The Coos County Historical Society was founded in 1891 and today operates as a private non-profit organization with more than 50,000 objects and 250,000 images in its collection. (CCHS, 1220 Sherman Ave., North Bend, OR 97459; Ph. 541 756-6320; www.cooshisrory.org) .. . In December, the Nantucket Lightship (LV-112) was hauled out at the Fitzgerald Shipyard in Chelsea, MA, for month-long yard period. Ir was the first drydocking of the ship since 1991. On rhe "ro do" list: cleaning and sandblasting rhe bottom, painting the bor42
rom and topsides-including renewing the name "Nantucket," and fastening 60 galvanized plates ro the hull. When she's back in rhe water and can be moved, the Nantucket will return ro her home berth in East Boston, where the decks, deckhouses, and masts will undergo scaling, priming and painting. The US Lightship Museum, a non-profit organization, rook ownership/stewardship of the lightship in 2009 and is working ro restore rhe ship ro a seagoing condition ro serve as a Boating museum and run educational programs. Their goal is ro complete this first restoration phase by spring 2012, bur they still need ro raise $70,000 to meet
Nantucket Lightship LV-112 in drydock. expenses. Cost fo r her ultimate roral restoration is estimated at $850,000. (www. The nantucketlightshiplv-112.org). .. Brooklyn Navy Yard Exhibition and Visitors Center at BLDG 92 opened to the public in November with a ceremony presided over by New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The fully renovated 9,300-square-foor historic structure was designed in 1857 by Thomas U. Walter, fourth architect of rhe US Capitol. Innovative exhibits and interactive displays interpret one of rhe most historic naval sites in the United States. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was authorized by President John Adams in 1801, and its 300 acres became a hub of ship construction and repair during the War of 181 2, the Civil War, and both World Wars. The Ironclad USS Monitor was outfitted with its turret and guns there in 1862, USS Maine was built there in 1890, and the Pennsylvania-class battleship USS Arizona was launched there in 1915. The Navy Yard, which had fallen inro disrepair after it was closed in 1966, is being revitalized
USS Arizona in the East River, mid-1916 and the city-owned industrial park includes some 4.5 million square feet of built space. In addition to BLDG 92, rhe Brooklyn Navy Yard is home ro more than 240 tenants in 40 buildings, with businesses ranging from sh ip repair facilities and three active drydocks ro architectural design firms, movie studios, and retail distributors, ro name a few. The visitors' center and museum keeps rhe long history of the site alive for those who visit the shipyard. (63 Flushing Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11205; www.BLDG92. org) ... The United States Merchant Marine Academy {USMMA) started the new year by beginning work on a new comprehensive strategic plan that will develop long-term objectives and institutional goals. The USMMA will undergo its next accreditation evaluation in 2016, and a core requirement of American higher education accreditation is that an academic institution has a current strategic plan. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has stated that USMMA is one of his top priorities; ensuring rhe quality of education for Kings Point midshipmen. The strategic planning process will be led by USMMA Acting Superintendent Shashi Kumar. The Academy will work with the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, MA, in the first stage of this multi-phased effort. The mission of USMMA is "ro graduate Merchant Marine officers and leaders of honor and integrity who serve the maritime industry and Armed Forces and contribute ro the economic, defernse and homeland security interests of rh1e United States." {USMMA, 300 Steam1boat Road, Kings Point, NY 11024; Phi. 516 726-5800; WWW. usmma.edu) ... iA Coast Guard HC-130 SEAHISTCORY 138, SPRING 2012
Hercules aircrew flew more than 900 miles to conduct a precision airdrop of a package containing blood and medical supplies to a cruise ship traveling northeast of Hilo, Hawaii, on 24 January. Medical personnel from the Carnival Spirit contacted the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center requesting medical assistance for a passenger. The ship's doctor treating a 67-year-old woman for medical complications determined that the woman's condition would be stabilized with additional blood. After assessing the ship's layout from the air, the aircrew Aew over the ship and dropped a trail line directly on its bow. The container with the supplies was then dropped into the water and the ship's crew recovered the container by heaving on the trail line. The H C130 is based at Barber's Point Air Station in Kapolei, Hawaii, and conducts long-
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range patrols and search and rescue missions over an area covering 14.2 million square miles of open ocean, atolls, and islands. . . . The Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has awarded $70,500 in grants to 19 school districts and organizations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics projects. Most awards ranged from $ 1,000 to $5,000, with one project awarded $15,000. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds, and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for rhe US Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-marker services for military ships aro und the globe. HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other US naval shipbuilder. Employing nearly 38,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, LouisiSEA HISTORY 138, SPRJNG 2012
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ana and California, its primary business divisions are Newport News Shipb uilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding. (HII, www. huntingtoningalls.com) .. . In April, the Barque Picton Castle will depart its homeport in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, for a one-year, 15,000-mile voyageincluding participation in OpSail 2012 events. Berths are still available to those interested in signing aboard as a trainee for either a leg of the voyage (minimum of two weeks) or for the whole year. The ship will visit the UK, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Africa, Caribbean (including Cuba), the Panama Canal Zone (Caribbean side), and the East Coast of the US. The Picton Castle is owned by the W indward Isles Sailing Ship Company and is run by Captain Daniel D. Moreland. The ship has made five circumnavigations as a sail training vessel, plus extended voyages to Eu-
rope and Africa. In November 2011, Captain Moreland was awarded the prestigious Sail Trainer of the Year award by Sail Training International. (Barque Picton Castle, POB 1076, 132 Montague Street, Lunenburg, NS BOJ 2CO, Canada; www.picton-castle.com) ... Speaking of Sail Training International, in November 2011 the organization named Peter Cardy as its new chief executive. Mr. Cardy was recently chief executive of the charity Aquaterra and a former chief executive of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency. (www. sai 1trainingin ternati on al. org) ... Saint Mary's College of California and the University of Rhode Island are collaborating on a joint field school in maritime archaeology for summer 2012. The field school will be conducted in Bermuda by fac ul ty and students of both institutions. Between 16 July and 8 August, students will get
a research-based learning experience that will expose them to a variety of activities including archival research, artifact conservation, remote sensing survey, and underwater documentation of historic shipwrecks. Classroom studies in maritime history and archaeology will be followed by field work documentation of l 6thand 17th-century shipwrecks. Students will receive 3 units of upper division anthropology credit. There are no academic prerequisites, but all participants must obtain both scuba and AAUS certification prior to the beginning of the field school and must have their own dive equipment. (For applications or additional information, please contact the codirectors: Professor James M. Allan at jallan@stmarys-ca.edu or Professor Roderick Mather at rodmather@mail.uri.edu) ... The Coast Guard announced in December that a new policy will exempt a number of mariners from the requirement to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) when renewing or obtaining a Coast Guard-issued merchant mariner credential. The decision provides immedi-
Pickle Night 2011 As part of the Society's program to increase our outreach efforts, NMHS chairman Ronald Oswald and president Burchenal Green joined the American Friends of the Royal Naval Museum Committee to celebrate Pickle Night, commemorating HMS Pickle's return to England with the news of Lord Horatio Nelson's historic victory and death at Trafalgar in 1805. It was a magnificent occasion and you are urged to mark on your calendar, 9 November 2012, for this year's gala at rhe New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. The Honorable Gordon R. England, former deputy secretary of defense and former secretary of the US Navy, gave excellent remarks fo llowing the keynote address by Admiral Sir Jonathan Band GCB DL, former First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, president of the 1805 Club and chairman of trustees, National Museum of the Royal Navy, whose remarks emphasized the value of historical knowledge in securing peace in today's world.
NMHS president Burchenal Green (center) with Dr. William Dudley (left) and Admiral Sir Jonathan Band (right). Admiral Band has been nominated to receive the 2012 NMHS Distinguished Service Award for the example he sets as a naval officer at the highest level.
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
ate relief for mariners w ho o therw ise would need to obtain a T WIC to get o r renew their M erchant M ariner C redential. According to Captain Eric C hristensen , C hief of the Office of Vessel Activities in W ashington, D C, "Th ese changes eliminate the TWIC requirement fo r m ariners w ho o perate vessels no t required to have a vessel securi ty plan or who are not actively sailin g on th eir m erchant m ariner crede n ri al." Prior to the Coast G uard Autho rizatio n Act of 2010 becoming law, all ma rin ers h olding a C oas t G uard-iss ued m e rchant mariner credential were also required to obtain and hold a valid TWIC. Sectio n 809 of the Act, h owever, permits the Coast G uard to exempt any m ariner not requiring unescorted access to a secure a rea of a vessel from the requirement to ho ld a valid TWIC as a preco n dition of receiving a merchant m ariner credential. (Yo u can read the policy letter o r learn m o re abo ut obtaining or renewing yo ur merchan t marin er credentials at the US Coast G uard Na tio nal Mari time Center, www. uscg. mil / nm c/) OffCenterHarbor. com, a new classic boating website, was recently launched by a gro up that's more used to launching boats than websites. M aynard Bray, Ben M endlowitz, Bill M ayher, Eric Blake, and Steve Stone are collaborating to produce an online site w ith a fee-based service featuring a co llection of high q uality vid eos and auth oritative biogs, with a focus on welldesigned boats with cl ass ic appeal. "We started out by shooting h ow-to-build videos in the shops of leading boatbuild ers in the field ," sa id Bray. "Then we went out on the wate r to p ro file legendary boats, and ... the res ul ts jumped off the screen. I have been writing abo ut techniques and designs fo r fo rty years, but these videos raise things to a new level. (www.offshore.com) ... A week-long class examining the Hudson River School of American art is being offered this summer at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Professo r Nancy Gree n , the Gale and Ira D ruckier C urator at the H erbert F. Johnson M use um o f Art o n the university campus, will lead th e class, held 29 July th ro ugh 4 August. Registration is open to all interested adults. (Cornell School of Continuing Education and
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CLASSIFIED ADS Elegant Ship Models. Individually handcrafted custom scale model boars. Jean Preckel: www.preckelboars.com or call: 304 432-7202. FLORIDA-NO income tax, NO death tax, NO investment tax, & NO snow! Ler our ream of Florida licensed REALTORSÂŽ assisrwirh your retiremenr or other move to the Sunshine State. Go to www.RealEstare Counselors.com or call 850 982-1907. SHIP MODEL BROKER: I will help yo u BUY, SELL, REPAIR, APPRAISE or COMMISSION a model ship or boat. www.FiddlersGreenModelShips.com. 1812 Privateer FAME of Salem, MA. Sails Daily, May-October. Ph. 978 7297600; www.SchoonerFame.com. FREIGHTERCRUISES.COM . Mail ships, containerships, trampers . . . Find the ship and voyage that's perfect for you. Ph. 1-800-99-Maris.
Thousands of century-old ship postcards, ephemera- in San Francisco, CA; Ph. 415 586-9386; kprag@planeteria.net. Custom Ship Models Half Hulls. Free Catalog. Spencer, Box 1034, Quakertown, PA 18951. ETERNITY in PARADISE Ash Scattering ar Sea. Memorial Services in H awaii. www.as hesarseaoahu.com. When your nautical project requires facts about Alaskan maritime history, contact SeaCat Explorations. We do archival research of primary source documentation in Alaska repositories: public/ private documents , microfilm, charts , photographs, letters, logbooks, business, personal papers. Consulting services for governments, business and comm unity groups, and individuals needing specialized investigative research. Non-profir rares. www.cybrrcat.com/akmh/alaskamaritime. htm l; Ph. 907 227-7837.
BOOKS THE AUTHORITY TO SAIL by Co mmodore Robert Stanley Bares. The fully illustrated authoritative history of US Merchant Marine licenses and documents issued since 1852. Coffee-table size, 12" x 14;' website: http ://batekmarine.com. SHIPS OF THE US MERCHANT FLEET, 140 photos of ships at the peak of the USMM, and HISTORY OF ELECTRIC DRIVE FOR SHIPS gives overview of Navy, Merchant Marine, Coast Guard and Oceanography by Capt. John A. C ulver; www.jacmodel.net. NEXT VOYAGE WILL BE DIFFERENT by Captain Thomas E. Henry. Accounts from my 37 years at sea. Available through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Also, CRACKING HITLER'S ATLANTIC WALL. Call 772 287-5603 (EST) or e-mail: Arcome@aol.com fo r signed copies.
IT DIDN'T HAPPEN ON MY WATCH and SCUTTLEBUTT by George E. Murphy. Memoirs of forty-three years with United States Lines aboard cargo and passenger ships. Anecdotes of captains, chief engineers, crew members and the company office. Website: www.gemurphy.com; e-mail: gemurphy@verizon.net. A CARELESS WORD-A NEEDLESS SINKING by Capt. Arthur R. Moore. Documented account of carastrophic losses suffered by American Merchant Marine and Armed G uard during WWII. 720 pp, lists crew members & ships, profusely illustrated. Eighth printing sponsored by American Merchant Marine Veterans. E-mail: gemurphy@verizon.net. You can buy NMHS books and other maritime classics at the NMHS Ship's Store. Visit www.seahistory.org or call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647).
Advertise in Sea History! Call 914 737-7878, ext. 235, or e-mail: advertising@seahistory.org.
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Summer Sessions, Ph. 607 255-6260; www.sce.co rn el l. ed u/ cau/ on_ cam p us/ co urses. php?v= 15 966) ... The Naval History and Heritage Command is offering four competitive opportunities for funding of research and writing on US naval history for the academic year 2012-2013. The application deadline is 30 March 2012. All awards are based on merir, regardless of race, color, creed, or sex. Recipients must be US citizens. The grants are: the Rear Admiral John D . Hayes Pre-doctoral Fellowship in US Naval History, $1 0,000 stipend; the Vice Admiral Edwin B. Hooper Research Grant, $2,500 award; the Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller Graduate Research Grant, $2,500 grant; the Samuel Elior Morison Scholarship, which provides a $5,000 cash award to one active-duty commissioned officer of the US Navy or US Marine Corps with demonstrated leadership potential and high academic qualifications who is already pursuing graduare study in history, internarional relations, or a related field. (Details and application procedures and forms are online at the Naval History and Heritage Command's website, www.history. navy. mil/prizes/prizes.hem, or by contacring rhe Senior Historian, Naval History and Heritage Command, 805 Kidder Breese St., SE, Washington, DC 203 74. Preference will be given to proposals chat have high promise of filling gaps in the lirerarure of US naval history char rhe Naval History and Herirage Command has idenrified as of higher interest.) ... The proceedings of the inaugural Asia-Pacific Underwater Cultural Heritage Conference have been posted online at the Museum of Underwater Archaeology's website, www.mua.org. Lase November, underwarer culrural herirage professionals rhroughour rhe Indian and Pacific Oceans garhered in Manila, Philippines, for rhe event. More than 80 papers, 3 keynote addresses, plus posters and videos we re presented during the numerous session;, and the proceedings from this everr represent perhaps the single besr collection of work done in this region. (www.tl:emua.org) ... The latest edition of US Chart No. I: Nautical
Chart Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms-the essential aid for navigators-is now available for free down-
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
load on NOAA's Office of Coast Survey website at www.nauticalcharts.noaa. gov. The new ed i[io n upda[es [he descripdo ns and depicd ons of [he basic naurical chart elements and symbols used o n naurical chans produced by [he Na[io nal O ceanic and A[mosph eric Admi nisrrad on and [he Na[ional Geos padal-In[elligence Agency (NGA). The d ocument also shows [he "INT I " symbols described in [he Chan Specificadons of [h e IHO published by [he Il1[ern a[io nal H yd rographic O rganizadon (IH O). h supersedes [he November 1997 edi [ion of US Chart No. 1. NOAA's Office of Coas[ Survey has prov ided rwo ce nwries of service w [he mari[ime [ranspo n ado n sys[em, as America's [fUS[ed so u rce of naviga[ional charts, darn, and services since 1807 .. .. The schooner Spirit of South Carolina has been put up for sale by its owners, the South Carolina Maritime Foundation (SCMF). The no n -profit organizado n has subsrnntial deb [s, which
include more than $2 millio n in ban k loans. Like m any no n-profits in this challenging econo my, the SCMF has not been able w bring in enough mo ney w operate the 140-foo t schoo ner, while trying to pay off the m oney it borrowed w build her. The Spirit of South Carolina cost approxim ately $4.5 million w build. The wooden vessel is m odeled on [he Frances Elizabeth, a l 9[h-cenmry, Charlesw n-built schoo ner. Since it started operating in 2007, the ship has had mo re than 9,500 smdents participate in its educa[ional program s. The "for sale" sign wem O U [ just as a local bank and the organ ization's fo rmer landlord filed laws ui ts that claim that th e SCMF fa iled w repay $2.25 million in loans that were issued by Carolina First Bank in 2009. In addition w the fo undation being named a defendant in the law-
Commodore John Barry's Wayside Dedication The Naval Order of the U nited Srntes has [earned wid1 [he Na[io nal Park Service w create a ways ide m arker w be pl aced alongside [he srnwe of Commodore Jo hn Barry, US Navy, in Franklin Park at 14th Street, N W, in Washingw n, DC. Al tho ugh the statue has been standing since its dedi catio n by Presidem Wood row W ilson in 1914, there has never been an in te rpreti ve marker w explain w the public who Comm od ore John Barry was and why he is important w d ay. The stam e was created by sculp w r John J . Boyle on a co mmiss ion from the An cient Order of Hibernians and o ther patrio tic American gro ups of Irish desce n t. The ways id e marke r will be dedica[ed in Franklin Park on 5 May 20 12 with a fo rmal public cerem o ny. John Barry (1 745- 18 0 3) was bo rn in Co unty W exford , Ireland, wem w sea when still a lad, and had arrived in Philadelphia by 1760. W hen [he Revoludonary War began , he was given comm and of [he Cominental N avy brig Lexington. H e commanded several o ther C ontinental Navy ships, including the fri gate Alliance, and wo n decisive vicwries over British warships and privateers. In 1794, he received an appo intment as [he senior caprnin of [he new U ni[ed States Navy. Barry supervised consrruc[io n of [he fri ga[e United States. During the Q uasi-War wi[h France (1 798 -1 800), Commodo re Barry comm anded a squadron protecting America's Wes t Indies trade. Celebrated wday as a founder of the US Navy, he was a gallant warri o r, a guiding fo rce in ship building and suppl y, and a men w r w the nex[ generatio n of US naval offi cers who wo uld go on w figh [ in the Barbary Wars and [he War of 18 12. -William S. Dudley, Sea Hiswry Editorial Advisory Board Member
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
suit, three of its board members who pledged w guarantee the loan are also named. According w the bank's a[Wrney, the lender is only interested in having the debt paid off and not in foreclosing on th e ship itself. O ne board member who co-signed the loan has filed a countersuit with a demand that the ship be put up for sale o r have its ti de tran sferre d w the ban k. The vessel is listed for sale thro ugh yacht brokers Cannell, Payne & Page fo r $2,900 ,000 at www.cppyachr. com. (scmaridme.org) ... National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is accepting nominations for the 2012 Jefferson Lecturer, the highest honor the federal government bestows for achievement in the humanities. NEH es tablish ed the lecmre in 1972 w ho nor the intellectual and civic virtues exemplifi ed by Thomas Jefferso n. 1he lectureship recognizes distinguished contributio ns w the humanities and provides an occas io n for the lecturer ro co mmunicate the knowledge and wisdom of the humanities befo re a broad general audience. The lecturer is expected w give an original and substantive address that is of interest to both scholars and the lay public. The awa rd carries a $ 10,000 ho nora rium, an am ount that is set by stature in N EH 's auth ori zing legislatio n. N ominees fo r the lectureship sho uld be persons who have made significan[ scholarly comriburions w [he hum anides and who have the abilicy to communica[e [he kn owledge and wisdom of [he humanides in a broadly appealing way. The NEH ch airman selec[s [he lecturer wi[h [he advice of [he Nad onal Coun ci l o n [he Humani[i es, a board of 26 dis[in guished priva[e citizens who are appoimed by [he Presidem of [he U ni[ed Srn[es and co nfirmed by [he Sena[e. A special co mmiuee of the Nadonal Co uncil considers the nominees fo r the awa rd and reco mmends a !is[ of fin alis[s fo r addition al co nsideration. To learn m o re abo ut the criteria and pas t lecturers, visi[ the NEH website a[ h[tp: //www. neh. gov/whoweare/jeffi ect.html. Nominati ons can be submi[ted at www.neh. gov/wh owea re/jeffi ecnominatio n .asp.
47
CALENDAR See our special insert between pages 21 and 22 for upcoming events commemorating the War of 1812 bicentennial. EXHIBITS
FESTIVALS, EVENTS, L ECTURES, ETC.
•The Rockets' Red Glare, The war of 1812 in Connecticut, 6 July tho ugh 201 2
•"The Whaling Expedition of Ulysses 1937-38," lecture by author Peter Capelotti, 1 M arch at the New Bedfo rd Whaling M useum. Part of rhe museum's weekly speaker series. See their website fo r other speakers in 20 12. (18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; Ph . 508 9970046; www.whalingmuseum.o rg) •NMHS Washington Awards Dinner, 12 April at rhe National Press Club in Washington, D C. (See page 10 fo r derails) •Beaufort Music Festival, 11 - 12 May 201 2, on the waterfron t in downtown Beaufo rt, NC. (www. beaufo rrmusicfes rival. com)
at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, CT (www.lymanallyn.org) •Jack London Photographer, over 50 images documenting events in the Pacific, thro ugh 3 December 201 2 at the San Diego Maritime Museum (l492 North H arbor D r., San Diego, CA 92 101 ; www. sdmaritime.org)
•American Society of Marine Artists 15th National Exhibition, 2011-2013, traveling to : Alabama, Texas, Califo rnia, Oregon, and M innesora. Mo bile M useum of Art in AL, 19 January-8 April 201 2 (www. mobilemuseumofart.com ; ASMA, www.americansocietyofmarineartists.com) •Sea Battles of the war of 1812, An Exhibition of 25 O il Paintings by H ans Skalagard, opens in February 201 2 (11 3 H arbor Way, Santa Barbara, CA 93 109; www. sbmm. org) •Treasures from the Collections, opens 3 1 March; and Restoring a Past, Charting a Future, opens 28 April at Mystic Seaport M useum (75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355; www.mys ricseaport. org)
•Push and Pull: Life on Chesapeake Tugboats, 2 1 April thro ugh 201 4 at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (2 13 N. Talbot Street, St. M ichaels, MD 2 1663; Ph. 4 10 745 -29 16; www.cbmm. org)
•Always Good Ships: A Tribute to 125 Years ofNewport News Shipbuilding, at The Mariners' Museum (MM, 100 M useum Dr. , Newport News, VA 23606; Ph. 7 57 596-2222; www.marinersmus eum .org) •FreePort {No. 004}: Peter Hutton, exhibition of his film, At Sea, thro ugh 27 M arch at the Peabody Essex M useum in Salem, MA. (1 6 1 Essex Stree t, Salem, MA 01 970; www.pem. org) •Lighthouses and Legends, pam tmgs from the Burrichrer/Kierlin Marine Arr Collection, 25 March- 19 October 2012 at the M innesota Marine Art M useum (8 00 Riverview D rive, Win ona, MN 55987; Ph. 507 474-6626; www. minne sotamarineart.org)
CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIUMS
• 'The Tides of War: Navies, Privateers, Pirates-Aggression on the High Seas," the 55rh Annual M issouri Valley History Conference, 1-3 March in O maha, NE (www. unomaha.edu/ mvhc/index.php) •New Researchers in Maritime History Conference 2012, 9- 10 March at the Riverside M useum, Glasgow. (www. mari timehistory.org.uk) •The War of 1812 Bicentennial Conference Series: Part I, "Origins and the War at Sea," 27-29 Sep tember 201 2 in St. John, N ew Brunswick. H osted by the Gregg Centre fo r the Study of War and Society, the Canadi an-American Studies Program of the University of M aine, and the N ew Brunswick Museum. CALL FOR PAPERS deadline is 1 April. (Email Dr. Marc Milner at milner@unb.ca fo r more information) •Sea Literature, History, and Culture: National Conference of rhe Popular Culture Association and the American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), 11- 14 April in Boston, MA. (http://pcaaca.org/ conference/narional.php) •"Sea-Changes"-A Maritime Conference in the Humanities, 12-14 April at rhe Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, MA. (http: //naurilus.mari time.edu/) • Herreshoff Classic Yacht Symposium, 2 1 April in Bristol, RI. (Herreshoff M a-
rine Museum, 1 Burnside St., Bristol, RI; 02809; www. herreshoff.org) •North American Society for Oceanic History Annual Conference, 22- 26 April in Galvesto n, TX, held jointly with the Council of American Mari rime Museums . Theme: "The M ultifaceted Maritime Wo rld." (www.nasoh. org) •Mercator Revisited: Cartography in theAge of Discovery, Annual Meeting of rhe American Studies Association, 25-28 April in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (www. mercatorcon ference201 2.be/) •"The History and Future of the Maritime Experience," 40rh Annual M aritime History Symposium, 28 April at the M aine Maritime Museum (243 Washington St., Bath, ME 04530; Ph. 207 44313 16; www.mainemaritimemuseum .org) •National Maritime Historical Society Annual Meeting, 18-19 May in Salem , MA. (See page 8 fo r derails or visit N MHS online at www.seahistory.org) •Community and the Sea in the Age of Sail, 24-25 May at Aalborg University, Denmark. (For derails, email Johan Heinsen at heinsen@cgs.aau.dk or Torben Kjersgaard N ielsen at rkn@cgs.aau.dk.) •Conference on the Watercraft of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 30 M ay-1 June, at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney. (www. anmm.gov.au/sire/page. cfm?u= 1921) •"Bermuda Dockyard and the War of 1812," Confe rence sponsored by the Naval Dockyards Society and the National M useum of Bermuda, 7-12 June (http:// nds201 2bermuda.wo rdpress.com) •Ninth International Conference of the History of Oceanography, 12-16 July 201 2 in Athens, Greece. (For infor mation, see www.seok. gr or contact the local organizer, Dr. Geo rge Vlahakis, at vlahakis@ yahoo.com) •"Maritime History between the Public and Academia: The Challenges Ahead," 46rh annual confe rence sponsored by the Centre for M aritime Historical Studies at Exeter, 1-2 September at the University of Exeter, UK. (For information contact M aria Fusaro: M .Fusaro@exeter. ac.uk)
Great NEW reads from Sea History Press ... The Skipper
& .the Eagle
The Skipper & the Eagle by Captain Gordon McGowan, USCG (Ret.) with an Introduction by Admiral Robert]. Papp, Jr., Commandant, US Coast Guard The year was 1946, the place was bomb-shattered Bremerhaven. Amid the confusion of bombed cities, displaced persons, and food and housing shortages, Commander Gordon McGowan, US Coast Guard, found himself the master of a three-masted barque, a battered prize of war which he had to transform into a well-found Coast Guard training ship able to make a trans-Atlantic voyage under sail. With her carryover crew of German seamen and neophyte Coast Guard personnel, the barque found new life and a great adventure under the calm and gentle leadership of a Coast Guard officer.
In Admiral Papp's words," ... in his simple effort to document a small portion of Eagle's history, [McGowan] related a story of courage, initiative, humility and devotion to duty which stands the test of time, and should serve as both a lesson and example for the young public servants that the Coast Guard Academy strives to develop."
The Skipper & the Eagle is hearty fare and ranks near the top of seagoing literature. There isn't a dull page in it. To order your copy, visit our Ship's Store at www.seahistory.org, or call 914 737-7878, ext. 0.
Hardcover, 255 pages, 36 illustrations• $25.00 + $6.95 s/h in US; call for international rates
Our Flag Was Still There: The Sea History Press Guide to the Warof1812Its History and Bicentennial Commemorations Maritime historian and award-winning author William H. White will guide readers through the highlights of both the land campaigns and the sea battles and answer the questions: "What really happened?" and "Why does it matter?"
Our Flag Uiis Still There will serve as a guidebook to the upcoming bicentennial celebrations across the country beginning in 2012: the OpSail tall ship and naval ship parade up the east coast and in the Great Lakes, exhibits, reenactments, concerts, air shows, fireworks and more. To order your copy, visit the National Maritime Historical Society's Ship's Store atwww.seahistory.org, or call 914 7377878, ext. 0.
Softcover, illustrated • $24.50 + $6.95 s/h in US; call for international rates
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY www.seahistory.org • 914 737-7878 • 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box 68, Peekskill, NY 10566
Reviews The Voyage of the Rose City: An Adventure at Sea by John Moynihan (Spiegel &
mayhem the crew created ashore, includingvisirs to brothels. Yer he was also capable Grau, New York, 2011, 236pp, illus, ISBN of appreciating higher forms of culture, for example visiting Japanese temples. Eliza978-0-8129-8243-5; $22hc) This is an intriguing little book writ- beth Moynihan must be a remarkable ten by John Moynihan, son of the late mother to have resisted sanitizing this Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, and edited manuscript, which she found in her late by John's mother, Elizabeth, after John's son's effects. death in 2004. Its subrirle, "An Adventure Voyage ofthe Rose City is a rho roughly at Sea," gives us a hint that this is a mari- enjoyable look at life in the merchant time coming-of-age tale, bur in this case marine as it was in 1980. No book for prigs, this warts-and-all account will proone unusually frank in its approach. vide the reader with John Moynihan had a bad insights into maritime case of wanderlust. Exposed to THE VOYAGE OF THE ROSE CITY labor unions, relations international travel at an early JOHN MOYNIHAN age, he was finding his college between unlicensed mariners and officers, experience at Wesleyan University "'"'"" alcohol abuse, rhe stifling and yearned to break our and see something of rhe world. complex attitudes of Like many other youths, John male mariners toward and how one women, sought to do so by going to sea. His father, who well recalled his young man struggled to come to terms with own youth on New York's docks, was dubious. His mother, an avid where he firs in society. Parents and young sailor, advocated the idea and the senator pulled some strings to get people considering a his son a position as an ordinary seaman on seafaring life are especially encouraged to board the oil ranker Rose City in 1980. On read this memoir, which may alert them what turned into a round-the-world voy- early on to some of its realities. JOSHUA M. SMITH, PHD age, with stops in Africa, Indonesia, and Kings Point, New York Japan. Moynihan essentially was duplicating the experience of Richard Henry Dana Jr. in his classic Two Years Before the Mast, The 14-Hour Wilr: Valor on Koh Tang with a twentieth-century twist. Like Dana, and the Recapture ofthe SSMayaguez by he experienced the social awkwardness of James E. Wise Jr. and Scott Baron (Naval the privileged youth thrown into the rough Institute Press, Annapolis, 2011, 320pp, company of mariners. Bur also like Dana, illus/photos, maps, appen, notes, index, he overcame this, learned how to get along ISBN 978-1-59114-974-3; $34.95hc) with his crew mares, and learned something No one wants to be killed in war, let alone to be the last one to die in a conflict. of rhe seafaring life. Moynihan's experiences are nor ex- As the United Stares completes its nine-year traordinary, although they are amusing struggle in Iraq and its drawdown from a and he writes well. The book is enlivened decade-long fight in Afghanistan, many with his sketches, which are also amusing. authors have taken this opportunity to foMoynihan was a shrewd judge of charac- cus on how wars end and their final harries. ter, and deftly sketches our his shipmates' On panel 01 (West) of the Vietnam Vetercharacters. These rough union mariners ans Memorial in Washington, DC, are the overcame their initial hostility ro this son names of rhe last forty-one servicemen killed of privilege and came to accept him, and he in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the last three came to respect them. The striking thing is to die-Private First Class Gary C. Hall, nor the novelty of the experience, bur the Lance Corporal Joseph N. Hargrove, and complete honesty with which it is recorded. Private Danny G. Marshall, all members John was very much a product of the late of the United Stares Marine Corps-hold 1970s, and clearly enjoyed the drunken a special place as they were left behind on revels ashore, smoking pot, and the general a small island off the coast of Cambodia
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
following a hurried plan to save a captured merchant ship during the last engagement of the Vietnam War. This operation is the subject of James E. Wise Jr. and Scott Baron's The 14-Hour
Ular: Valor on Koh Tang and the Recapture of the SS Mayaguez. The book derails the efforts by the military to recapture the SeaLand conrainership, seized by the Khmer Rouge on May 12, 1975, less than two weeks after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese. The barrle is small in comparison to many fought during the Vietnam War. Ir deserves attention, however, because of the efforts by President Gerald Ford to demonstrate the resolve of the United States and the capabilities of the military to forestall further attacks on American ships, planes, and personnel. The 14-Hour Ular joins a wide array of books on this topic, including Ray Rowan's Four Days ofMayaguez ( 1975) that examines the plight of the merchant marine crew; John Guilmartin's A Very Short Ular (1995), long identified as the standard work on the subject; Ralph
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51
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by Kurt D. Voss All proceeds from this pictorial history benefit the ELISSA preservation fund
Publi shed by Arcadia Publi shing and Galveston Historical Foundation $21.99. 128 pages, 200 p hotographs Autographed copies avai lable at (409) 763-1877, or onli ne at:
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Wood; Wina ana Water A
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52
Werrerhahn's The Last Battle (2001) which aims to place the clash into the context of the overall war; and then a new litany of monographs that each aim to explore different aspects of the event: Gerald Reminick's An Act of Piracy (2009), Clayton Chun, The Last Boarding Party (2011), and Robert Mahoney's The Mayagu.ez Incident (2011). W here Wise and Baron's work firs into the historiography is their focus on the primary accounts of the participants. The first half of the book examines the recapture of Mayaguez by a Marine Corps boarding parry from USS Holt and the dead ly arrack on Koh Tang by marines in Air Force helicopters that led to the bulk of the forry-one deaths during the battle. The 14-Hour ~r is well written, bur succinct in its derails, as the firefight is covered in only the first half of the book. The remainder of the text contains recollections of rhe veterans, from aviators providing air support or flying in the landing force, to sailors manning the ships and small craft, and the marines involved in th e assault. This material will make The 14-Hour ~ra necessary resource for information. While one can debate whether or nor the data could have been better integrated into the narrative and some aspects of the operation are abbreviated, such as rhe capture of rhe freighter and rhe plight of rhe crew, the primary accounts, maps, and appendix make the book a useful addition to the literature on this closing act of the Vietnam War. No work is definitive, and as efforts are still underway to locate the remains of Hall, Hargrove, and Marshall, the authors focus their attention on the courage and bravery of those Americans who fo ught and died that day. SALVATORE R. MERCOGLIANO, PttD Buies Creek, North Carolina
Utmost Gallantry: The US and Royal Navies at Sea in the Wtzr of 1812 by Kevin D. McCranie (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2011, 365pp, illus, rabies, maps, diagrams, gloss, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-1-59114-514-2; $39.95hc) The War of 1812 began as the consequence of misunderstanding coupled with political arrogance and ended indifferently. A fledgling American navy chose to challenge the most powerful navy in the world, Grear Britain. Their mission was to disrupt
British naval operations and deleteriously affect His Majesry's commerce. McCranie describes the war's sea battles from both the American and British viewpoints using many primary source materials from the American and British archives and selective secondary works. He explains the confusing armament raring systems of both sides and the use of various rypes of ships that performed a variery of missions, and he gives in-depth descriptions of the
Utmost Gallantry THE U.S. AND ROYAL NAVIES AT SEA IN THE WAR OF 1812 !\,\Ill
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strategic and tactical background of shipon-ship encounters. The reader perceives a unique view of naval warfare during the latter years of the age of sail. Americans engaged British ships individually or in small squadrons to avoid the loss of their navy in one battle. By contrast, the Royal Navy employed many ships of the line supplemented by smaller warships to fight the enemy or blockade their seaports, bur North America was far from the British bases, creating a logistic and communications nightmare. The rypes ofvessels in their fleer were nor ideal for fighting the upstart Americans and they had a chronic shortage of men to sail them. A few well-designed and well-manned American vessels forced rhe British to expend a disproportionate amount of resources (ships, men, guns, and treasure). Also, the British deployed their warships ineffectively, failing to properly rake geography, prevailing winds, and currents into account. These problems help explain the surprising losses suffered by the Royal Navy during the first year, a source of e1mbarrassment to the British bur sensarionaliized in the Uni red Stares; victories that kept JAmerican patriotism alive well SEAlHISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
beyond their real importance. McCranie's thought-provoking, wellwritten book puts the primary naval events of this war in a fresh perspective. It focuses on deep-water events; thus there are only passing mentions of the Great Lakes and Champlain battles, the naval raids on Long Island Sound towns and other East-Coast population centers, and the American Chesapeake naval flotilla. Utmost Gallantry is an outstanding scholarly work, a book that is easy to recommend for anyone's maritime library. Lours ARTHUR NORTON West Simsbury, Connecticut
Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids and Frank: Coming of Age on the Open Ocean by Skip DeBrusk (The Reginald van Fenwick Press, Stoughton, MA, 2007, 191pp, ISBN 978-0-972-81694-6; $19 .95pb) We've all heard a similar story: a young boy goes to sea for some amount of time-it could be two years, as in the case of Richard Henry Dana Jr., or it could be a summer-and returns a man. Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids and Frank is the story of Captain Skip DeBrusk's own "Coming of Age on the Open Ocean." Although it runs the risk of clich e, DeBrusk's narrative is set apart by his playful and at times even cheeky anecdotes. DeBrusk's story, and indeed his own coming-of-age experience, is tied inextricably with Frank Savery, the tough but caring captain of the j.L. Stanley and Sons, and eventually Skip's mentor. Through his advice to young Skip, Frank becomes a sort of role model for us as well, teaching us about fishing, philosophy, bars, and the importance of reading poetry aloud. DeBrusk shows the realiry of fishing, n ot shying away from the fish guts, the gore, and the vomi t. The crew, too, are all authemic people-characters, really, in their vividness-and are always ready with dirty jokes or inspirational advice. Adding to the authenticiry of the Stanley's crew is the included CD, featuring DeBrusk and Eddie, one of his shipmates, talking abo ut life on the Stanley. In keeping with the genre of comingof-age stories, DeBrusk puts great value on the kind of "experiential" education he received on the boat. Although Frank and the other crew members stress the importance of staying in school-as Frank tells
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
him early on, "'Education is important. You'll come to find that out. . .staying in school until you graduate is the best thing you can do foryourself."'-DeBruskseems more enthralled with the knowledge he can get at sea, in the "real world," as he calls it. Indeed, DeBrusk, looking back on his yo uth, constantly wonders at how much he learned aboard the Stanley. DeBrusk teaches us through Frank's words, showing how he matured and fully implicating us in his growth.
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Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids and Frank is sweet, touching, and full of nostalgia; he is a believable and compelling sto ryteller, the quintessential sailor spinning a yam from his own experiences. Readers of DeBrusk's book will enjoy the opporruniry to meet Frank and the rest of the crew of the Stanley, as well as follow the young Skip as he learns about life-both on the open sea and back in port.
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How to Survive the Titanic or the Sinking ofJ Bruce Ismay by Frances Wilson (Harper, New York, 2011, 328pp, notes, 978-0-06209-454-48; $26.95 hc) J. Bruce Ismay, owner of the White Star Line, was in his cabin when the fateful meeting took place between iceberg and ship. His actions over the next few hours may have determined the fate of the "unsinkable" Titanic and the over 2,200 people aboard for her maiden voyage, but we will never know for sure. W hat we do know is that Ismay survived the tragedy, possibly at the expense of another life or two. Author Frances W ilson approaches the story not through the details of the moment, as did Walter Lord in his classic A Night to Remember, but taking a long biographical view, focusing on the inquiries held in both the United States and England. The inquiries, specifically the one led by Senator W illiam Alden "Watertight" Smith, begthe answer to the question of Ismay's survival rather than the disaster itself. How, when 1,517 people were left to die on the sinking Titanic, including the captain and several women and children, did the owner manage to survive? Wilson reaches deeper, though, and finds parallels in maritime fiction. Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim, a character who came ISBN
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53
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Open Mon .-Sun . 1-Spm July & Aug 10-Spm West 1st Street Pier, Oswego , NY www.hleewhitemarinemuseum .com 315-342-0480
WHITE SAILS BECAME ME : MEMOIRS OF A SEAFARING HERITAGE by licensed Captain Nick Starace A modern-day renaissance rnan takes you on a journey living more adventure than most people dare dream. Here is a gripping adventure of a life spent around ships, boats, and the sea. While the central theme is nautical, it truly has something for everyone. It has strong themes of travel , terrorism, family and military sagas, survival, cultural treasures, safari exploits , and tragedy.
www.whitesailsbecameme.com Amazon available or fo r autograp hed copy: Nickstar2nd@aol.com
A Hard Fought Ship The story of HMS Venomous by R.J. Moore and J.A. Rodgaard 384 pp, 170 photographs, 12 maps and plans â&#x20AC;˘ Paperback, $25 + $5 postage in US "This book is highly recommended to both naval historians and the general public."
-Harold N. Boyer, Maririer'.s Mirror "I would rate this as being up in the same class as 77w Cruel Sea for a picture of s mall sh ip li fe in World War 2." -Alastair Wilson, Commande r RN (Ret.), Naval Review "For a true seaman it is depressing to see a good ship like the Venomous bound for the breakers. Occasionally, one is saved and becomes a showpi ece. Pity there isn't mo re of them. A good read; highly recommended:' -Nautical Magazine " ... a fascinating and most comprehensive insight into life in a very different world than today, beautifully crafted by the authors and a book well deserving of a place in your library ..." -David Clements, Soundings
To order, e-mail: joh n_rodgaard@yahoo.com 54
to publication only a dozen years before rhe tragedy, follows rhe same path, leaping into a lifeboat when others were left behind to die. She compares their lives in rhe aftermaths, rhe way society treats rhem, the way they live our their days. Conflicting testimonies reduce rhe last few moments on Titanic to unintelligible chaos. Did Ismay help others into rhe boars? Was he thrown aboard a lifeboat by a subordinate who wan red to save his life? Did he know icebergs were near? Was he, as owner, influencing the ship's speed in rhe days prior to the collision? With rhe centennial of rhe Titanic disaster fast approaching, Wilson has given us a brand new lens through which to examine chis well-known tragedy. J OHN J . GALLUZZO
Weymouth, Massachusetts
Palm Oil and Small Chop by John Goble (Whittles Publishing, Dunbearh, Cairhness, Scotland, UK, 2011, 193pp, photos, ISBN 978-1-84995-011-4; ÂŁ16.99pb) In Palm Oil and Small Chop, author John Goble weaves over two decades of personal experience working aboard British merchant ships from rhe 1960s through rhe mid-l 980s with historical accounts of maritime trade with West Africa. Through his articulate composition and intimate collection of photographs, Goble invites readers into a world of hard work, hierarchy, and distinct experiences. Gable's account is exceptional, combining rhe diverse photographic qualities of David Hucknall's Merchant Shipping: 50 Years in Photographs with Richard Woodman's comprehensive collection A History of the British Merchant Navy in one of the rare depictions of West African trade that is both narrative and visual. Having served as a mare, chief officer, and master in trading vessels from Liverpool to West Africa, he discusses rhe trials and triumphs of trading with rhe colonies of Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. Such trade, he notes, "was never a popular choice of seafarers, as it had none of the [earlier] romantic or exotic connotations of the routes to Australasia or rhe Far East." Like a green hand newly inducted into the structured society of rhe maritime community, the reader receives a lengthy
and derailed description of every derail involved in preparing for the trip to the Western Coast of Africa. From the final trip down to the dock before departure to rhe stocking of the galley, rhe reader is involved in every step of preparation. His gritty descriptions of rhe labors involved in handling cargo, interacting with different ports, and rhe quiet moments in between are honest and humble, romanticizing little. Highlighting banter from rhe crew in each of their respective dialects, Goble draws the reader beyond rhe simple acts of physical labor and further into the realities ofsailing aboard a trade ship. Nearly each chapter commences with a description of rhe country Goble and his shipmates are preparing to reach; these historical and cultural accounts enhance the flavor of the upcoming selection and provide rhe reader with context. Within his writing, Goble employs rhe rich culture of sailing rhe high seas in every aspect of his narrative, from rhe cleverly titled chapters (an early installment is titled "The Leaving of Liverpool") to a comically veiled reference to John Masefield's "Sea Fever." In addition ro these hidden gems, a selection of Gable's personal photographs related to West African trade supplements the rich writing of Palm Oil. Highlighting contrasting challenges such as faulty winch-drivers with more leisurely activities like the ship's soccer marches balance and enhance rhe heftiness of Gable's already rich narration. "Those of us who visited West Africa by sea," writes Goble, "have many good memories of our rime spent there and many of us have been fortunate to follow rhar by enjoying very different lives." This phrase encompasses rhe experiences of mid-20'h century maritime trade in Gable's exquisite memoir, encapsulating his collective experience at sea and inviting readers to embark on one of their own. STEPHANIE
c. TROTT
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
The Authority to Sail: The History of US Maritime Licenses and Seamen's Pap ers by Commodore Robert S. Bares (BarekMarine Pub!., Elkton, FL, 2011, l 84pp, illus, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-615-19097-6; $68hc) Anyone who has ever sat for his or her licensing exams, whether for a "6-Pack" on one
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
end or for a big tonnage master's license-all oceans-on the other, understands this as both a practical and a symbolic rite of passage. Some people, many years later, can recall exactly which navigation problem they had or which Deck General question gave them the most trouble. And, having received the beautifully engraved document (or the current passport-style version), many people make an effort to keep their licenses current, long after they have left the sea. After a half century of going to sea as a professional mariner and thirty years of research, Commodore Robert Stanley Bares, a veteran of both the Coast Guard and the merchant marine, has published a beautifully presented coffee table-style book on the history of US maritime licenses and seaman's papers. His quest began with a curiosity about his own licenses and mariner's documents from over the years. Not only was he interested in learning about the history of how the government regulates and issues mariners' credentials, but he was also interested in the look of the documents themselves. From the first licenses issued in this country as a result of the Steamboat Act of 1852, mariners' licenses have been decorated with various engravings of ships and nautical emblems. With the book's large format (12" by 14"), the glossy pages leave plenty of room to print images of license after license at full size, so the reader can compare how the look and format has changed over the years. In the telling of what he's learned after years of research and personal experience, in lhe Authority to Sail, Bares weaves into his tale the evolution of marine technology, types of shipping, and individuals and events in history that have shaped the policies that affect professional mariners. There's a lot to learn here, a lot to enjoy, a lot to view. This is not a critical analysis of the history of all that goes into making policy with regards to licensing mariners, and there are gaps (that the author acknowledges and points out along the way), but for anyone who has ever held a professional mariner's license or for those who might have in their possession their parents' or grandparents' mariners' papers, this book serves as a great reference tool as well. DEIRDRE O'REGAN Cape Cod, Massachuserrs
SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 2012
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SEA HISTORY 138, SPRING 20 12
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' Fares arein USD, per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Government fees &taxes, airfare, air taxes and transfers are additional. Stated shipboard credit is per stateroom, double occupancy, for limited time only and may be withdrawn without notice. Cunard linereserves the right to impose afuel supplement of up to $9 per person per day on all passengers if the NYMEX oil price exceeds $70 per barrel, even if the fare has already been paid in full. Other restrictions may apply. Ship's Registry:. Great Britain. ~isa ~rot hers strongly recommends the purchase of travel insurance. We reserve the right to correct errors or omissions. Offers are capacity controlled and may not be combinable with other offers or discounts. For complete