Sea History 142 - Spring 2013 by National Maritime Historical Society & Sea History Magazine

No. 142

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SPRING 2013

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

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SEA HISTORY

No. 142

SPRING 201 3

CONTENTS 10 Kaiu/,ani, the Ship That Started It All, by Shelley Reid It was a journey to South Africa in World war II that brought the 1899 barque Kai ulani the distinction of being the last American-built square-rigger to carry cargo around Cape H orn. Twenty years later, she would inspire the formation ofthe National Maritime Historical Society in an effort to return her to the United States as an ambassador ofthe Age ofSail. 16 Lieutenant Eliot Winslow, Kapitiinleutnant Johann-Heinrich Fehler and the Surrender of the Nazis' Top-Secret Submarine, U-234, by William H. Thiesen, PhD When Germany fell to the Alliedforces in the spring of 1945, the German submarine U-234 was at sea, halfway across the Atlantic. U-234's captain, Johann-Heinrich Pehler, hastily disposed ofhis vessel's top-secret devices and documents and then made contact with the US Navy's "surrender unit," under the command ofLt. Eliot Winslow in the 165-foot Coast Guard cutter Argo. 24 The Case for the Privateer Rapid , by Jack Irion, PhD In 2002, a survey ofa proposed oil and gas pipeline route in the GulfofMexico revealed the remains ofa shipwreck in 4, 000 feet of water. Over the next few years, archaeologists recovered thousands ofartifacts from the site. After analyzing the shipwreck site, its material culture, and the history ofthe region, maritime archaeologist jack Irion is confident he has identified the ship that slipped beneath the waves 200 years ago. 30 The Essential Sailor on Ice- Tom Crean, by David Hirzel Tom Crean was an indispensable member of both Robert Scott's and Ernest Shackleton's expeditions to the Antarctic in the early 20th century. Twice, he proved a critical force in the rescue ofhis teammates when the expeditions ran into disaster. 34 Hoisting the Sails As They Did a Century Ago-the Schooner Adventuress Turns 100, by Elizabeth Becker 36 Before " Old Ironsides" - the Origins of USS Constitution and Her First Captain, Samuel Nicholson, by]. Phillip London USS Constitution achieved her greatest glory during the war of 1812, earning her famous moniker during the battle against HMS G uerriere. By the time war was declared in June of 1812, Constitution was already a well-seasoned and undefeated veteran ofthe Barbary wars and the Quasi- war with France, and her first captain, the man who also oversaw her original construction in Boston, had passed away. As we celebrate Constitution 's glorious past, it's worth remembering her foll history and the time before she became "Old Ironsides. " Cover: Barq u e Kaiulani, painting by Mark Myers (see pages 10-14 for Kaiulani' s story).

DEPARTMENTS 4 5 8 40 44

DECK

LOG

LETTERS NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION SEA HISTORY FOR Kms MARINE ART NEWS

48 49 57 58 64

MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS CALENDAR REVIEWS PATRONS

Sea History and the National Maritime Historical Society Sea History e-mail: edirorial@seahistory.org; NMHS e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org; Web site: www.seahisrory.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; Conrribucor $75; Family $50; Regular $35.

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SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Sociery, 5 John Walsh Blvd., POB 68, Peekskill NY l 0566. Periodicals postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add'I mailing offices. COPYRIGHTÂŠ 2013 by the National Mari rime 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 We sail in the wake ofmen before our time ...

hi s is an exciting time for the National Maritime Historical Society, as we plan our future in the digital age and as we reflect on who we were 50 years ago, what we have accomplished, and what our goals are for the next 50. As we celebrate our half-century, we are also reviewing the forty-one years of publication of our flagship journal, Sea History, to revisit some of the early stories we've covered. We can learn from our own history as a Society by studying the issues that motivated the Society's founders to organize, and what challenges they tackled along the way. In this 142"d issue of Sea History, we are featuring the story of our flagship, the barque Kaiulani. The last American-built square rigger to sail around Cape Horn, Kaiulani was the ship the National Maritime Historical Society was founded to save, and she is the ship represented in our logo. Her history and the story of the effort to save her still have relevance today, as we continue to keep the stories of our maritime heritage alive and the fates of so many other historic ships hang in the balance. In the summer of 1978, our then-president Peter " Stanford wrote, "We sail in the wake of men before ourtime, " Âˇ~. a. nnd it is a proud and challenging heritage they've left ~~"" us. It is with that whole heritage that the National , Âˇ. ?'_.. ~ Society is concerned: the watch turning out on "' a black night on icy seas to work th e ship, the hard-learned skills of mastering a wi ld element to make a voyage,. .. and all the learning we have from man's experience at sea . . .. Will you join us for our voyage into history?" Today, the message is the same. We are still making that voyage into history, only, through the years, tens of thousands of you have joined us in the mission. At the end of the day, it is not the ships we have helped save, the maritime organizations we have founded , nor the events we have organized or the young people we have gotten out to sea that matters most, bur how you-o ur membershave joined us in the cause. As members of NMHS and readers of Sea History, you have sought to further your own knowledge of our maritime history, shared your knowledge and experiences, and, through our collective passion, strengthened the voice of the maritime heritage community to ensure that this important part of our history is not lost to this and future generations. The stories we tell are as varied as our heritage. Some are one-offs, and others have turned our to have recurring themes. In 1978, we featured an article on Captain Cook written by marin e artist Oswald Brett, and in 2012 we featured a cover story on O s Brett's life and art. In Sea History 18, William Burgess penn ed th e article, "Sea Letter: Aboard the US Coast Guard Bark Eagle at Sea, Jun e 1980," where he commented: "Think, these pictures are not 100 years old, but 100 days old, and from the decks of an American ship." In 2011, our editor, D eirdre O'Regan, wrote a cover feature, "Crossing the Pond in Eagle." If you look at her photos, I wonder if you could tell from which voyage they were taken, thirty years apart-or if they were indeed from 100 years ago. We are excited to select some early Sea History articles to revis it and to report on the current state of ships and organizations we have featured in years past. In this process, we will also bring you a report of where we, as an organization, are today and who we plan to be when we are a century strong. Now that we are in the digital age, we will also be putting some of these early issues of Sea History online at www.seahistory.org, so you can enjoy them completely as we are doing. Learning the stories of the men and women before our time helps us prepare for our sail into the future. - Burchenal Green, President 4

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PUBLISH ER'S C IRC LE: Peter Aron, G uy E.

C. Maitland OFFICERS &TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ro nald

L. Oswald; Vice Chairman, Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, D eirdre O'Regan, Nancy Schnaars; Treasurer, Howa rd Slotnick; Secretary, Jean Wort; Trustees: C harl es B. Anderson; Walter R. Brow n; RADM Joseph F. Callo, USNR (Ret.); Jam es Carter; Tho mas Daly; William S. Dudley; David S. Fowler; William Jackso n G reen; Karen Helm erso n; Roberr Kamm; Ri chard M. Larrabee; Guy E. C. Maidand; Capt. Brian McAllister; CAPT Sally C hin McElwreath, USN R (Ret.); James ]. McNamara; Mi chael W. Morrow; Timothy J. Runyan; Richard Scaran o; Philip J. Shapiro; Bradford D. Smith; Cesare So ria; Philip ]. Webster; Daniel W. Whalen; Trustee Elect: Richard Patrick O'Leary; Chairmen Emeriti: Wal ter R. Brown, Alan G. C hoate, G uy E. C. Maitland, Howard Slotnick; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUNDER: Ka rl Kortum (19 17-1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown , USMS (Ret.) ; C live C ussler; Ri chard du Moul in ; Alan D. Hutchi so n; Jakob fsbrandtse n; Ga ry Jobso n; Sir Robin KnoxJohnsro n; John Lehman; H. C. Bowen Smith ; John Stoban; W illiam H. White; W illiam Winterer NMH S ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbourne Smith; D . K. Abbass, Geo rge Bass, Oswald Brett, Francis J. Duffy, John Ewald, Timothy Foote, W illiam G ilkerso n, Steven A. Hym an, ]. Russell Jinishi an, G unnar Lundeberg, Co nrad Milste r, Wi lli am G. Mull er, Stuart Parnes, Lori Dilbrd Rech, Na ncy Hu ghes Ri chardso n, Bert Rogers, Joyce Huber Smith SEA HISTORY EDITO RIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chairman, Timothy J. Runyan; Norman]. Brou wer, Robert Browning, William S. Dudley, D ani el Finamore, Kev in Foste r, John Odin Jensen, Joseph F. Meany, Lisa No rlin g, Ca rl a Rahn Phillips, Walter Rybka, Quentin Snediker, W illiam H. W hite NMH S STAFF: Executive D irector, Burchenal G ree n; Membership Director, Nancy Schn aars; Communications Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Accounting, Peter Yozzo; Volunteer Coordinator, Jan e Mauri ce; Executive Administrative Assistant, Kel ley Howard SEA HISTO RY: Editor, D eirdre O 'Rega n; Advertising, Wendy Pagg iotta; Copy Editor, Shell ey Reid; Editor-at-Large, Peter Stanfo rd

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 20 13

LETTERS Old Navy Gospel There being so very much reading material adrift nowadays, I didn't pick up a copy of your delightful Sea History until just recently. I'll be more diligent in the future. There is one thing that I would like to point our. In proper, historic usage, names of ships are always given in just one of rwo ways: either, formally, "USS (or USNS) Neversail" or, informally, simply "Neversail." Furthermore, I and many of my classmates sailed in many-a-ship, bur I have yet to meet one of us who served on a ship. (This being intuitive when discussing duty aboard submarines.) Yes, this may be picky, bur in 1961 when one had Dr. Allen Blow Cook (circa C lass of '20 or thereabouts) as his professor in English, History & Government (fondly known as "EH&G " or, informally, "Bull"), it was considered gospel. And in case you were wondering,-Yes Sir! Traditions and usages do die, bur for us from "the Old Navy" they die hard. In any case, Thanks for a great new read! CoR DAVID TrMM, USNR (RET) Chesapeake, Virginia The US Merch ant Marine in Vietnam I was most interested to read the excellent article in Sea H istory issue 140, "A Forest of Assassins" by Salvatore M ercogliano, covering the role of the US merchant marine during the Vietnam conflict. In June of 1971, I was second mare aboard the C3 freighter SS American Hawk, owned by American Foreign SS Corp. , a wonderful company that treated its personnel more like family than employees. We were anchored off Q ui Nhon, awaiting a berth at the De Long float ing docks. One eventually opened up, and we proceeded to dock astern of a troop transport. The transport had disem barked its troops, and only later did we discover that a Vier Cong swimmer had been spotted in the water. Ready to sail, the troop transport reloaded the troops and left, whereby we shifted into her previous position. Ar 0155 on 15 June, (local Vietnam rime) , I was awakened by an enormous explosion. The American Hawk listed heavily to port and sank to the bottom, fetching up against the floating dock. I secured the gyro compass and proceeded to the SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 20 13

"Ule "U!elcom e Yo u r Letters! P lease send correspondence ro : editorial@seahistory.org o r by USPS to: Editor, Sea History, 7 Timberknoll Road, Pocasset, MA 02559 dock, where I fo und she had serried to the bottom and was flooded up to the main deck. A 25-foor hole had been blasted on the port side of the #3 hatch, causing her to sink almost immediately. Fortunately, there were no casualties. The engineers were able to escape quickly, and the pier prevented the ship from rolling over. The explosives had been placed against rhe piling and were probably meant for the troop transport. We on the crew were eventually repatriated to the United States, and the American Hawk was parched, rowed to Hong Kong, and scrapped-a sad end to a good ship. The American merchant marine rarely gets the national attention it deserves from rimes of conflict and peace. Thank you for a great article. ANGELO GAZZOTTO

Furlong, Pennsylvania Rum-Soaked Gen eral In the article by William White on the final battles of the War of 1812, General Edward Pakenham's demise at the Barde of New Orleans was described in fine derail. As, I understand it, Pakenham's return to England, post mortem, was nor without inciden t. The general's body was stuffed into a barrel, which was then filled with rum-an effective embalm ing agent-and put aboard ship for the trip back to England. The voyage was uneventful, it appears, until the moment when, at dockside

in Portsmo uth, it was revealed to the crew that General Pakenham had been resident in the barrel of rum. A sailor, who must have been sampling from th e barrel during the voyage home, was reported to have fainted dead away d uring the welcoming ceremonies. L ISA

SIMONT

West Cornwall, Connecticut From the editor: This is an amusing story bur probably not entirely accurate. There are a few corpse-in- the-cask legends our there, including, of course, one surrounding Lord Nelson's similar return to England after his death at the Barde of Trafalgar. The expression "rapping rhe admiral" comes from the tale that some of the British sailors rapped into the cask that held Nelson's body. Both corpses were, indeed, sent h ome aboard ship in casks of alcohol, bur whether or nor that brew was consumed by the crew is probably more the stuff of legends than not. Efficient Boatyard Workers The "Sea H istory for Kids" article on sea cows (Sea History 140, Autumn 2012) reminded me of an encounter with the curio us creatures a long rime ago. In 1954, I was a crewmem ber aboard the 97-foor gaff schooner Caribee, sailing our of Miami. Duri ng our summer cruising in tropical waters, we acquired a healthy growth

Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancient mariners of G reece to Portuguese navigators opening up the ocean world to the heroic efforts of sailors in modern-day conflicts. Each issue brings new insights and discoveries. If you love the sea, rivers, lakes, and

bays-if you appreciate the legacy of those who sail in deep wa ter a nd their workaday craft, then you belong with us. Join Today ! Mail in the form below, phone 1 800 221-NMHS (6647), or visit us at: www.seahistory.org (e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org)

Yes, I want ro join the Society and receive Sea History q uarterly. My contribution is enclosed. ($ 17.50 is for Sea History; any amount above rhat is tax deductible.) Sign me up as: 0 $35 Regular Member 0 $5 0 Fami ly Member 0 $ 100 Friend 0 $250 Parron 0 $500 Donor Mr./Ms. - - - - - - - - - - - - --

142

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of seaweed at and below the waterline, which trailed like kelp, slowing us considerably. The captain decided it was time to haul our at Merrill-Stevens Boatyard on the Miami River to have the bottom cleaned. We tied up at the dock and were to be hauled out the next morning. All night long, there was a lot of snurfing and whooshing along the length of the boat, as the sea cows feasted on the ample growth along the outboard side. When the morning came and the schooner was hauled our, we were surprised to see that that side of the boat was totally clean, from stem to stern, without a trace of seaweed. The captain grumbled that, had he known that this was going on, he would have turned the boat around, paid for an extra day's dockage, and got the bottom cleaned for the price of two days at the dock. lNDREK LEPSON

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Bounty's Evolving Role HMS Bounty was built for a Hollywood production, and it was planned for her to be burned in the movie. She was saved only because Marlon Brando refused to star in the movie if she was to be burned. The replica ship was built larger than the original and had other adjustments, so that the actors would have headroom and the camera crews would have room to work. Although Bounty was undoubtedly sturdily built, little attention was given to ensure her survivabili ty at sea, as it was never the intention of her designers or builders for the ship to be used in a seagoing capac-

iry. I attended a parry aboard Bounty in the summer of2008 at Port Angeles, Washington, when Captain Walbridge invited the participants of other vessels in the Pacific Coast Tall Ships C hallengeÂŽseries to come aboard. Having come from Lady Washington, which has watertight compartments throughout the below-deck spaces, I was astounded to find the spacious interior of the Bounty with a great, oversized open compartment running much of the length of the ship. All this space was great for the sake of our parry, bur I questioned the wisdom of this design. DAVE LASTER

Bellingham, Washington

From the editor: The decisions that go into the design-or redesign-of tall ships, whether they be historic vessels or replica ships, are based on, among other factors, a vessel's intended use, its size and tonnage, configuration, rig, and the type of certification it seeks from the Coast Guard. Lady Washington is certified as a Passenger Vessel (Subchapter T). Many sail training ships are certified as Sailing School Vessels, which requires, among many other safety features , watertight bulkheads. Bounty was an uninspected passenger vessel and was not required to have watertight bulkheads down below. Ir can get confusing, and there are many variables to consider. Tall Ships America provides a concise explanation of all the different types of USCG certifications under which a vessel might operate online at www.sailtraining.org/ about/ sail training/wo rld/ regulations. php.

Erratum: In the last issue of Sea History (142, "Winter 2012-13)," artist Ian Marshall contributed his fantastic paintings depicting the German cruiser Konigsberg in East Africa in 1914. The caption for the image on page 27, Konigsberg in the Rufiji River, should have read that it was, instead, departing the Pangani River mouth. This led to some confusion with readers, and we regret the error.

Konigsberg Departing the Pangani River Mouth by Ian Marshall SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

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Join Us for our Annual Meeting and 50th Anniversary Celebration! The National Maritim e H istorical Society was founded in Washington, D C, fifty years ago, but its early home was in N ew York City, at South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Firehouse. For our gala 50'h anniversary celebration, there is no better place to meet than back in New York, which also gives us a chance to visit some of the city's many maritime heritage sites. We have an active three-day celebration planned, and we hope yo u will join us. Good friends of the Society have graciously offered to donate to our celebration on yo ur behalf to keep costs at a minimum. We ask you to let us know if you are thinking of attending, even if you can't commit immediately, so we can keep you updated as new opportunities or changes develop. Please check out www.seahistory.org for more information. Friday, May 17th: lOAM we will meer ar rhe Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum ar Pier 86 on the Hudson River at 12'h Ave nue & 46'" Street for guided tours ($22 charge per person). At noon, we'll walk to the next pier over to catch the New York Waterway Ferryboat, which will take us to visit the city's numerous historic ships by water. We'll srop at Pier 66 Maritime bar and grill (a.k.a. Krevey's), where we will have lunch on the barge and visit the fireboat john]. Harvey with a personal rour by director Huntley G ill , followed by a tour of the Frying Pan lightship. Back on board rhe ferry, we'll travel to Pier 25 to visit wi th tugboat captain and owner Pam Hepburn aboard the 1907 tug Pegasus, which was active in boch wo rld wars and represents the tugs that wem from sream to diesel propulsion and from rivered to welded construction. America's on ly sream -powered lighth ouse tender, the 1933 USCGC Lilac, will be open for NMHS members and we' ll get a first-hand look on deck and below guided by Gerry Weinstein, museum founder, and Mary H abstritt, museum director and president. Our ferry rour will take us pasr North Cove Marina, where we will view the sailing yacht Vti?ntura and schooner Shearwater, around ro Brooklyn, where we will view the Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge No. 79 with commentary by David Sharps and the tanker Mary A. Whalen with com mentary by Carolina Salguero. We'll disembark at Pier 11 ar Wall Street at 4PM. Those who want ro continue on the ferryboat will go to Chelsea Piers to catch an evening sail aboard the motor yacht Manhattan or the sailing ships A New York Waterway ferryboat will take us from one mariAmerica 2.0 or Adirondack. (The cost per person for lunch, tours, and time site to another, giving us a mariner's view ofthe New York the NY Waterway Ferry boat is just $75.) City waterfront and shipping lanes. (left-right) USS Intrepid, 1931 fireboat, John]. Harvey, 19 07 tug Pegasus, and the ships of South Street, including the square-rigged ship Wavertree in the foreground and Peking, whose rig is visible off Wavertree's starboard bow. ~ ~

"8 i___.:;;.o;m~ An aircraft carrier, a fireboat, square-rigged sailing ships, a tugboat, a tanker, a lighthouse tender-we'll be visiting them all, plus a tour of the New York City waterfront by boat and personalized tours by the heads of maritime museums and historic sites. join us for this once-in-a-half-century opportunity to experience maritime New York in the company offellow maritime heritage professionals and enthusiasts.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRfNG 20 13

50T1l!

Saturday, May 18th: Continental breakfasc and regiscracion are ac 8:30AM ac Bridgewaters Restaurant across che cobblestones from che entrance to South Street Seaport Museum. The NMHS Annual Business Meeting scares ac 9:30AM-sharp. Sea History Press will be introducing ics new publicacion, A Dream of Tall Ships, abouc che founding of Souch Screec Seaport, by Pecer and Norma Scanford, who will give a short presentation and sign copies. New York State Historian Emeritus Dr. Joseph F. Meany, Jr. will discuss che port of New York during World War II. Afcer a sumpcuous luncheon ac Bridgewacers, we will tour che ships ac South Street Seaport Museum; che Museum of American Finance, where founder John Herzog wi ll speak wich us; che Custom House, now che National Museum of the American Indian; and Federal Hall. ($86 per person includes continental breakfasc, luncheon, and tours). Ac 5PM we'll board a New York Waterway Ferryboat for a crip to SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, where we will cour che Maritime Industry Museum and enjoy a recepcion and dinner. ($65 per person covers che cosc of che tour, recepcion, buffer dinner and one drink.) The use of che New York Wacerways ferryboac is being donaced by Mr. Archur Imperatore, Sr., for our celebratio n. Sunday, May 19th: l lAM. We will board a New York Waterways ferry for Governor's Island from Pier 11 ac che fooc ofWall Srreec. We'll cour che old Coasc Guard buildings, and Murray Fisher, founder and presidem of che Harbor School Foundarion, will lead a cour of che Harbor School. Afcer lunch, we'll rake rhe ferry co che

Museum ofAmerican Finance

Brooklyn Navy Yard Museum, where Daniella Romano, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation's vice president for BLDG 92 Exhibits and Programs, will be standing by to give us a tour. The ferry will return us to Pier 11 ar 4PM. Those who need to leave earlier can return by ferry boar from Governor's Island. (Cost for the ferry boar, lunch, and tours is $55 .) We are particularly grateful to very good friends of the Society whose generosity has helped make this celebration affordable for our members. Thanks to Peter Glazier, owner of Bridgewarers, and Arthur Imperacore, Sr., owner of New York Waterway. We are grateful to Rear Admiral Wendi Carpenter, USN (Rec.) , president of SUNY Maritime; and Dave Wimers, Execucive VP at Intrepid; Robena Weisbrod and John Doswell, chair and president of the Working Harbor Committee; Susan Henshaw Jones, presidem of Souch Street Seaport Museum; John Herzog, founder, and David Cowen, president, of che Museum of American Finance; and the gal lant historic ship, maricime museum, and education community rhar calls New York home.

New York City waterfront

Please consider becoming a sponsor of our 5or11 Anniversary Annual Meeting. A $1,200 sponsorship entitles you co a page in rhe special 50'h ann iversary Annual Meeting Journal and two tickers to all three days of events. $600 donors are entitled to a half page in che Journal and one place at all three days of events. -Burchenal Green, NMHS President

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS : We have reserved a block of discounted rooms at two hotels wi rhi n easy walking distance of Bridgewarers for 17-19 May. Please make yo ur reservation right away. Reservations must be made before 3 April 2013 and will be accepted only until the block is full. Cancellations and revisions must be made thirty days before arrival. Links to rhe hotels co book online at rhe discoumed rare are available ar www.seahistory.org by selecting che "2013 Annual Meeting" link on the home page. The group name is National Maritime Historical Society, and che group code for boch hotels is NMH. Hampton Inn Manhattan-Seaport, 320 Pearl Srreec, New York, NY 10038, Ph. 212 571-4400 or 646 833-1933; $229 room per night for 2 queen beds non-smoking, plus 14.75% tax & $3.50 room per night occupancy fee. You can use the following link co make reservarions directly online: www.hamptoninn.hilcon.com. Holiday Inn Wall Street, 5 1 Nassau Street, New York, NY, 10038, Ph. 646 833-1932; $299 room per night for double nonsmoking, plus 14.75% cax and $3.50 room per night occupancy fee. You can use the following link to make reservations directly online: www.holidayinn .com. You can also call rhe hotel directly ar 2 12 227-7307 and mention the group name or code (NMH). If you have any difficulties, you can email Jacqueline Felix directly at Jacq ueline.felix@hhmlp. com. SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Kaiulani, The Ship That started Members of NMHS and readers of Sea History will be well familiar with the lines of the barque Kaiulani; her image is captured in the line drawing of the NMHS logo, it appears on our letterhead and merchandise, and recently we even released a magnet with the image of Kaiulani dashing through the waves. Our website and publications explain that NMHS was founded to save Kaiulani, but despite valiant efforts, that battle was lost. All of this will be old news to those who have been with NMHS since the beginning, but the many NMHS members and readers who have discovered us in the years since our founding may have some questions: What was the Kaiulani, and what made her so special, enough to inspire the founding of a national organization to save her? Why didn't the campaign succeed? In this our SO'h anniversary year, it seemed like a good idea to retell the tale of the Kaiulani, and how she inspired so many people from all walks of life to band together in their efforts to bring her back to our shores.

aiulani was built in the Arthur Sewall & Co. shipyard in Bath, Maine, in 1899. Williams, Dimond & Co. commissioned the ship for the

regular sugar packet trade between Hawaii and San Francisco, carrying raw sugar for H. Hackfeld & Co. The 1,570-ton threemasted steel barque was 225' 7" long and

was designed by naval architect J. A. Hargan, of Brooklyn, New York. The new ship was launched into the Kennebec River on 2 December 1899, nine months after the death of the ill-fated crown princess of the deposed Hawaiian monarchy, Princess V ictoria Kaiulani C leghorn. The young princess h ad been sent to England for her education and was abroad when the monarchical government led by her aunt, Queen Lydia Liliuokalani, was overthrown in 1893. Miss Cleghorn set out on a speaking tour in the United States to argue against American annexation of H awaii, but the U ni ted States annexed the territory of Hawaii in 1898. She returned to H awaii, but died not long thereafter of illness at the age of23. Arthur Sewall's son , Harold Marsh Sewall, had encountered the yo ung princess at the theater one evening, and she made quite an impression on him, nodding to him from where she was seated. The elder Sewall named the barque Kaiulani ("royal, sacred one") in her honor. Kaiulani's first journey out was not auspicious; upon setting out from New York en route to Honolulu, the barque had to turn back for repairs after a storm carried away her fore and main topgallant masts. W hat followed, however, was a ten-year career for Hackfeld, carrying raw sugar from the islands to San Francisco and returning with machinery, canned goods, dairy cows, and grain. She also carried passengers at a fare of $40 per person, a significant reduction from the $75 typically charged by steamers for the same passage. In the offseason, Kaiulani sailed to Australia for coal.

(left) The Kai ulani was built in Maine for service in the Pacific, between Hawaii and San Francisco at the turn ofthe century. 10

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

It All

by Shelley Reid

By 1910, however, the sailing ships of the Hawaiian packet trade were being replaced by more efficient steamers, and Kaiulani was sold to the Alaska Packers Association to join its Star Fleet-joining such vessels as the Star ofIndia, Star ofRussia, and Star ofAlaska-under the new name Star of Finland. Alaska Packers was in a position to favor the affordability of cheap wind propulsion over the speed and efficiency of steam travel. As much of the shipping world was making the transition from sail to steam, Alaska Packers bought sailing ships at bargain prices, using them to carry personnel, coal, and canning materials up to Alaskan waters to catch and pack salmon, then carry the crews back to San Francisco with canned salmon. The Star ofFinland's last voyage as a salmon packer was in 1927, after which she joined other veterans of the salmon fleet in Oakland Creek in Alameda, California. It was from this mothballed fleet that she was "discovered," enjoying a star turn in the role of the William Brown in the 1937 Paramount movie Souls at Sea, starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, and Frances Dee. World War II, however, created a renewed demand for all manner of ships, drawing even sailing ships out of retirement to meet the needs of the war. Sailing under the name Kaiulani again, the ship carried lumber, under the Panamanian flag, from Grays Harbor, Washingron, stopping briefly at Pitcairn Island, to Durban, South Africa, and then loaded explosives to carry to Australia. This seemingly modest voyage was significant: it was to be the last cargocarrying voyage around Cape Horn by an American-built square rigger. At the helm was Captain Hjalmar Wigsten, and among his crew were Karl Kortum and Harry Dring. Karl Kortum, who would go on to work tirelessly in the historic ship preservation movement, eventually founded the San Francisco Maritime Museum, now the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and the National Maritime Historical Society. Harry Dring worked closely with Mr. Kortum, as Supervisor of Ships Restoration and Maintenance and later Conservator of Ships for the National Park Service. After the voyage to Australia, the US Army bought the vessel, removed the masts, and used her as a coal barge throughout the

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

rest of the war. Eventually she ended up as a coal barge in Manila. N ea rl y twenty yea rs la ter, in 1963, Washington lawyer Alan Hutchiso n's law firm was involved in planning th e future of the M aine Avenue waterfront in the nation's capital. Inspired by the ship Ba fclutha-a former Star Fleet sister of the Kaiu fani, under the name Star of A laska-on a visit to San Francisco, Mr. Hutchison felt that a sailing ship should be an integral part of renewing the Was hington waterfront and immediately contacted Karl Kortum. Mr. Kortum recomm ended the Kaiu fa ni, the las tAmerican -built square- rigged merchant ship, as a fitting ambassador of the Age of Sail for the capital. Mr. Hutchison heartily agreed, and when he returned to Washington, the C ommittee for the Preservation of the Kaiulani was born, with Hutchison's law firm as its headquarters. An article in the Washington Post's Sunday supplement, Poto mac, featuring the plan to bring the Kaiufani back to the United States bro ught in an overwhelming number of calls and letters from people interested in the proj ect. The committee learned that the M adrigal Shipping Company of Manila was the current owner of the log barge Kaiufani and entered into negotiations to acquire the vessel. To strengthen the committee's position, it incorporated and adopted the nam e N ational M aritime Historical Soci ety; Alan Hutchiso n was its president. The negotiations were successful; when Philippine President Diosdado M acapagal visited President Lyndon Johnson at the White House in October of 1964, he presented President Johnson with the ownership of the Kaiufani. President Johnson, in turn, charged the N ational Maritime Historical Society to take possession of the ship, restore her, and berth her on the Washington waterfront as a symbol of the fri endship between the people of the Uni ted States and the people of the Republic of the Philippines. The first order ofbusiness before NMHS was to hire a proj ect m anager to evaluate Kaiu fani's con di ti on and to oversee the repair work. At Karl Kortum's recommendation, Jim Kleinschmidt, then director of maintenance at Mys tic Seaport, was selected. Kleinschmidt traveled to M anila to carry out a survey of the hull, and his repo rt back was n't optimistic: (top Left) Mug-up in the foc's'Le, 1942-Karf Kortum sits at the center, while shipmate Harry D ring pours a weff-earned cup of coffee. (bottom Left) Up and stow.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 201 3

guaranteeing ship mortgages to encourage the building of ships in US yards. A special amendment to the act would be required to bring Kaiulani under this provision. Alan Hutchiso n, Karl Kortum, and fellow Kaiulani advocate Belmont "Van" VerStandig testified before the House committee, asking for a loan guarantee in the amount of $5 00 ,000. The amendment passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Johnson. Then, as Alan Hutchison put it:

Kaiulani's crew throwing a sea stow in the main upper topgallant.

"If! had had an opportunity to survey the hull earlier, I would have recommended againstacceptingher!"Therewasnointernal structure, the hull had been badly damaged from having logs dropped into her hold, and the rust damage was extensive. Moving forward, however, Hutchison managed to secure a US Navy tow to bring the Kaiulani to the US naval base Subic Bay, where she was subsequently drydocked. In Washington, all efforts were focused on raising the necessary funds to pay for repairs. The National Maritime Union in New York gave a generous loan for the restoration work, but it was proving difficult to find enough additional support for the significant sums needed to finish the job. Afrer a year, the funds NMHS had in hand for the project had been spent, and Jim Kleinschmidt decided to return to the United States for personal reasons. Ir was determined that the best way to protectKaiulani for the time being was to sink her, and she was sunk. Some months later, Kaiulani was pumped out and refloared-temporarily- fo r a visi t by Lady Bird Johnson, and then sunk again. Back in Washington, NMHS retained C harles Wittholz, a naval architect specializing in ship restoration, to work on the project. Wittholz was invited to a council at the San Francisco Maritime Museum to come up with a plan and budget for

refloaring Kaiulani and beginning restoration work anew. The group cam e up with an estimate of $200 ,000 for the project. Mr. Hutchison, deciding to err on the side of caution, doubled that amount, and then finally decided to round up to an even $5 00,000 as their fin an cial goal, to cover all contingencies. The next step was to secure a loan guaranteed by the US government, under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936,

The passage of the "KaiulaniAmendmeht" was front-page news in Manila when Charlie Wittholz and I arrived to confer with the Philippine National Shipyard for the completion of the hull work ... (W]e were given a royal welcome by the top officials of the shipyard. They told us they had surveyed the hull and could bring her up to Lloyd's specifications for, you guessed it, $500,000! Wittholz and I went on to Hong Kong to m eet with shipyards there on rerigging the Kaiulani and, en route to the US, m ade a stop in Honolulu to talk with Jim Kleinschmidt, who was then overseeing

(right) When Alan H utchison found Kaiulani in 1963, she was serving out the end of her career as a log barge fo r the Madrigal Shipping Company ofManila.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRJNG 2013

the restoration of the Falls of Clyde. Sitting on a verandah of the Princess Kaiulani Hotel watching the sun sink in the west, we had a sinking feeling ourselves. I made a mistake doubling the estimate of the experts . .. I should have multiplied by 25; we were looking a total cost of $5 million! I reported to the board that the Kaiulani project, as we knew it, was over. Mr. Hutchison left Washington for another commitment, and Peter Stanford, who had established the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, was elected president of NMHS. The Society still sought a way to bring Kaiulani back to American shores after Hutchison's departure, but the vessel was broken up in 197 4. Kaiulani's wheel retains a place of honor in NMHS headquarters in Peekskill, New York. !,

Alan Hutchison's account of the NMHS Kaiulani efforts can be found in Sea History 94-95, (2000-2001).

Philippine president Diosdado Macapagal presented Kaiulani to the American people as a symbol ofPhilippine-US friendship in a visit to the White House on 5 October 1964. Here, President Macapagal and US President Lyndon Johnson admire a model ofthe barque and a painting by renowned marine artist Oswald Brett. Behind them is the Kaiulani' s wheel, now displayed at NMHS headquarters in Peekskill, New York. One month Later, on 23 November, NMHS president Alan Hutchison accepted the title to the ship in Manila on behalf of the American people.

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SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

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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!

Lieutenant Eliot Winslow, Kapitanleutnant Johann-Heinrich Fehler and the Surrender of the Nazis' Top-Secret Submarine, U-234 by William H. Thiesen, PhD

••--'Ir his is rhe rale of rwo combat captains. They both shared a love for rhe sea, rhe ability to command a crew under extreme conditions, and each was loyal to his country and irs wartime cause. Bur, at the same rime, rhey fought on opposing sides of the Second World War. Described as a "lanky, hawk-faced man," Charles Eliot Winslow was born in 1909 and grew up in rhe Boston area. By 1940, he had become a successful paint salesman and was engaged to be married.

Eliot Winslow

When Winslow began having second thoughts about his upcoming nuptials, ins read of calling off rhe wedding, he joined rhe navy. So, in 1941, at the ripe age of rhirry-one, Winslow found himself called to active duty with rhe enlisted raring of seaman second class. In his first assignment, he served out of Boston aboard USS Puffin, a Maine fishing boat that had been converted for minesweeping duties. In November 1941, just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he decided to apply for an officer's commission in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. He passed the competitive examination and by December had accepted a commission in the Coast Guard. 16

Argo on patrol displaying her World \Vtzr II armament and haze gray paint scheme. Winslow rose through the ranks quickly. In 1942, he served as executive officer in the Coast Guard weather ship Menemsha, and then received an appointment to rhe navy's anti-submarine warfare school in Miami, Florida. Following graduation, rhe Coast Guard promoted Winslow to lieutenant junior grade and assigned him to the Argo, a 165-foor Coast G uard cutter originally built for offshore Prohibition enforcement. Johann-Heinrich Fehler followed a different career path from his American counterpart. A handsome, clean-cut man, Fehler was born in 1910 and, as a boy growing up near Berlin, longed to go to sea. After completing high school, he signed on with a German sailing vessel in rhe Baltic Sea and, after rwo years at sea, began serving on a German ocean-going freighter. He next entered the German merchant marine academy and earned a mate's certificate. In 1933, he joined Adolph Hider's Natio nal Socialist Parry, which was recruiting new members throughout Germany. He would remain faithful to the Nazi Parry for the rest of his military career. Fehler found within himselfa natural, almost instinctive predisposition for command at sea. In 19 36, he joined rhe German navy-the Kriegsmarine-as an officer cadet. He completed his training and cl imbed rhe officer ranks on board German naval vessels, including the notorious commerce raider Atlantis. Configured to look like a merchantman, this auxiliary cruiser sank rwenry-rwo Allied and neutral merchant vessels early in World War II, before the

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Devonshire discovered the disguised raider and sank her. The British set Atlantis's crew adrift in lifeboats, which enabled nearby German U-boats to rescue the crew. It was after this rescue that Fehler altered rhe course of his naval career from serving on surface warships to joining rhe submarine corps. In the later years of the war, Fehler's fate would be tied to rhe German submarine U-234. One of Germany's oversized Type X-B subs, this 1,650-ton U-boat was designed to lay mines rather than attack enemy shipping. To allow frondine German attack submarines · to remain at sea longer, rhe German navy decided to convert these minelaying subs into mifchkuhs

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SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 20 13

("milk cows"), or submarine fuel tankers. of the war, they were left with no alternaFehler's assign111ent to an undersea tankerÂˇ tive for shipping cargoes to Germany's last proved disappointing-he was hoping to remaining ally. join the fight and command one of the atSpace was limited in even the largest tack subs. Nonetheless, Fehler stayed with U-boats. To maximize. U-234's capacity, U-234 because requesting another position every conceivable watertight compartment would have postponed his deployment or on board was allocated to critical war materiel. The 300 tons of cargo U-234 loaded garnered him a shore assignment. On the East Coast, the US Navy as- for the voyage included many of Germany's signed cutter Argo and her sister ships to latest armaments and military technology, patrol and convoy duties. Argo carried a such as new radar, anti-tank and armor crew ofseventy-five men and was fitted with weapons, and the latest explosives and radar and sonar equipment, an armament ammunition. Military aviation materials of three-inch and twenty-millimeter guns, included documents and technical drawand depth charges and other anti-submarine ings for several fighter aircraft, highweapons. As escorts, Argo and her sister performance aircraft engines, and three ships were typically assigned to a convoy, disassembled Messerschmitt fighter air. tracked underwater contacts, and attacked craft (ME 262, ME 163 and ME 309) . anything that resembled the sonar signature U-234 also carried raw materials rarely found in Japan, such as lead (74 tons), of a submarine. Beginning in February 1943, Eliot Winslow served as senior watch officer and navigation officer onboardArgo, but he rose rapidly through the ship's officer ranks and, in April, was promoted to executive officer while concurrently serving as gunnery officer. After only two months as the cutter's XO, the Coast Guard promoted him again, this rime to commanding officer. In June 1944, the senior member of a navy inspection ream reported, "The [Argo's] commanding officer is an able and competent officer, forceful, decisive, military in conduct and bearing, maintaining discipline with a firm yet tactful hand." Recognizing Winslow's leadership qualities and excellent seamanship, rhe service retained him as Argo's CO for the rest of rhe war. Meanwhile, in Decemb er 1944, the German high command summoned Johann-Heinrich Fehler to Berlin for meetings where he learned his U-boat would not undertake the usual milchkuh refueling mission. Instead, U-234 would serve as an undersea freighter to ship important war materiel to Japan. The German high command had sent U-boats to Japan before, with three out of four submarine freighters lost while attempting the passage. In the final stages

Mercury (26 tons) , optical glass (7 tons) and uranium oxide ore (1,200 pounds). By 1945, communication between Germany and Japan had become problematic, so U-234 also carried one ton of mail and correspondence for German military, diplomatic, and civilian personnel located in Japan. Not only did Fehler have to ship important cargo, his orders also required him to ferry critical military personnel to Japan. His twelve passengers included two Japanese military officers, an air force colonel, and a navy captain. In addition, two civilian employees of the MesserschmittAircrafr Company, four German naval officers, and four German air force officers, including the flamboyant Luftwaffe general Ulrich Kessler, were on board when U-234 embarked on her long voyage.

Using the schnorkel mast, shown here next to the conning tower, U-boats could run their diesel engines while submerged by sucking air through an intake at the top ofthe mast while blowing diesel fumes out of the schnorkel's exhaust manifold.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Pehler departed Germany on 15 April, dubious of making it to Japan. U-234 cruised without surfacing for more than two weeks, using the U-boat's advanced schnorkel system, and reached the Atlantic by early May. After their departure, however, the Nazi war machine collapsed, Adolph Hitler killed himself, and other Nazi leaders Bed Berlin. The surrender of German military forces fell to Admiral Karl Di:initz, head of the German submarine fleet, and on 5 May 1945 he broadcast the order for all deployed U-boats to surrender to Allied naval forces. By the time Pehler received Di:initz's order, he was halfway across the Atlantic.

Coast Guard played an important role in taking over these last enemy naval vessels of World War II. The navy selected six patrol vessels as its "surrender unit," including the three 165-foot Coast Guard cutters Dione, Nemesis and Argo; and the navy designated Winslow and Argo as the unit's leader. Within ten days ofDi:initz's surrender order, Argo began a busy routine of ferrying surrendering U-boats to Portsmouth from a pre-arranged offshore rendezvous point. For the first U-boat, Winslow kept Argo on station at the appointed location despite heavy seas and winds of sixry-five miles per hour. On 16 May, U-805 arrived with her navy escort. Argo took on board her

to questions was "I am a Nazi. I will always be a Nazi." Within days of his surrender, he committed suicide in his jail cell. Finally, on 19 May, the Argo rendezvoused with U-234 and her escort, USS Sutton. Kapiranleutnant Pehler, his officers, and his passengers were ferried over to Argo from the Sutton. According to Commander Moffat, Pehler climbed over the rail, cheerfully introduced himself and extended his hand in greeting, but Moffat did not return Fehler's proffer of a handshake. Denied a warm greeting by theAmerican, Fehl er went on to remark: "Come now, commander, let's not do this the hard way. Who knows but that one of these days you'll be surrendering

Rare color photo ofthe newly surrendered U-805 , 16 May 1945. "The U-805, first submarine to surrender, was escorted by Argo at 12 knots for the last 50 miles to Portsmouth. According to Winslow, "Ten prisoners were stowed in the forward anchor chain locker, 23 aft over the screws, with 5 officers below decks, all under heavy guard. Modern conveniences at their disposal consisted solely ofa 10-quart pail. Shower baths with smelling salts and sandwiches were omitted. "

He decided he would surrender to the Americans, but first disposed of all topsecret devices and papers. As U-234 steamed westward, the two Japanese officers on board chose to commit suicide to avoid capture, and Pehler buried their bodies at sea before U-234 came into contact with the Americans. Four other U-boats would choose to surrender to American forces, including U-805, U-873, U-1228, and U-858, which surrendered to an armed yacht patrolling off the Delaware coast. The US Navy decided to escort the four remaining U-boats to the Portsmouth Navy Yard, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. As it had played a major role in capturing the first German vessel of the war (the arctic trawler Buskoe in 1941), the US 18

officers and transferred armed personnel to the U-boat to oversee the German enlisted crew operating the sub. The senior US Navy representative in Argo, Commander Alexander Moffat, was struck by the youth and naivete of U-805's enlisted crew. Most of them, he recalled, were little more than boys, and their superiors had denied them any information about the war and the enemy they were fighting. After delivering U-805 to the American navy base and the crew to an armed guard detail, Argo returned to sea and repeated the process twice over the next two days with U-873 and U-1228. Some of the U-boat officers, such as U-873's Kapitanleutnant Fritz Steinhoff, proved to be fervent Nazis. Steinhoff's only response

to me? In a few years, you will see Germany reborn. In the meantime, I shall have a welcome rest at one of your prisoner of war camps with better food, I am sure, than I have had for months. Then I'll be repatriated ready to work for a new economic empire." Surprised by his less-than-warm reception by the Americans, Pehler proceeded below decks with his officers and passengers. The prisoners were ordered to sit still with their arms folded, which prompted Pehler to complain bitterly to the American interpreter about their treatment. After learning about Fehler's behavior, Winslow went below and ordered the guards to "shoot any prisoner who as much as scratches his head without permission." Later, the Germans were disembarked with local journalists

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

This image shows Argo moored at Portsmouth Navy Yard on 19 M ay 1945, with U-234 crewmembers assembled on the fantail and Coast Guard officers and men looking on.

observing from the dock. Lufrwaffe General Kessler saluted Winslow and politely asked permission to depart the ship, to which Winslow silently pointed the way. Fehler left the cutter protesting to Winslow, "Your

men treated me like a gangster." Already simmering over Fehler's hubris and loud behavior, Winslow pointed to the gangway and barked, "That's what yo u are. Get off [my ship]! "

After they disembarked, an armed guard escorted U-234's prisoners to the base prison at the navy yard. Meanwhile, the navy's surrender unit was disbanded, and Winslow asked the senior naval officer in charge if there were any further orders for Argo. The navy captain responded, "Argo has done an excellent job, Winslow, and the navy appreciates it. For the record, I shall thank you in a letter. If there is anything I can do for yo u at any time, don't fail to contact me." U-234's prisoners were held at Ponsmouth for a few days before the navy bused them to a larger facility in Boston. Most of the enlisted men were dispersed to internment camps on the East Coast, but a few returned to the Portsmouth Navy Yard to help unpack U-234's important cargo. Navy officials deemed Fehler, his passengers, and officers to be of high intelligence value and flew them from Boston to Washington, DC, for further interrogation and processing. To determine the contents of U-234's cargo, the navy drydocked the U-boat and surrounded it with a shroud to shield the sensitive unloading activities. The US Navy D epartment ordered a full inventory of the U-boat's cargo and sent the ME 262 and ME 163 to the Army Air Force's Wright Field in Ohio for analysis and testing. Much of the remaining technology, including some

In his personal collection ofphotos from the event (below), LTJG Eliot Winslow's hand-written captions included: "1he Finger: May 19, 1945, Kapitanen Leutnaut [sic] j ahann Heinrich Pehler was captain ofthe 1600 ton submarine U-234 boundfor Japan with a $5,000,000 cargo of mercury and tons of blue prints ofthe latest robot bombs and jet-propelled planes. He complained bitterly when ordered with 4 ofhis officers to sit on the deck with arms folded. Informed by the interpreter of the situation, I went below and ordered the guards to 'shoot any prisoner who as much as scratched his head without permission. 'An apology must accompany every shooting. When Pehler was about to disembark, he was still growling. H e was informed to save his grumbling for the captain, who would be at the gangway. When asked by the interpreter what were his troubles, he replied first in German. Then turning to me, he said in good English, :A.ch- my men have been treated like gangsters.' I had been simmering for an hour but that remark brought me to a boil. With eyes meeting head on, I barked 'that's what you are. GET OFF!' My outstretched arm pointed to the gangway. Strange as it may seem, there was no profanity for the moment, but I must confess the air was blue for 5 minutes while I muttered to myself"

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Argo enlisted man and Coast Guard artist John Floyd Morris, who was on board at the time, made a series ofsketches showing members ofU-234's passengers and crew.

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SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

of the M esserschmitt aviation material, was retained for US N avy research. The fate of the uranium oxide remains unknown, but the ore was likely shipped to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for processing. W ith U-234's surrender, the sub's operational days were over; however, for two more years, the navy analyzed her design and construction . The U -boat was subj ected to numerous tests to co mpare the durability and performance of German U-boats to the la test American submarine technology. By the spring of 1946, extensive dockside inspections and testing at sea had been conducted and, for another year, advanced equipment and sophisticated technology was stripped from the U -boat fo r testing and analysis on shore. Finally, on 20 November 1947, U-234 was sunk as a target by the American submarine USS Green.fish. Surprisingly, it took two torpedoes to send the U -boat to the bottom. Naval Intelligence officials processed Pehler and the other U-234 offi cers thro ugh Fort Hunt, near Geo rge Washington's Mc. Vernon home, before the m en were dispersed to internment camps alo ng the East Coast. The navy sent Pehler to a facili ty reserved fo r ferve nt Nazi officers and, in 1946, he retu rned home by sea, alo ng wi th other repatriated Germans. W hile Pehler sank no shi ps as a submarine commander, his association with U-234 m ade him the subj ectof journalists, writers, and researchers, making him, perhaps, one of the better-known U-boat

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captains . Aft er returning to German y, Pehler settled in Hamburg and passed away in 1993 at the age of eighty- two. After the war, the Coast G uard experienced a d ram atic decrease in personnel levels, fo rcing the service to retire ships such as Argo. At first, the service mothballed the cutter at the Coast G uard's training station at Cape May, New Jersey; however, in 1948, the service decommissioned the vessel and then sold her in 1955. In 1959, a New York

(above) Ultimately, U-234 was used for target practice by the US Navy. On 20 November 1947, USS Greenfish shot a torpedo at her as she lay on the surface, approximately 4 0 miles off Cape Cod. (left) This dramatic image shows the immense size ofU-873 in drydock in Portsmouth. All the German submarines dwarfed Argo in terms of length, tonnage, and armament.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 201 3

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sightseeing business acquired Argo and she began a second career as a city tour boat. After his wartime responsibilities had ended, Eliot Winslow was ready to go home. In a letter to his command, he wrote, "If the Argo ... is scheduled to fight the wintry blasrs alone all winter, my answer is, 'Get me off.' One winter upside down was enough for me. It took me three weeks [on shore] to regain the full use of my feet! " After retiring from active duty, Winslow settled in Southport, Maine (near Boothbay) , where he started a business running tugs and local tour boats. For years, Winslow gave summertime tours of the southern Maine coast aboard the sightseeing vessel he nam ed fo r his old cutter, the Argo. Winslow lived to see his nineties at his home in Southport. Winslow and Fehler fought on opposite sides of World War II and took very different paths in their wartim e journeys . Both m en found a unique role to play in the conflict, one as a German U-boat commander and the other as a Coast G uard cutter captain. Neither officer could have imagined the roles they would play in the

After completing the successful transfer ofsurrendered U-boats to Po rtsmouth, Captain Winslow navigated Argo up to Southport, Maine, to anchor in front ofhis parents' home situated on Love Cove. The cutter barely fit through the rocky narrows and is the only vessel ofits size and kind to have visited the sp arsely populated area. war, nor how their paths wo uld cross in the closing act of the Battle for the Atlantic. ,!, William H. Thiesen, PhD, is the Atlantic Area H istorian for the US Coast Guard. He is the author of Industrializing American Shipbuilding: The Transformation of Ship

Design and Co nstruction, 1820-1920 (University ofFlorida Press, 2 006) and is a regular contributor to Sea History. For more info rmation on USCG history, visit www. uscg.millhistory or contact: H istorian's Office, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, 431 Crawford Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704.

National Historic Landmark 6 National Memorial to Coast

Guardsmen who lost their lives during WWII through Vietnam. • Awarded two Naval Presidential Unit Citations for her service during 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.

• Explore the only intact historic U.S. shipyard for larg e wooden ships • See life-size scu lpture of the world's largest wooden sailing vessel • Tour Bath Iron Works to see the Navy's new high-tech destroyer Zumwalt DDG-1000 being built IRese rvation s required; ava ilable online) • Take a lighthou se cruise on the Kennebec River • Go aboard and below deck on a fishing schooner (July to October) Special 2013 Exhibits: That Flaunting Rag! Maine's Maritime War Against the Confederacy Beyond the Breakers: Lighthouses, Life-Saving, and the U.S. Coast Guard

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. Box186. Key West. Florida 33041 •Phone: (305)-218-6600 www.uscgcingham.org

243 Washingto n Street • Bath, Maine · 207-443-1316 · www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

The Case for the Privateer Rapid by Jack B. Irion, PhD

small wooden ship, roughly 65 feet long and armed with a single six-pounder cannon and a crate of mismatched flintlock muskets, pistols, and swords disappeared beneath the waves of the G ulf of Mexico some 35 miles off the Mississippi River delta and settled to the bottom in 4,000 feet of water. It remained forgotten and undisturbed for nearly 200 years until, in 2005, its now disintegrated and buried remai ns were detected by the sonar of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), a 14foot- long unmanned submarine packed with survey instruments, collecting data about seafloor conditions along the proposed route of a natural gas pipeline.

Operated Vehicle (ROV) when it was discovered that Target D-11 was, in fact, the remains of a shipwreck. What fo llowed was a series of negotiations between the MMS and the gas pipeline company that eventually led to the funding of an operation to recover more than a thousand artifacts from the seafloor. Texas A&M University was comracted by the pipeline's owner to oversee the archaeological recovery of artifacts from what was code-named the Mardi Gras shipwreck after the name of the pipeline next to which it was found. Field work began on 21 May 2007. From the time that the Mardi Gras shipwreck site was first discovered, one of the most pressing questions, naturally, has

After archaeologists at Texas A&M completed their analysis of artifacts recovered from the site in 2007, ten possible ships were identified as reasonable candidates in their report of the investigation. While each of the ten candidate vessels was close in approximate size to the remains of the Mardi Gras shipwreck, significant differences existed between the historical record of each of the vessels and the remains on the bottom of the G ulf of Mexico. It was at this stage that journalist Pamela Keyes entered the picture some seven years after the wreck was first glimpsed on the seafloor. Ms. Keyes is researching the War of 1812 British blockade of coastal Louisiana and had been an avid follower of the Mardi Gras Shipwreck Project's website when the team was in the field in 2007 (http: //www. flpublicarchaeology.org/ mardigras/). She was copied on an e-mail inquiry by the MMS in 2009 to Dr. William C. Davis, author of the book The Pirates Lafitte. This correspondence served to jog Ms. Keyes's memory of an account relating to the loss of the American privateer schooner Rapid in 1813 that she had found in the course of h er own exhaustive research in contemporary newspapers. The 6 Jan uary 1814 issue of the New York Evening Post carried the following story: NEW ORLEANS, DEC. 4 Lossofthesch r.Rapid-OnS unday, the 28'h ult. the private armed schooner Rapid, capt James Sandford, owned by Mr. H. Elkins, who was on board at the time of her misfortune, left the Balize 1 with strong wind from the Northward, and a heavy sea. At 11 o'clock AM . descried the British sloop-of-war Herald to leeward in chase; set all sail to escape the enemy; at 3 P.M. being struck by a heavy sea the schr. upset, the Herald at this

View of the Mardi Gras shipwreck as first seen on the seafloor from underwater video.

The sonar image showed a small, indistinct pile of debris on an otherwise featureless seafloor, but nothing that was readily identifiable as a shipwreck or gave any cause for special consideration. Nonetheless, the aco ustic anomaly was reported as Target D-11 to the Minerals Management Service (the predecessor agency of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM), an agency within the US Department of the Interior that has jurisdiction over oil and gas exploration and development. The pipeline's intended route was being inspected the fo llowing year with cameras mounted on a submarine Remotely 24

been: "What ship is it?" While a great deal can be inferred from the archaeological recovery abo ut the ship's size, type, nationality, temporal affiliation, and function, we still depend upon the historical record to put flesh on the bones. A rough estimation of a date for the ship was formulated by MMS archaeologists as between 1780 and 1820, based upon an analysis of the visible artifacts on the seafloor and, specifically, two recovered creamware ceramics. Nothing, however, in the secondary literature or even in the MMS sh ipwreck database suggested a plausible identification.

The Balize, or "La Balise" was a settlement and fort built near the mouth of the Mississippi River in what is today Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, at the intersection of Northeas t Pass and Pass a l'Outre. After sufferin g through several major storms, it was eventually destroyed and relocated in 1853. Northeast Pass had served as the primary entrance ro the river for more than a century before 1829. (Cipra 1997:137).

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

time being only 6 miles to leeward, making short tacks. Our crew, 8 in number, got on the side, holding fast by the stanchions; a tremendous sea running, expected every moment to be washed off. After she upset rhe Herald lost sight of us till the third tack, when she put out two boats, the first lieut. in one of them, and at an imminent hazard of foundering succeeded in raking us off the wreck. We remained on board the Herald till the Tuesday following, when we were set ashore at the Balize under a flag of truce. Could the Mardi Gras shipwreck be the remains of Rapid? The MMS immediately launched a search for records related to Rapid and her loss. Several key documents in the National Archives in Washingcorr; DC, included the vessel's registration with the port of New Orleans, dated 23 November 1813. The owner of the vessel was listed as Harvey Elkins and James Sandford was master, the same names that appear in the New York Evening Post article. Rapids registration describes the ship as a two-masted schooner with one deck with a length of 52 feet, a breadth of 14 feet 9 inches, and a depth of hold of 5 feet 8 inches. Her tonnage was rated at 43 11 / 95 . Rapid was built in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1812 and first registered in Charleston on 12June 1812, with Certificate of Registry number 25. The Charleston record have not survived; however, the original owner and master of Rapid can be deduced from an application made in Charleston for a Letter of Marque and Reprisal dared 15 August 1812. This document names the vessel's captain as Charles Francis Broguet and her owner as Francis Tite Duboc, likely the Fran<;ois Tire Duboc identified as a merchant from Havre de Grace, France, whose wedding to Sophie Leroy of St. Domingo was announced in the 30 April 1806 edition of the Charleston Times. More importantly, the document identifies Rapid as a pilot schooner carrying one sixpounder cannon, muskets and side-arms. Her crew of fifty comprised "Frenchmen, Negroes, etc." Rapid's early history is somewhat obscure. She was, nonetheless, among the

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRJNG 2013

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Approximate positions ofthe engagement between Rapid and HMS Herald. Note: the 1812 location of La Balize shown is bas"5:n r:urrent geographical data (2013). The shoreline in this region has shifted considerably ir. 1;;e last two centuries.

first privateering schooners to sail o ut of Charleston on 18 August 1812, just two months after the United States declared war on Great Britain on 18 June. Within a few days of sailing, Rapid fought a British privateer in the Bahamas, which she boarded, took, and burned. On 10October1812, the privateers Rossie and Globe overtook Rapid in Mona Passage, between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, and recorded that "they had been out 32 days, that they had captured a New Providence privateer of one gun and 19 men, that they had landed all but six Negroes which they intended to sell." Rapid had also captured the two-gun schooner Comet, which was sent to Savannah with a prize crew; the brig Victoria, captured with 250 hogsheads of Jamaican rum; and the schooner Mary, which was ransomed back on account of not having enough men to sail it. Rapids career as a privateer was intended to continue under a new owner,

Harvey Elkins of New Orleans, who petitioned to "cruise against the enemies of the United States ofAmerica'' o n 20 November 1813. Elkins's petition noted that Rapid was manned by eight men (as opposed to her original complement of fifty) and still carried the six-pounder cannon. Elkins's career as a privateer was brief. After his 20 November petition and subsequent enrollment at Customs on the 23rc1, he sailed from New Orleans two days later to the outpost of"the Balize" at the mouth of the river. From there, Rapid departed for Havana on the28'h. 1heschooner had hardly left the safety of the river when she was spotted by the British sloop-of-war HMS Herald, armed with sixteen 32-pounder carronades, six 18-pounders, and two sixpounders and carrying a crew of 121 men. Herald was one of several British warships enforcing a blockade of Gulf pores, which included the 18-gun cruizer-class HMS Forester and the 14-gun brig HMS Contest. 25

Caught in the British snare, Rapid had little choice but to run. The events are best described in Sandford's own words: About l lAM a ship was perceived in chase; the schooner was already [close upon] a wind, and so continued; and at one P.M. they carried away the foregaff, which obliged them to take in the foresail; and they continued under mainsail jib and foretopsail. The wind blew heavy, with a rough cross sea, and at three P.M. the schooner upset; at 10 minutes past four the ship in chase came up, and her boats took this appearer and the other persons on board; she proved to be his Britannick [sic] Majesty's Ship Herald." Captain Clement Milward, commanding HMS Herald, confirmed Sandford's report in his log: Ar 11 :5 0 saw sail N. Made all sail in chase ... At 3PM saw the chase upset in squall, down jib and spanker. Tacked occasionally making up for the wreck ... At 4:40 out boats and sent them to assist some men on the wreck. At 5:20 boats returned and brought on board the owner, master and crew of the American schooner Rapid from New Orleans to Havana with flour. Before the upset, Sandford probably had some degree of confidence in the ability of his pilot schooner to outrun Herald. Pilot schooners were a uniquely American craft whose design was dictated by the twisting waterways and shifting winds of the Chesapeake Bay. The demand for speed gave the pilot schooner an advantage in carrying perishable cargo, but also made it the vessel of choice for privateers and merchants grown fearful of the harassment of the US cargo fleet after the ChesapeakeLeopard Affair of 1807. Pilot schooner hulls sat low in the water with raking stem and sternposts. Their straight keel sloped downward significantly from bow to stern, giving the design a deeper draft in the stern, which sacrificed cargo space but improved maneuverability. They possessed fairly shallow hulls with significant deadrise and long, fine runs that facilitated an easy flow of water from bow to stern. Norfolk pilot 26

schooners, such as Rapid, were built for blue water and generally had even more drag to the keel and a somewhat greater rake to the sternpost. Pilot schooners had a single, flush deck with no quarter deck and their masts raked sharply aft. The basic schooner sail plan included a large fore staysail, overlapping, gaff-rigged, loose-footed foresail, and a gaff-rigged and boomed mainsail. To these were added all styles of topsails, jibs, steering sails and bonnets depending on how the vessel was employed. While fast and agile, pilot schooners also demanded skilled crewmembers who were good judges of sail trim. Rapid's crew appeared to have had little time to learn to handle the ship before being put to the test. Although Elkins's and Sandford's future as privateers sank with their vessel, things could have ended worse for them. Instead of imprisoning the company, Captain Milward generously offered them parole and landed them back at the Balize under a flag of truce. Perhaps, with only a crew of eight, he believed their story that they were merely transporting flour. Nevertheless, the crew publicly expressed their gratitude in the press to their captors for "preserving their lives at the imminent loss of their own," noting that they were well-treated and were provided with dry clorhi~ and "humane and gentlemanly treatment." George Coggeshall, himself a privateer commander, wrote of the event in his History of the American Privateers and Letters-ofMarque: "I hope no civilized nation would have acted otherwise under similar circumstances." While the brief history of Rapid has all the elements of a ripping yarn, it remains to be seen how it relates to the Mardi Gras wreck, lying in 4,000 feet of water off the Louisiana coast. Al though largely circumstantial, all of the available evidence points favorably to this identification, with no obvious contradictions. In fact, it is the only historically documen red loss of a vessel that firs the evidence on the seafloor. The key evidence relates to the vessel's age, construction, complement of arms, and location. The artifact assemblage recovered by Texas A&M University indicates the wreck occurred sometime between 1808 and circa 1820. An eighr-reales Spanish coin, struck in 1808, is proof of the earliest possible year the vessel sank, or the terminus post

quern. How late the event could have happened is more difficult to determine and relies on what is known from the existing archaeological record-particularly ceramics. The undecorated utilitarian creamware from this site dates to the late 18th or early 19th century and was not manufactured beyond 1820. Ir also had an average lifespan of approximately 20 years. Based on this evidence, archaeologists at Texas concluded the sinking did not occur after 1820, providing a terminus anti quern. Rapid sank in 1813, squarely in the middle of this range. As for clues to what type of vessel the Mardi Gras wreck was and where it was constructed, hull timbers and a cylindrical piece Gf wood recovered from the stern provide the best possible physical evidence at this time. Based on the timber dimensions and orientation to the hull, the wood is likely a spar, perhaps from a medium-sized schooner of approximately 40 to 60 tons. Rapid had been registered as a 49-ton schooner. Both her petitions for Letters of Marque refer to her as a pilot schooner, a highly specific vessel whose standard rig included a gaff-rigged mainsail. Wood samples from the spar as well as the frames were a variety of southern yellow pine, commonly located in the Gulf Coast region and Southern Atlantic states. Rapid, according to historical records, was constructed in Norfolk, Virginia, well within the range of the identified wood species. Moreover, the size of the site on the seafloor measured between an anchor at the bow and a concretion at the stern was 48.5 feet, which, according to Texas A&M researchers, "corresponds well with the average length of schooners operating in the Gulf of Mexico (56 feet)." Rapids registered length corresponds well at just over 52 feet. A significant quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the Mardi Gras shipwreck site, which included a sixpounder "merchant" cannon, multiple ferrous artillery shot, more than 1,200 lead shot, and almost 60 gunflinrs. The majority of the cast iron round-shot (cannonballs) are for a six-pounder; however, fourteen 5-pounder, one 4-pounder and three three-pounder shot were also recovered. A large mass of cannon balls that had concreted together against a bulkhead could not be recovered or counted, but they

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Examples of undecorated creamware recovered from the Mardi Gras shipwreck site.

(above and below) Photomosiac and graphic diagram ofthe weapons box created from multiple video captures. Illustration by Amy Borgens.

ferrous buttplate SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Gras wreck lies approximately thirty-seven been caught in the Loop Current as well, miles southeast of the modern Pass a Loutre that time could have been easily halved. In of the Mississippi River. In the first half of other words, within a day, Rapid's drifting the nineteenth century, ships leaving the hull could have reached the position of the Mississippi would have exited through the Mardi Gras Wreck, lost buoyancy, and sunk Northeast Pass that split off from Pass a 4,000 feet to the bottom. Loutre, which at the time was too shallow While ther~ is considerable circumstantial evidence supporting this identificaand filled with sand bars for navigation. This was likely the route Rapid would tion, the "smoking gun," as it were, does have taken when she left La Balize on the not exist at this writing within the artifact blustery morning of 28 November 1813. collection recovered from the seafloor. 2 That Soon afrer HMS Herald initiated the chase, may still lie buried under the seafloor or it may no longer exist at all. It is extraordinarily difficult to conclusively identify most historic shipwrecks, shy of the discovery of some artifact bearing the name of the ship or a personally identifiable possession of one of the known members of the crew on the seafloor. All the artifacts recovered to date from the Mardi Gras shipwreck site remain singularly anonymous. Until such time as it can be proven, Rapid remains a compelling hypothesis worthy offurther research and consideration. Even if the artifacts recovered from the A six-pounder cannon recovered from the Mardi Gras shipwreck. seafloor can never be unequivocally proven solid mass against a bulkhead, amidships on the position was recorded in the log as 29Â° to have come from the American privateer the port side. Although it was not feasible to 08' N by 88Â° 38' W on a bearing thirty schooner Rapid, they nonetheless provide a recover intact, video imagery and underwa- miles east and four miles north of La Balize window into the lives of those who sailed ter still photography have provided general with "the chase" to the north. Navigational the Gulf of Mexico 200 years ago. ..1 information regarding its contents. Video accuracy during this period was likely withand still photographs show that the box in a mile of the true position. The pursuit The BOEM report on the "Mardi Gras contains at least seventeen longarms, seven lasted another three hours in heavy seas Shipwreck" is available online at www. boem. pistols, and two edged weapons, including with a strong wind out of the north before gov!BOEM-Newsroom/Library!Publicaa saber or cutlass in its scabbard. A copper Rapid capsized. She likely was running on tions/200812008-03 7. aspx. buttplate located directly under the wea- her fastest course, a beam reach, which would pons box was recovered and determined to have meant that the upset likely occurred With over 39 years' experience in underwater be of Germanic-Dutch origin dating to the even further to the east of La Balize. If the archaeology, Dr. jack Irion has participated last half of the eighteenth century. More Mardi Gras wreck is the remains of Rapid, in or directed archaeological expeditions than 1,200 pieces oflead shot were recovered how then could it have ended up on the in England, Mexico, Belize, Turkey, Italy, from the site ranging in size from 0.33 to seafloor some 22 miles to the south? Bear- Puerto Rico, and throughout the US. Since 0.69 caliber, with 75 percent being for a ing in mind that Rapid's crew was rescued joining the BOEM, Dr. Irion has directed the 0.69 caliber musket. This caliber was most while still clinging to the side of their upset documentation of several historic shipwrecks commonly used in French, American, and vessel more than an hour and a half after on the Outer Continental Shelf, including some Spanish weapons, whereas British the ship had capsized, it is reasonable that the Civil Wtir gunboat USS Hatteras and muskets typically had a caliber of 0.75. Rapid continued to drift for some distance, the 19th-century coastal steamers New York Additionally, fifty-nine gunflints were re- pushed southward by the winter Norther, and Josephine. He has overseen projects that covered from the wreck, the majority of until the hull lost buoyancy and sank. With investigated the deepest shipwrecks ever found British origin and an appropriate size for wind drift at three percent of typical wind in the GulfofMexico, including the German use with a musket. Significantly, Rapid's speeds associated with Gulf Northers, the submarine U-166 in 5, 000 feet ofwater, and applications for Letters of Marque describe wreck could have drifted that far south some of its most historic, such as the "Mardi her armament as a six-pounder with mus- in less than two days. If the derelict had Gras Shipwreck. " Most recently, he directed kets and side-arms. the team that discovered an early 19th-century Finally comes the question of the loca- 2 The BOEM estimates that no more than 20% armed sailing ship in the Gulf that received tion of the Mardi Gras wreck in comparison of the artifacts from wreck site were recovered international news coverage and was featured to the recorded loss of Rapid. The Mardi in the Phase III investigation. on The Today Show.

were subsrantial in quantity. Additionally, one prepared "buck and ball" shot and two bar-shot were recovered. The "buck and ball" shot consists of a prepared canvas cartridge containing both a six-pounder cannon ball and langrage used for anti-personnel shot, often used by privateers and merchantmen. The bar-shot would have been used to disable rigging and includes one sixpounder and one three-pounder. In addition, a five-foot-long box of mixed arms and edged weapons was found concreted into a

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

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by David Hirzel hroughout the nineteenth century, hundreds of men dedicated their careers-and many perished in the process-in pursuit of elusive goals: the search for the Northwest Passage across North America, the hunt for the "Open Polar Sea," and attempts to reach the North Pole itself. At the opposite end of the earth, a larger terra incognita beckoned. Captain James Cook circumnavigated it in 1773, and the first hints of an Antarctic mainland were noted in the 1820s, butitwas not until 1901 that the first large-scale, governmentsponsored expeditions voyaged south, intending to land and explore the interior. They went by sea, in ships patterned after the sturdy Greenland whalers, wooden barques with auxiliary steam designed to venture into the floating pack ice that choked the polar seas. When that ice grew dense and moved, these ships' limber frames and planking could most times yield to the pressure and later resume their normal shape, suffering only a few more leaks to vex their crews. The sailors manning them were a hardy lot who were used to hard work, bad weather, and sudden turns of events that might change an ordinary day into catastrophe. In addition to being able to "hand, reef, and steer," these men possessed the skills of many trades and were adaptable enough to learn on the spot any others that might be needed. Accustomed to following orders without hesitation"Growl ye may, but go ye must"-these

men took on the most daunting tasks with casual aplomb. Between 1897 and 1922, no fewer than seventeen major expeditions, sponsored by eight different countries, from Europe to Scandinavia to Japan, set out to conquer the South Pole. The competition between nations was fierce, as were the rivalries between expedition leaders, aided by their stalwart and dedicated crewmembers. Scott's Discovery Expedition One of the most famous rivalries to the South Pole was underway in the early twentieth century between Great Britain's Robert Falcon Scott (expeditions in 1901-1904 and 1910-1913) , Norway's Roald Amundsen (s uccessful expedition to the South Pole in 1910-1912), and Great Britain's Ernest Shackleton (three

The British ship RRS Discovery, Antarctica, 1901. Discovery has been preserved as a museum ship and is open to visitors. She is owned by the Dundee Heritage Trust in Dundee, Scotland. (See their website, www.rrsdiscovery.com.)

expeditions in 1907-1909, 1913- 1917, and 1921-1922). Scott's first attempt to conquer the pole included Shackleton in his crew, as third officer. They sailed for the Antarctic in the purpose-built exploration ship RRS (Royal Research Ship) Discovery, a wooden three-masted sailing ship with auxiliary steam propulsion. Scott and his team spent two years icebound in the far south, pursuing the twin goals of scientific investigation and geographic discovery. The expedition's published results in geology, meteorology, geophysics, and oceanography provide the foundation from which all such research springs today. Tnen as now, scientists pursued their lofty goals, but it is the workers and technicians who made it possible. In Scott's day, those workt!rs were the seamen, strong and resourceful individuals like Frank Wild, Edgar "Taff' Evans, Bill Lashly, and Tom Crean. Their names are not as well known as those of their expedition leaders, but their contributions were nothing short of heroic. Once the expeditions left the ships and embarked on the overland journeys, it was the able bodied seamen who pulled the sledges over the ice, pitched the tents, and did the physical labor of this new trade. Irishman Tom Crean had been recruited by Scott in 1901 in New Zealand, from HMS Ringarooma, where he was serving as an able seaman in the Royal Navy's New Zealand Squadron. Crean would log 149 days on the ice during his first expedition to Antarctica under Scott, hauling heavy sledges toward distant goals in which he would share no glory, suffering hunger and thirst, cold to -67Â° F, the occasional drop into a seemingly bottomless crevasse. Crean so distinguished himself among his messmates that Scott chose him to be captain's coxswain on all the ships he later commanded. In 1909, Shackleton returned from the Nimrod expedition, where he and his team had made it within 112 miles of the South Pole before having to turn back. When Scott heard the news, he said, "I think we'd better have a shot next." He was speaking to Tom Crean. 1 Scott's Terra Nova Expedition Crean had proven he could handle a boat, go aloft in a raging gale, travel over the

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

ice, and sew raw furs inro sleeping bags. In planning his next expedition, Scott knew Crean could learn to care for the ponies they wo uld bring with them, until their inevitable slaughter at the end of the trail, and then step witho ut complainr into their traces for the long haul up the glacier in pursuit of the heretofore elusive South Pole. Tom Crean was joined by seaman Bill Lashly and petry officer Taff Evans, fellow veterans of Scott's Discovery expedition. Certainly there were others who played similar roles in the race for the South Pole, both shipboard and as part of exploring parties scattered along the Antarctic coast in 1912 and 1913, but Crean's and Lashlfs long march home from near the South Pole in 1912 deserves special notice. Scott and four members of his team parted company with Crean, Lashly, and second-in-command Lt. Edward Evans on 3 January in their final push for the South Pole. The original plan called for two fourmen teams, but Scott's decision to take an extra man on the final leg left only C rean, Lashly, and Evans to make the 75 0-milewalk back to the home base. 2 When Lt. Evans became incapacitated wi th scurvy and could no longer walk, their speed was so reduced, and the food depots so impossibly distant, that they could not pull him on the sledge and hope to survive the journey. The dying Evans ordered his men to leave him on the Barrier and save themselves. Crean disobeyed his officer's direct order for the first and only time in his career, replying, "If you are to go out Sir, then we'll all go out together." 3 Crean and Lashly pulled their leader 100 miles on the sledge until they were almost within striking distance of Hut Point, the nearest o utpost from home base. With still thirry-to-forry miles to go, they ran out of food and fuel entirely. With no option besides going it alone on the last leg of their 1,500 mile, 3V2-month overland journey to the polar plateau and back, Crean set out to get help. If he faltered along the way, or even lay down for just five minutes, he might never get up, not only dooming himself but the lives ofLashly and Evans as well. Crean, of course, did not give up. Upon his arrival at Hut Point, the other members of the crew prepared their dog teams and set out on a rescue mission, returning Lt. Evans and Lashly safely to their base. Crean and Lashly

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

(above) In her book on the Shackleton expedition, The Endurance (1998), historian Caroline Alexander noted how valuable Tom Crean was to the Antarctic expeditions. "Crean was, perhaps, as close as one can come to being indestructible. "In this photo, shot by Robert Scott himself during the Terra Nova expedition, Tom Crean, fourth from the left, joins the crew hauling supplies across Beardmore Glacier. (below) Robert Scott's camp at 86Â°56' Son 31 December 1911, a few days before the last support party (Tom Crean, Bill Ashley, and Lt. Edward Evans) was sent back to the base at Hut Point on Ross Island. Scott and four others successfully made it to the South Pole but would not survive the return journey.

wo uld later be awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving for their heroic efforts. Crean remained in the Antarctic another winter, and it became clear that Scott's parry had not survived. He knew it would be his sad dury when spring came, to go out in search of their remains and, importantly, any records of the final journey they might have on them. Crean had lost his dear friend and shipmate, Taff Evans, but he had also lost the leader to whom he owed so much respect, Captain Robert Scott.

Shackleton's Endurance Expedition After these trials, Crean might have had enough of an Antarctic explorer's life, but he was exactly the sort of man Ernest Shackleton needed for his upcoming expedition to cross the Antarctic continent in 191 41915. With both of Scott's expeditions on his resume, Crean had established himself as one of the most versatile and dependable sailors any leader could hope to have

behind him on the South Polar trail. Shackleton's ship, the Endurance, as is well known, would break up in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea before it could make landfall on the Antarctic continent. Shackleton and his men abandoned ship on 27 October 1915. They were not expected to return for another year, so no rescue mission could be expected. Despite the earlier attempts by other polar expeditions, the entire region was unexplored except for isolated sightings of land at the perimeter of the Weddell Sea, some 300 miles distant over floating, impenetrable ice.4 There, if anywhere, is where yo u need a sailor. Tents, gear, provisions, and three boats were salvaged from the ship, and the men built a makeshift camp on the ice that they named "Ocean Camp." Many of the senior staff were academics, whose previous experience with the sea had been as passengers. Many of the crew, however, had been whalers or trawlermen , accustomed

to hardship, cold, and foul weather. By sheer force of personality, Shackleton kept the camp from breaking up into utter chaos. His legacy is famous in the annals of history, but he could not have pulled it off without the steadying influence of men like Tom Crean and Frank Wild in his crew. The first plan was to try to reach the nearest known land by dragging the boats over the ice, but after three days of backbreaking work, they had only made it a paltry l3/4 mi les. At that pace, they would run out of food long before reaching terra firma. Instead, they waited it out and let the drifting pack ice carry the camp north to open water. From there, they would then sail the three open boats to the nearest solid ground before sending a select smaller party to search for help. Once Endurance finally sank on 21 November 1915, Shackleton and his men were marooned on a broad pan of floating ice, and the current swept the camp northwards until its once-solid ice floe had been wh ittled away to a small triangular piece 150 feet on its longest edge. On 9 April 1916, it finally broke apart and the men rook to the water in the three boats they had salvaged from Endurance. "Water" is hardly the appropriate word to use where the pack ice disintegrates en route to the open ocean, and, at that point, the ice became more of a threat than a refuge. The nearest land, desolate and unexplored, lay forty miles distant. The three boats, not designed to carry twenty-eight men and all their supplies, would require rhe utmost seamanship to safely carry them through the icy tumultuous seas to dry land. At 22 feet 6 inches, the fames Cairdwas the largest and heaviest of the three boars. Her sides, and those of the Dudley Docker, had been reinforced and raised for the openwater journey, but rhose of the Stancomb Wills had not. With seven men and their gear aboard, the Stancomb Wills showed mere inches of freeboard. Not until the boats were launched from the ice and fully loaded did the men know just how deeply the Wills would ride-not an encouraging sign for a boat about to cross forty miles of storm-tossed Antarctic seas.

Crossing the Open '\%ter As hazardous as the Stancomb Wills appeared, there was no better way to distribute the weight, and much would depend on Crean's 32

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Map ofAntarctica showing Ross Island, the Weddell Sea, Elephant Island and South Georgia Island. Ross Island served as the base camp for Scott's Terra Nova expedition. Shackleton's expedition in Endurance got caught in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea. With Shackleton, Crean made both open boat journeys-to Elephant Island with the fall crew and then on to South Georgia with Shackleton and four others. skill as coxswain to survive rhe open-water leg to shore. Nor long after she was in the water, a wave broke through the protective arm of the pack ice and nearly swamped her. Only Crean's cool-headed command of his oarsmen and the tiller saved the boat and irs crew in that first test. By the end of their first day in the water, the boats were still near enough to the pack to find a floe on which to camp for the night, but for the next four days and nights, the men would suffer rhe approaching Antarctic winter afloat in rhe open boats. Elephant Island's deserted shore was still a long way off with only rhree oars and a small rag of a lugsail to drive them to it. The Wills was in constant danger of filling and sinking from the steady slopping of green water over the gunwale. With no shelter but their clothing, the men would awaken in the morning sheathed in ice. After the second day, the boat's first officer became incapacitated by the cold, and it was up to Crean to keep the men in the Wills from following suit. He led by example;

if he knew fear, he did not show it. The men obeyed his quiet commands to trim sail in a shift of wind or to bail when a sea had come aboard. As the days and nights passed, the men in the boars became severely weakened from exposure and debilitating thirst. Conditions in the Stancomb Wills had become desperate, but by noon of rhe sixth day, rhe three boats made landfall on a low beach on Elephant Island. Though it was the first solid ground the men had srood upon in seventeen months, they soon realized they could not stay there. It was clear that this beach would be swept by waves ar high tide come the next big gale. Many of the men were delirious, broken down by fear and exposure, and unwilling to board rhe boats again. Tom Crean, Frank Wild, and a handful of others in the Docker pushed off again in search of a safer, dryer landing place, returning after dark with good news of a better beach farther along the shore. All the men had survived thus far, but

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

All twenty-eight men returned to England to find the world at war. Having survived a seemingly impossible ordeal in the Antarctic, each would add to the war effort in his own way-in the navy, on the sea. Tom Crean would serve in the navy until 1920, retiring back to County Kerry after 27 years of naval service. The names of higher-ranking men and stature from the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration are well known in history, but their accomplishments were not achieved without men like Tom C rean by their sides. Launching the James Cairdftom Elephant Island, 24 April 1916.

no ship would be looking for them there, far from Endurance's intended course. After raking a few days to recover a.t the newly named "Cape Wild," Shackleton selected five men to put to sea in the fames Caird, bound for the whaling station on South Georgia, a remote island 800 miles away across the stormiest seas on earth. Tom Crean was deemed an asset ro both the seagoing rescue parry in the Caird and the group that would remain on Elephant Island, but in the end, the group's survival depended on the ablest men making it to South Georgia, and Crean would join Shackleton, Captain Frank Worsley, and three others in what would become one of the most famous open-boat journeys in history. During the sixreen-daypassage, the men in the Caird grappled with raging gales, monstrous waves, and a growing sheath of ice that weighed her down almost to her sinking. Had they failed, no one would have ever known their fate or that of their shipmates waiting on Elephant Island. The fames Caird did not go missing. She overcame incredible odds and landed at last on the uninhabited south shore of South Georgia Island. Three of her crew were disabled by the ordeal, but three were still fir to rake on the final leg of the journey. Shackleton and Captain Worsley, joined by the stalwart Tom Crean, would have to cross the island in the depths of the Antarctic winter, an overland trek across

glacier-choked high mountain passes and deep ravines. They set off on foot with fifty feet of rope and food for two days. Their overland crossing is an account of strength, determination, and luck that makes a harrowing tale on its own. By some miracle, these three survived, brought relief to the three on the island's opposite shore, and in the end saved the lives of the twenty-two left back on Elephant Island. Shackleton and Worsley would tell and retell this story in derail in the years to come. Tom Crean left no words of his own, but from the journals of his superiors, his contribution was duly noted. Crean spent more time in the Antarctic than either Scott or Shackleton. For Scott on his first expedition, Lt. Evans on the Terra Nova expedition, and the twenty-eight men from Endurance, their very survival depended, of course, on many factors, but the seaman from County Kerry proved indispensable.

NOTES 1

Huxley, Elspeth. Scott of the Antarctic, p. 179. Smith, Michael. Unsung Hero: Tom Crean, p. 118. Distances noted are approximate, given in statute miles. 3 Crean quoted by Lt. Evans, 7he New York Times, 18 March 1914, from a lecture honoring 2

Robert Peary. Shackleton estimated "probably 300 miles," in

South p. 84.

David Hirzel is the author ofSailor on Ice: Tom Crean (2011) and Hold Fast: Tom Crean with Shackleton (2013), both available .from Terra Nova Press through www. antarctic-discovery. com. His twin passions are the history ofpolar exploration .from the "heroic" age and the history oftall ships in the later days of commerce under sail. In 2007, Hirzel received the National Park Service's Hartzog Award for his work with the Living History program at the San Francisco Maritime NHP Mr. Hirzel heads his company, David Hirzel Building Design, in Pacifica CA.

Shackleton's Gap as viewed .from Peggotty Camp on South Georgia. Shackleton, Crean, and Worsley set out.from this location to make the overland trek to the Stromness whaling station on the other side ofthe island.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Hoisting the Sails As They Did a Century Agothe Schooner Adventuress Turns 100 byElizaberh Becker

his year, the schooner Adventuress reaches a milestone seen by few historic ships-still sailing at 100 years old. The 133-foor ship has sailed almost continually, as a private yacht, a bar pilot vessel, a Coast Guard patrol boat, a sail-training vessel, and today as a platform for environmental education in the Pacific Northwesr. More than 100,000 people, both youths and adults, have sailed aboard this well-loved vessel. In her more recent years, hundreds of people-mostly volunteers-have given their rime and energy to the maintenance needed to keep her afloar. Adventuress was launched on 1 February 1913, ar the Rice Brothers Yard in the tiny shipbuilding village of East Boothbay, Maine. Designed by B. B. Crowninshield for owner John Borden II (co-founder of the Yellow Cab Company), the newly built schooner set out on her maiden voyage down rhe Ease Coasr, rhrough rhe Srrair of Magellan, and up the Wesr Coasr to Alaska. On board was young naturalise Roy Chapman Andrews, who was rhen rhe assisrant curator of mammals ar rhe American Museum of Natural History in New York. Borden and Andrews soughr to bring a specimen of a bowhead whale back to New York to

Adventuress under sail in Commencement Bay near Tacoma, Washington, 3 July 2008.

Pilot schooner Adventuress with the barque Abraham Rydberg to starboard in San Francicso, ca. 1930.

complete the museum's collection. Faced with unanticipated delays and bad weather, the ship missed the whales in their summer habitat in the Bering Sea, but Andrews was able to conduct groundbreaking research on the fur seals of the Pribilof Islands, leading to their protection from overhunting. At the end of that voyage, Borden sold his year-old vessel to the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association. The pilots appreciated the ship's auxiliary engine, which was not common for 1914. Adventuress, as pilot vessel No. 15, served in this capacity off the Golden Gate for more than three decades, bringing pilots to and from ships entering and leaving San Francisco Bay. From 1939 to 1941, she was loaned to rhe Sea Scouts for a stint as a sail-rraining vessel, before she was called into duty by the US Coasr Guard to serve as a World War II patrol boat for two and a half years. After World War II, she was retired by the pilots association and sat neglected in Sausalito before being purchased by a Seattle 34

ships' chandlery owner, 0. H. "Doc" Freeman. In 1952, Freeman brought her up the coast and planned to restore and sell the vessel. Restoration plans stalled, however, and he sold the boar a short time later. After changing hands several times, Adventuress found a new lease on life with owner Monty Morton in 1959, who wanted to convert her for use as a yo uth sail-training vessel. Under the banner of the non-profit Youth Adventure, Adventuress sailed the waters of Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, and British Columbia with Sea Scouts as trainees, guided by a volunteer crew. In 1974, Morton passed the torch to Ernestine Bennett and Dororhy Rogers, who had first sailed on the ship with rheir daughters' Girl Scout troops in 1963. Bennett and Rogers succeeded in having the ship restored and having her designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Today, Adventuress is sailed under the stewardship of the non-profir Sound Experience out of Port Townsend, Washington. Founded in 1989 on rhe model of Pete Seeger's Sloop Clearwater on the Hudson River, Sound Experience's mission seeks to "educate, inspire, and empower an inclusive community to make a difference for the future of oulf marine environment," bringing SEJAHISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

thousands of yo uth and adults aboard each year to experience their watershed firsthand. Participants sail the gaff-rigged schooner as they did a h undred years ago, with plenty of heaving and hauling, watch standing, navigating, and everything else that goes into operating a tall ship on the open ocean. Programs for school groups, teens, and families range from three hours to five days, and public sails and dockside events are offered at ports aro und Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Only a few years ago, Sound Experience faced a huge hurdle when in 2006 it became aware th at the 93-year-old ship needed extensive restoration work to continue sailing. They launched the Adventuress Centennial Restoration Proj ect in 2009 , a multi-year effort that has included rebuilding the port and starboard bows, the stern/transom, and the horn timber and stem. This winter's phase includes reframing and replanking below the waterline on the port side, while the last phase, scheduled for next winter (201 3-1 4), will do the same on the star.board side. The work is being conducted to a fifty-year standard and in

accordance with the US D epartment of the Interior's guidelines for historic preservation. Funding for the project has come from many sources, including significant donations from priva te individuals, the National Park Service's "Save America's Treasures" program, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "Partners in Preservation" program, in which Adventuress was voted "most popular historic site in Puget Sound" in 2010 . This winter's work is primarily funded through the Washington State Heritage Capital Projects Fund. D uring 2013, events will be held throughout the region to celebrate the ship's history and to bring awareness to the importance of maritime heritage and the preservation of Adventuress and other h istoric ships. The public will have m any opportunities to share in the living history represented by the beloved schooner. You can learn more about Adventuress and find the lates t information about where to tour and sail in her on the Sound Experience website at www.soundexp.org. .1

Schooner Adventuress and Sound Experience Events for 2013 29 June-July 1:

5-7 July: 6- 8 September: 20 September:

Ships to Shore Festival and Canada Day, Richmond, British C olumbia Lake Union W ooden Boat Festival, Center for Wooden Boats, Seattle, WA Wooden Boat Festival, Port Townsend, WA Centen n ial Party for Adventuress, Seattle, WA

For updates and other events, please check their website at www.soundexp.org

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Before "Old Ironsides"-the Origins of USS Constitution and Her First Captain, Samuel Nicholson ust north of downtown Boston in the Charlestown Navy Yard quietly sits USS Constitution, one of the most famous ships in American naval histo ry. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides" because cannon balls glanced off her thick oaken hull, Constitution defeated four British frigates during the War of 1812. In the summer of 2012, the Constitution was at the center of attention again during the celebrations for the war's bicentennial. Yet long before the War of 1812 and the glory of her pivotal victories at sea, the Constitution and her first captain were already an integral part of the United States' naval heritage. W hile the American Revolution is best known for arduo us and bloody land battles that eventually defeated England, America's war of independence also took place at sea. In October 1775, the Continental Congress

decided to establish a small naval force "to offset to some extent what would otherwise be an uncontested exercise of British sea power." 1 This force grew inro the Continental Navy. Among the Continental Navy's first officers was Captain Samuel Nicholson. Born to a prominent Maryland family, Nicholson was already captain of his own ship engaged in trade with England during the earliest days of the revolution. In December 1776, Nicholson m et with Benjamin Franklin, one of the American Commissioners in Paris, about a commission in the new navy. Unbeknownst to both, the Continental Congress had already given Nicholson his commission, and over the next several years, Nicholson conducted Conti nental Navy affairs in Northeastern France as directed by the American Commissioners. After searching

Portrait of Captain Samuel Nicholson by Danish artist Christian Gullager, c. 1789-18 10.

by J. Phillip London

for and purchasing a new cutter, Dolphin, for the Continental Navy, he served as its captain in 1777. N icholson was also tasked with acquiring and refitting a frigate, Deane, for his command (1778-1782). His European exploits with both ships included capturing numerous prizes around France and the British Isles . Nicholson returned to the United States in 1779 aboard the Deane with valuable supplies and spent most of the year patrollingAmerican waters off the Delaware coast. Between 1780 and 1782, Nicholson's career included a cruise of the West Indies, where he captured three British prizes and served on two courts-m artial. Nicholson wo uld also be tried twice for allegedly mistreating an insubordinate junior officer. The first court of enquiry in 1781 was invalidated because of procedural errors and misconduct, and Nicholson was honorably acquitted at a valid court-martial in late 1783. Nonetheless, at the time N icholson was then relieved of his command. Over the course of the war, the Continental Navy fleet sailed some fifty armed vessels that captured nearly 200 British prizes and much-needed supplies. The navy contributed "to the demoralization of the enemy and [forced) the British to divert warships to protect convoys and trade ro utes." 2 Sea power had proven pivotal to winning the war. Without control of the Atlantic, it was difficult for the British to transport and sustain a large army in America. The navy also carried correspondence and diplomats to Europe and helped bring the French into the war. As important as the Continental Navy had been, it began to decline around 1779. It had fewer ships, mainly patrolling the Eastern shore and West Indies. The Continental Congress auctioned off the last remaining navy vessel by August of 1785, shutting down the Continental Navy for good. Some men of the Continental Navy transitioned to civilian life, like Sam uel N icholson , while others stayed at sea on private ships and in foreign navies, such as John Paul Jones, who briefly served in the Imperial Russian Navy. In the early 1790s, the need to revive a naval fome became apparent as American merchant ffleets needed protection from attacks by 1Algerian (Barbary) pirates and SEA lHISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

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Samuel Nicholson's commission as captain of USS Constitution, signed by President George Washington.

harassment by British and French forces. In response, the Continental Congress passed the Naval Armament Act of 1794, calling for the construction of six frigates at shipyards along the Eastern Seaboard. Samuel Nicholson also returned to service in 1794 and was appointed captain-and the second highest ranking officer-in the newly reorganized US Navy. 3 Nicho~son's first assignment was to serve as superintendent for the construction of one of those original six, the Constitution in Boston Harbor. It would take four years for the ship to be built. Paul Revere's brass and iron foundry produced many of its brass fittings,4 and George Washington signed Nicholson's commission as its captain. Constitution's launch was set for 20 September 1797, with President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner present. Her weight was too much for the ways, however, and she moved only twenty-seven feet. A second try two days later only moved the ship another thirtyone feet. After the ways were rebuilt, Constitution was finally launched on 21 October 1797.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Nine months later, on 22 July 1798, Nicholson, as captain and first commanding officer, took Constitution out of Boston Harbor for her maiden voyage. 5 The ship's historic first cruise off the Adan tic coast was not an easy one. It was beset with personnel problems, and Nicholson captured the British privateer Niger, which he mistook for a French ship because of its French crew (that had been sailing under British orders). 6 Personal tragedy would mar this cruise, when Nicholson's son, Samuel Jr., died while serving under his father's command at sea.7 Nicholson's next cruise in Constitution was in 1799 under Captain John Barry in his flagship, the frigate United States. 8 They were tasked with protecting American shipping from French privateers in the West Indies. On this second cruise, Nicholson regrettably repeated his mistake from Constitution's first outing, this time intercepting Spencer, an English merchant ship, which recently had been taken prize by the French frigate L1nsurgente. Perhaps apprehensive afrer the mix-up with Niger, Nicholson released the ship and her crew

the next morning, despite the fact that Spencer was now technically a French ship operated by a French prize crew. This mistake and other problems on board would make this cruise Nicholson's last, ending his career at sea.A notable fact is that Nicholson was never captured, nor did he lose his ship, as did many others in his day. After a brief stay in Boston Harbor, Constitution went back out to sea under a new captain, Silas Talbot. The new captain and the crew would capture many prizes in the West Indies between 1799 and 1802; however, as peace between the United States and France approached, there was little need for the Constitution ro sail further patrols. The squadron with which the Constitution sailed was ordered back ro the United States and Constitution was placed in ordinary in Boston Harbor in July 1802. Both Constitution and Nicholson would not be out of commission for long. As the Barbary States grew increasingly hostile to American merchant ships in the Mediterranean, Constitution was recommissioned by Captain Edward Preble in May 1803. Under naval reforms made by President 37

Thomas Jefferson's administration, N icholson was retained that same year to serve as the first superintendent of the Charlestown N aval Yard outside Boston and was given the rank of commodore aro und that time.9 N icholson served in this role until his death on 29 D ecember 18 11 , in Charlestown, Massachusetts. At the time of his death, N icholson was the senior officer in the US Navy. H e is buried in the crypt of the Old No rth C hurch in Boston. The Constitution wo uld spend the fo ur years between 1803 and 1807 engaging Barbary corsairs outside Tripoli and Tunis, and later observing naval operations during the Napoleonic Wars . From 1808 until 18 11 , Constitution spent mos t of her time on training runs and ordinary du ty. W hile Constitution wo uld earn h er greatest glory in the years ahead during the War of 18 12, it had already become clear

that George Washington h ad chosen her 2 "The Continental Navy," March 27, 2011, name well. While the Declaration oflnde- h ttp://www.rhed earsurprise.com/?p=25 l 9. pendence had staked America's claim as a 3 John A. McM anemin, Captains of the free country, the US Constitution officially Continental Navy (H o-H o-Kus, NJ: selfestablished h er authori ty as a nation. Simi- published, 19 81) . larly, Captain N icholson and the rest of 4 Ibid. the C ontinental Navy staked America's 5 John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, claim to defend herself at sea. The revived AmericanNationalBiography, Vol. 16 (New US Navy and USS Constitution, as one of York: O xford University Press, 1999). its first ships, establish ed America's author- 6 Niger was later verified as a British sh ip, ity at sea. and the US had to release the ship and Two hundred years later, it is impor- her crew and pay $ 11 ,000 res titution to tant to not only celebrate Constitution and Britai n. America's victory in the War of 1812, but 7 Garraty and Carnes, op.cir. 8 also to honor those who sailed before her. Garratyand Carnes, op.cir. ; McManemin, op.cir. 9 N OTES Garraty and Carnes, op.cir. 1 Michael A. Palmer, "The Navy: The Continental Period, 1775-1890," A History of Dr. J Phillip 'Jack" London is Executive the US Navy, July 16, 2004, www.history. Chairman and Chairman of the Board of navy. mil/history/history2 .htm. CA CI!nternational!nc. A native ofOk/,ahoma City, Oklahoma, D r. London is a graduate USS Constitution by M arshall Joh nson, 19th century. of the US Naval Academy. He went on to earn a master's degree in operations research from the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and a doctorate in business administration from George Washington University. D uring his twelve years ofactive duty as a regular officer in the US Navy, Dr. London served as a naval aviator and saw service during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. H e was with the airborne recovery team for Colonel j ohn Glenn's Mercury Program space flight in Freedom 7 in the Caribbean in 1962 on board USS Randolph (CVS 15), and served as aide and administrative assistant to the Vice Chief of the Naval Material Command-in the Vietnam War. Leaving active duty in 1971, London joined the US Navy Reserve and served as commanding officer of aeronautical engineering units with the Naval Air Systems Command, Washington, D C H e retired from the navy in 1983. D r. London has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the j ohn W Dixon awardfrom the Association ofthe United States Army (2003) for his industry supp ort to the Army warfighter and the Navy League's Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz Awardfor his industry leadership in serving the US Navy. Dr. London serves on the board of directors for the US Naval Institute, US Navy Memorial Fund, Naval H istorical Foundation, Center for Security Policy, and CAUSE (Comfort for America's Uniformed Services). Dr. London holds the rank of Capta:in, US Navy (Ret.).

SEA HIS TORY 142, SPRING 201 3

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RIGGING In the Age of Sail, square-rigged ships and schooners were the workhorses of both international trade and coastal transportation, as well as the world's navies. This was before there were engines to power them across the oceans. Instead, these ships' "engines" were sails and their fuel was the wind. Sails don't just float out there all by themselves. Ships need spars (masts, booms, gaffs, yards, and bowsprits) to extend them aloft and outwards. The rigging supports the masts and is used to control the spars and sails. A large sailing ship's rig might use miles of rope. Before the late 1800s, all the rope would have been fiber rope, usually from hemp or manila. Later, ships began using wire rope for standing rigging and even parts of the running rigging.

Standing? Running? What do they have to do with sailing? The standing rigging supports the masts with shrouds and stays, and once it is set up, it pretty much stays in place and is rarely adjusted by the crew underway. The running rigging, just like is sounds, is regularly moving. The crew uses the running rigging to set or strike sails or adjust, or "trim ," the sails to best make use of the wind's strength and direction. On square dggers, sails are trimmed by adjusting the angles of the yards with lines called braces and lifts. On fore-and-aft-rigged vessels-schooners, sloops, yawls, and ketches-the crew adjusts the sail trim by pulling in or easing the sheets. During the Age of Sail, just about everyone employed in a ship's crew would know the basics of how to make and maintain the rigging and sails. On larger vessels that carried specialists in their crews, a rigger would be in charge of takin~care of the standing and running rigging, and the sailmaker would be in charge of maintaining and making sails. Many ships could take care of all their rigging needs with their own crew. In port towns and cities, riggers and sailmakers could make a good living by setting up a business ashore in buildings with big open spaces where they could work called "lofts." ,!, (left) Sails and rigging aloft on USS Constitution. When the Constitution is fully rigged, she carries more than 8 miles of rope in her rrigging and can set more than 42,000 sq~uare feet of sail-thats nearly a full acrre of canvas-on 3 masts. SEA HIISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Careers in the Marine

Ships Rigger The person who makes and maintains a ship's rig is called a rigger. In the Age of Sail, riggers were employed onboard ships and in seaports all along the coasts. In 2013 there are still many sailing ships plying the world's oceans: training ships, private vessels, cruise ships, classic yachts, etc. Riggers are still needed, though not nearly as many as there would have been in the Age of Sail. Tom Ward is a ship's rigger. He works ashore in a building called a rigging "loft." He has his own company, Traditional Rigging Company in Maine, and he designs, makes, and installs rigging for all types of ships and boats. Tom's work is very hands-on. Most days, he works in the loft making pieces of rigging from rope using very precise measurements. Having the finished product fit the ship's rig exactly is very important if it is going to work properly, so Tom always checks and rechecks his work against the vessel's blueprints, made by the designers and shipbuilders, or against measurements he took himself to make sure no one has missed anything that might prove a problem later.

"Sometimes I have to spend a lot of time design ing a piece to meet certain strength requirements or other criteria-but appearance is very important, too. A big part of what I do is functional art. When I am working on a boats rig, about half my time is spent in the loft making rigging or blocks (pulleys) and the other half I am on the boat itself, usually in a shipyard. Sometimes I have to work aloft for long hours. I also get to work with naval architects (designers), carpenters, spar makers, and sailmakers. I find this part of my job fun because I usually work alone, but I enjoy the company of fellow maritime artisans and mariners:' Tom grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie in the Great Lakes. When he was a teenager, the brig Niagara was being rebuilt in downtown Erie, and Tom went down to check it out. He ended up getting a job onboard as a deckhand. From" Âˇ there, he got jobs on other sailing ships and ended up sailing around the world on a square-rigged training ship. After that voyage, Tom continued to sail and soon became a captain. Eventually, he moved ashore to the coast of Maine, where sailing ships are numerous and people still have the skills to build and maintain them. There, he worked for a sailmaker, who was very influential in a lot of ways and encouraged Tom to refine his skills as a rigger.

"In my early years as a seaman, I had the very good fortune to have sailed with men who were riggers in their own right who taught me things as theya been taught-skills that had been handed down for centuries. Rigging is not a stand-alone discipline. You need to know about sails, different boats and their requirements, the preferences of different designers, principles of basic geometry, strengths of materials, and so on . This only comes from years of practical experience and a lot of reading. What I didn't learn at sea, I had to learn from reading lots and lots of books, most of them obscure or very old because more modern techniques and materials have changed, but the principles still apply. I also have to keep up with modern advances in r igging to stay competitive, but my specialty is in traditional rigging. In the 21st century, it is difficult to find work sometimes, but I find it very rewarding in the end, when the ship sails off over the horizon and I know I helped make it possible:' - Tom Ward

(To Learn more about Tom and the Traditional Rigging Company, visit www.traditionalrigging.com.)

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aster and Commander is a Hollywood movie about a Royal Navy ship that sails into the Pacific Ocean in the early 1800s, during the time of Napoleon. The film was based on the hugely popular novels by Patrick O'Brian, which followed the exploits of the bold Captain Aubrey and his friend and shipmate, Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor and naturalist. Master and Commander stars Russell Crowe as Captain Aubrey, and Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin, but the real star of this movie-worthy of an Academy Award as Far as I'm concerned-is the flightless cormorant. Early in the film, Captain Aubrey steers his ship to the Galapagos Islands, anticipating that his French enemy will be there. As the ship approaches the islands, Maturin is staring intently at something on shore. With raised eyebrows, he tells a young midshipman: "How extraordinary-those birds."

The camera cuts to the doctor's view through the telescope of a cormorant with tiny, sparse wings. "By all that is holy," he says. "I think that is unknown to science."

While it is a Hollywood film and not a documentary, the movie is indeed accurate here. Though William Dampier in th~ 1680s, Charles Darwin in the 1830s, Herman Melville in the 1840s, and thousands of other mariners-whalers, pirates, merchant sailors, and explorers-cruised these islands for centuries and anchored in the bays where these birds nest, no one until 1898 gave any official record of this extraordinarily rare seabird. A few mariners in the 1800s, such as Captain David Porter of the US Navy, found these birds (and even ate them), but they didn't have the knowledge to recognize their special find. The Rightless cormorant is the only cormorant of the forty or so species in its family that is flightless, aside perhaps from the extinct spectacled coirmorant of Bering Island (the SEA\ HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

FLIG+fTLESS CO'tZ-tv\O~\'\T \-\ /.\~ R Is I ) subject of last issue's animal). The flightless cormorant's plumage, on both males and females, is a drab brown, which helps it blend in with the volcanic rock of the coast of the Galapagos. Like other cormorants, it has wide, webbed feet to help it swim under water after fish and crustaceans. Evolutionary biologists believe that these birds, without any threat from predators, eventually gave up the ability to fly in favor of spending their precious energy and calories on surviving in such a barren environment. Giving up flight also allowed them to grow much larger than other cormorants (males can weigh up to nine pounds), making it easier to dive deeper in the cold water around / the islands. Flightless cormorants have thicker

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beaks than most other cormorants, too, so they • ( . r;;:;~J, ~ ·~~~~~~~~~r can pry octopuses and sea stars out of rock crevices. /ff ~ Dozens of flightless bird species have either recently gone extinct or still live in a variety of environmentsmostly in the Southern Hemisphere-including flightless N'.Es\ o~ 9C1\\}\ 8C\>, penguins, ostriches, emus, moas, kiwis, grebes, wrens, and nest solely on two islands: their even a huge, flightless parrot. The flightless cormorant is population is only about 1,300 S~AS1f'r~S 1 Stv\P<-\...\..... S\\C.~S not in immediate danger of going extinct, partly because individuals. In Master and Commander, Stephen Maturin's quest to the Galapagos National Park is so carefully monitored. Yet be the first person in history to document this rare cormorant these birds remain extremely vulnerable to a variety of outside factors, such as manmade oil spills or natural shifts in is what leads him on a trek across the island. Here he sights the water temperature and climate, because flightless cormorants French ship making its escape, and runs back to tell Captain Aubrey-thus saving the day. As far as I'm concerned, this puts the flightless cormorant in the same class as Lassie or Flipper among classic movie animal heroes! Captain Aubrey, of course, leads his crew in the successful capture of the French ship. Then, as the movie winds down, he sets a course back to the Galapagos to load up on food and water, but also to give his old friend Maturin another chance to explore. A final plot twist forces the captain to head back out to sea immediately, and Maturin is once again disappointed. Aubrey delivers the final lines of the movie to his friend Maturin, in mock appeasement: "Well, the bird's flightless. It's not going anywhere." In the next issue: the crab (well, this one is not technically a crab) that was a model for the helmets of Samurai warriors. For past ''.Animals in Sea History" go to www.seahistory.org.

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

Marit1e Art News Patrick O'Jriett's Paitttittg of the Revettue Cutter rhomas Jefferson ott Uisplay at the Virgittia State Capitol Ar a ceremony in rhe O ld House Chamber of rhe Virginia Srare Capitol on 14 December, Rear Admiral Kevin S. Cook, USCG, delivered ro Virginia House Majority Leader, Delegate M. Ki rkland "Kirk" Cox, a reproduction of renowned marine arrisr Patrick O 'Brien's painting of rhe US Revenue Currer Thomas Jefferson engaging British barges on rhe James River during rhe War of 1812. Cox serves as rhe chairman of rhe Virginia Bicentennial of rhe American War of 1812 Commission. The prinr will hang in Cox's office through 20 13. Launched in No rfolk, VA, in 1802, rhe USRC Thomas Jefferson patrolled coastal waters in rhe Adantic. In May 1812, just a month before war was declared, rhe Jefferson sailed rhe Ham pron Roads area wirh US Navy captain Stephen Decatur on board ro survey existing lighthouses and propose signal rowers for a military "telegraph" system, which would use flags during rhe day and fires ar night. In rhe War of 1812, rhe currer was responsible for rhe first maritime vicrory of rhe war, after irs crew sported a British schooner sailing from G uadeloupe ro Halifax wirh a cargo of sugar and gave chase. The cargoburdened schooner was no march for rhe swift curter and was quickly captured and escorted ro Norfolk. The Jefferson was decommissioned and sold in 18 17, rhen vanished into obscuri ty. The Members of the Coast Guard Historical Ships' Company present a painting of the Coast Guard brought rhe Jefferson back ro life Revenue Cutter Thomas Jefferson to Delegate Kirk Cox (right ofpainting) at the Vir- by commissioning rhe painting for rhe bicentenginia State Capitol building in Richmond on 14 D ecember 2012. The Norfolk-based nial commemoration of rhe War of 181 2. (Del. Thomas Jefferson, supported by a local pilot boat and state militia, captured three Cox, www.kirkcox.com; Patrick O'Brien, www. Royal Navy barges, including sixty British officers and enlisted men on 11April1813. parrickobriensrudio.com)

150 Years ott Mittttesota's Waters The Minnesota Marine Arr Museum (MMAM), in Winona, and rhe Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) recendy opened a new exhibit, 150 Years on Minnesota's ~ters. The exhibition will be on display ar rhe museum through 23 May and highlights rhe influence rhar Minnesota's waterways have had in artistic production rhroughour rhe region's history. Visitors will experience rbe descriptive approach of Serh Eastman's work from rhe 1840s, rhe emotive modern absrracr work of Elof Wedin, and rhe variety of creative approaches utilized by regional landscape painrers today. (MMAM, 800 Riverview Drive, Winona, MN 55987; Ph. 507 474-6626; www.minnesoramarinearr.org)

View on the Mississippi River oil on canvas, 1857, by Ferdinand Reichardt

Wild Jloe Art-The Santa

Barbara Maritime Museum is opening a new marine arr exh ibition by local arrisr Kim Snyder in March. Wild Blue Art will feature coastal wildlife paintings and orher maritime scenes by Kim Snyder. The show will open on 28 March wirh an arrisr's reception and run through 30 June. In addition to marine wildlife scenes, rhe exhibit includes Snyder's paintings of seascapes and of rhe wooden schooner Bill ofRights. "I am moved by the abundance of wildli fe rhar surrounds us in our coastal environment in Sama Barbara County. My 35-year painting career has taken my arr in different directions bur always comes back around to wi ldlife . I love to capture their movement and personality and spirit in paintings fo r 01thers to see, remember, enjoy and bring this peaceful and joyful imagery inrco rheir homes."-Kirn Snyder. (SBMM, 113 Harbor Way, Sam a Barbara, CA;; RSVP for arrisr reception by phone ar 805 962-8404x l15 or onlin e ar WW\W.sbmrn.org.) 44

SEAHISTOfRY 142, SPRING 20 13

Chat"tge of G-uard at the ME! On 1 April, Julie Jones, Curator-in-Charge of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in N ew York, will beco me curator emeritus after a distinguished 38-year career at the museum. Alisa LaGamma, a specialist in African art in the department, will succeed her. "Jul ie Jones was one of the first curators of Precolumbian art to work at an art museum in the United States," stated Thomas P. Campbell, the museum's directo r. "Over the past nearly four decades at th e Met, her contributions to the field have been significant- from the exhibitions she organized to the catalogues and essays she authored, the gallery renovations and reinstallations she supervised, and the range and coordination of work by the team of curators she led." Before coming to the Met, Jones worked at New York's Museum of Primitive Art, the first museum in the United States formed specifically to exhibit the traditional arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. In 1969, the entire collection from that museum was offered as a gift to the Met by its found er, Nelson A. Rockefeller, and Jones subsequently made the transition to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a separate department for the care, study, and exhibition of these works was being established. During this time, th e Michael C. Rockefeller W ing was des igned and bu ilt to provide galleries for the collection of the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The new wing opened to the public in 1982 and received more than 800 ,000 visitors during its first year. In addition to her role as curator, M s. Jones has also served on the editorial board of the Metropolitan Museum journal for the last twenty-five years, which publishes original research into works of art in the museum's collections. More than 11,500 objects comprise the museum's collection of art from Africa, the Pacific Island s, and the Americas today. They span 3,000 years, three co ntinents, and many islands, and represent a rich diversity of cultural traditions. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028; Ph. 2 12 535-77 10; www.metmuseum.org)

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 20 I 3

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fugboats: fhe Art of Uave Sootte The Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia recently opened a new Communi ry Gallery exhibition, curated by the artist. The exhibition not only showcases Boo ne's beautifully detailed artwork, but also portrays the life and progression of his passion fo r these vessels and the industry in which they wo rk. Boone has honed his self-ta ught skills to produce vivid, welldetailed watercolors of contemporary and historical ships and tugboats. Boone, from Camden, New Jersey, knew at a yo ung age that he wo uld find his place in the maritime communi ry. As a young boy he wo uld venture along N ewton Creek in his fath er's rowboats and capture the river traffi c in pencil sketches . In 1960, he exchanged w~~E '°°"E ·61 one of his paintings for a ride on the C urtis Bay Towing Company tugboat Reedy Point. Thro ughout the 1960s, he wo uld co ntinue to ride the tugs and paint the scenes he observed, both honing his skills as an artist and learning the business of the tugboat industry. In 197 1, he wo uld join Curtis Bay as a full-time dispatcher, and over the years was promoted to operations manager before retiring in 1999 after twenry-eight yea rs with the company. H e now paints fu ll-time and is available for commissions. A resident of Oaklyn, NJ, Boone is past president of the Tugboat Enthusias ts Sociery and volunteers at rhe Battleship New Jersey, at the Independence Seaport Museum , and at the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, D elaware. (Tugboats: lhe Art ofD ave Boone will be on exhibit un til 4 August 201 3. ISM, Penn's Landing, Philadelphia PA; Ph. 2 15 4 13-8655 ; www. phillyseaport. org)

Sehittd the Cattvas

SCRIMSHAW WEEKEND *MAY 17-18 -19 2013* Sponsored by No rtheast Auctions ofPortsmouth, N H. and the M aine A ntique Digest.

Scrimshaw Weekend, the world's only continuous forum devoted to the indigenous shipboard art of whalers in the Age of Sail, takes place at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, home to the world's largest scrimshaw collection.

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Mystic Seaport is offering a special program, Behind rhe Canvas, with awardwinning Maritime Ar r Gallery artists. 16 March: "Luminisr Painter Creates a New England Coastal Scene" with artist Sergio Ra ffo; 6 April: "Simple Sketch to Finished Oil Pai nting" with artist Bill H anso n. Programs rake place ar the Mari time Art Gallery from 3-4:30pm. Tickers can be purchased in advance by calling the gallery at 860 572-5339 ; email for more info rmation, gallery@mysticseaport. org. (75 G reenmanville Ave., Mys tic, CT 06355; www. mysricseaport.org) Sunrise Sail at Brandt Point,

oil on canvas, by Sergio Roffe

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SEA HISTORW 142, SPRING 2013

A Chance to Invest in One of a Kind Pieces of Original, Framed Marine Art- AND to Support the Society Leonard Pearce "Atlantic" Oil on canvas, 26" x 20", Framed Price: $4,900 +shipping & handling Leonard Pearce has excelled in fine marine art images since 1971 . He has exhibited , won awards and is now in the collection of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and Mystic Seaport. The three-masted topsail schooner Atlantic was one of twelve vessels which competed for the 1905 Emperor's Cup, a prize put up by Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm for a race between New York and the Lizard (the extreme tip of Cornwall). Atlantic won the cup by achieving a time of twelve days and four hours.

Tim Thompson "On a Nor'wester" Oil on canvas, 14" x 16'', Framed Price: $6,900 + shipping & handling Tim Thompson began his painting career when he was 27 and established his reputation with nautical paintings of subjects from the ships of Drake's era, through to modern racing yachts. He is renowned for his meticulous attention to detail and his ability to create dramatic and atmospheric images. Shown is a yacht of the Portland Yacht Club off Camden Maine, circa 1880. The island is Curtis Island , and to the right is Mt Battie.

With questions, for shipping information, and to order, call Wendy Paggiotta at 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), x 325 , or email her at merchandise@seahistory.org. 20% of the purchase price is a tax deductible gift to the Society.

MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET

by Peter McCracken

Searching for Ships ' Primary Documents magine th at yo u're interested in finding a specifi c ship's logbook, journal, or plan. W here do yo u turn ? The logbook probably no longer exists. If it does, it's probably not cataloged anywhere. Ifie is, knowing which catalog to search is impossible. On the chance that yo u have identified the right catalog a nd the logbook's repository, yo u' ll probably still have to travel to get a look at it. If yo u succeed at all that, pick up a lottery ticket on your way home, because this was yo ur lucky day. D espite these challenges, ships' logs a nd journals certainly do ex ist, and so metimes yo u ca n indeed fi nd the one yo u're seeking. This issue's column is just a primer; there are more advanced options, but any path is a challenge in th is sort of quest. WorldCat.org is a guide to the holdings oflibraries aro und the world . Its primary use is for locating copies of printed resources such as books, journals, C D -RO Ms, microfi lms, etc., bur it does have manuscript resources-including ships' logs. Fo r example, a search fo r "H ydaspe" or "Mattakeeset" at http://worldcat .org will show records fo r these two ships. If yo u're looking for a vessel with a common name, try including the term "logbooks" in your search. Another option is to lim it yo ur results to "a rchival material" using the "Fo rmat" menu on the left side of the results page. You can also find these records directly by sea rching for the ship names at http://shipindex. org; holdings for relevant WorldCat records are in the freely access ible collection. The problem comes when trying to determine who owns the logbook, because WorldCat often does not display that in fo rmation. D o not despair; the National Un ion Catalog of Manuscript Collections, also known as NUCMC and pronounced "nuck-muck," usually does. Go to http://www.loc. gov/coll/nucmc/oclcsearch .html and select the fi rs t search option. From there, type in the vessel na me (o r the resource name shown in WorldCat) and click "submit query." You should find

a reco rd that marches the one yo u fo und in WorldCat, though in a more primitive fo rm. C lick on "more on chis record " and check "Location" at the bottom of the entry. There, yo u' ll find that all the "Hydaspe" journals are held at the N ew Bedfo rd W haling Museum Resea rch Libra ry, and the "M attakeeset" journal is at Eas tham Historical Society A rchives, in Eastham, Massachusetts. You should call ahead to be sure you can view the document in question and then travel to the library to view it -no one will be offering these items th ro ugh interlib rary borrowi ng! Bea r in mind char World Car is not comprehensive. Thousa nds of libra ries, includi ng many major European libraries, are not included in World Cat. Many others include their print holdings, but not their manuscrip ts. Some institutions have published directories of their logbook collections, but findin g these can be difficult. Search in WorldCar fo r rhe subj ect headings "Logbooks - Bibliography - Catalogs" and /o r "Ships's pap ers - Bibliography - Catalogs." These will guide you to tides such as Catalog ofEast India Company Ships' j ournals and Logs, 1600-1834; Inventory of the Logbooks andj ournals in the G. W Blunt White Library (at M ys ric Seaport); List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 18 01- 1947; and Log of Logs: A Catalogue of Logs, j ournals, . .. 1788 to 1988, Jo r Australia and New Zealand. These are not reprints of the logbooks, just lists of the logbooks in the institutions' respective collections. This suggested path is just a start. Searching fo r such items is ro ugh work, bur if yo u actually fi nd what yo u're looking for, it is well worth the effort. Suggestions fo r other sites worth mentioning are welcome at peter@sh ipindex.org. See http://sh ipindex.org fo r a free compilation of over 140,000 ship names from indexes to dozens of books and journals. .!,

The art ofjohn A. 1Voble • The history ofSailors' Snug Harbor

FIRE AWAY! Shoot Us Your Ideas.

HNSA would like to hear about topics you think would be of interest (and willing to present} to the naval history and museum ship communities at this year's conference in Philadelphia/Camden, September 18-21. So shoor us your ideas and we'll fire back ASAP!

Pleas• co11tac HNSA CA11f"mu Chair Toby Ootlioudt tobyo@bex.net • 419-340-2721

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 201 3

.SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA, has named Elliot Gruber as its new president and CEO, a position last held by Dr. William B. Cogar, who left the museum in late 2011. Gruber comes to the museum following two high-profile assignments: most recen tly, he was senior vice president of resource

development for the United Way of the National Capital Area. Before that, he was vice president and COO for the Gettysburg Fo undation. During his time at the U nited Way, G ruber helped lead the organization to substantial revenue increases achieved by widening its donor base. In eight years at the Getrys burg Foundation, he helped raise m ore than $ 100 million to build the fo undation's new museum and visitor center in Getrys burg. Gruber assumes the museum's reins as it launches the first phase of a major initiative, the Family Exploration Gallery. On the strength of a grant from the Cabell Foundatio n in Richmond, the JASON Project Exploration Command Center will be built in space now occupied by the Chesapeake Bay Gallery. The JASON Project is an initiative created by ocean explorer Robert Ballard and is an interactive exhibit providing students with real-time access to deep-ocean exploration. Gruber wi ll also lead fundraising efforts for the continued support of the $3 0 million USS Monitor Center, which opened in 2007. The Monitor Center, which inSEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

eludes a large-scale exhibit and a laboratory complex, is in the midst of a decades-long process of conserving artifacts from the famous Civil War ironclad. (100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606; Ph. 757 596-2222; www.MarinersMuseum.org) The Cape Ann Museum and Thacher Island Association are working together to bring the first-order Fresnel lens, once housed in Thacher Island's South Tower, back to Cape Ann. One of two lenses installed on the island in 1861, this particular one has been at the US Coast Guard Academy Museum in New London, CT, since the early 1980s when the Cape Ann Light Station at Thacher Island was decommissioned . In 2011, the lens was dism an tled and stored at the Coast Guard's curatorial services center in Forestville, MD. With no plans to exhibit it again, the Coast Guard has offered to return the lens to its original home on Cape Ann . The Fres nel lens was invented in the early 1820s by French phys icist Augusti ne-Jean Fresnel. His design concentrated light to cas t a beam so it could be seen at a great distance. The new light on Thacher Island could be seen twenry-two miles at sea, triple the distance of its earlier apparatus. The Thacher Island lens was built in Paris, France, in 1860, installed on the Cape Ann lighthouse the following year, where it served as a beacon for mariners for 120 years. Ir was originally lit by whale oil, then by lard oil, and eventually by kerosene (mineral oil) . Ir was electrified in 1932 and ultim ately rem oved by the Coast G uard in 1980. On its own, the lens stands ten feet tall and six feet in diameter and weighs just over a ton. It is composed of over 1,000 glass prisms set in a bronze fram e. First o rder Fresnel

Cape Ann Light, South Tower, Thacher's Island, ca. 1890 lenses are rare, with only thirty-n ine in the country, three of which are in New England. The only other one in Massachusetts is at the Martha's Vineyard Museum in Edgartown. Upon returning to Cape Ann, the lens wi ll require conservation treatment estimated to take two weeks and at a cost of approximately $75,000 . The project has already received a grant in the amount of$10,000 and the

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 20 12, passed by Co ngress on 1 January 2013, extends the IRA C hari table Rollover benefit for individuals who are 70 years and older. If yo u qualify, this means you can still transfer up to $ 100,000 from an IRA account directly to a qualified chariry, such as the National Maritime Historical Society, without paying federal income taxes on that money. Distributions under these provisions count toward IRA minimum distribution requirements imposed by the tax code. Contact your fin ancial advisor to ensure you get the m aximum benefit from this legislation.

two organizations have started a joint fundraisin g program to m eet this need . The C ape Ann Museum was fo unded in 1873 and houses the single largest co llection of paintings by G louces ter n ative Fitz H enry Lane plus an extensive marine artifacts collection devo ted to the area's fishing and m aritime heri tage. The Thacher Island Associatio n was form ed in 1980 and has raised over $1.9 million since 1998 fo r restoration wo rk. In addition to overseeing Thacher Island, the associatio n has recentl y ass umed stewardship of the Straitsm o uth Island lighthouse. (Anyon e interested in learning mo re abo ut his p roject o r in making a contributio n sho uld co ntact the Cape Ann Museum, Fresnel Lens Restoration C ommittee, 27 Pleasant St. , G loucester, MA 01 930 or the Thacher Island Association , Box 73 , Rockpo rt, MA 01966. ) . . . The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) is preparing a major new exhibit, Navigating Freedom: The Ular of 1812 on the Chesapeake, schedule to open on Saturday, 11 May, in St. Michaels, Maryland. Navigating Freedom explores the impact of the War of 18 12 o n the people of the C hesapeake Bay-black and white Americans, militiam en, Baltimore m erchants, and British sailo rs wh o fo und opportuni ty or misfortune amid the conflict. Their diaries, artifac ts, po rtraits, and articles reveal their personal stories and the ways the W ar of 18 12 on the C hesapeake challenged American ideas about freedom. CBMM partnered wi th Washington College's G IS lab to crea te several interactive components, including a 3D virtual flyover of th e Battle of St. Michaels, plus maps highligh ting the cultural landscap es of the area. The proj ect is accessible to those beyo nd the C BMM cam pus th ro ugh an interactive online exhibit, curriculum m aterials, teacher worksh o ps, and a series of public programs fo r all ages. This special exhibit runs th ro ugh 201 5 (www. cbmm .org) ... The Museum of Underwater Archaeology has launched a newly revamped website, offering easier access to the hundreds of pages of content written by underwater archaeologists from around the world. Explore "In The Field" pos ts, full m useum exhibits, cross-disciplinary proj50

ecrs, digital posters, project journals, educatio nal resources, and over 100 conferen ce papers, site reports, and bibliographies . (www.themua.org) Ocean Classroom Foundation, owners and operators of the sail training schooners Spirit of Massachusetts, Harvey Gamage, and Westward, are accepting applications now for their summer 2013 SEAfaring camps for teens: 14-20 July, Boston to Portland, ME; 22 July-4 August, RT from Portland to Nova Scotia and back; and 22 June-12 July, RT from Boston to Bermuda and back. Teens stand watch and participate in all aspect of the ships' operations, plus learn abo ut marine science and maritime cultu re, history, and traditions. Ocean Classroo m is a non-profit educational o rganizatio n com m itted to sending yo ung people to sea on voyages teaching the traditions, values, and adventures of m aritime life. Am o ng o ther at-sea program s for yo uth and adults, Ocean C lassroom Foundation runs a hi gh school semester at sea p rogram called Discovery High School, where students spend a fully accredited h igh school sem ester aboard ship, traveling between the Caribbean and New England . (For details on SEAfaring Camps and Discovery High School, contact OCF, POB 220, 24 1 US Rt 1, Dam ariscotta, ME 04543; Ph . 207-563-3266; www.oceanclassroo m .org) .â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, in collaboration with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Voyage to Discovery program, is conducting a national essay contest open to all middle and high school students in the United States. The Voyage to D iscovery program is a natio nal mari ne sanctuary educational initiative h ighligh ting African-American contribu tions to the co untry's m aritime heri tage while fosteri ng increased parti cipation in marine careers and ocean conservatio n . The purpose of the con tes t is to encourage studen ts to research and learn abo ut African -American contributio ns to th e m aritime history of the Un ited States. Applicants must submit an essay o n an African -American individual or gro up that m ade a significant contributio n to American m aritime history; deadline for submission is 15 April 201 3. The

essay (2 pages for middle school students and 3 pages for h igh schoolers-do ublespaced , typed) h as to be abo ut a person o r group of people not already profiled on the Natio nal Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) website or the Voyage to Discovery website. Cash prizes are $ 1,500 fo r the high school winner, $5 00 fo r the m iddle school win ning essayist. All details on criteria, eligibili ty, and submission instructio ns are posted o n the website. (VtoD, www.voyagetodiscovery. org/essay_ contest.htm; NABS, www. nabsdivers.o rg) . . . NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) has proposed an expansion of both the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The G ul f of the Farallon es NMS , designated in 198 1, and Cordell Bank NMS, designated in 1989, both contribute to ocean and coastal m anagement by engaging in p ublic o utreach an d education . Each prom otes ocean stewardship, conducts scientific and applied research ini tiatives, and develo ps and suppo rts programs benefiting the lo ng-term heal th of the region . The p roposed expansion wo uld pro tect the upwelling source wa ters of the sanctuaries, as well as na tio nally signifi cant seascapes, wildlife, and shipwrecks. In additio n, the expansion wo uld pro m ote ecoto urism and sustai nable fishing practices. The ONMS cond ucted a bo undary review and solicited p ublic comm ents th ro ugh 1 March . If it is determined that an expansion is beneficial, it will prepare a drafr enviro nmental impact statem ent (EIS) to assess expansion al ternatives. The G ulf of che Farallones NMS encom passes nearly 1,3 00 square m iles of ocean and coas tal 1wa ters beyond California's

(conztinued on page 52) SEA HI ~STORY 142, SPRING 201 3

OFF TO FIDDLER'S GREEN Captain Harry W. Marshall (12 March 1924-18 December 2012) Harry Marshall was not only a former trustee of the National Maritime Historical Society but on the boards of the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, the American Merchant Marine Museum, the Propeller Club, and the Marine Society of the City of New York-an organization composed of shipmasters. Born in 1924 in Jackson, KY, he was raised in Irvine, KY, and Atlanta, GA. As a high schooler during World War II, Harry hoped to join the Coast Guard but was rejected because they felt he didn't have the math skills. By chance, he noticed a placard on a streetcar on his way to school advertising "A Wartime Job with a Peacetime Future" and joined the US Merchant Marine Cadet Corps ten days after graduation. He was immediately sent to Bayou St. John, LA, and after eight weeks graduated as Deck Cadet and just two weeks later he was assigned a berth aboard the new Liberty ship 1homas Hartley. In January 1943 his ship was carrying sulfur and military supplies to Great Britain and to Russia in a six-ship convoy escorted transAtlantic by US Navy warships and, after a stop in Ireland, by British warships for the final run to Murmansk. The convoy was attacked by German planes; two ships sank and the British escort pulled away Captain Harry W Marshall to hunt submarines. The Hartley got her cargo to Murmansk but spent the next eight months in Murmansk and Molotov in Convoy JW53, known as the "Forgotten Convoy" in WWII history. In 1944, Harry began forty years of service with American Foreign Steamship Corporation, rising from third mate in the Wildwood to master of the William P McArthur in 1947 before coming ashore to serve as assistant port captain, port captain, and ultimately vice president ofoperations until mid-1984. From 1984 to 1996, he was president and owner ofAmerican Foreign Shipping Co., Inc. (AFS), and in that capacity he served as general agent and ship manager for the Maritime Administration, managing freighters and rankers in the Ready Reserve Force (RRF). AFS was engaged in vessel conversions, no-notice activations, maintenance, upgrades and outportings as well as activating and operating RRF vessels in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. AFS also operated tankers in the US Navy Afloat Prepositioning Fleet during peacekeeping missions in Somalia. H e was invited and testified, as ship manager, before the House Merchant Marine Subcommittee in the Persian Gulf Sealift hearings. Harry's eye catching that recruiting poster on a streetcar in 1942 gave him a way to pursue an interest that his talents m ade the most of, and he would always say, "If an opportunity presents itself, take it." SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

After he retired from AFS, he was continuously active supporting the US maritime industry and particularly the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, where he was recognized with the 1979 Alumni Association's Outstanding Professional Achievement Award, the 1999 Kings Pointer of the Year Award, and the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1993, Room #105 in the Academy's Fulton Hall was dedicated in honor of Captain Harry W. Marshall, Class of 1944. A paragraph on the plaque reads, "The Academy "If an opportunity presents itself, is proud to name this laboratory take it. "Harry Marshall as ayoung for Harry Marshall, whose dismerchant mariner. tinguished lifelong career in the maritime profession truly epitomizes theAcademy's motto, Acta Non Verba. We are honored to salute his many notable achievements, his philanthropy and his dedication and loyalty to Kings Point." His wife, Mary, passed away just six weeks after his death. They are survived by their six children and six grandchildren. Captain Marshall was both respected and beloved by those he worked with; when I informed the trustees of his death, Stephanie Begley Smith, wife of trustee Bradford Smith, sent me this remembrance: My father's brother, Patrick Joseph Begley, the youngest of six children, was killed in the Solomon Islands. When his body was returned home, a large 48-star Bag was draped on the coffin. Our fami ly wanted to donate the Bag. Harry Marshall arranged for Joe Begley's Bag to be Bown on the Liberty ship john W Brown, and placed in their ship museum under their care. My husband Brad Smith and I attended the celebration of the completion of the john W Brown in Cleveland, Ohio, and proudly saw my uncle's Bag raised on the ship. A very proud moment, all orchestrated by Harry Marshall, NMHS trustee at that time. Harry Marshall was one of the dearest people I have known. I met him and Mary on the Queen Elizabeth on the Society's first cruise to Bermuda years ago. He became an active member, leader, trustee, and a regular at the Charles Point Council seminars. Although Kings Point recognized his outstanding deeds, he wasn't strictly "deeds, not words," but also a great storyteller. He was always interesting, helpful , and kind. As I took on more responsibility with NMHS, I would often turn to him for advice. One day we were walking along the path at Kings Point, and he was encouraging me to take on a project that I thought would require more maritime knowledge than I had. When I demurred, stating I didn't know enough, he, who had counseled me for years, calmly replied, with the smile and twinkle that we all remember him with, "Oh, you know more than yo u think you do."

- Burchenal Green, President, NMHS 51

(continued from page 50)

North American Society for Oceanic History Annual Conference in Alpena, MI, 15-18 May 2013 NASOH's annual conference for 2013 will be hosted by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at Thunder Bay, at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center. "Maritime Borderlands and Cultural Landscapes," the conference theme, reflects a recent shift in scholarship of borderlands history through studies of physical and figurative spaces between states and cultures. Maritime historians and archaeologists also have embraced the cultural landscape model as a means for understanding human connections to coastal and marine places; this shift in scholarship calls into question long-held ass umptions of economy, empire, environmental impact, and geographical meaning. Optional excursions aboard a glass-bottom boat on Lake Huron to tour the Sanctuary's shallow-water shipwrecks and a land-based tour of the coast and its historic lighthouses are planned. Further information about the conference can be found online at www.nasoh.org or by contacting the conference chair, Cathy Green, at cathy.green@noaa.gov. (For more information on the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, visit www.thunderbay.noaa.gov.)

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Golden Gate Bridge. Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, located 42 miles north of San Francisco, is a destination feeding area for local and migratory marine life. (www.farallones.noaa. gov; www.cordellbank.noaa.gov) ..• US Representative Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, along with co-chair Michael G. Grimm of New York, announced in February the creation of the new Congressional Maritime Caucus to raise awareness among members of Congress of a broad range of maritimerelated topics and legislative initiatives. "From Alaska to Puerto Rico, Louisiana to New York, every day this industry facilitates trade and delivers energy resources that support millions of jobs and pays billions in state and federal taxes every year. I also look forward to highlighting the role other industries play in supporting maritime commerce, be it in the fields of law, engineering, shipbuilding or insurance." According to Rep. Richmond, America's ports employ 13 .3 million workers nationwide, and that international trade accounts for more than 25% of America's gross domestic product. US seaport activities generate more than $3.15 trillion in annual economic output, with $3.8 billion worth of goods moving in and out of seapons every day around the country. (Rep. Richmond's office is at 2021 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 309, New Orleans, LA 70 122; Ph. 504 288-3777; www.richmond.house.gov) ... On 7 January, Mystic Seaport received a $ 100,000 grant from the Beagary Charitable Trust to develop and implement an educational outreach program for primary school students in Northeastern Connecticut. Mystic Seaport will use the funds to create activities and learning tools for use in-school, at the museum, and online, with the goal that every 5th grader in the Mystic, CT, region will be able to access these programs and materials over a three-year period beginning this year. Last year, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and state legislators designated the 20 13-14 academic year to be the "Year of the Charles W Morgan" in the state of Connecticut to coincide with the completed restoration and 38th voyage of the 1841 whaleship Charles W Morgan. The Beagary grant will also be used to develop education materials highlighting this educational designation. "We recognize it is a challenge for school districts in this era to be able to afford to take students on field trips outside the classroom. This grant will enable us not only to physically bring every 5th grader in Northeastern Connecticut to Mystic Seaport, but also to help us develop in-school and online learning tools to serve students across the state and elsewhere," said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. The Beagary Charitable Trust is a longtime supporter of Mystic Seaport. In 2008, the trust gave $150,000 towards the restoration of the Morgan. Mystic Seaport has also announced that the restoration work on the Charles W. Morgan is on track for a 21July2013 relaunch. With the final outer stem p iece installed on 1 February, the rebuilding of the foremost part of the bow consisting of the apron, stem and outer stem was completed. A new wormshoe m atching the original's dimensions is being affixed to the false keel, which in turn is atrached to the ked. The wormshoe was five inches thick when built, but a thwe-inch replacement was installed in the 1970s once the ship vwas already at the museum.

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The Morgan's shipwrights recently decided to copper the entire keel structure, both to help preserve it (all of it is original dating from 1841) and to seal it from water. They are also installing the buttend copper rivets on planks below the waterline. These rivets reinforce the burrend seams of the planks to help prevent them from loosening and springing out. They were not part of the original construction but were required by the insurance companies in the 1880s when the Morgan moved to San Francisco as her new homeport. In addition to new work on the ship itself, new whaleboats are being constructed by outside parties. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont has recently committed to building the tenth one. The museum is posting updates and photos of the ongoing restoration project on the Mystic Seaport website. (75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355 ; www.mysticseaport. org) . . . A 140-year-old model of USS Constitution is being restored at the USS Constitution Museum. The model was commissioned by Charles Greely Loring, a C ivil War hero and the first ex-

This USS Constitution model was commissioned by Charles Greely Loring in the 1870s or 1880s ecutive officer and later curator and director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It was built by a sailor on board USS Constitution, most likely in the 1870s or early 1880s. Loaned to the Old South Meeting House in 1903, it sat on display until 1978 when it was moved to the recently opened USS Constitution Museum. For years, the model sat in artifact storage, its poor condition preventing staff from handling or displaying it. Now, however, thanks in part to funding from the Boston Marine Society, professional ship model conservator Rob N api-

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er will begin the rehabilitation of the model during the 34th Annual Ship Model Show, on now through 23 March. (Charlestown Navy Yard, Bldg. 22, Charlestown, MA 02129; Ph. 61 7 4261812; www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org) . . . Maritime archaeologist and founder of Bateaux Below, Joseph Zarzynski, has collaborated with Peter Pepe, president of Pepe Productions, on a new book, titled Documentary Filmmaking for Archaeologists. Previously, Pepe and Zarzynski collaborated on producing three award-winning documentaries about historic shipwrecks as well as creating several "mini-docs" for screening in museums, art galleries, and visitor centers. The new book is intended to guide archaeologists and other social scientists on the step-by-step process of making a documentary, so that they are better prepared to work with professional documentary filmmakers on their projects. Of the book, director of NOAA's Maritime Heritage Program James Delgado wrote, "Peter Pepe and Joseph W. Zarzynski have done a tremendous service in writing this first-ever guide to archaeological

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largest wooden sailing ship ever built in the United States. The ship is represented on the museum's grounds by two structures, replicas of the ship's bow and stern, standing almost six and four stories tall respectively. While the sculpture in its current form was completed in 2006, it was always the museum's goal to add the masts. Thanks to generous contributions from supporters of MMM, the funds became available to finish the project. The

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FESTNALS, EVENTS, LECTURES, ETC.

•New Bedford Whaling Museum Sailors' Series: 4 April, "Ray Hunt and His Designs" with John D eknatel and Winn Willard; 18 April, "The Charles W Morgan and Our Yankee Whaleboat Project" with Quentin Snediker and Bill Womack; and 2 May, "Volvo Ocean Race" with Ken Read. Sailors' Series lectures are held on Thursdays at 7PM with a pre-lecture reception at 6PM. (Contact the museum for more information at 18 Johnny Cake

June. (75 Greenmanvi ll e Ave., Mystic, CT 0635 5; Ph . 860 572-5388; www.mysti cseaport.org. For info on the symposium , email smf@mys ticseaport.org) EXHIBITS

• lhe Art of Ship Models, co-curated by R. Michael Wall and Judith Lund, opens 1 March at the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM, 18 Johnny Cake Hill , New Bedford, MA 02740; Ph. 508 997II

Gro up Annual Symposium , 23 March at th e Museum of London, Docklands. (www.docklandshistorygroup.org. uk) •Council of American Maritime Museums 2013 Annual Meeting, 22-23 April at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC. Leonard Rennie Professional Travel Grants are available. (www.co un cilo fa m ericanm aritimemu s eums.o rg) •"Maritime Borderlands and Cultural . , I , I . NASOH

Join Us as the National Maritime Historical Society Celebrates its SOth Anniversary! We'll spend three days, 17-19 May, immersed in New York's maritime heritage, with presentations and guided tours led by the heads of maritime museums and historic ships. We'll tour the Big Apple waterfront by boat and take excursions to Governor's Island, the Intrepid, and the ships at South Street Seaport-just to name a few destinations. In addition to this active schedule about New York City's waterfront and harbor, we'll relax and refuel at gala dinners and luncheons, before taking an evening sail in the Hudson River. See "NMHS Cause in Motion'' on pages 8-9 and the NMHS website at www.seahistory.org for more details and updates. The Board of Trustees, the NMHS and Sea History staff, and fellow NMHS members look forward to seeing you there! Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; Ph. 508 997-0046; www.whalingmuseum .o rg) •Pirate Party on the Embarcadero, 1819 May at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. A 2-day event for kids and families, plus opportunities for a 45-minute Harbor cruise on San Diego Bay. (For more information, contact the muse um at 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101; Ph. 619 234-9153 ext. 101 ; www. sdmaritime.org) •The Riddle of The Sands: the Book, the Author, the Movie, 10 March, a free lecture by Mike Caldwell at the Long Island Maritime Museum; reservations encouraged. (8 West Avenue, West Sayville, NY 11 796; www.limaritime.org) •2013 Strictly Sail Pacific, all sail , boat show, 11- 14 Ap ril at Jack London Square, 70 Washington St., Oakland, CA. Includes presemations on the upcoming 34th America's C up co be held in San Francisco in August. (www.stricdysailpacific.co m) •Celestial Navigation: 19th-Century Methods, a 2-day class about the hiscory and techniques of Age of Sail navigation at Mys tic Seaport's Treworgy Planetarium, 20-21 April (75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355; Ph. 860 572-533 1; www. mys ticseaport. org) •34th Annual Sea Music Festival, 6-9 June at Mystic Seaport, including the Music of the Sea Annual Symposium on 7-8

•American Society of Marine Artists 15th National Exhibition at the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay, OR, 22 March-17 June 2013 (ASMA, www.americansociecyofmarineartists.co m) •Maritime Miniatures by Maritime Masters, exhibition and sale, through 7 April 2013 at Mystic Seaport's Maritime Gallery (75 G reenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355; Ph. 860 572-5388; www.mysticseaport. org) •Always Good Ships: A Tribute to 125 Years of Newport News Shipbuilding, at 1he M ariners' Museum ( 100 Museum Dr., Newport News, VA 23606 ; Ph . 757 596-2222; www.marinersmuseum.org) •Disasters on the Delaware: Rescues on the River, through 2013 at the Independence Seaport Museum (Penn's Landing, Philadelphi a, PA; Ph. 215 4 13-8655; www.phillyseaport.org) •Push and Pull: Life on Chesapeake Tugboats, through 2014; also Navigating Freedom: lhe war of 1812 on the Chesapeake, members' preview 11 May, at the C hesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (213 North Talbot Street, St. Michaels, MD 2 1663; Ph. 4 10 745-29 16; WWW. cbmm.org) CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIUMS

•"There She Blows! Aspects of the London Whaling Trade," Docklands History

ence, 17- 19 May. (See info on page 52.) •"Maritime Maine and the Civil War," 41st Annual Maritime History Symposium, 6 April at the Maine Maritime Museum. (MMM, 243 Washingcon Street Bath ME 04530. www. mainemaritimemuseum .org) •"Geography of the Age of Sail," a session at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting in Los Angeles, 9-13 April 201 3 (www.aag.org) •"From Enemies to Allies," An International Conference on the War of 1812 and Its Aftermath, 12- 16 June 2013 at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. (www.sta rspangled200 .com.) •"Sea Stories: Maritime Landscapes, Cultures and Histories Conference," 12-14 June at the University of Sydney, Australia (For more inform ation, email Dr. Annie Clarke, H eritage Studies, at annie.clarke@sydney.edu.au) •Big Stuff Conference 2013, tri ennial international meeting focused on conserving our large technology heritage, 25-27 September 201 3 in Ottawa, Canada. Call for Papers deadline is 3 1 March 2013. (www. sciencetech. technom uses.ca/ english/whatson/big_stuff_conference.cfm) •2013 McMullen Naval History Symposium, 19-20 September at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis. (www.usna.edu /His tory/Symposium)

Great Reads from Sea History Press ... A Dream of Tall Ships

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by Peter and Norma Stanford with an Introduction by John Stobart, RA This lively account of a great urban adventure begins in the 1960s with two New Yorkers who were committed to creating a maritime museum in Manhattan's old sailing ship waterfront-the South Street Seaport Museum. Entranced by the old brick buildings of the Fulton Fish Market neighborhood and aware of the rush of new office-building construction in Lower Manhattan, they moved to save the old buildings as an historic district, and breathe new life into New York's old Street of Ships. The idea of recreating the old sailing-ship waterfront inspired yo ung and old, rich and poor, Wall Streeters and blue-collar workers, seamen, firemen, policemen and teachers to work together to found a museum showcasing the ships that built the port, which built the city, which built the nation.

Hardcover, 576 pages, 24 pages of photos and 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 \far of1812 -Its History and Bicentennial Commemorations Maritime historian and award-winning author William H. White guide's 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 Was Still There also serves as a useful guidebook to the ongoing bicentennial celebrations across the country continuing through 2015.

Softcover, illustrated• $15.00 + $4.00 s/h in US; call for international rates

The Skipper & the Eagle by Captain Gordon McGowan, USCG (Ret.) with an Introduction by A dmiral RobertJ Papp, Jr., Commandant, US Coast Guard

In the year 1946, amid the post-war confusion, Commander Gordon McGowan, US Coast Guard, found himself the master of a three-masted barque, a battered prize of war. With her carry-over crew of German seamen and neophyte Coast Guard personnel, he trasformed her into a well-found Coast Guard training ship able to make a transAtlantic voyage under sail.

Hardcover, 255 pages, 36 illustrations • $20.00 + $4.00 s/h in US; call for international rates

To order, visit the NMHS Ship's Store at www.seahistory.org, or call 914 737-7878, ext. 0.

Reviews W'hen America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs and Money in theAge ofSail by Eric Jay Dolin (Liveright Corporation, New York, 2012, 394pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-87140433-6; $27.95hc) In 1784, the ship Empress of China inaugurated America's China trade. Thus began our own east-west maritime history, one of particular interest to historians and laymen alike. Dolin's secondary tide, An Exotic History o[Tea, Drugs and Money in the Age ofSail, reveals the book's major themes: America's great demand for tea; its peripheral involvement in the opium trade and Britain's subsequent and tragic Opium Wars; and the search for goods desired by the Chinese, especially furs. Dolin explains the C hinese way of doing business that often went against western sensibilities-a tale of a complex, convoluted and co rrupt Chinese system of ethnic customs and trade regulations, j uxraposed agai nst the Victorian British Empire's political subterfuge in its attempt to meddle in C hinese affairs. At the margins, Americans crafted political countermeasures to gain inroads around both parties' trade barriers. The C hinese had their own business vocabulary: chop (an official's stamp), chopped dollar (a piece ofsilver), chopho use (customs house), cumshaw ("gold sand," or port entry fee) , hong merchant (a C hinese middleman responsible for foreigners while they were trading in Canton), shroff (money lender), hoppo (customs official) , and factory (a business office and living quarters for traders while in Canton) . Their strange (to theAmericans) words and exotic customs, combined with strict C hinese laws, led to some extreme confusion on both sides. If a trader got into trouble because of them , the consequences were sometimes dire. TheAmericans, nevertheless, muddled their way through the commercial and social labyrinths replete with disreputable SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 2013

characters on all sides. Finally, the nineteenth century bro ught a Chinese war with Britain that led to a decisive British victo ry using advanced technology and military discipline over masses of relatively archaic Chinese army. This victory evolved into the virtual slavery of C hina's peasant class in the wes t, the era of "the coolie." This work addresses a complicated and fasci nating topic, but there were some lengthy digressions. Although interesting, part was an extension of Dolin's Fur, Fortune and Empire, where the author wro te about the decimation of various fur-bearing animals, such as seals and sea otters, as well as the deforestation of certain woods species. Dolin's discussion about the development of the clipper ship, an important, if brief, C hina trade episode, is perhaps an overly detailed historical backgro und for this book. China is currendy America's third biggest trading partner, with both economies bound by debt and imbalances of import-to-export trade. Therefore, When America First M et China is both timely and scholarly, a well-written key to greater understanding of the notalways-admirable historical relationships between these two economic giants. I highly recommend this engaging book for anyone interested in C hina-tourists, businesspeople, diplomats, and historians alike. Lours ARTHUR NORTON West Simsbury, Connecticut

Intrepid Sailors: The Legacy of Preble's Boys and the Tripoli Campaign by Chipp Reid (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2012, 320pp, maps, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISB N 978-1-61251-117-7; $3 5.95) American conflict with Libya dates to the founding of the United States. The Barbary states-Tripoli, Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis-were pirate enclaves that fed on Mediterranean commerce, protection

money from trading nations, hostage ransoms, and the sale of captives into slavery. At the time, the United States had no navy, and Congress wanted to avoid the expense of building one. Like many of the other nations trading in the Mediterranean, America regarded tribute payments to the pirates as a less expensive alternative to military action to subjugate them. Tribute paid to one state, of course, brought the wrath of the others, so all had to be placated . Tunis and Tripoli, although the smallest, were the most demanding and belligerent. Tripoli declared war on the United States in 1801 , seizing American ships and humiliating their crews taken as hostages. In response, Congress authorized naval construction and President Thomas Jefferson ordered the navy to bring Tripoli to terms. Following two ineffective attempts to cower Tripoli, Commodore Edward Preble, aboard the 44-gun frigate USS Constitution, led the third assault.

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Intrepid Sailors: The Legacy of Preble's Boys and the Tripoli Campaign is a careful retelling of the exploits that led to a settlement with the Barbary states and began the legacy of the US Navy. The story revolves about the Tripolican capture of the US N avy fri gate Philadelphia and her officers and crew. Preble had to either recapture the Philadelphia o r, at lease, deny her to the enemy. O nce Stephen D ecatur had successfully burned the ship in a nightti m e raid, Preble and his command turned to subj ugating Tripoli . The narrative of Intrepid Sailors is slow going for modern readers. Preble's fleet m oved at the speed of the wind, not a nuclear-powered drive system . M o reover, ho nor and glory, the dri ving fo rces behind the offi cers who led the fi ghting, is as far removed fro m the modern scene as is the slow-m oving w ind-drive n fl eet. Autho r Chipp Reid m akes his protagonists real to his readers, but they no netheless remain of another world where m en dueled for honor and sought deadly combat to attain glory. Readers with an eye for adventure and an appreciation of American mili tary history will fi nd Intrepid Sailors a fetching addition to their library. D R. DAVID 0 . WH ITTEN Auburn, Alabam a

researched and highly sympathetic treatment of o ne of hiscory's great, but unfa irly overlooked, naval officers. As if service in an age adorned with the nam e of histo ry's greatest admiral was not enough co hamper the proper appreciation of a n outstanding officer, Pellew was also forced to share the stage with a host of

extraordinarily competent and aggressive capta ins. While Taylor muses at the possiCommander: The Life and Exploits of bili cyofPellewserving as a model fo r Patrick Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain by O 'Brian's fictional Jack Aubrey, there were Stephen Taylor (W. W No rton & Com- of course numerous ocher accomplished pany, N ew York, 201 2, 320pp, illus, ap- captains, most notable amo ng them Thomas pen, no tes, I SBN 97 8- 0-393- 07 164 -1 ; Cochrane, who also influenced O'Brian . Considering che great successes of British $28.95hc) Commander: 7he Life and r.>cp!oits of captains in shi p-to-ship actions at the batBritain's Greatest Frigate Captain is a long- tles of the N ile an d Trafalgar and the limited overdue scudy of Sir Edwa rd Pellew, a m an use of signals by Nelson, o ne cannot help of renown in his time, who also became well but recognize chat, fo r Britain's Royal Navy, known to lacer generatio ns as the m entor to it was a golden age ofleadership under fire. the tide character in C. S. Forester's H orn- Impressively, Taylor makes a convincing blower saga. Unfo rcunacely, until chis biog- case ch at Pellew, if not a great admiral in raphy, Pellew had received scant attention the mold of N elson, was indeed the most from chose commi teed to the scudy of naval o utstand ing captain of his age. The author leadership. As his career spanned the years portrays his subject as a courageo us and encompassing th e American Revolution , able sea fighter and sailo r. He offers ample the French Revolutio nary and Napoleonic testimo ny co the expertise and energy that Wars, and subsequent hostili ties with the Pellew consistently dem o nstrated fro m his Barbary Pirates, he was, for fam e's sake, coming of age during the Ame rican Revoill starred to have earned his laurels in the luti on to his final campaign as the admiral Age of Nelson . Fortunately, in his endeav- co mmanding a squadron sent to bring the ors to rescue Pellew from neglect, Stephen Dey o f Algiers to heel. Thro ugho ut chis Taylor has succeeded in producing a well- admirable wo rk, Taylo r is careful to allow

S EA HISTORY 142, SPRING 201 3

Pellew's contemporaries to speak on his behalf. The book is chock-full of endorsements to Pellew's bravery and ski ll from peers, subordinates, and his superiors. Commendably, the author does not shirk from his duty to illumi nate the man's flaws. Making reference to a wide range of correspondence, Taylor demonstrates that Pellew developed a habit of being impertinent with those in authority, especially in matters concerning the fortunes of his fami ly and close associates. Nonetheless, it is always clear that Taylor admires Pellew, and the critical accounts ofPellew's beh avior are often tempe red with efforts to explain them within a context favorable to Pellew. Above all , Commander is an enjoyable tribute to a deserving officer. Whi le sometimes repetitive in reco unting praise bestowed upon Pellew, and in elaborating the composition of his commands, Taylor avoids belaboring most points and the book Aows very nicely from one remarkable event to the next. Ir is well crafted and recommended to anyone with an interest in the histories of war at sea or the Royal Navy, or in search of a biography of a truly extraordin ary individual. CHARLES STEELE, PHD

1863 involving USS WJoming and a Japanese fort. My one criticism of the book concerns its final essay, where the author asserts that the US Navy won the C ivil War. The Union navy contributed significantly to the Con federate defeat, but to state that it wo n the war is an overs implification. The blockade was certainly a major factor, bur as other historians have poimed out, it was porous-nor surpris ing, considering that rhe ships had to cover more than 300 miles of coastline to effect the blockade. Union naval power was nonetheless impressive, bur other than New Orleans and Norfolk, no major southern port was captured until near the end of the war. The author concludes that Admiral Farragut's capture of New Orleans in Apri l 1862 was decisive, but I have challenged this before in some of my writings. No one questions that it was a major blow to the Confederacy, but it was no more decisive than Gettysb urg or Vicksb urg, for example. As is emphasized in a number of other works, the Confederacy was defeated because it could not persevere against overwhelming odds. William N. Still, Jr. G reenville, North Carolina

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A Dog Before a Soldier: Almost-Lost Episodes in the US Navy's Civil war by Chuck Veit (Lulu Enterprises, Inc., and Ch uck Veit, N. Attleboro, MA, 2012; 199pp, photos, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-55737-497-7; $2 1.50pb) Th is brief book includes vignettes of what the author considers Ii ttle-known even rs/incidems during the American Civi l War. A number of the essays have previously been published in the US Naval lnstiture's magazine, Naval H istory, with the book including a final chapter in which the author opines, "How the US Navy Won the American C ivil War." Veir's research is certain ly adeq uate, although he made little use of unpublished sources, instead relying upon published sources such as Official Records ofthe Union and Confederate Navies; he does consulr log books of various naval vessels. There are ten well-written essays, most of them quite imeresring. Perhaps the most unusual one is tided, "The Barde of the Straits of Sh imonoseki," which relates a battle in

SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 20 13

Churchill and Seapower by C hristopher M. Bell (Oxford University Press, New York, 2013, 432pp, photos, maps, notes, biblio, and index, ISBN 978-0-19-9693573; $34.95hc) Another book on Wi nsto n C hurchill? Christoph er M. Bell plows gro und already pulverized by scholars before him in search of C hurchill's views of seapower that others have hidden in broader studies or ignored. His focus-seapower in the broader C hurchillian spectrum. His aim-to clarify and correct accepted conclusions. As one example, he argues that Churchill was not the driving force behind the Dardanelles campaign of World War I, but that he favored action in the North Sea instead. Was Grear Britain's disaster in the Far East at the beginning of war with Japan Churchill's responsibility? Bell, critical of the prime minister, examines the logic behind his policy. Considering the options, risking Asian holdings was reasonable, but Churchill nevertheless underest imated Japan's wi llingness to risk war with the

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combined forces of the United Kingdom and the United States. Churchill's offensive strategy of the Great War-deploy a fleet to force the Dardanelles-became defensive in World War II-sacrifice naval assets for the benefit of Bomber Command because only offensive thrusts could win the war with Germany. In Bell's view, Churchill's attention to the Bartle of the Atlantic has received too little attention from historians who readily accept the prime minister's assertion that he gave it top prioriry. Bell claims he extended the battle and exacerbated losses by denying resources to Coastal Command and the Royal Navy in favor of Bomber Command. Only approaching crises of food and raw material shortages forced him to airer his priorities. Bell devotes pages to Churchill's passion for Operation Culverin, an abandoned amphibious attack on Sumatra. The role of the prime minister in the Norwegian fiasco of the early war years is allotted considerable attention, as is his responsibiliry for the loss of Force Z and Far East strongholds, bur remarkably, the disastrous Dieppe Raid is ignored. Churchill and Seapower is nor as focused on the famous prime minister's view of the role of navies in projecting national powe r as the tide suggests. Ir is instead a scattergun assessment of Churchill's involvement in naval events and, as such, joins the immense cohort of volumes devoted to the evaluation of Great Britain's heralded leader of World War II. DAVID 0 . WHITTEN, PHD Auburn, Alabama

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