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SEA HISTORY
No. 157
WINTER 2016-17
CONTENTS 10
The Rivers:A Celebration ofLife and WOrk on America's Ulaterways, by Daven Anderson Each year, more than 500 million tons offreight flow past American cities and towns along our inland waterways, mostly out of the public eye. Artist Daven Anderson's latest exhibition looks at the working craft and culture on our inland rivers, in all their grit and beauty.
16 Cutterman Frank Newcomb and the Rescue of USS Winslow, by W illiam H. Thiesen When the United States declared war on Spain in the spring of1898, US Revenue Cutter Service Lt. Frank Newcomb, in command of USRC Hudson out ofNew York, was sent to patrol the
north coast of Cuba. Not long after their arrival Newcomb and his crew led a daring rescue of a disabled US Navy torpedo boat, under attack during the Battle of Cardenas.
16
22 Welcome to the New Land, Draken Harald Harfagre, by Ingeborg Louise "Vesla" Adie
In 2016, the largest Viking ship built in modern times sailed to North America and toured the Great Lakes and the northeast, inspiring Norwegian-Americans to learn more about their proud Viking heritage and share it with the world. ~
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26 Funding for America's Maritime Heritage: Rounding the Bases, by Timothy J. Runyan While funding established by the Maritime Heritage Act of1994 was reinstated a few years ago,
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the full amount promised has yet to be made available. National Maritime Alliance Chair, Dr. Timothy Runyan, has kept the pressure on Congress to restore full funding to the grants program, and he can't do it akme. In this update, Dr. Runyan explains how we can help.
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28 The Barque Picton Castle Bosun School: Learning the Traditional Skills of the Sailing Ship Seafarer, by Captain Daniel D. Moreland
While the Age ofSail in its true form has long passed and, with it, the everyday knowledge and skills of the mariner and rigger, there is still one place where one can go to learn the ways ofa ship from a master, without committing to a long term at sea. 32 Lieutenant Charles Hunter, USN, and the Blanche Affair, by Evelyn M. C herpak
In the days before wireless communications, naval captains had to use their best judgment to assess a potential enemy at sea without the benefit of verifying their planned course ofaction with their superiors. In the Civil Wir, US Navy lieutenant Charles Hunter considered it within his authority to stop ships at sea and seize them. The ramifications were deemed controversial and demonstrate the difficult gray area lesser commanders had to navigate.
26
Cover: Morning Mist, Lower Mississippi River Mile Post 174 by Daven Anderson, Watercolo r and Mixed Media on Paper, 20 x 26.5 inches. (See pages 11-13.)
DEPARTMENTS 4 DEcKLoc
38 MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET
5 LETTERS
40 SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS
8 NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION
49 CALENDAR
14 MARINE ART NEWS 34 SEA H1sTORY FOR Krns
50 REVIEWS 56 PATRONS
Sea History and the National Maritime Historical Society Sea History e-mail: seahisrory@gmail.com; NMHS e-mail: nmhs@seahisrory.org; Web site: www.seahisrory.org. Ph: 914 737-7878; 800 221-NMHS MEMBERSHIP is invited. Afterguard $ 10,000; Benefactor $5,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponsor $ 1,000; Donor $500; Patron $250; Friend $ 100; Conrriburor $75; Family $50; Regular $35.
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28 SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Society, 5 John Walsh Blvd. , POB 68, Peekskill NY 10566 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add 'I mailing offices. COPYRIGHTŠ 20 16 by the National Maritime Histo rical Society. Tel: 9 14 737-7878. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
DECK LOG Thank You, John Hattendorf!
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his past September, John Hattendorf retired after more than thirty years at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. John B. Hattendorf, DPhil, DLitt, LHD, FRHistS, served as the Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime Studies at the NWC since 1984; since 2003, he has also served as chairman of the maritime history department and director of the Naval War College Museum. Dr. Hattendorf holds degrees from Kenyon College, Brown University, the University of O xford, and Pembroke College; in between degree programs, he served at sea as a US naval officer aboard destroyers, earning a commendation from the Commander, US Seventh Fleet, for his combat service. As a young naval officer, John Hattendorf knew he wanted to be a historian. When his ship made a port stop in H awaii on the return from Vietnam , his commanding officer secured him a position with the Naval Hi story Division in the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington to entice him to stay in the service. Later, when he had graduated from Brown University, th e Navy recalled him, and when his ship came into Newport, the president of the Naval War C ollege brought him in to his office and told him to report the next mornin g. Since that time he has been extraordinarly productive: H e is the auChiefofNaval Operations Adm. john Richardson thor, co-author, editor, or co-editor of presents Dr. John Hattendoifwith the US Navy's more than forty books on British and Distinguished Civilian Service Award during the American maritime history and naval 22nd International Seapower Symposium at the warfare including serving as editor-inchief of the multi-volume Oxford EnUS Naval War CoLLege on 23 September. cyclopedia of Maritime H istory (2007). His most recent work is a three-volume series on US Naval Strategy: Selected Documents from the 1970s, '8 0s, and '90s. Hi s scholarship and wo rks have won countless awards, too many to list here: upon his retirement, the Secretary of the Navy awa rded him the Navy's Distinguished C ivil ian Service Award, the highest decoration that a civilian employee of the Navy can be awarded. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson presented the award to Dr. Hattendorf at the 22nd International Seapower Symposium in September. In addition to this recognition, Dr. H attendorf was named the Ernest]. King Professor Emeritus of Maritime History and was awa rded the Navy's Superior Civilian Service Award for his nearly fourteen-year tenure as director of the Naval War College Museum . Earlier in the yea r, Oxford U niversity awarded him its Doctor of Letters degree, and Boydell Press published a festschrift in his honor, Strategy and the Sea: Essays in Ho nour ofjohn B. Hattendorf In 2005, Proceedings magazine called H attendorf one of the most widely known and well-respected naval historians in the world. NMHS trus tee William S. Dudley, former director of the Naval Histo rical Center (now the Naval History and Heritage Command), and board member of the Naval Historical Foundation, recognized that "John Hattendorf is one of the most prolific of American naval historians. His specialty is analyzing the strategic approach to complex issues involving the roles of navies in the modern era." He is known for his efforts to encourage young scholars and his approachability to all. Hattendorf is the past president of the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) , and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in England, among m any affi liations. We salute you, Professor H attendorf, and thank you for yo ur incredible contributions to the field of maritime and naval history, for your good humor, and for your generosity with your time and expertise. - Burchenal Green, NMHS President
4
NATIONAL MARITIME 'V' HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLISHER'S C IRCLE: Peter Aron, G uy E. C. Maitland, Ron ald L. Oswald OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ronald L. Oswald; Vice Chairman, Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, Deirdre O'Regan, We ndy Paggiotta, Nancy Schn aars; Treasurer, Howard Slotni ck; Secretary, Jean Wort; Trustees: Charles B. Anderso n; Walter R. Brown; W illiam S. Dudley; David S. Fowler; William Jackson Green; Karen Helmerso n; Richard M. Larrabee; Guy E. C. Maitland; Capt. Brian McAl lister; CAPT Sal ly Chin McElwrearh, USN (Rer.); M ichael W. Morrow; Richard Patrick O'Lea ry; Erik K. O lstein; ADM Robert J. Papp Jr., USCG (Ret.); Timothy ]. Runyan; Richard Scarano; Philip J. Shap iro; Capt. Cesare Sorio; Robena Weisb rod ; William H. W hite; Chairmen Emeriti: Walter R. Brow n, Alan G. Choate, G uy E. C. Maitland, H oward Slotnick FOUNDER: Ka rl Kortum (1917- 1996) PRESIDENT (1927-201 6)
E MERIT US:
Pete r
Stanford
OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM D avid C. Brown, USMS (Ret.); RADM Joseph F. Callo, USN (Rer.); Geo rge W. Carmany III; James J. Co leman Jr.; C live C uss ler; Richard du Moulin; Alan D. Hu tchiso n; Jakob Isbrandtsen; Gary Jobso n; Sir Robin Knox-Johnston; John Lehman; Capt. James J. McNamara; H . C. Bowen Sm ith; John Stobarr; Philip J. Webste r NMHS ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbourne Smi th; George Bass, Oswald Brett, Francis Duffy, John Ewald , T im othy Foote, Steven A. H yman, J. Russell Jinishian, G unnar Lundeberg, Conrad Milster, W illiam G. Mull er, Smarr Parnes, Nancy Hugh es Ri chardson, Bert Rogers, Joyce Huber SEA HISTORY E DI TO RIAL A DV ISORY BOARD : Chairman, Timothy Runyan; No rman Brouwer, Robert Browning, Will iam Dudley, Daniel Finamore, Kev in Foster, John Jensen, Joseph Meany, Lisa No rl ing, Carla Rahn Phillips, Walter Rybka, Quentin Snediker, W illi am H. W hi te
NMHS STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal G reen; Membership Director, Nancy Schnaars; Marketing Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Comptroller, Anjoeline O suyah; Staff Writer, Shelley Reid; Director ofDevelopment, Jessica Macfarlane; Director ofPublic Relations, Lisa Fine; Membership Coordinator, Irene Eisenfeld; Charles Point Council Coordinator, Barbara Itty SEA HISTORY: Editor, D eirdre O 'Regan; Advertising, We ndy Paggiotta Sea History is primed by The Lane Press, Somh Burlington, Vermont, USA.
SEAHISTORY 157, WINTER20 16- 17
LETTERS Dahlgren 's Flagship Ad miral John Dahlgren, commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron after 24 June 1863, was a believer in torpedoes, the mines the Confederacy h ad used from the beginning of the C ivil War. He reaso ned that if torpedoes could be effectively employed to impede Union Navy access to key southern ports, they could also be used to effectively bottle up Confederate blockade runners in those same ports, thus rendering them useless to the South. r~
~
SS Harvest Moon
Omitted from the article (Sea H istory 156) was the fact that Ad miral Dahlgren's own fl agship durin g the las t part of the war, the sidewheel steam er H arvest Moon, struck a Confederate torpedo on 1 March 1865 in Winyah Bay near Georgetown, South Carolina, and sank in fifteen feet of water in less than five minutes. According to Admiral Dahlgren's diary, "S uddenly, without warn ing came a crashing sound, a heavy shock, the partition between the cabin and wardroom was shattered and driven in towards m e, while all loose articles in the cabin flew in different directions. The admiral was not injured and he was transferred to another shi p. However, the Harvest Moon was the only flagsh ip that the Union lost during the entire war. The U nion Navy stripped the 193foot steamshi p of its armament a nd other
We Welcome Your Letters! Please send correspondence to: seahistory@gmail.com or Editor, Sea History, 7 Timberknoll Rd., Pocasset, MA 02559 equipment soon after she sank, but whar is left of the remains of rhe vessel is located close to the ship cha nnel leading from Georgetow n to the ocean. Her metal stack protrudes above the surface at each low tide, while the deteriorated woode n hull is now buried deep in the mud of Wi nyah Bay. ROBERT M. MCALISTER, DIRECTOR
South Carolina Maritime M useum Georgetown, South Carolina U-boats 505 - 506 - 507 I was an oi ler in the US Navy during World War II and saw a lo t of convoys at sea in the Atlantic, for our primary duty was fueling destroyers and destroyer escorts underway in the Atlantic. When I read about the activi ties of U506 and U507 in the Gulf of Mex ico, in the summer issue (Sea H istory 155, "So C lose to H ome" by M ichael To ugias), I felt I must wri te and tell you abo ut the capture ofU505. In June 1944, our ship, USS Kennebec (A0-36), a fleet oiler, was called away from a co nvoy ro meet up with T. G. 22.3 [US Navy Task Gro up 22.3], which was on a mission to search for U- boats off rhe coast of West Africa, in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands. On 4 June, just two days before the invasion of France (incidenta lly, it was o ne year to the day since I graduated from high school), the task force ships-escort carrier Guadalcanal (CVE 60) and five
USS Kennebec, July 1944 destroyer escorts-and aircraft had spotted the U-boat and were in pursui t. The carrier was low on fuel , a nd we were sent in to replenish her. We arrived alongs ide and began our job transferring fuel. I a m quite sure your readers have read about this event already, but one part that hasn't been talked about often is the m a neuvers of that operation. Guadalcanal was in the middle of refueling, with our ship sti ll along its starboard side, when we go t word that it wo uld have to retrieve the two planes that h ad sighted the U- boar. The birds were runn ing low on fuel a nd had to come in. The flight-deck crew first lau nched two other planes bur, to do so, had to make a 90-degree turn into the wi nd with the Kennebec still alongside. I was a gunners mate 2/c at the time and was assigned to a fueling-at-sea station on deck, which provided me with a ringside seat for the greater part of the d ay. Most of what happened on that day is etched in my memory. I am hoping to see a future article in Sea H istory on this event in history and would be happy to add my recollections of that day. I'm fas t approaching 92 , so do not tarry!
Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancient mariners of Greece to Portuguese na vigators opening up the ocean world to the heroic efforts of sailors in modern-day conflicts. Each issue brings new insights and discove ries. If you love the sea, rivers, lakes, and
bays-if you appreciate the legacy of those who sail in deep water a nd their workaday craft, then yo u belong with us.
Join Today! Mail in the form below, phone J 800 221- MHS (6647), or visit us at: www.seahistory.org (e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org)
Yes, I wanr co join che Sociecy and receive Sea History quarcerl y. My concribucion is enclosed. ($ 17.50 is for Sea History; any amounc above clrnt is cax d educcible.) Sign me up as: D $35 Regular Member D $5 0 Family Member D $ I 00 Fri end D $250 Parron D $ 500 Donor Mr. /M s.
Sidewheel paddle steamer Harvest Moon's stack as it looks today, at low tide.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 20 16- 17
157
----------------------~Z IP _____~ Return co: Nacio nal Maricime Hiscorical Sociecy, PO Box 6 8, Peekskill, NY I 0566
5
U505 in the fo reground with a US Navy salvage crew on the bow. USS G uadalcanal is in the background, while one of the carrier's bombers p rovides air cover.
My ship, USS Kennebec (A0 -36), was originally built as an Esso tanker named the Corsicana, taken over by the Navy in 1942 and renamed for the Kennebec River in Maine. (M any T2 tankers were named for American rivers and lakes.) She carried a crew of nearly 300 officers and men. We stood gun watches (half of the armament was manned 24/7), and when fueling we ofte n had two alongside at once. It was not unusual to operate in rough seas with 40 to 80 ships in a convoy. The N avy's fleet oilers sure were working ships and participated in quite a few convoys in the N orth Atlantic. We used to say, "The G ravy was in the N avy-the Atlantic was Romantic-and the Pacific was Terrific!" After Japan surrendered , we ended up fuelin g Japanese minesweepers.
I read Sea H istory cover to cover and get much enjoyment from all the good work you are doing in preserving our nautical heritage. ROB E RT
J.
MILLER
Ambler, Pennsylva nia Fro m the editor: U 505 was captured by T G 22 .3 and towed to Bermuda, eventually ending up in the Portsmouth N avy Yard. In 1954 the U- boat was donated to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (www. msichicago.org) , where you can visit her today. We were much intrigued by Mr. Miller's letter and have reached out to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to help us make this happen. Look for an article on this dramatic event in an upcoming issue in 2017.
OWNER'S STATEMEN T: Statement fi led 9/3 0/ 16 required by rhe Act of Aug. 12, 1970, Sec. 3685, T itle 39, US Code: Sea History is published quarterly at 5 Jo hn Walsh Blvd. , Peekskill NY 10566; m inimum subscri ption price is $ 17.50. Publisher and ed ito r- in-chief: No ne; Ed itor is D eird re E. O ' Regan; owner is National Maritim e Historical Society, a no n-profit corporation; all are located at 5 John Walsh Blvd ., Peekskill NY 10566. Du ri ng the 12 months preced ing O ctober 20 16 the average number of (A) copies pri nted each issue was 25 ,3 14; (B) paid and/or req uested circulatio n was: ( l) outside co unty mail subscriptions 6,880; (2) in-cou nty subscri ptions O; (3) sales th ro ugh dealers, carriers, counter sales, other non-US PS paid d istribution 6,556; (4) ocher classes mailed thro ugh US PS 380; (C) total paid and/or reques ted circu latio n was 13,8 16; (D ) free distributi on by ma il , samples, complimentary and other l 0,2 1O; (E) free discriburion outside the mails 3 13; (F) total free discributio n was 10,679; (G) total discribu cio n 24 ,495 ; (H ) copies nor d istri buted 8 19; (I) total [of 15G and HJ 25,3 14; OJ Percentage paid and/or requested circulatio n 56% . Th e actual numbers fo r the single iss ue preced ing October 201 6 are: (A) total nu mber pri nted 25,031 ; (B) paid and/or requested circulation was : (I ) outside-coun ty mail subscri ptio ns 6,85 0; (2) in -county subscriptio ns O; (3) sales through dealers, carri ers, co unter sales, orher no n-US PS paid d istribution 7,463 ; (4) o ch er classes mailed through US PS 304; (C) to tal paid and/or requested circulatio n was 14, 6 17; (D) free d istributio n by mail, samples, co mpli mentary and ocher 9,125; (E) free discribuci on o utside the mails 450; (F) total free d istribution was 9,575; (G) total d iscribucio n 24, 192; (H ) cop ies not d istributed 839; (I) total [of 15G and H J 25 ,03 1 (J) Percentage paid and/or req uested circulatio n 60% . I certify chat rhe above srarements are co rrect and compl ete. (s igned) Burchenal Green, Executive D irector, National Maritime Historical Society.
6
Corrections The article on the seafaring brothers, Captains John , Asa, and Oliver Eldridge (Sea H istory 154, p. 38- 41), includes an image of a lithograph depicting the US Mail Steam ship Pacific rescuing the crew of a sinking barque at sea in 1852. The caption misidentifies the captain of the Pacific and misspell s the nam e of the barque. The doomed ship was the barque Jessie Stevens (not Jesse), and the captain who affected the daring rescue was my great-grandfather, Captain Ezra Nye (1 798-1 866), who was a distinguished captain for the Collins Line ofNew York. According to the Nye Homestead and Museum in Eas t Sandwich, M assachusetts, "Fo r this he gained national
Captain Ezra Nye
recognition in this country, and the gratitude of the British admiralty and Queen Victoria, who presented him with a gold chronometer. .. and a beautiful gold medal." N E ILS O N AB EE L
Portland, Oregon From the editor: Several readers alerted us that our conversion calculations for the US dollar to the Euro were off by a factor of ten, as noted in the article regarding the the res toration plans for barque Peking, currently ow ned by South Street Seaport Museum in New York (Sea H istory 156). Germ any has allocated $30 million Euros to the project, which is approximately $33 million US dollars, not $3.3 m illion USD, as erroneously printed in the article.
SEAHISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
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NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION National Maritime Historical Society Annual Awards Dinner, 2016
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Conde Nast chairman Charles Townsend proclaims Sea History "Top-Notch ... a Great Read!"
Erudite, warm, and inspiring, this year's NMHS Distinguished Service awardee, Chuck Townsend, commented that his wife, Jill, h ad asked what he had in common with Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, to follow her in receiving rhe prestigious award. "Well, nothing," he quipped, bur then he pointed out that they share a deep affinity and appreciation for maritime history and how important NMHS 's role is in keeping our maritime heritage alive. He then remarked that he, unlike Her Royal Highness, as chairman of the mass media conglomerate Conde Nast, is an expert in periodicals, so he could state unequi vocally that Sea History is a top-notch publication, serving a critical role in sharing the sto ries of our seafa ring past and keeping readers across the country up to dare on the maritime preservation field. He also thanked NMHS vice chairman Rick Lopes for the compelling videos he produced, bringing our guests into the homes, workplaces, and boars of the evening's awardees. NMHS chairman emeritus Wa lter Brown presented the David A. O 'Neil Sheer Anchor Award to fellow trustee Captai n Cesare Sorio, (1-r) Walter Brown; Captain Cesare Sorio; Charles Townsend; Dinner Chairdescribing his fifteen yea rs at sea on rankers man, George Carmany Ill; Burchenal Green;fohn Stobart; Master-of Ceremonies and passenger ships, from deck cadet to ship's Richard du Moulin; and Ronald Oswald. master, sailing the wo rld 's oceans as a professional mariner in the Italian merchant marine. After swallowing the anchor, Captai n Sorio became involved in all aspects of marine operations, including shipbuilding, ship conversion and repair, vessel purchasi ng and sale, and did consulting work in the design and construction of commercial and marine vessels of various types, from oil tankers to dry cargo, LNG carriers, drill ships, tugs and barges. Walter Brown introduced his good friend as "rhe real deal," and in his acceptance remarks, Caprai n Sorio reiterated how important it is to keep history alive and talked abo ut his efforts to encourage yo ung scholars to pursue maritime topics in their studies. Finally, we paid tribute to the late Peter Stanford, to whom NMHS and the maritime preservation com munity at large owe so much. Peter's wife, No rma, and his children were joined by many of his friends and colleagues in his honor. Kent Barwick, president emeritus of the M unicipal Art Society, spoke of the ea rly days of South Street; Captain Jonathan Boulware, executi ve director of South Street Seaport, talked about his prodigious accomplishment in founding and fightin g for the museum; and Nor ma reminisced abo ut many of the ambitious Captain Sorio accepts his award and shares afew words at the podium preservation projects they in the famous Model Room of the New York Yacht Club. undertook. Renowned marine artist John Stobart donated an original oil painting to be sold to support NMHS and Sea History, in honor of his dear friend and colleague. He spoke abo ut when he first met Peter and Norma and of Peter's indelible influence on his career. Ir was a fabulo us occasion to be in the company of so many individuals who love and work to preserve our maritime heritage. Please visit our website at www.seahistory.org to view more photos of the 20 16 Annual Awards Dinner and to learn more about the Society. -Burchenal Green, NMHS President
Old friends Norma Stanford and John Stobart paid tribute to the late Peter Stanford. 8
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Seas
CruisesÂŽ
Cruise the Great Lal<es
The Rivers A Celebration of Life and Work on America's Waterways by Daven Anderson
In the nineteenth century, the riverfront was often the focal point of urban life in towns along America's inland waterways. A visitor to a town's levee would likely see a variety of watercraft tied up there: peddlers' barges carrying portable small businesses upstream and down, flatboats worked by the "alligator-horse" embodiment of western rivermen machismo, and steamboats with their fanciful decoration and smoke-spewing stacks. News traveled via our waterways, especially before the telegraph came to the West, as clerks dropped large city dailies at local newspapermen's offices, bringing the news of national and international events to the American frontier. Today, the romance of it all has waned, bur the current flows on, as does the work and culture of the people who live and work on it and along its shores. Artist Daven Anderson's masterful talents capture the grit and beauty of life on our western rivers in his latest solo exhibition, 1he Rivers, touring at select venues in the United States through 20 18. - Sean Visintainer, curator ofthe Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library, a special collection ofthe St. Louis Mercantile Library and the University ofMissouri-St. Louis
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fter draining water from 1,245,000 square miles ofland in 31 states and two Canadian provinces, receiving rhe flows from more rhan 14,000 miles of tributaries, rhe mighty Mississippi River roars into the Port of Baron Rouge ar an average rare of 646,000 cubic feet per second, emptying rhe flow 250 miles later through a variety of channels into the Gulf of Mexico. Unbeknownst ro the vast majority of Americans, more than 500 million rons of freight valued at more than $100 billion-grains, gravel and aggregates, ~
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Pushing Upstream at Sunrise, Upper Mississippi River, St. Louis, watercolor on paper, 21.5 x 28 inches
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SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
paper, wood, coffee, coal, petroleum, chemicals, iron steel, rubber, and manufactured goodsflow past our rowns and cities every year, a nd that's just the traffic on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers-all beyond our view, as well, since commercial shipyards are cordoned off from the public. Commercial and industrial maritime operationsbrawny, demanding, and usually dangerous to those untutored in nautical transport-are isolated for everyone's safety. I have been very privileged to gain access to these areas and experience life and work on the rivers: to see first-hand the activity and the work in all its va rious forms and to see the d angerous nature of much of it, and also its beauty. The paintings that comprise the Rivers exhibition carry viewers to the very ba n ks of
Last Light, Ohio River, Mile Post 174, watercolor and mixed media on board, 24 x 32 inches The first time I rode a working vessel on a river, I was honored to join the crew ofMVMountain State, a merchant vessel owned and operated by AEP River Operations. We p ushed coal barges on the Ohio River between Metropolis, Illinois, and the AEP power plant in southeast Indiana. The coal had been mined in the Powder River Basin ofsouthwest Wyoming, loaded into rail cars and railed in unit trains to Metropolis, where it was loaded into 15 barges. Each barge holds the equivalent tonnage of about 54 tractor trailer trucks. A 15-barge tow, therefore, holds the equivalent of more than 800 truckloads. Imagine the wear and tear that a single tow saves on our roads. Last Light shows us pushing downstream at sunset. Such beauty! America's greatest waterways and beyond, into the shipyards, omo the docks, aboard the ships, and out on the swift, broad currents. The great task of maintaining navigable channels on the inland waters is the job of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Coast G uard, each with its own responsibilities. The Corps began the wo rk of maintaining a usable depth in 1829, when it started removing snags, closing off secondary channels, and excavating rocks and sandbars. The Rivers and H arbors Act of 1930 authorized a nine-foot channel depth and 400-foot w idth to accommodate multiple barge tows. The Corps built numerous locks and dams on all of our major rivers in addition to the few already working. Each lock and dam creates a pool upstream of it, and the resulting lakes are used for recreational boating and fishing. The dam s make the rivers deeper and wider but do not stop the flow. During periods of high flow, the gates are opened completely and the dams cease to function. Below St. Louis, the Mississippi is relatively free-flowing, although it is constrained by numerous levees and directed by multiple wing dams. Crew Boat Captain, Lower Mississippi River, Mile Post 18 0, watercolor on board, 26.5 x 20 inches
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
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In the past, the d ams were made of wooden wickets with 600-foot by 110foot lock chambers. With the shift from steam to diesel propulsion, and as commercial traffic and the size of rows in creased , barges had to be locked through in two phases, which backed up river traffic and greatly increased towing expense. In the 1950s, the Co rps modernized the locks, increasing their length from 600 feet to 1,2 00 feet to accommodate tows of 15 barges, five barges long and three wide (as depicted in Last Light, page 11). Today, the sta ndard tow on the m ajor tributaries and the U pper Mississippi is 15 barges so arranged, as to be able to lock through as a unit. While the. US Army AFoggy p assage, upper " M zmsszppz . .. . R.zver, St. Louzs, . M.zssourz,. waterco lor on paper, 255 . . x 325. . znch es C orps o f E ngmeers mamtains the chan nel depth and width, it falls to the US Coast G uard to perform the equally critical job of maintaining the river's aids to navigation, which include beacons, markers, and channel buoys that tell boat pilots where the safe channel is. TI1is is one reason you find the Coast Guard stationed at inland cities along our rivers and waterways. I was out on the CGC Cheyenne, homeported in St. Louis. Orders were to work the aids to navigation on the Missouri River. We left St. Louis in fog (above, in A Foggy Passage) and headed for Lock 27. As we reached the lock, the sun had burned off most of the fog. Our stars were further aligned because we had no wait to lock through. Som etimes a boat or barge can wait hours for its turn through -~ the locks. z
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Heading Home, Lower Mississippi River, Mile Post 180, watercolor on board, 23 x 35 inches
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Drydocked at Sunrise, Lower Mississippi River, New Orleans, watercolor on paper, 12 x 15.5 inches New Orleans is called the "Crescent City" because the river makes a deep curve there, bending sharply around Algiers Point. H ere the river narrows and plunges to a depth of 200 feet, the deepest point in the river. As I often did on one of my man)' visits to New Orleans, I took the ferry with camera in hand from the foot of Canal Street to Algiers Point. It used to be free; now it costs two dollars-exactly. No change is given, so ifall y ou have is a five, yours becomes a fivedoLLar trip. On this particular morn ing, we passed the p addlewheeler M ississippi Queen, in dry dock at BoLlinger Shipyard. With the sun's rays just breaking over the horizon and bathing her upper decks, she Looked especially beautiful. From the deck ofthe ferry, I could see and hear the early stirrings of men organizing for the tasks ahead, and I snapped away in fuLL confidence that there was a painting in there somewhere. BoLlinger Shipyards on Algiers Point was founded by Donald Bollinger in 1946 and is still fam ily-owned and thriving. A Louisiana institution, it is a p rimary builder of US Coast Guard cutters and a significant employer in the region.
The Rivers: A Celebration of Life and Work on America's Waterways • 4 February-27 March 2017, Sc. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri-Sc. Louis • 1 July-30 September 2017, C hanne l Islands Maritime Museum, O xnard, Ca li forn ia • 6 May- 15 Ju ly 2018, Evansville M useum of Arts, Hisrory & Science, Evansville, Indiana • 3 August-27 Ocrober 2018 , Eri e Maritime M useum, Erie, Pennsylva nia • C heck the artist's website for additional venues. Casting Off, Lower Mississippi River, Mile Post 174, watercolor on paper, 12 x 15.5 inches Daven Anderson is a graduate of the US Naval Academy. He was trained in nuclear engineering and served four years aboard US Navy submarines. Daven has Lived on or near the water his entire Life, Living in Chicago; Groton, Connecticut; Charleston; and Cleveland; now he resides in St. Louis along the mighty Mississippi. He was named an official US Coast Guard artist in 2 01 2. H e is the managing director of the American Society ofMarine Artists and is executive director of the Missouri Watercolor Society. To learn more about Daven Anderson and view his paintings online, visit his website at www.davenanderson.com.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 20 16- 17
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Marit1e Art News Natiottal Maritte Art Cottferettce, a Resouttdittg Success for ASMA n September, more than 200 marine artists, curators, collectors, and enthusias ts came together in Wi lliamsburg, Virginia, for the inaugural N ational Marine Arr Conference, sponsored by the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA), and featuring the opening of its 17th National Exhibition. ASMA president, sculptor Kim Shaklee, led the conference; acclaimed artist Len Tantillo, served as m as ter of ceremonies as the nation's top talent in marine arr gathered for four days of presentations, demonstrations, and workshops by many notable artists, including John Barber, William Duffy, Peter and Lisa Egeli, Neal Hughes, Mike Killelea, Ian M arshall, Len Mizerek, C. W. Mundy, Sergio Roffo, John Stobarr, and Kent U llberg. Artists and enthusiasts alike were given an education in the process of creating arr, both en plein air and in the studio, and in the business of arr and printmaking. "The conference was a true synthesis of everything we've been working toward," said M s. Sh aklee. Discussing the vibrant exchange of ideas between artists, curators, editors, and gallerisrs, she noted, "It illustrates the importance of a n ational gathering, where o ur signature artists, membership, and the larger arr community can discover what's really going on in marine arr, a nd what the Society's fellows and other ASMA members have to offer."
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Plein air painter Neal Hughes, the featured marine artist in the last issue of Sea History (#156), opened the conference with an instructional demonstration on painting en plein air, which, for the conference, was done indoors from a photograph. It was remarkable to see how quickly a plein air painter can take a blank canvas to near-finished work in a matter oftwo hours. On Saturday, he participated in the Jamestown paintout and captured the Susan Constant at his easel. Charles Warren "C. W "Mundy (above) p resented his "7 Foundational Truths," a powerful presentation that proved an education in technique and what to look for in paintings. Sea History editor, Deirdre O'Regan, who attended the conference along with NMHS president Burchenal Green and NMHS chairman Ronald Oswald, was particularly impressed with M undy's talk. "After sitting through his presentation, I found myselfnoticing aspects in paintings that I had never noticed before, from hard edges to soft edges, use ofintense light positioned against darkness, and much m ore. For an admirer of marine art but not educated in the discipline, I found Mr. Mundy's presentation a gen uine quick-start education in art and art history." On Saturday in the heat of the Virginia sun, ASMA artists participated in a plein air paint-our on the pier at the Jamestown Settlem ent, where the historic replica ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery with sails se t were in full view. Jam estown visitors and the ships' crews enjoyed h aving the esteemed marine artists in their midst, and watching them create views of the vessels on canvas. ASMA Fellow David Bareford with his contribution to the 17th National Exhibition at the opening gala. His oil p ainting, A Spanking Breeze on a Srarborad Tack, 24 x 4 0 inches, graces the cover ofthe exhibition's official catalogue.
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SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
At the event's banquet, M ary Burrichter and Robert Kierlin, fo unders of the M innesota Marine Art M useum, were presented with the first ASMA Lifetime Achievement Awa rd. Renowned artist John Stobart, an ASMA foundin g member, provided the keynote address; NMH S trustee Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr. , USCG (Ret.), US Special Representative to the A rctic, delivered a compelling presentation to conclude the conference. AS MA will host a second conference next fa ll near Mys tic, C onnecticut (19-21 O ctober 2017). A nyone who appreciates contemporary m arine art will discover a lot to learn a nd enjoy, not to m ention the opportunity to meet and m ingle with many of the marine artists whose works have graced the pages and covers of Sea H istory, including Daven Anderson, this issue's featured artist. Be sure to check the ASMA website fo r updates
Studio artist Patrick O'Brien participated in the plein air paint out, where he was j oined by Jamestown Settlement historic interpreter Don H ulick. on conference registration and info rmation, plus dates and venues fo r the 17th N ational Exhibition (www.am ericansocietyofm arineartists.com). J, ASMA founding member, John Stobart (right), visits Sergio Roffe on the dock at Jamestown. Roffe, who usually paints coastal landscapes, sold his p ainting while it was still on the easel and donated the money to the American Society ofMarine Artists. Stobart gave the keynote address at the conference and shared some lively stories ofhis life as a marine artist.
2017 Calendar NEW! Tall Ships There are few things on the high seas more dramatic than the great clouds of sail raised by traditional full- rigged ships. This edition of Tall Ships features vessels from ports around the world. Calendar is wall hanging, full color 13 1/4" x 20" open. Orders shipped after 10 Dec. 2016 can be priority shipped at $7.95. Please call for shipping charges for multiple or international orders.
$14.95 or $13.46 for NMHS members. Add $5.50 s/h within the US.
To order, call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext. 0, or visit our website at www.seahistory.org. NY State residents add applicable sales tax. SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 201 6- 17
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Cutterman Frank Newcomb and the Rescue of USS Winslow
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n 194 0, when asked by US Navy officials to choose a Coast Guardsman whose name should grace a new Fletcher-class destroyer, Russell Waesche, then serving as the eighth commandant of the United States Coast Guard, singled out revenue cutterman Frank Hamilton Newcomb as by far the best ca ndidate. A man of modesty, humility and a strong work ethic, Frank Newcomb was born in 1846 and raised in Boston. As a teenager, he went to sea in his father's merchant ship, and by 1863 at age seventeen, he was shipping out with the US Navy to serve with the South Adantic Blockading Squadron. After the C ivil War, Newcomb returned home to Boston and tried his hand in the merchant marine, and then the booming railroad industry. By the early 1870s, however, Newcomb was miss ing the sea, and he appli ed for an appointment w ith the United States Reve nue Cutter Service. In 1873, he received a third lieutenant's co mmission and served the res t of the 1870s on cutters Petrel, Crawford, and Joh nson. In 1879, Lt. Newcomb received a different sort of appointment, as an inspector for the United
Frank H amilton Newcomb (1846-1934) A veteran of the Civil War as a US Navy officer, and the Spanish-American War as part ofthe US Revenue Cutter Service, Frank Newcomb served for more than forty years in the US sea services.
States Lifesaving Service, which had been established the previous year as a separate federal agency (in 1915, the US Lifesaving Service wo uld merge with the US Revenue
by W illiam H. Thiesen, PhD
Cutter Service to become the United States Coast Guard). During the ea rly 18 80s, Newcomb helped oversee lifesaving stations along the North Carolina coast and was influential in establishing the first all-blackcrewed station, at Pea Island on the Outer Banks. In the 1890s, Newcomb was aga in at sea, serv ing in revenue cutters far from home, out in the Paci fic . Back in Washingron, tensions were mounting with Spain over C uba, a nd Newcomb was brought back to the Atlant ic theater in September 1897 to assume command of the cutter Hudson, home-ported in New York Harbor. When USS Maine exploded in Havana H arbor in February 1898, tensions boiled over and the United States began preparing for a war with Spain. Newcomb and his crew aboard the H udson did li kewise, and on 2 April, the cutter slipped her moorings and steamed sourh, bound for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The Norfolk Navy Yard prepared most units of the US Atlantic fleet for the war, so the facility was buzzing with activity when Hudson arrived to take on arms, armor, and ammunition . The Revenue
USR C Hudson's usual patrol normally kept her in the waters around New York City, but she was called into service for the SpanishAmerican War. Newcomb was given orders to bring the cutter to the Norfolk Navy Yard (shown here) to be outfitted for war.
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Cuner Service's firs t steel-hulled cuner, the ni nety-four-foot H udson, h ad a tugboat design; her crew included five officers and eightee n enli sted m en, includ in g two warrant officers, a cook, ship's steward and ship's boy. The shipyard 's commandant visited the cutter and asked Newcomb how soon they could get underway. Newcomb answered, "As soon as we ge r foo d and coal." Th e commandant yelled back, "Why, you have no guns and your protecting plates are nor fin ished ," to which Newco m b replied, "I know rhar, bur we could go." Hudson later received a pair of six-pound rapid-firin g guns, one each located fo re and aft; and a Colt automatic "machine gun" mounted on top of the deckhouse. She also had a layer of five-eighths-inch armor bolted around her pilothouse and deckhouse. O n 21 April, C ongress declared wa r with Spain , the T reasury Depa rtm ent forma lly tra nsferred cont rol of several revenue cuners to the Navy, a nd Frank Newcomb fo und himself servin g with the US Navy once again. Just two days later, Newcomb got his cutter underway fro m Norfolk and headed fo r Key Wesr, th e stagi ng area fo r US naval operations around Cuba . As they were rounding dreaded Cape Barreras on the Outer Banks of No rth Caro lina-Newcomb 's old sto m p in g grou nds with the Lifesaving Service-the Hudson sailed into the pat h of a severe storm, includ ing hu rrica ne-fo rce wind s, thunder and lightning, mountainous seas, torrenti al rain, and hail the size of "hen's eggs." The storm nea rly washed away Hudson's pilothouse, but the new armor plating held everything toge ther against the heavy seas and they co ntinued their course for the so uthern -most tip of the Florida Keys. O n Thursday, 5 May, Hudson, with her exhausted crew, drop ped anchor off Key Wes r, an d, th ere, Newcom b received his orders.
Caribbean Sea
As captain of cutter Hudson, the Navy assigned Newcomb to patrol the north coast of Cuba between Cardenas and Matanzas, just an overnight sail from Key West. Due to her relatively shallow draft of ten fee t, the n ava l command assigned Hudson to blockade the north C uban coast betwee n th e ports of Ca rdenas and Matanzas . O n 9 May, the cutter took up her duty stat ion and , by th e nexr d ay, Newcomb was busy scouti ng the approaches to Carden as Bay. Th ree sh all ow-draft gunboats were in charge of defending the Spanish port, and Newcomb tried his best to draw the vessels out for a fight, to no avail. H e and his crew then set out to take soundings of the two mai n channels that
led the bay, only to find them fill ed with de bris. H e co nsidered plow in g his way th ro ugh , but was wary of underwater min es. Afte r further reconnaissa nce, he fo und a th ird channel, free of debris, that wo uld be passable at high ride. Newcomb developed a plan to capture the gun boats by sending sh all ow-draft A m erican wars hips through the thi rd ch a nn el at hi gh tide. His squ ad ro n commander, Commander John Merry of t he gu n boat USS Machias, presented Newcomb 's plan to rhe fleet commander,
The Baltimore-built torpedo boat USS W inslow (TB-5) was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, at the start ofthe Spanish-American War. Like all other US Navy torpedo boats of that generation, her hull was painted a distinctive olive green. These boats had to get within 200 yards of a target, putting their crews at considerable risk.
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Rear Admiral John Warson, aboard the flagship USS Dolphin. Merry wo uld later rake credit for planning the raid in his after-action reports. In his own reports, Newcomb rook no credit; however, accounts later w ritten by Hudson crewmembers idenrify Newcomb as the battle's tactician and planner. On Wednesday, 11 May, the day after Merry pitched the plan to Warson, the torpedo boat USS Winslow, in company with the gunboats USS Machias and USS Wilmington, appeared outside Cardenas Bay to assist with Newcomb's plan. The Machias drew too much water to emer the bay and participate in the attack on Cardenas. Instead, she laid down a barrage of gunfire aimed at the barrier islands to eliminate enemy snipers from the bay's entrance. Between noon and 1:00PM, Hudson, Wilmington, and Winslow steamed slowly through the narrow passage. Wilmington 's captain, Commander
Coleman Todd, sent Hudson in search of rhe Spanish gunboats on the east side of rhe bay and ordered Winslow to search rhe west side. Later, Winslow and Wilmington mer about 3,500 yards offshore from rhe porr of Cardenas, where Commander Todd spied rhe enemy gunboats moored along rhe city's warerfrom. Todd directed Winslow's commanding officer, Lr. John Baptiste Bernadou, to investigate rhe situation with his torpedo boar. Fifth of rhe Foote class of swift torpedo boars, Winslow seemed ideally suited to capture or destroy rhe Spanish gunboats. The torpedo boat carried one-pound rapidfire guns and torpedoes, yet drew only five feet. Winslow also carried a crew of rwemy enlisted men and two officers, including Ensign Worth Bagley, executive officer and member of a distinguished North Carolina military fam ily rhat included brother-in-law Josephus Daniels, fut ure secretary of the Navy.
The original plan of arrack fell apart after rhe fighting began. Bernadou backed the Winslow's stern towards Cardenas, likely to minimize exposure to the enemy while making use of rhe stern-moumed torpedo and allow for a fast exit strategy. As soon as Winslow came within 1,500 yards of rhe city's wharves, Bernadou found himself lined up between white range buoys Spanish artillerymen had deployed to aim their guns. Enemy gunners opened fire with the moored gunboats' one-pound guns and salvoes fired from heavier artillery hidden along Cardenas's waterfront. After witnessing the initial salvoes, Newcomb steamed at top speed from the eastern side of the bay and requested permission from Comm ander Todd to engage the enemy. By 2:00rM, the Spanish gunboats and artillery had engaged the three American warships: Winslow, with her one-pounders; Hudson, with her sixpounders; and the distant Wilmington, with
With Newcomb barking orders from the bridge, Hudson provides covering fire as it makes its approach to the disabled torpedo boat, USS Winslow. Hudson's guns fired 135 shells during the battle with Spanish batteries. (Painting by Austin Dwyer, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches.)
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SEA HISTORY 15 7, WINTER20 16- 17
her heavier four-inch guns. According to an eyewitness account, Spanish guns rained shells down from half a dozen direcrions, bur rhe enemy posirions were rough to spor because rhe Spanish used smokeless powder. The Americans were using ourdared bl ack powder ammunirion, which served to borh cloud the gun crews' view of rhe barrle and alert the enemy of incoming shells. During rhe barrle, H udson's Second Lieurenant James Hutchinson Scorr and Thi rd Lieurenant Ernesr Meade commanded rhe six-pound deck guns. As rhe fog of war intensified , Second Assistant E ngineer Theodore Lewton mounted rhe deckhouse locared afr of rhe pilorhouse ro help Newco mb navigare the shallow bay and idenrify fri end and foe rhrough rhe smoke of H udson's guns. The ship's boy, sixteenyea r-old Moses Jones, fed ammunirion to the main guns withour hes ira rion, and sreward Henry Savage passed up shells fro m rhe currer's magazine. A vereran of rhe Civil War, Savage shouted up to Lew ton, "H or rime in rhe old rown ronighr, Mr. Lewton! " As Newcomb larer wrote, "Each and every member of H udson's crew ... did his whole dury cheerfully and without the leas t hesiration." As rhe barrle raged, Spanish gunners foc used rheir fire on Winslow, which was still closest to shore. Enemy shells wro ughr desrrucrion on rhe torpedo boar, shooring down her smokestack and ventilator and disabling her steering gear, engines, and armored conning tower. In addi tion to rhe battle damage, a stiff breeze was pushing rhe crippled vessel even closer towa rd shore and shallow warer. Lr. Bern adou ca lled out to rhe approaching H udson, "I am injured; h aul me our." Newco mb res po nded immediarely, steering H udson th ro ugh rhe muddy shallows and churning up brown warer wirh her propeller. The curter came in close while Ensign Bagley and a number of Winslow's crew stood on deck to catch rhe row line rhar Lieutena nt Sco rr was heaving in rheir direcrion. The enemy fire inrensified and Bagley yelled out, "H eave her. Let her come. Ir's gerri ng prerry hot here ." By rhe time H udson closed th e d is ta nce, an enemy sh ell explod ed on Winslow, insta ntly killing Bagley and another man and mortally wounding three others. These men we re the first cas ualties
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 201 6- 17
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~~-- ~ Artist Austin D wyer's depictions of Hudson's daring and heroic rescue of USS Winslow will be part ofhis upcoming book on famous tugboats that went beyond the call ofduty. of the Spanish-A merican Wa r, and Bagley the first America n officer killed in the conflict. D es pit e th e e n em y sh ellin g, un favorable w inds, and sh allow wa ter, H udson's crew managed to get a three-inch h awse r over to the Winslow and began rowing her our of range of Spanish gunfire. W ithin minu tes, the hawser snapped, either due to the srrain or an incoming shell. E ither way, Newcomb d etermined to succeed, exclaiming, "We will make ir fas t this rime." Risking his own vessel and crew a second time, Newcomb plowed further into the mud, backing and filling to carve a p ath in the sea fl oo r to the stricken Winslow. H udson's ass istant eng in ee r Nath aniel C utchin oversaw the cutter's fas t-changing steam-engine operations, and in the chaos never missed an engine-order bell. Mea nwhile, the deck crew gor another line to the stricken Winslow, pulled her alongside, and secured the torpedo boar alongside the cutter's rail in true tugboat fas hion. This time, Newcomb and his crew succeeded in hauli ng rhe stricken vessel to safety, beyond rhe ra nge of enemy guns. The crews of rhe Winslow and Hudson served with honor in the Barde of Cardenas Bay. For their heroism, Congress recognized three of Winslow's crew with the Medal of
H onor. H udson's men nor only saved the Winslow a nd her crew from certa in destruction, they poured 135 six- pound shells into the enemy in just rwenry minutes while they were doing ir. Afrer the fierce firefi ght, Newcomb received further orders to ferry Winslow's dead and wo und ed to medical fac ilities located at Key Wesr. Thar evening, the casualties were loaded onboard the cutter and Newcomb steamed at top speed to the Navy's base of operation s, arriving at 7:00AM the next day. In a single 24-hour period , Newcomb and h is m en h ad sco ured Carden as Bay, fou ght the enemy, rescued rhe Winslow, and sped the torp edo boat's casualties to distant Key Wes r. In mid-August, at the conclusion of the brief wa r, the cutter H udson re rurned to a rousi ng welcome at her homeporr in New York. In a special message to C ongress, President William M cKinley commended H udson for rescuing the Winslow " in the face of a most galling fire" and recommended special recognition for her crew. A joint resolution of Congress provided the cutter's lin e a nd en gineer ing officers wi th Con gressio nal Silver M ed als. Congress awa rded Bron ze Med als to the enlisted crewmembers, including Henry Savage and Moses Jones-the first time in US history
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that African A mericans received these medals for heroism in combat. Lt. Frank Newcomb 's courage and determination prevai led against heavy odds in the daredevil rescue of USS Winslow. H e received the war's only Congressional Gold M edal, also known as the Cardenas Medal. In addition, the Revenue C utter Service adva nced Newcomb seven points
In recognition of his heroic deeds at Cardenas, Congress singled out Newcomb and awarded him a Congressional Gold Medal entitled Cardenas Medal of Honor. Congress awarded his crew silver and bronze versions of the medal.
in the promotion system, fast-tracking him ro the senior rank of captain by 1902. Despite this recognition, m any fa miliar with the Bat tle of Cardenas Bay strongly believe Newcomb deserved the Medal of Honor for his heroism and devotion ro duty. He retired in 1910 a fter forty yea rs of service and received the fl ag ra nk of commodore in retirement. Newcomb died in 1934, and his body was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery beside other Revenue C utrer Service heroes. From hi s birth in Bosto n to the naming of a hard-fighting Wo rld War II destroyer in h is honor, the story of Frank Hamilton Newcomb spanned a cenrury a nd involved four of the n ation's sea services. His career proved a tesramem to the US Coast G uard 's core va lues of honor, respect, and devotion to duty. Semper Paratus-Always Ready. ,!,
Frank H. Newcomb 's headstone at Arlington National Cemetery.
William H. Thiesen, PhD, is the Atlantic Area Historian fo r the US Coast Guard. He is the author of I ndustri alizing A m erican Shipbuilding: The Tra nsfor mation of Ship Design and Construction, 1820- 1920 (2 006), and is a regular contributor to Sea History. For more information on USCG history, visit www.uscg.mil/history or contact: Historian 's Office, Coast Guard A tlantic A rea, 431 Crawford Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704.
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Welcome to the New Land, Draken Harald Harfagre by Ingeborg Louise 'Vesla' Adie
This past spring, the largest Viking ship built in modern times set sail from Norway, bound for North America, following in the wake of Leif Eriksson and his crew who landed here more than 400 years before Columbus's time. Draken Harald Harfagre reawakened in many Scandinavian-Americans the Viking spirit in their blood and inspired them to find out more about their heritage. Louise Adie, an Antarctic kayak guide with strong Norwegian roots, made five visits to Draken this summer and even discovered a long-lost cousin on the crew. Here, she shares what she has learned about Draken Harald Harfagre and the traditions this modern-day Viking ship represents. n the years 800 to 1200 AD-the Viking years and the beginning of the fabled Nordic Sagas-the village of H augusund on the wes t coast of No rway was a hub of shipbuilding activity, supplying fishermen, explorers, traders, and raiders with heavily built seaworthy craft, from small coas tal boats to mighty ships more than a hundred feet long. More than a thousand years later, a resurgence of shipbuilding was taking place in the region, when a group funded and headed by H augusund native Sigurd Aase, a Norwegian oil and gas entrepreneur, set to wo rk co nstructing the longest Viking ship built in modern times. Draken Harald Harfagre, named for King H arald H arfagre, the fi rs t King ofNorway, was launched in 201 2 with the goal of sailing in the wake of Leif Eriksson to No rth America. It was not until the 189 0s that schol ars outside of Scandinavia began to appreciate a widened view of the strengths of the Vikings, recognizing their seamanship, artistry, and technological skills-and there was a lot to study. By the late 800s, there were more than thirty small kingdoms existing in N orway, and Vik ing colonies appeared thro ughout Greenland and Iceland. During this ti me period, the southern and western reaches of Greenland and Iceland offered a more temperate climate, where agriculture could flourish and rich fisheries right off the coast could support a new populace. Many of these se ttlements were established by that fa mous Norwegian explorer, Erik Thorvaldsson, better known as Erik the Red. His son, Leif Eriksson, fo llowed his fat her's path at sea and led a Viking expedition that reached the North A merican coast aro und 1000 A D , long before Christopher Columbus set out from Spain for his western voyage to the Indies. In all, more than 470 small Viking settlements were established over rhe course of several decades, until the Little Ice Age of 1400 sent them fleeing.
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Draken H arald H arfag re off Greenland. 1he ship and crew left Norway on 26 April and
made stops in the North Sea and North Atlantic before crossing the ocean to Newfoundland. 1his summer, she participated in the Tall Ships Challenge events at several ports in the Great Lakes, before down rigging for her transit through the Erie Canal to New York City. 1he vessel is wintering over at Mystic Seaport, in Connecticut. Small replica Viking ships can be fou nd in nearly every fjo rd in No rway, bur the sheer size of Draken Harald Harfagre signals the start of a new phase of exploration- the modern-day repeat of the fa mous North Sea ro utes rhar bro ught rhe Vikings to N orth America. Bur just how fa r did the early Vikings travel into the continent? A lot of speculation surrounds these early Norwegian forays to N orth America, and histori ans are nor in agreement about the derails. This expedition sought to prove rhe widely held not ion rh ar perhaps they reached as far wes t as Lake Superior, or at least that they had rhe ability to do so. Draken made it as fa r west as G reen Bay, W isconsin-accessing the Grear Lakes via the Sr. Lawrence River-and after making port calls at Shetland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and Labrador. The Vikings were remarkably sophisticated when it cam e to designing and
building these graceful, sturdy, and beautifully crafted longboats. With a shallow draft and strakes built up from a stout oak keel, even sizable Viking ships could m aneuver up shallow rivers and be beached onshore without damaging the hull. The Norwegians rechnologic expertise, combined w ith a long and rich shipbuilding tradi tion, allowed them to create fo rmidable vessels, which boasted both an elegant design and seaworthiness to successfully navigate the open and treacherous North Sea. To recreate a Vik ing ship in the 21" century, Aase's team researched accounts from the No rse sagas, studied arch aeological remains ofViking ships, and tapped into the wooden boarbuilding rradirion that still thrives in the region. The hull was bui lt with axes, adzes, and augers, among other traditional woodworking tools, with more than 17,000 riveted iron fas tenings.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Viking ships are distinguishable by their clinker-built, or lapstrake, hulls, with each plank overlapping the one below it. Tar and woolen-fiber caulking created a strong bur Bexible bond between the planks to keep the hull watertight. In an oceangoing wooden vessel of D raken's size, Bexibility amidships is crucial, but too much movement can cause excessive wea r and tear on the planking and potentially loosen the fastenings. Ar 115 feet long, D raken 's designers aimed to strike a delicate balance to be sure she could h andle the stresses of the open ocean. Sea trials in home waters gave rhem the opportunity to make adjustments to her hull and rigging. H er captain, Bjorn Ahland, noted, "Before we added extra reinforcement to rhe hull, we could see rhe amount of Rex in rhe midsection, and it was disturbing." After these sea trials, shipw rights added crossbraces to her framing, rei nfo rced her deck, and built up her bulwa rks. "Now there is a small amount of Rex, still visible, but it's down to just a few inches ." Ir took ten of N orway's best wooden boatbuilders twenty months to build the ship. After months examining the remains of rhe original Viking ships Gokstad and the Oseberg-each fo und in burial mounds in No rway- and studying the boarbuilding techniques used to construct Nordlandsbar fis hing vessels still in use today, naval architects narrowed their choices down to three designs. They built three sm all rep-
Draken H arald H arfa gre being built in Norway. This photo shows some of the laborious notches and curves that the shipbuilders had to contend with in her construction. licas, each sixteen feet long, and conducted a series of tests and sea trials to settle upon a fin al design. From that experience, in 2009 they built a 40-foo t version of one of the three for further sea trials. A crew of seven put to sea in the D ragens vtnge, bound for rhe Shetland Islands, 190 nautical miles to the west across the North Sea. They didn't make it. Fifty miles from their desti n ation , rhe on e-third sca le m od el swamped and sank in a gale and her crew had to be rescued by Shetland Coastguard helicopter. The ream was undeterred; this
model wo uld evolve into the fi nal design, but with higher freeboard to keep green waves from breaking over the rail. Construction began in 2010 in a cavernous wa reh ouse on a tiny island off H auges und. O ak timbers were brought in by barge, and work began in earnest. Traditionally, Viking shipbuilders used a variety of wood types in vessel construction; oak for framing was regularly used to take advantage ofirs natural curves and strength, bur other wood types , such as pine and birch, were used as well. D raken's builders likewise used oak extensively th roughout. The sh ipbuilders soon learned just h ow intense the job wo uld become. The traditional Viking vessel has nor a single straight lin e, and the ship's Boors, fram es, and planking h ad to be notch ed in multiple locations as it was fitted toge ther. Fortunately, most of the shipwrights had prior experience building smaller versions of this type of vessel; although rhe scale was considerably larger, rhe techniques were nor unfa miliar to them . The size of an early Viking sh ip was determined by the number of rowers anticipated to be available in any given village. Rowing stations were sized by taking into account the height and girth of the typical L ook at the number ofriveted iron fastenings just in this bow shot.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER201 6- 17
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Viking warrior and his space requirements for leg length and arm reach. Longships carrying 100 warriors we re not uncommon in rhe Viking heyday. Most Viking ships sported drago nheads at their prows, and D raken is no different. The dragonhead was traditionally nor installed until a ship was ready ro embark on longer voyages; often they were detachable to safeguard them fro m damaging waves in the open ocean . Legend holds that the fearsome dragon wo uld protect the ship and the crew from sea monsters, bad weather, evil creatures, and unforesee n raids. The intimidation factor played a part, too, when marauding and invading distant lands: the head was secured to the vessel 's stem befo re. going into battle or claiming/raiding new territory. The heads could be removed for travel, however, or when making landfall in a friendly place so that they did not scare the locals. Students and instructors from a local folk art carving school carved Draken's ornate dragonhead. The ship's stern decoration is exquisitely carved as well, and even includes a tiny baby dragon tucked inside a curl of the tail. It's not visible from anywhere onboard the ship, but it can be viewed from outboard, either by boat or
The tiny dragon carved in the stern "tail" section is only visible from outboard the ship.
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from another pier when the vessel is tied ro a dock. According to the chief engineer, Kristian Velie ofNorway, much of the crew was unaware of the precious tiny dragon they transported all those months until a visitor pointed it out to them. Those who viewed the ship as it transited the Erie Canal and inland waterways of New York State las t summer wo uld no t have seen the dragon at either end, as it was removed to navigate the many locks on the canal system, along with the mas t, boom, sail and rigging. Ballasting the ship after its launch rook several days. A special chute was designed to allow the twenty-one rans of stone to be discharged into the bilge. About two-thirds of the ballas t stones were loaded into the midsection of the open hull, with the rest going aft. Then, bucker by bucket, stones were added forward until the trim appeared right, as viewed fro m a boar several meters our from the ship. Stones continued ro be schlepped around parrs of the hull until all looked proper. Once D raken began sea trials, many of these stones were shifted aft when it was discovered that too much weight forward made it nea rly impossible ro rack under sail power alone. In Viking rimes, rhe largest ships of the era were thought to travel fi ve ro six knots under oar power, and up to ten knots under sail. Once her trim and rig were properly tuned, her crew go t D raken Hying
along at a terrifyingly fast fourteen knots. Since most hands were uneasy with this speed, trial and error revealed that tucking in two reefs-and sometimes three in a strong wind-can reduce the speed to a more manageable nine knots. According to the chief engineer, the ship now rides com fortabl y over and through the waves, seemingly cut ting through the seas with its sharp bow, yet taking on spray, as it is a wide open boat. In high seas, sailing D raken is at best a discomfo rt and at wo rst dangerous, requi ring that all hands stay on deck when the weather picks up, particularly in the North Sea. In making their plans to se t our across the Atlantic in 2016, D raken's captain studied ancient Viking ship routes- as much as could be determined from both records and lore, modern meteorological studies, and old ships' logs to take adva ntage of the seasonal prevailing winds. Ir's a short w indow. April was determined robe the opti mum time to depart; in M ay and June, th e wind shifts to the south and tends to stay that way fo r months, which would have greatly added to their travel time. In Viking ships, the steering oar was usually mounted on the starboard side aft . The term 'starboard ' came from the use of this steering method: In Old Norse, the words stjri (rudder) and borlf (side of a ship) were used to indicate the steering oa r was on the right side (since most people were
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Draken is ballasted with stones, which were loaded and shifted by hand. righr handed). Coming abour on D raken presented rhe crew wirh a surprise; rhe ship acrually goes in reverse for several seconds as ir comes rhrough srays before seeding onto a new tack and regaining forward momentum. Sails in the Viking era were made from tighdy woven wool; its natural lanolin served both as a water repellem and to reduce porousness in the clorh. D raken's naval archirects went with silk, however, as they determined it is a durable and more lightweight fabric. They also liked that silk is a natu ral, organic, and ecologically sound material with superior tensile strength, when compared with steel ya rn, for example. Like most narural-fiber sailcloth, it expands when wet but returns ro its original size when dried, and it stores well. While the cloth may be lighrweighr, ir is a 260-square merer sail bent onto a massive yard. Ir rakes nine crewmembers on rhe windlass rwemy minures ro nearly an hour ro raise rhis beauriful red beasr up the ship's single seventy-six-foor Douglas fir masr (irs second- rhe firsr snapped easr of Shetland).
Draken's rigging is from rarred hemp; rradirional m arerials used in Viking ship rigs included horsehair and walrus hide. Indeed, when one approaches rhe ship from downwind, rhe smell of rhe rarred rig and caulking used on rhe hull is hard ro miss. According ro one American gemologisr, ir's possible rhe Vikings used a covered stone to find rheir way in Arcric warers. Sreeped in anciem Nordic Sagas, rhese were simply called "sunstones." Their
use involved holding rhem up to the sky to determine locarion. Draken's crew, however, uses modern navigational instrumems and merhods . I come from Norwegian srock, bur I grew up knowing lirde about Viking mariners and rheir ships. Nonerheless, wirh Viking spirir surging in my blood, I came ro a heighrened awareness for rhis phase of Norse hisrory. Since Draken arrived in rhe Unired Scares lasr summer, I had rhe pleasure of visiring her on five separare occasions, and ir gave me rhe rime and ambirion ro explore her many intricacies, roo numerous to memion here. Visitors rouring rhe ship or even seeing her from rhe dock can'r help bur norice rhe great care and artistry in every detail. The experience has given me a huge appreciation for the sophistication of these early seafarers, my ancestors. Ir is my hope rhar by reviewing rhese words, the reader will come to undersrand rhe deprh of meaning behind rhis one simple phrase, found on rhe D raken Harald Hdrf agre website: "The Vikings were accomplished navigarors, artisans, traders and story tellers, but rheir grearesr uiumph was rhe ship rhey builr." J, Ingeborg Louise 'Vesla' Adie is a kayak guide and historian aboard eco-tourism ships in Antarctica and the Arctic. This year is her thirteenth season working in the Antarctic.
Draken only has one sail, but it's a beast at nearly 3, 000 square feet and can take the better part of an hour to set. To reduce sail, it has multiple reeflines. It also has a bonnet, which can be added on to the foot ofthe sail to increase its sail area in light winds.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
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Funding for America's Maritime Heritage: Rounding the Bases by Timothy J. Runyan, Chair, National Maritime Alliance
T
he maritime heritage community recently won congressional support to restore the National Maritime Heritage Act grant program. That is the important takeaway message from our advocacy efforts of the past several years. Funding for the grant program comes from the recycling of ships by the Maritime Administration (MARAD). Our language to restore the grant program, created with the passage of the National Maritime Heritage Act of 1994 (16 USC 5401), is included in Section 3508 of HR 4909, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2017. We are thankful for the assistance of many members of the US House of Representatives, including Representatives J. Randy Forbes (VA), Garret Graves (LA), Donald Norcross (NJ), and the backing of many others, but the language in the House bill still has to be accepted by the Senate. Our supporters there include Senators Deb Fischer (NE), Roger Wicker (MS), Bill Nelson (FL), Cory Booker (NJ), and others. The opportunity for the Senate to accept the House language on the bill will come during the conference of the two houses to iron out their differences in November. The national defense bill is huge, and controversial. A conference held in summer 2016 worked on the bill, but it was not passed before the recess for the November elec-
tions. As this issue of Sea Histo ry goes to press, Congress will be reconvening on 15 November 2016 to take up spending billswith a new president-elect. Civics issues aside, we know that our advocacy work must continue so that we achieve the restoration of the grant program with full funding. We have learned some hard lessons about what happens when we ease up on this effort. The 1994 Act was indeed a monumental achievement for the maritime heritage community. However, the funding for the grants program-so critical to keeping many of our local and national maritime programs and structures afloat-was virtually stripped away fifteen
years later. That is when the MARAD submitted language to Congress to amend the National Maritime Heritage Act. We worked hard to stop this action, but it was too late. An amendment to the National Maritime Heritage Act was included in the 2010 NDAA placing control of the funds for maritime heritage grants from ship scrapping in the hands of the MARAD administrator. Pressure generated by our supporters in Congress in recent years resulted in MARAD's 2013 pledge of $7 million for the grant program. The funds are transferred to the National Park Service (NPS), the agency charged with administering the grant program. The NPS awarded
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(a bove) Youth Diving With a Purpose (YDWP) members, Julian Perez and Olivia Ferenczy from New York, work on their trilateration sheets far a shipwreck site at Biscayne National Park in Florida. Perez is now a student at Texas A & M Maritime Academy. (Left) Three students from YDWP document the shipwreck in situ, as part oftheir training. This opportunity was funded in part by a National Maritime Heritage Act grant. Diving With a Purpose is a community-focused non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and protection ofunderwater heritage resources that started in partnership with the National Association ofBlack Scuba Divers. It has trained hundreds ofyoung people and adults to dive and participate in underwater research.
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SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
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grants in 2015 and 2016; another round is slated for 2017. Nearly $10 million was requested in the 98 proposals submitted for the 2016 grant cycle-bur only $1.7 million is available. More funds beyond the $7 million have been promised by MARAD, bur have nor been transferred . The 2010 amendment specified chat MARAD could use 25% of the funds from ship scrapping for its own maritime heritage needs, or could designate the funds for the public grant program . MARAD'S choice to keep rhe money for its own use has prompted a frequent question among rhe maritime heritage community: "What is rhe Maritime Administration doing with the millions of dollars it retained?" Well, the accounting from MARAD includes money to repair ship models in the Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, DC. Of course, these are nor available to the public without an appointment. In September of this year, MARAD posted a request for proposals to conserve all of the artifacts in a wa rehouse near Williamsburg, Virginia. Of more than 1,500 artifacts listed for conservation, more than 1,010 were brass builders' places. The deadline for the request for proposals was 20 September-IO days before rhe end of the federal fiscal year. Some MARAD properties have been evaluated for possible listing on the National Register of Historic Places, bur all federal agencies are required to make these evaluations, as mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act. Thus, MARAD has no justification to divert the funds from ship scrapping to comply with the Preservation Act. As a former manager of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Maritime Heritage Program, I was not aware of any federal agency char used public grant funds in order to comply with the law. The National Maritime Heritage Ace of 1994 directs 75% of the funds from ship scrapping to MARAD: 50% for operation of the ship-recycling program, and 25% for the federal and state maritime academies, which receive financial support from MARAD (the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, Texas A&M Maritime Academy, Californ ia
SEAHISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
'/I Maritime H eritage grant providedfor the timely replacement ofthe weather deck on the 1863 Scar of India, flagship of the Maritime Museum of San Diego's collection and a National Historic Landmark. The leaking deck, caused by wear and tear from millions ofvisitors over the years and the natural stresses f rom weathering, presented a risk to the ship's core structure from corrosion from the water seepage. Installing the new watertight decks is a critical step in her ongoing preservation, which is at the heart of keeping her afloat for generations. The one-to-one dollar match, as required by the terms of the grant, was successfu lly met with our dedicated membership and the San D iego community." -Susan Sirota, Vice President, MMSD Maritime Academy, and the Great Lakes Maritime Academy). These are wo rthy programs and institutions, and their funding is not our concern; it is the remaining 25% char is at issue. This is the amount char was designated for a public grant program. MARAD's confiscation of these funds clearly show char the federal Maritime Administration sees no value in what the maritime heritage community does to adva nce the objectives of the agency. This is distressing. More than a thousand maritime heritage organizations in more than 40 scares and territories conserve national treas ures-historic vessels and sires -for future generations, as well as working to educate our citizenry about, and promote public interest in, America's maritime heritage. Bue MARAD, funded by the annual appropriations process, claims it needs chat remaining 25% because its needs are more important than chose of the national m aritime heritage community. The maritime academies are frustrated as well with MARAD's actions and distribution of funds. The US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point houses the
primary maritime museum for the US merchant marine and the Mariners' Hall of Fame; the US Merchant Marine Academy and Alumni Association wrote a letter supporting the STORIS Act, including the return of grant funds to the maritime community. SUNY Maritime College officials also wro te supportive letters. We have mounted a powerful offensive to reverse the 2010 amendment to the National Maritime H eritage Act and return the fundin g formula to what Congress intended in 1994. This will assure chat funds from the recycling and scrapping of federal ships will be directed to support a maritime heritage grant program. We need the continued support of the maritime heritage community to contact their Congressional members in the House and Senate to assure passage of HR 49 09, Tide 35, Section 3508 , in the Defense bill. Please make the effort . Make your voice heard. A draft letter is available for your reference at www.seahistory.org. To learn more about the Maritime Heritage Grants program and how to apply, visit www.nps.gov/maritime/. .1 27
The Barque Picton Castle's Bosun School: Learning the Traditional Skills of the Sailing Ship Seafarer by Captain Daniel D. Moreland
ailing to sea in ships is an amazing wrong. BST is established to have a basic This mariner would have mastered smallli fe experience and richly rewarding standard of what to do when things go boat handing as well. Today, these skills in countless ways. The sea is also an ex- wrong. Broad and deep seamanship skills are hard for young mariners to come by, tremely demanding environment, which is contribute mightily to things not going yet they are just as valuable as ever. There not particularly forgiving to the They need to have the ship and sea-going bug before they join the Bosun School. inept, unt rained, or ill-equipped. Seafarers have to perform wrong in the first place. BST is how to is nothing better than real sea time under a broad range of critical skills to get the job bandage a cut. Seamanship is not getting sail to gain experience and the skills of a done safely and with efficiency. It takes the cut. This is where Bosun School comes mariner. We are well into our second and third generation of traditional sailing-ship years at sea, working hard, learning at every in. In days gone by, a sailing ship mate or professionals since the second coming of turn, before one can call oneself a seasoned master (and certain ly a bosun) and even the Age of Sail, which began in earnest in pro. Recently, among flag state marine an AB (able-bodied seaman) would be a the 1970s. Since that time, the number of regulatory agencies, there has been a wel- pretty damn good rigger, sailmaker, and replica sh ips built and historic ships from come insistence on basic and advanced caulker, and could get a spar out as needed. the last days of working sail that have been safety and marine emergency training for professional mariners, resu lting in the United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IMO) mandated Standards ofTraining, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), Basic Safety Training (BST) and certification, plus training in firefighting, first aid, and the use and care of personal flotation devices (PFDs), immersion suits, life rafts, and more. This is all to the good and is to be applauded. It is important basic fami liarization with what a mariner is to do when things go wrong aboard a ship at sea. These trainings and skills, however, are quite a bit different from the broad seamanship training and skills a mariner needs to be both useful aboard a ship and also help reduce the likelihood of things going
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preserved or restored has increased dramatically, and, with it, the increase in people taking up traditional seafaring and maritime trades as a career. Each ship has its own educational or institutional mission, but sometimes, while carrying out a variation on an educational program at sea on these hardworking training ships, there is little time to focus on advancing particular skills , such as wire work, caulking, and sailmaking. Rarely does the opportunity roll aro und t0 actually help rig a ship from the keel up, or lay out and construct a sail with a professional sailmaker. The goal of the Picton Castle's Bosun School in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is to provide an opportunity for young dedicated mariners to advance their hand skills in a concentrated fashion . They do so ashore, while working with a ship, but without the natural demands and distractions of being underway at sea and the dmies associated with being at sea. Once signed aboard their next ship-or job at a maritime museum, boatyard, or sail loft-the Bosun School graduates have that much more to offer and will be greater contributors to the mission of their ship or outfit. The Bosun School is designed for young people preparing for a career at sea with some previous experience in sailing ships, and as either a student or crew member. They need to have the ship- and sea-going bug before they join the Bosun School. H ere in Lunenburg, this fall we have had a gang of young mariners working to learn and master their skills as Bosun School students. The pore is a UNESCO World H eritage Site, known the world over for its shipbuilding. We have the entire Lunenburg working waterfront, our own wharf and warehouse, as well as access to the Dory Shop, which has been building dories for fishing schooners and draggers continuously since 1917. Small-boat handling has taken a backseat to other skills in recent years, yet smallboat handling is a critical skill for a mariner-and it has the added advantage of being quite good fun. Every day in the afternoon the gang takes some of our many boats out on Lunenburg harbor for instruction and plenty of practice. We h ave a 20-foot-long cutter from the South Pacific atoll of Palmerston-sails like a witch, she SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
The Origins of the Barque Picton Castle The Picton Castle was built in 1928 of riveted steel at Cochrane's Ship Bui lding in Yorkshire, England, as a fishing trawler on the lines of what was called at that time a "medium clipper." She fished out of Swansea and Milford Haven, Wales, from the English Channel out to Iceland during the winter and summer. Many of her crew came from Baltimore, Ireland, which she would pass on the way to the fishing grounds. Just before World War II, she was conscripted in the Royal Navy and refitted as a minesweeper trawler, a role she carried out through the war, participating in the raid on Saint-Nazaire, France, to destroy the largest drydock serving the German navy on the Atlantic coast. About seven months after the termination of hostilities, having spent many months cleaning up mines in the North Sea, our Picton Castle returned to fishing. In 1955 she was bought by interests in Norway, went through a technical rebuild, and repowered and commenced freighting along the coast of Europe, from the USSR to Portugal. When I found her in 1991, she was still working out ofKopervik, Norway. I looked at forty different vessels before selecting the Picton Castle. She was exactly what I was looking for. She had the lines and strength and seaworthy form that was ideal for the plans we had to establish a faithful small barque for carrying out deep-sea sail training voyages, especially voyages aro und the world. I started out looking for something like the Joseph Conrad, but could find nothing in her 200ton size. At 300 gross tons, this ship was that much more powerful and spacious. We purchased the ship in 1993, and from there sailed her to Kristiansand, Norway, to visit a breakers' yard, where we bought all sorts of useful gear for the upcoming refit. On to Marstal, Denmark, with a great shipyard to overhaul machinery and make sure that this small 300-ton ship could handle a transAtlantic voyage under her own power. A brief stay in Svendborg, Denmark, and then up the Kattegat, bound for the North Sea and English Channel, where we put in at Ipswich, England, for the winter. In early spring, we made our way downchannel in plenty of gales and on to Madeira, Bermuda, and New York City, where we found a generous berth at Pier 15, South Street Seaport Museum. In due course, our financing began to come together and we made our way to Lunenburg to begin the big refit of this fishing trawler into a classic deep-water sailing barque. While not expecting to be under the jurisdiction of the US flag, we followed or exceeded USCG Subchapter-R regulations for Sailing School Vessels for stabi lity, down-flood, subdivision and safety, rescue and fire fighting, and much else. We set sail in November 1997 for the first of six voyages around the world; the seventh will depart Lunenburg in fall of2017. In addition tO her circumnavigations, Picton Castle has made some remarkable voyages to Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. In 2012-14 the ship sailed all over the South Pacific, engaging in carrying cargo and relief supplies to many islands as well as carrying folks to medical services between various islands . -Captain Daniel D. Moreland 29
At the Bosun School, without the distractions of standing watches at sea, we set out to teach:
does. We have 24-foor longboar char manoeuvres under sail and oar, and a small schooner. By operaring boats with a variety of sailing rigs, our smdents learn both sail theory and practice; rigging; sending yards up and down; crossing yards aloft the safe, efficient and traditional way without using a crane; sending topmasts down and back up without the use of a crane; advanced rope-work; w ire seizings; wire splicing; basic sailmaking; worming, parceling and serving; wooden boat repair and new construction; first-class va rnish work; rar and oil mixtures; proper bosun chair work; and coatings. A key element of gaining a new
skill and keeping it, is repetition-doing something over and over again so rhe body and subconscious remembers it well. W hen we teach wire splicing, we demonstrate a few times, and then students do a lot of them. If they did just one splice, they would get to say they have done a wire splice. If they do five to ten wire splices or more, then they know how to splice wire. This fall, we rook the group through a full drydocking experience of rhe Picton Castle, a ship that displaces almost 600 tons: blocking, hauling, water-blas ting the bonom, inspecting the zincs, checking the
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shaft clearances, surveying the rudder bearings, checking rhe shell plate thicknesses, making any repai rs as needed, checking and overhauling all through-hull finings , priming the bonom, applying two coats of antifouling paint, painting the load-line and draft marks, inspecting all work, and relaunching. The program also includes visits to shipyards, block shops, and sail lofts. Vocational opportunities are discussed and explored, and we assis t in placing Bosun School graduares as crew aboard ships around the world or as skilled professionals in maritime museums and instimtes. Upon completion of the course, the Bosun School graduate receives a cerrificare of complerion from the program, an evaluation, and a lener of recommendation. We will do all we can to help the mariner to get a placement in the ship of his or her choice. So far our success rare has been 100%! Former Picton Castle crew and irs Bosun School graduates have gone on to sail in such remarkable ships and operations as the Danish full-rigged schoolships Danmark and Georg Stage; the full riggers Sorlandet and Christian Radich of Norway, Stad Amsterdam of the Netherlands, and GotheborgofSweden; the barques Statsraad Lehmkuhl of Norway and Europa of the Netherlands; rhe brig Niagara of E rie, Pennsylvania; the schooners Pride of Baltimore JI, Columbia, vzctory Chimes, Bluenose JI, Amistad, Harvey Gamage, and Pioneer; the sloop Clearwater; and the trading ketches Tiare Taporo and Kwai, among others. In addition ro sailing ship berths,
•History of rigging and ship technology, from canoes to tankers •Going aloft safely and the safe use of harnesses aloft and in heavy weather •Safery drills-fire, man overboard, abandon ship, and damage control •Wire rigging-splicing, seizing, worming, parcelling, and serving •Knots and whippings • Fiber rope splicing in large and small diameters: manila, Dacron, polypro •Dealing with chafe aloft and on hawsers •Tackles •Stoppers and their proper use •Basic sailmaking and repair • Small-boat and big-ship caulking •S ending yards up and down using the ship's gear •Sending topmasrs aloft using the ship's gear •Wooden boat repair and boatbuilding • Coatings and preparations in wood and steel, varnish work • Goops and goos •Small-boat handling in all manner of watercraft-sloops, cutters, schooners, and catboats veterans of this training program have worked aboard various commercial ferr yboats, tugboats, oil supply boats, and containerships. Shoreside positions include the superb marine insritutions Maine Maritime Academy; Holland College Marine Training Insritute (Prince Edward Island) ; the M ari ne Insriture of Memorial University (Newfo undland); the Bermuda National Training Board; the South African Maritime Training Academy (Cape Town); and at maritime museums, including Mystic Seaport Museum and South Street Seaport Museum. The Bosun School is run by Captain Moreland, wirh the assistance of his bosun from Picton Castle, Gabe Sr. Denis. The next Bosun School will begin in September 2017, in advance of Picton Castle's departure on her seventh world voyage. Please visit the Picton Castle website at www.picroncasde.com to learn more about the Bosun School and how ro apply. .1
SEAHISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
Captain Daniel D. Moreland-sailing ship master, sailmaker, and rigger-has devoted his professional life to the craft oftraditional sailing ship preservation and sail training, and has made seven circumnavigations ofthe globe under square rig. After working in boatyards in Long Island Sound, he got his first berth in a sailing ship at the age of 18 in the Brixham trawler Maverick sailing in the Virgin Islands. While working in the Lesser Antilles, he had the opportunity to sail in a number ofthe Last surviving island cargo schooners and sloops out of
Grenada. 1his Led to a Long stint in the brigantine Romance, a beautiful Danish vessel rigged by Captain Alan ViLliers for MGM and commanded by Captain Arthur Kimberly from 1966 to 1989. Moreland sailed in Romance as chief mate for her first world voyage in 1975- 77. He then went to the Danish training ship Danmark, where he served as boatswain for four years. After receiving his license in unlimited master in steam, motor and sailfrom the USCG at the age of28, Moreland then went on to restore the historic 1894 schooner Ernestina (now Ernestina-Morrissey), for which he received the National Trust for Historic Preservation 1987 National Honor Award. Under his leadership, he got the Ernestina USCG certified as a sail training vessel in ocean service, one of the first so inspected and certified, and carried out successful multicultural sail training voyages from New York and New England, as for as Newfoundland and the Great Lakes. In 1990 he joined Captain Walter Rybka in getting the newly built brig Niagara into service, Leaving that ship to pursue the project that has resulted in the barque Picton Castle and her ocean voyages. He has been honored by the American Sail Training Association (now Tall Ships America) with their Sail Trainer of the Year award in 1999, and its Lifetime Achievement award in 2016. Sail Training International, based in the UK, presented him with its Sail Trainer ofthe Year award in 2012.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Barque Picton Castle Will Embark on Her 7th Voyage Around the World in Fall 2017 ... Will You Be On board? In November 2017, the three-masted barque Picton Castle will set sail from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, on an epic 18-month voyage circumnavigating the globe. This will be the ship's seventh voyage around the world, all of which have been under the command of Captain Daniel D. Moreland. Sailing from Lunenburg, the voyage heads south and takes place mostly in the tropics and in the trade winds, passing through the Panama Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope. Expected ports on the itinerary include Panama; the Galapagos Islands; Easter Island; Pitcairn Island; French Polynesia, including the Gambier Islands, the Marquesas, Tuamotus, and the Society Islands; the Cook Islands, including Raroronga, Aitutaki and Puka Puka; Tonga; Fiji; Vanuatu; Bali; Reunion; Madagascar; South Africa; Namibia; St. Helena; Grenada; the Grenadines; St. Marrin; the British Virgin Islands; and Bermuda. Picton Castle's mission is sail training and seamanship education. Trainees will sign on for the full year and a half, or for individual legs of the voyage that are at least three months long. By sailing on extended voyages, trainees can truly immerse themselves in life aboard. They unplug from the demands of shoreside life and focus on the immediate needs of the ship and their shipmates. With the guidance of Picton Castle's professional crew, trainees stand watches and take part in operating the ship. Trainees take their turn at the big teak wheel and on forward lookout, they haul on lines and handle sails, scrub decks, wash dishes, paint, tar the rig, splice rope, make sails, bust rust, sand and varnish, help the cook, log the weather, and assist with the long list of other tasks that are required on a daily basis to keep the ship sailing. The long sea passages in trade winds are priceless. Nowhere else in the world can the regular citizen get this experience. In addition, the ship often carries supplies for the remote ports she visits across the world's oceans. On previous voyages, Picton Castle has delivered more than thirty tons of donated school books to elementary and high schools, and provided humanitarian relief to underserviced far-Bung islands. While the experience of sailing aboard Picton Castle is not primarily a travel experience, opportunities like this help the crew to meet local people and be part of their daily lives in a way that regular tourists just can't access. It also gives the crew hands-on practice with loading, unloading, and stowing cargo aboard. "This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Captain Daniel Moreland; "it sounds cliche, but it's true. It is also a lot of hard work to sail a big steel square rigger 35,000 miles. This voyage will shape a person's life in amazing ways-forever." -Maggie Ostler
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Lieutenant Charles Hunter, USN, and the Blanche Affair by Evelyn M. Cherpak to take his ship to Philadelphia and report to Secretary of the horrly after the Confederates bombarded Charleston's Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861 , Jefferson Davis urged the ouditNavy Gideon Welles, thus ending his controversial service on the ting of privateers to attack Union shipping and, with his Texas coast. authority as the newly declared president of the ConfederOn 6 October 1862, the Montgomery sailed from New York ate States of America, issued letters of marque and reprisal. PresC ity, where she had undergone repairs, and put into port at Haident Abraham Lincoln followed suit on 19 April 1861 with an vana, Cuba, on the way to join the West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Mobile, Alabama. Hunter went ashore in Havana and announcement of the blockade of Southern ports. The blockade was to cover 3,500 miles of the Southern coast from Alexandria, called on United Stares Consul, Robert W. Shufeldr, and then Virginia, to Brownsville, Texas. The returned to his ship. He sa iled rhe Montgomery along the C uban coast, Un ired Stares claimed the right to stop where his crew spied rhe Blanche, a and search neutral vessels as well as 417-ton steamer Hying English colors, Confederate blockade runners and seize those carrying contraband. anchored close to shore. Suspecting Lieurenam Charles Humer of that it was a blockade runner, Hunter ordered shells fired, bur none hit Newport, Rhode Island, served in rhe their target. The captain of the US Navy from 1831 until 1855, when he was placed on leave for health reaBlanche had Spanish authorities come sons. H e had been assigned to ships on board and promptly hoisted the Spanish ensign atop the English Bag. of rhe Brazil and African Squadrons Hunter sent a crew in rwo armed boats during the 1830s and 1840s, where he to board the Blanche and bring her in became ill with fevers, hence his request for leave. Once relieved of duty, if they determined that she was a blockade runner carrying contraband. he returned to his family in Newport, seemingly never to return to active The party boarded the steamer and naval service, bur six yea rs later the almost immediately rhe ship was set Civi l War changed that. on fire as her crew abandoned ship. On 21 April 1861 , Lieutenant One of the passengers, Englishma n Humer offered his services ro the Robert C lemem, came aboard the Montgomery and admitted that the United States Navy and reported to ship was carrying 500 bales of cotton Commodore Samuel Breese in New York City on 15 May. He was assigned R EDWOOD LIBRARY AND ATHENACUM and that the crew purposely set the ship on fire. Amicipating trouble, to USS Montgomery, a steamer of the Bust of Captain Charles Hunter (1813-1873) Hunter sent Clement's deposition and West Gulf Blockading Squadron stationed off Apalachicola, Florida. In a letter to his wife, Mary, just his report on rhe Blanche to David Farragut aboard USS Hartford, five weeks later, he gave vent to his boredom and frustration; he at Pensacola, Florida, who was in charge of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron at that time. Hunter proudly defended his actio ns, wrote: "I wish the war was over. I regret now that I did nor resign a year ago. Of all the most tedious and uninteresting services I stating: "I rejoice greatly that his nororious rebel vessel is dehave been on, this is the most so ." 1 Ir did nor remai n so for long, stroyed."3 as he was pro mored and given command of the Montgomery with 1he Blanche affair soon erupted into an international incident. the rank of lieurenam commander. Now the serious work of The Spanish government protested the burning of the vessel in Spanish waters and demanded that Hunter be disciplined. Furcapturing blockade runners bega n. thermore, they pressed that the three-mile territorial limit be On 11 April 1862, rhe Montgomery received orders to blockrespected and violations by the US Navy end immediately. To ade a portion of the Texas coast, where illegal trade was taking place between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas. mollify the Spanish, the United States issued new orders regardHumer's seizure of the British vessel Will-o'-the-Wisp in June ing Spanish terrirorial rights and recalled the American consul in Cuba. 4 The British government became involved when it asserted caused British protests, and the case went to court. The British that Robert Clement was made to sign a deposition under duress, testified that they were carrying goods to Matamoros, which was regarding the fire on the Blanche. British Minister to the United a neutral port. The court ruled that the United Stares was nor subject to penalties and damages because the cargo of gunpowder States Richard Lyons demanded that compensation be paid to that was on the ship was deemed suspicious. The case next went C lement and to the owners of the Blanche, and that the American to the Mixed Commission on British and American Claims. The government issue a full apology r:egarding the deposition. 5 commission rejected the British claims. In 1863, the Nova Scotia The United States promptly¡ rejected the original claim of House of Assembly appealed to rhe British Foreign Office to press $311,859 that included damages and injuries to the British and the United Stares for compensation for the loss of cargo and rhe Spanish. The British pursued the case, but Secretary of State Wilship, bur the case went no further. 2 In August, Hunter was ordered liam Seward insisted that the sh ip had been destroyed by her own
S
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SEA HISTORY 15 7, WINTER2016- 17
, USS Montgomery, the third ofsix naval vessels namedfor the capital ofAlabama. Built in New York in 1858, the 20lfoot wooden screw steamer served in the Union Navy's blockading squadrons in aLL theaters du ring the Civil War. crew and that the cargo belonged to the Confederates, hence the United States had no liability. The Blanche was initially an American vessel, se ized by the Confederates and turned over to the English, so the waters were muddied as to the legal ownership. The Mixed Commission on British and American claims rejected the claims of the sh ip's owner, and by the late 1860s the case was closed. 6 Hunter strongly defended his actions regarding the Blanche. If the Montgomery had not stopped the vessel, he argued , he would h ave been blamed for not doing so; thus, he was doing what any conscientious naval officer wo uld have done in wartime. When he received notification that he was to relinquish command of the Montgomery, he found it "killing, overwhelming after suffering so much and doing all in m y power to aid the government in putting down the rebellion-to be disgraced and degraded is indeed hard." 7 H e was "grieved and sorrowful" at his treatment. In January 1863, Secretary Welles proceeded with a draft of charges agai nst Hunter for a court-martial to be held in Boston, Massachuserrs. The charges included: violating the territory of a neutral government, ordering the Blanche to be set on fire, insulting the Spanish officials, and forcing Robert C lement to sign an oath that it was the Blanche's own crew that set the fire.
Commander David G. Farragut (left in photo) aboard his flagship, USS Hartford, 1864. Farragut was serving as the flag officer ofthe West GulfBlockading Squadron when the Blanche affair took place in the fall of 1862. Lt. H unter sent a report to Farragut-his superior officer-who was aboard the Hartford in Pensacola, Florida.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
The court-martial of C harles Hunter was held at the Boston Navy Yard in January and Febru ary 1863. Hunter pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified in his own defense. He admitted to being overzealous, but asse rted that he had done nothing unworthy of a naval officer. On 16 February, Hunter was found guilty of viol ating the territo ry of a neutral nation and taking possession of the ship within the jurisdiction of the Spanish government. The other charges were dropped . The cou rt recommended that he be di smi ssed from the Navy. 8 Once the trial was over, Hunter returned to Newport and his fam ily; he settled into civi lian life, but his case was not forgotten by naval officers, politicians, and the media. The Newport Daily News stated th at the decision to remove Hunter from the Navy was overly harsh and unnecessary, as he had erred on the side of right. Even Admiral David Farragut regretted the court's decision and felt that Hunter had been sacrificed to preserve relations with Spain. In June 1863, the members of the court martial h ad a change of hea rt and asked President Lincoln to issue a grant of clemency, but he did not. Hunter achieved a small victory when he was appoi nted commander on the retired list on 30 June 1865, and captain on the retired list on 12 March 1867. H e also received three yea rs' back pay that he had accrued when he was promoted to commander in 1862. In the end, he h ad some profess ional and monetary compensation for what he considered a travesty of justice. Hunter, his wife, and daughter drowned when their ship, the Ville du Havre, was struck by the Loch Earn on 22 November 1873 on their way to France. It is ironic and tragic that a naval officer with twenty-six years of ac tive duty in war and peace lost hi s life at sea while on a pleas ure trip to Europe. A memorial to C harles Hunter and the fa mily members who perished with him at sea is in Newport's Island Cemetery. ,!, Evelyn M. Cherpak served as curator of the Naval War College's Naval H istorical Collection for 40 years. She has edited three books, including A Diplomat's Lady in Brazil: The Diary of Mary Robinson Hunter, 1834-1848, published by the Newport H isto rical Society. NOTES I Lette r, C harles Hunter to Mary Hunter, Jun e 23, 1861, Hunter Famil y Papers, Newporr (RI) Historical Society. 2 Stuart L. Bern ath, Squall Across the Atlantic: American Civil War Prize Cases and Diplomacy (Berkeley, CA: Un iversity of California Press, 1970), p. 48. 3 Report of Cha rles Hunter to Rea r Admiral David Farrag ut, October 11 , 1862, Official Record of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Vol. 19, p. 269. 4 Bern ath, SquallAcross the Atlantic, 104-106 . 5 Letter of Lord Ri chard Lyons to Secretary of State W illiam Sewa rd , January 8, 1863, Official Record of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 19, 273-274. G Bernath , Squall Across the Atlantic, l 06-l 07. 7 Gleaves, Alben, "The Affair of the Blanche (October, 1862) An Incident of the Civil War," US Nava l Institute Proceedings 48, No. 10 (1922):1 669. 8 Finding of th e court-martial, Februa ry 16, 1863, Official Record ofthe Union and Confederate Navies in the War ofthe Rebellion, Series I, Vo l.
19, 276-277.
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SEA HISTORY for kids I
Young Marine Artists Search Marine life, ship and boats, seascapes, mariners-you name it. If it has anything to do with the water, it counts as a "marine art," and your artwork of these subjects could be among the next winning entries in the Young Marine Artists Search (YMAS), sponsored by the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA). How young is "young?" Artists ages 16 to 23 are eligible to submit entries for the 2017 YMAS competition, and you have the rest of the school year to complete your work of art and get it submitted: deadline for entries is 15 June 2017. ASMA jurors will review and select the winning entries and notify the winners on 31 July; the awards will be announced at the 2017 National Marine Art Conference in Connecticut next fall . Ribbons, certificates, and scholarship money will be awarded to winning artists, and it puts your art work in front of today's top marine artists, as well.
(above) H-Mart Crabs (16 x 12 inches), a watercolor by Jane Kim, was awarded 2nd Place-Painting. (left) ]ieun Suh, winner ofboth First Place-Painting and Best in Show, displays her winning entry, Down Under (18 x 24 inches, collage, watercolor, oil pastel on watercolor board). (below) Maddie White and her proud mother pose with the YMAS winning entries at the opening of the American Society of Marine Artists' 17th National Exhibition in Williamsburg, Virginia. Maddie won the 2nd-place prize for her "found objects" sculpture, Mystery.
All entries must be original, created from personal photos or imagination. Digital art created on a computer is not eligible for this competition. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, and ceramics of any maritime subject will be considered. For examples of the range of marine art subjects, you can view works by ASMA fellows and signature artists online at www.americansocietyofmarineartists.com. To view the award-winning artwork from the 2016 YMAS competition, and for details on how to enter for 2017, visit the ASMA website and click on "YMAS" at the top of the homepage. Good luck!
I
Careers in the Marine and Maritime Field 1
Charter Captait1 i'{obert
Jredeck
Robert Bredeck is a charter boat captain in the Caribbean, where he leads week-long cruises on a 44-foot sailboat, Catatonic. He's a long way from where he grew up in Michigan, but his story shows that anyone can pick up sailing and make a career out of it, whether you were born near the coast or whether you come from a big city, or some place far from the sea.
Ahoy!This nautical greeting stem s from the Dutch word for hello (" hoi") a nd was popularized by English sailors who often shouted "hoy" to passing ships. I'm a charte r cap tain working out of St. Tho m as in the US Virgin Islands. With the help of a firs t mate-who also serves as the chef-I take up to six guests out on Catatonic fo r a full week of sailing, snorkeling, and scuba diving throughout the US and British Virgin Islands. O n a typical day, I'm up at 7AM to m ake coffee fo r the guests and plan the day's activities. We might go snorkeling or tubing behind the dinghy before setting sail fo r the next island. Another round of water sports after lunch brings us to sunset, where we all slow down and sp end the evenin g at anchor. I usually help the chef serve dinn er, much like a bartender or food server in a res taurant. There is lots of conversation, and often a game or a m ovie to help entertain. By the time the gues ts head to bed, it is usually close to midnight-time to prep the coffee fo r the morning and hit my bunk, too! During the charter, I am constantly maintainin g the engineering sys tem s on the boat that keep everythin g running and com fo rtable-engines, generator, batteries, water pumps, and electrical breakers. In addition to operating the boat, it is my job to plan the itinerary, ready the gear for the day, pilot the boat under sail and engines, and navigate from island to island. To some, it sounds like my job is one big vacation. To others, it sounds like a lot of work. I guess, in a way, it is both .
How did I learn to do all this? While I didn't grow up near the ocean, I did grow up sailing on lakes in Michigan. I started sailing with my father when I was about eight years old . I fo und it hard to concentrate on all the steps to get the boar ready, and then there was all the work involved putting the boat away when yo u got back! just wanted to G O SAILI NG !!! I was more interes ted in the frogs and turtles underneath the sail shack than helping my dad rig the sails. I'm still that way today. I just want to GO , but, because it is my job and not my vacation, it fa lls on me to rake care of all the preparation fo r the week, which can be extensive. Like a lot of p rofessional sailors, I learned gradually, sailing and working in boars until I had enough sea time- 720 d ays working as a m ate-to sit for my USCG captain's license exams. Though not a requirement, a college degree in any sub ject is helpful in this business, especially It's not all pina coladas and pretty sunsets when you are the captain. In addition to sailing the boat, the captain has to maintain and fix all systems onboard. H ere, Robert is squeezed into the tight space in the bilge to work on the engine.
because yo ur customers are often highly educated people who want someone not just skilled to drive the boat, but knowledgeable and well rounded. I have a graduate degree in English and used to manage a little bookstore, so I can talk with my guests on just about any subject. In such a small space, the captain and his crew are not separated from the guests, so getting along and making interesting conversation are all part of the job roo. Living th rough cold Michigan winters m akes yo u dream of the tropics, and for m e it rem ained only a dream fo r m any yea rs. Finally, I rook a chance at age 38 and bought a plane ticke t to St. Thom as, a popular sailing and vacation destination. You have to pay yo ur dues and work in some less-than-glamorous jobs as you gain experience, but with patience, persistence, hard work, and making frie nds and contacts along the way, a charter captain is a job even a landlubber can learn to do in time. If a job like mine-sailing in the warm tropic winds across crystal-clear blue waters-is yo ur dream , just know that with diligence, h ard wo rk, patience-lots of patience-there's a good chance that some d ay I might be saying, "Ahoy, Captain" across the waves to you! :f,
Animals in Sea History
CRrTAIN
S
kulls, diseased bones, taxidermed animal specimens, and preserved human organs in jars line the walls in floor-to-ceiling shelves of the lovely Hunterian Museum in London, England. This collection traces the history of medicine, based largely on the work of john Hunter, a Scottish doctor and scientist in the 1700s who studied both human and animal anatomy. Preserved in one of those specimen jars is something that looks like a dumpling suspended from two thin strings. This turns out to be a nearly 250-year-old beak from an enormous squid. Here's the story: on 3 March 1769, the English naturalist Joseph Banks was out catching seabirds from a small boat in the far South Pacific during the first of Captain James Cook's world voyages. Banks wrote in his journal that evening: I found also this day a large Sepia, or cuttlefish, lying in the water, just dead, but so pulled to pieces by the birds that its species could not be determined. Only this I know, that of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate. It was very large; and its arms, instead of being like the European species, furnished with suckers, were armed with a double row of very sharp talons, resembling in shape those of a cat, and like them , retractable into a sheath of skin, from whence they might be thrust at pleasure.
COOk'S
Owen, founder of the British Natural History Museum and former curator at the Hunterian Museum, wrote the first detailed description of Cook's "great hookarmed Cuttle-fish" and commiss ioned a series of illustrations. Owen praised the "rescue" of the specimen from "the cooking-galley of the Endeavour."
MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
An 1881 illustration of the one squid arm that had been brought to England, with a dissection of the hooks, from an article by Richard Owen.
In 1931 the squid received its current name, the Dana octopus squid (Taningia danae), after the Danish oceanographic ship Dana that collected a specimen. It's also sometimes called the Tan ing's octopus squid, after the fisheries biologist Age Vedel Tclning. The Dana octopus squid is one of the largest squids on Earth, and can grow to seven feet from the top of its mantle to the end of the arms. They swim throughout the world from Alaska to Tasmania and from Norway to South Africa. It's called an "octopus squid" because it does not have the long tentacles that usually differentiate the two animals; this species has
The naturalist did not, however, allow the entirety of this rare squid to be turned into a calamari chowder for the captain's ........ ~ ~ ¡ dinner table . Before he handed it ¡-.r""""-""t : ~k~~~~~~over to the cook, he preserved an "__ arm, some of the guts, and the beak. Banks eventually delivered them to john Hunter back in London for further study. Scientists have continually renamed this species of squid over the years, as we've learned more and more about it. In 1881 Sir Richard
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SEAHIISTORY 157, WINTER 20 16- 17
tentacles that shrink as it ages, remaining only, if at all , as little stumped tentacles as an adult. As Joseph Banks observed, the Dana octopus squid do indeed have retractable hooks along their arms, which suggests they are active predators of fish . Like other squid, they use their arms to bring food to their mouths, where that hawk-like beak, made from chitin (the same stuff as a lobster shell), tears and holds the flesh before swallowing.
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A sperm whale off the Azores, eating what biologists believe to be a Dana octopus squid.
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Even in 2016, as with all deep ocean squid, we know very little about their feeding and hunting behavior. Our knowledge of these creatures comes mostly from samples brought in as by-catch of deep-sea fishermen or from the bellies of sperm whales, one of their known predators. It was not until 2005 that a group of scientists off japan, led by Tsunemi Kubodera, first filmed a live Dana octopus squid underwater. Kubodera's team filmed this animal in the very deep, dark sea, far below surface light. They watched for the first time in the wild its fist-sized photophores-a light-emitting organ-actively flashing at different times in different patterns by opening and closing black eyelid-like membranes. Kubodera and his colleagues believe the Dana octopus squid might use the light to blind prey or even to gauge distance. They theorize it might also be involved with courtship. If Joseph Banks or Captain Cook had any idea of this squid's ability to make light, they might have been slower with the mincing knife! In the next issue, the great white sea canary. For more "Animals in Sea History" go to www.seahistory.org. t
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This image of a Dana octopus squid gives a good view of the animal's siphon. the pinkish part between the eyes, used for expelling water and ink. This photo was shot from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) by scientists aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer during a research expedition exploring the deep-sea ecosystems of the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2015.
SEA HfSTORY 157, WINTER 20 16- 17
by Peter McCracken
MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET
A Primer to Being Safe Online Discussion of research strategies rarely includes puters can still intercept the messages, but withinfo rmation about online security, but it's a out the SSL key, the text is indecipherable. Modern web browsers will show if you are topic worth learning about. The following suggestions are helpful when exploring the internet, using https://, usually by showing a green padregardless of what you're doing. lock icon in the URL bar. N ote that a site that At Shiplndex.org, we receive payments fo r uses just http:// isn't inherently bad, especially access to the premium database. We use Pay- if it is just displaying information. The secure Pal for this process, so that we won't ever see connection is most important when yo u are customers' credit card in for mation, but on rare sending or receiving financial or private info rmaoccasion s, people will send me a credit card tion th rough cyberspace. number in an email, rather than go th ro ugh Nevertheless, yo u may come across a U RL PayPal. It's important to know that an em ail in an email that looks ok, but isn't. Email softhas a bout as much security as a postcard. wa re allows the sender to make text or U RLs G iven the billions of emails that are sent every clickable. So the email might say, fo r example, day, it's unlikely that someone will read yours- "https: //www.ebay.com /paym ents," but the but on the other hand, if those with ill intent people who created the email made the underhave a computer and get access to the nea rly- lying link go somewhere else, where they'll then infinite strea m of emails flying around, they can try to collect yo ur payment information. (And easily write a program to search fo r sets of 15- or they would probably do so securely, with SSL!) 16-digit numbers, which are most likely credi t These are called "phishing" attempts; they try card numbers. By collecting that number and to trick yo u to go to a harmful site that might the in formation aro und it, they h ave a good try to collect personal info rmation or passwords, chance at compiling valid credit card info rma- charge you fees, or download damaging software tion. They ca n use it, or sell it to someone else. to your computer. Remember that it's always best to not send When you hold your mouse pointer over credit card information, or other personal hot-linked d ata (without clicking), the em ail financial in formation, in unen crypted em ail. browser will show where that link would ra ke M ost email today is unencrypted . Encrypt- yo u. Ir's importa nt to be ca reful about such ing email, both on the server (where it's sitting, links, particularly in unexpected emails. O fte n waiting for yo u to read it) and as it travels to its the senders wi ll pretend to be sending an invoice recipient, is pretty hard to implement globally. or a sh ared document; their real goal is to get Some of the larges t email senders, such as G mail yo u to click on the link or download the fi le and Yahoo!, prov ide encryption in transport, that they've sent. A website called PhishTan k, but both sides must use encryption for the sys- at https://www. phishtank.com/what_ is_ tem to wo rk reliably. W ithout using an email phishing.php, prov ides nice examples of phishencryption service, which can get complicated , in g emails and webpages. These proj ects are not it's pretty hard to ensure or expect that yo ur limited to onli ne instances: scammers will someemail is secure while in transit. times call you on the phone, claiming to be the If you wa nt to avoid sending in fo rmation IRS about a supposed audit, or Microsoft offerby email, how do yo u know if websites or their ing to fi x your computer. I know fro m experience online forms are safe? Many forms basically send that whe n the IRS audits you, they'll m ail yo u info rmation in an email itself, so just putting a notification via the US Postal Service, and in the info rmation in a fo rm is defini tely not a no universe will M icrosoft contact you to help guara ntee of online safety. One important item yo u get you r com puter working fas ter. The internet is filled with truly am azing to look fo r is when the U RL (the web address) scans with https://, rather than http://. W hat resources and in fo rmation, but it is also a redoes the 's' do? D oes it really make a difference? source targeted by people who try to take adIn fac t, it does. The 's' is short fo r "secure" va ntage of others, by stealing or misusing perand defines a safer way of tra nsferring data be- sonal and fi nancial info rmation . Use the web, tween your computer and the one that has gen- but be aware of wh at yo u see, and especially erated the website you are viewing. The 's' de- what you cl ick on. notes that both the sending comp uter and the Sugges tions for other sites worth mentionreceiving computer are using a tech no logy called ing are welcome at peter@shipindex.org. See "secure sockets layer" and are sharing a special www.shipindex.org fo r a free compilation of code that allows the in fo rmation to be trans- over 150,000 ship names fro m indexes to dozens ferred in an encrypted manner. People or com- of books and journals. J,
38
SHIP INDEX
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SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
NMHS Ship's Store John Medeiros Jewelry Collections Handcrafted in Rhode Island • All designs are original and copyrighted :;
\ ~ ,.J
Aqua Viva Pendant with Chain $ 115.00 + $11.50 s/h
Aqua Viva French Wire Clip Earrings $95 .00 + $11.50 s/h
Brass Nautical Globe on Compass Base Globe is hollow brass ball that rotates on stand in N-S position. Size: 8" tall. $49.95 + $16.80 s/h
Aqua Viva Thin Wire Cuff $ 120.00 + $11.50 s/h
7" Solid Brass Spyglass in Mahogany Box Extends to 15". Objective lens is 20mm. Magnification: 12X. $42.95 + $9.80 s/h
NMHS merchandise • On sale for the holidays • While supplies last
NMHS Stone Washed Baseball Cap Black, blue, cactus, chamois, forest green, khaki , nautical red, white. $W:OO $16.00 + $6.95 s/h
NMHS Travel Mug 13 oz. Double-wall insulation, plastic lid with slide lock and no-slip button. $-tB:OO $8.00 + $6.95 s/h
Knit Hat with Cuff blue or brown. W:-00 $9.00 + $6.95 s/h
To order, call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext. 0, or visit our website at www.seahistory.org. Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery. Shipping within USA only. Satisfaction guaranteed!
SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Archaeologists recently announced a d iscovery of a series of more than 120 images of ships and boats depicted on the interior wall of a buildin g in Abydos, Egypt, that dates back more than 3, 800 years. The images are inscribed on whire plasrer on a rableau inside a srrucrure measu ring 68 feer by 13 feer. Josef Wegner, a professor of Egyprology ar rhe U nive rsiry of Pennsylvania, led rhe ream excavaring rhe sire, which is parr of a morruary complex near rhe romb of a 12rh-dynas ry pharaoh. Dr. Wegner reporred rhar rhe remains of an actual boar buried alongside rhe romb have also been derecred. The boar images span 82 feer wirhin rhe srructure and include depicrions of sails, masrs, and oa rs. The largesr images are nearly 5 feer in lengrh; rhe smallesr im ages are on ly abour 4 inches. (Dr. JosefWegner's arricle reporring on rhe discovery is published in rhe International journal of Nautical Archaeology, 21 Ocrober 2016, and ca n be viewed online ar rhe Wi ley Online Library ar www.o n linelibra ry.wiley.com)
www. maineoceanschool.org. O nce open, Maine Ocean School will offer a full science, rechnology, engineering, and marh (STEM) educa rion. Four educariona1 rracks will be offered: marine science, marine rransportarion, marine engineering, and marine managemenr. Studenrs will have rhe chance ro earn an enrr y-level US Coasr Guard merchanr mariner cerrificare. Suppl emenr in g rhe sc ience curriculum will be courses in sai ling, kayaking, smallboar handling, sw imming, and small engine repair. Even rhe ans w ill h ave a maririme influence, from sh ip design ro sea chanreys. Ir is possible rhe school w ill be open in rhe fa ll of20 17, bur organizers hope ro open no larer rhan au tumn 2018, wirh a capaciry fo r 150 ro 200 studenrs. They are sriII co nsidering whether ro offer rhe oprion of studenr dorm irories. (www. mainoceanschool.org) ... The voyaging canoe Hokule'a is getting ready to depart the continental US. D esigned by artis t and hisrorian Herb Kawainui Kane and builr in rhe rradition of a Polynesian
SOUTHPORT SILVER Handcrafted Silver and Copper Jewelry
Southport Island, Maine www.southportsilver.com south portsi lver@g ma iI.com 207 .217.7743 2000, ro Tahiri, ro Aorearoa (New Zealand), and to Rapa Nui. PVS's rwo voyaging canoes, Hokule'a and Hikianalia, are on a five-year voyage to desrinations aro und rhe wo rld, fosre ring the exch ange of inform arion and inspirar ion abour crearin g a sustainable future. Hokule'a h as spent the grearer part of rhis year visiring comm unities along the America n East Coas r, receiving a warm welcome wherever she wenr. This leg of rhe journey concluded wirh a rhree-week drydock period at rhe Mariners' Museum. As of press rime, Hokiile'a
1he tomb complex of Pharoah Senwosret III includes this white plaster tableau with more than 120 depictions of boats and ships. Families in and aro u nd Searsport, Maine, w ill have the option to choose a maritime magnet high school in the not-too-distant future. Organizers of rhe Maine Ocean School h eld an informarional meering in ea rl y Novem ber ro let rhe public know abour rheir progress, and rhey have launched rhe school's website,
40
double-hulled voyaging canoe, Hokule'a ("Sra r of G ladness , " rhe srar Arcturus) was lau nched in 1975 on Oahu , as the focal piece of the Polynesian Voyaging Sociery (PVS), which aims ro preserve rhe culture and pracrice of tradir iona1 ocean voyaging and navigarion. The ca noe sailed a roral of six voyages between 1976 and
SEA HISTORY 157, WJNTER2016- 17
"The Way of a Ship: Linking our History, Heritage and Future" is this year's theme at Tall Ships America's 44th annual conference, this February at the Boston Seaport Hotel. Tall Ships America and its member vessels and programs form an important component of the movement to preserve and foster public appreciation for our national maritime heritage. Sail training programs and vessel restoration efforts preserve not just the artifacts of our maritime history, but also the skills, arts, and culture that made the United States a great maritime nation and sustain the heritage movement today. We invite all NMHS members and Seo History readers to attend and meet sail trainers, ship operators , preservationists, and supporters from across North America and the world. Please join us to discuss issues relevant to our community with preeminent maritime experts of our time. National Maritime Historical Society trustee, Timothy J. Runyan , PhD, will be a featured speaker. Dr. Runyan is chairman of the National Maritime Alliance; professor of maritime history at East Carolina University; and a distinguished historian and author. Registration is open now. For more information, please visit the Tall Ships America website at www.tallshipsamerica.org, or email asta @tallshipsamerica.org .
The mission of Tall Ships America is to encourage character building through sail training, promote sail training to the North American public and support education under sail.
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the canoe is m aking ready to depart fo r a las t stop in Miami, before heading out to the Galapagos, Rapa N ui, Tahiti, and then back home to Hawaii. (Polynes ian Voyag· in g Society, 10 Sand Island Parkway, Honolulu , HI 96 81 9, Ph. 80 8 842- 1101 ; www. hokulea.com) ... Plimoth Plantation's 1957 replica, Mayflower IL arrived at Mystic Seaport Museum on 2 November, for the third installment of a multi-year restoration effort. For the pas t two yea rs, Mayflower If has been wintering at Mys tic fo r work at the museum's
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M ayflower II in the Mystic River H enry B. DuPont Preservation Shipya rd, and returning to Plymouth, MA, fo r the to urist season. This time, however, they are in it for the long haul; the final stage of the work is expected to take thirty months, at which point the vessel will be ready to star in the museum's commemoration of the 4 00th annive rsa ry of the ar rival of the ship's nam esake, ca rrying the Pilgrims to N orth America. Visitors to the shipyard will be able to view Mayflower fl but not go on board fo r the fo reseeable future. Yo u can, however, go onl ine any time yo u wa nt and see the ship while she is being res tored through a live webcam set up by Plimoth Plantation : www. plimoth .o rg/may flowerlive. (Mystic Seaport 75 Greenmanville Ave . Mystic, CT; Ph. 860 572-0 7 11 ; www. mys ticseaport. org; Plimoth Plantation, 137 W arren Avenue, Plymouth, M A; Ph. 508 746 -1622; info@plimoth .org, www. plimoth.org) ... Three fishermen in Oman found a king's ransom in ambergris in November. Khalid Al Sina ni and two friends were fishing off Qurayat when they spotted a 176-pound chun k of a mbergris floating in the water. Knowing t h a t perfume co mpanies will pay a premium fo r the pungent, waxy
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
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"8 --'-......_~~ Al Sinani and the 176 pounds ofambergris. substance, the men hauled it our and began to dry it out to sell. They were offered 1,080,000 rials (about $2 .8 million), but the men decided to auction it off instead. Whales secrete ambergris in their intestines as a means ofloosening hard or sharp inges ted objects; when they regurgitate the substance, it Boats on the water's surface. Perfum ers use it because it helps make the scent in perfumes las t longer. While it is illegal to use in perfumes sold in the United States because of the sperm whale's endangered status, it is in demand in other parts of the world. ... Mystic Seaport has received a $1 million gift from the Thompson Family Foundation to support the Thompson Exhibition Building, which opened to visitors on 24 September. "We are extremely grateful for the continued generosity and confidence in the future direction of the museum that the Thompson family h as demonstrated with this gift," said Steve White, president of Mys tic Seaport. The first new exhibition building in more than four decades, the Thompso n Building is the cornerstone of the newly defi ned Donald C. McGraw Gallery Quadrangle at the northern boundary of the campus. Inside the new building, one will find the Collins
Mystic Seaport p resident Steve White addresses the crowd at the opening ofthe 1hompson Exhibition Building on 24 September.
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
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Gallery, a 5,000 -square-foot hall with high ceilings and a flexible layo ut. The ga llery's debut ex hibi t will be Sea-Change, opening on 10 D ecember, and will feature a range of beautiful and unique obj ects draw n from the collections of Mys tic Sea port, some of which will be on d ispl ay for the fi rst time. (75 Greenmanville Ave., Mys tic, CT; Ph . 860 572- 07 11; in fo@ myst icseaport.org;www.mys ticseaport.o rg) ... Divers in Sweden have discovered a midnineteenth-century shipwreck at a shallow depth off the south coast of the Aland Islands. Jerry Wilhelm sso n and his diving tea m, Baltic Underwa ter Explo rers, fo und the 88-foot-long w reck w hile looking fo r a different ship. It is surprisingly intact, including the anchor, fig urehead , and hundred s of unopened bottles, som e of which the tea m obtained perm iss ion to remove in the hopes that analys is w ill reveal clues as to the vessel's identity. In April 2016 , a nother group of scuba di vers discovered, also by chance, two shipwrecks d ating back to at leas t the 1600s next to the isla nd ofSkeppsholm en . Balti c U nderwa ter Explo rers is a
The Wood Island Life Saving Station in Kittery, Maine, the only life-saving station in the United States with a surviving intact marine railway, will find a new purpose as a maritime museum . Th e Kittery Port Authority recently approved a new pier and the res toration of th e m arine railway (s ubj ect to the ap prova l of the town planning board), and the building was declared eligible fo r the N ation al Register of Historic Places. F undin g is coming from a $2 00 ,000 matching grant from the N ational Park Service Maritime Heritage Grant (see more on the grants program on p ages 2 6-27), along with $200 ,000 from the state;
Wood Island Lighthouse
An anchor still hangs off the bow of this 19th-century Swedish shipwreck. non-profit group which sea rches fo r, identifies, documents, and monitors historic shipw recks in the Baltic Sea. (www.facebook.com / BalticUnderwaterExplorers) ...
."EXP.ERIENrnREifli HrfiORY r.
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44
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
$200 ,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency; and $ 100 ,000 in private donations. Built in 1908, Wood Island Life Saving Station rem ained in service until 1948, when its role was taken over by a station in nea rby Porrsmouth H arbor. Surfmen operating out of the Wood Island station h ave been credited with saving more than 300 people. Work began last summer on removing lead and asbestos and cleaning out the 7,600-square-foot structure; the first phase of restoration began in November. The Wood Island Life Saving Station Association continues to seek fundin g to meet the full cost of the proj ec t, w hi ch m ay reach a total of $1 million . The gro up hopes to have the new museum completed by 2018. (Wood Island Life Saving Station Association, PO Box 11, K ittery Point, ME 03905; contact@ woodislandlifesaving.org; www.woodislandlifesaving.o rg) ... Clearwater h as announced t h at its iconic summer m usic festival on t h e Hud son River will b e returning in 2017 after a year's h iatu s. The organization, founded in 1966 by musician and ac tivist Pete Seeger and his wife, Tos hi , to raise awareness of environmental issues, h ad made the decision to forgo a fes tival in 2016 because of financial challenges; at the time, the group was fundr aising to complete restoration work on "America's environmental flagship ,"
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SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Tired of nautical reproductions? Martifacts has only authentic marine co llectibles rescued from scrapped ships: navigation lamps, sexta nts, clocks, bells, barometers, charts, flags , binnacles, te legraphs, portholes, U.S. Navy dinnerware and flatware, and more. Current brochure - $ 1.00
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BOOKS MEN OF PROMISE-A well-crafted tale of high seas adventure. Paperback $ 14.95; e-book $2.99; www.caprainwesrbooks.com.
OUT-OF-PRINT NAUTICAL BOOKS AND BOAT MAGAZINES. Thousands of rides. Online Catalog. Sea Fever Boo ks, e-mail: info@seafeverbooks.com and website: www.seafeverbooks.com 877-7923040 (EST).
KEEPING THE TRADITION ALIVE by Capt. Ray Williamson. The remarkable story of M aine W indjammer Cruises,â&#x201E;˘ fo under of the windjammer industry. 172 page, 11 x 14 hardcover book with over 100 full-page images from the days of cargo to the present. Price- $48. Call 800 736-7981; email sail@ mainewindjammercruises.com.
the sloop Clearwater. The annual festival apply fo r a H odson T rust- John Carter fea rures six perfo rmance stages, environ- Brow n Library Fellowship is 15 Ma rch . mental education exhibits, and opportuni- The J. M . Stuart Fellowship is open to ties to sail aboard both Clearwater and the Brown University PhD students in the organization's other vessel, Mystic Whaler. humanities or social sciences, whose dis(724 Wolcott Ave, Beacon, NY 12508 ; sertation topic relates to the early hi story Ph. 845 265 -8080; email: offi ce@clear- and culture of the Americas and whose water.org;www.clearwater.org) .. . Dead- research and writing wo uld benefit from lines for fellowship applications at the privileged and sustained access to the reJohn Carter Brown Library (JCBL) in sources of the JC BL. The Smart Fellowship Providence, Rhode Island, world re- application must be accompan ied by a nowned for its extensive holdings in the nomination from the student's department literature of European exploration and chair. N ominations and applications are travel in the Western Hemisphere, are due by 29 January. Finally, the JC BL Colcoming up in January and March. The laborative Cluster Fell owship is open to H odson T rust Fellowship supports work small groups of2 to 4 scholars who would by academics, independent scholars, and be in simultaneous residence fo r periods w riters wo rking on significant proj ects of up ro one month to wo rk in collaborarelating to the literature, history, culture, tion on a particular them e, o bj ect, or or art of the Americas before 183 0. C an- scholarly project. The fellows hip carries a did ates with a US history topic are strong- weekly stipend of $5 00 per person. D eadly encouraged to concentrate on the pe- line fo r this fell owship is 15 January. The riod prior to 1801. The fellows hip is also John Carter Brown Library has supported open to filmmakers, novelists, creative and numerous fe ll ows researching ropics in perfo rming artists, and others working on maritime history, and is a valuable resource proj ects that draw on this period of his- for indep endent scholars and gradu ate to ry. The four-month fellowship is di- students. They also offer short-term (2 to vided into two parts: two months of re- 4 months) and long-term (5 to 10 months) search at the JC BL during the academic fellowships. Derails on all fellowships and year, and two months of writing at the rhe library's holdings are online at www. CV Staff Center at Washington College brown .edu /academics/libraries/john-cartin Chestertown, M D , during rhe follow- er-brown /fellowships. (JC BL, 94 George ing summer. The stipend is $5,000 per St. , Providence, RI; Ph . 4 01 863-2725. month for a total of $20,000 , plus housing The library is located on the campus of and university privileges. The deadl ine to Brown University.) ,!,
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46
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
One Last Hope for the Falls of Clyde A last-ditch effort by a Scotland-based group to save the only surviving full-rigged four-masted sailing ship Falls of Clyde is gaining momentum. Save Falls of Clyde-International was established just this past August, when people in the Port of Glasgow were made aware of the ship's dire situation. The Falls of Clyde has been in Honolulu since 1963 and had been restored and opened as a museum ship in 1968. Launched in 1878, she spent two decades hauling freight for the Falls Line of Wright and Breakenridge, which built and operated nine four-masted ships, all named for Scottish waterfalls. In 1898-99, Captain William Matson bought the ship and brought her to Hawaii, from where she spent the next two decades engaged in hauling freight and passengers to the US West Coast and beyond. She first carried sugar and freight to California, sailing back with livestock and passengers. In 1907 she was fitted out as a sailing oil tanker for Associated Oil out of California and continued on her route between Hawaii and California until 1920. The ship was in service as a working ship in various capacities until 1959, when she was retired from service and towed to Seattle to be scurtled as a breakwater. Before that could happen, the ship was saved by a group out of Hawaii, with support from the Matson Navigation Co. and others, and towed to Honolulu. She was fu lly restored and rigged in the 1960s and turned over to the Hawaiian Maritime Center, which was taken over by the Bishop Museum in 1996. In 2008, the Hawaiian Maritime Center made an announcement that the ship was in disrepair and that funds were not in hand to restore her. The museum offered, on a very short timeframe, to hand over ownership to another museum or institution that could take her; if no one came forward, it would have to arrange to have the ship towed out beyond territorial limits and scuttled in deep water, or scuttled in shallower water as an artificial reef for scuba divers. The maritime heritage community was horrified by this sudden turn of events, but no offers were forthcoming until September of that year, when a non-profit group was formed in Hawaii, Friends of the Falls of Clyde, to rake possession of the ship and formu late a plan to have the sh ip saved. Despite their best efforts, the group hasn't been able raise enough funds to get the ship dry docked and restored. In June 2016, the Harbors Division of the Hawaii Department of Transportation revoked the ship's permit, stating that the ship's presence creates a hazard to navigation. Friends of the Falls of Clyde disputes this claim, citing technical reports from naval architects showing that the condition of the ship poses no hazard and a mooring plan submitted to the US Coast Guard, which has not questioned the plan. The safety concerns cited by the State are relative to the ship's storage tanks, not the fabric of the hull. The Harbors Division impounded the ship this past summer and the Friends group was given a couple of weeks to submit a plan to have the vessel removed from the harbor. In July, Friends of the Falls of Clyde submitted a plan that provided two contingency options: transfer of ownership to an entity outside of Hawaii, and contact with a local company that has expressed interest in the ship as a dive site. With efforts and support coming from the new group in Scotland, those scrambling to save the ship from a watery grave have renewed hope. Save the Falls of Clyde-International has received support from Scottish actor Brian Cox, CBE, (a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, best known in the US for his roles in The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Braveheart, and Doctor Who), among other notable figures. Mr. Cox has agreed to be the group's official patron. According to David O'Neill, the campaign coordinator for the Scotland-based group, "Glasgow City College, Riverside Campus, and the world-renowned Glasgow Nautical College have joined the campaign to save the Falls of Clyde. Additionally, Fair Transport Europe and Clyde Maritime Trust have also endorsed the campaign to return her to Scotland. The college is setting up a Technical and Media Committee, for the purpose of raising the funds needed to transport the ship home to Scotland, and is looking at the logistics that will require." Save the Falls of Clyde is lobbying for government support (both in Scotland and in Hawaii), in addition to seeking the cooperation and support of mil itary and commercial shipyards. They are active on social media, hoping to gain more awareness and support from the public on both sides of the pond. They are appealing to commercial shipping companies to assist in getting the ship from Hawaii to Scotland, and will consider any offers; the group has put out a request to ports around the United States to offer safe harbor, should they be able to arrange for one company to take the ship on one leg, and another to transport her on the next. The ultimate goal is to keep the ship from being scuttled by the State of Hawaii and get her home to Scotland, where they would like to create a tall ship center to celebrate and preserve the rich shipbuilding heritage in Glasgow. Save the Falls of Clyde-International is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/savefallsofclyde/ and on Twitter at Save Falls ofClyde. J,
SEAHISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
47
Save the Dates for These Upcoming NMHS Events You U70n't "Want to Miss! National Maritime Awards Dinner 4 April 2017 in Washington, DC The National Maritime Historical Society, in association with the Naval Historical Foundation, invites you to the ga la National Maritime Awards Dinner in our nation's capita l. Join us in April at the historic Mayflower Hotel as the maritime community gathers to honor Conservation International, an America n non-profit environmental organization, and its ch airman and founder Peter Seligmann, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. Conservation International has had a major impact on the health of the world 's oceans and shorelines with scientists, policy wo rkers, and conservationists on the gro und in more than 30 countries. The NMH S Distinguished Service Award will be presented by Tom Friedman, the distinguished three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist. Dr. Jack P. London, executive chairman of CACI International, and its president and CEO for 23 years until 2007, will be recognized with the Naval Historical Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. Dr. London served as a naval aviator and carrier pilot, and has spearheaded projects to support our naval heritage.
Peter Seligmann
The awardees and presenters are people you'll want to meet, and the historic venue is a place you'll want to experience. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote his famous "We have nothing to fear bur fear itself" speech at the Mayflower, just one of many historic events that have taken place in that iconic space. And don't forget, while an enjoyable and fulfilling evening will be had by all, it is all in support of our maritime heritage. Room reservations ca n be made at D r. j ack p London htrps://aws. passkey.com /e/ 16393708, or by calling toll free 877 212-5752. Rooms for the NMH S block are $359 a night, plus taxes, and avai lable until the block is sold, or until 5PM on 17 March. T ickets to the dinner are $275 and sponsorship opportunities are available. C heck the website for more information and to order tickers at www.seahistory.org or call 914-737-7878, ext. 0.
NMHS Annual Meeting 15-17 May 2017 in Charleston, South Carolina We are exci ted to have yo u join us in historic Cha rleston for the 20 17 NMHS A nnual Meeting. We will be joined this yea r by the Nort h American Society for Ocea nic History (NASOH) for three days of presentations, panels, and scholarly papers, plus tours and receptions. The joint conference will be hosted by the College of Charleston, downtow n and w ithin easy walking dista nce to Marion Square and other historic sites . On Monday, 15 May, join us for an evening reception off campus; Tuesday, enjoy an afternoon h arbor cruise w ith NMHS and NASOH members; and on Wednesday, we' ll take a private tour of the Confederate submarine, H. L. Hunley, and conclude the three-day event with an eveni ng banquet. You can register for the full three days, or by the day. Full conference registration, which includes all sessions, breaks, awards banquet, and field trips is $245. It will increase $20 after 31 March. Single-day registration is $125 for Monday or Tuesday, and $145 for Wednesday. Blocks of rooms have been reserved at two hotels, the Francis Marion Hotel at 387 King Street (www.francismarioncharleston.com) and the Days Inn Charleston Historic District at 155 Meeting Street (www.daysinn.reserva rioncounter.com). Reservations for each must be made by 31 March; make sure yo u mention yo u are with NASOH to take advantage of the discoun t. Derails on rates and how to make your reservations are on on our website at www.seahistory.org.
Historic Charleston, South Carolina
48
-Burchenal Green, NMHS President
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
EXHIBITS
•17th
National Exhibition,
American Society of Marine Artists, 10 December-3 1 March at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime M useum, in Sr. Michaels, MD , and at the Academy Ar r M useum in Easton, M D. (CBMM, 2 13 N. Talbot Street, Sr. Michaels, M D ; www.cbmm. org. AAM, 106 South Street, Easton, MD; www.academyartmuseum. org)
March at the American Merchant M arine M useum in Ki ngs Point, NY. (300 Steamboat Road, Kings Point, NY; www.usm ma.edu/m useum)
Island in MD. (14200 Solomons Island Road, Solomons, MD; www.calvertmar inem useum .com)
FESTNALS , EVENTS, LECTURES, ETC.
•Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, 4-8 January in Fort Worth, T X. ''Advancing Frontiers: Where the Next 50 Years of SHA Begins." (www.sha.org) •American Historical Association, 131st Annual Meeting 5-8 January in Denver, CO. Theme: "Historical Scale: Linking Levels of Experience." (www.historians.org) •PCA/ACA National Conference 12-15 April in San Diego. (Popular Culture Associati on/American C ulture Association) "Sea Literature, History, & C ulture" will be one of the subject areas presented. (www. pcaaca.org/ national-conference) •Tall Ships America 44th Annual Conference 2016, 8-10 February in Boston. (See page 4 1 of this issue fo r details. Tall Ships Ameri ca, 22 1 3rd St. , Bldg. 2, Ste. 10 1, Newport, RI; Ph. 401 846- 1775; www.sailtraining.org) •28th Symposium on Maritime Archaeology and History of Hawai'i and the Pacific, 18-19 February in Honolulu. "Early Watercraft and Maps: Voyaging, Visual izing and Revitalizing." (MAHHI, www.mahhi.org) •2017 National Council on Public History Annual Meeting, 19-22 April in Indianapolis, IN. (www.ncph. org) •Council of American Maritime Museums Annual Conference, 19-2 1 April, hos ted by the San Francisco National Histo rical Park and San Francisco Maritime National Park Association . (www.co uncilofa meri canmaritimemuseums.org) •National Maritime Historical Society (NMHS) and the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) Joint Conference, 15-17 May in C harleston, SC. (See page 48 fo r details. www.seahistory.o rg; www.naso h. org) •2017 McMullen Naval History Symposium, 14- 15 September at the US Naval Academy. Call fo r Papers deadline is 13 February. Email proposals to navalhistory symposium@gmail. com. (www. usna.edu/ History/Symposium/) •Society of Early Americanists 10th Biennial Conference, 2-4 March in Tulsa, O K. (www.societyofearlyamericanists.org)
CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIUMS
•Lantern Light Tours at Mystic Seaport, evenings on 9- 10, 16-18, 23 D ecember. Advance tickets available. (75 Greenmanville Ave., Mys tic, CT; Ph. 860 572-5331; •The Lure and Lore of Marine Art, www.mys ticseaport. org) a rotating exhibition at the Cape Cod •45th Annual San Diego Parade of Maritime Museum . (135 South Street, Lights, 11 & 18 D ecember along the San Hyannis, MA; Ph. 508 775- 1723; v.ww. Diego waterfront. Parade begins at 5PM. capecodmaritimem useum.o rg) Parade theme for 2016 is "It Began With •Sea-Change, opens 10 December at a Roar-San Diego Zoo Celebrates 100 Mystic Seaport. (47 G reenmanville Av- Years." (www.sdparadeoflights.org) enue, Mystic, CT; Ph. 860 572-5388; •Tim Flannery & Friends Concert on www. mys ricseaporr.org) the Star of India, 17 December at the •It's a Sailor's Life for Me, now th ro ugh Maritime M useum of San Diego. Advance 3 1 May. A photo documentary by Kath- tickets available; note that this is an event ryn M ussallem aboard the fe rryboat Berke- for adults 2 1 years and older. (1492 N. ley at the Maririme Museum of San Diego. H arbor Dr., San Diego, CA; Ph. 6 19 234(1 492 No rth Harbor D r., San Diego, CA; 9 153; www.sdmaritime.org) •Sea Shanty Session, 18 D ecember at 6 19 234-9153; www.sdmaririme.o rg) •Kodachrome Memory: Nathan Benn's the N oble Maritime Collection on the North Shore, 1978, 27 Decem ber- 19 grounds of Snug H arbor C ul tural CenFebruary at the Cape Ann M useum ter in Staten Island. Sessions are held on in MA. (27 Pleasant Sr., Gloucester, the 3rd Sunday of each mon th and are led MA; Ph. 978 283-0455; www.capeann by the Folk Music Society of New Yo rk. museum.org) (1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, •37th Annual International Marine Art NY; www. noblemaritime.org) Exhibition, now thro ugh 3 1 December •Moby-Dick Marathon, 6-8 January at Mys tic Seaport's Maritime Gallery. (47 at the New Bedfo rd W haling M useum. Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT ; Ph. (1 8 Johnny Cake H ill, New Bedfo rd, 860 572-5388; www.mysticseaporr.org; MA; Ph. 508 997-0046; WWW.whaling gallery@mysricseaporr.org) museum .org) •Polynesian Voyagers: The Truest of •9th Annual Martin County Nautical Mariners, now thro ugh 11 June at the Flea Market, 7-8 January in Stuart, FL. Mariners' M useum and Park. (1 00 Mu- (300 SE Ocean Dr. , Stuart, FL; www.fl seum D r. , Newport News, VA; Ph. 757 nauricalfleamarker.co m) •Philadelphia Parade of Lights, 10 D e596-2222; www.marinersmuseum.org) •Architecture of Trade: Schermerhorn cember along the waterfront near Penn's Row and the Seaport, just opened at Landing. (Independence Seaport M uSouth Street Seaport Museum in New seum, 2 11 S. Columbus Blvd. , PhiladelYork. (12 Ful ton Street, New York; www. phia, PA; www.phillyseaport.o rg) •6th Annual Clam Chowder Cook-off, southstreetseaportmuseum.org) •Mapping Ahab's "Storied "Waves "_ 20 January at the North Carolina MariWhaling and the Geography of Moby- time Museum in Beaufo rt. (3 15 Front Sr, Dick, at the New Bedford Whaling Muse- Beaufort, NC; Ph. 252 728-73 17; www. um, (1 8 Joh nny Cake Hill, N ew Bedford, ncmari rim em use um. o rg) MA 02740; Ph. 508 997-0046; WWW. •Maritime Performance Series concert: Ken and Brad Kolodner Trio whalingmuseum.org) •How to Abandon Ship: The Sinking of with Rachel Eddy, 27 January at the the SS Robin Moor, 1941, through 30 Calvert Marine Museum on Solomons
Reviews McAllister Towing: 150 Years ofFamily Business by Stephanie Hollyman (Carpe Diem Books, Portland, OR, 2015, 246pp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 978-0-98971046-6; $50hc) Celebrating the survival of the McAllister family towing business-and the family itself- is the obvious intent of this large coffee-table-style book, and to that end it is well accomplished yet with a journalistic eye toward factual reporting, avoiding the pitfalls typical of vanity publications. The arresting collection of photographs, newspaper clippings, advertisements, and ephemera put the McAllister maritime activities in context with maritime history from 1864 to the present, making it a worthwhile read for those beyond the McAllister family and friends. It is a remarkable tome. The book is a treasure trove for tugboat enthusiasts and history buffs and a must for any collector of port and ship photography. It could also be read as a fam ily saga, ready-made for a TV series: penniless Irish lad James McAllister is shipwrecked off Newfoundland, makes
0
his way to the big city of New York, and thrives, buying into a lighterage business that becomes the foundation of a fivegeneration dynasty. Perils to his efforrs came from all sides: Irish were marginalized, competition was cut-throat-some things never changebut New York Harbor was changing rapidly with nineteenth-century industrial developments and the clannish Irish would ultimately claim the waterfront. McAllister brothers Daniel, William, and Charles soon joined James Jr. , and established a dynamic for future generations: invest and expand with the newest technologies as they emerge. As the twentieth century unfolds, the future looks endlessly promising, but perils still lurk at every turn. Family dynamics shift and get squirrelly regarding business decisions and succession; the author handles this delicate subject with discretion-the drama is apparent between the lines . The larger context includes disastrous fires, the Great Depression, the World Wars, and multiple collapses and rebuilds. Throw in labor troubles and marvel at their survival.
NEW FROM NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS GREAT AMERICAN NAVAL BATTLES
50
ISBN: 978-1-91086-018-2 Hardcover: $22.95
ISBN: 978-1-59114-636-0 Hardcover: $36.00
ISBN: 978-1-59114-634-6 Paperback ~: $34.95
Originally published months before the Battle ofJutland, this small, but interesting manual provides a unique and revealing insight into life aboard ship.
Disguise and disruption in war and art, Dazzle features a stunning World War I camouflage technique.
''A work of extensive original research, it is also first rate reading." -Proceedings
L:r7Fffftt \ The book is well suppl ied with photographs that go from black-and-white to color, tugboats from steam to diesel, ships from ocean liners to aircraft carriers. McAllister men no longer sport patriarchal beards, and McAllister women are more than the namesakes of boats. Author and chronicler Stephanie Hollyman deftly keeps the family saga intertwined with the contemporary story, hence it serves as a timeline of New York Harbor maritime history as it moved from regional ro global connections. Survival depends on skill and innovation. Hollyman concludes: "Despite the amazing technology of Z-dr ives, Kort nozzles, and computer-aided navigation, roday the company is back ro its core business of comings and goings, of carrying people and goods, a story that is the most fundamental to human civilization. And so it goes for generations into the future." ARDEN SCOTT
Greenport, New York
Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the War of American Independence by George C. Daughan (W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2016, 416pp, illus, maps, biblio, notes, index, ISBN 978- 0-39324572-1; $28 .95hc) George Daughan's latest book recounts the Revolurionary War through many of its battles and serves as a literary tour of hi stori c mountaintops related to the British scheme of ending the rebel uprising by taking control of the Hudson River Valley, Lakes George and Champlain , and the Canadian St. Lawrence strongholds. The British sought to isolate rebellious northern colonies from the colonies to the south operating under the ass umption that, because the southern colonies were more sparsely settled and more dependent upon a slave-based economy, with a few pockets of exceptions, they were more likely to be loyal to the crown. 1lue A mericans had no trained army and harrdly any formidable weapons. They could ffield a militia of farmers and shopkeeperss, but h ad few officers with military leaderslhip experience. The tiny ContinenSEA HIISTORY 15 7, WINTER 2016-17
ta! Navy, the disparate eleve n state-n avies, and the motley privateer fleet proved of little consequence at sea. By contras t, the British h ad the larges t and most formidable n avy in the world , a combat- tested military and officer corps, plus fierce H essian mercenary soldiers. While they came into the conflict with this distinct advantage, they had difficulty prevailing. The author presents his educated views about why this happened: evidence that th e hierarchy h ad little firsthand knowledge of the North American colonies; little understanding of the di fficu!ties a European-style army would h ave traversing the rugged, largely undeveloped ter rain; and poor appreciation of the sometimes extreme seasonal weather challenges in execu ting the Hudson Valley strategy. Daughan takes his readers on a journey through battles and political intrigues of the entire Revolutionary War, with a close examination of the crucial Hudson Valley engagements at Lake C hamplain, Bemis Heights, Saratoga, and the non-engagement at West Point, along with more detailed descriptions on the British evacuation of Boston, the battles of Long Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Trenton, and Philadelphia. 1h e latter were arguably necessary for staging a successful Hudson Valley assault, but Daughan also dwells upon the southern campaigns: Charleston, and fina lly the British defeat at Yorktown. Participants on both sides had multiple internecine conflicts, including brothers General W illiam and Admiral Richard Howe's conAicts with Lord George Germain, General Henry Clinton's dislike for Admiral Marriott Arbuthnot, Gen eral C harles Lee's calumny of General George Washington, Ad miral George Rodney's dislike of both Clinton and Arbuthnot; the enigmatic Benedict Arnold would become a conundrum for both sides. Some of the disputes directly affected the outcome of battles that mi ght have been turned with better cooperation, communi cations, and exploitation of hard-won gains. Daughan explains how much of the hardship on both sides could have been avoided with minor compromises, better treatment of the vanquished, and by showing basic humanity. The author's descriptions of the British and particularly the Hessians' brutality were
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 20 16- 17
especially poignant. Unfortunately, missing was a discussion about similar acts of cruelty committed by American forces, particularly in the odious prison within a Simsbury, Con necticut, copper-mine. The author's prose is fast paced, which is not always an advantage when discussing important events that were quite complex and condensed. Still, the autho r's intent was to focus on Britain's Hudson strategy as a central theme, not to write a definitive history of the Revolutionary War. In this capacity he is largely successful. The last two chapters in which he discusses the immediate events beyond Yorktown are rarely dealt with in other books on the confl ict. His comm entary is insightful; Daughan looks back on events and speculates abo ut what might have been if more perceptive heads had prevailed or if different decisions had been made at crucial times. Historian George Daughan's scholarly Revolution on the Hudson is a worthy sequel to his award-winning books, If by Sea and 1812: 1he Navy's War. I h ighly recommend this book to readers who are interested in the significant Hudson Valley events that surrounded the birth of our nation. Lours ARTHUR NORTON West Simsbury, Connecticut
I//
National University of Singapore Press
THE FIRST IRON WARSHIPAND HER WORLD
THE GLENCANNON PRESS
Hidden Warships: Finding World War /I's Abandoned, Sunk, and Preserved Warships by N icholas A. Veronico (Zenith Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Gro up USA, Minneapolis, MN, 2015, 256pp, illus, biblio, appen, index, ISBN 9780-7603-4756-0; $30hc) In Hidden Warships, N icholas Veronico provides a cornucopi a of infor mation on the topic described in the book 's tide and subtitle, so much so that, at first, the reader wonders how the author is ever going to get to the end of the war in just 256 pages. He begins before the historically recognized start of the war for the United States, chasing down the whereabouts of the midget subs deployed by the Japanese prior to the dropping of the first bombs on Pearl H arbor. Familiar tales are meticulously retold with a high level of technica l detail. Veronico organizes his book into five sections that take his readers fro m the
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"Opening Salvoes of War" in che Pacific, co che U-boac war in rhe Aclantic, co che discovery and ulcimace rescoracion of vessels sent co che brink of descruccion by cime a nd neglec c. His underlying m essage chroughouc che book is che need co preserve and conserve che ships and boacs of che war, wherher in sicu on che seaf!oor or as museum arcifaccs. Veronico scrongly advocaces chis nocion regardless of che vessel's fame, size, or che country of origin. Hidden Warships is published wirh fullcolor capabiliry on every page, a pricey publishing opcion, buc one chac helps wich che fl ow of subj ecc maccer. H eavily illuscraced wich black-and-whice phocos from Wo rld Wa r II, each subchapcer closes wich che mosc recent and modern phocography available of dive ceams in che wacer, museum ships, and sunken ships as chey look coday underwarer. This book is boch a narracive hiscory of che war ac sea and a celebracion of modern historic preservacion rechniques and praccices chac are helping co fill in che blank pages of chac hiscory, one dive ac a cime. ]OH N GALLUZZO
Hanover, Massachuseccs
Ihelost Hero of
Cape ~ Cod
CA"'T""I"'
A.SA
ELDIUDGI":
AND THI!:
M"RITll<\L TRAOL THAT SHAPt;;D AMLRICI\ VINC&NT
MIL&li
Volume 1 After che incrod uctory chapcer in which che auchors oudine che beginnings of undersea warfare co cheir readers, chey address che firsc serious challenge for anci-submarine warfare (ASW): Wo rld War I. W hile che subsequenc wo rld conflicc's Baccle of che Aclancic dominaces che public percepcion of che undersea menace, a reading of Hunters and Killers illuminares che excenc co which World War I ASW served as a
"Mericulously pieced cogecher from exhauscive research, Eldridge's scory is a rale of war, peace, excraordinary heroism, and hea rrbreaki ng cragedy ... Highly recommended . . . " Midwest Book Review "An old seafaring world co mes co life ... An abso rbing and comprehensive scudy ... " Kirkus Reviews " ... a greac read . .. " Cape Cod Times " ... prose as lively and fasc-paced as a clipper unde r full sai l, and hiscorical reconsuu ccion as dependable as a copper-boccomed hull. " WickedLocalCapeCod " ... should be included in every cown library. Highly recommended. " The Ports1nouth Review Avai lable from Amazon, Barnes & oble, etc. For more reviews and infom1ation v isit lostherocapecod .com.
Pamir Sailing the Pacific during WWII by
Bernard Diederich AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
52
Hunters and Killers: Volumes 1 and 2 , Anti-Submarine Warfare by Norman Polmar and Edward Whicman (Naval Inscicuce Press, Annapoli s, MD, 2016, 272pp, illus, maps, biblio, noces, index, ISBN 978 1-59 114-689-6 ; $49.95hc) Norman Polmar and Edward Whicman have produced whac is arg uably che capscone hiscory of underwacer warfare in rhe cwo-volume sec H unters and Killers. Volume 1 secs ouc che origins and developments in undersea warfare from che earliesc documenced underwacer craft to 1943, when che Bacde of che Aclantic was leaning in favor of rhe Allies. Volume 2 concinues che scudy from 1943 onwards.
Nautical Scribe
Books MARITIME BOOKS & ART 132 Church Street, Belfast, Maine 207-218-1006 nauticalscribe@gmail.com www.nauticalscribebooks.com
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prologue ro World War II undersea baccles. By 1914, d evelopment of che self-propelled torpedo, begun in che 1860s in candem wich advances in underwacer crafc, reached macuration in time co the give the submarine the capacity co destroy the largest ships afloat from a safe discance. The remainder of the first volume is devoced to rhe srruggle co overcome che menace of che ofcen invisible and silenc marauder. The auchors address the advances in ASW by all belligerencs during WWI, rhe incer-war years, and WWII. The descriptions and analyses focus on che Un iced Kingdom wirh srrong reference co che U nired Scares buc less accencion paid co Germany, France, lcaly, Poland, and Japan. Killing che killers required designing and conscructing new vessels and weapons. To locace the enemy under the surface and keep him in range, devices were invenced co detect and track submerged submarines using passive (listen for noise generated by the target) and acrive (sonar-dispatch signals to bounce off targets and report back co the issuing instrument) listening equipment. To find the enemy at the surface from a distance, radar had co be reconfigured from use on land co use aboard ships and aircraft. Because airplanes and lighterthan-air craft were especially useful in derecring, rhwaning, and even destroying submarines, flying machines by rhe thousands were assigned anri-submarine duty and small ai rcrafc carriers were built and dispatched by the score to accompany convoys of v ulnerable shipping essential to the war effort. Polmar and Whitman do nor slight the use of convoys to reduce submarine attacks. ASW was fo ught on the sea, in the air, and in the code room. Allied success in cracki ng the En igma code-the code the Axis used to communicate w ith its ships and U-boars-mulriplied rhe advantages of the com act advancements in ASW. Volume 2 Polmar and Whitman open volume 2 of H unters and Killers wich an analysis of the fin al years of World War II, when the Allies had vicrory in the Bartle of the Atlantic in their grasp . The Axis powers, relyin g on advanced cechnology co turn around a wa r going against them, suuggled to rhe ve ry end of the conflict with new weapons that
SEA HISTORY 15 7, WINTER 2016- 17
were, on the one hand, too little, too late, but represented , on the other h and, the future of warfare in many ways. The advanced U-boats Germany put to sea late in the w ar became the models for postwar Allied submarines, and the V-2 rockets fired on the British inspired the ballistic missiles A llied powers would launch fro m those advanced submarines. Moreover, Allied analys ts questioned the capacity of the successful anti-submarine wa rfare tha t won the Battle of the Atlantic to counter what G ermany was sending to sea at the end of the war. And that question presages the remainder of the study, as the authors review the ongoing competition be tween subma rine technology a nd ASW in the postwar years. Chapters on the Cold W ar follow the authors' wrap-up ofWWII and tra nsitions to what is, for the most part, the rem ainder of the book. The authors do not offer vague generalizations but provide dates a nd specifics of weapons and tactics developed and deployed by the East and W es t in the yea rs after the war and befo re the fall of the USSR in 1991. These chapters that examine the "s trategic ASW " carried out by the Sov iet Union and the United States are the m ost graphic and revealing of the co mpetition between what were the two superpowers in the immediate postwar years. The reader w ill come away from a reading of these two chapters thankful that events did not force a contes t between the two n a tions and reinforces the accepted conclusion that, in a nuclear war, there can be no winner, only losers. The picture they paint of the ASW situation since the fa ll of the USSR is not pretty. As the W es t, particula rly the United States, lowered its gua rd as the USSR collapsed a nd Russia struggled to return to superpower status, ASW took a back seat at best, and fell apart at wo rst. The threat to peace fro m underwater craft not only rem ains, but is in som e ways more serious than it was during the Cold Wa r. The US continues to focus on nuclear underwater craft while industrializing n ations pose an increasing threat with diesel-electric subm arines that fl agging AS W is not equipped to counter. The two volumes chat m ake up H unters and Killers represent an achievem ent in research and presentation wo rthy of the
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
BOYDE LL
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time to read them and the price to buy them. No one interested in naval history should be without these works. DAVID 0. WHITTEN, PHD Auburn, Alabama
The Heroic Age ofDiving: America's Underwater Pioneers and the Great Wrecks o/Lake Erie by Jerry Kuntz (State University of New York Press, A lbany, 2016 , 150pp, illus, biblio, notes, index, ISBN 9781-4384-5962-2; $19.95pb) Publications about the "deep" and the underwater world continue to attract the interest of readers, but there are few works that focus on the lives of early pioneer divers. Diving is a subj ect that lacks the popular heroes found in the broader realm of naval and maritime history, bur Jerry Kuntz addresses this through an examinarion of America's diving pioneers in his latest book, The H eroic Age ofDiving. He concentrates his study on those who explored rhe shipwrecks of Lake Erie beginning in rhe midnineteenth century. This is an interesting and appropriate decision for two reasons: many of the leading divers were attracred to projects in Lake Erie, the shallowest of
the Great Lakes, and the subject of many rales of ships rhar carried treasure to the bottom. The pirate, the treas u re hunter, and the investor were all drawn to the quesr. Predictably, the treasure from shipw recks rarely materialized, alrhough rhe underwater explorations generared considerable media coverage. These divers expanded the science and the ability to perform work underwater at ever-increasing depths without loss oflife or serious injury. Indeed, they were true pioneers. And some were less heroic, as Kuntz states in his opening line: "The founding father of American underwater exploration, William Hannis Taylor, began his career as a pirare." Wil liam Taylor was arrested ar Sr. Barrs bur managed to escape, appealed his case, and was ulrimarely vindicared. His trip to rhe Caribbean was nor wirhour benefirs-ir was rhere rhar he firsr observed pearl divers. H e considered how it mighr be possible to dive for longer periods by using a surface-supplied source of air. In England, brothers Charles and John Deane of G reat Britain, along wirh German-born Augusrus Siebe, were working on the development of a diving suir and helmet,
which they achieved by 1836. Taylor developed his own diving suit around rhe same time, calling it "submarine armor," and applied for a US patent. He tesred his submarine armor in rhe Hudson River above New York City; that same year, he published rhe booklet A New and Alluring Source of Enterp rise in the Treasures of the Sea, and the Means of Gathering Them. H e aimed to attract investors to back a pearldiving venture. Since so few could observe the dive trials, he moved to the city and conducted demonstrations in a large vat. Joined by George W. Taylor (no relation), their focus turned to salvage of shipwrecks. George Taylor needed a successful underwater salvage project to test and prove h is diving suir. He fo und that opportunity in Lake Erie, which had become center stage for salvage diving in America in the mid-nineteenth century, w ith well-preserved and accessible shipwrecks serving as the mai n attraction. Taylor bid on the most challenging underwater project of the time, the salvage and removal of USS Missouri, which had caught fire and sunk in 1846, obstructing the channel in British-held
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54
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 2016- 17
Gibraltar. The contract went to another reigning champ. H e also conducted stunts, diver with Lake Erie experience, John E. such as walking across the bottom of the Gowen, who succeeded and gained inter- Detroit River to Windsor. national recognition. The way the book is organized can In the coming years Lake Erie offered make it difficult to track the lives of the diving and salvage opportunities, as the divers. Some moved from the Lakes, like some of the great palace steamers sank with James Eads, who earned his fa me on the considerable loss of life and property. The Mississippi River; or John Gowen, who G .P. Griffith burned in 1850, followed by went to work for the Russians and other the City ofOswego and the Atlantic, which European states while living in Paris. The sank due to collisions in 1852 . Kuntz pro- people that surrounded the divers receive poses that the propeller steamer City of some attention, such as Daniel C hapin, a Oswego lies at the heart of the history of metal dowser and treasure hunter who diving in Lake Erie. Her fatal collision with claimed he could find things through his the steamer America sent her to the bottom special powers. C h apin encouraged the in minutes, taking with her two dozen or belief that sunken treasure was at hand, so passengers and crew, including the wife and organized a spate of underwater expeand child of one John B. Green. Green ditions to recover lost fortunes. This insurvived and, after the ordeal, trai ned as a cluded Captain Kidd's repo rted treasure diver. H e would visit the wreck site many under the waters of the Hudson River. times. He also dived the G. P. Griffith, Erie, Each underwater expedition during and most notoriously the steamer Atlantic. this era required divers brave enough to John Green was a tough m an, who face the cold, dark depths without fully developed skills and diving abilities understanding the effects it wo uld have on m atched by few. He dived m any places their health. Some divers co ntributed to using Taylor's submarine armor and hel- the improvement of submarine armor, even meted diving suits to reach great depths, designing their own diving suits and hellong before the invention of SCUBA. The mets. But as Kuntz rightly points out, it is Atlantic was a great challenge at 160 feet, the daring of these pioneers that is the real but it had a safe aboard that contained story. $3 0,000 and Green was driven to recover TIMOTHY J. RUNYAN, PHD Greenville, North Carolina it. He would pay a steep price when decompression sickness crippled him , but he eventually returned to the site with other The Larchmont Disaster offBlock Island: divers to complete the job of recovering Rhode Island's Titanic by Joseph P. Soares the safe he had previously located. They and Janice Soares (History Press, C harleswere unable to reach the depths where ton, SC, 2015, 128pp, biblio, index, ISBN there was no visibility. Disgusted , Green 978-1-62619-794-7; $19.99pb) then put on the diving armor and made On a frigid February night in 1907, the dive himself, only to discover that the the Joy Line's 252-foot paddlewheeler safe was gone! Other divers had beat him Larchmont passed down Narragansett Bay to it. On surfacing he became paralyzed , on its way to New York C ity. Met by a but later made some recovery. The safe had strong gale and blizzard conditions as it been recovered by Elliot Harrington and reached the open ocean, the ship pushed a dive tea m, who split the money with the onward but soon met a tragic fate when, in American Express Company, which had a severely reduced visibility, she was struck claim on the wreck. on the port side by the coal schooner HarGreen recovered and went on a lecture ry Knowlton. Amidst confusion intensified tour and completed his autobiography. H ar- by darkness, passengers and crew attemptrington completed several sa lvage projects ed to save themselves and others, seemfor the Union during the Civil War, and in gly in that order. An estimated 143 even proposed the construction of a sub- people perished, while just nineteen were m arine to the US Navy. In his 4 0s, he be- saved-ten crew members and nine pascame fascinated by sport and took up "col- sengers. The authors open the story with the lar and elbow" wrestling. He was strong and did well, until he met the much larger collision and build the narrative outward SEAHISTORY 157, WINTER2016- 17
from there. A major foc us is placed on the days immediately following the incident, as fingers pointed, bodies washed ashore on Block Island, and the media increasin gly teased out the story, highlighting heroes and admonishing perceived villains. 1he opening pages of the book include graphic images of the aftermath, including one harrowing scene inside a life-saving station where bodies, frozen in twisted positions, are laid out, awaiting identification and ultimate removal. The authors conclude the book with examinations of the Joy Line and the steamers that carried its flag, the histories of the local lifesaving stations, a survey of similar disasters on the New En gland coast, and a review of the prominent vacation spots along the Rhode Island shore in the late Victorian Age. These final sections are illustrated with imagery representative of the era. While the statistics and drama of the Larchmont disaster may not live up to the hyperbolic subtitle of this book in comparing it to the Titanic, it is nonetheless a riveting tale well told. JOH N GALLUZZO Hanover, Massachusetts
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