ment of the water. I read your story again, and suddenly was struck by the similarity of technique between my print and Robert Salmon's painting of the packet ship "United States, 1817." Sure enough , my print of the ship "Favorite maneuvering off Greenock ( 1819)" was also by Salmon. It is in the Paul Me ll on collection. Not only is the sea a dead giveaway but also the treatment of the thin pay-off-type pennant fl ying from the top of the mainmast. And there is no doubt about the ship's name-it is heralded on another large pennant which flies from the mizzen truck. Of particular interest is the carefu l attention given to the houses and buildings on the Greenock shore. Many of the buildings could be identified still. A complaint: the story makes the point that the exhibition will travel to New York's South Street Seaport Museum and Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia in 1996, but doesn't give any dates. GEOFFREY W. FIELDING Baltimore, Maryland Dates are now available: "Across the Western Ocean: American Ships by Liverpool Artists" is scheduled to be at the South Street Seaport Museum from 20 May to 22 September and at the Independence Seaport Museum , 2 November through February 1997.-ED.
Square Rig is the Way to Go I was saddened to read the obituary of Peter Vanadia in the Autumn Sea History. I met Peter about fifteen years ago aboard Young America and we spent hours together talking about square rig and youth sail training. It seems not a long time since you ran the obituary of another square-rig enthusiast, Peter Throckmorton , whom I also had the pleasure of knowing. I met him in Greece when he was involved in saving the bark Elissa, an effort which was eventually successful despite many setbacks along the way. I tried to get her brought back to England, but as that scheme fell through, I have been pleased to see that she was finally restored and is at sea under sail at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston. Square rig is the way to go at sea. The occasional sail training vessel is still being built as a barkentine. The very large mainsail and mizzen are not good news sailing downwind . They make it difficult and dangerous to wear ship in strong winds, and that is often necessary SEA HISTORY 77, SPRING 1996
in waters like the Engli sh Channel in order to avoid large cargo ships and tankers which seldom, if ever, observe the matter of"steam" giving way to sail, especially at night. In this day and age it is quite normal for even big ships to have on ly one man on the bridge and in the "flag of convenience" ships the qualifications and experience of the man may be extremely limited! MORIN SCOTI Paphos, Cyprus
Model A Version The recent American Neptune article on Constellation seems to indicate that the debate as to her origin will never end. I just reread John Lyman 's 1975 piece in Sea History ; he said it all back then , convincingly and conclusively. But, much like the debate between creationism and evolution, the issue will never die because the arguments are based on different paradigms: one spiritual, the other empirical. Thanks to the diligent work of Messrs. Chapelle, Lyman and Wegner, my job will be easier-the study of Constellation's physical history can begin with the 1850s rather than 1790s. So far, it looks like the most dramatic alterations to the vessel have been made since her arrival in Baltimore in the 1950s-the result of efforts to tum the sloop-of-war into the frigate she never was or, as Karl Kortum puts it, "to tum a Model A into a Model T." I was excited to hear that much of her original iron hardware, including railings and rigging fittings, was dumped in the lower hold when the revisionists did their makeover. There it all sits today , waiting to be catalogued and resurrected! DON BIRKHOLZ, JR. Tri-Coastal Marine, Inc. New York, New York Don Birkholz and Tri-Coastal Marine are examining the Constellation for a National Park Service historic structure report, with future hopes for rebuilding her as accurately as possible . USS Constellation Director Louis Linden is to be saluted for his determination to rescue the vessel from near destruction and return her to a place of prominence in Baltimore's harbor and in America' s maritime history.-ED.
It's About Time, Indeed! It was with total amazement (and great pleasure) that I read your kind words about me in the new edition of Irving
Johnson's The Peking Battles Cape Horn. My biggest regret is that I never had a chance to meet Captain Johnson or, even better, to have been a part of one of his voyages. I don ' t know about being a "shining light" in the sail training movement, as you call me, but I am certainly enjoying the sailing. I stayed with the Rose from mid-July until her down rigging in November, so I was on the voyage to Newfoundland and the French islands. My son Will went off to S¢rlandet in Norway and then returned to Rose to find me in his spot on the watch roster. We managed to coexist as a mother-son team for the rest of the summer. I can't say that I ever imagined working aloft with my own son! I am now off to take a cram course for the AB exam and maybe the 200-ton mate 's exam as well. I plan to join the Rose's trip to England this spring, and I might as well prove that I am not just an idle dilettante playing at being a deckhand. Captain Richard Bailey is determined that the Rose is going to make this trip and be a part of the festivals at Bristol, Brest and Nantes---complete with American sail trainees of all ages. It is about time that we were represented at the big gatherings in Europe! ALIX T. THORNE George 's Mills, New Hampshire
Catawissa-A Must! As one who worked for Moran Towing for 10 years, I appreciate tugs. The Catawissa is a priceless gem. She must be saved! FRANK 0. BRA YNARD, Curator American Merchant Marine Museum Kings Point, New York See story, pp. 32-33. QUERIES
We have received many inquiries about the Jack Gray painting of the tug and barge in a snowfall near the Brooklyn Bridge, seen on the cover of Sea History 76. If any reader can help us locate this painting, please call us , or advise the owner that we would like to know more about the painting and the artist. One of our volunteers is looking for information on joint actions of the US Army and Navy in the backwaters of Philippine rivers early in WWII. Anyone who was there or has information, please write Herb Saxe, c/o NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. J,
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