NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS &TRUSTEES: Chairman, C rai g A.
C. Reyno lds; Vice Chairmen, Richardo Lopes, Edward G . Zel insky; President, Peter Stanford ; Vice President, Norma Stanford; Treasurer, W il li am H. Wh ite; Secretary, Marshall Srreiberr; Trustees, Wa lter R. Brown, W. Grove Co nrad, Fred C. H awkins, Jakob Isbrandrsen, Steven W. Jones, G uy E. C. Maitland, Karen E. Markoe, Warren Marr, II , Brian A. McAllister, James J . Moore, D avid A. O'Neil, Nancy Pouch, Ogden Reid, C harles A. Robertson, Howard Slotnick, Bradford Smirh, Louis A. Trapp, Jr., D avid B. Vietor, H arry E. Vinall, III, Jean Wort, Alexander Zagoreos; Chairman Emeritus, Alan G . Choate FOUNDER: Karl Kortum (191 7- 1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, Townsend H ornor; C harles F. Adams, RADM David C. Brown, Walte r Cro nkite, John Lehman, J. W illi am Middendorf, II , Graham H. Ph illi ps, John Srobarr, W illiam G. Winterer ADV1SORS : Co-Chairmen, Frank 0. Braynard , Melbourne Sm ith ; D. K. Abbass, Raymond Aker, George F. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Bren, Norman) . Brouwer, RADM Joseph F. Callo, W illiam M. Doerflinger, Francis J. Duffy, John Ewald, Joseph L. Farr, T imothy G. Foore, Wi lliam Gi lkerso n, Thomas G illm er, Wa lter J . Handelman, C harles E. H erdendorf, Steven A. H yma n, H ajo Knuttel, Gunnar Lundeberg, Co nrad Mi lster, William G . Mull er, David E. Perkins, Nancy Hughes Richardson, Timothy J. Runyan , Ralph L. Snow, Shanno n J. Wall , Thomas Wells SEA HISTO RY & NMH S STAFF: Editor, Peter Stanford ; Executive Editor, No rma Stanford ; Managing Editor, J usrine Ahlstrom; Contributing Editor, Kevin Haydo n; Editorial Assistant, Shelley Reid; Membership Development & Public Ajfo.irs, Burchenal Green; Director of Education, David Allen; Development Coordinator, Blaire Smith; Membership Secretary/Merchandising, Erika Kurtenbach; Membership Assistant, Irene Eisenfeld; Advertising Secretary, Carmen McCallum ;Accounting, Joseph Cacciola; Secretary to the President, Karen Rice!! TO GET IN TOUCH W ITH US:
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A Quest for Seeadler & von Luckner I have recently begun a research project that hopefully will culminate in a documentary on the German raiders of WWI, who ran the Allied blockade in the North Sea. My interests lie in the surface raiders Moewe, Wolf, the cruiser Emden, Seeadler and Kronprinz Wilhelm. The Moewe and Wolfwere converted freighters that became armed raiders. The Seeadfer was a Clydebuilt full rigger-the Pass of Bafmahasailing under the American flag. Carrying contraband cotton to Russia, she was fair game under the Articles of War when she was seized by a German sub in 1915 and escorted into H amburg. Converted into a raider under the command of Count Felix vo n Luckner, her exploits were daring and were recounted in the book Count Luckner, the Sea Devil, by Lowell Thomas, in 1928 . I hope that anyo ne with information about the German Raiders of WWI, the Seeadler and her colorful commander (especially his speaking engagements in the US in the 1920s and '30s), will contact me at 1 Hubert Street, Beaco n NY 12508; 9 14 831-0773. J OHN FASULO
Beacon, New York
"Britain Keeps the Sea" As I read "The Cape Horn Road, Part XV," in Sea History 85, I noticed a recurring theme which has grown more intense over the recent years . The tide is "Britain Keeps the Sea," starting with the story of Captain Bligh. The article is strong for the first rwo pages and contains relevant related material for the third and fourth pages, but the fifth and sixth pages contain seemingly unrelated commentary on Co ntinental and American Revolutionary politi cs, the rise of the British Empire, an evening aboard the Rose and dinners on other ships. And the bias toward things English wo uld embarrass an English propagandist. Do continue to write yo ur history, but focus on what you do best, the sea, trade, ships and their crews. Report fai rly, accuratelyand completely. Note the glory of those you honor but also mention their warts. D AV1D
R.
D YKSTRA
Peekskill, New York
ments, you 'LLfind that Minoans, Vikings, the Hansa and others aLL have had their turn at bat. The plan ofthe work is to write from the viewpoint of the nation making progress on the Cape Ho rn Road. But-I take your point on warts! -ED. The Burning of York It is not exaggeration when I say that the first item I look fo r in a new issue of Sea History is "The Cape Horn Road," and the summer issue was no exception. However, I beg to point out a couple of small errors . First, it was American naval victories in Lakes Champlain and Erie, not Ontario, which stopped British advances into Michigan, O hio, etc. Second, it was Co mmodore Chauncey who burned York, now Toronto, which was not the cap ital of Canada; Canada as a nation did not exist, then. York was the capital, if that be the word, of Upper Canada- one of the four colonies (with Lower Canada (Quebec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) which were joined to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867. But all of that is incidental; Chauncey failed to use his power in a manner which could have exposed all of what is now Southern Ontario to American occupation. If he had foregone flashy ac ts like burning York, he could have cut the British supply lines coming up the St. Lawrence at Kingston. Admiral Nelson-or Commodore Perry-would never have made that mistake! ARTHUR HARRIS
Troy, Michigan
Subchasers and German Capital Ships I do not want to downplay the importance of the co ntribution of the Norwegian subchasers celebrated in the article on Hitra in SH84, but these vessels did not play a part in reporting the movements or the sinkings of the German capital ships Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz. The first was sun k rwo years before Norway received the subchasers. British air patrols and the broken Enigma code led to the destruction of the latter rwo ships. MARC J . COHEN
Hollywood, Florida
It 's difficult to write about the emergence of Britain as the Leading sea power without things British tending to dominate the tale. And ifyou Look back through prior instaLLSEA HISTORY 86, AUTUMN 1998