Sea History 108 - Autumn 2004

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

AUTUMN2004

SEA HISTORY PRINTS

The Black Ball Line's packet ship Yorkshire passes Castle Garden and the lower tip of Manhattan's Battery Park as she sails out of the East River on her way to sea under the moonlight in 1854.

Ni9ht view from tlie Battery) New York CitvJ in 1854

BY WILLIAM G. MULLER An exclusive limited edition of 250 signed and numbered giclee prints from the original oil painting at $150 each. (Add $15 s&h in the US.) Image size: 13" x 20"; Sheet size: 16" x 22" Printed on 300 lb. 100% cotton rag stock using archival inks.

A Certificate of Authenticity accompanies each print.

Order your print from:

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566 Or phone in your credit card order to:

1800 221-NMHS (6647), xO NYS residents add applicable sales tax. For orders sent outside the US, call or e-mail (nmhs@seahistory.org)for shipping.

No.

SEA HISTORY

108

AUTUMN 2004

CONTENTS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE 7 America's Policy for the Oceans, by D r. T imothy J. Runyan Dr. Runyan explains this important document being formu lated by the US Government and relates its importance to maritime heritage preservation.

8 Captain Philip Weems: Refining Navigation, by W ill iam J. Cook As Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy, Philip Weems sought to advance the technology and methodology associated with navigation. With his inventions and innovations, books, navigation school, and business acumen, Weems refined and simplified the navigator's task.

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12 Baffiing Briny Babble, by Louis A. Norton

NOAA

Louis Norton navigates through traditional nautical language. A lso, Lincoln Co/cord's yarn to eminent maritime historian Samuel Eliot Morison in 1921.

18 Tall Ships Challenge 2004 by Deirdre O'Regan ASTA's annual series ofsail training races, rallies, and port festivals attracts American and foreign vessels to US waters.

24 Iron from the Deep: USS Monitor, by Tane Casserley and Jeff Johnston NOAA's nautical archaeologist and historian describe their last field season diving on the historic wreck, more than 230 feet below the surface, and give a guided tour ofthe turret and other recovered artifacts.

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31 Maritime History on the Internet: USS Monitor and the Civil War,

by Peter McCracken

32 Historic Ships on a Lee Shore, by To m Carroll, Deirdre O'Regan, and Robert Westhover SS Nobska is being restored in drydock in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Another historic ship, USS Constitution, needs the slip and Nobska 's owners are scramblingfar fonds to finish work on the hull to float it to another location. SS United States has been sold again. Today she lies neglected at a pier in Philadelphia waiting to be rescued from her current fate.

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34 Marine Art: The American Society of Marine Artists, by Do n Norris Marine artists in the US and abroad have organized to support one another, maintain standards ofexcellence in contemporary marine art, and exhibit on a national scale. In this issue, they share with us some of the works from their most recent annual exhibit.

COVER: Diver Steve Sellers, D irector ofDiving and water Safe ty at East Carolina University, examines the bow of USS Monitor 240 feet below the surface.

Photo by Doug K esling (NUR C), courtesy ofNOAA. See p ages 24-2 9.

DEPARTMENTS 2

DECK Loe & LETTERS

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NMHS:

A CAUSE IN

MOTION

20 SEA H ISTORY FOR Kms

37

MARINE ART NEWS

38 41 43 48

Smr NoTEs, SEAPORT & MusEUM NEWS CALENDAR REVIEWS PATRONS

34 SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is published quarterly by rhe Narional Maririme Hisrorical Sociery, 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box68, Peekskill NY 10566. Periodicals posrage paid ar Peekski ll NY 10566 and add'] mai ling offices.

COPYRIGHT © 2004 by rhe Nario nal Maririme Hisrorical Sociery. Tel: 914-737-7878.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes ro Sea Hisrory, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

LETTERS

DECK LOG NMHS 41" Annual Meeting nnapolis embodies so much of America's maritime heritage that it was a fitting location for our 4 lst annual meeting. Our host, the US Naval Academy Museum, exhibits models, paintings, documents, and artifacts that relate the histo ry and traditions of the Navy. Associate Director/Senior Curator Jim Cheevers hosted the event and provided an excellent tour of the museum's impressive collection.

Pete Lesher, Curator of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Buck Buchanan, Chairman of the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and Drew McMullen of Sultana Projects, Inc. gave presentations on aspects of Chesapeake maritime history and ongoing educational and preservation projects. Dr. David Alan Rosenberg, Director of Task Force History for the Vice Chief of Naval Operations & Chair of the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Subcommittee on Naval History, gave a riveting discourse on the state of naval record keeping and the critical need for the US Navy to make compiling and recording its history-as it happens-a priority.

The Annual Meeting marked a change in NMHS leadership. Walter Brown was elected chairman and Ronald Oswald treasurer. Howard Slotnick was enthusiastically elected Chairman Emeritus, and William H. White will be awarded the NMHS Founder's Sheet Anchor Award at the Annual Awards Dinner for his dedicated work as treasurer during these difficult years. Vice C hairman Lopes said of Howard Slotnick, when he presented him his Chairman Emeritus Weems & Plath clock, "It is rare when individuals have the opportunity, or more appropriate, seize the opportunity of being a catalyst of a concept, that turns into a reality, and then moves on to change the face of maritime awareness and history throughout the world. It is rare to find a leader, manager, prodder, curmudgeon and steward with patience, determination, and conviction rolled into one. In 2001, when NMHS was running for the shoals, he stepped in, lashed himself to the wheel and averted disaster. His tireless efforts, along with your support and that of fellow trustees, willed NMHS to survive and prosper."

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Invitations to NMHS Receptions

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eeping in mind that our first name is National, and that the Society is our membership, we are hosting three receptions this fall that offer an opportunity members, staff, and trustees to meet in settings that allow you delve a little more into our rich maritime history. Please join us !!!!

•20 September: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

5:30 PM-7:30 PM

Share wine and hors d'oeuvres while we view the exhibits and hear about the shipwrecks in the Santa Barbara Channel •24 September: Maritime Museum of San Diego aboard "HMS" Surprise Meet international maritime scholars during the conference on "Spain's Legacy in the Paci.fie during the Age ofSail. " Cash bar.

•28 October: 7th Maritime Heritage Conference, Norfolk, VA 6 PM-7:30 PM 1he leadership and members ofover a dozen maritime heritage organizations will gather together. Come meet them. Location to be announced. Cash bar.

Phone 800-22 1-6647 ext 0 for more information or to make a reservation.

BuRCHENAL GREEN

Executive Vice President

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SS Portland, Related Histories I enjoyed the articles on the Portland disaster and the excellent illustrations. My doctoral dissertation (University of Maine, 197 1) was on the steamship lines to the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The International Steamship Company, which served Boston, Portland, and Saint John, N ew Brunswick, was the creation and subsidiary of the Portland Steam Packet Company from its creation in 1860 until both were absorbed into the Eastern Steamship Company in 1901. Eastern Stean1ship replaced wooden side-wheelers on its outside routes with steel-hulled, propeller-driven liners Calvin Austin, Governor Dingley, and Governor Cobb. The Fall River Line, with its protected route on Long Island Sound, continued to build side-wheelers, but the Portland Storm proved they were unsafe in open sea. I believe that storm also took Pentagoet, a Boston-Bangor boat.

ARTHUR L. JOH NSON SUNY Potsdam The Spring/Summer issue (107) contained much of interest to me, a native of Portland, Maine, and a resident of Namucket.

The connections among the three richly illustrated articles-"Forbidden ro Sail," "Lost and Found," and "The Straits ofFlorida" -are a delight.

The impact of the sinking of SS Portland on that city's African American community is mentioned briefly. Half of the Portland's crew was black, and "the loss of these breadwinners dealt a devastating financial and emotional blow ro their families." As awful as financial and emotional consequences are, there was more. The social and cultural consequences of the loss of so m any African American breadwinners are still felt today.

So many who drowned were prominent members of Portland's Abyssinian Church that the congregation was devastated. The Abyssinian C hurch soon closed its doors, its remaining members merging with the church now known as Greene Memorial.

The maritime trades were a principal employer of African American men prior to the Civil War and after. Portland's threestory Abyssi nian Church, built in 1828, is probably me nation's third oldest building built by free African Americans for their own use. Located on a rise overlooking the

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

waterfront, mariners coming into Portland Harbor can see it clearly. For decades, African American mariners knew exactly where to go for hospitality even before d1ey landed. After me SS Portland disaster, the congregation dwindled, the building was sold and eventually gutted. It was vacated and boarded up for years, wirh preservarionisrs and historians rebuffed in their efforts to gain access. Finally, the C ity of Portland obtained the ride and turned the building over to rhe grassroots Committee to Restore the Abyssinian, many of whom are associated with G reene Memorial and rhe Portland chapter of the NAACP. They are faced w ith a daunting task of raising money for a proper restoration of rhe building that was so important to the Portland community and to transient mariners alike. Maritime historians would do well to rake an interest in this project.

The story about rhe Straits of Florida was interesting because Nantucket's only known black whaling captain, Captain Absalom Boston, made his voyage there with an all-black crew in 1822 on the ship Industry. The description of rhe challenges in rhe Straits made Boston's voyage vivid to me.

Captain Boston sold rhe Industry upon his safe return, and, as far as we know, did norgo to sea agai n. He became well-respected ashore as a merchant and property owner.

One of his many civic contributions was as Trustee of rhe African Baptist Society. In that capacity, he helped build Nantucket's African Meeting House in 1824, for rhe purpose of establishing a school. This building is believed to be rhe nation's second oldest built by free Africans for rheir own use.

(Th e oldest is rhe African Meeting House in Boston.)

These stories are connected as described above, and illustrate a major bur unsung theme in American maritime history, namely, rhat African Americans have participated in rhat history in very significant ways. One does not have ro look far to find this history-but one does have to look.

Congratulations on a splendid issue.

H ELEN SEAGER

Nantucket, Massachusetts

USS Essex Gass, a Garification Regarding yo ur comments on Essex class aircraft carriers. You missed at least one and SEA HISTORY 108 , AUTUMN 2004

possibly more in the Essex class. The USS Randolph (CV- 15) was certainly an Essex

effort to more finely and precisely describe rhe differences in these vessels from a techclass ship. I know because I served aboard nical and design standpoint (particularly her, reporting aboard in July, 1958 when those laid down after February 1943 which it was a CVA-15, ''A" standing for arrack featured rhe modified bow as described on carrier and leaving ir in November, 1959, our website http://www. history.navy.mil/ when it was CVA- 15, the designation of photos/usnshrp/cv/cv9cl. hrm). AJrhough which yo u list correctly. rhe DANFS Carrier Appendix places 13 of ARTHUR SPENGLER the 24 completed Essex Class carriers in the Vi neyard Haven, Massachusem Ticonderoga C lass and one, Oriskany (CV 34), in a class by herself, me individual From the editor: In response to the letters we DANFS entries identify all bur rwo of these received regarding the Navy's classification of ships as being Essex C lass carriers. Those Essex Class Carriers, we asked CDR Jeremy rwo are rhe Oriskany, whose sign ificant Gillespie, Director, Naval Warfare Division, modifications through a series of reconNaval Historical Center to clarifj. structions in rhe 1950s appear to support I don't know rhar there's ever any "fithis retroactive distinction (altho ugh sumnal" word on history, bur as far as these car- mary command histories written by the riers are concerned, the short answer is rhar Oriskany herself continue to describe her all 24 (CV9-2 1, 3 1-34, 36-40, 45 and 47) as an Essex carrier into rhe 1960s), and lwo were considered members of the Essex Class Jima, which would have been CV 46 had at the time of meir construction, per Ships' her construction nor been cancelled prior Data, US Naval Vessels (15 April 1945), to her completion . 'This last entry is clearly published by me Bureau of Ships. Our in erro r and is earmarked for correction in Ships' Histories Branch historians concur our online version of DANFS . that these carriers are all of the Essex C lass In ge neral, one could descri be all of in the largest sense and that a former sailor these carriers as being Essex Class. For those from one of these ships should consider with an interest in drawing finer distinchimself as having served aboard an Essex tions with in ship classifications, one should note that later construction carriers are C lass carrier.

The further categorization of some of sometimes categorized or classified in other these ships as as "long hull" or "Ticonderoga ways due to small co nstruction differences Class" appears to have occurred some rime and subsequent modifications, bur Essex after rhey entered service. This "reclassi fica- C lass and Ticonderoga C lass are nor synrion" appears to have been rhe result of an onymous or interchangeable terms. - JG

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 navigators opening up the ocean world to the heroic efforts of seamen in this century's conflicts. Each issue brings new insights and discoveries. If you love the

sea, rivers, lakes, and bays-if you appreciate the legacy of those who sail in deep water and their workaday craft, then you belong with us.

Join Today!

Mail in the form below, phone 1 800 221-NMHS (6647), or visit us at: www.seahistory.org (e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org)

Yes, I wa nt to jo in th e Society and receive Sea H istory quarterl y. My co ntributio n is enclosed. ($ 17.50 is for Sea Hi sto ry; any amount above that is tax deductibl e.) Sign me up as: D $35 Regular Member D $50 Fam ily Member D $100 Friend D $250 Patron D $500 Donor 108 M r./Ms.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ZIP _ __ _ _ _ Retu rn to: National Maritime Historical Society, PO Box 68, Peekskil l NY 10566

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Seventh Maritime October 27-30, 2004

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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PUBLISH ER'S C IRC LE: Pecer Aron, Donald McG raw, W illi am H . W hice OF FICE RS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Walcer R. Brown; Vice Chairmen, Richard o R. Lo pes, Edward G . Zelinsky; Executive Vice President, Burchenal G ree n; Treasurer, Ronald L. O swald; Secretary, Marshall Screiberc; Trustees, D onald M. Birney, Thomas F. Daly, Ri chard du Mo ulin , David S. Fowler, Virgini a Sceele G rubb, Rodney N . H o ugh con, Sceven W Jones, Richard M . Larrabee, Wa rren G . Leback, G uy E. C. Maitl and, Karen Ma rkoe, M ichael R. McKay, James J. McNamara, Howa rd Slo rnick, Bradford D . Smi ch; Chairmen Emeriti, Alan G . C hoate, G uy E. C. Ma itland , C raig A. C. Reynolds, Howa rd Slorni ck; President Emeritus, Peter Sca nford FOUN DER: Karl Ko rtum (19 17-1996) OVERSEE RS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown; Walter Cro nk.i ce, Alan D . Hu tchiso n, Jakob Isbra ndcse n, John Lehm an, Warren Marr, 11, Brian A. McAl lister, D avid A. O ' Neil , VAD M John R. Ryan, John Srobarc, W illiam G. W inrerer ADVISO RS: Co-Chairmen, Fra nk 0. Braynard , Melbo urn e Smi ch; D. K. Ab bass, George F. Bass, Fra ncis E. Bowker, Oswa ld L. Breer, No rman J. Brouwer, RAD M Joseph F. Call o, Francis J. Du ffy, John W Ewald , T im othy Foore, W illiam G il kerson, Tho mas C. G illmer, Walter J .

H andel man, Steve n A. Hyman, Hajo Knurrel, G unnar Lund eberg, Joseph A. Maggio, Co nrad M ilster, W il liam G. Mull er, David E. Perkins, Nancy Hughes Ri chard so n, Ti mo thy J. Runyan, Shanno n J . Wall NMH S STAFF: Executive Director, Bmchenal G reen; Membership Director, Na ncy Schn aars; Director of Education, David Al len; Accounting, Jill Ro meo; Executive Assistant, Cecil e Fas ul o; Membership Assistant, Jane Ma uri ce SEA HISTO RY Editor : Deirdre E. O ' Regan; Director ofAdvertising, Lisa D iBenedetro Add ress :

5 John Walsh Bo uleva rd PO Box 68 Peekskill NY 10566 Ph one: 9 14 737-7878; 800 22 1-NM H S Web sire: www.seahisto ry.o rg; N MH S e- mail : nmhs@seahisro ry.o rg; and Sea History e- mail: edi ro rial@seahisrory.org

MEMBERSHIP is in vited. Afterguard $ 10,000; Benefa cror $5, 000; Plankowner $2,5 00; Spo nso r $ 1,000; Dono r $5 00; Patron $25 0; Friend $ I 00; Co ntribu ro r $75; Fami ly $5 0; Regular $35 . All members oursid e the USA pl ease add $ 10 for postage. Sea History is se nt ro all members. Individual copies cos t $3.75.

Advertising: l 800 22 1-NMHS (6647), x235

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M •t•

Heritage Conference

Im e er1ta e

Norfolk, Virginia

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aritime heritage and other organizations in Virginia are hosting the next maritime heritage conference in historic N orfolk. Among them are the Hampton Roads Naval Museum with the battleship USS Wisconsin, The M ariners' Museum , N auticus, the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, the Portsmo uth Naval Shipyard Museum, and the Hampton Roads M aritime Association. Upwards of 500 attendees are expected. The conference opens with a reception on 27 October at Nauticus and aboard USS Wisconsin. Program sessions will continue thro ugh Saturday, October 30 covering the entire spectrum of maritime heritage. More than 130 presentations, panels, and meetings are scheduled in 54 concurrent sessions.

The conference banquet speaker will be Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the bestsellers In the H eart of the Sea and Sea of Glory. Mystic Seaport Museum Director Emeritus J . Revell Carr will speak on his new book All Brave Sailors. Luncheon speakers will be C aptain Michael Watson, President of the American Pilots Association, and Peter Stanford, President Em eritus of NMHS. Underwater archaeologist, author and museum director James Delgado will speak on the discove ry of the Union submarine Explorer.

Curtiss Peterson will lead a Mariners' Museum team update on the USS Mo nito r project in a co nference session and at the museum's conservati o n faci lity. A plenary on the current state of American m aritime and naval history will feature Dr. T imothy Runyan, Maritime Studies Program Director at East Carolina University; Dr. William Dudley, Director, Naval Histo rical Center; D r. William Cogar, Vice President for Collections and Research at Mystic Seaport Museum and Kelly Drake, Systems and Digital Librarian at Mys tic.

NMHS members are encouraged to join us at our reception on Thursday, 28 October to meet the maritime community from 6 PM to 7:30 PM, at a location to be announced . On Friday, attendees will board the Sp irit of No rfolk fo r lunch and a narrated cruise of H ampton Roads. Jeff Johnston of the Monitor N ational M arine Sanctuary will describe the battle of the ironclads as the Spirit circles the site of the skirmish . Conferees will continue their afternoon at the M arin ers' Museum for tours and a reception.

O n O ctober 30 and 3 1, Nauticus w ill host a symposium on the search for the U nion C ivil War submarine USS A lligator. Attendance the first day will be limited to project participants. The seco nd day will be open to all M aritime H eritage Confe rence attendees, without charge.

The Sherato n No rfo lk Waterside H o tel will act as conference headquarters-just a short walk fro m two other conference venues, N auticus and USS Wisconsin. Reservations can be made online at the special conference rate of $89 plus tax. C omplete conference inform ation may be found on the N auticus web site at www.nauticus.org/ MHConference.html. Included are the meeting agenda, program sess ion descriptions, tour descrip tions, registration fo rm, and hotel reservatio n instructions. Both commercial fi rms and non-profit organizations are welcomed to exhibit, and there will be a book room fo r publishers and authors. For further information contact Conference Chair Captain Channing M. Zucker by e-mail at hnsaOl @aol.com, ph. 757 499-1044 . 1,

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T'AKE A SIX HOUR Voyage into History'' featuring music of the 40's by a live "Big Band !" See reenactors demonstrating military equipment and vehicles. Watch an exciting air show with flybys by several WWII aircrafts. Enjoy a continental breakfast and a great all-you-can-eat buffet lunch.

Tour the whole ship, including the engine room, museums, cargo holds, crew's quarters and bridge.

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SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

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www.liberty-ship.com We accept VISA, MasterCard and Discover. Cruise profits maintain this Liberty Ship Memorial. A portion of your payment may be tax deductible. Officers and crew licensed and documented by the U.S. Coast Guard.

5

NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION How NMHS Gained 31 New MembersA Welcome to Brewer Pilots Point Marina for Rallying around the Heritage and a Dream

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fter a terrific flood in 1982 Dave O 'Neil took most of the contents of his basement to the dump. This left him with enough space to loft a boat down there-after it dried out- and a chance to design and build his own boat. A splendid boat- not your typical backyard boat but a beautiful, 50-foot schooner with a classic clipper bow, wineglass stern , and pleasing sheer. Knowing that a beautiful boat sails as a uibute to our heritage as a coun- Dave O'Neil (3rd from 1.eft) and some of the crew at Brewer Piwts Point Marina. try founded by seafarers, he (Photo by Az Sarwar); (Below) Extrapolation got underway July 10th with

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work here who care about the attention to detail, the work ethic. It comes from the example of Rives Potts, who is here 7 days a week until late at night, and who instills in us the motto perfeet is almost good enough."

Rives organized his crew to finish the boat in phases, each with tight deadlines.

He wanted the boat fitted with its keel and mast for the High Hopes Therapeutic Riding fund-raiser in Essex, where a daysail on board was a silent auction item.

Dave at the helm. (Photo by Jennifer O'Neil Sarwar).

Fair Winds, Dave. A d h ld set to wor k . secon p ase wou proBesides bei ng an NMH S overseer an the recipient of the vide sails to give Dave a chance to realize his dream of sailing on 2003 NMHS Founder's Sheet Anchor Awa his own boat. Later, they would finish the interior. neer who knows boats. Extrapolation is des¡ The crew knew they were racing the clock to fi ¡ and efficiency. Like many backyard shipwri ave has boat. To get it to the fund-raiser, they routinely worke borne the brunt of the passing sarcastic remark about after sundown. Among the core of these craftsmen was Eben his vessel and his dream . Then last year, D ave's doctor Whitcomb, sa id to be one of those rare artisans who has a gave hi m the painfully horrific news that his cancer gift in his hands. Whitcom b watched over the work on Extrapolation as if it were his own boat. With shipwould not permit him time to fin ish it himself. His dream to sail on this boat meant he wo uld need wrights Hans Zimm er, Bill Daly, Dennis Painter, Jim help finishing it-and in very little time. H e took Rolston, Skip Doll, and others, they fitted the keel it to Brewer Pilots Point Marina in Westbrook, and centerboard mechanism, spars and all the Connecticut, where Rives Potts has been the rigging, lifelines, stern and bow pulpits, hawse General Manager for twenty years. Rives, like pipe, and anchoring systems, stern boomkin Dave, loves boats and has sailed his whole life. and faired and painted the hull.

He understood how difficu lt it would be for Dave O 'Neil gave 31 of the crew at anyone to have so painstakingly designed and Brewer Pilots Point Marina membership built his own boat to turn it over to someone in NMHS as a thank-you for their dedicatio n to boatbuilding. We welcome else. Ri ves had also been an engineer, and he and Dave could communi cate with 14 3 them with this issue. People stop to each other-engineer to engineer. Dave tell the staff how beautiful Extraposoon realized that these were a group of lation is, and they marvel at her craftsmen who shared his passion. He lines and flawless design. "It is had fo und a boatyard with "old-fashone thing to work on a projioned" artisans who work fo r th e ect and h ave the boat come love of what they do and are dediout well. It's another thing cared to their craft. D ave underwhen you help make stood what goes into building a man's dream com e a boat and the value of these true," Bill Daly said.

BuRCHENAL artisans' skills and spirit.

According to Bill Daly, GREEN who su ervises the paint

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by Timothy]. Runyan

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he United States government is set to establish a policy on the 2) Identify the section by an entry in the Table of Contents. oceans and inland waters. This significant event will parallel 3) Include in the Recommendations section that maritime culthe establishment of an American policy for outer space. The con- tural resources and historic preservation receive financial support sequences are important to all segments of the maritime commu- for scientifi c investigation, preservation, and public presentation. nity. The US Commission on Ocean Policy was mandated by the The report does not mention the National Maritime Heritage Act, Oceans Act of 2000. Following congressional authorization, the signed into law in 1994. That Act established a grants program for President appointed the sixteen-member commission with Admi- education and preservation. The funding source was profits from ral James D. Watkins, USN (Ret.), as chairman. The Commis- the scrapping of US reserve Heer vessels. Revenues dried up after sion has worked since 2001 to generate a policy document with an initial distribution in 1998 due to environmental restrictions public meetings and site visits by Commission members form- on overseas scrapping. The Commission should support funding ing the outreach effort. The objective was to gather information for the Act as part of its incorporation of maritime cultural reon numerous issues in order to recommend to the President and sources in the Report.

Congress a comprehensive national ocean policy. Once this report All persons interested in maritime heritage have a stake in enis submitted, the President is directed by the Oceans Act of 2000 couraging those charged with shaping America's ocean policy to to consult with state and local governments and other non-federal include human involvement with the sea in those policies. Huinterests within 90 days before submitting to Congress his propos- mans have generated the pollurion and exploitive practices that als based on the Commission's recommendations. have endangered maritime species and tapped maritime resources.

A Preliminary Report in excess of 450 pages was issued by the Europeans recognized this when they asked historians to track fishCommission in April 2004 with a public comment period provid- ing records and practices in their census studies of marine life. The ed until June 4. The Commission is now consolidating responses global research project History of Marine Animal Populations is by governors and other "stakeholders." If you are just learning the historical component of the Census of Marine Life. Americans about the Oceans Policy Commission for the first time, then you should be equally as savvy in garnering the support and advice of are probably not considered a stakeholder. I have learned that most experts in maritime heritage and cultural resources in formulating people involved in maritime heritage are not stakeholders. This is policies for the oceans and inland waters. an issue, and I will explain why. The report of the Commission The opportunity for formal response to the Preliminary Report is important. It will very likely be the template for oceans policy passed June 4. The Commission is reviewing the comments by for decades. The last congressionally authorized equivalent was the governors and stakeholders to consider amending the document.

Stratton Commission which issued its report in 1969. That report Ao important focus will be o n environmental issues since offshore resulted in the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric drilling for gas and oil is a key element in the report. Attention will Administration (NOAA) among other ourcomes. While many also be drawn to coasral geology and marine sciences. Cultural recommissions submit reports that fai l to move the White House or sources are not well represented on the Commission or the science Congress, this was nor the case in 1969 with the Stratton Com- advisory panel. This helps explain why the Preliminary Report fails mission Report, and indications are that this will not be the case to include submerged cultural resources, including ancient sites in 2004. Already the Bush administration has sent an organic Act and shipwrecks, as an ocean resource. The unique nature of these for NOAA ro Congress that clearly establishes a statutory base and sites not only adds significantly to our understanding of the past, goals for this agency. but stimulates underwater research through the advancement of Commission members include a wide range of talented and new technologies in remote sensing, diving, and research methinformed persons led by the chairman, Admiral Watkins, a former odology. Considering that shipwrecks become habitat for marine Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary of Energy and founder of the life including corals, fish, and other sea creatures, most submerged Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education. A Sci- cultural sites are also environmental sites. The Report shou ld inence Advisory Panel of26 members was chosen with the assistance clude maritime cultural resources and heritage as a core element. of the National Academy of Sciences. For information about the The US Commission on Ocean Policy has produced an imCommission, its members, and reports, see www.oceancommis- pressive document. My hope is that it will be further modified to sion.gov. For the thousands involved in the oceans from a cultural incorporate maritime cultural resources. What can we do to make or heritage perspective, there is only a limited voice. The focus is this happen? I urge you to stay informed and to express your views on the oceans as a resource, an environment, not as an extension when the Final Report is released and forwarded to the President of human interaction with and on the oceans and inland seas. This and Congress. The Report will require action through numerous concern was brought to the attention of the Commission. bills that will be introduced and budget decisions within the ConThe Nati1onal Maritime Alliance, an umbrella organization gress. 1here will be opportunities, but the driving force for change representing at broad range of maritime societies and organiza- and reallocation of resources will be the Ocean Policy Commistions. has anal~yzed the report and offered recommendations. Key sion or "Watkins Commission" Report. J, among these iss a request that the Report: 1) Include a sttatement recognizing the value of maritime cultural Dr. Timothy J Runyan is Director of the Maritime Studies Program resources as am elemenr of ocean policy in the main body of the at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina and Chairtext as a separaate enumerated section. man ofthe National Maritime Alliance.

SEA HISTO~Y 108, AUTUMN 2004

7

Captain Phlllp Weems:

by William J. Cook

F

rom rhe rime char sailing vessels rendered the rowing galley obsolete until the era of steam -propelled ships, ve ry little changed in the technology of ships and rheir equipment. Huge topsails we re split into upper and lower to psails; bonnets m ade way fo r reefing systems; fore-a nd-aft sails we re cut flatrer and eventually co nstrucred with cotton duck rather than Aax linen- but these changes were nothing dras tic. Little ch anged for the mariner as he signed off one ship and o n co another. In fac t, had the mariner signed off one vessel and on co ano ther one hundred years later, he would have had few problems figuring our how co work his new ship. Navigational instruments and methods paralleled the sam e slow evoluti on as did technology for the ships themselves. The m agnetic compass can be traced co the thirteenth century.

During C olumbus's transatlantic crossings, he used dead reckonin g and a quadrant. In that era, marin ers cross ing the Atlanti c sailed co a known lin e ofl arirude, then headed east or wes r, staying as close co that parallel as possible. The marine sextant was introduced in 173 1 and today's sextants differ little from th at ea rlier version .

Some big names come co mind in the advancement of navigational technology and knowledge: Na thani el Bowdi tch and M atthew Fo ntaine M aury, for example. John H enry H arrison must be included also for his accurate and practi cal chronometer, which he invented and modified for more practical use in the middle of the 1700s. In the early pan of the nin eteenth century, the Sumn er method of plotting celes ti al positi on lines was introduced .

Until the 193 0s, these advancements represented nearly the whole of navigational evolutio n.

A mo re modern day "big nam e" in navigatio n was Captain Philip Weems (1889- 1979) who succeeded in making navigational m ethods simpler and mo re practi cal fo r all m ariners, but who also made it reasonable for use by aviators. Weem s career spanned an age where transportation changed in a relatively short time compared co hund reds of years before him . H e served o n the las t cruise of the USS Hartford, a square-rigged sailing

8

ship, in 1908 and lived co assist fam o us aviators C harles Lindbergh and Douglas

USS Hartford "Wrong-way" Corrigan . After hi s retirement, the Navy as ked him back in 196 1 to assist in developing a system of navigation for space travel.

Weems the Man Philip Van H orn Weems was born in 1889 and grew up on a small fa rm in Tennessee. H e was forced co feel the weight of adult respo nsibilities at an ea rly age, when his widowed mo ther passed away, leaving him and his siblings to look after themselves. In 1908, he entered the US Naval Academy and graduated in 191 2. l e was at the Academy that he first became interested in astronomy and celestial navigatio n- both would become life-long interests. In 19 19 Lt. Commander Weems was assigned co one of che m any station trackin g ships strewn across che N o rth Atlantic co aid three small planes in rheir attempt co make th e first transAtlantic fligh t. Thinking of all the time, energy, and money being expended on positioning and mai ntaining chis Aocilla, Weems felt there had co be a better way, and the experience sealed his face as one who would fo rever change che heart and so ul of celestial navigation.

As a man drive n by rhe desire w adva nce rhe rechnology and methodology associated wi th navigati o n, Weems recogni zed rhe need fo r new cypes of navigati o nal instruments, and went about to purchase, modify, or design chem from scratch. On e such device was che bubble sex cant. Prove n practical by Portuguese Admiral, Gago C outinho, in 192 1, aviators could use these instruments w ith out having co see che ho ri zo n. This was important because poor visibility often m ade

viewing th e horizo n difficult co impossible. Weems invented the "second setting watch ," a timepiece with a face that could be turn ed precisely above the second hand co ensure synchro nizati on with che ship's chronometer, and che now-famous Weems plotter, which combin ed a protractor, straight edge, and parallel rule in o ne device.

M o re than dedicated, Weems was focused. Over the nexr few years, he made many brilli ant observations, published numerous books and anicles related co navigation, and cook on a position as an instructor of navigation at the Naval Academy. In 1928, Weems opened his own navigation school in Coronado,

California, where he was stationed at the time. There he caught The Weems Sys tem of Navigation and sold acco utrements and publications associated with the craft. This brought on a long-las ting relationship with Ge rmany's Carl Plath.

W irh each passing yea r, W eems perfected new, simpler methods of navigation,

Captain Weems (middle) and Charles Lindbergh (right)

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

Refining Navigation expanded his business, and came to rub life, and having made so many imporshoulders with and/or reach some of rhe tant contributions, one would think rhar greatest navigators and adventurers of his Weems would have been content to relax day. Ar one rime and enjoy memoor another, his ries of a producstudents included tive life. Thac, Admiral Richard however, was nor E. Byrd, C harles his way, and in Lindbergh, and 196 1 he began " Wrong-way " working with sciCorrigan.

The en risrs to develop latter had always a navigation system suitable for professed his space trave l.

1938 flight from New York to IreWeems rela nd was made tired again ar rhe in error-that he end of rhe Second World War, bur had simply mishe kept as busy read his compass, having intended Weemss second setting watch that he designed for as ever. One of Charles Lindberghs famous flight. his achievements, to fly west to California. Weems's records, however, show rhar Corrigan had purchased a number of charts in preparation for rhe flight-all covering rhe North Atlantic!

Weems & Plath Like so many German businesses, C. Plath Navigation was devastated by rhe Second World War. In a ren-day period in 1943, 48,000 of Hamburg's inhabitants were ki lled and C. Plath's headquarters was reduced to ashes. In 1943, however, the Plath organization had been in business for 106 years, and had developed an aversion to giving up easily on anything. By 1952, C. Plath had again acquired a good international reputation and was looking to gain a larger marker share in other countries, and in 1953, Plath's Johannes Boysen contracted for Weems to be Plath's sextant vendor in rhe United Stares. At that rime, rhe relationship rhar dared back to 1928 became cemented and the names Weems & Plath became rhe trademark of a company rhar became known to mariners and aviators alike for rhe best in navigational instruments and guides.

Captain Weems Moves On In 1960, at the age of 71, Captain Weems sold his business to the Times Mirror Company and thus starred a long chain of new owners. Having lived a full

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

in his spare rime, was to co-found the United Stares Institute of Navigation in 1945.

Weems had several other distinctions besides his achievements in aviation.

He was on rhe Olympic wrestling ream in Antwerp in 1920, he was an All-American center with rhe Navy football ream, he won the South Atlantic amateur lighrheavyweighr wrestling championship in

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ANNAPOLIS

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1925 when he was 30, he was a proficienc skin-diver, and in 1959 he joined an expedition to explore Port Royal in Jamaica, where the pirates of rhe Spanish Main had their capital two centuries ago.

Despite so many successes in his career, his personal life was devastated twice,

Lt. Commander Philip Weems demonstrating a modified sextant, which could be used independently of a visible horizon. Weems is wearing his second-setting watch on his left arm. as he survived the deaths of both his sons.

Major Phi li p Van Horn Jr. was killed in the South Pacific in 1943 and his other son, Lr. Commander George Thrackray, died in 1951 resting an aircraft. Weems and his wife Margaret had a married daughter, Margaret Dodds, who had three children.

In memory and in honor of Weems significant contributions to navigation, The Institute of Navigation created an awa rd given annually to an outstanding individual "For Continuing Contributions to the Arr and Science of Navigation."

When Captain Weems first turned his attention to the stars, he entered a world in which navigators were using the same instruments and methods as their counterparts three centuries earlier, while aviators traveled at speeds more rhan ren times those of marine navigato rs. As if determined to personally make up for all rhar lost time, through his books, rabies, formulas, and inventions, he proceeded to revolutionize navigation in all its arenas: earth, sea, sky and beyond.

William]. Cook, a former Chief Opticalman for the US Navy, is manager of the Precision Instruments & Optics Group at Captains Nautical Supplies, in Seattle.

Additional information for this article came from Norman Emmott and Joseph Portneys article on Captain Weems posted on the Weems and Plath web site: www. weemsplath. com. All images for this article courtesy of Peter and Cathie Trogdon, owners of Weems and Plath.

9

Another of Weems' inventions was the second-setting watch. At sea, celestial sights had to be taken with the aid of a hack watch which was set to the ship's chronometer. It was difficult, however, to set the watch exactly, which meant 6•rkll No. 5145705. that it differed slightly from the chronometer, lfe r ..

• , ''"f which in turn differed from Greenwich Mean Time. Weems reasoned that the dif ficu lty in setting the watch came from the fact that at the time it was almost impossible to set the second hand exactly. However, if the second hand could not be set to match the dial perfectly, it might be possible to make the dial movable, so that the dial and the second hand were synchronized at the right time. -NWE .t \ ~>

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Weems Chronology and Accomplishments •Born 1889 • 1908, entered the US Naval Academy, graduated in 1912 • 1919 served aboard beacon ship during transAdantic flights • 1920, member of Olympic wrestling team in Antwerp • 1925, won the South Atlantic amateur light-heavyweight wrestling championship •1928, founded Weems System of Navigation in Coronado, California (where Weems was stationed at the time) • 1928, taught celestial navigation to Charles Lindbergh • 1929, developed Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators and served as an Instructor of Navigation at the Naval Academy •1933, published ''Air Almanac" and Star-Altitude Curves • 1933, retired with the rank of Commander •Recalled to service for 3 years, promoted to Captain, and served as Convoy Commodore in 1942 •Published Air Navigation, and authored Line of Position Book and 15 other books on various aspects of navigation •Designed the Weems Plotter •Created the second-setting watch, first constructed

by J. Jessop Jewelers in San Diego, and later made in quantity by Longines •Developed a complete celestial navigation system and a sunset-sunrise computer • 1945, helped establish the US Institute of Navigation • 1948, flew to the North Pole •1950, flew around the world •1959, joined scuba diving expedition to explore Port Royal in Jamaica • 1960, sold Weems & Plath • 1961, recalled to service for 6 months at age 71 to help develop a system for space navigation •1979, died at the age of ninety on June 2 •1981 , The Institute of Navigation created an annual award in his honor For Continuing Contributions to the Art and Science ofNavigation •2003, inducted to the Annapolis Maritime Hall of Fame, posthumously SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

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When I first read Louis Norton's essay, "Baffling Briny Babble;' I immediately thought of a letter I read, many years ago, at the end of Samuel Eliot Morison's The Maritime History of Massachusetts. The letter pokes fun at the minutiae of nautical commands and expressions, and its author, Lincoln Ross Colcord (1883-1947), spun a yarn describing the way it was done, on a proper square-rigger.

Colcord hailed from Searsport, Maine, and came from five generations of Down East seafarers. He was a professional writer who published several books about the sea. He was born on board a square-rigger during a fierce Cape Horn storm and spent the first part of his life at sea on the ship his father commanded.

In this letter, he had written to Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison (1887-1976), a professor of history at Harvard, in response to his newly published book, The Maritime History of Massachusetts, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1921. In subsequent printings Houghton Mifflin published his letter and others in a "Supplement of Letters" at the back of the book. -DO'R (Reprinted with permission from Houghton Mifflin Company)

by Lincoln Colcord, Searsport, Maine, 1921

I

have received from yo u a copy of rhe book, and another from Houghton Mifflin, for which many thanks. You shouldn't have depleted yo ur own stock, however; I merely was growling at the inefficiency of publishers who, because they haven't the abi lity to develop a proper sales system, must charge twice as much for books as they are worth, in order to make both ends meet.

This enables me to advise yo u that the Stupendous Error occurs on page 268, second paragraph, fourth line - "and put to sea in a sou'easter." A Puritan and the son of Puritans, inheritor of a quick eye and a ready chuckle for the downfall of others, it gives me a great glee to find this afrer all; for, to tell the truth, I'd begun to fear that the error might be my own. And that, of course, would have made it an entirely different matter.

Searching through the bookwhich, let me ass ure yo u, makes fine reading wherever you pick it up, so that I was considerably bothered and led astray from my main purpose last evening-I came upon another slip of rhe tongue, which I had passed in rhe first reading. This lies on page 82, second paragraph, fifth line - "Within ten minutes she had made a running moor, brailed up her sails, and warped into the best berth."

I think there is no circumstance under which a square-rigged ship could be said to "brail up" her sails. There are so many ways, you know, in which the various sails of a square-rigger are taken from rhe breeze: the courses are either "hauled

14

up" or "taken in"; the lower topsails are "clewed up,'' bur never "hauled up"; the upper topsails are "lowered away"; the ropgallantsails, royals and skysails are "clewed up,'' but never "lowered away" (except in a derail-command to the man who is handling the halyards); the jibs and sraysails are "hauled down,'' bur never, of course, "clewed up" or "lowered away"; the spanker, however, is "lowered away," and nothing else; and all these sails, irrespectively, can be "taken in": there are so many ways, in fact, that only a most liberally general term could properly be used to cover rhe whole operation.

All things considered, I would say that "taken in" would be the proper term ro use in this case. "Furled" also is properly used to designate rhe operation of stripping a ship of her sails. "She has made a running moor,furledher sails, and warped into the best berth," would be entirely correct; yet "furled" seems to signify a more complete operation than "taken in." At the same time, the word "furled," by professional usage, has considerable poetic latitude. While it specifically defines the completed operation on the sail, it also, correctly used, has a more general application; to rhe mind of a sailor it does nor by any means invariably suggest the actual stowing of the sail, but often signifies merely its "raki ng in."

"Doused" would be another general term that yo u could have used, although I have never liked it. Ir suggests to my mind baggy sails and clumsy, wall-sided hulls, the pompous days of the East India Com-

pany; it's a lazy, leisurely word, a romantic, landlubberish word, a word for poets and fancy novelists, a word archaic and unreal.

"She doused her sails"-bah! No spruce ship ever did such a thing, no proper sailor-man ever wet his lips with such a puling phrase. The word was never current in the American merchant marine; I don't remember ever to have heard it. A word for travelers and lexicographers-and damned historians.

Strange to say, you also could have said with propriety, "She made a running moor, clewed up her sails, and warped into the best berth," although the term specifically cannot be applied to more than half of the sails in question. Like all such matters of usage and latitude, there are no rules broad enough to cover the ground; all is exception.

The point I am coming at is, of course, that "brailing up," the term you used, is not a general term at all. On the contrary, iris highly specific. According to my sense of nautical phraseology, "brailing" defines rhe operation of raking in a sail which travels on a horizontal spar; and a "brail" is one of the ropes which haul it in against rhe mast. The spanker on an English bark or ship commonly "brails in"; rhar is, it travels by hoops on rhe boom and gaff, and the gaff is a stationary spar.

Square-rigged American ships of my day often carried a main-spencer or rrysail for use in heaving the ship to in heavy weather; this sail traveled on a stationary gaff just below the main-top, and was "brailed in" against rhe lower mast when nor set;

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

he-Y saiM"-bali! No ytwuce YIUp eve-r-did uu:li a~) 1UJ 'fM"rper sailor~Uf.ÂŁU'l eve-r- -wet liU Up-s with uu:li a ~ pkrau.

''She~

it had no boom. Ir was the only piece of canvas on an American square-rigged ship to which the term "brail in" could apply; though I have heard of topsail schooners in rhe old days which carried a lower sail, dropping from the fore yard, used for fair-weather running, that sometimes was "brailed in" and furled against the mast rather than "hauled up" to the yard.

You'll notice, furthermore, that I have been saying "brailed in" instead of "brailed up." The specific sense of "brailing," that is, the act of hauling in a sail against the mast on a horizontal spar, implied an "inwardness" rather than upwardness." I'm not aware that "brailing up" is permissible; than anything can be "brailed up"; that anything ever was "brailed up"; that "brailing up" can be anything more than a misalliance of the sturdy old seaman "brail" with that loose and promiscuous New England "uppishness" which moves unconsciously in our blood and being when we say, "he climbed up out of the boar," "come up here," "run up town," and the like, which runs transcendentally through all our speech, a reflection, perhaps, of uplifted hearts-or maybe of upturned noses-or, even more likely, of upheld palms.

Having established our thesis, let us bring the good ship to her moorings at the end of Derby Wharf under the critical eye of a town that reared its children on tar and gave them bags of salt to suck for sugar-tits. Ir was a pleasant summer morning. Captain Hardtack briskly walked the quarterdeck, concealing his pride and sentimental eagerness beneath a mask of stern dignity and supreme indifference. The mare, Mr. Marlinspike, was able to give vent to his dangerously compressed ego in a whirlwind of activity, seeing that every rope was clear and every man at his post.

A fresh southwesterly breeze heeled the tall ship handsomely as she slipped through the still water of the bay. As the houses of the well-remembered town become more

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

distinct, etc. ere.

At length Captain Hardtack stopped at the corner of the after house, scanned for a moment the remaining distance to be traversed, then lifted his voice in a sharp command.

"Haul up the courses, Mr. Marlinspike! Take in the sraysails, and let the jibs run down! " "Aye, aye, sir! Man rhe jib and staysail downhauls! Let got the halyards when you're ready! Start the weather main sheet, there! Fore and cross-jack the same! Man

clew-garnets and bundines! Spill 'em nicely there, boys! Starboard clew-garners, now! Up with 'em! Smartly, my lads! " "Take in skysails, royals, and topgallantsails, as fast as you can!" roared Captain Hardtack, when the above operation had been concluded.

Ar this command the deck became a confusion of men running to new posts, a confusion which marvelously resolved itself to order as the crew anticipated the work that lay before them. Above the excitement the voice of the redoubtable Marlinspike could be heard by watchers on the end of Derby Wharf.

"Skysail sheers and halyards, there!

Lower away a little! Now start the sheets!

Clewlines and spilling-lines, ready! Let go your halyards! Snatch 'em up, my lads!

Now-royal sheers and halyards! Clewlines and spilling-lines! Up with 'em! Let go all! Hold topgallant halyards a minute!

Now-let 'em run down! Clewlines and spilling-lines! Lively-up they go!"

For a few minutes the ship forged ahead under topsails, spanker, and foretopmast-sraysail. (Forgot that foretopmaststaysail; it should have been left set. Also, she carried single topsails, which would be clewed up after the yard had been lowered to the cap of the masthead. With double topsails, the upper topsail would be lowered away rill the yard rested on the lower topsail yard; the sail simply would be spilled and furled in this position, without starting the sheers; while the lower topsail, on a stationary yard, would be "taken in" or "clewed up.")

She was now approaching the end of Derby Wharf, carrying some three or four knots headway. On the alert for the weather alley, where Captain Hardtack stood closely scanning the shore.

"There's old Nate Ellis on the capstan of the Captain wharf, Hardtack. I recognized that droop to his left shoulder as soon as he came over the horizon ." The mare threw our this permissible familiarity over his own shoulder, his attention still riveted on the main deck of the ship.

Captain Hardtack allowed himself a single degree of relaxation, gave a short laugh, and turned his eyes for an instant toward the end of the wharf. "Yes, I saw him. Droops a couple of inches lower than it did two years ago." Changing his voice, and pulling his eyes away from land-for, indeed, in that brief instant he had seen a great deal more than old Nate Ellis-he wrapped himself again in the mantle of authority. ''All ready, Mr. Marlinspike.

Take in the fore and mizzen topsails!"

The mare leaped forward like a piece of machinery. "Fore and mizzen topsail halyards! Lower away!" he shouted. "Steady, steady! Clewlines and spillinglines! Lively, my lads! They're watching you now-they can count the hairs of your head! Lively, aloft there! Jump out on those topsail 15

yards!" For a crew waiting aloft on each mast had furled every sail as fast as it came down. ]he critical moment had now arrived. Captain H ardtack stood motionless at the weather rail, estimating his distances . "Let her luffi " he said in a low voice to the helmsman behind him. "Put yo ur helm down a little. A little more. A little more!" The ship began to swing into the wind along a narrowing arc; the object was to bring her head into the wi nd exactly off the shoreward end of Derby Wharf, so that the backened main topsail would check her headway in that position and send her gently srernward into a berth at the end of the pier.

"Hard down! " said the captain sharply. The helmsman whi rled the spokes, the ship answered the rudder like a yacht, coming into the wind in perfect position.

(Might as well make it perfect in a yarn, you know-it's the only chance at perfection yo u ever get.) For an instant she hung motionless (that is, after she'd quit forging ahead), then slowly gathered srernway"Put your helm amidships, rhere!"-and drifted in against the wharf.

"Take in the main topsail, Mr. Marlinspike! Let that foretopmast sraysail run down! " "Aye, aye, sir! Let go the main topsail halyards! H ey, yo u boys aloft there, look out for that sail against the mast! C lewlines and spilling-lines, now! Pick it up lively, lads!"

"Send a co uple of men aft to rake in the spanker, Mr. Marlinspike." ''Aye, aye, sir! Long Tom and Charlie, there! Lower away the spanker! " As the ship serried against the wharf, a quiet voice spoke from the capstan

16

abreast the taffrail, where an elderly and important-looking individual had been standing alone for the past rwe nty minutes, as if in entire confidence that the ship would come to him. Now and then a man going down the wharf wo uld pass a deferential word with him; and when at length he spoke to the captain , everyone paused to listen .

"How do yo u do, Captain Hardtack?

You made a handy moor, sir."

"Thank you, sir," said the captain to his owner. "We are all well aboard, sir. I have brought you coffee instead of pepper, Cap tain Martingale."

"I smelled it," said the other dryly.

"Well, I think there will be no quarrel over that, Captain Hardtack." Without another word he stalked up the wharf; while Captain Hardtack, having nothing more to do on deck, and under the absol ute necess ity of preserving his dignity, we nt solemnly below to collect his papers and other valuables.

(Now, the truth of the matter was, old skinflint Martingale had wanted to yell and Bing his old bones into a dance of rejoicing when he smelled that coffee; for pepper had dropped to less than nothing since three shiploads had arrived that same week; while coffee was being clamored for by the markers of Boston and farther west.

And Captain Hardtack, the young scapegrace, was in reality on the point of unmanly rears, what with pride at his judgment, excitement over the recent exploit of ro unding his ship to so perfectly in the eyes of his little world, and strange emotion when he thought of the girl in town who was shortly to become his bride. In reality, he had to dodge below to pull himself together; and what he did there was not connected with the ship's business. He wern to his room, to the starboard wall of his room, put his fore head against the cool painrwork, and stood there in silence for several minutes, adrift and helpless in the sensation of joy.)

Well, anyway, that's how they rook in her sails as far as I can remember. If you were to submi t this to Captain Clark, he probably would pick a dozen Raws in it; for I've forgotten the better part, I am afraid.

I left the sea at fourteen , yo u know, and never have been a professional sailor. ,t

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SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

Mem6ersJ Join us on an NMHS Sea.Adventure on our 2005 Cruises!

8-Night Romantic Caribbean Cruise Aboard the Queen Mary 2 25 March to 2 April 2005 In January 2004 Queen Mary 2 made her debut as a Queen among Queens, a worthy successor to such great transAdantic liners as Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and today's Queen Elizabeth 2. Stylish, grand and representing the pinnacle of maritime achievement, she is destined to become an icon of our time. She weighed in at over 150,000 tons, has a length of over 1,130 feet, and towers 14 decks high.

Many of her Inaugural Season crossings and cruises are already sold out, so NMHS is making sure you don't "miss the boat." We have special group discounted space on her 25 March 2005 8-day cruise, round trip from New York to the Caribbean, through Pisa Brothers Travel. We sail from New York for the beautiful islands of Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and St. Maarten, with four full days at sea, returning to New York on 2 April. We will have special events planned exclusively for NMHS members, with lectures on our seafaring heritage while at sea. Please reserve early as space is expected to sell quickly, and you'll want to receive your accommodation of choice.

For full information and reservations contact Denise Bonnici at:

Pisa Brothers Cruise Service 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Ste. 2207, New York NY 10111 212 265-8420 • 800 SAY-PISA• Fax: 212 265-8753 e-mai l: mgr@pisabrothers.com

Sample rates are as follows: Britannia, Standard Inside, $ 1,472 pp Britannia, Standard Oceanview, $1,862 pp Britannia, Balcony, categories start at $1,947pp Princess Grill, Suites, categories start at $3,657 pp Queen Grill, Suites, $5,6<)') pp

Tall Ship Caribbean Cruise featuring the 2005 Antigua Tall Ships Race 10-18 April 2005 St. Maarten • Anguilla/Prickley Pear• St. Barts-Iles des Saintes •Dominica• Antigua Experience the romance of the Golden Age of Sail on board a luxury sailing vessel in casual elegance. Passengers are encouraged to become actively involved in handling the ship or learning navigation, astronomy, seamanship, weather, knot tying and sail handling. Or you can simply relax on one of the most luxurious yachts ever to sail the high seas. Passengers on this cruise will have the unique opportunity to compete for the Tall Ship World Peace Cup in two races in the 2005 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. Sail against other tall ships and watch the beauty and grace of classic yachts competing under acres of canvas.

Plus enjoy an incomparable week-long sailing experience aboard the 360-foot, four masted barquentine Star Clipper under 36,000 square feet of sail. An additional two-day precruise program is also offered, with the unique opportunity to participate as crew on America's Cup veterans Stars and Stripes, Canada II, and True North in the thrilling St. Maarten 12-Metre Challenge yacht races.

For full information and reservations contact Bert Klein at:

Orleans Tours 167 Rte. 6A, PO Box 2774, Orleans MA 02653 508 255-7763 •Fax: 508 632-0589 • 800 938-8820 e-mail: ortours@c4.net web site: www.orleans-tours.com

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ittle could Barclay Warburton have guessed, back in 1972, that traditional sai l and sail training vessels would be alive and well in 2004. Back [hen, Warburton and his rwo sons sailed his brigantine Black Pearl to Europe to panicipa[e in the Cuny Sark Races, which sailed from England to Sweden. These rail ship races were organized by what was then the Sail Training Association (now International Sail Training Association) to bring [he "last" of the world's great square-riggers together. Warburton was so impressed with the whole scene-the camaraderie, skills, history, and beauty of the tall ships gathering, that upon his arrival back home in Newport, Rhode Island, he founded the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) in an anempt to create a similar organization here in the United States. In 1973 ASTA had a single member vessel-Warburton's. Today, ASTA has over 250 member vessels and organizes yearly Tall Ship Challenge" races in different parts of the country. Not just a coordinator of parades and festivals, ASTA's mission is to encourage character building [hrough sail training, promote sail training to the public, and support educational programs under sail. While the races berween port stops challenge the seamanship and sailing qualities of individual ships and crews, in port, ASTA also organizes competitions testing sailors' skills and knowledge.

This summer, the Tall Ships Challenge• series sailed up the Atlantic Coast of North America with maritime festivals in Jacksonville, C harleston, Philadelphia, and Camden, New Jersey, Greenport, New York, Newport, New London, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saint John, New Brunswick. Nearly forty traditionally-rigged sailing vessels from Romania, Mexico, Brazil, Uraguay, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, the Cook Islands, Canada, and the United States participated in the series. In 2005, Tall Ships Challenge" will take place on the Pacific Coast and will move on to the Great Lakes in 2006.

We caught up with the ships in Newport, Rhode Island, in mid-July. After a perfect weather weekend, the parade of sail reminded those on board and spectators ashore that mariners don't always ger to choose their weather. Fog and rain threatened rhe participants in the parade of sail all day. Although the clouds held off dousing the ships below them, haze serried in making the view sometimes difficult for spectators ashore. During parades of sail, you mighr be surprised at how difficult it is to keep rhe ships in order and at the same speeds. I have been on board ships in other parades of sail, relishing in the sailing breeze, and rhen watched the captain have to back down, full throttle, to keep from overrunning the ship ahead or to avoid sailing away from the fleer-sometimes rhe chal lenge is in slowing down.

Enjoy our scrapbook with photos by Blythe Daly from the deck of Weatherly, a 12-Merer contender from the 1970s America's Cup Races, and by Captain Tracy D . Connors, USNR (retired). For more information on ASTA, contact: American Sail Training Association, 240 Thames Sr., PO Box 1459, Newport, RI 02840; web sire: www.rallships.sailrraining.org. -Deirdre O'Regan _!,

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A Shipwrecked Spacecraft'? ne of the US Navy's prevailing mysteries is how a NASA spacecraft came to be sunk and abandoned at the bottom of the ocean only minutes after it made history in space. After orbiting the earth for 15 minutes, Astronaut Gus Grissom's, Mercury 4 command modu le splashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 21Ju ly1961.

Before Navy rescuers could reach the capsule, bobbing in the waves, the explosive bolts on the emergency hatch detonated and the spacecraft began to fill with water. Grissom, sealed in his spacesuit, quickly climbed out of the hatchway and began to float near the upright on the ocean floor.

Grissom 's capsu le, after recovery capsule. As his spaceship was sinking Grissom's spacesuit began to Courtesy Kansas Cosmosphere, and extensive cleaning. Courtesy fill with water and started to drag him below the surface as well. US Hutchinson KS of the Kansas Cosmosphere, Navy rescue divers arrived in time to buoy up the astronaut. Then they Hutchinson KS attached a cable between the sinking capsule and a rescue copter. But the capsule was waterlogged and it had to be released . It sank to the bottom of the sea .

Ever since that dramatic splashdown, there has been much discussion about how the explosive hatch detonated and caused the capsule to sink . Therefore, in order to save this precious piece of American history, and help solve the mystery, a group of underwater explorers located the historic spaceship, resting upright in the mud, three miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

The group devised a strategy to bring it to the surface and, in July 1999, they recovered the capsu le intact, thirty-eight years after its historic space mission.

The capsule has been cleaned and restored and the spaceship (with its gaping hatchway) is now on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, for everyone to investigate . However, the mysterious hatch itself has not been found. It keeps its secret, somewhere, 15,000 feet beneath the Atlantic waves .

0

20

The Monitor & Merrin1ack's

second Battle?

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he Battle of Hampton banner that had flown from the ship's flagstaff during its Roads, between the Monitor and the Merrimack, in famous battle with the Monitor, 1862, is one of the most importwo months earlier. tant naval skirmishes in history.

At 4:45, on the morning of After that historic confrontation 11 May 1862, flames reached on March 9-which most histothe ship's powder magazine rians agree was a draw-the and the Merrimack exploded with a tremendous roar. The two ships never got a second chance to match guns or most famous ironclad in histoarmor. The Union 's Monitor ry was gone-but her crew was went down in a storm later in still intact and itching for a Her banner waving proudly, the Merrimack takes on the Union fleet, 9 March 1862 second chance at the Monitor. the year, drowning sixteen of Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection That chance would come two her crew. But what happened U.S. Naval Historical Center to the Merrimack? days later.

The ship the Confederates With Merrimack gone, President Lincoln personally ordered the Monitor to called the Virginia, built from the hull of the Merrimack, spent the rest of her life in the lower steam up the James River to attack Richmond, the Confederate capital. Although their ship was no Chesapeake. Captain Tattnall and the crew of Merrimack were frustrated that they could not lure longer intact, the Merrimack's crew was. And they were ready and waiting for the Monitor. the Monitor into another one-on-one shootout.

Unwilling to run the gauntlet of Union guns ready The men of the Merrimack had marched along the James River to set up a line of cannons, protected by to pound the ironclad if the crew chose to make a run for the open sea, the Merrimack's Captain fortress of mud and logs, on the bluffs above the Tattnall devised another plan. water. As the Monitor appeared from around the In order to escape up the shallow James River, the bend, Merrimack's crew went to work. They handled crew pried off much of ship's legendary heavy armor, the guns well and pounded Monitor so soundly that she was forced to retreat down river. As rebel cheers dumped most of her coal overboard and even tossed out all the crew's food and provisions. echoed from the bluffs, the Merrimack 's men gazed up at the Confederate flag waving above their When the captain realized that the undressed Merrimack was still too heavy to make it to safety, he makeshift (but successfu l) fort. It was the very flag ordered that the ship should be burned and the ironthat Halden Littlepage had rescued from th e deck of the Merrimack. Her crew had done it again. clad's 300 crewmembers should escape into the nearby woods. As he stepped from the burning ship, Midshipman Hardin Littlepage quickly dumped out his backpack and crammed in the weathered Confederate

Merrimack 'sown crew is forced to destroy her on 11 May 1862 U.S. Naval Historical Center

Confederates fire on the Monitor from above. May 1862 U.S. Naval Historical Center

21

America's First Sail Road In 1830, steam engines pushed ships and sails powered railroads.

uring the first years that railroads we re being tested in America, inventors experimented w ith va rious ways to propel the cars along the track. Horses pulled passenger cars loaded with dozens of people at speeds up to 10 miles per hour down the track.

During one of these experiments, "Two dogs attached to a car trotted off with a load of six persons."

But sure ly, one of the most exciting trials was conducted when a group of inventors tried to sail a railroad car filled with passengers along six miles of the first set of rails used by the South Carolina Railroad Company.

The wind blew very fresh from about northeast which, as a sailor would say, was 'abeam,' and would drive the car either way with equal speed. When going at the rate of about twelve miles an hour and loaded with fifteen passengers, the mast went by the board, with the sail and rigging attached, carrying with them several of the crew. The wreck was described by several friendly shipmasters, who kindly rendered assistance in rigging a jury mast, and the car was again soon put under way. ... it was ascertained that the car would sail within four points of the win[d] ... when a northwester' was blowing, it would be dragged out to the farther end of the Mount Clair embankment, and come back, literally withflying colors."

Charleston Courier,

William Wirt

March 20, 1830

"On the 22d of January, 1830, a car which had been constructed to be propelled by a sail, was carried along at the rate of 20 miles an hour, the whole length of the rail [six miles].

The preparations for sailing were very hastily got up, and of course were not of the best kind; owing to this circumstance the experiment afforded high sport.

Hybrid Boats: A New

Wind-powered railroad locomotion quickly lost out to the more reliable- and controllable-power of the steam engine. And the "sail road"? The sail road was relegated to the "Great idea-wrong time, wrong place" page of our history books. (And, on most railroads today, dogs get to ride inside the cars.)

Breed~~ ,JI'...

he wind-powered sail is still the quietest and cheapest (and many will say the most reliable) form of propulsion for watercraft, but this ancient form of eco-friendly power may soon have some real competition.

In the past few years, a new breed of automobile motor has been getting a lot of attention in America. The hybrid car, powered by an electric motor, assisted by a conventional gasoline engine, is one of the most popular types of propulsion for new cars. The motor uses less fuel and burns it much more efficiently. And now, although engineers are still perfecting the technology, the maritime industry is taking a lead as with this new type of cleaner, quieter engine.

Hybrid-powered boats are being constructed in boatyards across the country. Charles Houghton recently led a group

T

Courtesy Chuck Houghton,

of investors to revive the ELCO Electric Launch Company, Athens NY Elco Electric Launch Company which now installs hybrids in their elegant, "Edwardian picnic launches" .

Hybrid engine technology is progressing rapidly. Today these motors are primarily installed in smaller, slower, recreational craft, but there might soon be a time when larger hybrid engines will power ferries and even ocean-going cargo vessels.

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A ''Nantucket Cantel Ride'' n the 1800s, Nantucket Island was the most famous whaling port in the world. Nantucket crews often criss-crossed the seas for years at a time harvesting whale oil for America.

But most of those extended voyages came up short of their final destination. The whalers couldn't get home because Nantucket harbor was too shallow to receive ships so weighted down with their oily cargo.

Captains were forced to end their voyage in the deeper water just outside Nantucket harbor.

The ship was lying at anchorprecious whale oil languishing in the hold-the crew within site of The Minmaneuth aground off Nantucket their homes and their waiting Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association famil ies .

Some anxious returning captains would offload the barrels of wha le oil onto smaller boats or barges to be floated across the shallow harbor entrance. This required extra time and lots of labor.

So, fifty Nantucket residents-those ingenious Yankees-brought their heads and money together to develop a more creative solution .

The "Nantucket camel" was a pair of hollow barges connected together by a set of chains. The barges were partially filled with seawater and positioned on either side of a returning w hale ship.

Chains, between the barges and running under the ship, were tightened and the seawater was pumped out of the "camels". Now, "whaler, camel and all aid nok.iraw more than five feet of water."

This raised the ship high enough to get her into the harbor and up to the ier to offload the cargo, as well as her homesjck sailors Th e first ship to ride "over th e bar" on the camels was the 257-ton whaler, Peru, eturning in 1839, from a successful, 3-1 /2 year, voyage in the Pacific. Nantucket's own Joshua Coffin co~ manded the ship right up to wharf, the proud captain bringing his ship, cargo and crew all the way n me.

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'View of Brandt Poinf' by James Folger, Steamship Telegraph pulling ship in camels past Brandt Point Courtesy Nantucket Historical Association

Sea History for Kids is sponsored by the

JAMES

A.

MACDONALD FOUNDATION

Questions? Write to: David Allen david@seahistory.org

rash! I wake as my head slams into the bulkhead of the darkened cabin.

The little light that pierces through the hatch looks ominous, a far cry from the gentle conditions we left behind on shore.

Startled and rubbing my head in the stifling heat, I struggle to regain my senses. " I clamber up the companionway to the lurching deck above. On deck, I am immediately hit by a fury of a white, wet chaos.

The wind whips across the deck, as foam, spray, and waves wash over the sides of the vessel. The crew scrambles to secure equipment. I look questioningly to the captain.

His shout is barely heard above the wind's howl, "Today's not the day boys, I'm calling it."

I could easily be describing that treacherous night in 1862 when USS Monitor and sixteen sailors were taken to their watery grave. Instead, I am talking about a day from NOAA's 2003 expedition to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. More than 140 years later, the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" still lives up to its name. Our research vessel made it within range of the wreck site, but on that day, the conditions off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, conspired to keep us away from the legendary ironclad.

Weather will always be a factor on Monitor, but through the collaborative efforts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Navy, and the National Undersea Research Center (NURC), we have made strides in preserving and protecting the precious artifact that spawned all modern warships.

This year's field season produced site drawings, digital photography, and, something that has never been done on the Monitor before, a photomosaic capturing the entire length of the wreck in one image.

In 1973 a Duke University research team discovered the wreck sixteen miles off

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Cape Hatteras. Two years later, it became NOAA's first National Marine Sanctuary.

In 1998 NOAA and the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS) submitted a long-range plan for the recovery of significant portions of the Monitor to Congress. Under the lead of MNMS Manager Dr. John Broadwater, NOAA and the US Navy began work that same year with the successful recovery of the ship's propeller.

Like the vessel itself, the propeller was designed by the Swedish inventor John Ericsson-one of the two people credited with designing the first screw propeller. Ericsson held over 100 patents on USS Monitor, including everything from the ringer on the ship's bell to the rotating gun turret.

It was his design that rook the US Navy

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Cape Hatteras

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more than 230 tons, the turret and all of its contents, including the two 11-inch Dahlgren guns, broke the surface for the first rime in 140 years. All of these artifacts are being conserved at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

NOAA and the Navy conducted these major recovery expePhotos of the ship ditions off a 300-foor barge with before the turret a remotely operated vehicle and a was recovered. The submersible, as well as dozens of ship rests inverted surface supplied and saturation on the seabed and divers. Separate from this massive was on top of the turret. The longitudinal feature operation, with its industrial cranes is Monitors massive armor belt. and loud thrumming of generators, to battle in 1862 against the Confederate another dive ream quietly carried out a difironclad, CSS Virginia, ushering in the age ferent, bur viral mission. A small group of of modern naval warfare. fewer than 20 people, including divers and In 2001 NOAA and the navy recov- support from NOAA, NURC, US Navy, ered Monitor's vibrating side-lever engine East Carolina University, and diving safety and the following year raised Ericsson's officers from several universities, worked most famous invention, the world's first off a 65-foor research vessel to document rotating gun turret. At a total weight of the wreck in situ. Their task was to keep an archaeological reIn August 2002, the historic gun turret from USS Monitor cord of the changes was successfully recovered from the ocean floor. (and damage) made to the wreck sire by these major artifact recoveries. This same dive ream had assisted the larger joint NOAA/US Navy expeditions since 1998 by measuring the details of the wreck and removing artifacts that might be endangered by the removal of portions of the hull. That mission 26

changed dramatically after the turret's recovery in 2002 and the completion of the final phase of the long-term recovery plan. From that date on, the NOAA divers operated independently to document the site in greater detail, using both traditional archaeological mapping techniques as well as the latest in digital photography. The 2003 field season lasted just 3 weeks in July and August of 2003, but the weather, of course, still had a major role to play.

Cape Hatteras refused to give up its secrets without a fight, and the team lost half of its planned dive days due to the tempestuous offshore conditions.

Because the team used conventional scuba equipment rather than saturation diving, they faced certain limitations. At a depth of more than 230 feet, Monitor divers can only spend 25 minutes on the bottom before having to make their slow ascent to the surface. During their ascent, divers must spend at least 80 minutes decompressing before they can safely head to the surface. NOAA created a breathing gas mix of 18% oxygen, 50% helium, and 32% nitrogen, called trimix, specifically for Monitor divers. Though this system has an impressive safety record, the 25 minutes it allows on the wreck is not a lot of time to work on an archaeological site.

To deal with such tight time restrictions, the dive team used digital photography and video documentation to make make the most of their short visits to the bottom. Once on the sea floor, it proves extremely difficult for divers to comprehend the entire site. Most dives leave them with just enough time to swim to their specific area on the wreck, gatl1er the data, and start their ascent. This makes it very difficult for archaeologists to understand what's occurring at the site overall. To combat this, MNMS created a technique to produce digital mosaics of the entire length of the wreck site. We established a baseline parallel to the length of the Monitor's armor belt but offset by 15 feet. A diver with a digital camera was then sent along the line while maintaining a constant depth and rook a series of photographs from bow ro stern. On the surface, the photographs were stitched together with computer software. Using this technique, both rhe port and starboard sides of the SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

ship were documented At times putfor the first time as a ting an archaeologist single image. in the water is not feaMosaics have sible due because of the proven to be a valudepth of the sire or hazable tool by allowing ardous sea conditions. researchers on the surTechnology has taken the lead in those cirface to view the site in cumstances, and with its entirety. Features the aid of remotely that might not be as operated vehicles and obvious at 230 feet become much more ~ submersibles we can apparent on the sur~ glimpse a once hidden face. The mosaics are ~ and inaccesible world. also invaluable to div~ The public needs to ers, helping them ori~ be aware of the limiâ&#x20AC;˘ tations of gadgets and entate themselves on NOAA divers swim over the remains ofthe captain's quarters toward the bow section. the wreck before they software, however. begin work. This is important because at rime. Finally, since few people have the Mosaics are a remarkable tool, but they 230 feet it can be a challenge just to get deep dive training and access to dive on are never a substitute for an archaeologist to the wreck; differentiating one area from Monitor, the mosaics provide a means to on the bottom. Perhaps one day, advanceengage the public without them having ments in ocean exploration will overcome to get wet. Nevertheless, mosaics are not these faults, but, for now, my eyes, a tape Deterioration of the USS Monitor an end unto themselves. They are just one measure, and a pencil are still the most acof several research tools to document a curate and reliable tools available. .1 shipwreck. While conducting USS MoniDivers prepare to enter the water and begin their tor field work in 2003, we compared the Long descent to the shipwreck 240 feet below. mosaics with the archaeological drawings that resulted from them. When a mosaic and its accompanying site drawing were sized to the same scale and overlaid, we instantly recognized a discrepancy. Even though they were representations of the same thing at the same scale, the images did not match. Certain portions of the mosaic were aligned correctly with the drawing, however, overall, the mosaic was skewed slightly to one side or the other.

The problem lies in the fact that computer sofrware is raking several separate images another can be difficult in the dim light. and artificially stitching them together to The mosaics were used as a visable guide create one single image. This procedure to sketch the site. When coupled with works remarkably well to produce a genthe actual measurements taken by divers eral "big picture" view of the wreck, bur on the wreck, archaeologists created a se- the software cannot compensate for differries of very accurate site plans. These were ing focal lengths and oblique angles that drawings that were never possible before occur when the individual pictures are because of the limitations imposed by stitched together. The software attempts scuba diving. NOAA now has an accurate to solve these problems by making a best archaeological record of the site docu- fit, aligning the same feature in two immenting the changes caused by the major ages. This error compounds with the addiTane Casserley is a Nautical Archaeologist with NOAA's Monitor National Marine tion of every still image to the point that, artifact recoveries.

Conducted over several years, mosa- when compared at the same scale to the Sanctuary in Newport News, VA. For more ics could also be very useful as a record to drawing, the mosaic will appear stretched information on USS Monitor, visit their web site: www.monitor.noaa.gov. determine how the Monitor decays over at either end.

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

27

USS Monitor's Gun Turret,

by Jeff Johnston

0

riginal construction details of the USS Monitor's gun turret do survive but are sparse to say the least. Surviving historical documents and plans were utilized by NOAA and the US Navy to help formulate the plan that led to the successful recovery of the gun turret in August 2002. Since recovery, archaeological teams from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS) and conservators from The Mariners' Museum have uncovered a wealth of historic artifacts and developed a growing respect for the man who built USS Monitor-and the men who went to war inside John Ericsson's untried experiment.

One of the most critical aspects of John Ericsson's design was constructing world's first rotating gun turret. Ericsson selected Novelty Iron Works in New York City to assemble the turret, only providing terse, but specific, written orders for the materials.

His order for turret armor, dated "Octor.9th," was anything but derailed-written on the back of an initial order for iron dated 1 October 1861.

"192 Plates for "Turret" 9.ft. long in 8 different widths, ranging.from 31 318 Inches to 33 314 Inches wide & 24 plates ofEach width - x 1 Inch thick - there will be something over 100 tons ofthem - " Exactly how many component plans rhe engifleer provided for the turret is unknown, bur those rhar have survived are far from complete and often conflict with each other.

This leads researchers to believe that nothing nearing a complete set of plans for the gun turret was provided by the Swedish engineer.

COURTESY NAVAL HISTORI CAL CENTER

The turret is twenty-one-and-half feet exterior diameter and nine feet tall. The bulkhead armor was comprised of eight layers of one-inch thick plates fastened together with over 900 wrought-iron bolts and rivers. The inner course of plates was dropped one half-inch lower than the outer seven. This layer was only portion of the turret that would actually come in contact with the ship. The recovered turret differs from the one shown in historic plans in that two additional diagonal braces were found running parallel to the cannons from the main roof beam to the outer ends of the gun slides. Ir is unclear if this is a post construction modification or a design feature that surviving information does nor show.

USS Monitor did not survive the year. What Confederate artillery could not do, the seas off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina accomplished. The ship was being towed to Beaufort when the ships were hit by one of the severe storms for which "Graveyard" is so famous. Monitor slipped beneath the waves just after 0100 on New Year's Eve 1862.

The ship began to settle stern first; at some point she rolled over to starboard. The turret, with two crewmembers trapped inside, dislodged from the hull and landed on the sea bed upside down. As the turret hit the bottom, the cannons and carriages fell from their slides and were caught by the diagonal braces and center stanchions. Monitor's hull hit bottom stern first and came to rest on top of the displaced turret. Over time, the wood of the turret deck was eaten away by shipworms. At some point, an avalanche of coal spilled our from the port bunker through two chute .hatches in the hull over the turret and poured down into just about every nook and cranny inside. Finally, silt and sediments kicked up by the Gulf Stream filled the inside of the turret to rhe rim. She lay undisturbed by man for 111 years. The wreck site was discovered in 1973 and given federal protection status in 1975 through the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. The wreck site is administered

by NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries Program. In the early 1990s NOAA scientists began reporting that an accelerated rate of deterioration was evident in several key areas of the wreck. Th i:: loss of one of America's most historic and significant warships was inevitabl~ without serious intervention. Between 1998 and 2002, Monitor's hull was st;oibilized and key components of the vessel were recovered, including the propeller and the turret.

28

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

A Look Inside Today, the still upside-down turret resides in a conserva ti on tank at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia. Partial excava tion was conducted onsite during recovery operations, but the main archaeology was done once the turret was safely resting in the conservatio n tank. The lion's share of the small artifac ts and o rganic materials are out and undergoing conservatio n-some are already on exhibit. For the mo ment, the main features of the turret are in exactly the same position as they were after landing o n the sea fl oo r 14 1 years ago.

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Standing outside of the turret, o ne gets the feeling that this is a massive structure.

The impression from inside is very different. The two 11-inch Dahlgren's and carriages have to be stepped around or under. Twenty men we re statio ned in the gun turret whenever the ship was in action . The turret crew surely had to step aroun d each other constantly in their efforts to load and fire the massive guns.

The Monitor's two Dahlgren's were not unique to the ship, but the carriages that support them are. John Ericsson had to design a gun carriage that could effectively control the reco il of a thirteen foo t lo ng cannon in less than a twenty foot space. A feat that even the Navy D epartment was n't sure was possible, but Ericsson was so confident in his design that he wro te in a report to the Navy D epartment that he did not see the need fo r breeching tackle. The Navy disagreed . Initial test fi rings in New York proved that the Navy was right. At some point, thick iron "stops" we re fa bricated and bolted to the Turrc1 Components tops of the gun slides to prevent the cannons from slam ming into the turret bulkhead. ,!,

JeffJohnston is a H istorian for N OAAs Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in Newport News, VA. For more information, visit: www.monitor.nos.noaa. gov. The Mariners' Museum exhibit, "Ironclad Evidence: Stories from the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia" is open through 2 005. The Mariners' Museum, I 00 Museum D rive, Newport News, VA 23606; Ph. 757 59 6-2222; web site:

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Maritime History on the Internet: USS >bnitor and The Civil War

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by Peter McCracken

s other features in this issue of Sea History attest, interest in the Civil War in general, and in USS Monitor in particular, remains high. Web sites can leverage this interest by providing large amounts of historical information without the traditional limitations of I print publishing: there's essentially no limit to the amount of information that one can put online, and each megabyte of information has essentially no impact on the incremental cost of publishing it-a process very different from that involved in printing a book. Below is a list of sites that provide introductions to Monitor and its restoration, followed by several other sites that provide significant amounts of information regarding the Civil War in general.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains their Monitor National Marine Sanctuary site at http://monitor.nos.noaa.gov/. NOAA's other site, "Ocean Explorer," provides nice overviews of the 2001 and 2002 dive seasons on Monitor, including logs and many photos at http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/monitorOl/monitorO I.html and http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02monitor/monitor.html. The Mariners' Museum's Monitor Center, at http://www.monitorcenter.org/, provides much more background information on the history and conservation of the vessel. A 'memorial' site for CSS Virginia appears at http://www.cssvirginia.org/, and contains historical information about the Monitor's opponent.

Particularly impressive Civil War sites include the "Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System," created by the National Park Service, at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/. This site compiles multiple searchable sources: five million soldiers' names reflecting Union and Confederate muster rolls, 18,000 African-American sailors in the "Black Sailors Research Project," plus information r egarding regiments, prisoners, cemeteries, battles, medals, and more. Note that the "Sailors" section focuses just on black sailors and is not limited only to those who enlisted, while the "Soldiers" section lists those whose names appeared on muster rolls. The US Civil War Center, at http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/, includes a lengthy list of Civil War cemeteries at http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/ links/hist.htm#Cemeteries, though unfortunately there is no central compilation of this information. The Library of Congress has digitized many impressive Civil War maps at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/cwmhtml/, and the Smithsonian highlights its Civil War resources at http://civilwar.si.edu/.

One of the neatest online r esources, though, is the complete text of The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, the 128-volume work published from 1880 to 1901. The fantastic Making of America (MOA) project, currently containing a total of over 4 million pages of early American history, has scanned and digitized almost the complete Official Records. (MOA is a joint project of Cornell University [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/] and the University of Michigan [http:// www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/]; each site has different contents.) The MOA version of the Official Records is at http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html; another version is available at http://www.ehistory.com/uscw/library/or/index.cfm. This highlights the best the Internet has to offer: digitized versions of primary sources, available for free to anyone, from anywhere.

Suggestions for other sites worth mentioning are welcome at shipindex@yahoo.com. See http://www.shipindex.org for a compilation of over 100,000 ship na mes from indexes to dozens of books and journals. J:,

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SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

31

Historic Ships on a liee Shore Good news for Schooner Ernestina! The plight of this historic schooner launched "Historic Ships on a Lee Shore" al> a recurring feature in Sea History (see No. 106, Winter 2004 ). Last fall, the state of Massachusetts cut her funding, which denied the resources for her annual haul-out and Coast Guard inspection-essentially mothballing the ship. This spring, when other ship~ were fitting out for the summer season, Ernestina sat at the dock, still under her winter cover. In May, the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the New Bedford Oceanarium announced the creation of a joint initiative to provide educational experiences to Massachusetts students and teachers. The Sharing Cultures/ Connecting Oceans: a New Bedford Collaboration is commissioning the ship to run their"Ocean Learning" programs. Funding will come from the Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations (ECHO) program of the US Department of Education. The ship started the season late, as it did not get hauled out for maintenance< and her USCG inspection until late May, but SHE IS SAILING this summer!

Other historic ships, however, are not faring as well. Ernestina's neighbor, SS Nobska, the last tall stack coa1'tal steamship, is about to be evicted from dry dock in the Charlestown Navy Yard. She cannot be refloated in her current condition, so bids are being sent out to scrap her. Finally, SS United States, one of the most famous liners of our time, has new owners once again. The SS United States Foundation is working to ensure that what's left of her original systems is preserved and that the ship is restored. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, she currently sits, neglected and rusting away, at a Philadelphia pier.

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SS Nobska

by De irdre O'Regan and Tom Carroll

h e National Park Service has sent out requests fo r bids to scrap SS Nobska, America's las t call stack coastal steamship. The New England Steamship Foundation (NESF) has been worki ng to make the steamshi p seaworthy again to sail the waters as a living m useum. Righ t now, they desperately need to at least make her Roat to get her out of the dry dock she has been occupying for nine years.

Mo re than $3 million has already been spent restoring the ship-new frames and hull plating

have been replaced.

N onetheless, the hull cannot be reRoated in its current condition.

W hile the foundation is looking fo r a half million dollars to get the ship in the water, they will still need nearly $20 million to make the ship seaworthy and USCG certified .

SS Nobska was built at Bath Iron Wo rks in Maine and made her mai den voyage in 1925. Nobska had two Babcock and Wilcox watertu be boilers generating steam at 200 lbs. press ure fo r her four-cylinder criple-expansion reciprocating steam engine. Fitted with an eight-footdiameter fo ur-bladed manganese bronze propeller, she cruised at 14 knots. Serving New England ports and islands (her name changed to Nantucket after 1928) fo r almost half a century, she was retired from service in 1973 by the Steamship Authority and sold for under $70,000. SS Nobska spent the next two decades being moved aro und fro m Baltimore (where she was temporarily converted to a restaurant) to Providence to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and finally to Boston. In 1995, tugs maneuvered

32

the ship into dry dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, home of the USS Constitution. While shipwrigh1s began work on the hull, the Steamship Authority governors granted her a passenger route.

Despite growing support and interest in the ship and its fo undation, NESF still fell short of the $ 10 to $20 million estimated to finish the job. Since 1997, Nobska has been hauled out at the Charlestown Navy Yard's dry dock, the same dock Constitution needs for her haul-out. NESF has plans to fi nish the welding in order to move the shi p, estimating they can complete it in eight weeks-once they receive fun di ng. They need $500,000 before they can award the contract. The New England Steamship Foundation continues to scramble for funds to float the ship before the Navy and the National Park Service award a contract to have it scrapped. Afrer having given NESF fair lead ti me, the National Park Service is now sending out requests for bids for her removal. NESF anticipa,es the Park Service awarding the contract to scrap or remove her in September.

Anyo ne interested in supporting this effort should contact the New England Steamship Foundation at: PO Box 1642, Edgartown , MA 02539; Ph. 508 999-1 925 or 508 696-9500; e-mail: nobska@fastdial. net; web site: www. n obska.org. ,t

Tom Carroll is a Trustee & Vice Chairman of NESF

SS Nobska (l tor) launched in 1925; at the helm; underway in the 1960s; and in dry dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

by Robert H. Westover S United States was designed by America's foremosr naval archirecr, William Francis Gibbs. When rhe ship crossed rhe North Arlanric in 1952 in 3 days, 10 hours and 42 minures, averaging 35.59 knots, she proved to be the fastest and most technically advanced ship the world had ever seen. With this feat she wrested the famed Blue Ribband from the Queen Mary, and still remains the last ocean liner of traditional design ro hold that distinction. Her 241,000 horsepower engines allowed her to reach speeds in excess of 40 knots. At 990 feet in length, she

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(left) SS United States underway in the the heyday of her transAtlantic runs. (above) At the dock in the 1960s, while she was still in service, ready to board passengers.

is the largest passenger vessel ever built in the United Stares. She could steam 10,000 miles without stopping for fuel or provisions.

Throughout her brief 17-year career, SS United States held a near perfect schedule and never experienced an engineering fail ure.

The ship was constructed so that within 24 hours she could be converted into a troop transport capable of carrying over 15 ,000 men. In exchange for this capabili ty, her $79 million construction cost was heavily underwritten by the federal government.

Toward the end of the 1960s, the jumbo jet invasion finally took its roll on the famous transArlanric superliners. In 1969, faced with declining profits, SS United States was sent to Newport News, Virginia, for her annual overhaul. As fate would have it, her boilers were never fired again. As the years passed, she remained docked in Virginia with litrle hope of revival. Over the next 35 years, SS United States has, for the most part, been sitting idle at a dock with the occasional shift to ano ther berth or port city when new buyers with lofty plans have taken possession of her. To dare, no owner has succeeded in turning the ship into a viable business. Despite some interest from abroad, the US government denied transfer of ownership to fore ign interests because of the ship's highly-secret design specifications.

In 1973 the Maritime Administration installed an extensive dehumidification system throughout the ship, leaving it virtually airtight. In 1992, the ship was rowed to Istanbul, Turkey, where a new American owner had a business partner, a wealthy sh ipyard owner. 1hey planned to restore the ship and return her to service as a running mate to Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2. Shipyard workers in Turkey began the arduous process of stripping the ship's interior right down to her metal bulkheads to remove the asbestos used extensively in her original construction for ÂŁreproofing.

Costs skyrocketed, and when Cunard backed out of the plan to operate the ship as part of its fleet, work ceased. Most ass umed she would never see US waters again, but in 1996 SS United States returned to her homeland, bur this time to Philadelphia, where the dormant Navy yard would reopen with the task of restoring the superliner to its former glory. As before, financing for

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

the enormous project fai led to materialize. The ship remains idle, awaiting the final chapter of her story.

She was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Norwegian Cruise Lines bought the ship at auction last year with plans to convert the gutted ship for modern cruising.

Despite this recenr change of ownership, as a historic preservation organization, our immediate task is to ensure that much of the ship's remaining engineering and architecture is preserved. We need to demonstrate, through feasibility studies and historic documentation, the cost effectiveness and relevance of preserving what can be saved. Of course, all of this takes commitment-commitment of time, energy, and most importanrly, financial support.

You can help by joining the foundation. Save the United States!

Application requests should be senr to: PO Box 853, Washington DC, 20044 or via their web site at www.ssunitedstates.org. ,!, Robert H. Westover is Chairman and CEO of the SS United States Foundation in Washington DC. Moored in Philadelphia, 2002.

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n 1977 Robert and Maryanne Murphy, who both had a great passion for the sea, mounted a marine art exhibition tided "Marine Art Lives!" during the National Boat Show at the New York Coliseum, and Sea History's Editor [now NMHS President Emeritus] Peter Stanford devoted much of the sixth issue of Sea History to reviewing that exhibition. That event and the support from NMHS provided the impetus for the genesis of what was to become the American Society of Marine Artists.

The first national juried exhibition of ASMA members' work was held in November of that year with fifty-five artists exhibiting. The fourth annual exhibition, held at the Peabody Museum of Salem, was notable for the fact that it proved that the Society could attract museums as hosts in lieu of commercial galleries. It was with the eighth national exhibition, held at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, that the "nationals" began to be scheduled on approximately a three-year cycle. ASMA reached a significant milestone in 1997 when the eleventh national show exhibited at two locations-traveling first to the West Coast, opening at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington, then to the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. (continued)

Whereas the national exhibitions may be said to represent a "high-water mark" in the presentation of marine art by the ASMA members, regional shows more frequently afford additional opportunities for participation by member artists. The diverse membership, representing 40 states, plus England, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, is grouped into five geographic regions. Membership in ASMA includes three categories and is open to anyone interested in marine art, the appreciation and conservation of our water resources, and our maritime heritage. Those presenting examples of their work to the jury of Fellows who deem their work of sufficient qualiry are designated as "Artist Members." Finally, the "Fellows" are artists whose work meets the highest standards of excellence in the field of marine art.

The works on these pages were displayed at the 13th National Exhibition at the Vero Beach Art Museum in Florida this past spring. As ASMA begins its second quarter-century with this latest major show of contemporary marine art, it remains dedicated to expanding its educational role. In the words of Charles Lundgren, ASMA's first president, the Society provides "a continuiry of tradition and high standards from one generation of artists to the next, so that all of us who care about marine art might share our knowledge." -Don Norris, Len Mizerek, & Charles Robinson, AS.MA ,t

Marine Art News ASMA Events for 2004 â&#x20AC;˘ASMA Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine, 28-31 October 2004. Plans include possible collaboration with rhe Maine College of Arr. In addition ro the business meetings, the program will include a painting demonstration

by Fellow Don Demers, a lecture presentation by Robert Lloyd Webb, noted maritime historian and author, on his forthcoming book, Sailor-Painter, The Uncommon Life of Charles Robert Patterson. Webb is the past curator of the Maine Maritime Museum. A plein air painting session for members and guests is also scheduled. â&#x20AC;˘ Coos Art Museum's 11th Annual Maritime Art Exhibition, Coos Bay, Oregon, 23 July-25 September 2004.

Still rime to catch this year's exhibition, which includes ASMA members. For more information: Coos Arr Museum, 235 Anderson, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420. Ph. 541 267-3901; web site: www.coosart.org; e-mail: info@coosarr.org.

ASMA information: ASMA, PO Box 369, Ambler, PA 19002; e-mail: asma@icdc.com; web site: www. americansocietyofmarineartists.com.

National Maritime Museum conservator discovers the first known eyewitness oil painting of the Antarctic.

(above) A View of Pickersgill Harbour

by William Hodges; (left) his painting of

Antarctic icebergs in a rough sea was recently revealed under X-ray examination in London. Hodges joined Captain Cook's second voyage in 1772.

n preparing paintin~s for the ex~ibir~o~ William Ho~ges, 1744- ~ 797: the Art ofEx!loration, rhe Museums Head of01l Pamtmg Conservation, Caroline Hampton, noticed some unusual things about some of rhe works. This prompted her to x-ray, among others, Hodges's landscape, A View ofPickersgill Harbour, Dusky Bay in New Zealand. Under x-rays, she discovered rhar rhe tropical rainforest shown in the Pickersgill Harbour painting gives way to a startlingly different view-of Antarctic icebergs in a rough sea. C learly, Hodges had painted the Antarctic and then decided to paint over it with the Pickersgill Harbour work. This finding is very significant because this 'new' work is Hodges's only known oil painting of the Antarctic and because it proves that Pickersgill Harbour was painted on the voyage, not afterwards, thus settling a long-debated question regarding when he painted the New Zealand scene.

William Hodges, 1744-1797: the Art of Exploration runs until 21 November 2004.

Admission is free. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London SElO 9NF; Ph. 44 (0)20 8858 4422; web site: www.nmm.ac.uk. The exhibition will also travel to the Yale Centre for British Arr, where it will be on view from 27 January-24 April 2005.

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All images for this article courtesy of ASMA and the individual artists.

The Arrival of the Packet, 24" x 30", oil on canvas

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.SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS SPUN YARN New Bedford Whaling Museum acquires prized Fortier photography collection.

The collection of professional photography, created by New Bedford-born Norman Fortier during the period from 1947-2003, includes more than 100,000 negatives surrounding his interests of yachting, aerial views, coastlines, hurricanes, landscapes, boat building, the fishing fleet, and local scenes. He concencrated on photographing vessels in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Presently a watercolorist with a studio in Dartmouth, MA, Mr. Fortier is known for his work in the 1968 book The Bay and the Sound, which he co-authored with John Parkinson, Jr. A major exhibition is planned for June 2005. (18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; 508 997-0046; web site; www.whalingmuseum.org) . . .

Executive Director of South Street Seaport Museum appointed. Paula Mayo, recently Acting Executive Director, has been with the museum since 1990. In her

new role, she will work with the Board of Trustees to identify projects and opportunities for museum funding and will also oversee research to prepare grant applications to government agencies, foundations, and philanthropic organizations.

(207 Front St., New York, NY 10038; 212 7 48-8600) ... Last winter, PT Boats, Inc. received five radar masts from a California surplus store. The organization was notified by Rich Pekelney from the Historic Naval Ships Association about the masts. Once they confirmed the masts' authenticity, interested parties worked to acquire them. Isaiah Taylor, owner of the surplus shop, donated the masts to PT Boats, Inc. The masts are nine feet tall without their radar domes. (PT Boats, Inc., National Headquarters, PO Box 38070, Germantown, TN 38183-0070; 901 755-8440; web site: www.ptboats.org; e-mail: ptboats@pop.net. ... The North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) has announced Charles Dana Gibson and Kay Gibson winners of the 2004 K. Jack Bauer Award for service to NASOH and the Maritime History

Profession. In 1988, NASOH created the K. Jack Bauer Award to honor those who have given distinguished service to NASOH and have made life-rime contributions to the field of maritime history.

Jack Bauer (1926-1987) was a friend and colleague of many founding members of NASOH and a mentor to many other younger people, who followed him to become members of NASOH and active scholars in the fields of maritime or military history.

The Gibsons have published eight books, plus many articles reviews and monographs in: American Neptune, Northern Mariner, Periodical, Naval History, US Naval Institute Proceedings, and Sea History. The Society presented the award to the Gibsons at their annual meeting in May in St. Michaels, Maryland. (For information on NASOH's 2005 meeting, contact Joseph Meany Jr., PhD., 2005 Program Chair, c/o Sam'! Hutton Assoc., 2830 Cornhill St. , Annapolis, MD 21401; e-mail: NASOH2005@aol.com) ... The PAST Foundation has launched a new study in the Gulf of Mexico. "The Deep

The Launch of the Canal Schooner Lois McClure, 3 July 2004

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n a picture perfect Independence Day weekend in Burlington, Vermont, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) launched the first canal schooner built there in over a century. After three years in the making, the 88-foot long replica of an 1862-class canal schooner was launched in front of several hundred spectators with speeches given by museum staff, donors, and government officials. The ship was launched from the public ramp after having been moved from the Burlington Shipyard.

Lake C hamplain is one of the most historic waterways in North America (and briefly a "Great Lake") and the site of major strategic battles that helped determine the region's destiny. The opening of the Champlain Canal in 1823 changed lake navigation forever. This water-highway connecting Lake Champlain to the Hudson River create vast new marker opportunities. Southbound lumber, iron, farm products, and quarried stone; and northbound coal, manufactured goods, and imports were all moved by a new breed of boats and boatmen.

Canal boars, both towed and sailed, were designed to fit the locks on the canal. The region's shipbuilders designed a new vessel unique to the area, adding a centerboard and sailing rig to the canal boat.

The newly-launched Lois McClure will tour the lake through late October making stops on both the New York and Vermont sides conducting school programs and dockside tours. The canal schooner joins the Philadelphia II as replica vessels LCMM uses to interpret their regional maritime history. (LCMM, 4472 Basin Harbor Rd., Vergennes, VT 04591; web site: www.lcmm.org; e-mail: info@lcmm. org). Photos courtesy LCMM.

38

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

Wrecks Project" combines archaeology, history, biology, metalurgy and oceanography to study how structures or obj ects function as artificial reefs in deep water.

It is generally accep ted that artificial reefs can serve a positive function by the creation of new hard-bo ttom habitat in areas where hard-bottom is naturally lacking.

The ideal laboratory for this study exists in the G ul f of Mexico where 56 ships were sunk by German submarines during Wo rld War II, m ost within a few months of each other in 1942 . Seven of these vessels-one of which was lost to accident rather than enemy action-were located during oil and gas surveys and selected for study because they represem a range of depths (from 28 0 feet to 6,5 00 feet) and carried a variety of cargoes. Because of the range of wa ter depths, which represent differem ecological niches, and that m ost of the vessels were sunk within a few months of one another, they represent a unique opportunity to study the "artificial reef effect" in diffe ring depths over the course of 60 years. In addition to the biological characterizatio ns that will be conducted at each site, the vessels will be documented and studied as historic sites for nomination to the National Register of H isto ric Places.

(Ro bert C hurch, Project Principal Investigator and Chief Scientist, M arine Archaeologist, C&C Technologies, Inc.; web site: www. pas tfo und a tion .org/ D eep W recks; e-mail: pas tfoundatio n@earthlin k. net) ... The Naval H istorical Center has posted on its web site (www.history. navy. mil) A Guide to Naval History Organizations, Programs, and Resources, com piled by Senior Historian D r. Edward J. Marolda. The G uide is mean t to serve as a starting point for anyo ne interes ted in the history and heritage of the US Navy. ... The US Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have returned to the wreck of the Civil War Ironclad USS Monitor for a two week mission that concluded in late June. Their mission this spring was to assess the current condition of the ship and recover artifacts that may have been exposed during Hurricane Isabel , which ripped through the regio n in September 2003, causing severe damage in nearby Cape Hatteras. The Navy p rovided surSEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

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SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT AND MUSEUM NEWS face-s upplied divers to ass ist NOAA archaeologists in their mission. (For more in fo rmati on, see pages 24-29 of thi s issue) ... A $375,000 federal transportation enhancement grant awarded through the Virginia Department of Transportation, a $250,000 grant from the Norfolk Foundation, and a gift of $50,000 from General Motors will suport construction of new replicas of the Godspeed and Discovery for Jamestown Settlement. With these recent contributions, the Jamestown-Yorktown Fo undation has raised $ 1.75 million toward ship construction. The new ships are part of their comprehensive fac ilities master plan fo r improve ments to be completed by 2007.

Godspeed is scheduled to sail to selected pons along the eastern seaboard in 2006 to draw national attention to the Jamestown quadricentennial in 2007. Until they are

Susan Constant

replaced, the existing Godspeed and Discovery will remain moored at Jam estown Settlement, alongside the Susan Constant.

Qamestown-Yorktown Foundation, PO Box 1607, W illiam sburg, VA 23 1871607; 757 253-4838 or toll-free 888 5934682; fax 757 253-5299; web site: www. historyisfun.org •.. Independence Seaport Museum President John S. Carter was unanimously elected president of th e Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historic Organizations on 12 June 2004 . PFM & H O is a not-for-profit statewide organization established in 1905 to support, sustain, and expan d the role that museums and historical organizations play in their communities and thro ughout Pennsylva nia. They will celebrate their 1OOth anniversary in 200 5. Carter has wo rked in the museum fiel d for over 30 years . Before coming to the Independence Seaport M useum, he was director of the M aine M aritime M useum in Bath,

40

M aine. (Independence Seaport Museum, 2 11 South Columbus Blvd . and Walnut Sr., Philadelphia, PA 19 106; web site: www. phillyseaport.org) . •. The Maritime Museum of San Diego is celebrating the lOOth anniversary of the steam yacht Medea. O n 29 August, the museum will host a birthday party with a Scottish

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theme to com memo rate th is fo rmer yacht of a Scottish nobleman. Tours will be give n Ca talog upo n Requ est or vis it: of areas of the vessel not normally open to the public. Medea is part of the museum's www.pielcraftsmen.com fleet of historic and replica ships, including the Star ofIndia, "HMS" Rose (a.k.a. HMS Surprise), and the topsail schooner CaliforFIDDLERS GREEN nian. The festi vities are included with muMODEL SHIPS & YACHTS seum admission. (12306 N. Harbor Dr., SHIP MODEL BROKER San Diego, CA 92 101 ; 6 19 234-915 3; I wil l he lp yo u Hu y, Sell , Re pai r o r Co mmi ss io n a mode l web site: www.sdmm .o rg) ..• A launch www.FiddlersGreenModelShip s.com date of 10 December 2004 has been set 201-342-1220 Fidd ler s Green Model Ships for the wooden, pilot schooner Virgi.nia 245 Pros ee l Avenue. Suite 198. Hac kensack. NJ 07601 on the Norfolk, Virginia, waterfront.

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SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

CALENDAR FEsTIVAIS,EvENTS,LECTURES,ETC. •Boston Antique & Classic Boat Festival: 28-29 August 2004, Sponsored by Lowell's Boat Shop of the Newburyport Maritime Society (H awthorne Cove Marina, 10 White Sr., Salem MA; 6 17 666-8530; web sire: www.by-the-sea.com/bacbfestival).

•USS Constellation 150th Anniversary Festival of the Sea: 28-29 August 2004, (Pier 1, Baltimore MD; 410-539- 1797; web sire: www.constellation.org) •Victoria Real Estate Board & Monday Publications Classic Boat Festival: 3-5 Sept. 2004, Victoria BC (3035 Nanaimo Sr. , Victo ria BC V8T 4W2; 250 385-7766; web sire: www.classicboatfestival. ca) •2nd Annual Lakeshore Maritime Heritage Festival & Lighthouse Walk: Wisconsin Mari rime Museum: 10-12 Sepr.

2004, (75 Maritime Drive, Mani towoc WI 54220; 866 724-2356; web sire: www. wimari timemuseum.org) •East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation-Maritime Festival: 18- 19 September 2004, Greenport, NY (PO Box 624, Greenport NY 11944; 63 1 4772100; web sire: www.eastendseaporr.org)

•"Spain's Legacy in the Pacific During the Age of Sail," Maritime Museum of San Diego and Mains'l Haul: A Jou rnal of Pacific Maritime History, 24-26 September 2004. Presentations relating to Spanish seaborne exploration and colonization , including military, commercial, fishing, scientific, and recreational developments.

(Maritime Museum of San Diego Library, 1492 N. H arbor Dr. , San Diego, CA 92116; e-mail: editor@sdmaririme.org; web site: www.sdmaritime.com) •Maritime Heritage Conference: 27-30 Ocr. 2004 in Norfolk, VA (see notice p. 4) •"North American Maritime History: the Southern Connection," North American Society for Oceanic Histo1y: 2005 Annual Meeting in Savannah, GA, 19-21May2005.

Tintin at Sea CALL FOR PAPERS-the society invires proposals for sessions and individual papers (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; to be presented at the meeting, with an em020 8858 4422; web sire: www.nmm. phasis on, but not limited to, new research ac. uk; Tickets can be booked online at on the history of maritime rrade and warwww.nmm.ac.uk/rickers) fare, as well as new archaeological evidence •Wisconsin Maritime Museum: Hot of maritime activities in southern waters.

Boats on Cold Wtzter-Racing to Win on Presentations no longer rhan thirty minures Wisconsin's Inland Wtzters and Great Lakes. in lengrh. The deadline for submissions is 1 (75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc WI December 2004. Proposals should include a 54220; 866 724-2356; web sire: www. one-page summary of the presentation, irs ExHIBITS thesis, sources, etc., and a one page resume •New Bedford Whaling Museum: Yan- wimaritimemuseum. org) kee Whalers, Manjiro, and the Opening of •Museum of Yachting: World of Model or curriculum vita. Participants are encourjapan, rhrough Sp ring 2005. (18 Johnny Yachts, through 3 1 October 2004. The larg- aged to use visuals such as slides, PowerPoinr, Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; 508 est display of model sail & powerboats in or video. Proposals may be sent to Joseph F. 997-0046; web sire: www.whalingmu- the world. From 9' scrarch-builr ]-Boars to Meany Jr. , Ph.D., 2005 Program Chair, c/o seum.org) 12-Metre yachrs wirh America's Cup heri- Sam'! Hutton Associates, 28-30 Cornhill •The Mariners' Museum: Ironclad Evi- tage this exhibit illustrates the evolution of Street, Annapolis, MD 21401-1706 or by dence: Stories from the USS Monitor and model yacht design and irs' inAuence on e-mail to NASOH2005@aol.com. Please the CSSVirginia, rhough 2005; also Reflec- the development of full-scale yachts. Open identify "NASOH Program'' in the subject tions of the Sea: Paintings from The Mari- 10-5 Daily. Admission charged. (PO Box line. Proposals and correspondence by e-mail ners' Museum th ro ugh 2004. (100 Muse- 129, Newport, Rl 02840; 401 847- 1018; are especially encouraged.

•"Frederick Douglass and Herman Melum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 800 e-mail: museum@moy.o rg) •Sturgeon Bay Museum: Guillotines & ville: A Sesq uicentennial Celebration," 581-7245; web sire: www.mari ner.org) •Hudson River Maritime Museum: Champagne-The Science & Celebration of at rhe New Bedford Whaling Museum: 22-26 June 2005. Held on the occasion Ringwald's River: River Steamboats from the Ship Launching, through 30 January 2005.

Donald Ringwald Collection. (1 Rondour Museum admission required. (120 N. of the l 50th anniversary of rhe publicaLanding, Kingston NY 12401 ; 845 338- Madison Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235; tion of borh Douglass's My Bondage and My Freedom and Melville's Benito Cereno, 0071; web site: www.ulster.net) 920-743-5958; web site: www.dcmm) the conference will examine the works, •Hampton Roads Naval Museum: A Nalives, and contexts of rhese rwo prodiCONFERENCES tional Emergency: The US Navy in the Cold Wtzr. (1 Waterside Drive, Suire 248, Nor- •The Battle ofLeyte Gulf: 18-19 Septem- gious, encyclo pedic writers who spanned folk VA 235 10; 757 322-2987; web sire: ber 2004, annual symposium . The Nation- most of the nineteenth century. Keynote al Museum of rhe Pacific War (originally Speakers: H enry Louis Gates, Jr.; Sterling www.hrnm.navy.mil) •Naval Undersea Museum: Missions of named The Admiral N imirz Museum), Stuckey; Eric Sundquist. (18 Johnny Cake Mercy: Navy Hospital Ships. (1 Ga rnett PO Box 777; 340 Easr Main St., Freder- Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; 508 997Way, Keyport WA 98345; 360 396-4 148; icksburg, TX 78624; 830 997-4379; web 0046; www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/ sire: www.nimirz-museum.com) mel_sociery/mscp.hrml) web sire: www- num.kpr.nuwc.navy. mil) SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

•National Maritime Museum: The Adventures ofTintin at Sea, rhrough 5 Septem her 2004-still time to carch rhe exhibition commemorating the 75 rh anniversary of rhe comic srrip reporter's first adventure, in association wi rh rhe Fondation H erge.

41

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SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

A Rage for Glory: The Life of Commodore Stephen Decatur, USN, by Jam es

Known as the Red Rive r Campaign, this often-overlooked C ivil Wa r operation had Tertius de Kay (New York: Free Press, som e broad political and stra tegic goals.

2004) 237pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, But as the campaign developed, it became a bold attempt to steal much of the purISBN 0-7432-4245-9, $25 hc) James Terti us de Kay narra tives keep ported 150,000 bales of cotton that lay yo ur attentio n by combining painstaki ng sitting at the docks and pl antation landscholarship with human dram a. H is fi fth ings in the region . The Uni on leadership book, A Rage for Glory, is a biography of justified this larceny under the guise of one of America's earass isting the depressed New Engliest and m ost val iant land cotto n mills, but clearl y o nly naval heroes, Steven sought to enri ch themselves by seizing this "white gold."

Decatur. Dead at the age of fo rry-o ne from Recently a co uple of books have THE LI FE of CO MMODORE a senseless duel, D eappeared on this thrust into the ST EPHE N DECAT UR,USN catur purs ued glory interior of Louisiana. Gary Dillard ' and was rewarded Joiner's One Damn Blunder From A~¡ wi th both honor Beginning to End: The Red River ~-. and fame . The auCampaign of 1864 is a focused and th o r vividly reco unts well-documented study. Joiner ;= ~~ Decatu r's relates how the Union di verted Barbary j A:vl ES TE Rll llS Ill 1'.\Y 42,000 troops and 25 gunboats Pirates War exploit and iro nclads from mo re important of boarding and burning the captured American fri gate objectives and began to approach ShrevePhiladelphia at Tripoli, his daring defeat port. Poor leadership, blunders, useless of HMS Macedonian and his adve ntures bloodshed and was ted opportunities o n as captain of the frigates United States and both sides marred the ca mpaign and nearly President. De Kay ch ro nicles his asce n- ended in tragic failure fo r the Union naval dancy fro m a privileged yo uth to the high- fo rces. Both U ni on and Confederate army est ranks in the navy, growing rich fro m co mmanders seemed inept in the field and prize mo ney and speculates that Decatur neither achieved th eir goals. The naval opm ay have run fo r President. M uch of this erations, while no m ore successful , were history is well known, but de Kay adds a at least more interesting. Joiner details the great deal m o re; the political intri gue and Confederates' effo rts to lower the water in jealousies amo ng American naval offi cers the river by damming its tributaries . On of th e ti me, their codes of ethics, etiq uette, the Union side, some particularly creative an d especially the worki ngs of the arcane engineerin g solutio ns made it possible to code d uel lo. Although endnotes referring maneuver the Yankee gunboats through to source m aterials would m ake the book the shallow wate rs of the Red River. Usmo re useful to histo rians, A Rage for Glory ing a series of wing dams, the ships were is a well-written, co ncise m ariti me biogra- able to escape down river as the scheme to phy; a book that the reader is sorry to see snatch th e cotton had imploded. end.

Joiner's wo rk is highly recommended as an excellent examination of a C ivil War LOUIS ARTHU R N ORTON W est Simsbury, Connecticut campaign accentuated by mism anagement, personali ry conflicts, and greed.

One Damn Blunder from Beginning to The quarrels and recriminations of both End: The Red River Campaign of 1864, Unio n and Con federate leaders las ted for

by Gary D illard Joiner (Scholarly Reso urc- yea rs after the campaign ended. The larges, Inc., W ilm ingto n DE, 237pp, illus, est combined operati on east of the Mismaps, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 0-8420- sissippi concluded as a miserable strategic fai lure fo r the U ni on fo rces and a tactical 2937-0, $ 19.95 pb) In March 1864, a combin ed Unio n defeat for Confederate leadership R OBERT B ROWNING arm y and navy fo rce began a two- pronged Dumfries, Virginia approach o n Shreveport, Lo uisiana.

A RAGE FOR

GLORY I!'"...,,. .

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938, by R. A. Scotti (Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 2003 279pp., illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 0-3 16-739 11 - 1; $24.95 he) This book is a repo rt in great detail of the September 1938 hurricane that devastated New England and Long Island, killing over 500 persons and destroy ing billio ns of dollars of properry. It was one of the most severe weather dam ages ever inflicted o n this country.

The first part of the account details the development of the storm beginning off the coast of Africa and its growth and travel towa rd the No rth American continent. The lack of instrumentation, reporting stations, and knowledge in 1938 allowed the center to pursue a dangero us path wi thout adequate warning to the population until the very las t minute.

Current knowledge, when applied to the 1938 data, shows what a fierce storm was develo ping. The weather pattern of highs off the east coast provided a funn el to steer the storm north toward Long Island and Rhode Island at ever increasing speeds.

W hen th e sto rm reached shore it was traveling at over 60 miles per hour with wind velocities in excess of 150 miles per ho ur.

H ad modern technology, i.e. satellites, wea ther planes, and real-time co mmuni cations existed then, the loss of life wo uld probably have been much less, but the pro perry loss would have been just as high.

This is ill ustrated by the 1992 hurricane in southern Florida, where the properry damage was as great as the New England storm , but the loss of life was less than one -tenth.

The second part of th e sto ry deals with th e experi ences of some of the persons caught in the path of the storm . Some witnessed buildings fl ying away in the wind and fou nd boats and small ships parked in their yards thousands of feet fro m th e original sho re line. Majo r changes in the geography of the shore and the sea bed required the recharting of the coast for several hund red miles. Some of the features of the coast lin e that we use today, such as Shinnecock Inlet, were created in a few minutes by the storm.

43

REVIEWS The reader will have a much better understanding of these storms and how they can be predicted and how one can be protected from their force. As a survivo r of both the 1938 and 1992 hurricanes, I do greatly appreciate the lessons learned from 1938 and the great improve ments m ade in o ur reporting and warning sys tem.

D AVID E. P ERKINS Sebring, Flo rida

Seaport: New York's Vanished U'laterfront, Photographs from the Edwin Levick Collection, text by John Rousmaniere (Smithsoni an Books, Was hington D C, 2004, 182pp, photos, ISBN 1-58834163- 1, $34.95hc) Seaport is a collection of photographs fro m the Edw in Levick collection of The Mariner's M useum with an introductory essay by Philip Lopate, which provides relevan t historical background and a criti cal

assessment of the future of this fluid metropolis. From the 136 photographs represented here, what a collection that must be! The title page itself sings out with its panoramic view of the 19 17 harbo r in all its cacophono us glory: th e battleship ixyoming steams up the East River with an escort of tugs; lighters, barges, tugs, car floats steam down river o r nudge o ut into the stream from the docks crammed along the water's edge. Traffi c is moving well across the Brooklyn Bridge, which spans the top of the photograph and disap pears am ongst the fl edgling skyscrapers.

The photos that fo llow are a passionate and partisan document of New Yo rk harbo r in the first half of the 20 th century.

The photographers m osr represented here, Edwin Levick and P. L. Sperr, had commercial srudios specializing in maritime pho tography, which was much in vogue until W o rld War II. These are not "art" pieces, or postcard views of a sentimentalized ciry. They answer to a jo urnalistic need fo r clariry, a story, and hum an interest. Some are breath takingly magnificent, a particular moment in time, rendered timeless through juxtapos1t1 on of subjects, fre quently skyscrapers overlaid by th e intricate rigging of a sailing ship. The ph otographs are of a brash and co nfident wa terfront, vib rant with the urgency of commerce. Fro m ho rse-drawn carts awaiting cargoes of bananas to the Normandie

USS Wyoming cruising up the East River, circa 1917, published in Seaport.

(Photo by Edwin Levick, courtesy Smithsonian Books)

44

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

Old &Rare Maritime Books Bought and Sold

• Expl oration and voyages by sea • Shipbui ldin g, seamanship and navigation • Naval history • W hali ng • Yachting and C ruising • Co mm ercial fish eries • Li ghthouses, pirates and shipw recks •Logboo ks, documents and manuscripts • Sea charts • Books rel atin g to marine art, antiques and ship models

We are eager to purchase single volumes or entire collections in these subject areas.

Ten Pound Island Book Co. 76 Langsford Street, Gloucester, MA 01930 (978) 283-5299 e-mail: tenpound@shore.net web: www.tenpound.com Catalog available on request.

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A fasc inating book that gives shape to the men who sailed this famous ship. "This m arvelous book is a must for n aval history buffs, for readl----~- ers w ho love the era of iron men and wooden ships, and for an yone interested in the p eriod of history when American courage and ingenuity seemed to su cceed in almost every endeavor the country attemp ted ." Book-of-the-Month Club HC: $40.00 ~

THE 1812 TRILO GY

by William H. White An exciting new series of the much forgotten War of 1812. Bill White introduces a n ew character in American sea fiction: Isaac Biggs of Marblehead, MA. Follow Isaac from his departure from Boston aboard the bark Anne in 1810 to the drama, panic and confusion that gripped Washington, DC, Baltimore and the Chesapeake region in 1814. Vol. I, A Press of Canvas, Vol.II, A Fine Tops' I Breeze and Vol.III., The Evening Gun. SC: $14.95 each

SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

THE GREATER THE HON OR

by William H. White A rollicking seastory of the American nava l officers wh o called them selves "Preble's Boys." Taking their ships to a distant station to defend the new Republic, they cowed the Tripolitans and impressed the British. Finally, Stephen Deca tu r an d the rest of Prebl e's boys get their due. Their ad ventures and co uragou s acts challenge Jack Aubrey and Hora tio Hornblower and are more impressive becau se they are true!

HC: $24.95

THE S CHOONER PILGRIM ' S PROGR ESS A VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD

1932-1934

by Donald C. Starr This book is more than just a seafaring adventure. It is one sailor's reminiscences of an era gone by, never to be recovered, as viewed through the eyes of an optimistic young man with the entire ocean to explore and all the time in the world in which to do it.

HC: $16.00

45

REVIEWS entering the harbor with a full panoply of fireboats, spectator boats and airplanes, change is recorded with nary a shred of nostalgia.

Verities remain: hard-working immigrants, clogged traffic, glorious architecture and a boisterous populace crowded onto a small island. The waterfront hasn't vanished bur morphed into ano ther something rich and strange, waiting its turn of history.

ARDEN SCOTT Greenport, New York

best of the best in maritime phorographs.

They record the raw power and motion of the classic sailing yachts in their element.

The sails! One cannot avoid the beaury in print after print of fine sail shapes.

Each outlined in light and shadow, the collection is photographic testimony to the qualiry and artistry of sailmakers at the top of the trade in the age of Egyptian cotton

Castaway: Remarkable Stories of Survival, by Douglas R. G. Sellick (Fremant!e Ans Centre Press, 2003) 272pp, illus, notes, biblio, gloss, appen, ISBN 1-92073184-9, $22.50pb) This volume is a collection of firsthand acco unts written by survivors of four shipwrecks in seldom-traveled waters deep in the Indian Ocean. Two occurred in Le Crozet Isles (Princess of W'ales, 1821 and Strathmore, 1875) about 1,600 miles southeast of the Cape of Good Hope. The others were on Amsterdam Island (Lady Munro, 1833 and Meridian, 1854), some 2,800 miles east-southeast of the Cape. The periods for which the castaways endured in vile weather on rocky islets with virtually no resources ranged from rwo weeks on Amsterdam to 22 months in Le Crozets.

Written in a contemporary midnineteenth century sryle, these reports reflect the tenaciry of human struggles in a hostile environment and shed a rare light on the life of the seal-hunters who found and rescued the victims.

CAPTA1N HAROLD]. SUTPHEN Kilmarnock, Virginia

Sleek: Classic Images from The Rosenfeld Collection, text by John Rousmaniere (Mystic Seaport, Mystic CT, 2003, l 22pp, photos, biblio, isbn 0-939510-901; $50hc) Rare is the time when one can see into the past. As the camera records only a split second of time, only through the selective eyes of the artist is that truly possible. To capture the motion, the grace, and the glint of light reflecting off a sailing yacht is not an easy proposition. The Rosenfeld collection photographs in Sleek are the

46

C LA SS I C IMA GES FROM TH E R OSEN F EL D COL L EC TIO N

sails. The Rosenfeld collection is a detailed photographic record of the design and sryle of this era's sailing yachts. Vessels such as Saraband, Reliance, Typhoon, New York 50s, and many others all captured on their best point of sail-each wanting ro sail off the page and into the next age.

Overall this book is a delight to the eyes, and through its pages, invites one back to the glorious moments captured in rare images of crews and passengers working and enjoying some of the world's finest sailing craft.

Enjoy Sleek and take yourself back to great age of classic vessels captured as they were in tended to be sailed.

NATHANIEL S. WILSON East Boothbay, Maine

Naval Forces Under the Sea: A Look Back, a Look Ahead, Office of Naval Research, US Navy (Best Publishing, Co., Flagstaff AZ, 2003, 295pp, notes, ISBN 193053-604-6, $58pb) The book is a transcript of a conference that was held at the US Naval Acad-

emy in April 2001. The participants were a "who's who" in the field of submarine rescue, deep submersible vehicles and undersea diving. Most of the presenters are naval officers, a few from Great Britain, several enlisted- all courageous, innovative men, leaders in what is a fascinating field. The reader will learn about submarine disasters and great rescues, read about deepsea submersible vehicles, the underwater swimmers who served in the amphibious operations in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam.

The information here will be intriguing ro readers who are interested in hearing from the men who were at the forefront of undersea warfare. Rescues, such as that of the Squalus are described by the men who were there. The reader will learn why the attempted rescue of the Kursk ended in disaster.

Because the text consists of proceedings of a conference, the reader will have to be tolerant of long biographical introductions of presenters, and much understandable mutual congratulatory rhetoric, but the substance is there nonetheless-fascinating stuff for the interested reader.

It would seem that there was no major editing of the transcript. Acronyms are used frequently, and while the conference audience may have been familiar with them, the reader may not know what all of them mean.

Nevertheless, the book is chock full of information. Persons interested in the undersea domain will find their time well spent in reading it.

ARTHUR KELLNER Roseland, New Jersey

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe, by Laurence Bergreen (William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2003, 480pp, illus, biblio, index, ISBN 0-06-621173-5; $27.95hc) When asked to review Laurence Bergreen's Over the Edge ofthe World: Ma-

gellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe I had my suspicions-about the author, not the topic. Magellan's epic voyage was, to be sure, the stuff of ripping yarns.

Too many tales, perhaps, for one author to SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

tell. The problem was going to be weaving the many threads of Magellan's voyage into a comprehensible story. In less comperenr hands, this dramatic story could easily become a tedious compendium of well-known facts larded with historical minutiae of interest only to rrain-sporrers nautical brethren.

What were we to expect from a writer whose previous works included biographies of such nored navigators as Al Capone and Louis Armstrong? Whose sole work about exploration was a book abo ut NASA's missions to Mars? Eclectic? Certainly. Someone who could master and explain rhe intricacies of nor only rhe superpower rivalry between rhe Spanish and Portuguese and their relationship with rhe Papacy, bur of sixteenth century naurical technology and navigation techniques?

Nor so likely.

The facr is, Mr. Bergreen is a great storyteller, and he has used his skills to create a magnificent narrative. His book is a delight. In Over the Edge of the World, Bergreen manages to tell Magellan's story-rhar of a remarkable man and navigator- bur also puts his personality and achievement into a context rhar makes clear what a risky proposition his voyage was, both politically and physically. Bergreen shows thar the intrigues of rhe Spanish and Portuguese courts were every bir as dangerous to Magellan as rhe unknown seas he mastered. In rhe end, of co urse, Magellan died at rhe hands of men, not rhe elements. Bergreen's telling of his death is particularly compelling.

For an author nor previously known as a maritime scholar, Bergreen's narrative draws heavily on primary sources, giving rhe story a freshness and immediacy nor always found in chronicles of rhe distant past. Trying to create a coherent, compellin g narrative, from the huge amount of material would rest rhe skills of rhe best of writers. To weave such disparate story lines together in such a way rhar the tension builds from one chapter to rhe next is a remarkable fear. Over the Edge ofthe World is a ripping yarn. With luck, Bergreen will find another topic nor too far afield for his next endeavor.

RICHARD O'REGAN

New York City SEA HISTORY 108, AUTUMN 2004

The Cruise ofthe German Raider Atlantis, by Joseph P. Slavick (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2003, 288pp, photos, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-55750537-3; $32.95hc) The German raider Atlantis ... rhe name evokes images of a disguised German warship preying upon unarmed Allied merchant ships during the Second World War. According to Slavick (Captain, US Air Force), rhis image is both inaccurate and unfounded.

In rhis "modern srudy of rhe operations of a German warship that left port in 1940 and was sunk in 1941 afrer 622 days ar sea," Slavick writes a symparheric history of Atlantis and her captain, Bernhard Rogge, who tried ro maintain rhe traditions of chivalry in barrle. Yet, technology and a British policy of resistance ar sea worked against rhe maintenance of rhese traditions rhroughour his cruise.

In addition to rhe official publications and the secondary literature, Slavick researched the ship's log, rhe national records of Australia, Great Britain and the United States, and available British intelligence reports and conducted interviews with surviving crewmen.

Opening with a chapter on Captain Bernhard Rogge's biographical information, the book follows the cruise in excellent derail. The sinking of sixteen ships and capture of six others are described, as is rhe day-to-day struggle of a vessel and crew who remained underway for 622 consecutive days whi le eluding discovery by the Royal Navy. When Atlantis was eventually tracked down and fired upon by the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire, the German crew scuttled Atlantis and spent weeks in lifeboats and U-Boats getring back to Germany.

Slavick demonstrates Rogge's commitment to fighting in a lawful and proper manner in spire of a new age of warfare that made this more problematic with each passing day. The fact rhar only 33 deaths occurred during rhe sinking or capture of 22 merchant ships speaks of Captain Rogge's commitment to fighting a war ar sea with as much humanity as was possible. Highly Recommended!

HAROLD

N.

BOYER

Folsom, Pennsylvania

New and Noted Bloodstained Sea: The US Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944, by Michael G . Walling (McGraw-Hill, New York, 2004, 256pp, illus, photos, index, ISBN 0-07- 142401-6; $24.95 hc) Hudson's Merchant and Whalers: The Rise and Fall of a River Port, 1783-1850, by Margaret B. Schram (Black Dome Press, Hensonville NY, 2004, 209pp, illus, photos, notes, biblio, index, appen, ISBN 1-07883789-39-7; $24.95pb) The Queen's Slave Trader: john Hawkins, Elizabeth l and the Trafficking in Human Soul.s, by Nick Hazlewood (William Morrow, an Imprint ofHarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004, 432pp, illus, photos, index, ISBN 0-06-621089-5; $26.95 hc) Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack, by James L. Nelson (William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004, 432pp, illus, photos, index, ISBN 0-06-052403-0; $25.95hc) The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy, 1815-1889, by David Lyon and Rif Winfield (Naval Insrirure Press, Annapolis MD, 2004, 352pp, illus, photos, gloss, notes, biblio, index, appen, ISBN 1-59114-484-1; $26.95hc) Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World Ular fl by Robert Kurson (Random House, New York, 400pp, illus, index, ISBN 0-3755-0858-9; $26.95hc) Swift, Silent, and Deadly: Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance in the Paci.fie, 1942-1945, by Bruce F. Meyers (Naval lnsriture Press, Annapolis MD, 2004, 216pp, illus, photos, maps, gloss, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-59114-484-1; $26.95hc) Whaling Letters, formerly My Dear Husband, edited by Descendants of Whaling Masters (DWM, Inc. , New Bedford MA, l 30pp, photos, ISBN 0-97 42693-0-1; $16.95pb) j,

47

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The Artistic Legacy of

John Prentiss Benson A beautiful, gold-foil stamped, hard-covered copy of

The Artistic Legacy of John Prentiss Benson .

Highlights include: • Hard-covered, gold-foil stamped.

• Measures 6"x9" with 366 pages.

• Biography of John Benson with over 30 black and white photos of the artist and his family.

• More than 140 black and white photos of the artist's paintings of which 100 are reproduced in full-color plates in the center section of the book.

•Each painting's description includes its date, size, signature identification, medium and a paragraph "of interest."

John P. Benson in his Kittery, Maine, studio in 1931, painting a Junette titled Whaling Scene, now in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

•Lists arranged chronologically by date and alphabetically by title of more than 600 known John Benson works of art.

"Penobscot Bay" (oil/canvas, 26" x 54", 1927)

John Benson Book P.O. Box 171 Pocasset, MA 02559-0171

Price: $40.00

www.johnpbenson.org info@johnpbenson.org ISBN: 0-9749016-0-1