LETTERS Rediscovering Antarctica In William W hi te's book review of Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, 1838-1842 (Sea H istory 107) , he notes rhar Lieu~ C harles tenant ~ W ilkes is credi ted ~ 8 with discoverin g Antarctica. No r so! Thaddeus vo n Bell inghausen of Russ ia made rhe hisroric sighting of Antarctica in January 1820 . In January 1840 W ilkes sighted rh e continent, however, rhe published charts of the exped ition were rhe first ro use the rerm "An rarcric Co ntinent!" ] OHN
M . LEVJNSON
Rockland Mills, Delaware The credit for first sighting the Antarctic continent is still debated today. England holds that it was Edward Bransfield, the US oft claims it was Nathaniel Palmer, while Russia maintains it was von Bellingshausen. Of course, it was likely to have been one of the many sealers sailing and working in the region. Between 1180 and 1892 over 1, 000 sealers from different countries worked the Antarctic waters, while only 25 exploration expeditions were undertaken in the same time period. (Source: www.70south. com)
A Forgotten Cartographer Ir might be wo rthwhile for your readers ro take no re of rhe works of Bernard Romans, whose name does not appear in the otherwise excellent Straits of Florida article (Sea H istory 107) . Romans became a surveyo r in rhe British civil service in 1756. H e was assigned ro survey du ty in the Dry Torrugas, rhe Baham a Banks, and coastal Florida. According ro Lincoln Diaman t's biography of Romans, rhis surveyo r, botan ist, and engineer was rhe first carrographer ro complete a chart of rhe enti re Flo rida coast. In 1773, The Marine Society of the C ity of New Yo rk lent 50ÂŁ sterl ing without interest ro Romans ro help pay for the
SEA HISTORY 109, WINTER 2004-2005
publication of his Flo rida charts and sailing directions. Romans was ad mi tted ro the Society as a Member (No. 485) in 1774. The only NYC public library copy of Bernard Romans, Forgotten Patriot of the American Revolution can be fo und in rhe Science, Ind ustry, and Business Lib rary ar Madison Avenue and 34 rh Srreer. Several yea rs ago, I do nated my personal copy of the biography ro rhe M arine Society.
H istory of AWARD caliber. Some appropriate source sho uld be notified ro recognize its meri t. Also, this rebirth action should become encouraged reading for every midshipman durin g sea term with rhe US Merchan t Marine Academy. With alumni suppo rt, I wo uld ho pe that NM H S membership could be awarded ro every chapter of rhe US Naval Sea Cadets Corps.
GERALD ]. BARRY
Cleveland, O hio
W ALTER B OTTO
New Yo rk, New Yo rk
On the In ternet I thank yo u fo r rhe new recurring fea ture, Maritime H istory on the Internet, by Peter McCracken. The internet offers a whole new world of in fo rmatio n, and more and mo re archival data is being di gitized every day. Figuring our where ro start is a different marrer al rogether-especiall y fo r my ge neration. M r. McCracken's column is like a personal ru rorial-in fo rmarive about the internet itself and kn owledgeable about maritime hisrory as a who le. For yo unger fo lks just starting thei r studies in maritime to pics, Mr. M cCracken's advice pu ts them o n the right track. I enj oy his sense of humo r as well (an1bergris sites, indeed). ] AMES WILSO N
From the editor: We received a number ofLetters and calls regarding the new format of Sea History's last cover (1 08). M ost readers expressed great enthusiasm for the foll-page image on the cover and for more color throughout the publication. One caller raised concerns over printing costs, especially in light ofthe recent financial struggles N MHS has been overcoming. Rest assured, the pap er on which the magazine is p rinted has not changed in many )'ears-just the Look of the graphics p rinted on it. Regarding expenses fo r using more color overall our costs are the same once an)' color is printed on a given plate. Thank you to all those who wrote, e-mailed, or called in with feedback. It is the only way we can gauge how we move forward with the Society and with the issues of Sea History to come.
Eri e, Pennsylvania Sea History's New Look You mighr like ro know I find the new, vibrant, explosively captivating fo rmat of Sea
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Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafarin g heritage co mes a live sea, rivers, la kes, a nd bays- if yo u in the pages of Sea Histo1y, from th e appreciate the legacy of those who sail ancient ma riners of G reece to in deep water and their workaday Por tuguese navigato rs opening craft, then you belong with us. up the ocea n wo rld to the Jo in Today ! heroic efforts of seamen in Mail in the form below, phone this century's conflicts. Each I 800 221-NM HS (6647), or visit issue brings new insights a nd us at: www.seahistory.org discoveries. If you love the (e-ma il: nmhs@seahisto ry.org) Yes, I wa nt ro joi n che Society and receive Sea Hisro ry quarrerly. My concri bucio n is enclosed. ($ 17.50 is fo r Sea Hisrory; any amounc above char is cax deductible.) Sign me up as: D $35 Regular Member D $50 Fa mily Member D $ 100 Friend D $250 Patron D $5 00 D o no r
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