Baltimore Museum of Industry
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including the pointed response of C ommodore Isaac Chauncey to Oliver H azard Perry who was complaining about his motley crew: "I have yet to learn that the Colour of the skin, or cut and trimmings of the coat, can affect a man's qualifications or usefuln ess. I have nearly 50 blacks on board of this Ship, and m any of them are amongst m y bes t m en." Following his victory at the Bartle of Lake Erie, C hauncey recalled, "Perry speaks highly of the bravery and good conduct of the Negroes, who fo rmed a considerable part of his crew." Loren McCormack, Anne Grimes Rand and Kristin C allas contributed a study ofUSS Constitution from various perspectives that m ake it an ideal case study to include in this volume. The ability of a black man to succeed as a freeman in the workplace was a challenge, but there were some notable successes in th e whaling industry. W illiam T. Shorey of Barbados went on his first whaling cruise in 1876 at the age of sixteen, returning as a boatsteerer, and after another cruise as first mate, and then captain. Shorey distinguished himselfas a m as terful captain with a cool head under the greatest stresses the sea could offer, bur rhe records also reveal his dark side; he was charged with bearing crew m embers on several occasio ns over his fo rty-year career. T imothy Lynch reflects on Shorey's experience and sees the value of his position as mas ter of an American sailing ship as the key to his status and success in society. Native American participation in the mariti me wo rld is examined in Jason M ancini's study of Eastern Long Island Sound fro m 1713- 1861. Ethnicity was registered in the seamen's protectio n certifica tes, and it is instructive to scan the entries marked "Indian ," "light,'' "negro," "dark." A student of the Pequot, M ancini also sees a rainbow of colo r in the records from New London. H e employs a broader anthropological landscape ap proach linking the maritime communi ty to rhe land, often through wom en. W omen played a major role in the development of the Biloxi seafood industry; D eanne Stephens N uwer traces the developm ent of the business in Biloxi through the lives of the women who peeled and packed sh rimp and shucked oysters. Their hard work contributed to Biloxi's claim in 1904 to be the seafood capital of the wo rld. The image of America abroad was often generated by its seamen serving as unknowing ambassadors. Brian Ro uleau examines
George Little's Life on the Ocean; or, Twenty Years at Sea: Being the Personal Adventure ofthe A uthor published in Boston in 1846, reco unting his experiences that included a Pacific Coast voyage of the Americas and out to H awaii. George Little visited Chile, which wo uld contribu te to the growth of San Francisco in the wave of immigrants, among the first to catch gold fever, that cam e after 1849. Edward Melillo examines the contributio n of Chileans, including m any of the pine vessels that became the fl eet of an expanding port. Other immigrants were attracted to California and the West coas t, including the C hinese. Joshua Smith notes that the Chinese were talented and able sailors, fisherman , and sho reside workers. This made them a target and led to stereotyping that defined them as incapable of assimilatio n within American society. The Chinese only became eligible to join a seafarin g union in 193 6, when the National M aritim e U ni on opened m embership to seamen of all races. The Japanese migrated to Califo rnia in the late nineteenth century, wh ere they becam e heavily involved in commercial fi shing. A m ajor concentrati o n of N isei- children of first-generation Japanese immigran rs-was on Terminal Island in Los Angeles. KarenJenks examines the communi ty through the history and activities of the girls' Junior Outing Club. The events of 7 D ecember 1941 changed everything. The entire Japanese comm uni ty was evicted from Terminal Island for "securi ty" reasons within a few months. Skillfully edited and introduced by G lenn Gordinier, with a variety of papers on critical issues, this volume stimulates, reads well, and is priced right. T IMOT HY
J. R UNYAN, PHO
Maritime Heritage Program , N OAA and East Carolina University Greenville, No rth Carolina
Moon Men Return: USS Hornet and the Recovery of the Apollo 11 Astronauts by Sco tt W Carmichael (N aval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2010 , 237pp, illus, biblio, no tes, index, ISB N 978- 1-59 11 4-110- 5; $36.95hc) I can remember vividly, my parents gath ering my siblings and m e around the television (black and whi te!) to watch the coverage of che Apollo 11 as tronauts landing o n the moo n. I was twelve, and SEA HISTORY 133, WINT ER 2010-11