Sea History 136 - Autumn 2011

Continuing the tradition of offering spectacular American destinations aboard the world's finest small ships, American Cruise Lines is proud to welcome Queen of the West to its fleet. Faithfully recreating the great authentic paddlewheel experience, Queen of the West cruises along Fort A t .

Clatsop • • s Ortac

l \Tr

done peifectlyrn .

Mount Rainier

w A

~~d"

the Columbia and Snake rivers located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. With this addition, American Cruise Lines now offers cruise destinations from coast to coast. Call today to learn more about small ship cruising

..

(

.

SHINGTON

Spokane •

~

Raznzerlt ~~ Mount ! St. Helens

Snake.I<''Ver ·

it

+

""'

Stevenson

Portland .. .. . • • .. <'-"e

J

., '"•

Multnomah Falls

!

•

•Lewiston ..... • • • • ~·

Pasco•

.. '" '" Clarkst V T l '1 watta lwa ta • • •., ~,. ,.

Umatttta •Pendleton

Columbia River

Cotu':'0 • • • • • 'n 'Ju River Gorge ..

.Mount Hood

1 1

~ ·-=" •

The Dalles'"

-

-

~.

• '

n+

l VT 11

I D A H Q

• • • • • •Ground Transp.

OR EG O N Reservations office open 7 days a week

#

•

1·800·814·6880

=---==:::....

®

~.m~~·8:em:

7-14 Night Cruises New England Islands • Hudson River • Mississippi River • Chesapeake Bay • Alaska Historic South & Golden Isles • Maine • East Coast Inland Passage • Great Rivers of Florida

Celebrate our maritime heritage this holiday season with NMHS greeting cards Based on a painting by renowned marine artist William G. Muller, this new greeting card captures the romance of a bygone era-

and helps support the work ofNMHS. Greeting reads "Wishing you fair winds for the holidays and calm seas for the New Year."

Also available as blank note cards.

Box of 10: $14.95, or $13.46 for NMHS members. Add $4 s/h for one box and $2 for each additional box. Please indicate your choice of holiday or blank cards.

Visit our website www.seahistory.org for other choices.

CDl- The French Liner Isle de France Arriving in New York Harbor, 1955 .

To order, call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext. 0, or visit our web site at www.seahistory.org .

Order now for October delivery.

2012 Calendar NEW! The Tall Ships 2012 Calendar pictures traditional sailing ships from around the world. Few sights on the high seas are more inspiring than the great clouds of sail set on traditional full-rigged ships, barques, schooners, and brigs.

Calendar is wall hanging, full color 11 " x 14''. Gift #011 $13.95.

Add $5 .50 for s/h within the US. Please call for international postage rates.

In Tall Ships, renowned tall ships photographer Thad Koza ( 19402010) photographed these vessels at maritime events in the United States and across Europe.

To order, call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647) , ext. 0, or visit our website at www.seahistory.org .

NY State residents add applicable sales tax.

No. 136

SEA HISTORY

AUTUMN 2011

CONTENTS 10 The War of 1812: Year Two-1813, by William H. White With a successful blockade ofthe American east coast by the Royal Navy, most ofthe action as the conflict entered its second year was in the interior, both by the army overland and an impressive display of naval p rowess on the Great Lakes, as both sides struggled for control of territory and supply routes.

~

u

z

16 The National Museum of the Royal Navy: 100 Years of Naval Heritage at the

0

u

0

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, by Campbell McMurray

~

In 2 009, the National Museum ofthe Royal Navy was created as a way to pull four autonomous museums dedicated to aspects ofRoyal Navy history under one umbrella. Trace its beginnings and evolution as the National Museum ofthe Royal Navy enters a new era of engaging people in the long and rich history ofthe Royal Navy.

3

10

20 Crossing the Pond in Eagle, by Deirdre O 'Regan Each summer, the entire freshman class from the US Coast Guard Academy signs on board the 295-foot barque Eagle for a major passage to ports foreign and domestic. This spring, the ship and her crew of cadets, officers, and enlisted-and a Jew guests-crossed the Atlantic on a voyage to Ireland and beyond. Sea History's editor Deirdre O'Regan joined them and reports on the cadet experience training in Eagle on a deep-ocean passage.

~

z

~

~

2 ~

"

f-

0

> ~ ~

> ~

z<

26 Stephen R. Mallory, the Southernmost Clipper Ship, by John Viele

0

~

z

The South was never famous for building ships, but that didn't stop two enterprising businessmen and an ambitious boatbuilder from building their own extreme clipper ship for the Gold Rush trade.

16

30 The 2011 NMHS Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club This year's awardees are Woodson K Woods and the Lynx Educational Foundation; Walter R. Brown, Admiral Robert J Papp, Jr., and the Honorable j ohn. F Lehman.

38 Ghost Ships of the Mothball Fleet, by Scott Haefner San Francisco-based photographer Scott H aefner documented the National D efense Reserve Fleet anchored in Suisun Bay in California over a two-year period, finding beauty, drama, and distress in the visuals ofdecaying ships that will all be gone by way ofthe ship breakers by 2017.

Cover: Riding out the gale aboard Eagle, photo by DC2 Thomas Emmett Burckell USCG

26

In M ay, the US Coast G uard Barque Eagle left its homeport in New London, CT, bound fo r Europe. Three days out, a series of low pressure systems tes ted the officers and crew-and 122 green cadets-as they weathered, what was for many, their first gale at sea under sail on a square rigger. The best training com es with adverse conditions, and they had plen ty of it. (See pages 2 0-24)

DEPARTMENTS 4 D ECK LOG AND L ETTERS 7 N MHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION 34 SEA HISTORY FOR Krns 42 S HIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM

NEWS

49 50 51 56

CALENDAR MARITIME H ISTORY ON THE INTERNET REVIEWS PATRONS

Sea History and the N ational Maritime Historical Society Sea History e-mail: editorial@seahistory.org; NMHS e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org; Web site: www.seahistory.org. Ph : 914 737-7878; 800 221-NMHS MEMBERSHIP is invited. Afrerguard $10,000; Benefacror $5,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponsor $ 1,000; Donor $500; Parro n $250; Friend $100; Conrriburor $75; Family $50; Regular $35.

All members outside rhe USA please add $10 for postage. Sea Histo ry is senr ro all members.

Individual copies cost $3.75.

38 SEA HISTORY (issn 0146-9312) is published quanerly by the National Maritime Hisrorical Sociery, 5 John Walsh Blvd., POB 68, Peekskill NY 10566. Periodicals postage paid ar Peekskill NY 10566 and add' l mailing offices.

COPYRIGHTŠ 20 11 by rhe National Mari rime Hisrorical Sociery. Tel: 914-737-7878.

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

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

DECK LOG Saving USS Olympia: You May Donate When You Are Ready, Gridley!

Many NMHS members responded to our plea to save USS Olympia, Admiral George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay (1898) during the Spanish-American War and the icon of America's emergence as a world naval power at the turn of the century.

Because of the vital significance of this ship, we donated 10% of our own spring appeal towards her emergency repairs, and you were very generous. We know this is not enough funding in itself to restore her, but this effort helps to spread the word of her plight and demonstrates just how much the maritime heritage community values Olympia. You have asked where you can send yo ur donation directly towards Olympia's restoration, and an official website and account is now up and running.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has set up an account to receive funds for Olympia's restoration . We encourage you to contribute either online via their website at www.PreservationNation.org/Olympia, or you can mail a check, payable to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to: The National Trust for Historic Preservation, Northeast Office, Seven Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 4'h Floor, Boston, MA 02109, attn: USS Olympia Fund.

In the meantime, the Naval Sea Systems Command, which is responsible for managing the transfer of decommissioned ships, is working with the Independence Seaport Museum (ISM) in Philadelphia (current steward of Olympia), the National Park Service, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to select a new steward from among the groups that are seeking to take over ownership of the vessel and that have started the transfer application process (known as TAPP). Updates on the ship and the TAPP are posted online on the ISM's website at www.phillyseaport.org.

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLISHER'S CIRCLE: Peter Aron, Guy E.

C. M aitland, William H. White OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ronald L. Oswald; Vice Chairman, Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, D eirdre O 'Regan, Nancy Schnaars; Treasurer, Howard Slomick; Secretary, Thomas F. Daly Trustees: Charles B. Anderson; Walter R. Brown; RADM Joseph F. Callo, USNR (Ret.); James Carter; David S. Fowler; William Jackson Green; Virginia Steele Grubb; Karen Helmerson; Robert Kamm; Richard M. Larrabee; Capt. Sally Chin McElwreath, USNR (Ret.) ; James J. McNamara; Michael W Morrow; Timothy J. Runyan; Richard Scarano; Philip J. Shapiro; Bradford D. Smith; H. C. Bowen Smith; Cesare Soria; Philip J. Webster; Daniel W. W halen; W illiam H. White; Jean Wort Chairmen Emeriti, Walter R. Brown, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Maitland, Howard Slomick; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUNDER: Karl Kortum (1917-1996)

Kick-Off to the War of 1812 Bicentennial NMHS was honored to co-host with the Naval Historical Foundation, Operation Sail, and the Navy League a June reception at the Smithsonian, where the Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, in front of the Star Spangled Banner exhibit, announced to some 500 guests the upcoming plans to mark the anniversary of the War of 1812 and the writing of our national anthem. Secretary Mabus stated, "Beginning next year and con tin uing through 2015, the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard, along with Operation Sail and a host of partners, will commemorate the War of 1812 bicentennial and the inspiration for America's hymn. The theme of this celebration is "Our Flag Was Still There," as indeed it NMHS Trustee Robert Kamm (right) with Secretary of is today. This "Second War for the Navy Ray Mabus at the kick-offcelebration.

Independence" established US sea power and our continuing presence in the great blue and beyond. In commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812, we honor every sailor who has ever fought and served under the stars and stripes of the country ... This commemoration is going to remind us that these sailors, these marines, continue to live up to that brave legacy, bequeathed to them 200 years ago ... As we commemorate the War of 1812 we ought to remember the delicate weaving of history that has brought America to this great place of influence and great responsibility." Sea History will continue to bring you features on the War of 1812 (see pages 10-15) and on the many commemorative activities in this and upcoming issues.

-Burchenal Green, President 4

OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown; Clive Cussler, Richard du Moulin, Alan D. Hutchison, Jakob Isbrandtsen, Gary Jobson, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, John Lehman, Brian McAllister, John Srobart, Wi lliam Winterer NMH S ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbourne Smith; D. K. Abbass, George Bass, Oswald Brett, Francis J. Duffy, John S. Ewald, Timothy Foore, William Gilkerson, Steven A. Hyman, ]. Russell Jinishian, Hajo Knuttel, Gunnar Lundeberg, Joseph A. Maggio, Conrad Milster, W illiam G. Muller, Stuart Parnes, Lori Dillard Rech, Nancy Hughes Richardson, Bert Rogers, Joyce Huber Smith SEA HISTORY EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chairman, Timothy J. Runyan; Norman J. Brouwer, Robert Browning, William S. Dudley, Daniel Finamore, Kevin Foster, John Odin Jensen, Joseph F. Meany, Lisa Norling, Carla Rahn Phillips, Walrer Rybka, Quentin Snediker, William H. White

NMHS STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal Green; Membership Director, Nancy Schnaars; Communications Director, Suzanne Isaksen; Marketing Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Accounting, Jill Romeo; Store Sales & Volunteer Coordinator, Jane Maurice SEA HISTORY: Editor, Deirdre O ' Regan; Advertising Director, Wendy Paggiotta; Copy Editor, Shelley Reid; Editor-at-Large, Peter Stanford

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

LETTERS Our Letters section this issue is dedicated to the public outcry at the threat facing too many ofour important historic ships and the institutions that support them as this issue ofSea History goes to press. In his Op-Ed piece (see pages 8-9), NMHS President Emeritus Peter Stanford fills us in on the current state ofthe South Street Seaport Museum's situation and about a grassroots movement underway to address the problem. We are printing a sampling ofletters written by leaders in the maritime community to New Yo rk's Mayo r Michael Bloomberg and to the volunteers at South Street to affirm the role that people, both as individuals and as a group, must play to effect a positive outcome.

South Street Seaport Ships [Letter to the Volunteers of the South Street Seaport Museum} South Street, or The Seaport, has always been an idea and an experience, more than a place. Still, as an original waterfront, it is a special place so rare in American cities. These low brick buildings, cobbled streets, and ships preserve an atmosphere that, however faint, is a direct connection to the real roots of New York. Shoddily built in haste, on landfill dumped in haste, needed to access the ships that constantly came and went, what built environment better defines the eagerness to bring the commerce of the world, and with it a polyglot assemblage of ideas and peoples, to the "Island at the Center of the World?" It is that eagerness itself that defines America and made New York its foremost city. A generation ago it took vision to recognize this most disguised, tarnished, jewel of a place, and hard work and innovation to save it. Iflost, it will not be readily revived.

To have a few of the vessels that came to South Street as part of this creation is integral to the vision. Ships' decks have been the stage for much of the human drama.

Ships were the original space stations, great tools for exploration-they still are-for voyages of the mind. The greatest worth of South Street is in experiences, impressions, lessons, relationships, nowhere more vivid than onboard the vessels. The life imparted to them is entirely from the people who serve in them. I salute your efforts to keep this spirit alive. Forry years ago South Street gave me an entry into the world of maritime tradition and has inspired many lives since. Hold Fast!

WALTER p RYBKA Senior Captain US Brig Niagara Erie Maritime Museum and President, Council of American Maritime Museums [Letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloom berg] During the years when present-day South Street Seaport was being put together, the Street of Ships was intended

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

to be a reminder of that which helped to make New York the great city it is. It was to be open for all to see. Unfortunately, as years passed, the Seaport management allowed the ships to take second place. It was either absence of maritime know-how on their part, or plain incompetency. In any case, thanks to recent intercessions by the Attorney General's Office, the ongoing dismantling of the Street of Ships has been restrained. Now, using a practical approach and at a minimum expense, the Seaport could return to course.

My knowledge of the Seaport dates back to its early days. I was Chairman of the first Board of Trustees. I was responsible for the acquisition of the ship wavertree, rowing it up from South America and delivering it to the Seaport.

A practical approach entails: publicly redefining the purpose of the Seaport; installing a new board of trustees; establishing the office of a general manager to oversee direct day to day operations; establishing the date the Seaport must be standing on its own feet; providing required operating funds until that time; departmentalizing Seaport operations which would have responsibility for: •Care of Maritime Artifacts •Care of Non-Maritime Artifacts

•Supervision of the paid staff •Serious solicitation seeking volunteer interest and participation in Seaport operations.

Already money has been put on the table, showing there is interest in having a functioning Seaport. All that is missing at this time is plain work and less talk, talk, and more talk. ]AKOB IsBRANDTSEN

New York City [Letter to M ayor Bloomberg} Through the professional grapevine I learn that in recent weeks supporters of South Street Seaport and its historic ships have rallied in a grass roots movement, called Save Our Seaport, to save this wonderful enclave of New York heritage. As a maritime historian and maritime museum director, let me add my voice in support of whatever energy and resources you can bring to this cause. New York is one of the greatest seaports in all of history, and the maritime urban landscape of South Street Seaport is unrivalled in its ability to capture the symbolic and educational value of these ships, creating a sense of place which evokes that history and its maritime connections across four centuries.

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 sailors in modern-day 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 want ro join the Society and receive Sea History quarterly. My contribution is enclosed. ($ 17.50 is for Sea History; any amount above that is tax deductible.) Sign me up as: D $35 Regular Member D $50 Family Member D $100 Friend D $250 Parron D $500 Donor 136 Mr./Ms. - - -- - -- - - - -- -- - - - - -- - - - - - -- - -

_ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ZIP_ _ _ __ _ Return ro: National Maritime Hisrorical Society, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566

5

In my own city, the restoration of the 1863 bark Star ofIndia to operational condition began as our city's first large-scale historic preservation project rwo generations ago.

This ship has since become a symbol of community identity and its most recognized iconic representation. In her role as a museum and also as a fully operational sailing ship, she has also become the magnet for hundreds of volunteers currently contributing 80,000 man-hours annually and the locus of what has become an historic fleer now including three square riggers, an 1898 steamship, a 1904 steam yacht, rwo submarines, an historic pilot boat, a replica of the schooner yacht America, and rwo America's Cup class sailing yachts. Most of these operate at sea on a scheduled basis while still serving as classrooms and museum galleries. Currently, we are constructing a replica of the galleon San Salvador of 1542, the embodiment of San Diego's origin story, to establish the first chapter in what thereby becomes the physical maritime narrative of our port.

This growing investment in heritage tourism draws 1.4 million visitors annual-

CH~EAN

IAINEll llOW

The Great Ocean Liners Ocean Liner Memorabilia - Posters We Buy & Appraise Maritime Coll ection s Committed to the Preservation of Our Maritime History

Ian Robertson www.oceanlinerrow.com 917-416-7653 - PO Box 20586, New York, NY 10025

YACHT CHARTERS Pro fessionally crewed. View our New WEBSITE at \V\V\V.trimarc harters.corn. For worldwide yacht

availabilities, contact Shelby Coates at: Trident Maritime Serv ices (PH) 516 -674-1556 or (FAX) 516-624-6802

6

ly and contributes millions of tourist dollars to the local economy and to municipal and port revenues-and, to give just one example, approximately $2.5 million annually in metered parking fees alone. The enterprise supports 80 jobs and accommodates 20,000 school children annually in programs ranging from character-building experiences in our tall ships underway to overnight living history programs aligned with early elementary curriculum standards. The ships also act as conveyances of culture across generations; the ongoing requirements for their interpretation and for keeping them seaworthy instill a community ethos for stewardship for our historic assets and for protection of the oceans.

In summary, I can only emphasize that the ~vertree, Peking, and the other ships of South Street Seaport are more than museum antiquities or curious objects from beyond living memory. They are manifestations of the human spirit and the dignity of enterprise which made New York the economic center of the world.

They are repositories of community spirit, an accurate sounding of its depths, and

the projection of its continuity on the world stage. The effort you make in saving them is an investment, and the dividends you reap will far transcend the boundaries of South Street Seaport itself, as was ever the case for the ships that called there in centuries past.

RAYMOND ASHLEY, PHD President/CEO, Maritime Museum of San Diego Chairman, American Ship Trust Committee

Ships as Sites of American Memory USS Olympia carries more than a century of history with it. Ir is a site of memory, providing a place to encounter US history in every facet of its trajectory over the past 110 years, from the Spanish-American War to the First World War and beyond. It is right and firring that the ship, which bore back from France the body of America's Unknown Soldier of the 1914-18 conflict, should be honored by preservation precisely at the time that the very last doughboy of the Great War has passed away. Now that the last living survivor of the war has died, we are left with embodied memory-memory embedded in sites and in places where soldiers and sailors lived their lives-and it is in such sires that future generations must learn of war and the search for alternatives to it.

Preserving the Olympia is a way of telling future generations of the dangers of a violent past, a past that must never be repeated. What better way to do so than to tell the story of war and peace in a ship which saw both, and which stands on our shores as a reminder of what previous generations had to endure. What millions see by traveling to the landing beaches and cemeteries of Normandy for the Second World War can be conveyed to those who come to this ship and this site.

Throughout the world, preservation of the legacy of war is a hallmark of the commitment to peace. Teaching history means seeing, feeling, smelling the past, and conveying to the young what a violent world their grandparents and great-grandparents endured. Preserving such sites of memory is a way to make an education in citizenship come alive. ]AYWINTER Charles J. Stille Professor of History Yale University New Haven, Connecticut

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

NMHS:

I

A CAUSE IN MOTION Annual Meeting at the New Bedford Whaling Museum

From rhe warm welcome by New Bedford Whaling Museum president James Russell to the outstanding tours by curator Michael Dyer, capped by a deck tour of schooner Ernestina by Polly Zajac, secretary of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association, the 48'h annual NMHS meeting was described by many who attended as one of the best.

New Bedford, Massachusetts, rhe "Whaling City," is steeped in whaling and fisheries history, and the museum interprets this important past through modern interactive exhibits that explore the heritage of whaling and rhe transition from "pursuit to preservation," including a look at rhe science and the politics of whaling. Mystic Seaport's Dana Hewson brought us up to date on the Charles W Morgan's restoration. The last surviving wooden sailing whaleship, the Morgan originally hailed from New Bedford but has been maintained and exhibited by Mystic Seaport since 1941.

The business meering revealed a successful organization with strong leadership, well-managed finances, a committed membership, and an active and valuable program. NMHS members voted in a strong new class of trustees: RADM Joseph Callo, USNR (Rer.); William Jackson Green; NMHS president Burchenal Green and chairman Ron Oswald Capt. Sally Chin McElwreath, USNR (Ret.); Michael Morrow; Dr. Tim- welcome the new 2014 Class of Trustees: (l-r) William Green, Tim Runyan, Burchie Green, Ron Oswald, jean Wort, Sally othy Runyan; and Jean Wort.

Joe Callo, and Michael Morrow.

McElwreath, During the meeting, NMHS trustee William H. White anno unced the winner of the Rodney Houghton Award for the best article published in Sea History in the last year is Mystic Seaport's Matthew Stackpole for his article, Restoring an !con-Preparing the Whaleship Charles W Morgan for her 38'h Vi>yage, which appeared in Sea History 134.

National History Day National History Day (NHD) is a year-long educational program for middle- and high-school students that involves them in a competition to research, learn, and produce a creative project on a ropic in history based on a theme. NMHS is an official supporter of this program in hopes of inspiring young people ro learn about their maritime history by offering special NMHS prizes to the students who do the most outstanding project on a maritime topic.

The 2011 NHD theme was, "Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences." Students in Junior and Senior divisions submitted projects in nine categories ranging from developing a website to performance in costume to more traditional papers and reports. This year NMHS participated in NHD events in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, and we plan to expand around the country. You just have to see the level of excitement and scholarship to know that this is a program worth supporting. It gets students motivated and nourishes an active interest in history.

Helping judge for the NMHS prizes were NMHS trustee Captai n Cesare Sorio in Dr. Steven Park, judge for the NMHS Award New York; Dr. Steven Park, manager of the Learning Resource Center at the University at the NHD event in Connecticut, congratulates of Connecticut; Paul O'Pecko, vice president of Collections and Research and director of Jared Bell (left) and Graham Frassinelli (right), the G. W Blum White Library at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut; and NMHS chairman Ronald Oswald and trustee Jean Wort in New Jersey.

-Burchenal Green, President 2011 NMHS award winners.

The NMHS National History Day Award Winners for 2011 Connecticut SENIOR LEVEL IST PLACE: Maya LevineRitterman from Wilbur Cross High School for her website: "The SS St. Louis Tragedy."

Teacher: Alfred Meadows.

JuNIOR LEVEL IST PLACE: Jared Bell from the Bell family home school for his website: "Successful Mutiny: Debate and Diplomacy of the Amistad. "Teacher: Colleen Bell JuNIOR LEVEL 2ND PLACE: Graham Frassinelli from Hall Memorial School for his documentary: "The Leviarhan's Salvation: The International Moratorium on Commercial Whaling." Teacher: Pat Pinney.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

New Jersey SENIOR LEVEL IST PLACE: (2 prizes) Conor Reid from Montvale Twp. High School for his documentary: "Pirates! The US and the Barbary Coast." Teacher: Perer Porter; and Keertana Anandraj from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South for her paper: "The Trent Affair: Seward's Diplomaric Response to rhe British Lion Saves Lincoln's Union." Teacher: Joan Ruddiman.

SENIOR LEVEL 2ND PLACE: Olivia Qui from Montvale Twp. High School for her exhibit: ''Alabama Claims: The Establishment of International Arbitration." Teacher: Peter Porter.

New York SENIOR LEVEL IST PLACE: Sanjay Anchar from Shenendehowa High School for his website: "LBJ & the G ulf ofTonkin Resolution." Teacher: Amber Quinn.

JUNIOR LEVEL I ST PLACE: AkashAdvaney, Daniel Esposito, Kanav Gupta & Rahiq Rafeeq from Jericho Middle School for theirwebsite: "Erie Canal: Governmenrvs.

Private Financing." Teacher: Pamela Travis JuNIOR LEVEL 2ND PLACE: Jacob Tabor from Milford Central School for his website: "Barbary Wars." Teacher: Michael Richtsmeier.

7

AROUND THE CABIN LAMP

A New Morning In South Street

S

up porters of the lately renamed Seaport Museum New York awoke to a grim reality on 19 February this year, when Thousands of mornings have The New York Times announced: "Finances dawned on the pink brick buildings Could Sink Seaport Museum." The diminofSchermerhorn Row, where tall ished ranks of those interested in the affairs packet ships and clippers bound for of the once-renowned museum could rhen far horizons passed by their windows. read for rhe first rime how it had borrowed Here in 1976, the masts ofthe four$2 million, advanced by museum chair Frank masted barque Peking tower over their Sciame, to meet operating expenses.

This and rooftops, while the quadrant ofthe other pending debts cannot be repaid from museum's bookstore invites visitors to non-existent funds, and, as an emergency explore the far horizons ofthe seafaring measure to meet this crisis, 32 staff members story that built these noble buildings. (half rhe total staff) were laid off with a shutThe shop was later closed to make way down of most museum services. for a women's lingerie store.

This "Cabin Lamp," however, is nor about rhe crisis bur about steps toward recovery in a museum rededicated to its founding principles. This quest takes us back to ideas worked our, as it happens, around rhe very cabin lamp shown at the head of this page.

Karl Kortum, who found the Wavertree in The Times story did nor comment on the Argentina in 1966, stands at the helm during recent years in which the lively public engagePrince Philip's visit to support our NMHS ment rhar characterized rhe early Seaport had campaign for the great ship's restoration. The died off. Irs own files would have shown Times author (left) hears Philip's adjuration that editorials saluting the citywide importance using wooden spars instead of metal replicas of the Seaport's victory in rhe first contested 'Just stores up trouble for fature generations!" landmarks case in rhe city as well as reports I said the "trouble" would keep those seamen's of enchanted summer evenings of music on skills alive-a primary goal of our endeavor.

Pier 16. The article also reported rhar "The museum has always been small"-this of a maritime museum whose membership ar Pete Seeger, fresh from the sloop Clearwater's maiden voyage to New one point had grown to 25,000, rhe largest in America! Thar public participation led York in 1979, sings on Pier 16 to a museum income in 1973 of nearly $2 at the museum in support oftheir million (the equivalent of$ l 0 million today) work and ours. In the background and a range of activities-publishing books, is the Argentine square-rigged training ship Libertad, another holding monthly seminars, assembling a collection of seven historic ships and opening welcome visitor. What help these good and generous friends gave us! seven successful museum shops. We were engaging people directly in rhe story of the rail ships rhar built a city from the sea.

With Jakob Isbrandtsen as chairman, I Here the lovely fall-rigger Danmark served as president with my wife Norma as is docked at the Seaport's pier in manager in this halcyon time. Bur corporate 1974 as part ofthat summer's trainleaders on the museum's board, seeing the ing voyage for Danish cadets. Each museum's valuable city leasebacks on three ship has its own story to tell and the blocks ofland Jakob had donated to rhe city Danmark' s is a moving one. When and four East River piers, decided to put their Germany invaded Denmark in World own CEO in charge. This led to the museum ~r II, the ship was away in Florida giving up its role as urban renewal developer on a training cruise. Her officers and and to the sale of its leases to a mall developer. cadets kept the ship in the US and By then Norma and I had resigned, going on stayed to help train US sailors. They to work with friends to build up the National did not return home until the war Maritime Historical Society, which had been ended five years later.

8

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

(right) A glorious apogee of visiting ships was achieved in Operation Sail 1976, conceived by the Seaport Museum, in which windships ofall nations came to New York. Here at the South Street piers are Britain's Sir Winston Churchill (jar left), with an all-female crew, then a flag-dressed Peking and partly rigged Wavertree. At Pier 15 are Norway's S0rlandet and the unconquerable Oanmark astern; across the pier are the US Coast Guard barque Eagle and the little red ferry General Wm. H. Hart, home ofthe Pioneer Marine School, hailed by Mayor john Lindsay as the city's most successfal youth rehabilitation program.

Here is a celebration ofseafaring indeed!

turned out of its berth with the museum.

These events led to a virtual abandonment of the governing idea of a center for people and for history in South Street.

So years later the current management inherited a museum which had no grasp of the experience of a successful, thriving South Street Seaport. They looked at the fantastic ships at their pier as costly curiosities rather than vital, productive assets. The first step they made after the February crash was to order the three active museum ships sent away to ports outside New York.

And then, all at once, a new organization, Save Our Seaport, came into play to alert the NYS Attorney General to what was afoot. He then strongly advised the museum not to pursue this disposition of its artifacts. Save Our Seaport originated among the young volunteers who worked on the active vessels and retained the founding ethos of South Street. I first met these people this March as they were preparing the museum's two historic schooners for sea.

I had been working as a volunteer for the museum with two other founding members on a plan to revive the ships, but I immediately quit after the February crash, since the museum's concealment ofits fai ling

finances had led me to unwittingly make statements to prospective supporters which I now knew to be false. In a nightmare replay of the intrigue and tricky games that had led me to resign in 1976, I decided not to quit in silence as I had then, but instead to ask the president to quit. I circulated a conceptual plan which called, first, for an active, affirmative engagement with the people of New York for their participation and support and, second, an aggressive enlistment and support of volunteers, who would be given responsible positions.

In April, unverified reports affirmed that NYC Mayor Bloomberg, determined that the Seaport should not fail, had worked up a complex deal including a lease buyback of $8 million, surely enough to go

ahead on a new plan-if a plan could be developed. And Save Our Seaport came out with a brief mission statement affirming the new direction we sought: To save South Street's working waterfront, beginning with the schooners Pioneer and Lettie G. Howard, from there, continuing inland to restore interest and life to the rest of the Museum.

This states in plain language the strategy we'd developed 44 years before, when using the only historic schooner we then had, Norma's and my Athena, we came ashore with Cape Horn mariners in crew to open the South Street Seaport Museum from the sea. Then, we thought, people would know where the Seaport came from.

Save Our Seaport has won the support of the working harbor. Eight ships carried our banner on City of Water Day in July, while ashore 5,000 people have signed a petition asking Mayor Bloomberg to lead reform in South Street and to drive for rededication to the seafaring heritage-a vital strain in our character that challenges New Yorkers to conceive great voyages, and to make them. !, -Peter Stanford, Sea History Editor-at-Large and NMHS President Emeritus

(above) The retired fireboat John J. Harvey, a well-known harbor icon crewed by volunteers, salutes Save Our Seaport volunteers signing up visitors this summer to petition Mayor Bloomberg to save the beleaguered ships of South Street. Save Our Seaport can be reached at: SOS, PO Box 7 41, Peck Slip Station, New York, NY 10272; or email at saveour ships@gmail.com; their website is www.saveourseaport.wordpress.com. (left) The Seaport occupies the same waterfront location where ships large and small brought in cargoes under sailfrom all over the worldfor 400 years-commerce that made New York the major global city that it is today.

SEA HISTORY 136,AUTUMN 2011

9

The War of 181 ¥EART

by William H. White

L

ike the preceding year, 1813 held its share of successes and disasters, bothashoreandatsea. Things pretty much ground to a halt in the winter, and it was not un til the spring thaw that armies began to move. The War Department, now under the direction ofJohnArmstrong, had replaced many of the field commanders whose ineptitude during the preceding year had proven disastrous. Men like Winfield Scott, Andrew Jackson, and William Henry H arrison, whose successful exploits had drawn the attention of the War Department, were appointed to leadership roles in the now 30,000-man army. The War Department now could provide un iforms for the soldiers, an improvement for obvious reasons, not the least of which was the men being able to recognize each other which, when each man wore different civilian apparel, had been difficult and often resulted in death by friendly fire . Given their experiences during 1812, many of those men who had fought during the previous year were now the Army's seasoned veterans.

U pper Can ada, according to the War Department, still held the key to

success and, thus, the focus of hostilities remained there. Quebec and Montreal were too well fortified to challenge, so Armstrong p lanned to concentrate his armies in the area along the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario, attacking Kingston, England's primary naval base on the lake, and York, the capital. Additionally, plans provided for the assault of Fort George and Fort Erie, both on the Niagara River.

Should these efforts prove successful for the Americans, the path would be open for further attacks deeper into Canada.

Unfortunately, the terrain around Lake Ontario was completely unsuitable for moving armies and their associated baggage trains, and the only efficient means ofmoving large amounts of goods, supplies, and men was by water. It quickly became obvious that whoever controlled the lakes controlled the entire border. It was with this in mind that Armstrong ordered Isaac Chauncey, a fortyyear-old Navy captain, to take command of the naval forces on both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

As the Navy base at Sackets Harbor, New York, could cover Lake Ontario, the

Northern Lakes Theater and Eastern Seaboard, 1813

1

Quebece

Lake Superior

I

•

Montreal

.

Chrysler's Farm •

•

Fort Mackinac Lake Huron

Michigan Territory Lake

York •

Kingston • • Sackets Harbor tano

Fort LJ!Ke Ofl Georgee•Fc;>rt e Niagara Fort Erie

-....,,

~

Fort Detroit e • Fort Malden • Put-in-Bay

Michigan

v"''f-e~~

{

r

.Boston""

......

... ......

f1avre de Grace•

B~!timore • "\ \'.

Washington DC. .

;

...... ...

N

...

......

•Hampton ~

... ... ... ...

......

......

10

"" ........."" ...

.J ~~

......

fl

~ (.)

-S2

-Q

new commander built a yard at Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania) to deal with the British in Lake Erie. In both cases, Chauncey bought small merchant ships, converted them to warships, and began a building program to augment these smaller vessels with purpose-built warships with which he hoped to gain control of both lakes.

The British knew what the Americans were up to, but it was not until March of that year that theAdmiral ty sent a competent naval officer to take command of the Royal Navy on the lakes. Sir James Yeo quickly determined that building warships on the banks of the two Great Lakes, as the Americans appeared to be doing, was the proper course of action; unfortunately, saying it and doing it were two entirely different things. The Americans triumphed in the initial "power" race, a contest of who could build ships faster, and won control of Lake Ontario early on. Thereafter, control of the strategic lake waffled back and forth as each nation's building program surged ahead or fell behind.

Chauncey moved to take advantage of his lead on Lake Ontario and, with General Dearborn, persuaded Secretary of War Armstrong to let them attack York (present-day Toronto) instead of the original target-Kingston. In late April, he received the go-ahead and launched his attack.

Chauncey sailed from Sackets Harbor with 1,700 troops under the command of Army General Zebulon Pike. They landed to the west of York and, with the support of Chauncey's ships, forced the British to retreat north to the interior. Pike would not survive the attack; he, along with some 320 of his soldiers, was killed when the garrison's magazine exploded shortly after the American force had taken possession.

Many felt that the departing British had precipitated the explosion . In retribution, the angry soldiers put to the torch nearly all of the government buildings in the city.

(The British used this incident as justification for their burning of Washington, DC, the next year.)

The following month, the British attacked Sackets Harbor but were driven off by some 400 regular soldiers; the 500 men of the New York Militia ran off shortly after the attack commenced, but the

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

wo,1813 regulars maintained a fire sufficient to bear back the British. Both sides then returned to building ships and licking their wounds, leaving calm waters on Lake Ontario, which remained essentially unruffied for the remainder of the war.

The scene now shifts to Lake Erie, where Lieutenant Jesse Elliott, Chauncey's appointed deputy, was scurrying about buying and building ships, much as Chauncey was doing on Ontario. During this time, he led a night raid against two British schooners fitting out near Buffalo, New York. One he burned, HMS Detroit, and one he captured, Caledonia, a private armed vessel, which, while only mounting two guns, was still a blow to the British effort. Even greater was the loss of Detroit, which had been loaded with supplies and, more importantly, much of the ordnance previously captured at Fort Detroit.

Around the same time, but too late to join the raid, Oliver Hazard Perry arrived to take command on Lake Erie at Chauncey's order. Perry, a twenty-seven-year old master commandant, was fresh from the saltwater fleet and was transferred to the lakes at his own request (he suffered acutely from seasickness). The young officer worked frantically to finish the four ships under construction at Presque Isle. He bolstered his fleet with the recently captured Caledonia and four purchased merchantmen. By summer, the ships were completed and manned, albeit with inexperienced crews made up of landsmen and soldiers. Perry sailed his little fleet to the western end of the lake and maneuvered off and on outside the English base at Arnherstburg. Inside the harbor, the British were commanded by the one-armed but well-seasoned Royal Navy captain, Robert Barclay. He had served at Trafalgar with Lord Nelson and subsequently lost his arm in combat against the French, giving rise to his Indian name "o ur father with one arm." The injury did not deter him.

Since the American fleet on the lake had effectively cut off the supply route between Pore Dover and Fore Malden, Barclay had little choice but to go on the offensive.

While his fleet consisted of just six ships, all short-handed (like Perry's) and low on provisions, on the morning of 10 September 181 3, he sailed out to meet Perry's fleet off Put-in-Bay.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Oliver Hazard Perry (below) commanded the brig Niagara to victory in the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 September 1813. A replica of the ship, seen here, based out of Erie, PA, sails the Great Lakes interpreting the ship's history while conducting educational and sail training programs. (www.jlagshipniagara.org) The battle was pitched, each commander using his best strategy to cripple the opposing fleet. The British ships were armed with long guns, which had a greater range than Perry's, but the American ships had a heavier weight of metal. Perry's flagship, USS Lawrence (named for Lieutenant James Lawrence-more on him shortly), was one of two significant American ships; the other was the brig Niagara, commanded

by Jesse Elliott.

Lawrence, of twenty guns, traded broadsides with Barclay's flagship, HMS Detroit, and HMS Queen Charlotte; Perry was fighting against a combined 39 guns and fighting both sides of his ship simultaneously. In two hours, Lawrence was reduced to a floating hulk with over 80% of the crew killed or wounded.

With nothing left of the Lawrence to fight with, Perry had himself rowed to Niagara, which for some reason had held back from the fighting. He clambered aboard, took command from Elliott, and bore in to resume the fight with the two British ships.

During this time, the headrigs of the two large Royal Navy ships, Detroit and Queen Charlotte, became fouled with one another and Perry seized the opportunity to shoor them to pieces with a raking broadside as he maneuvered Niagara across their bows.

With the assistance of two American schooners, it was all over an hour later; four of the British ships surrendered while two others attempted an escape but were quickly run down and captured by the

other American vessels in the squadron.

Perry dispatched word to Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop."

Ashore on the Northwestern frontier, things were also going well for the Americans. The British had launched a spring offensive under General Henry Proctor, who included in his troops some 1,200 Indians led by Tecumseh. Proctor attacked the American-held Fort Meigs in Ohio but was driven away by General William Henry Harrison and his 550 men. As he withdrew, Proctor met an unsuspecting 1,200-man relief column en route from Kentucky and badly mauled them. Casualties included American soldiers who h ad been taken

11

prisoner and who were subsequently killed by Proctor's Indian allies. The losses were three to one, with the American soldiers bearing the brunt of it.

Proctor returned in July with a force of some 5,000 men, including regulars, Canadian militia and Indians. An attack by a detachment of Proctor's force on Fort Stephenson (on the Sandusky River in Ohio) ended in disaster for the English when the Kentucky sharpshooters picked them off as their Indian compatriots vanished into the forest. This would be the final British offensive in the Northwest, as Perry's control of Lake Erie denied them the ability to move troops and supplies by water. Proctor moved his force inland.

Harrison meanwhile had augmented his own force with an additional 1,200 well-trained Kentucky militiamen, all sharpshooters, bringing the US troop strength to about 5,500 men. In late September, he occupied Fort Detroit and Fort Malden, which Henry Dearborn had surrendered the previous year and which the British had abandoned in their flight inland. He determined to go after Proctor.

While the Pennsylvania militiamen refused to cross into Canada, the Kentucky riflemen had no problem following their commander, and Harrison's pursuit of the British began in earnest. Proctor was moving at a more leisurely pace than might be expected under the circumstances, and Harrison's force caught up quickly, forcing the British to make a stand at Moraviantown, some fifty miles east of Detroit. It was an uneven fight, pitting some 800 regular British Army and abo ut 500 Indians against the American force of 3,000 well-trained soldiers. A classical cavalry charge, led by congressman-turned-general Richard Johnson, crashed through the thin British line, caught the British in a cross fire and forced their surrender. Consumed with fury, the American soldiers attacked, shouting "Remember the Raisin" as they fought, killing the English troops and their Indian allies. The Indians held out longer than their British counterparts, surrendering only after learning that their own leader, Tecumseh, had fallen. Johnson, while suffering several serious wounds during the fight, is credited with killing the Indian leader. His actions subsequently brought him to the Vice Presidency under President Martin Van 12

Buren (1837-1841); the fight became known as the Battle of the Thames. It was a great victory for the Americans; combined with Perry's victory on Lake Erie, it turned the tide in the West, securing a whole new region for the United States.

Farther east, an early win by the Americans at Fort George in May 1813, at the confluence of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, encouraged the citizenry that, indeed, the worm had turned and the fortunes of war seemed to be favoring the Americans. It would not last. A retaliatory strike in December at Fort Niagara and settlements on the US side of the Niagara River pulled the American soldiers from their positions at the recently captured Fort George to assist their compatriots across the river. The British capitalized on this and attacked. With no reinforcements, the US Army's General George McClure abandoned the fort some six months after capturing it. As he departed, however, he set fire to the nearby town of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to prevent the British troops from sheltering there, giving the citizens just twelve hours' notice to vacate in sub-zero December weather. As to be expected, the British retaliated with an attack on Fort Niagara. The British overpowered the sentries, gained access, and killed some eighty of the Americans in their sleep and took more than 350 prisoners.

December proved a debilitating month for the Americans; the entire frontier from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie was "depopulated and the buildings and improvements, with a few exceptions, destroyed," according to Governor Daniel Tompkins, of New York.

One reason that the Niagara and Ontario theater became vulnerable was the lack of American troops; many of them had been transferred to service along the St. Lawrence River, preparing for the longawaited attack on Montreal. The corrupt and incompetent General James Wilkinson was named to command that effort. The British had captured two American ships on Lake Champlain, thus forcing the Americans to relinquish control of the lake and the important supply route down its length.

The capture of Montreal would offset this loss, should the American forces succeed in accomplishing their assignment.

The plan called for Wilkinson to lead some 7,000 men from Sackets Harbor down

the St. Lawrence and attack Montreal from the west. Simultaneously, General Wade Hampton would lead 4,500 men from the south. Hampton despised Wilkinson and generally refused to take orders from him, and neither general seemed terribly enthusiastic for the fight and hence delayed the start until October. Hampton did attack from the south, but a well-organized FrenchCanadian militia repelled his troops from a strong defensive position. Lt. Col. Charles de Salaberry defeated the Americans with a ruse: his men raised a huge ruckus with bugles and shouting, fooling the attacking troops into thinking they were facing a much larger group of defenders. Discretion being the better part ofvalor (in Hampton's mind), he led his men back to the American side of the border with only light casualties.

Wilkinson had an equally poor result. He delayed his departure until 5 November and during the entire trip he was harassed by personal illness, bad weather, and sporadic attacks from British Colonel Joseph Morrison's 800-man army from the rear. When he reached Chrysler's Farm, about midway between Lake Ontario and Montreal on the St. Lawrence River, Wilkinson determined to put an end to Morrison's harassment and turned to face him. By then, however, he was too ill to take the field and he put an underling in charge of some 2,000 soldiers. General John Boyd had been charged with driving Morrison's troops from their positions to enable Wilkinson to continue on to Montreal unimpeded. Instead, he suffered 340 killed and wounded and over 100 captured by the British forces, causing Wilkinson to call off the offensive and retire to his winter quarters near Sackets Harbor.

The war at sea in 181 3 proved equally mixed. The year began well enough with David Porter sailing the frigate Essex around Cape Horn and into the Pacific whaling grounds. The British whalers, for the most part, unaware that their country was at war with any beyond their perennial enemy, the French, were taken by surprise by the appearance of an American frigate ready to fight. The whalers, of course, had nothing with which to fight and each ship surrendered in turn, to be burned, taken as a prize, or used as a transport for the British sailors when Essex could no longer accommodate them. Nothing lasts forever, and evenrually

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon, 1June1813, paintings by ]. C. Schetky based on a design by Captain R.H King, RN. Published by Smith, Elder & Company, London, in 1830. (top) The battle begins with the exchange ofgunfire at close range. (2nd from top) USS Chesapeake is ''crippled and thrown into utter disorder" by HMS Shannon's first two broadsides. (3rd from top) Shannon continues to pound her opponent and in 15 minutes the battle was over. (bottom right) HMS Shannon is depicited "leading her prize . .. into Halifax Harbour, on the 6th June 1813," with the Royal Navy's white ensign flown above the US ensign on the Chesapeake.

\ his own self-aggrandizement, chafed ro get word got back ro England that they had problems in ro sea. The repons that two British frigates were cruising off and on the President the Pacific. The Admiralty sent two warships, Cherub Roads, just outside Boston Harbor, only fueled his passion ro, once again, prove and Phoebe, under the comhis mettle. His previous valiant performand of Captain James Hillyar, ro find this menace mance (again, in his mind) could only and deal wirh him. (More be the harbinger of a glorious future .

Late in May, he sent a local fishing on that in an upcoming issue of Sea Hisrory.) boat out ro see if the British were still in Fresh from his vicrory evidence. The report returned that, yes, HMS Shannon was, in fact, still sailing off th e coast of Sou th off and on, but there was no sign of her America in February 1813, consort, HMS Tenedos. Unbeknownst Master Commandant James Lawrence returned h ome ro the Americans, Captain Philip Broke quite prepared for a glorious welcome. After . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , in Shannon had sent all, there had been few naval victories of note the other ship away ro / and all of the commanders involved, Hull, entice Chesapeake out of the harbor and then Bainbridge, and Decatur, had been feted as sent a note into Bosron heroes. Those vicrories, however, had been won in frigates, fighting the frigates of the offering Lawren ce a most powerful navy in the world. Lawrence fair fight in singlehad won his glory in USS Hornet, a sloop ship combat. Lawrence never received the of war, which, although sh ip rigged o n invitation; h e had three mas ts, was considerably smaller and carried a much smaller crew and battery: already sailed. Certain of hi s invincibility, sixteen 9-pounders, two 12-po unders, Lawrence had rallied and some carronades as compared ro the his crew, most of which frigates' armament of forty-five to fifty 24pounders. In addition, Hornet had not faced an equal, bur a significantly smaller brig.

Lawrence was indeed given a hero's welcome, but it was hardly what he considered his due. Internally, the Navy recognized his feat, promoted him to captain, and posted him to the command of the frigate USS Chesapeake. She was smaller than the famed Constitution and United States, and rated at 36 guns rather than the 44 carried by the "heavy frigates," but, nonetheless, she was a frigate .

It was, in his mind, nothing less than his due, and he reported aboard his new command in Boston where the ship was undergoing repairs from a recent-and unsuccessful -cruise.

His crew was short-handed, provisions were scant, and the local merchants were unwilling ro provide for the ship's needs on credit. This was New England where, by and large, the populace was decidedly against "Mister Madison's War." Lawrence, filled with

/

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 20 11

13

lhe 1812 privateer Lynx, like her modern-day namesake seen here, was a topsail schooner built for speed and seaworthiness, a Baltimore Clipper. lhe modern-day Lynx is owned and operated by the Lynx Education Foundation and travels throughout US waters conducting educational programs. She is currently on a tour ofthe Great Lakes. (www.privateerlynx.com)

was untrai ned, unwilling, and unconvinced that their captain was that good, and on the first of]une, set sail.

He was fo llowed to sea by a coterie of small craft, excited to see a naval battle first-hand, a slug-fest between frigates right off Cape Ann . Those who were shore-bound climbed to rooftops and rook telescopes and picnic suppers to the hills surrounding Boston. As all the previous US victories had been won well offshore and our of sight of the citizenry, here was an opportunity to see first-hand the brilliance of the United States Navy. Ir would be a spectacle with which they could regale their grandchildren!

And it was.

As he expected, Lawrence fo un d Captain Broke and Shannon waiting; in fact, Broke had ordered some of his sails furled to allow Chesapeake to catch up. The battle was joined, and in fifteen minutes it was over.

Lawrence was defeated by a combination of overconfidence, bad luck, and inability.

Both he and Broke were badly wounded and, while the Englishman would recover, Lawrence died underway, as his command was being sailed to Halifax by the victors.

With his dying words, he left a legacy which, to this day, still resonates in the US Navy: "Don't give up the ship!"

Ir was these words that Captain O liver Perry had sewn on the flag that flew from the masthead of his Lake Erie flagship, USS Lawrence, on 10 September

14

1813. Perry's flag can be seen today at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

Overall, there was relatively little naval action during 1813 because of the British blockade, which effectively bottled up much of the American navy in port. The ships already at sea remained there, revictualing as possible in friendly or neutral ports. The action at sea was instead carried our by innovative and daring privareersmen who sailed small, fast, and weatherly schooners against British merchantmen. These forays resulted in outrageous increases in insurance rates for British shipowners who were sending goods to Halifax and elsewhere and the need to provide naval escorts for convoys to ensure the safety of their merchant ships and cargoes.

The blockade also had a deleterious effect on the movement of American coastal shipping. With ports closed off by the Royal Navy, merchants and shippers transported their goods overland to markets along the eastern seaboard. Delays were rife and created both gluts and severe shortages. Issues beyond simple matters of trade arose when the British, intent on bringing the war to America, determined the Chesapeake Bay would make a plum prize, both from a shipping standpoint as well as the population centers along the shores, and they spent much of the spring rampaging through the Bay.

The initial intent of Admiral Sir George Cockburn commanding the British squadron was to cut out and rake USS Constellation, holed up in Norfolk, Virginia.

Hoping to lull the Virginians into the belief that they were not the target, Cockburn sailed north where, as he suspected, the pickings were plentiful. The admiral waited until June to arrack Norfolk. Basking in his initial successes, Cockburn grew complacent and fai led to accurately chart the areas of shifting sandbars off Norfolk, nor did he suspect that the Americans might actually stand up to his forays along the coast.

Denied access to the shore by dangerous shoals, Cockburn could only mount an attack from small boats, and even they ran afo ul of the bottom. Ar tillery fire, mounted by the Americans both from the sh ore and from their own boats, sealed the deal. He called off the attack. Captain Charles Stewart, commanding Constellation, received word of the British attack and moved his ship farther up the river, ensuring her safety.

Constellation would remain away from the action throughout the rest of the war.

During Cockburn's spring in the Chesapeake Bay, he managed to get all the way north to the Elk River, stopping along rheway for provisions and rampages through the countryside. Should the landowners and farmers cooperate with his troops and provide provisions of livestock and vegetables, they were compensated and left alone. Those who resisted, however, found their crops and animals taken and their fields and buildings put to the torch . In some cases, he burnt entire towns . Havre de Grace, at the northern end of the Bay where the Elk and Susquehanna Rivers meet, barely fired a shot at his ships, bur met with pillage and destruction nonetheless.

Following his thwarted attempt to cut our Constellation, Cockburn and his boss, Admiral Sir John Warren, commander of the British forces in the North Atlantic, attacked Hampton, Virginia, swatting aside the ineffectual militia like so many pesky flies. The British troops then went on a rampage, raping, pillaging, burning, and stealing anything they wished. And not a man was punished for his crimes! The American populace became enraged at the actions of the marauding Englishmen and finally managed to put some steel in their spines. This change of mind set would serve them well in the fo llowing year.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 20 11

Baltimore, Maryland, led the nation in construction and success of what became known as "Baltimore clippers."

These exceptionally fast and maneuverable schooners ranged from 120 feet to 200 feet and were generally heavily armed and crewed.

W hat set them apart from navy vessels was that they were owned and manned by civilians whose motive was primarily profit.

Many of the more successful privateers (also called "private armed ships") operated in British waters or in the West Indies, the only places where British merchant ships sailed unescorted. A number of privateers wo uld be remembered in history for their exploits, but perhaps the most famo us was True-Blooded Yankee, a schooner fated out by an American in France. In one 37-day cruise, this ship took twenty-seven prizes, occupied an island off the coast of Ireland for six days, and burned seven vessels inside a Scottish harbor! Her Baltimore sisters were doing well also, but closer to home.

Prize settlements for successful privateers ranged from $40,000 to over $230,000 (not adj usted for 21 "-century val ues). Of course, not all were successfulsome privateers or letter-of-marque traders (vessels whose primary mission was the

transport of h igh-value cargo to and from Europe) made only a single voyage, being captured or sunk early on. In one notorious event, the British warships-their boats, actually, as there was no wind at the timecaptured fo ur letter-of-marque traders at the mouth of the Rappahan nock River in one fell swoop! Regardless of individual success or failure, the overall result of American privateering was highly advantageous for the United States. English warships were distracted from their primary duty-fighting the Americans-and assigned to escort merchant ships gathered into convoys. The very act of convoying disrupted shipping schedules and raised havoc with the receipt of war materiel by the Royal Army in Canada, especially as nearly everything they required had to be shipped from England.

Royal Navy ships escorting convoys, of course, could not be sim ul taneously blockadi ng American ports, and thus provided opportunities for the privateers to slip through the gaps. Even so, the Royal Navy had assigned ten ships of the line, th irty-eight friga tes, and fifty-two smaller ships to pattol American waters, and by November of 1813, the British blockade extended from Spanish Florida to the coast

of southern New England. Northern New England was spared for a while as a reward for the people's opposition to the war and to allow the steady Bow of provisions to Canada and the West Indies. Additionally, the British actually occupied what is now Castine, Maine.

By the end of 1813, the British forces in Europe had defeated Napoleon, freeing up those forces and ships for the American theater. They arrived in the western Atlantic and Canada late in the year, putting the English on the offensive as 1814 began. ~ William H. White is a maritime historian and author who specializes in the history ofthe US Navy during the Age ofSail. He serves as chair ofthe NMHS Committee for the Commemoration & Bicentennial ofthe War of1812 and the Star Spangled Banner, and he is the author ofthe upcoming NMHS book, " . â&#x20AC;˘. our flag was still there," The Sea History Press Guide to the War of 181 2-Its History and Bicentennial Commemorations, available in December 2011. Mr. White serves on the Board of Trustees for NMHS, the USS Constitution Museum, and the Lynx Educational Foundation . For more about the author and his other books, visit: www.seafiction.net.

JOIN TODAY!

Since 1926

Become a stakeholder in our Navy's exciting history and inspiring heritage!

Besides becoming a part of the nation's premier naval heritage organization, Naval Historical Foundation members receive discounts on photographic/art research and reproduction services, cruise-book copies, and other services!

For info call 202-678-4333 or visit:

WWW.NAVYHISTORY.ORG 1396 Dahlgre n Ave., SE W as hington Navy Ya rd , DC 20374-5 055

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

15

The National Museum of the Royal Navy: 100 Years of

by Campbell McMurray

li

National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) formally me inro existence only two years ago in September 2009, nging into a single administration four formerly auto nomous British naval collections: the Royal Naval Museum; the RN Submarine Museum; the Fleet Air Arm Museum; and the Royal Marines Museum, in close partnership with HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Barde of Trafalgar. Its launch, celebrated with much fanfare and the rare firing of a full broadside from HMS Victory, represents a renewed and determined effort by the Royal Navy to engage a broad audience in its history and become the unified voice for naval heritage in Great Britain. This new organization is embarking on a multi-million-dollar development program to create a series of new exhibitions devoted to the history of the Royal Naval Service and its people in the 20'h and 21" centuries, driven by the principle that both the navy and the people of Great Britain have much to gain from a proper understanding of the courage, professionalism, resources, and achievements of those who came before us.

The origins of this undertaking are to be found at the close of the nineteenth century, when the first faltering steps were taken to create a Naval and Dockyard Museum in Portsmouth. That this ambition succeeded is owed principally to the strenuous efforrs of one man, Mr. Mark Edwin Pescott Frost, secretary to successive port admirals in Portsmouth Dockyard, from 1899 to 1921.

The genesis of Frost's successful efforts is to be found in a surviving undated memo where he wrote, "Soon after taking up the appointment of Secretary to the Admiral Superintendent in November 1899, I formed the resolution to establish a museum in the Dockyard as soon as practicable." The first step in this direction, Frost goes on to say, came when the port admiral, "at my suggestion Mark Edwin Pescott Frost ordered all departments to send

16

in a list of articles of interest and to earmark them for the purpose."

When a building to house the museum became available in the old Dockyard ropery building in 1905, Frost wrote, " ... the admiral offered it to me for the Museum and I readily accepted."

Described as "an aesthete with unbounded enthusiasm," Portsmouth-born M. E. P. Frost was undoubtedly an impressive and determined individual, highly capable and a well-regarded administrator by all accounts. This scholarly and reflective senior civil servant also seems to have possessed enviable powers of advocacy and persuasion. An individual of his unabashed antiquarian instincts could hardly fail to see that in his own time, the demise of Nelson's old sailing navy was well advanced. Indeed, at that same moment, the first all-big-gun, steam-turbine-driven battleship, HMS Dreadnought, was being built in the Porrsmouth Dockyard, virtually within view of his office window. Ir had to have emphasized to him the imperative need to do everything possible to preserve at least something of the material culture of the age of the sailing warship.

HMS Dreadnought, 1906

Over the next five years or so, mainly on his own time but with occasional Dockyard assistance, Frost, as honorary curator, brought together, organized, and classified a huge volume of materials in preparation for opening the new museum. He acquired more than forty figureheads, numerous half-models, ship relics, and other artifacts from the many small-scale wars and minor campaigns that the Royal Navy had fought in the nineteenth century, as well as weapons, carvings, trophies, prints, maps and charrs, manuscripts, dockyard plans, ships' furniture, and, it is said, a fragment of HMS Victorys fore topsail from Trafalgar. They were researched, their provenance was established, and exhibits were created for them. While this effort was underway, King George V and Queen Mary paid a visit and gave their enthusiastic approval, the start of what would be a continuing interest by the King and his consort, who personally contributed items from time to time and never missed the opportunity to visit when in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth's Naval and Dockyard Museum officially opened a century ago in June 1911 , thus beginning the interpretation of

SEA HISTORY 136,AUTUMN 201 1

Naval Heritage at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard 1922 and to preserve h er in perpetuity was to change forever rhe order of things in Portsmouth Dockyard, and it signalled rhe beginning of the end for Frost's enterprising initiative.

Over rhe many years that HMS Victory had been afloat in the harbor, a sizeable collection of Nelson memorabilia and other commemorative items had been acquired and displayed on board, including rhe state barge built for Charles II, which had carried Nelson's coffin upriver from Greenwich to Sr Paul's Cathedral for his funeral in January 1806, and the admiral's original dining furniture from the great cabin. In consultation with the Society for Nautical Research (SNR), which had been behind rhe initial drive to preserve the Victory, rhe Admiralty decided to restore rhe ship to her exact 1805 appearance, outfit, and internal configuration.

The barge, furniture, and some other items could no longer be exhibited on board. Eventually, in 1929, an agreement was reached with rhe SNR on a sire adjacent to the ship for the construction of a new museum building, where these artifacts could be conveniently displayed. The operation of two separate museums within the working Dockyard was deemed insensible, and it was agreed that this edifice, to be operated under the aegis of the SNR, should supersede rhe original Frost foundation. Only the items that were relevant to HMS Victory would be transferred to the new premises from rhe Dockyard Museum.

It was nor until 1938 that the new Victory M useum was completed, and a substantial number of Dockyard Museum artifacts did find their way there, many of which remain in rhe NMRN collections to this day. But many of the other items, ones Frost worked so tirelessly to acquire, were disposed of or returned to their donors, and relevant selections were offered to the new National Maritime Museum. Frost, then approaching his 80'h year, was profoundly disappointed by the Admiralty's deci111

Among the spectacular artifacts that the museum collected from the outset were the figureheads from some ofthe great Royal Navy ships in history-in the foreground is the figurehead from HMS Asia.

modern naval heritage in this city. The event received enthusiastic coverage in the press, and over the next few years the museum enjoyed a respectable popularity. Annual admissions hovered steadily around 17,000 paying visitors, and the proceeds were donated to local charities. The museum thrived, albeit modestly, and was recognized as a significant addition to the nation's maritime heritage communi ty-so much so that lhe Times newspaper in 1913 opined that "a national naval museum should be developed around it." Another twenty years would pass before the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich was established to fill this need.

In the meantime, more pressing matters were confronting the nation, and with the o utbreak of World War I, the Museum was closed to the public for the duration of the war.

Re-opened in 1919, it took time for the attendance numbers to recover and reach their pre-war totals; Frost, by now approaching retirement, was constrained to write a letter to the secretary of the Admiralty Board, in which he expressed the fervent hope that the museum could be kept going. ''After all my time and research work expended upon it, it wo uld be a great regret to me if it were allowed to languish and suffer from neglect."

In reply, the secretary of the board gave no such assurances, m erely stating: "Their Lordships desire me to take this opportunity of conveying to Mr. Frost an expression of their appreciation of the services he has offered as Honorary Curator of the Museum." With neither professional staff nor any expert technical assistance in curatorship or conservation, no real capital investment, a declining level of commitment from his successors and, surely missing rhe untiring levels of energy and commitment of Frost himself, the Dockyard Museum began to fail. Bur the Admiralty's Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, 1972, with HMS Victory taking center stage. lhe decision to place HMS Victory in No. 2 Dock Dockyard is a dynamic mix ofhistoric ships, museums, and a modern naval shipyard.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 20 11

17

sion to wind up his pioneering venture, and he wrote numerous But there is one final, touching strand to this tale: the hisheartfelt letters to numbers of influential people expressing his tory of the NMRN, from its beginnings as a pioneering center of sorrow at the fate which had befallen his great enterprise, and British naval heritage to the grand, modern enterprise of today, pleading with a great sense of wounded pride for a reprieve. His also represents a small, rather obscure but fascinating expression pleas fell on deaf ears, and although the replies were all respect- of what we in Britain like to call our "special relationship" with fully sympathetic to his predicament and acknowledged his sterling the United States. Within the unfolding story of this institution is contribution to naval heritage in Portsmouth, the matter was ef- to be found what can only be described as a one-sided love affair fectively closed. Frost continued to feel let down and bitter, but at between Britain's most famous sea warrior, Admiral Lord Nelson, the opening of the new Victory Museum, and an American citizen born into the gilded in July 1938, the chairman of the SNR life just after the outbreak of the First World delivered a generous tribute to the man and War, Mrs. Lily Lambert McCarthy. The young his achievement.

Lily's heart was opened to the life and career The new Victory Museum opened of the great man through the influence of her in 1938 and closed almost immediately in father, Gerard Barnes Lambert, the retired 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World chief executive of the Lambert Pharmacal War, and it did not reopen until the end of Company, maker of the immensely successful hostilities.

Listerine antiseptic product. The wealthy GeThroughout the early 1950s and rard Lambert became an eminent art collector thereafter, under the auspices of the SNR, and international yachtsman. He not only the Victory Museum was able to fund a introduced his daughter to the sea and ships, modest expansion of the premises, maintain but to the "Immortal Memory." a full-time curator, improve the quality of In her memoir, Remembering Nelson the accommodation and the environmen(1995), Lily tells how her "first enchantment" tal conditions in which the collections with Heinrich Friedrich Fuger's striking were stored and, critically, expand them portrait of the admiral, painted in Vienna through such accessions as the Sucklingin 1800 and purchased by her father around Ward collection of Nelson relics. These 1926, persuaded her to read Southey's Life and other initiatives did much, nor only to of Nelson. From this early encounter, Lily extend the popular appeal of HMS Victory, developed a deep and abiding fascination Portrait of Lord Horatio Nelson whose visitor numbers by the mid-1960s with Admiral Nelson, his fleet , and the

by Heinrich Friedrich Fuger amounted to some 275,000 per annum, history of British naval mastery in the Age but also helped to establish the Victory Museum as a major inter- of Sail. Over time, she became in her own right a distinguished national center for the study of the great admiral and his career. In collector of Nelson memorabilia and other tangible mementoes of more recent times, through high-quality scholarship, publications, his career, a lifelong devotion to our greatest naval figure, which and the opening of new modern galleries devoted to Nelson and was to culminate in her making a gift of her private collection to related themes, these claims have been greatly reinforced and the the Royal Navy in 1972. The aforementioned Fuger painting is NMRN in Porrsmouth is now recognized to be a world authority the undoubted gem of this assemblage, which also includes an in this field. impressive and extensive range of pottery and porcelain, incised glass, snuffboxes and enamels, prints, drawings, engravings and HMS Victory at her berth at the Dockyard with the paintings-including major works by Carmichael and Luny-and museum buildings in the background. all manner of commemorative souvenirs, produced in dizzying numbers for a triumphant nation, as well as memorials of every description. The range is satisfyingly wide and splendidly diverse, the fruits of a lifetime of painstaking research and close and superlatively well-informed scrutiny of sale room and art house catalogues in the United States, Europe, and in Great Britain.

Not only did Mrs. McCarthy present her collection to the Royal Navy, but she also supervised-and contributed to the cost of-its installation in a handsome new exhibition of Nelsoniana in Portsmouth, first opened to the public in 1972. At the same time, importantly, it was agreed that the older Victory Gallery and its collections, including those formerly part of the original Dockyard Museum (since 1938, vested in the ownership of the SNR), and the new Nelson material in the Lambert McCarthy Gallery should be quickly brought within the administrative ownership of the Ministry of Defence. Concurrently, the Portsmouth Royal Naval Museum was established through a deed of trust to provide

18

SEAHISTORY 136,AUTUMN20ll

a unified and professional management structure for the collections and to expand the scope of the museum to embrace the history of naval operations in general. Its core operational costs would now be met by the Ministry and the collections were secured in perperuiry, thus laying down the groundwork for the launch of the aforementioned National Museum in autumn of2009.

The new gallery occupied premises on the ground floors of one of the great eighteenth-century Dockyard storehouses, described

by Nikolaus Pevsner as among the grandest of the numerous redbrick structures erected in the period between 1750 and 1800.

These historic buildings had been threatened with imminent demolition as surplus to operational requirements in the 1960s, bur the gifr of the Lambert McCarthy Collection to rhe Royal Navy in 1972 gave them a (hard-fought, admittedly) stay of execution. Their progressive conversion since rhar dare embodies the distinguished naval tradition of evolving into a new and dignified usage. The gifr of the McCarthy Collection, together with the decision to place it in Storehouse No. 11, directly led to the formation of the Royal Naval Museum (now renamed the National Museum of rhe Royal Navy). Building on rhe pioneering achievements of Mark Edwin Pescorr Frosr, rhe foundation was laid for rhe development of the economic prosperiry of Porrsmouth's historic Dockyard, based on

rhe display, research and interprerarion of Britain's naval heritage, which has been such a vital contributor to rhe prosperiry of rhis ciry and irs people. ,t Campbell McMurray was the director of the Royal Naval Museum from 1989 to 2006 He began his career at the National Maritime Museum in 1970 as the first Caird Research Fellow; he was subsequently appointed assistant keeper in the Department ofPrinted Books and Manuscripts. He left Greenwich in 1983 to become the founding director ofthe Scottish Maritime Museum, where he served until 1989.

His scholarly interests are in naval history and in the history ofseafaring labor in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Centenary Celebration of the National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth, England, 29 June 2011 The N ational Maritime Historical Society was honored to be invited to represent rhe Uni red Srares ar rhe Centenary Celebration of Naval Heritage in Porrsmourh Historic Dockyard. Joining us in this privilege were RADM Jay Deloach, USN (Rer.) , Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command and his wife Jodi; RADM Joseph Callo, USNR (Rer.), and Captain Sally Chin McElwrearh, USNR (Rec.). NMHS trustees Admiral Callo and Captain McElwrearh were also representing rhe American Friends of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Visiting the Dockyard is an incredible experience from rhe moment you walk through Victory Gare. Wirh HMS Victory in front of you, suddenly rhere yo u are-in Lord Nelson's great cabin, where in October 1805 he gathered his captains around rhe rable to plan rhe arrack on rhe combined French and Spanish fleer anchored in Cadiz Harbor, which proved to be arguably rhe grearesr naval bartle in history. Nexr door, rhe National Museum of rhe Royal Navy exhibits spectacular artifacts, displays, and images.

Also at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard . ..

King Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose, which sank ourside Porrsmourh Harbor in 1545 and was raised in 1982, is gerring a new srare-of-rhe-art museum (scheduled for an early 2013 opening) and is rhe only 16th-century warship on display in rhe world. The ship and her 19,000 artifacts present an incredible snapshot ofTudor life and rhe srare of naval architecture and warfare of her day.

HRH The Princess Royal discusses the concerns of maritime museums with NMHS chairman Ronald Oswald, trustees jean Wort and Howard Slotnick, president Burchenal Green, and trustee Joseph Callo.

The 1860 HMS ~rrior, Grear Britain's first iron-hulled armored warship, powered by steam and auxiliary sail, was rhe "black snake" rhar changed rhe maritime world forever bur was made obsolete in jusr a decade. Ar more rhan 400 feer in lengrh, she presents a majestic and imposing presence ar rhe Dockyard.

Visitors can rake a boar tour of rhe harbor and view modern warships, ferries from Gosport and rhe Isle of Wighr, yachrs, and finally rhe grear commercial ships working in and our of the harbor. Where else can you find so much history in rhe midsr of such a currently active naval and maritime center? Of course, key to rhe great success of the National Museum of rhe Royal Navy and the many ships ar rhe Dockyard is rhe enthusiastic, knowledgeable and gracious sraff. Many rhanks for rhe invirarion, rhe hospiraliry, and rhe chance to experience and learn more about rhe history of the Royal Navy. -Burchenal Green, NMHS President

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

19

Crossing the Pond in Eagle 21 May2011~(48°02.lS'N,27° 21.53'W) We are sailing towards the coast oflreland, about 900 miles SW of Waterford, our destination. The wind is off the quarter, blowing about 20-25 knots, and we are surfing along with a following sea at about 9-10 knots. Seas are 10-12 feet, but every fifteen minutes or so we take a couple of heavy rollers. Woe to the crewman who has left something unsecured on a bunk or countertop. We've been at sea for rwo weeks and expect to see land in five or six days.

It has been a long time since I have been at sea for a long period of time and getting my sea legs back has been a thrill. But taking a voyage on this 295-foot three-masted barque has been enlightening in many other respects, as well. An Atlantic crossing in the USCGC Eagle is a voyage that will stay with you for a lifetime-which is exactly what the US Coast Guard Academy has in mind for the officers and cadets who sail her.

We set sail on a sunny morning in New London, Connecticut, but by day rwo it became clear that the North Atlantic planned to show the future pillars of the Coast Guard exactly what it could deliver.

By dawn of day three, we were flying in a full gale. The storm put our sturdy ship through the kind of sailing few of our crew of cadets had even imagined possible. As the hours passed and the seas and wind continued to increase, we started taking in sail. In came the courses, plus a handful of staysails fore and aft. And finally, after dark, the topsails.

The cadets and crew who weren't seasick

by Deirdre O'Regan

'/! calm sea does not make a skiffed sailor. " Day three: riding out a gale is not aff non-stop action. There are hours and hours ofbeing on stand-by when fatigue, anxiety, and even a Little boredom can set in-until the next flurry of high-action. did some bucko sail handling aloft in the dark that night-especially considering that it was only the third day aboard for many.

Up forward on the fo'c's le-head, the leeward monkey rail, a wood- and iron pinrail that holds the belaying pins for the four headsail sheets, blew out. Some of the bronze belaying pins sheared off where they went through the rail. Others bent at angles that revealed the kind of strain they had been under. The headsails, as a result, were flogging out of control for a while until the crew and cadets managed to get their hands on enough of the sailcloth to wrestle them onto the bowsprit and secure them-or in rwo cases, what was left of them.

We spent the next few days repairing sails and rails, both down below in the sail locker and damage control compartment and on deck in the rain. The day after a storm is always a time to regroup, eat something solid and have it stay down, make repairs, and marvel at what you've just

been through. Day four aboard Eagle was no different. When the storm blew out, a week of calm came on its heels. We spent the next full week motoring in a thick fog as we crossed the famous Grand Banks of the North Atlantic. There were times you couldn't even make out the lookouts up forward from the bridge deck through the fog. Those spending time on the weather deck needed full foul weather gear if they hoped to stay dry.

The wi nd picked up a few days ago, and we have been sailing under square sails

(Left) The pinraif where the working jib sheets are made off, which used to sit atop the post in the foreground, Lower right, blew out and with it the four jibs. (right) The fore upper topsail needed a sizable patch, so the crew guided the cadets on how to send down a square sail underway and send it back up to bend it on when the repair was completed.

20

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

through the royals from dawn until after nightfall, often striking royals and sometimes topgallants before midnight. The sun peeked through the clouds for the first time in ten days yesterday, so spirits are lifting.

It is great to be far out at sea, cruising at a good clip with a following breeze. So far, I have seen this huge sailing ship dip her bowsprit and take some serious rolls while charging through the seas at nearly fifteen knots under sail power alone, and that is a sight to remember.

0

n 7 May 2011, the USCG Cutter

Eagle(WIX-327), a 75-year-old three-

masted barque, pulled away from her pier in New London, Connecticut, and set a course for Ireland, more than 3,000 miles away.

To get there, Eagle is powered by three sources, each as vital as the next: a 1,000-horsepower diesel engine, 23 sails carried on three masts, and a whole lot of muscle. This was the start of the US Coast Guard Academy's annual summer training cruise, where the entire rising sophomore class (or third class cadets) will spend six weeks onboard, half the class at a time, for a cruise that includes a transAdantic crossing and shorter passages between European ports and Iceland before heading home.

I joined them for the first leg across the Atlantic to get a first-hand look at the training and experience they get aboard Eagle, and to get a chance to go back to sea myself after a long stint ashore. In addition to the 122 third class cadets, Eagle put to sea with twenty-two first class cadets, Eagle's regular crew of fifty-six (both enlisted and officers assigned for two- or three-year

The bowsprit takes a plunge in a heavy sea. feet of sails, Eagle needs a big crew to set and

billets), nineteen TAD (temporary additional duty) officers-three of whom are CG reservists, and four guests for a total of 223 souls aboard. The third class cadets would sign off en masse in London and be replaced by the other half of their class, who would sail the ship back to the United States.

Eagle is celebrating her 75th anniversary this year. To commemorate her years of service, the Coast Guard and her crew sailed her back to the German shipyard where she was built (see story on Eagle's history in Sea History 135, Summer 2011). In addition, from Waterford, the ship would also visit London and Reykjavik, Iceland, before heading back to the US via the Canadian Mari times.

If many hands make light work, then sai ling in Eagle should be a cakewalk, but with six miles of rigging and 22,300 square

strike square sails in all weather. 1hat's an ideal set-up for a training ship, where there are more than enough people onboard to accomplish the basic tasks, and then some.

The Eagle is the only square-rigged sailing vessel in US government service that regularly puts to sea for the trainingoffuture military officers. Using traditional sail for this purpose isn't new to the Coast Guard.

The initial CG Academy (then the US Revenue Cutter Service) was en ti rely aboard ship on the topsail schooner Dobbin, which began her career as a training ship in 1876.

The leadership recognized that the Revenue Cutter Service demanded skills specific to its mission, distinct from the Merchant Marine and the Navy. Today, the types of vessels have evolved, as has the role of the Coast Guard, but the reality of specialized

Eagle needs plenty ofhands to sail her, and during cadets cruises manpower is never an issue.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

21

training has not changed. Training under square rig provides a way ro indoctrinate a new class of cadets quickly.

How so? The US Coast Guard's motto is "Semper Paratus," which means "always ready." It is the training that makes the motto a reality. And, as the smallest of the Armed Services, it is also the shared experience of withstanding the challenges of a sea voyage under sail that cements the kind of teamwork that the Coast Guard's mariners have always been known for.

The US Coas t G uard Academy does not take its cadets to sea in Eagle to train a new generation of tall ship sailors-the sails and rig are simply a means to an end . .. but a fantastic, exciting, and labor-intensive m eans just the same.

Aboard any vessel at sea, people learn what it means to be a good shipmate, how to live with little to no privacy, how to conserve resources, how to depend on themselves and allow themselves to depend on others. The effort it takes to sail the Eagle accomplishes this as well, ten-fold. There are schools and courses today in "Leadership Training," but in Eagle, it comes naturally. And there are opportunities for mentoring at every level.

First class cadets train the third class cadets, enlisted crew teach cadets and other crewmembers, officers train other officers-this list goes on.

By the time the Eagle makes it back to her home port in New London at the end of the summer, more than 550 cadets will have sailed in her this seaso n: one week each for the new "swabs" o r fourth class cadets, who have just graduated from high

school; six weeks for every third class cadet, those who just finished their first year at the Academy; and eleven weeks for twen ty-two first class cadets, who are about to enter their last academic year and who areonboard in leadership positions.

Third-class cad ets rotate through a seven-day training program, which takes them through five departments: operations, engineering, support, damage control, and deck.

Operations training focuses on navigation, from centuries-old techniques to modern electronic and satellite navigation systems.

They learn both how to shoot LAN (local apparent noon) with a sextant to get a line of position and how to use sophisticated electronics and radar.

Engineering watches teach cadets about how to monitor and maintain the ship's mechanical systems: the main engine, generators, and water makers. They sound tanks, do hourly checks throughout the ship, maintain the log, and train for emergencies such as flooding or fire.

Support. Not all jobs onboard are glamorous. Eagle's food service crew, assisted by the cadets, produces 800 meals a day underway, sometimes in the most difficult conditions a cook could ever deal with. In addition to food prep and clean-up, the ship is cleaned from top to bottom every day-sometimes every watch.

Damage Control. You can't call 9-1-1 out at sea, and when yo u are close enough to shore it would be the Coast Guard yo u'd call in an emergency anyway. Therefore, damage control training is not only critical for this vessel but for whatever vessel the cadets may serve on in the future. During their week with the Damage Control crew, cadets learn fire-fighting (and prevention!) , flood control, and first aid. (continued on page 24) (left) First class cadet Orlando Morel goes over the logbook in the engine room, while two third class cadets look on. The training program is set up so that upperclassmen get leadership experience by guiding their peers.

22

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Meet the Future of the US Coast Guard David Parker, third class, age 23 from Woodstock, Georgia, majoring in civil engineering. David already has a bachelor's degree in architecture bur grew disenchanted with 9-5 work. More importantly, he discovered his values had shifted from wan ring a career rhar was "all about me" to wanting to serve. He could have gone to the Coast Guard's Officer Candidate School, bur he wanted the kind of experience only the Academy could offer. David volunteered for the worst jobs and least glorious jobs and performed them with enthusiasm. Why? "Because a good leader needs humiliry."

Danny Piazza, first class, age 22, from Pawling, New York, management David Parker (right) shooting LAN. major. Danny makes no bones about it: the top-notch college education the Coast Guard offered him was big draw. Nor only that, bur a guaranteed job each summer and for five years after graduation added to the Academy's lustre. Our of high school, Danny spent a year at SUNY Maritime College in Throgs Neck, New York. But he realized that he was looking for a more formal military experience and transferred to the Coast Guard. Danny seems to be everywhere all the rime and is invariably upbeat. He is ranked #1 in his class on board. (Rankings are based on academic grades, military scores, and physical fitness exams.) This was his fourth summer aboard Eagle. Danny likes that at the Coast Guard Academy, all classes are respectful of each other because, chances are, they will end up on the same ship together. He noted that at a maritime academy, graduates scatter and may sail together in ships down the road, bur that in the Coast Guard it is almost guaranteed. On his "dream sheet" for job placement after graduation is to be assigned to search and rescue - and he hopes to make his career in law enforcement.

Danny Piazza (right) gives the navigation briefjust before departure.

First class cadet Kim Hulbert, age 21 from Congers, New York, is a marine environmental science major. She requested to be main mast captain for the challenge of leading her peers through the complexities of running all sail handling from course to royal, including main staysails as well. Despite her calling to the main mast, Kim found most valuable her training in the engine department and hopes to qualify both on deck and in engineering before she signs off. Kim has an uncle in the US Navy and she applied to both the Naval Academy and the Coast Guard Academy. Accepted by each, Kim decided the Coast Guard would best march her personaliry and career goals. For one thing, she thought she would thrive in a more familial environment of the smaller Academy.

Third class cadet Ridge Lortz hails from Maryland and said that many of his classmates from high school aim for the Naval Academy because it has such a presence in his home state. He wanted to do something different, but he was still intent on joining a military academy. Aside from his blazing red hair, Ridge stuck our to me from our first meeting, aloft on day three in the gale on the main lower topsail yard getting ready to stow the sail. Ir was day three, but it was nighttime, Kim Hulbert calls out commands with the winds still strong enough to pose a problem and the rain, at times, blowing at the main mast. sideways. I followed the line-up of cadets and crew up and our along the port side of the yard on the footropes. Next in line behind me came Mr. Lortz with a big smile on his face. When he looked up and saw a middle-aged woman, clearly nor in the Coast Guard, our on the yard with him, he smiled and said in surprise, "Who are you?" Ridge was always more than willing to be taught something extra, identifying tall ship rigs, knots beyond rhe basic five, and how to splice three-strand rope. He has great instincts and was never hesitant to do rhe right thing. His energy and joy at handling whatever task was at hand was contagious.

Ridge Lortz ready and eager far the next order aloft.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

23

Steering Eagle takes the p ower ofsix people at the helm. There's always p lenty ofvolunteers to stow sails aloft on the main royal and topgallant.

So far, these are the training fu ndamentals that cadets and crew will need o n any Coast G uard vessel, from a 420-foot icebreaker to the 2 1-foot aid-to-navigation boat. In Eagle, however, the real thrill is

In addition ro the official checklist of what the Eagle's training program entails, perhaps it is the intangibles that are as valuable. At sea on a sailing ship, yo u have to deal with all kinds of wea ther. Of course this is true fo r any ship at sea, but o n a sailing ship, yo u stand watch exposed ro the weather 24 hours a day-at the helm (which on Eagle takes six people), on lookout, and of course on deck handling lines and in the rig loosening and furlin g sails. On a sailing ship, yo u have ro set a compass course acco rding ro the wind direction and no t sim ply a direct line ro your destination . For Damage Control team leading cadets in a firefighting drill. cadets learning ro navigate the deck training week, where cadets stand on a square rigger, it is a lesson in being watch and learn how to h andle sails and able to work on the fly and adjust plans to rigging, helmsmanship, basic marlinspike fit circumstan ces.

The United States Coast G uard has a seamanship, and anything else that needs doing on deck. There are more than enough long traditio n in trai ning its officers th ro ugh opportunities to climb the rig, climb the rig, and climb the rig some more. No t everyo ne is eager to climb up to the royal yards and scamper out o n the footrop es to cas t off gaskets and haul in sails, but there are plenty of lower yards that need hands and even mo re jobs on deck that need strong arms.

In addition to sail handling, deck training also incl udes ship maintenance-jobs like deck wash , sanding and painting, and, of course, polishing brass.

a fo rmal and rigorous academic and handson experience under sail. Where else could yo u fit 150 cadets aboard one ship and find tasks fo r all hands? The Eagle does not exist to create new generatio n of tall ship sailors, but rather to take advantage of all that can be learned fro m sailing a m assive square rigger. Eagle plays a ve ry visible role to the public in port as "Am erica's Tall Ship" at festivals and events, but it is her role out of sight of land that is the most valuable. !., Many thanks to Captain Eric Jo nes and his crew far inviting me into their world andfar their gracious hospitality. Thanks as well to the cadets fa r sharing their experience with me both on deck, aloft, and in print. Good luck to all ofyou in your careers and thank you far your service.

D eirdre O'Regan is the editor of Sea History and afarmer tall ship professional mariner. You can keep up to date about life aboard Eagle through photos and updates on Facebook by "friending" the "United States Coast Guard Barque Eagle." (www.facebook.com)

And the training continues. My adventure ended in Waterford, Ireland, but the ship carries on. The first group of "swabs" signed on in July, and so begins their career as fature officers in the United States Coast Guard.

24

SEA HISTORY 136, AUT UMN 2011

,ruAN1E1. 11. w11 Sl

~'\

-=-~~ ~_:_ _, I~

S1\ll,1' l1\l(J~ll - - 0 0U-IB1\)' ~ EAS'\ \~ ' ''f.1 \INE

@

Yacht Sails Rigging BUILDERS OF HIGH-QUALITY HAND-FI !SHED SAILS Full-service sail and rigging loft P.O. Box 71, Lincoln St., East Boothbay, Maine 04544 (207) 633-5071

you saw it in

Sea History!

National Historic Landmark &National Memorial to Coast Guardsmen who lost their lives duri ng WWII through Viet Nam. • Awarded two Naval Presidential Unit Citations for her service during WWII & Vietnam.

• Credited with sinking U-Boat 626 during convoy duty in the North Atlantic Don't miss the opportunity to tour this ship, learn about its remarkable history, the recently completely underwater re-fit and the current work being done restoring her topside.

USCGC INGHAM is located in Key West on the Truman Waterfront, alongside USS MOHAWK (CGC).

You Can Visit ... You Can Help The foundation seeks donations to continue restoration of this important vessel. Please send your tax-deductible contributions to:

USCGC INGHAM Memorial Museum

P. 0. Box 186, Key West, Florida 33041 •Phone: (305)-219-6600 ~ www.uscgcingham.org ~ <(

~.:ibA-.

USS SLATER The only restored WWII Destroyer Escort afloat in America.

On the Hudson River in Albany, New York.

Respectful scattering of cremated remains beyond the Golden Gate Bridge

"History is the ship cal"rying living memories to the future. "

www.ussslater.org · · · - - - · · · 518-431-1943

What's in your attic? We buy, sell, and service: Sextants - Taffrail Logs - Barographs Call for more information.

New and pre-owned instruments for sale.

Contact us for a current list.

617-482-8460 whiteinstruments@gmail.com www.robertwhite.com

Golden Gate Burial Services www.ggbs .us 1-866-877-3551

Stephen R. Mallory, The Southerntnost Clip he brief but glorious era of the clipper ship during the California Gold Rush was the high-water mark of the Age of Sail. During this same period, Key West was the busiest seaport in Florida, and the wreck salvaging industry on the Florida reefs was in full swing. The wrecking industry brought much wealth to Key West; it also brought skilled shipwrights who could build the large sloops and schooners needed to salvage wrecks.

The first-generation clippers were called the "extremes" because of their narrow hulls, which limited cargo capacity, and their extremely tall masts carrying clouds of canvas. By 1855, the "rush" was waning and freight rates began to decline; the need for speed was overtaken by the need for more cargo capacity. The naval architects' answer to this trend was the "medium" clipper. They were nor as sharp in their lines as the extremes and did not carry quire as much canvas, bur they could load more cargo and be handled by smaller crews.

Nevertheless, they were still remarkably fast and completed voyages in record times, nearly equal to those of the extreme clippers. After 1854, no more extreme clippers were built.

About the time the American shipping industry was shifting from extreme to medium clippers, leading merchants in Key West, the firm of Bowne and Curry, conceived the idea of building its own clipper ship. Up to that rime, nearly all the clippers had been built in the northeast, and none south of the Chesapeake Bay. Despite this, Bowne and Curry had complete faith in the ability of their master shipwright, John Barrlum, to undertake the task.

Barrlum was born on Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas in 1814. As a boy, he frequented the island's boar yards and became fascinated by the process of building warercrafr. Ar eighteen, he was already captai n of a schooner engaged in salvaging wrecked vessels in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys. During visits to Key West to obtain supplies, he came to know Bowne and C urry. In 1845, despite his never having served as an app rentice in a shipyard, Barrlum became their master shipwright and a permanent resident of Key West.

Between 1847 and 1854 he built at least five schooners, the largest of which was the pilot schooner Florida at 171 tons and 90 feet. Impressed by rhe schooner Barrlum was building, in 1854 Bowne and

C urry entrusted him with the responsibility ofbuilding a medium clipper of nearly 1,000 tons. Ir was a formidable task for a self-taught shipwright, bur Barrlum did not hesitate to start wo rk.

With the exception of the wood for the keel, which was purchased from New York, the ship was built from native timber of the Keys and south Florida, including madeira (mahogany) for beams, knees and timbers, and live oak, cedar, logwood, horsewood, dogwood, and yellow pine. She was said to be the only clipper in the world built with mahogany timber and came to be known as the "mahogany clipper."

Barrlum began construction in June of 1854. By December, many of her frames were in place, bur there was still a long way to go. Construction continued through 185 5 and well into 1856. Bowne and C urry serrhe launch dare for 14 August 1856 and named their new clipper after Key West's most prominent citizen, Florida senato r Stephen R. Mallory, and had a li fe-size figurehead of the senator mounted on the ship's bow. A Key West correspondent for the New York Herald newspaper wrote, ''After her launch

(above) Shipbuilder j ohn Bartlum (right) Florida senator Stephen R. Mallory, the man for whom the new Bowne and Curry clipper ship was named in 1856, became Secretary of the Navy of Confederate States ofAmerica in March of 1861, a position he held for the duration ofthe war. (left) Key West ca. 1856 Lithograph, Chandler and Company, Boston.

1he South was not known for shipbuilding, yet the Key West firm ofBowne and Curry decided to get in on the action taking highly profitable cargos to California's Gold Rush boom town by building their own clipper ship to do it.

26

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 20 11

per Ship

by John Viele

we will give yo u a technical description of this vessel and satisfy the incredulous that the South can build fine ships as well as raise cotton."

Stephen R. Mallory was 164 feet long, with a beam of 35 feet 9 inches, a depth of hold of 17 feet 1OY2 inches, and a draft of 20 feet. She had rwo decks and a round stern, and she displaced 959 tons. A deckhouse forward on the main deck housed the crew and another aft provided quarrers for the master and mares.

William C urry asked his brorher-inlaw, Graham Joseph Lester, to rake command of the ship. The 33-year-old Lester had made a successful career running wrecking vessels and, when the offer of command of the Mallory was made, was master of a 150-ron brig. He accepted C urry's offer and was soon aboard the Mallory supervising her riggers and preparations for sea.

When the rigging was nearly complete, Lester and his first mate climbed aloft on the foremast to inspect its fittings . On deck, riggers were setting up (tensioning) the forestay when the strap attached to one of the tackles parted. The mast surged back, catap ulting the rwo men from the mast. The mate landed on his back on the main deck while the captain fell through the cargo hatch to the lower deck. A newspaper article reported that the captain was very seriously injured, while the mate was only slightly hurt. Nevertheless, despite his fall , Lester made a rapid recovery and was back on board, ready to rake the Mallory to sea just rwo months later.

During October and into November, dock workers loaded cotton that had been salvaged from the wreck of a barque. When loading was complete, the Mallory sailed for Charleston to finish filling her cargo holds. The Charleston Courier reported, "[The Mallory] has been constructed of the best materials, has all the latest improvements, and everything about h er gives evidence of skill and care in her build. As a specimen of Southern workmanship she will repay a visit and her gentlemanly commander, Capt. Lester, will be pleased to see all on board his ship at Central wharves who may wish to look at her."

On 23 December 1856, the Mallory sailed for Liverpool with a crew of eighteen, carrying cotton and oak barrel staves. The

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Clipper Ship Stephen R. Mallory, by David Harrison Wright rransAdanric passage was uneventful and completed in 24 days. At that time, an easrward passage under sail from New York to Liverpool of 30 days was considered fair time.

With 4,099 sacks of salt on board, the Mallory cleared Liverpool on 3 March and sailed for New Orleans with a brief stop at Key West. Ar New Orleans, the Mallory offioaded the salt and then returned to Key West. There, dockworkers offioaded 100 tons of coal for storage and sale to steam vessels calling at the port.

Soon after her arrival, the coun ty sheriff came aboard, arrested rwelve free black crewmembers, and hauled them off to jail, charged with entering the state of Florida in violatio n of a state law prohibiting the entry of free blacks unless their ship was in distress. Lester could not sail with rwo-rhirds of his crew missing. H e was able to replace them with crewmen from a ship that had been destroyed by fire in the Straits of Florida. The Mallory sailed six weeks later for New Orleans, loaded with 1,050 tons of railroad iron from a wrecked ship.

(right) Graham Joseph Lester was Mallory's first master and stayed with the ship until she was sold to British owners in 1863 during the Civil~r.

27

The Mallory made rwo more voyages to Liverpool from New Orleans. After the second, she returned to New York instead of Key West-Bowne and Curry had decided that a New York-to-San Francisco voyage might pay handsomely. Loading for the voyage was completed rwo months later.

The cargo consisted of a wide variety of manufactured goods for the booming population ofSan Francisco: candles, flour, butter, clothes, tobacco, soap, hand tools, guns, and even a buggy (but no horse!).

Departing New York on 4 September 1858, the ship encountered unfavorable sailing conditions and did not reach San Francisco until 2 February 1859-a slow time of 151 days. Other clippers sailing at the same time made passages from 135 to 191 days, when the average time for that route was 130 days in "normal" conditions.

The famous clipper Flying Cloud did it in 89 days, a record never surpassed by sailing vessels.

In the early days of the Gold Rush, ships arriving at San Francisco would soon be abandoned by their crews, who would often desert and head for the gold fields. As a result, hundreds of ships lay idle at anchor in the Bay, abandoned and slowly rotting away.

By 1859, however, gold fever had subsided, and enough of the Mallory's crew remained or were able to be replaced to sail her home.

With more favorable winds on their return voyage, Lester made good time around Cape Horn; he entered Key West for orders, 73 days our. The orders sent the ship to Havana to load sugar and tobacco; and from there to London, smack at the peak of the North Atlantic hurricane season.

Two days after getting underway on the return trip from London, the Mallory was struck with gale-force winds, which quickly increased to hurricane strength.

On 12 October they suddenly shifted from NNE to NW, creating a heavy confused sea. The violent rolling caused the boards in the cargo hold, installed to hold the ballast in place, to give way. The ballast shifted to the lee side, throwing the ship on her beam ends, and a boarding sea stove in the after deck house. The ship lay heeled over for nearly sixteen hours. To get her back on an even keel, her crew cut away the main topmast and the backstays. The mainmast snapped and fell to the deck. The mizzenmast broke about 20 feet above the deck. Half the men

28

Advertisement in the New Orleans Price Current and Commercial Bulletin, 26 September 1857, for cargo for the Mallory, ready to sail for Liverpool. clambered down into the hold and began shoveling ballast back to the windward side.

Two days after they were knocked down, rwo ships sighted the Mallory and signaled, "Do you want assistance?" Lester signaled back "Do not want assistance," and continued with efforts to put a jury rig in place.

On deck, the men rigged shears and hoisted and rigged a spare topmast at the stump of the mainmast. The completed jury rig consisted of a jib and spinnaker on the forestay; a skysail, royal, topgallant, and fore course on the foremast; and an upper topsail on the jury mainmast. Lester set a course for Key West and reached his home port two weeks later on 28 October 1859.

The Mallory remained at Key West for four months undergoing repairs. An article in the Key West newspaper said, "We have examined the Mallory very closely and have no doubt that her preservation is due to the superiority of her materials and the care and fidelity of her builder, Mr. John Bartlum, in putting it together, her keel is as perfect as the day she glided from the ways."

On 25 March 1860, the ship sailed for Liverpool. With a little help from the Gulf Stream, she made the crossing in the very fast time of seventeen days. Returning to New York, Lester once again prepared his ship for a long voyage around Cape Horn, or "Cape Stiff' as the sailors called it, to the west coast of South America.

Departing New York in mid-December 1861, the Mallory rounded Cape Horn without encountering severe weather and made port at Valparaiso, Chile, without incident. Over the next four months, she called at the ports of Callao, Peru; and Caldera, Flamenco, and Chanaral, Chile.

Loaded with cowhides, goat skins, regulus (metallic antimony), and 800 tons ofcopper, she sailed for Baltimore in mid-October.

After offioading there, she got underway for New York in ballast.

While the Mallory was cruising the west coast of South America, the American Civil War broke out and President Lincoln ordered a blockade of the Confederate coast. Key West, the only southern port in U nion hands, was made the headquarters of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron , charged with intercepting and capturing Confederate ships attempting to evade the blockade.

To bolster the defense of Key West and its approaches, the government chartered the Mallory to carry Union troops to reinforce Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. After a brief stop in Key West, the Mallory reached the Dry Tortugas on 25 March 1862 and promptly ran aground on Middle Key Shoals. Lester engaged a fishing sloop to carry out one of the clipper's anchors so that it could be used to kedge the ship off the shoals.

Four other fishing sloops came alongside, took off approximately 300 troops, and set them ashore at the fort. In the meantime, the Mallory's crew succeeded in heaving her free of the shoal. Lester put the remaining troops ashore at the fort and got underway for Havana.

The Mallory made rwo more Atlantic crossings and a voyage to Vera Cruz, Mexico.

Returning to Key West in early 1863, she loaded cargo seized from captured Confederate blockade runners. Half the cargo was arms and amm unition; the remainder was, as a newspaper reporter wrote, "a miscellaneous assortment of goods, just the kind they want most in Dixie land." Because of the threat of capture by Southern commerce raiders, the Mallory was ordered to sail in convoy under the escort of the gunboat USS Sonoma. Just north of the Bahamas, the Mallory became separated from her escort, but continued on her way, arriving safely in New York seven days out of Key West.

Soon after the Civil War began in early 1861, the Confederate navy had commissioned a number of steam-driven commerce

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

sank 300 miles off the Irish coast. raiders to prey on Union shipping.

The master, his wife, the stewardess, Although there were never more than and ten men were lost. One of the five raiders at sea at one time, their and seven men in a ship's boar mates impact on the Union merchant fleet managed to reach the Skelligs Isles was devastating. While they captured on the southwest coast of Ireland and burned only 25 7 Yankee vessels, and were rescued. a small fraction of the entire U nion After building and laun chmerchant fl eet, they caused insuring the Mallory, John Bartlum ance rates to skyrocket. Shipowners, continued building, owning, and unable to make profitable voyages serving as master of wrecki ng and and fearful that their ships wo uld pilot vessels. During the C ivil War, be captured or sunk, began selling he made important contributions them to foreign owners, most of to the Union war effort in refitting them British. All told, one half of and repairing ships of the East G ulf the American merchant fleet was Blockading Squadron stationed in either lost to commerce ra iders Key West. When he died in 187 1, or sold foreign. Among the latter all the flags in Key West and on the was the Stephen R. Mallory. On 20 LESTER, Oommanderl h November 1863, Bowne and C urry JS RECEIVING TI!E BALANCE OF HER CARGO AT PIER 9 E. R. ;i; Slips at anc or in the harbor were " ThisSbipis .-..ommcnded"'our Catffomia Shipp<n as one oflhc sironscs• ~ flown at half-mast to pay honor to sold the ship to British owners and and bc:sl buill ships in the world. A look al her will satisfy our friends.

1 the clipper was renamed Ansel.

F~ff~°'i~=~h~:;~~y":i~ :;:,u:i.:::i~:C,!!,~· ~ one of Key West's most respected rcuoNble rate or Freight, apply to ~ citizens. J, The Ansel sailed under the S.B. BABCOCK &: CO~ 118 Water St. < f tllMo.......... :;:: British flag for ano ther seven years. s-,.,,..,........... ---'"""'· Plippd~ /h;-J::tu"GI ~ She made one more voyage aro und ~~~~~~=-::::-~~j"~-~-~~~~~~~~~~~~ john Viele is a retired naval officer, 8 former submarine commanding officer, Cape Horn to rhe Philippines and eigh t more Atlantic crossings . In a Sailing card distributed to shippers announcing the Mallory's and author ofa three-volume history of North Atlantic gale in 1870, she forthcoming voyage from New York to San Francisco in 1858. the Florida Keys, where he now resides.

STEPH. R. MALLORY

L

I

Glass Replicas Featuring Curved Glass Sails

We specialize in: • Maine Windjammer Fleet • Great Lakes Tall Ships •Barefoot Windjammers • Your Great-Great-Great Grandfather's Schooner

"We could not have asked for better or more friendly service. Thanks again for your patience and speedy delivery of our special order."

Mary & Kent Hartford, Wisconsin

Onrust Friendship Sloop Dictator

Friendship of Salem Philadelphia II

Coast Guard Bark Eagle

Ships of Glass, Inc 6702 Rosemary Dr Tampa, FL 33625

www.shipsofglassinc.com 813 918 1566 813 968 2163

dhardy@shipsofglassinc.com

"Yes, I can make a replica of your sailboat." - Don Hardy SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 20 11

29

The National Maritime Historical Society Salutes Leaders in Maritime Heritage at the 2011 Gala Annual Awards Dinner, 12 October 2011 NMHS will be continuing its long-standing tradition of recognizing and celebrating outstanding work in the maritime community on Wednesday, 12 October 2011. The setting for this memorable event will be the Model Room of the New York Yacht Club, the century-old New York landmark John Rousmaniere called "exuberant, nautical and eclectic"-the ideal surroundings for an evening honoring those who have contributed so much to the cause of maritime history and enriched the maritime heritage community through their efforts. Daniel Whalen and Karen Helmerson, co-chairs of the event this year, cordially invite you to attend, and join us in honoring these remarkable individuals and organizations.

Woodson K. Woods and the Lynx Education Foundation Woodson K. Woods and the Lynx will be recognized with the NMHS Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Maritime Education. Entrepreneur and sailing enthusiast Woodson Woods envisioned a sailing vessel as an ideal platform for combining the lessons of seafaring with promoting a berter understanding of the role of the privateers in rhe War of 1812. The inspiration for that vessel was rhe 1812 Baltimore clipper schooner Lynx, one of rhe first ships in rhe band of hardy privateers who defied rhe British blockade of our shores in rhar conflict, and what Woods considered "one of rhe most beautiful privateers rhar came our of the War of 1812." Designed by famed naval architect Melbourne Smith and built ar Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine, rhe resulr was a new Lynx, a 78foor topsail schooner.

Today Mr. Woods is the president of the board of directors of rhe Lynx Educational Foundation, which oversees the vessel's programming and schedule. The Lynx offers a variery of educational experiences, from that of a floating classroom, reaching valuable lessons in science and rhe early history of our nation to school-age students around the country; to dockside visits, where crew members decked out in period costume interpret the privateer's history for visitors and demonstrate rhe ship's period ordnance; to sail training experience on longer cruises. Award-winning author W illiam H. White will present the award.

Walter R. Brown The NMHS David A. O'Neil Sheet Anchor Award will be presented to Walter Brown, chairman emeritus and trustee of rhe National Maritime Historical Sociery, for his longtime support and leadership of rhe Sociery. Mr. Brown first went to sea ar rhe age of 18 as an ordinary seaman on a tanker for a summer job; then, after rwo years of universiry in the Midwest, he felt rhe call of rhe ocean and transferred to rhe Universiry of Southern California. After graduating with a degree in business, he served four years in rhe US Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant, "w first serving on a navy ranker and rhen as navigator on USS Westchester County (LST-1167) in ~ 0 Southeast Asia. After his honorable discharge from the Navy, he spent a year sailing around ~ !; Japan in a 36-foor bugeye ketch, and then ::> -'-----~~ 8 took a position with Stare Marine Lines' Tokyo office, later working for Texaco and a Hong Kong- and Vancouver-based company operating rankers and bulk carriers.

Mr. Brown discovered NMHS in rhe early 1990s, picking up a copy of Sea History magazine in his local library. Wirh his interest piqued, he contacted NMHS then-president Peter Stanford and was immediately impressed with the organization. He became a trustee in 1993 and led rhe organization as its chairman from 2003 to 2006. His support and leadership have been invaluable to "w~ rhe Sociery. In addition to his involvement with NMHS, Mr. Brown is a trustee ~ 0 of rhe Sea Education Association and until recently served on Mystic Seaport's ~ Council of Advisors. President of US Sailing and America's Cup champion Gary !; ::> s. . . . .__'--""'"'""' Jobson will present Mr. Brown with rhe award.

I

I

30

SEA HIS.STORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Commandant, US Coast Guard Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., will be honored with the NMHS Bravo Zulu Award, named for the traditional naval signal for "well done." Admiral Papp is the 24th Commandant and the 13th Gold Ancient Mariner of rhe Coast Guard. Prior to his promotion to Commandant, he was Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area (LANTAREA), and Commander, Defense Force East, where he was operational commander for all US Coast Guard missions within the eastern half of the world and provided support to the Department of Defense. Previous appointments include: the Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard and Commanding Officer of CG Headquarters; Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, with responsibilities for Coast Guard missions on the Grear Lakes and Northern Border; and Director of Reserve and Training, where he was responsible for managing and supporting 13,000 Coast Guard Ready Reservists and all USCG Training Centers.

Admiral Papp has been an enthusiastic vocal advocate of the value of reaching Coast Guard history and has pledged his support for a Coast Guard museum in New London, Connecticut, home of the Coast Guard Academy. In 1998, he received the NMHS Distinguished Service Award for training young Americans in the challenging discipline of the sea experience as Commanding Officer of the US Coast Guard Barque Eagle. Renowned shipping executive Clay Maitland will present the award.

Honorable John F. Lehman The Honorable John. F. Lehman will be presented with the NMHS Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his contributions to the cause of maritime history. As secretary of the navy under President Ronald Reagan, Dr. Lehman worked to increase the strength of the US Navy. During his six-year tenure as secretary, he succeeded in lowering purchase costs to the Navy for ships and airplanes, and he strove to make the naval bureaucracy more efficient. Subsequent to his cabinet role, Dr. Lehman has played an influential role in shaping policy, including sitting on the delegation to the Force Reductions Negotiations in Vienna and two years as Depury Director of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, serving on the distinguished 9/11 Commission, and current membership on the National Defense Commission.

Dr. Lehman has long been an advocate of naval history; he initiated the creation of the historic model museum at the US Naval Academy and worked with the Pepys Library in Cambridge to find Samuel Pepys's long-hidden collection of builders' models for display in the museum, and he helped to save and repatriate the last Landing Craft, Support (LCS) "mighry midget." He has also been a longtime supporter of the Bonhomme Richard project to locate and research John Paul Jones's flagship and has served for many years as an NMHS overseer. Dr. Lehman is the author of On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy, and the memoir Command of the Seas. NMHS dinner chairman Daniel Whalen will present the award.

You are cordially invited to the NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

Wednesday, 12 October 2011 Reservations are $400 per person; $7,000 sponsors a table for ten, plus a feature ad page in the dinner journal.

Call 800-221-6647, ext 0 to make your reservation. Black tie optional. Visit www.seahistory.org for more information.

The gala event takes place at the historic New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. Richard du Moulin, an award winning yachtsman and leader of the shipping industry, will again serve as our Master of Ceremonies. The US Coast Guard Academy Cadet Chorale, directed

by Dr. Robert Newton, Director of Cader Vocal Music at the USCG Academy, will provide the evening's entertainment. This affair is traditionally sold-our and seating is limited, so early responses are recommended. For information about sponsorship opportunities or to order tickets for the Annual Awards Dinner, please contact the Sociery's headquarters at: Ph. 914 737-7878 ext. O; or email nmhs@ seahistory.org. Be sure to visit our website, www.seahistory.org, for more information.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

31

Sneak preview ofsome ofthe great items featured in our Annual Dinner Auction ...

Cruise aboard Mariner III Enjoy a three-hour cruise from either Palm Beach or New York aboard the historic 1926 motor yacht, Mariner III, designed

by Ted Geary. The 122-foot Mariner III is perfect for up to 70 people for dinner or cocktails. Includes the yacht and crew, but not refreshments, catering or dockage. Donated by Captain Sean Kennedy. Value: $5,000.

Brunch/Champagne Cruise for 40 Aboard America 2.0 in New York Harbor The newly-built 105-foot America 2. 0 evokes the spirit of the original America which left the British racing fleet in her wake at the first America's Cup. Cruise New York Harbor during the 2012 sailing season and treat up to 40 of your friends or colleagues to a special private cold brunch with champagne while viewing the Manhattan skyline. Donated by Classic Harbor Lines. Value: $4,000.

"

Dorade: Accommodations Plan, 1936, Signed by Olin Stephens Serigraph on Coventry rag paper, edition of 300. Signed by Olin Stephens, 2004, museum quality framing. Donated by Sparkman & Stephens. Value: $900.

Dorade: Sail Plan, 1936, Signed by Olin Stephens Serigraph on Coventry rag paper, edition of 300. Signed by Olin Stephens, 2004, museum quality framing. Donated by Sparkman & Stephens. Value: $900.

Luxurious Weekend Cruise for Four on Historic Trumpy Yacht Windrush Cruise on the historic 55-foot Trumpy yacht Windrush for a three-day, twonight weekend for two couples during 2012. The yacht features two luxury guest staterooms with private heads and showers, a comfortable salon, full galley and breakfast suite, crew's quarters, and broad large aft deck and comfortable foredeck. The winning bidder would have to pay expenses for fuel, dockage, provisions and gratuities (approximately $1,200). Will sail in South Florida in the winter season and the mid-Atlantic during the summer season.

Donated by American Classic Yachting LLC and Captain Bill Iler. Value: $3,500.

****** More Items to Come ****** More Items to Come ****** More Items to Come ******

Limited edition prints ... ship models ... more cruises ... special gift items ... nautical collectibles ... exclusive museum tours ... great maritime reads ... and much more! Keep checking our web site, www.seahistory.org, for an updated list!

If you are unable to attend NMHS's gala event on 12 October, let us bid for you!

Call 800-221-6647, ext. 0, and we'll set you up with your own personal bidding representative. All proceeds from the auction benefit the work of the Society.

32

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

路tetl\S,

\oUS \

\

""'ore tabU . tof'/路of9路 f of ,.. sean's

"'s't ~~-

NMHS Ship's Store

NEW Ships Guide Knot Board Clock and Instruments Shadowbox

\

IL

. -~,.;.:;;;. . \ ~路 .

~ ~

TITANIC

J

~CENTENNIAL~ -

-

I '-:[~ ; I -="""=-

fr,:;

Gift #040 $65.95 + $22 s/h

NEW Beetle Cat Catboat Gift #029 $159 + $13 s/h The Beetle Cat is a 12-foot, gaffrigged, wooden sailboat, first built in 1921 by the Beetle family of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Beetle, Inc., located in neighboring Wareham, MA, is now the sole builder of Beetle Cat boats. This model is true to the original and built plank on bulkhead.

Model Size: 16" L x 18" H x 6.5" W

Nautical knot board shadowbox with 26 knots and nautical items, with clock, hygrometer and thermometer.

Board size: 16V2" H x 28" W

Embroidered items ready to ship -

NEW Titanic Desk Appointment Calendar Gift #028 $14.95 + $5.SO s/h Titanic Desk Appointment Calendar/ Diary explores the ship that has captured the public's imagination for the past 100 years. Calendar size: 6" x 9"

Knit Hat with Cuff Gear #053

Knit Hat without Cuff Gear #054 $12 + $6.95 s/h Black, Brown, Navy, Spruce, Royal.

NEW Dinghy Racers "Crossing Tacks" 15" Solid Copper and Brass Anchor Lantern

Gift #030 $129 + $15 s/h Four 9W' solid cedar wood boat hulls.

The boats are painted with two coats of lnterlux marine paint. Sails are made with colorfast nylon for fade resistance.

The wooden arms are made of vertical grain fir with a tenon on each end.

Boats can be made to race each other or turn one set of boats around to race opposite each other (crossing tacks).

Hardware and 24" post included.

Gift #016 $119.95 + $16.80 s/h

Fleece Blanket Gear #009 $15 + $7.95 s/h 50" x 60" whip-stitched Navy fleece blanket is cozy & warm, and includes carrying straps.

This classic anchor lamp has been used on sailing ships for hundreds of years.

It is hand machined in pure copper with brass trim. The Fresnel style lens is made to magnify the oil lamp light to be visible for 20 nautical miles.

These oil burning lanterns can burn for up to 7 hours before refilling.

To order, call 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext. 0, or visit our web site at www.seahistory.org .

Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery. Shipping within USA only. Satisfaction guaranteed!

careers in the Marine and Maritime Field from 1800

Nathaniel Bowditch, Navigator

N

Becween keeping che accounts for ships avigaror, machemacician, ascronomer, clerk, insurance company execucive, accounranr-Nachaniel Bowdicch and merchants, going to sea and learning to was all chese chings. He grew up in che lace 1700s in Salem, navigate, and having an insatiable interest Massachuseccs, which was chen an accive seaporc, where mosc ev- in mathematics and astronomy, he soon eryone in rown had someching ro do wich ships and che sea. Like became an expert in the science behind many boys in l 8'h-century America, Nachaniel Bowdicch lefr school celestial navigation.

Bowdicch's book is useful because of ics accuracy and thoras a boy ro apprentice ro a skilled cradesman. Apprentices worked for free in exchange for being crained in a crade or business. His oughness, buc also because he wroce in a way chat anyone could apprenticeship began when he was cwelve years old, when he went understand. He determined that he would "put down nothing in ro learn bookkeeping from a local ship chandler (someone who che book [he couldn'c] teach the crew." By che end of his final voysells ship supplies and equipment). During his apprenticeship, he age to Asia in 1803, every member of the 12-man crew-even the mec many sea capcains and crewmembers, ship owners and ochers ship's cook-could take and calculate a lunar observation and then whose businesses were cied ro che sea. In his spare time, he scudied plot the ship's posidon on the chart. che books in che chandler's library and caughc himself algebra and Bowditch published many books and papers on mathematics, calculus, and Lacin, French, and several ocher foreign languages. astronomy, and navigation, but lhe New American Practical NaviWhen his apprenticeship ended in 1795, Nachaniel Bowdicch went gator was by far his most famous. This book is as useful today as it ro sea as a ship's clerk, and by his fifrh voyage ro che Far Ease he was was in 1802, and because of that, the United States government sailing as che ship's capcain. bought che copyright in 1866 and continues to update and publish For someone who was interesced in mach, going ro sea showed it, making it available to all. You can download the entire book for him how chis interesc had a very practical use. This was cwo cen- free online at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's webmries before tools like GPS and sacellices made navigacing easy. site. (Go to http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.ponal. Click Back chen, sailors kepc crack of cheir course direccion and speed ro on "Publications" on che menu list. On the next window under decermine how far chey had craveled in a given direction , buc chis "Menu Options," select ''American Praccical Navigaror" and follow form of navigacing, called "dead reckoning," has ics limics. A more the instructions.) 1. reliable-buc more complicaced-way of navigacing ac sea was by taking measurements of the sun, stars, and moon and performing a series of calculations to determine a "fix," or position on a chart.

At che time Nachaniel Bowditch went to sea, most mariners used a book called lhe Practical Navigator chac had printed tables of scar posicions and tides to calculace their location at sea. When Bowdicch began making his own calculations, he discovered chousands of errors in chis book and began recalculating all of the equations and cables. By che cime he was finished, he had redone just about everything and added so much new information chat he ended up publishing ic as a new book, lhe New American Practical Navigator (1802).

Nathaniel Bowditch was a perfectionist, which is a good trait for a navigator.

When the tools he had at hand, either reference books or nautical instruments, were not up to par, he didn't make excuses-he would just create new ones himself. The quadrant seen here (left) was one he built himself.

The octant (upper right) was another one of his personal instruments. You can see both of these items on display at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.

S>EA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

How to Make a

Running Turk~ Head

by Hervey Garrett S

M

ariners from the Age of Sail were experts in "marlinspike seamanship;' or ropework, both functional and decorative. One of the most popular knots that sailors learned early on and that people today, sailors and landlubbers alike, use to make bracelets and anklets is the Running Turks Head .

It is very easy to learn, and all you need is a length of twine and 3 nautical definitions about rope (or twine, in this case) to do it. standing part • standing part: the part of a rope not actively being used to tie the knot .....

• working end: the other end of the rope being "worked" or used to tie the knot • bight: a section of the rope with neither end, often in the shape of a loop Hervey Garrett Smith explained it best in his book, The Mar/inspike Sailor:

To start, hold the standing end with your thumb and pass the working end twice around your fingers as shown in illustration No. l.

Rotate your fingers toward you, and tuck the working end as shown in No. 2.

Pull bight A across to the right and bight 8 under A to the left.

It should now look like No. 3.

The working end is now tucked through bight 8 toward you, then over A to the right and up under the bight directly above. It should now look like No. 4. Rotate your fingers away from you to their original position and you'll find you are right back where you started, but the knot is now "set up" and should look like No. 5.

Now tuck the working end alongside the standing end, as in No. 6, keeping always to the right of it, and following it over and under around your fingers until you are back again where you started. You will now have a Turks head of two passes, and since you need three, proceed to pass the working end over and under once more, again to the right of the previous passes. This sounds confusing as I write it, but it is easy when you have the line on your fingers and the tucks then become pretty obvious.

Having finished your tucks, the next step is to take out all the slack in the strands, starting at one end and working round and round the knot, until every part has equal tension and symmetry. The ends are cut off underneath the strands so they do not show.

REPRINTED FROM TH E MARLINSP IKE SA ILOR (1960) BY HERVEY GARRETT SMITH, W IT l-I l'l!RMISSION FROM MCGRAW-HI LL COMPANIES

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 201 1

n the fall of 1839, Francis Allyn Olmsted had just graduated from college. He climbed aboard a whaling ship in New London, Connecticut, and sailed away on a voyage to Hawaii as a passenger. He hoped to cure his poor health and see the world. When he returned, he wrote a book _ , tided Incidents ofa Whaling Voyage, which includes some of the earliest detailed ~ ·· . descriptions and illustrations of American whaling. As his ship was approaching Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America, Olmsted watched the sailors catching "goney birds." He gave it a try himself, using a long fishing line, where "to the hook is secured a piece of salt pork about the size of one's fist, which is well 'slushed' or greased, to make it more attractive." One morning he caught two of these birds and landed them on deck. Olmsted wrote of the goney:

I

His head and neck are very strong, and he is armed with a sharp, formidable bill, which he uses with great power; sufficient, I have no doubt, to cut off a man's finger at a single bite ... his walk is very awkward, and when aboard ship he is unable to rise from the deck ... But when, with his wide pinions extended to the breeze, he seems to sail along without any "Albatross" by Francis Olmsted apparent exertion, or skims over the heaving billows ... peculiarly graceful.

A L6 A T l\ OS S

Olmsted was writing here about a species of wandering albatross. The larger of the two birds he caught had a wingspan of 1OY2 feet. In the last issue of Sea History, I wrote about how sailors sometimes caught albatross in order to tie messages to their necks or legs, as if these birds were passenger pigeons. More often, though, men caught or shot .albatross at sea for sport, food, or curiosity.

The most famous shooting of an albatross occurs in "The Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge spun this . from an actual account Mariner" (1798). q of a sailor killing a "black "--.. ' albatross" off Cape Horn. In

ff"

~,-ti

__ -- -

.

'~r.I\ __. -c~-,

· -

'"J

·

/

~_:.

;

(\

JJ.__

e:

:--~~~:::--...

F-~~

n,

~

.Q

~'1

~

the podem , kthe bmariner khills - - -·-~--~~_:: -- -- --·· .·· · - "---....... a goo 1uc a1 atross wit a ··crossbow. As punishment, ~ his shipmates make him wear the bird around his ' ·

'-

- \. __,'·-. .::: -..:·:·- -

nec~-that isb, .befoBre thhey turn mto zom ies. y t e end of his adventure, the Ancient Mariner learns it is a very bad idea to mess with albatross.

G ~EY-\-\ E:t>-.Qt::.\) ALAA\ ROSS ( T \-\A\...-P-, s s~ F.c \.\ s n-u2Ysos1cMP..)

,

1

' ·

.:·.~,

Though a surpnsmg number of sailors NOST\:'..IL ON tAC\-\ S\\)t. were well-read, it seems this poem did not \o C'f.,C '?-C.TE. E. ')(T~A influence too many voyagers. Several famous S~'-Ti S6 ITCA_-N ~\ZIN\::: St:.f>-VJ~TE~ sailor-writers who set sail from the 1840s to the 1930s, such as Richard Henry Dana Jr., Herman Melville, Anton Otto Fischer, and Eric Newby, all describe shipmates catching albatross. Sailors released them sometimes, or they crafted walking-stick handles from the beak, sewed tobacco pouches with the birds' ( webbed feet, and fashioned pipe stems out of ,~ STOVT 1 \-\oGf:-E.t> -g°'\:::_ the hollow bones. Ir seems Sir Richard Hawkins I TO N~~, \-\OL-0, P...t-lD cA\ caught albatross with a fishing line in the 5&\l\b 1 F\Sl-\;, A~\2> M£1:\.T Southern Ocean as early as 1594. The practice f"?-D!-'1. D~AD AtJtMJ\'LS I 1--lf::~ IJ-ll-V\LcS of capturing or killing these birds continued into the twentieth century, notably by passengers and crew who shot albatross as a pastime aboard immigration voyages to Australia and New Zealand. .

The nickname "goney" is still around. Ir comes from the bird's awkward nature on deck (think goofy, silly, a · · " "goon"), its curious mating dance, or its lack of fear of humans at its rookeries. Yet as Olmsted discovered, .• ,.,, albatross are extraordinarily skillful our at sea, spellbinding in their ability to glide effortlessly in the ·• ... "' ., '· harshest wind conditions on Earth.

Today, the majority of the populations of the twenty or so albatross species are vulnerable or endangered, bur not because of sailors. Goney birds have struggled to survive for a variety of reasons, which include plastics and chemicals in the ocean and the loss of their isolated island rookeries. Albatross, like other sea birds, have always followed ships for food scraps, so today, sadly, they get caught in large numbers on the hooks of deep-sea fishing boats that do not use seabird-friendly gear. j:,

Jtllt•l'&ltJL:.ulLJtf

In the next issue, we'll take a look at the extinct marine mammal of the Florida Keys.

For past Animals in Sea History visit www.seahistory.org.

This albatross was caught by the crew of the German survey('1 vessel Meteor in the 1920s; its wingspan measured more than feet.

7

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Ghost Ships o~,~h,~, Mothball Fleet or decades, dozens of forgotten navy and merchant ships have been corroding in Suisun Bay, rhirry miles norrheasr of San Francisco. These hisroric vessels, rhe National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF)-referred ro as rhe "morhball fleer" -served rheir country in four wars: WWII, rhe Korean War, rhe Viernam War, and Deserr Srorm. Afrer a decade of impasse, rhe ghosr fleer is slowly dwindling as rhe ships are rowed our, one by one, for scrapping. Abour fifreen rerired ships are already gone; by 2017, rhe entire fleer will be jusr a memory.

The NDRF ships were supposed ro be ready for dury in rhe event of a national emergency. Perhaps a few are actually "reserve ready" and could be acrivared, bur rhe vasr majoriry are well beyond rheir useful lives and rorring away as rhey wair in line for disposal. The morhballed ships once numbered close ro 400, and in 1959, 324 vessels srill lined rhe warers of Suisun Bay. Alrhough rhe ship popularion continued ro dwindle down over rime, approximarely 75 remained rhroughour rhe 2000s, rusring and leaching roxic heavy merals by rhe ran into rhe bay. During rhis rime, rhe federal government did lirrle ro address rhe crumbling ships and rhe environmental rhreats they posed, bur rhe ride shifred wirh a new adminisrration in 2009 and rhe Maritime Adminisrration (MARAD) has since made clean-up and removal of the ships a priority.

f

USCGC Glacier (WAGB-4) ex-USS Glacier (AGB-4) The Glacier was build by IngaLLs Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for the US Navy in 1955 for service as a polar icebreaker. She served the navy for 11 years before being acquired by the Coast Guard, where she served another 32 years. She made 29 deployments to the Antarctic and 10 to the Arctic and could break ice up to 20 feet thick and stay at sea for extended periods. Glacier was decommissioned in 1987 and joined the NDRF in Suisun Bay in 1991.

Shoshone and Mount Washington USNS Shoshone (T-A0-151) is a US Navy Maumee-class oiler built

by Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, PA, and Launched in 1957. She is 614-feet Long with a beam o/83 and draws 32 feet of water. She was placed in service by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and was transferred to the NDRF in 1994.

SS Mount Washingron (T-AOT-5076) was built as the petroleum tanker Mount Washingron Victory in 1963 by the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was transferred to the NDRF in 2005 and downgraded for ''non-retention status" in 2007.

38

SEA HlSTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

As a professional photographer who frequently photograp hs abandoned spaces and industrial structures, I had always been tempted by the rows of ships in view from shore. When news spread that the fleet might fin a lly be towed out for scrapping, several close friends and I m ade pla ns to get aboard. Over a twoyear period, we gained unprecedented access to the decaying ships, spending several days at a time photograph ing, documenting, and even sleeping aboard them.

The ships are off limits to the public, and a security detail maintains watch over an area within 500 feet of the ships. With time running out, we set to work planning the expedition: monitoring radio traffic, studying satellite images of the bay, tidal marshes and ships at anchor, and o bserving the 24-hour security patrols.

Eventually we ventured out in an inflatable raft under the cover of darkness, carrying with us cameras and overnight gear.

After discovering that access to many of the ships and their interior spaces was not as difficult as we h ad anticipated, we spent entire weekends out there, each time on a different row. Because the ships are tethered closely together within rows-most accessible from one to another by gangplanks-we had enough to keep us occupied for as much time as we could dedicate to the task.

A key rack remains as it was last used aboard SS Bay (ex-Export Bay). The 471-foot SS Export Bay was launched in April of 1961 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company ofSan Diego. She was a break-bulk cargo ship for the American Export Lines (AEL) of New York. In 1965 the Export Bay participated in Operation Steel Pike, an international landing exercise on the Spanish coast, and in 1977 the ship was employed in AEL's Far East service. The transition to containerization made break-bulk cargo ships obsolete, but some, like Export Bay, found work transporting military cargo and they were thus acquired by MARAD for the NDRF in 1977.

She arrived at Suisun Bay in 1984.

Full Moon Rising-SS Essa Gettysburg and G Row SS Esso Gettysburg was a Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company-built tanker, launched in Newport News, Virginia, in 1956 The ship transported crude oil and refined petroleum p roducts between Gulf Coast ports and the Eastern Seaboard. In 1973, the ship's name was changed to SS Exxo n Gettysburg when the Esso Oil Company became Exxon. The ship was retired a few days before her 30th birthday and entered the NDRF in 1986 The ship was removed from Suisun Bay in May of2010 for disposal.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

39

Once we were aboard, everything seemed to slow down, and I found it easy to relax and enjoy the quiet and stillness of the evening, miles from the hustle and bustle of modern civilization. We could hear nearby trains rumbling as they passed, even below deck, but that was it. Otherwise, it was just us and a few birds of prey that call the ships home.

We slept during the day and explored and photographed all night. In the afternoons, we would explore the bowels of the ships. We were always looking for signs of life as we checked our mess halls, sleeping quarters, engineering spaces, and even dentist's offices and operating rooms. The ships were like floating time capsules. We found personal letters and cards-things people left behind-many of which remained untouched for decades.

Knowing full well that we were trespassing, we accepted the risks of getting caught because we felt compelled by the looming deadline when the ships would be towed out, SS President, SS American Reliance, USNS H. H. Hess, SS Solon Turman, never to return-here or anywhere else-in SS Dawn, and SS Cape Fear in Row J of the Mothball Fleet in Suisun Bay. one piece. Even now that we are done with our ventures aboard the ships, publishing the photos, here and second time, but eventually the boat turned and went the other online, is worth doing to share what we saw with the public, who way. Still, we were not confident we were off the hook.

We rowed with everything we had until we reached the will never have an opportunity to see these vessels as we did.

We did have several close calls with security. When we were safety of the small marshy channel, where we finally breathed a heading back to shore from our final trip, before we could get huge sigh of relief. The sun was about to rise and the morning our raft outside the 500-foot security zone, we found ourselves chorus of chirping birds began. We were exhausted and vowed directly in the beam of the patrol boat's searchlight. After being in that this trip, our fifth, would be our last visit. Sadly, it was. direct view of the spotlight for at least Scott Haefner is a San Francisco-based ten seconds, astonishingly, the light photographer. You can see more of his moved off us and nothing happened. photos ofthe mothballfleet on his website We kept rowing. The light swept us a at www.scotthaefner.com.

USS Iowa USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of a class of 45, 000-ton battleships built for the US Navy in the 1940s. She was built at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn and commissioned in 1943. Iowa survived an earlier stint as a mothball ship and was brought back into service 26years after she had been decommissioned, when the navy sought to build up its fleet in the 1980s. After a refit and modernization in shipyard, the battleship was put back into commission in 1984. She deployed to Europe, the Indian Ocean, and Arabian Sea before being decommissioned for the last time in 1990. The storied battleship will likely see a different fate ftom her sisters in Suisun Bay. Vallejo, California, is currently .in a heated battle with the port of Los Amgeles (San Pedro) to secure rights to the batttleship and turn it into a museum.

40

SEA , HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Affordable Luxury When You're Anchored in Boston Starting at

The antiquity and charm of the original

~65

Mariners House has been updated to include all the modern amenities, featuring completely renovated private rooms, private baths, elegant common rooms and all the in-room necessities

AVAILABLE-Rare, original Nichol steam calliope

of modern life.

per night

mcludmg breakfast Lunch and dinner also offered daily

•

Served aboard the Mississippi sternwheeler Washington .

Played first by Leslie Swanson in 1928, and continued aboard the Washington until she was decommissioned .

(N ot included.)

Guests must be active seafarers with proof

of service.

MARINERS HOUSE

This instrument is a rare and unique antique and is available with a 15 HP Bryan propane boiler, 50 gallon propane bottle, pressure regulator, flexible piping, books (5" x 8" paper back) by Swanson about calliopes and several hundred calliope recordings. $105,000, buyer collects.

160 Years of Hospitality and Guidance to Professional Mariners 11 North Square, Boston, MA 0 2113 Voice (617) 227-3979 Fax (617) 227-4005 inn@marinershouse.org www.marinershouse.org

Contact Murphy, FAX 305-666-0501 Book & CD available, $50, pp.

To Make a Reservation, call 1-877-SEA-9494

Find nautical decor, accessories, furniture and model ships at NauticalHome.com and enjoy the conven ience of a superior online shopping experience.

We're your on line headquarters for unique, hard-to-find nautical lifestyle products.

Tired of nautical reproductions?

Martifacts has on ly authentic marine collectibles rescued from scrapped ships: navigation lamps, sextants, clocks, bells, barometers, charts, flags , binnacles, telegraphs, portholes, U.S. Navy dinnerware and flatware, and more. Current brochure - $1 .00

MARTIFACTS, INC. P.O. BOX 350190 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32235-0190 PHONE/FAX: (904) 645-0150 www.martifacts.com e-mail: martifacts@aol.com

PLWJNGAOllJISI: •Small Ships •River Boats •Sailing Vessels •Barges •Freighters •Expeditions •Educational&Traditional Crui ses

NAUTICAL HOME

~

1-.1 1• 5 I

Save 'vit-h

I~~ .

Live tlte nautical life.

30-day returns• Price match guarantee • Secure shopping. Free shipping

1-800-880-4995

The Finest Nautical Luxury Items at the Lowest Prices Toll Free 1-800-880-4995

ll.aC:es

J.iTravLtiPS~ www.travltips.com

(800) 872-8584

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 201 1

~n-avL1ti1•s

FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP INCL.T HREE ISSUES OF TRAVLTIPS PUBLI CATION !First hand cruise reports, listings, special offers, etc) sine• 1967

e•mail: info@travltips.com

41

.SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS The conservation of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley reached a major milestone this past June when the sub was rotated to an upright position for the first time in 147 years. The Hunley has rested on her side at a 4 5° an gle since the she was lost in 1864; she was lifted from the ocean floor in that exact same pos ition in 2000 and has remained that way in a C harleston, SC , conservation lab, un til now. The Hunley is a fragile 19th-century artifact, and safely moving the approximately 7-ron, 40-foor submarine posed a ch allenging engineering feat.

The ream spent two years planning th e ro tation an d res ted vario us sim ulatio ns in advance on a 3D model. The ro tation rook three days, with scientists turning the submarine m ere millimeters at a rime.

O n the evening of 17 February 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the wo rld's firs t successful combat submarine by sinking the sloop-of-war USS Housaton ic. After signaling to sho re that the mission had been accomplish ed, th e submarine and her crew of eigh t mysteriously vanished . Lost at sea for more than a century, the Hunley

CSS H. L. Hunley was located in 1995 by Clive C ussler's National U nderwater and Marine Agency. The innovative hand-cranked vessel was raised in 2000 and delivered to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. You can watch a time-lapse video of th e ro tatio n online on www.youru be.com by searching fo r "Hunley rotation." (Warren Lasch Conservation Center, 125 0 Supply Street, Building 255 , Former C harleston Navy Base, North C harleston, South Carolina 29405; www.hunley.org) ... Maritime Maryland: A History, by Dr. William S. Dudley, was twice honored this past spring with prestigious awards: the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH)'s John Lyman Award

PLIMOTH PLANTATION

c.9v1ayjlorPer II cA :J\&,tional c.9vfaritime Treasure

C

limb aboard the full scale reproduction of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to New England in 1620. Meet c:Jvfayjlower passengers and modern crew to hear of the ship's storied past.

Plimoth Plantation & Mayflower II open 9 to 5 through November 27, 2011 www.plimoth .org Plymouth, MA 508 746-1622

42

for the best book in US maritime history published in 2010, and the Maryland Historical Trust's Heritage Book Award for 2011. D r. D udley is a former directo r of Naval Histo ry fo r the Naval Historical Cenrer (now called the N aval History and Heri rage Command) and has served as president or director fo r many historical organizations and museums, including the Society fo r H is to ry in the Federal G overnment, NASOH, the Ann apolis Maritime Museum, among others. He is a current edi to rial advisor to Sea H istory m agazine, and he and his wife, D onna, are co-chairs of the 201 2 NMH S Annual W as hington D C Awards Dinner, h eld each spring. Congratulations Bill!

(Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010 , ISBN 978-0-801 89-475-6) ... This summer, the Save America's Treasures office closed after the federal government cut 100% of its funding for fiscal year 2011 and 2012. The National Park Service has announced that the Historic Preservation Grants division is not closing, however, and will continue to manage all previously awarded and currently active grants. Save America's Treasures was a grant program administered by the National Park Service through a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation . The program was established in 1998 fo r "preservation and/o r conserva tion wo rk on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifac ts and historic structures and sites." Since its inception, Save Am erica's Treasures was one of the largest and mos t effective grant programs for the protection of the nation's endangered and irreplaceable cultural heritage. (Yo u can view the complete datab ase of funded projects since

SEA IHISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

1999 online at http://grants.cr.nps.gov/ treasures/treasures.cfm) ... The Hampton Roads Naval Museum recently acquired and put on display a rare War of 1812era cannon. The 18-pounder long gun will form the centerpiece of an upcoming exhibit commemorating the bicentennial

Hero of the War of 1812 Bluejacket's model of O/,D IRONSIDES presents her as she .was during her/ st glorious years, 1812-1815. Her accuracy is based upb!:'th;~e years of painstaking research by a Trustee of the CONSTITUTION Museum, Larry Arnot. Larry studied her deck logs and maintenance records in the museum library to recreate her glory years. As an attestation to her authenticity, our model has been named the .t~"Official Kit of th,e USS CONSTITUTION uselllll." ,...,,, -. '/ifl l 1-\l •

USS CONSTITUTION ' 1812 - 1815 LOA: 40" SCALE: 1/8" HEIGHT: 27 W' ITEM #K1018 KITCOST: $590

Alsoavailable as a completed model

..._ Fine ship ·m odels since 1905!

Bltl!iY::,4ff!~JPsT

COME SAIL WITH US

Key West Manhattan • Newport• sai sail-nyc.com 1-keywest. com sail-newport.com

of the War of 1812. The gun's markings indicate it was cast in England by Walkers and Company, as indicated by the mark "WCo." Further markings include the date "1798," a crowned "P" and the initials "WG." The crowned " P" means that, at some point, the gun was intended for the English merchant service, while "WG" refers to gun agents Wiggin and Graham, who sold the guns. The museum, located on the second level of Nauticus in Norfolk, interprets more than 234 years of US naval history in Hampton Roads, Virginia. One of 11 official US Navy museums, the museum houses a rich collection of authentic uniforms, weaponry, underwater artifacts, detailed ship models, and artwork. Admission is free. (HRNM, One Waterside Dr., Suite 248, Norfolk, VA 23510; Ph. 757 3222987) . . . In June, the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY, announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding between their respective boards, and that they will move the Clearwater's winter berth to the Kingston waterfront. The agreement also includes plans to build a 4,000-square-foot facility on the museum's grounds that will house a boat shop and education center. The vessel's administrative offices will stay in Beacon, NY, and the 106-foot sailing vessel will continue to be on the go all up and down the

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

Classic Harbor Line

SCARANO BOAT BUILDING Designing and Building Tradition Since 1976 Albany, N. Y. www.scaranoboat.com 518 463-3401 43

Hudson River in the summer months, but Clearwater has never had a permanent winter berth with suitable repair facilities.

Clearwater was built in 1968-69 at the Harvey Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine, to carry out a mission that includes environmental awareness of the Hudson River, education, and activism. The partnership between the vessel and the museum is expected to benefit both and also the City of Kingston, which is an official participant in the Clearwater Green Cities Initiative. (Clearwater, 724 Wolcott Ave., Beacon, MY 12508; Ph. 845 865-8080; www.clearwater.org. HRMM, 50 Rondour Landing, Kingston, NY 1240 1; Ph. 845 338-007 1; www. hrmm .org) ... USS Constitution recently had a change of command: Commander Tim Cooper was relieved by Commander Matt Bonner on 22 July in a ceremony at the Charlestown Navy Yard on the deck of the famous frigate. Commander Bonner is Constitution's 72nd commanding officer. Bonner recently completed a tour at the Pentagon , where he served as a military education policy planner in the Joint Staff J-7 since December 2008. He also served as the ex-

!:

¡\"

~mtrtrnu mrn ~int.r &minfuare V lJtg

l"~ii: '~ '-

4 {

Handcrafted 18th Cen. Reproductions

(540) 867..0009 3070 Valley Overlook Dr. Dayton, Va. 22821 www. EarlyAmericanTin.com

NINA HELLMAN cJl;!arine ufntiques - dmericana (508) 228-4677 nina@ninahcllmanantiqucs.com

Serving Collectors & Museums Since 1971

an tuckct, Massachusetts

www.ninahellmanantiques.com

44

ecutive officer for USS Farragut (DDG 99) from 2005 to 2007. Bonner will lead his crew as they prepare to celebrate the bicenten ni al of the War of 1812. Cooper will go on to his next assignment at the US Naval War College in Newport, RI. (For more information on Constitution, visit www. history.navy.mil/ussco nstitution or www.facebook.com/ ussconsti tutionofficial) ... Maritime history's digital presence has a new addition Cmdr. Matt Bonner (left) relieves Cmdr. Tim Cooper with "Ships on the during a ceremony on the deck of USS Constitution .

Shore," a research blog about shipwrecks past and present. on shipwrecks and the development of Launched in June by Jamin Wells, a grad- the American shore with a broader audiuate student at the University of Dela- ence, and he hopes it becomes a converware, "Ships on the Shore" is a regularly sation others will join. (shipsontheshore. updated forum for ideas, historical sourc- wordpress.com) . . . The Long Island es, and contemporary news related to all Maritime Museum board of trustees things "shipwreck." Wells started the site has appointed Stephen M. Jones as its to share his ongoing dissertation research new director. Mr. Jones is well fa miliar with the museum, having served on its board for eight years. He is the former planning commissioner in the Town of Islip, director of planning and development for the NY Institute of Technology, Suffolk Co un ty planning director, and CEO of the Suffolk Cou nty Water Authority. (LIMM, POB 184, 86 Wes t Avenue, West Sayville, NY 11 796; Ph. 631 HISTORY; www.limaritime.org) ... The New Bedford Whaling Museum opened a new exhibit in July that explores the only $24.95 Cape Verdean maritime experience.

The exhibit explores three primary themes: Cape Verde as the cross& roads of the Atlantic, the portrait of a maritime community, and rhe enduring cultural ties between Cape Verde and the Uni ted States. New Bedford has a large Nautic~ & Cape Verdean population, and the exOne HighStreet;Portsmouth,Virginia 23704 (757) 399,5012 hibit draws o n the museum's extensive collection of logbooks, rare maps, art, scrimshaw, and vario us artifacts that illustrate both life in the Cape Verde Islands through the ages and the challenges of nature. Cape Verde is a country fra ught with natural diisasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquaikes, famine, and plagues,

NAUTICAL BELTS

Shop nautical clothing for men women

www.SkipjackNauticalWares.com Skipjack

Wares Marine Gallery

SEA HIST<ORY 136, AUTUMN 20 11

and these harsh conditions gave rise to the Cape Verdean diaspora. During the whaling heyday, Cape Verdeans earned a reputation as expert whalemen and as skilled workers in maritime trades ashore.

Additionally, in 1978, the new Republic of Cape Verde gave the historic 1894 schooner Ernestina, originally built as a Gloucester fishing schooner and now homeported in New Bedford, co the US as a goodwill gift. Between 1948 and 1965, she was owned by a Cape Verdean sea captain and carried immigrants and

Boat-Building '1i Historic Sails '1i Programs

New exhibits for2011 Making Wa~ Maritime Ventures on CapeOxl Cook Boat Shop: Boat Builders at W01k m/vPrudence 100 Yems: through Sept25 WorldngMen, Worldng Boats: A Photographic Exhibit, Sept 27through.Dec18 Haroor Full of History combo tickets : Explore our great new exhibits & sail on our 1886 Crosby Catboat Sarah or take a harbor cruise on Hy-LineS lOOyear old mJv Prudence. Available through October

Harpooner, by George Gale (1940)

goods co and from the United Scates.

(NBWM, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; Ph. 508 997-0046; www.whalingmuseum.org) Mystic Seaport has named Colin D. Dewey the winner of the Gerald E. Morris Prize Article award as for ''Annus Mirabilis to The Ancient Mariner: Oceanic Environments and the Romantic Literary Imagination." The $1,000 prize is named for the lace director of the G.W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport, who established the contest in 1980 to encourage research and publication in American maritime history, which has since been expanded to include international maritime studies. Each year, the winning article is selected from submissions co CORIOLIS: the Interdisciplinary journal of Maritime Studies. Dewey recently received his PhD in English literature from Cornell University; his dissertation is tided, "Transatlantic Romanticism and Maritime Studies." (A pdf of the article can be accessed at http://ijms. nmdl.org) ... This summer, a team of high school students and NOAA maritime archaeologists, participating in a program called Project Shiphunt, announced the discovery of two historic shipwrecks in Lake Huron-the SEA HISTORY 136,AUTUMN 2011

Historical reproductions inspired by the Age of Sail , exploration , science , and cartography www.carterstore.com Carter Creations AM/Authentic Models Authorized Dealer E-mail: cc@carterstore.com Phone/Fax: 714-826-9696

45

schooner M. F. Merrick and the steel freighter Etruria. Project Shiphunt was created by Sony and Intel to "inspire a group of kids to embrace science and technology with the ultimate product demonstration, discovering a sunken ship," using Sony VAIO laptops powered by 2nd Gen Intel" Coreâ&#x201E;˘processors. Five students from Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw and maritime archaeologists,

high school science and history teachers.

The project represents the first time Thunder Bay shipwrecks have been filmed in 3D, and the team is working to incorporate the new data into the exhibits at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, MI. See video and more information on Project Shiphunt online at http:// discover.store. sony. com/ shi phun ti.

(NOAA Thunder Bay NMS, 500 W Fletcher St., Alpena, MI 49707; http:// thunderbay.noaa.gov) ... Undergraduate professors and instructors, take notice-the application deadline for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) "Enduring Questions" grant is 15 September. NEH offers grants of up to $25,000 to support the

development of an undergraduate course on an enduring question. Enduring questions are questions to which no discipline, field, or profession can lay an exclusive claim. The course is to be developed by one or more (up to four) faculty members, bur not team taught, and may be taught by faculty from any department or discipline in the humanities or by faculty outside the humanities (i.e., astronomy, biology, economics, law, mathematics, medicine, psychology), so long as humanities sources are central to the course. (For details, contact the staff of NEH 's Division of Education Programs at enduringquestions@neh.gov; Ph. 202 606-8380; www.neh.gov/grants/ guidelines/EnduringQuestions.html) J,

National Sailing Hall of Fame First Class of Inductees, 2011 Yer Vang, a 10th grader from Arthur Hill High School, looks on as Dr. James Delgado, director of NOAAs Maritime Heritage Program, points out a potential shipwreck from side scans ofthe lake bed. historians , and scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), and NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory worked together on the quest. The 138-ft. schooner M. F Merrick was lost when a passing steamer struck her in a dense fog off Presque Isle in May 1889. Laden with a cargo of iron ore, the 230-foot Rufus P Ranney hit the M. F Merrick on her starboard side and opened a hole 12-feet wide in the old schooner. The M. F Merrick was loaded with sand at the time, and she sank immediately, taking five crewmen with her.

In February of 1902, the Etruria was launched by West Bay City Ship Building Co. in Michigan for the Hawgood Transit Company of Cleveland and also came to her end after colliding with another vessel in fog, off Presque Isle Light. Project Shiphunt will be chronicled in a documentary that will be released on 30 August. Sony and Intel Corp. are also partnering with the Sanctuary team on a comprehensive educational curriculum for 46

Catching up to 200 years of sailing history in the US, the National Sailing Center & Hall of Fame (NSHOF) recently announced the names of 15 sailors who will make up the inaugural class of inductees in the National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Candidates for the honor must have made a "significant impact on the growth and development of the sport in the United States in the following categories: sailing, technical, and contributor." Posthumous nominations were also accepted. NSHOF was formed in 2005 and is working towards establishing a permanent facility in Annapolis, Maryland.

National Sailing Hall of Fame inductees (living) : US Sailing Disabled Sailing Team Coach and 5-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Betsy Alison (Newport, RI) ; surfboard industry pioneer Hobie Alter (CA); 1998 Whitbread Round-theWorld Race winning skipper Paul Cayard (Kentfield, CA); 4-time America's Cupwinning skipper Dennis Conner (San Diego, CA) ; naval architect and America's Cup-winning skipper Ted Hood (Portsmouth, RI); sailor, aurhor, and Emmy awardwinning sailing commentator Gary Jobson (Annapolis, MD) ; 1972 Soling Olympic gold medalist Buddy Melges (Zenda, WI); 1968 Star Olympic gold medalist and founder of North Sails Lowell North (San Diego, CA); and America's Cup-winning helmsman and 4-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Ted Turner (Atlanta, GA).

National Sailing Hall of Fame inductees (posthumous) : TransAtlantic Race record setter Capt. Charles "Charlie" Barr (Marblehead, MA) ; naval architect Capt.

Nathanael G . Herreshoff (Bristol, RI); 2-time America's Cup-winning skipper Emil "Bus" Mosbacher, Jr. (Greenwich, CT); the 1st-ever singlehanded world circumnavigator and noted writer Joshua Slocum (San Francisco, CA); yacht designer Olin Stephens (Hanover, NH); and 3-time America's Cup-winning skipper Harold S. Vanderbilt (New York, NY).

The NSHOF is a not-for-profit educational institution "dedicated to preserving the history of the sport and its impact on American culture; honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing; the teaching of math, science and American history; inspiring and encouraging sailing development; and to providing an international landmark for sailing enthusiasts." Starting in 2014, the number of inductees each year will not exceed five sailors. (NSHOF, 67-69 Prince George St. , Annapolis, MD 21401; Ph. 410 295-3022; www.nshof.org) SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

CLASSIFIED ADS

WHITE SAILS BECAME ME: MEMOIRS OF A SEAFARING HERITAGE by licensed Capt. Nick Starace

Thousands of century-old ship postcards, ephemera- in San Francisco; Ph. 4 15 586-9386, kprag@planeteria.net.

FLORIDA-NO income tax, NO death tax, NO investment tax, & NO snow! Let our team of Florida licensed REALTORS® assist with yo ur retirement or other move to the "Sunshine State." Go to www.RealEstateCounselors.com or call 85 0-982- 1907.

CLASSIC SCHOONER FOR SALE. Bristol condition. Ready for world cruising.

Visit www.1930schoonermistress.com to learn more.

A modern-day renaissance man takes you on a journey living more adventure than most people dare dream . Here is a gripping adventure of a life spent around ships, boats, and the sea . While the central th eme is nautical , it truly has something for everyone.

Web site: www.whitesailsbecameme.com Amazon available or for autographed copy: Nickstar2nd@aol.com

1812 Privateer FAME of Salem, MA. Sails Daily, May- October. Ph. 978 729-7600; www.SchoonerFame.com.

FREIGHTERCRUISES.COM. Mail ships, containerships, trampers ... Find the ship and voyage that's perfect fo r yo u. Ph. 1-800-99-Maris.

drawing o n the front .

SI SO includes envelopes

For sampl es and info sec:

Elegant Ship Models. Individually han dcrafted custom scale model boats. Jean Preckel: www.preckelboats.com or call: 304 432-7202.

www. baldwinstudio. us

Your boat is a work of art on the water-now make it a work of art on your wall.

Marine Artist Rick Lawler is now available for commission and can create a portrait in oil of your vessel from any photograph using any background you desire. O nline at www.richardlawler.citymax.com; email: rlawlerpaint@yahoo.com; or call 843 283-0589 (9AM-8PM EST).

400 years of Maritime History

Custom Ship Models Half Hulls. Free Catalog. Spencer, Box 1034, Quakertown, PA 18951.

Open Daily 1-5pm July & Aug 10-5pm

BOOKS

West 1st Street Pier, Oswego, NY www.hleewhitemarinemuseum .com 315-342-0480

SHIPS O F THE U. S. MERCHANT FLEET, 140 photos of sh ips at the peak of the USMM, and HISTORY OF ELECTRIC DRIVE FOR SHIPS gives overview of Navy, Merchant Marine, Coast G uard and Oceanography by Capt. John A. Culver; www.jacmodel. net.

M A I N E WIN DJA MMER CR UIS E S

NEXT VOYAGE WILL BE DIFFERENT by Captain Thomas E. H enry. Accounts from my 37 years at sea. Available thro ugh Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Also, CRACKING HITLER'S ATLANTIC WALL. Call 772 287-5603 (EST) or email: Arcome@aol. com for signed copies.

IT DIDN'T HAPPEN ON MY WATCH and SCUTTLEBUTT by Geo rge E. Murphy. Memoirs of forty-three years with United States Lines aboard cargo and passenger ships. Anecdo tes of captains, chief engineers, crew members and the company office.

Web site: www.gemurphy.com; e-mail: gemurphy@verizon.net.

A CARELESS WORD-A NEEDLESS SINKING by Capt. Arthur R. Moore.

Documented account of catastroph ic losses suffered by American Merchant Marine and Armed Guard during WWII. 720 pp, lists crew members & ships, profusely illustrated. Eighth printing sponsored by American Merchant Marine Veterans.

E-mail: gemurphy@verizon.net.

Advertise in Sea History! Call 914 7 37-787 8, ext. 235 , or e-mail: advertising@seahistory.org.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

National l andmark Schooners

Crui ses May - October 3, 4, 5 Day & Weekends

4l Est.1936

www.Ma ineWindjammerCruises .com

800-736-7981

BREWER BANNER DESIGNS STARS & STRIPES PENNANTS - Historical design exquisitely hand crafted in the most durable fabrics. 3', 4', 6', 8' and 12' sizes in stock. Other sizes & designs by custom order.

CUSTOM DESIGN & FABRICATION IS OUR SPECIALTY! Also in stock: ALL SIZES - U.S., state, foreign , historical, military, marine & decorative flags , banners, pennants & accessories.

77 Forest St., New Bedford, MA 02740 508 996-6006

www.brewerbanner.com 47

Save the Date!

New York City

Pickle Night Dinner 11November2011 at the New York Yacht Club

This year marks rhe 206rh anniversary of rhe Barde of Trafalgar, and rhe 9rh New York City Pickle Night Dinner will celebrare rhis history-changing event on 11 November 2011. Those who appreciare rhe historical significance of Admiral Lord Horacio Nelson and rhe lore associared with his life are invited to attend rhis special evening.

The dinner is named for HMS Pickle, which raced the news back to Britain of Nelson's victory and death in the Barde of Trafalgar.

This event has been a perennial success, with guests attending from the United States and abroad.

Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB DL, former First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff and currendy chairman of rhe National Museum of rhe Royal Navy, will be the principal speaker. Sir Jonarhon also serves as chairman of rhe 1805 Club, an organization dedicated to the conservation of memorials to Georgian naval heroes.

The event is black tie or military equivalent. Ticket price is $240 per person. Space is limited-if you wish to make a reservation, please contact Sally McElwreath Callo: email SallyMC79@verizon.net or Ph. 212 972-8667.

48

Historic Figurehead Restored at the Royal Navy Museum

T

he 170-year-old figurehead of HMS Trafalgar (18411873), a likeness ofAdmiral Lord Horatio Nelson, found a new life recently, just in time for the National Museum of the Royal Navy's centenary events on June 29 (see page 19). Located adjacent to Nelson's famous flagship HMS Victory at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in England, the figurehead was a restoration proj ect of the American Friends of the Royal Naval Museum.

HMS Trafalgar was launched in 1841 as a first-rate ship-ofthe-line of 120 guns. She was the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Sheerness, and saw action in the Crimean War. Converted to steam in 1859, she then served in the Channel- and Mediterranean Fleets, and in 1870 she became a seagoing training ship. Renamed Boscawen in 1873, the ship was sold in 1906 and broken up. Eventually the figurehead moved to its current location in 1976 and joined an impressive collection of figureheads from historic Royal Navy ships.

The American Friends of the Royal Naval Museum was organized in 2008 to strengthen the ties berween them use um and those in the United States interested in naval history and the special relationship berween the US Navy and the Royal Navy, particularly the history of Nelson. The major effort in this regard is the New York City Pickle Night Dinner, held every aummn at the New York Yacht Club (see details left).

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

FESTIVALS, EVENTS, LECTURES, ETC. •Festival of Sail 2011 in San Diego, 2-5 September (www.sdmaritime.org/festivalof-sail/) •14thAnnual Boat Auction, 3 September at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum; also 29th Annual Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival, 30 September-2 October (CBMM, 213 N . Talbot St., POB 636, St. Michaels, MD 2 1663; Ph. 410 745 -2916; www.cbmm.org) •35th Annual Wooden Boat Festival, 9-11 September in Port Townsend, WA (Wooden Boat Fdn ., 31 Water St., Port Townsend, WA 98368; Ph. 360 3853628; www.woodenboat.org) •Fleet Week San Diego, 16 Sep tember2 October (www. fleerweeksandiego.org) •York River Maritime Heritage Festival, 17 September in Yorktown, VA (Watermen's Museum, 309 Water St., Yorktown, VA 23690; Ph. 757 887-2641 ; www.watermens.org) •Maritime Festival 2011 , 23-25 September in Greenport, NY (East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, PO Box 624, Greenport, NY 11944; Ph. 631 477-2100; www.eastendseaport.org) •Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival, 24-25 September in Porrsmo uth , NH (www.newenglandfolknetwork.org) •"125 Years of Good Ships: Newport News Shipbuilding," a lecture by W illiam A. Fox at the Mariners' Museum on 29 September (MM, 100 Museum Dr., Newport News, VA 23606; Ph. 757 5962222; www.marinersmuseum.org) •Nantucket Maritime Festival, 1 October on Nantucket, Massachusetts (www. nantucketmaritimefestival.org) •Fleet Week San Francisco, 6- 11 October (www.fleetweek. us) •Maritime History Ghost Walk, 7, 14, 2 1, 28 October at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum (WMM, 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc, WI 54220; Ph. 920 684-0218; www. wisconsinmari time.erg) •Halloween Boat Burning, 28 October ar the Long Island Maritime Museum (86 West Ave., West Sayville, NY 11 796; Ph. 631 854-497 4; www.limaritime.org) •Sultana Downrigging Weekend, 27-30 October in Chestertown, MD, with visiting tall ships, music, lectures (105 South Cross St., Chestertown, MD 21620; www.sulranaprojects.org)

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIUMS •2011 McMullen Naval History Symposium, hosted by rhe History Department of rhe US Naval Academy, 15-16 September in Annapolis, MD. (www.usna.edu/ History/symposium.hrm) •Antique & Classic Boat Society's Annual Meeting (and Boat Show) , 21-24 Sep tember at Lake Geneva, WI (www. acbs.org) •"The Power of Stories: Authority and Narrative in Early America," 29 September-I October, hosted by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania (www.mceas.org) •International Congress of Maritime Museums 2011 , "Maritime Museums 20 11 : Connecting wirh the Future," 9-15 October in Washington, DC, and Newport News, VA. (www.icmmonline.org) •Museum Small Craft Association Annual Meeting, 19-22 October at the Maine Maritime Museum (MSCA, www. museumsmallcraft.org; MMM, 243 Washington Street, Barh, ME 04530; Ph. 207 443-1316; www.bathmaine.com) •Fatigue and Fracture Analysis for Marine Structures, 3-day workshop, 25-27 October in Houston, TX, hosted by BMT Fleer Technology, accredited by SNAME (BMT Group, Ph. 613 592-2830; www. fleetech.com) •First International Congress of Eurasian Maritime History, 5-9 November 2012 in Istanbul. CALL FOR PAPERS deadline is 28 October 2011. (http://congress2012.pirireis.edu. rr/) •New Researchers in Maritime History Conference 2012, 9-10 March 20 12 ar the Riverside Museum, Glasgow. CALL FOR PAPERS deadline is 4 November 2011. (www.maritimehisrory.o rg.uk) •Nautical Archaeology Society 2011 Annual Conference, 5 November in Portsmouth, England (www. nauticalarchaeolo gysociety.org) •The International Sail Training & Tall Ships Conference 2011 , 18- 19 November in Toulon, France (www.sailtraininginrernarional.org) •Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference. Conference theme is: "By the Dawn's Early Lighr: Forging Identity, Securing Freedom, and Overcoming Conflict," 4-8 Jan uary in Baltimore, MD (www.sha.org)

ExHIBITS

•Cape Verdean Maritime Exhibit, new this summer at the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; Ph. 508 9970046; www.whalingmuseum.org) •M/VPrudence: 100 Years, through 25 September at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum; also Working Men, Working Boats: A Photography Exhibit by Milton Moore, 27 September- 18 December (CCMM, 135 South Srreer, Hyannis, MA 02601; Ph. 508 775-1723; www.capecod maritimemuseum.org) •18th Annual Maritime Art Exhibition, through 1 October 2011 ar the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay, Oregon, with featured artist Don McMichael (CAM, 235 Anderson Avenue, Coos Bay, OR 97420; Ph. 541 267-3901; www.coosart.org) •Rountree Fine Art Maritime Exhibition, October 2011 in London, England (RFA, 118 Fulham Rd., Chelsea, London SW3 6HU; www.rountreefineart.com) •The Art of Passages, through 7 October ar the Atrium Gallery in San Francisco, with works by Christine Hanlon, featured artist in Sea History 133. (Arrium Gallery, 901 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103) •Outboard Motors: The First Hundred Years, new exh ibit open through the end of the season, 16 October, at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont (LCMM, 4472 Basin Harbor Road, Vergennes, VT 0549 1; www.lcmm.org) •Mapping the Pacific Coast, through 31 October at the Maritime Museum at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (900 Beach St. #265, San Francisco, CA 94 147; Ph. 415 561-7000; WWW. maritime.erg) • Tandem, the Art Between the Creeks fall exhibition, Thursdays-Sundays, 7-14 November at the Annapolis Maritime Museum (POB 3088, 723 Second St., Annapolis, MD 2 1403; www.amaritime.org) •Three Voyages to Paradise, through 2011 at the Maritime Museum of San Diego (1492 North Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 9210 1; www.sdmaritime.org) •In the Dark, traveling exhibit that examines ecosystems that exist without light, now through January 2012 at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium (350 East 3rd St., Dubuque, IA 52001; www.rivermuseum.com)

49

by Peter McCracken

MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET

Tracking and Following Ships Around the Globe, Using Web 3. 0 Technology

T

he combination and compilation of many disparate silos of data, all mashed together, is already a common sight on the internet bur is definitely growing in importance. In fact, this is a tenet of what some people call "Web 3.0"-Web 1.0 was the one-way delivery of information posted on the internet; Web 2.0 was the impact of user-generated content, from reviews of products on Amazon.com to the content contributed to Wikipedia and similar sites; and Web 3.0 is the widespread application of "semantic data," and particularly information that is derived from the use of that data.

Semantic data (or "linked data") represents a structured approach to defining data and relationships: to a computer, the statement "John Adams was a US President" is meaningless; it's simply a collection of text characters that only have meaning to the humans reading it. By defining to a comp uter that the person named "John Adams" held the position of "US President," and then doing this many, many times, and with many different pieces of data, one can create an environment in which a computer can collate, repackage, and more importantly, interpret large amounts of data in new ways.

One example is the simple creation of sites that combine data about a vessel's location, its name, and type of activity, and then apply all that information onto a map of the world or a region, eventually showing in a dynamic fashion which ships are where in the world. Because a lot of this data is available in the form of data feeds, companies gather and use the feeds in different ways.

Vessel tracking sites include http://www.vesseltracker.com, http://www.marinetraffic.co m, and h ttp ://sailwx.info, among others. Each website presents its information in various ways, and each uses available information differently. For example, VesselTracker.com applies its data to Google Earth, though one must subscribe to the VesselTracker website to view real-rime data in Google Earth. MarineTraffic.com uses Google Maps, which

allows it to load much quicker and doesn't requ ire the user to launch a new program (as Google Earth does) onto his computer. A friend recently described to me how he and his wife follow the vessels they can see entering Baltimore harbor from their condominium using MarineTraffic.com. The site offers dear, differently colored icons for different types of ships and shows an impressive amo unt of information about each ship.

Both of these sires useAIS (Automatic Identi" fication System) data, an automated tracking system for ships in port, which transmits information-including the vessel's identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status, and other safety-related information-automatically to shore stations, other ships, and aircraft. Another site, http ://sailwx. info, tracks vessels in the open ocean, in addition to those near shore . Its data feeds come just from those ships that include their location when contributing weather information. About 4,000 vessels now participate in this program, managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Sailwx.info allows you to narrow the search by ship type as well: tall ships, cruise ships, oceanographic research vessels, etc. To see where the participating rail ship fleet is at any given time, for example, go to http://sailwx.info/shiptrack/tall ship s.phtml.

The collection of this data, to create dynamic tools for graphically displaying textual data feeds, is a great example of what can be done with semantic data. Ir becomes easy to limit such feeds to only oil tankers, or only ships built in 2004, or ships that left Singapore in the last three months. As more structured data becomes available, researchers and casual users will be able to easily view, manipulate, and uncover new knowledge from data silos.

Suggestions for other sites worth mentioning are welcome at p eter@shipindex.org. See http ://shipindex.org for a free compilation of over 140,000 ship names from indexes to dozens of books and journals. ,!, J. P. URANKER WOODCARVER

*

AUTHENTIC MARITIME

*SEA CHESTS* *

Offering an extensive selection of documented, one-of-a-kind ship models by internationally acclaimed marine model artists.

CUSTOM MODELS (YACHT & HISTORIC)

HANDCARVED DOVETAILED 1-508-693-5871 1393 County Road, Martha's Vmeyard, MA 02557

AMERICAN MARINE MODEL GAL LE RY 20 Pl easant Street, P.O. Box 6102 Gloucester, MA 01930

978-281 -1166 w all@shipmodel.com

P.O. Box 74 Leonia, NJ 07605 201-461-5729 www.modelshipsbyrayguinta.com e-mail: raymondguinta@aol.com

APPRAISALS RESTORATIO NS DISPLAY UNITS Ill us. catalog $10.

(515. overseas) or free broc hure

50

Experienced ship model maker who has been commissioned by the National Maritime Historical Society and the USS Intrepid Museum in NYC. SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 20 1 l

Reviews The Sea: A Cultural History by John Mack Navigation is only one example of (Reaktion Books, London, 2011, 277pp, the deep themes addressed in this wideillus, biblio, index, notes, ISBN 978-0-86189- ranging book. The nature of the sea, ofships, beaches, and the interactions between land 809-8; $35 hc) The Sea: A Cultural History does not fall and sea are all addressed-albei t with mixed into easy categories. John Mack, professor levels of success. The final two chapters, of world art studies at the Univers ity "Beaches" and "The Sea on the Land," of East Anglia, draws although thought-provoking, are not at the level of the first on an eclectic range of sources and bodies of half of the book. The extensive discussions of cultural context of scholarship in pursuit of r1ieSEA "a fundamental rethink sh ip models and grave vessels in of the ways in whi ch the final chapter are interesting, maritime cul tu res are but do not culminate in a clear conclusion to the book, and the configured by scholars." reader is left waiting anxiously for Many of Mack's cultural touchstones are unusual a concluding chapter. cho ices, for examp le, Despite its uneven aspects, John Mack's The Sea: A Cultural the emphasis placed on buried ships such as at History should be a staple in any graduate seminar in history, Sutton Hoo and the cultural contours of the Vezo people of Engli sh, anth ropo logy, or geography Madagascar. He also draws heavily from addressing maritime culture. The book is the well-worked classic maritime literature truly intelligent and international in its of Dana, Hugo, and Conrad. Copious scope and a thorough engagement with references and an excellent bibliography it would benefit any serious scholar of the document Mack's vibrant engagement with maritime world. history, anthropology, geography, an his] OHN ODIN JENSEN, PHD tory, literature, and architecture.

Woods Hole, Massachusetts This truly interdisciplinary and crosscu!tural approach yields both rewards and Seated by the Sea: The Maritime History pitfalls. As a serious intellectual endeavor of Portland, Maine, and Its Irish by a non-maritime specialist, the book Longshoremen by Michael C. Connolly succeeds spectacularly where it embraces (University Press of Florida, Gainesville, larger questions about the intrinsic cultural 20 10, xxiii+ 280pp, photos, index, notes, influence and nature of the sea. Mack argues appen, biblio, ISBN 978-0-8130-3469-0; that the nature of experiencing the sea is $65hc) established in response to local contexts Michael Connelly's Seated by the Sea and techno logies with place-specific is an interesting and informative look at an knowledge, geographies, and intentions oft-neglected segment of maritime history. creating unique cultu ral constructs or While many treatises and comes have been footpr ints. The maritime peoples of the penned about sh ips and the men who wo rld experience the sea in highly complex sailed them, comparatively few deal with and diverse ways-and the nature of th eir maritime workers along the shore. Those experience is dependent on technologies that do, moreover, rarely pay heed to New and fu ndamental attitudes toward the England ports. Connelly's work-based on environment. Mack's extensive discussions exhaustive use of records left by the Portland of navigation and the use or non-use of the Longshoreman's Benevolent Society and compass is especially lucid. He argues that numero us interviews-is an important European voyaging and western navigation corrective that tells us much about the city systems mark a homogenization of the of Portland and the men who worked its experience of seafaring and of the seas docks.

The book focuses mainly on the perthemselves. Technology, he suggests, creates layers of abstraction that separate sailors iod from 1860 to 1960, but offers insight and perspective from pre-colonial times to from the experience of the sea.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

the present. At times, the far-ranging nature of the text is overdone; too much attention is spent on the background history of Portland, for example, and the author tends to repeat himself more than a few times. But these are minor quibbles. In the span of six chapters, Connolly is able to analyze the interplay between the Irish longshoremen and their black and Iralian counterparts, the interactions between this community and the Catholic Church, the struggles of Portland and its maritime workforce in responding to challenges posed by other ports and by modern technology, and the ways in which local longshoremen reacted to changes in union organizing and labor activity. Any one of these topics is worthy of book-length treatment in irs own right, and to find them

Historic, antique U.S. Coast Survey maps from the 1800s Original lithographs. most American seaport s and shores.

Reprint s, too. Unique framed, great gifts. Catalog, $1 .00.

Specify area.

THE GLENCANNON PRESS

iiMmr~""i NEW! DarkPassages, Vanishing ships of the Pacific Ocean ... The Freighters From A to Z ... Hardluck Coast, west coast shipwrecks ... Grave Passage, a Henry Grave Mystery ... An Act ofPiracy, the SS Mayaguez... The Tankers from A to Z. The Victory Ships from A to Z. ... more.

FREE CATALOG 1-800-711-8985 Online catalog at www.glencannon.com 51

all covered in one monograph is ambitious.

To have chem covered well is a treat.

Seated by the Sea is a valuable addition co both labor studies and maritime history. By linking events chat dominated che local scene co larger issues seen industry-wide, Connolly is able co make connections between che particular and the general in a meaningful way. le is hoped chat chis work will encourage subsequent studies char more robuscly flesh out the story chat chis volume begins co cell in so engaging and entertaining a fashion.

By derailing che history oflrish dockworkers in Porcland, Maine, Michael Connolly has opened new avenues of investigation while adding substantially co our understanding of the complex interplay between maritime laborers and che worlds they inhabited.

TIMOTHY

G.

LYNCH , PHD

Vallejo, California

1he Novel and the Sea by Margaret Cohen (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2010, 328pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-69114-065-0, $39 .50hc) Here's a tidbit for your next cocktail parry: the term "technological" was first coined, in verse, co compliment rhe maritime language in John Smith's A Sea

Grammar (1627). In lhe Novel and the Sea, Margaret Cohen, professor of comparative literature ar Stanford Universiry, writes: ''Among rhe prefatory endorsements, A Sea Grammar includes a sonnet by Wye Salconscall emphasizing the importance of language as a cool ofwork on rhe ship: "Each Science rermes of Arr ha ch wherewithal I To expresse themselves, called technological!."

In che margins, Salconsrall has included a gloss, explaining: " Technologicall, a Greeke word compounded of two Greeke words, n:xvtj-1..~-yo~ signifies words ofArc." Okay, sure, it's in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Bue who would've thought co look for it?

Cohen's breadth and depth of research is immense, even awe-inspiring. Though fiction is the keel of lhe Novel and the Sea, she frames chis work of literary scholarship with voyage narratives, seamanship manuals, poetry, and fine arc. Cohen finds small treasures like the above while also delivering a small-scale chart-co exercise proper maritime usage-of rhe entire evolution of writing about the sea in Western lireracure, specifically English and French, bur also in ocher European languages.

Although occasionally reaching back co our earliest writings (The Odyssey),

Captain Paul Cuffe Exhibit Opening September 22, 2011 Captain Paul Cuffe Park Dedication September 24, 2011 Funded in part by

52

~~ massHUMANITIES

~~~

Cohen begins chronologically with maritime manuals, like Smith's, and the Early Modern sea voyage narratives. She shows how these books of technical writing and "plain scyle," these explorations of seamanship or craft (a term from Conrad she explores ar length) , were then transformed and converted into the first novels by che likes of Defoe. While from 1748 co 1824 the painters and poets were fixating on the voyage narratives of Cook and Bligh and removing labor from che ocean, drooling over how an ocean storm had the effect of "agreeable horror" on che shorebound viewer, the maritime adventure novel lay dormant. Thar is until James Fenimore Cooper sparked things up again, followed on the ocher side of rhe Adanric by Frederick Marryar in England and Eugene Sue in France. The characters and plots created by these writers reBecced their pose-revolutionary nationalise and political concerns. Cohen then travels "across rhe middle decades of the nineteenth century, when rhe nautical novel was at the apogee ofirs prestige,'' our of which Melville, Hugo, and Conrad "invented rhe modernise novel from sea fiction, responding co rhe decline of craft."

Previous critical endeavors have surveyed similar waters, such as Philbrick's James Fenimore Cooper and the Development of American Sea Fiction (1961); Edwards's lhe Story of the Voyage: Sea-Narratives in Eighteenth-Century England (1994); Foulke's lhe Sea Voyage Narrative (1997); and the superb introduction by Jonathan Raban co lhe Oxford Book of the Sea (1992). Cohen seems co have read chem all and incorporates chem inro lhe Novel and the Sea, while at once engaging with previous analyses of rhe fiction from lubberly philosophers, Marxist literary theorises, and critics of rhe novel.

Cohen's significant contributions here, among ochers, are her true focus on rhe novel and a fascinating close reading of Cook's journals co narracologically, lexicographically define rhe elements of seamanship as wrircen and valued by the early mariners, which were then converted co serve rhe novel-a framework she carries throughout. Among critics who explore che literature of the sea in broad terms, Cohen's comparative literature perspective is unique as far as I am aware. Subsequendy, her criticism has a multi-faceted handle on derivations, nuanced meaning, and rransAdantic historical and social <context.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

At times the literary scholar's fascination with creating terms and making categoriesthough a necessary tool of critical work-can be befuddling to the non-specialist: ironically too technological! to navigate, for example, between the authorial tools of "performing description," "gripping description," and "transforming description." Yet Cohen does not allow you to get too fogged in. The course of The Novel and the Sea is careful, logical, and builds on itself-plank by plank.

The Novel and the Sea is a brilliant work ofliteraryscholarship and an important book to the studies ofliterature of the sea. Cohen's work might better be titled for an earlier century: The Extraordinary, Remarkable, Compleat, Artful Life and Times of the Salty Ytirn, Or The Mariner-Novelist.

RICHARD]. KING, PHD Mystic, Connecticut

On Seas Contested: lbeSeven GreatNavies of the Second World lVtlr by Vincent P. O'Hara, W David Dickson, and Richard Worth (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2010, 336pp. illus, ISBN 978-1-59114-6469; $39.95hc) In terms of scope and scale, the Second World War ranks as the largest naval struggle in history. While one can find many works on campaigns on either the Atlantic or Pacific wars, specific accounts of naval battles, or biographies of key commanders, the editors of On Seas Contested: The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War aim to fill a specific void in the historiography.

This work evaluates the US Navy, the Royal Navies of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth, the Soviet VoennoMorskoi Flot, France's Marine Nationale, the German Kriegsmarine, Japan's Nihon Kaigun, and the Italian Regia Marina.

Every navy has a separate chapter devoted to it, written by subject matter experts.

Each author provides a brief history and background and then delves into a detailed examination of the navy's organization and material, by analyzing factors such as command structure, doctrine, ships and aircraft, weapon systems, and infrastructure.

Each chapter then concludes with an assessment of the navy's wartime evolution.

While the approach can be formulaic at times and some areas are not as extensive as others , the structure does provide a means to rapidly compare and contrast the opposing Beets.

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

I \1

:\l...i

L '.:"

"f A m <' r i ca GALVESTON'S THE ELISSA TI IE TALL SJ llP OF TEXAS

by Kurt D. Voss All proceeds from this pictorial history benefit the ELISSA preservation fund.

Published by Arcadia Publishing and Galveston Historical Foundation $21.99. 128 pages, 200 photographs Autographed copies available at (409) 763-1877, or online at:

www.tsm-elissa.org Authors Vincent P. O'Hara, W David performance of the Soviet submarine fleet and Dickson, and Richard Worth hoped to ¡how the arrival of several British submarines rectify two "deeply rooted problems" in in the fall of 1941 influenced them to the historiography of these topics. The alter their flawed tactics and doctrines.

On Seas Contested fills a noticeable first problem underscores the differences of the navies rather than focusing on their void in naval history. The few footnotes are superficial similarities. In particular, they offset by a detailed bibliography, along with aimed to highlight such matters as tradition, extensive charts, tables, and pictures. The lack doctrine, and national objectives. Second, of a conclusion or summation by the editors because many scholars could not, or would is perhaps the only drawback in this work, not, delve into the literature on the Japanese, but the reader will come away with a much German, Italian , French and Soviet fleets, better understanding of the inner workings they hoped to mitigate the Anglo-American of each of the Seven Great Navies.

SALVATORE R. MERCOGLIANO, PHD bias in most histories of the Second World Buies Creek, North Carolina War. This is readily apparent in the chapters on the lesser-known national navies. John Jordan's essay on the Marine Nationale A Civil lVtlr Gunboat in Pacific lVtlters: discusses France's plans to fight a naval war Life on Board USS Saginaw by Hans that never materialized because of the rapid Konrad Van Tilburg (University of Florida collapse of its army. Enrico Cernushi and Press, Gainesville, 2010, 378pp, ISBN 978Vincent O'Hara build on the latter's Struggle 0-8130-3516-1; $69.95hc) This chronicle of the Saginaw depicts for the Middle Sea (2009) in destroying the harsh imagery of past historians, who viewed the history of the ship from construction the conduct of the Regina Marina through to destruction and concludes with her the prism of Mahan's decisive naval battle rediscovery in 2003. The warship had a thesis. Finally, the essay about the least known diverse career, serving throughout the Pacific of the navies, the Voenno-Morskoi Flot, is during a relatively short, ten-year existence. perhaps the most insightful of the seven. The narrative, however, is much more than a Stephen McLaughlin discusses the poor story of a Civil War-era gunboat and delves

53

into the US Navy's frequently forgotten Pacific operations during the mid-nineteenth century.

Built in California, the Saginaw saw early service on the Far China Station.

She protected American interests against an irregular piratical force in Asia and participated in the Taiping Rebellion.

Returning to rhe West Coast after the outbreak of the Civil War, the gunboat and her crew kept the West Coast safe from the threat of privateers, foiled plots to attack the Mare Navy Yard, and patrolled southward to suppress potential Confederate agent activity there.

After the Civil War, USS Saginaw was ordered to the newly purchased territory of Alaska. The ship spent much of the time conducting survey work bur also took part in the retribution on the Kake-Kon tribe, seen as warlike and troublesome by the American Government.

After only a year in Alaska, the Saginaw was sent to Midway Island to establish a naval station. Here the warship supported dredging operations for deepening the channel into the harbor. During her trip back to San Francisco, the Saginaw steamed too close to Kure Island, where she wrecked on the coral reef of the atoll. The survival story of the officers and men, including the 1,500mile small-boat voyage taken by five of the crew to notify authorities, is riveting. The last part of rhe book deals with rhe discovery of the wreck by the author and a team of NOAA archaeologists. The documentation of the remains and the artifacts completes the ship's story.

Anyone interested in the US Navy's early Pacific Ocean operations and the federal government's interaction with the region's cultures would do well to read this book.

ROBERT BROWNING, PttD Dumfries, Virginia

Sweatshops at Sea: Merchant Seamen in the World's First Globalized Industry, from 1812 to the Present by Leon Fink (University ofNorth Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2011, 288pp, illus, no res, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-8078-3450-3; $34.95hc) Initially I approached this book with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation.

The thought crossed my mind that this might be another derivative diatribe from the Left, the "woulda-shoulda-coulda" story that labor historians so often tell. Yer I was eager to read 54

this book, too, because it promised to shed new light on the lives of twentieth-century commercial seafarers, a grossly under-studied topic when one considers the massive scholarship on mariners in the Age of Sail.

To my relief, this is not the same old story of labor unions, but an original, engaging, witty, and, yes, important study of seafarers and their struggle for improved working conditions from 1812 to the present day.

With time to think about it, I am a bit shamefaced about my initial concerns regarding this work. Leon Fink is an eminent scholar with impeccable academic credentials and editor of the journal Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas. Is he left-wing? Most assuredly, but he doesn't let that get in the way of solid scholarship and good writing. Furthermore, as an historian who specializes in the "new labor history" and as a proponent of comparative history, he possesses unique and powerful credentials to consider seafaring labor within a broad international context. While academically rigorous, he also writes with grace, humor, and wit, and deftly skewers the academic jargon so many maritime historians use these days that limits their audience to other academics only.

The scope of the book is broad in terms of both rime and space. Fink traces maritime labor problems from impressment in rhe Age of Sail right through the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) licensing requirements of today. Geographically, he starts in the AngloAmerican Atlantic world and expands to consider global shipping issues. A salient point made early in this work and carried throughout is that Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations essentially excused the maritime industry from his free-market views because he regarded it as central to the strategic welfare of the nation-state. His handling of impressment is less convincing, bur it does address the important issue of the narionsrare's control over rhe bodies and labor of its citizens.

Given that Fink's academic roots are in rhe Progressive Era, it should be little surprise that this section of the book is his strongest and most nuanced, dealing with important issues such as reformers like Samuel Plimsoll. The later chapters on the twentieth century also provide useful insights into how seafarers organized internationally, gradually overcoming boundaries of race and

nationality. After the Second World War the heavily unionized merchant fleets of the West offered high wages and increasingly lucrative fringe benefits. As Fink argues, they were able to do so because the unions fostered close relations with governments that need strong merchant fleets for strategic reasons and, therefore, protected and subsidized commercial fleets. As the deregulation movements led by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher swept through the United States and Britain, shipping companies and labor unions found themselves our in the cold; companies folded, and union membership shrank. The irony is that Reagan and Thatcher invoked free-marker principles based on their understanding of Adam Smith-minus the special status for the merchant marine. By 1990, with most subsidies and protection stripped away, globalization had internationalized the shipping industry, with Flag of Convenience (FOC) ships from Liberia, Panama, and similar nations dominating the world's sea lanes. These vessels operated with largely Asian crews, who worked for very low wages and endured poor working conditions on the largely unregulated FOC ships.

Globalization thus seems to have crushed the commercial fleets of the traditional western maritime nations. But Fink finds that labor was able to globalize in this instance, too. In the last chapter he traces the efforts of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) to organize seafarers around the world, from developed nations and the third world. The ITF was remarkably successful; by 2008 it was able to expand its agreements to cover almost three quarters of all seafarers on the planet, creating a truly global trade unionism for seafarers, a rare success story for organized labor in the twenty-first century.

In sum, this is truly an important book, and a well-written one. Labor and maritime historians alike should read it to understand the broad sweep of maritime labor relations in the last 200 years. General readers will find that his straight-forward prose often reads like an article in the Atlantic Monthly rather than an academic monograph. He also engages maritime literature to flesh our his arguments, including the novels of Joseph Conrad, Claude McKay, and the playwright Eugene O'Neill. The SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

t~cfiumbia Trading

result is a polished academic work that will feature prominently at seminar tables and the bookshelves of the learned public as well.

JosttuA SMITH, PHD Kings Point, New York

Co.

Nautical Books and Artifacts

A Coast Guardsman's History of the US Coast Guard by C. Douglas Kroll (Naval • · Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2010, 224pp, illus , index, ISBN 978- 1-59114433-5; $34.95hc) Every service has its traditions, some things that the general public does not-and has no reason to-understand. The Coast Guard, because ofi ts relative ano nymi tywith the American public when compared to the other services, sometimes keeps its traditions m a vacu um.

Doug Kroll, author of Commodore Ellsworth P Bertholf, took it as his task to consolidate the history of the Coast Guard's traditions in book form, creating an excellent resource guide for young Guardians and the people who support them .

Kroll breaks the book into five parts, first relating the actions of Guardians fro m the past who exemplified the core values of the service: honor, respect and devotion to duty. He then pulls more such tales from the numerous predecessor agencies before moving on to "Team Coast Guard," highlighting the important work of the Coast G uard Auxiliary, Reserve, and civilian workforce. He then takes "Traditions" as a section unto itself before rounding out the book with what he calls the "Sea Chest," a collection of other events and traditions of which Guardians sh o uld be proud, but ones that did not fit nearly within the other sections of the book. Think of the origin of the Coast Guard "racing stripe," for instance.

The basic questions of Coast G uard history are all answered. Where did the Coast Guard motto, Semper Paratus, come from?

Who set it to music? What were the Coast Guard "firsts"? What is the "Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman"? What is the "Guardian Ethos"? A major benefit of this book, especially for the men and women of the service, is the links Kroll makes between historic heroes and the buildings and cutters named for them today.

Kroll has done a fantastic job of capturing for the Coast Guardsman of today the pride of the service for which he toils.

Free Mail Order Book Catalog On-line Shopping

llllliiii

Cape Cod Store Open Year 'Round We buy Maritime and Naval Book Collections

1022 Main St. (Route 6A) West Barnstable, MA 02668 508-362-1500 ·Fax: 508-362-1550 info@columbiatrading.com

www.columbiatrading.com

ACCENTS LI GHTHOUSES

MARITIME

Remembering North

BOOKS

American and Irish

Lighthouses through the l'ine art of counted

cross-stitch and

~

histodca l ..eseao·ch .

A-:

' "'$

I ..,.,.

" '~ www.accentsl ights.com PO Box 97 Dunbar, NE 68346

Free caf;llog: 402-209-2334

1806 Laurel Crest Madison, Wisconsin 53705-1065 (608) 238 -SAIL FAX (608) 238 -7249 Email : tuttlemaritime@charter.net http://tuttlemaritime.com Books about the Sea, Ship & Sailor Catalogue Upon Request

Yearly NAUTICAL RESEARCH GUILD An association of model builders and researchers Membership $38.00 USA

who love all things nautical, and who are dedicated to: Advancing Ship Modeling 1hrough Research

Membership includes rhe quarrerly Nautical Research Jou rn al wirh articles by knowledgeable wrirers featuring ship model building and research of all periods, rn erchanr, naval and maritime history.

Other member benefits include a Technical Assistance nerwork. a Lending Library, an AnnuaJ Conference, Symposiums and an extensive list of Reso urces and Lin ks.

]OHN ]. GALLUZZO

Hull, Massach usetts

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

1-585-968-8111 • www.theNRG.org

55

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY AFTERGUARD

J. ARON CHARITABLE Fou DATIO

RICHARDO R. LOPES

ESTATE OF WALTER J. PETTIT SR.

BENEFACTORS

HOWARD SLOTNICK

PLANKOWNERS

SKULD NORTH AMERICA INC.

SPONSOR S

AMER ICA

DRS TECHNOLOG IES

DAVID J. & CAROLY

WILLIAM G. MULLER

PORTS AMERICA CHESAPEAKE

BRADFORD D. & STEPHA NIE SMITH JEA

DONORS

JAMES H. BRANDI

BECTECH

H ON. JOHN LEHMAN

JOHN J. MCCORM ICK Ill

CAPT. JOHN

w. Roos

SOUTHERN R ECYCLI G

0. BURRI

JAMES

DOUGLAS CAMPBELL

MRS . D. L. FLEISCHMAN '

FREDERICKS. FORD

BURCHENAL GREEN

MRS . JOAN E 0' EIL

MR . & MRS . JOH N SHANAHAN

G ILBERT VER NEY FOUNDATIO MR. A. ACEBEDO

JOH

A. AMORY

WILLIAM ELLIOTT

CA PT. ROBERT A . FAY

CAPT. DWIGHT GERTZ

H URST K. GROVES

THE K ELTON Fou DATION

JAMES L. K ERR

K OBRAND CORPORAT ION HAROLD G. MCAVEN IA ER IC A. OESTERLE

JOH N L. LANG ILL

DA !EL J. MCCARTHY

CLEM & BARBARA McD o ALD

J . N. PRITZKER REED ROBERTSON

GEORGEF. RUSSELL,JR.

D A IELRYAN

B EVERLY SELBY

DA IEL J. SENTILLES

SW IMMER FAMILY Fou DAT ION MR. & M RS. T ED T UR BLACER

RALPH

. THOMPSON

GE IE WILL IAMS

CARL W. TIMPSON, JR.

T ERRY WALTO

JOHNS . WI GFIELD

IGNATIUS J. GA LGA

MR . & M RS . EDWIN H. GRANT, J R.

CHAR LES R. HARTW IG

G EORGE T. HATHAWAY

R ICHARD J ULIAN

H ENRY K EENE

MR. & MRS. C HESTER

w. KI TCHINGS, JR.

J OHN K NUBEL

MR. & MRS. T. E. LEO ARD

I N MEMORY OF WARREN MARR II MR . & MRS. A LAN M CKI E

RALPH M. PACKER ROBERTS. R EGAN

( R ET.)

JACK & MARCIA MOORE

CHR IS O'BRIEN

ED O'CON OR

ADM ROBERT J. PAPP

ROBERT 0. PHILLIPS

MR. & MRS. WILLIAM P. RICE

CLA IRE A. RICHARDSON

JOHN SCALIA

CHARLES TOBIN

D AV ID T OMAS I

D IX WAYMA

WILLIAM C. RUPERT

GEO RGESC HL UDERBERG

SP IRIT & SANZO E D ISTR IBUTORS, INC.

CAPT. B. H. WOOD

PAUL JAY LEW IS DAVID MART I

CA PT. J O HN A . RODGAARD, USN

DR. & MRS. JOH

BILL WI NER

ART HUR & PATR ICIA E DWA RDS

M R. & MRS. LARRY FROST

CAPT. MUSICK Ill US

MR.&MRS.LEE H.SANDWEN

R ADM & MRS. BOB SHUMAKER

ROBERT J. TYD

M ARSHALL P. CLOYD

H . F. L ENFEST

T HOMAS MCKERR

CHARLES RASKOB ROB I SO

HE DRIK RYSDORP

CHARLES D. CLARK

PAULA J. JOHNSO!\

DANIEL P. K IRBY

MR. & MRS. A NDREW A. RADEL

C RAIG B ONE HE RY T. CHA DLER

T OR BEN H ANSEN

CHARLES T. MORSE, J R.

ERNEST T. BARTOL

CAPT. J OHN H . B YRD

DONALD & MI A G LI CKMAN

B RUCE JOHNSON

THOMAS P. OSTROM

PETER BARTOK

ROBERT YOUNG

P ER RY J . BO LTON

LOUIS CLAIRMONT

P HILIP G. L EBOUTILLIER

JERRY SCHWA B A LFRED T YLER I I

WOODSON K. WOODS

ALEX & PAMELA D UB ITSKY

CAPT. JOSEPH A . MAGGIO

WILLIAM L. MORRIS

MR. & MRS . FREDER ICK 0SBOR1 111

!EL ISBRANDTSEN RISI G

ALFRED J. WILLIAMS

H. KIRKE LATHROP

WALTER C. M EIBAUM Ill

HARRY E. RICHTER

R OBERT M . BALY

ROBERT FRANZBLAU

R AY GU INTA

ELLIOTT G. JARDIN

COM. CH IP LOOMIS

THOMAS A MORA

P RIDE OF BA LT IMORE , ! C.

DAN IEL FELGER

MARY BURR ICHTER & BOB KIERLIN

NORMAN L ISS

J AMES MOORES

W. T. DICKEY

ROBERTS. HAGGE, JR. HAR RY W. MARSHAL L

MR. & MRS. WILLI AM SWEAR ING IN

ROBERT P. BURKE

MA RY L EE G IBLON-S HEA HAN

STEVEN A. HYMA

D R. JOSEPH F. M EANY, JR. NATHA IEL PHILBR ICK

ARTHUR A. B IRNEY

R USSELL P. C HUBB

D AV ID F . GUE RT IN, JR.

H UDSON HI GH LANDS CRU ISES, I NC.

PAUL F. BALSER

RADM DAVID C. BROW MALCOLM DI CK

CLIFTON S. GUSTAFSON

WILLIAM G. WINTERER

& MARY HABSTR ITT

SUSANY. B ENFIELD

CHESAPEAKE BAY MAR ITIME MUSEUM

DIB ER MARITIME ASSOCIATES LLC

DONALD W. PETIT

HARR IS C LARK

REYNOLDS DU PONT, JR.

TH E MACPHERSON FUND, INC.

DAN IEL R. SUl<IS

CARTERS. B ACO

JESSE M. Bo TECOU

DAVE & NANCY GARDNER

56

GERALD WEINSTEI

AN E E. BEAUMO T

MRS. ELEA ORF. BOOKWALTER

W. PETER LIND

PHILIP B. P ERSINGER EDMU D SOMMER

MRS. CAROL YI ALL

CHARLES R. BEAUDROT , JR.

CYRUS C. LAURIAT

RADM NEV IN CARR

RICHARD H. DUMAS

CUTLER DAWSON

C DR RONALD A. MC KI NNEY, USN ( R ET.)

JEFF GREGSON

CAPT. RI CHARD G . TANGEMAN, USN ( RET.)

MR. & MRS. NICHOLAS CARLOZZ I

MR. C. W. CRAYCROFT

JOH C. COUCH

JAMES M. MCALEER

J OHN W. ELDER

THE BETTY SUE &A RT PEABODY FU D

A N c. & C. HAMILTON SLOAN FOUNDATION

PHILIP E. STOLP

MR. & MRS. AL MASSONI

NEW YORK CONTAI ER TERMINAL

DALY

GI NGER MARTUS

CAPT. SALLY CHIN MCELW REATH , USN R ( R ET.)

R. SHERWOOD Ill

JAMES P. LATHAM

MORGA

T HE I TERLAKE STEAMS HIP COMPANY

NEW YORK YACHT CLUB

MR. & MRS. JOH

IAN DAN IC

WILLIAM H. GARVEY III

MAR INE SOCIETY OF TH E CITY OF NEW YOR K

NATIONAL M ARINE SA CTUARY FOUNDATION

TIM COLTON

ROBERT FISHER

JAMES W. CHEEVERS

LAMONT COPELAND, J R. PAUL GARNETT

THE RUTH R. HOYT/A NE H. JOLLEY FOUNDATION, INC.

MICHAEL KOSMAS

PATRONS

ASSOC IATION OF MARYLAND P ILOTS

TARA B. CLIFFORD

BRIAN & CATHY HORSLEY

HOWARD P. SEARS

w. GARSCHAGEN

D R. TI MOTHY J. R UNYAN

WORT

MR. & MRS. JAMES M. CLARK RI CHARD ELLISON

ROLL-ON ROLL-OFF CARRIER , L L C

D. MCBRIDE

SM ITHS D ETECTIO

ALEXA DER WEI TRAUB

D. HARRY

ROCKEFELLER

EVERGREEN SHIPPING AGENCY (AMERICA) CORP.

RICHARD KREMENTZ, JR.

HON. S. JAY PLAGER

s. & DONNA DUDLEY

DAV ID & SUSA

THOMAS H. CARRUTHERS

HOWARD E. & VIRG INIA M. HIGHT

ROBERT E. MORRIS, JR.

JOHN R. M c DONALD, J R.

M R. & M RS . PETER STANFORD

DR. WILLIAM

MSC CRU ISES USA

AMERICA

T HE EDGARD & GERALDINE FEDER Fou DATION, INC.

M ARY LAND PORT ADM INISTRATI ON

LI BERTY MAR ITIM E CORPORATION

PHILIP& . IRMY WEBSTER

BUREAU OF SHIPPING

BENJAM IN KATZENSTEIN

RONALD L. OSWALD

WILLIAM H. WHI TE

MR. & M RS. H. C. BOWEN SM ITH

RADM JOSEPH F. CALLO, USNR (R ET.)

IN M EMORY OF INEZ GREE NEILE. JONES

DAN IEL W. WHALEN

LOCKHEED MARTIN MS2

STAR CLIPPER CRU ISES

MS. PATRIC IA A. JEAN BAR ILE TODDS . FARR AND

JAMES CARTER Ill

CAPT. SEAN KE NEDY

ROBERT F. KAMM

MARINETTE MAR I E CORPORAT ION

RICHARD T. DU MOULIN DAV ID s. FOW LER

SCARANO BOAT BUILD ING, INC .

CACI, INC.

WILLIAM J. GREEN

GUYE . C . MA ITLAND

CAPT. CESARE SOR IO

T HOMAS F. DALY

ALICE DADOURIAN

NAVY FEDERAL CRED IT UNION

HENRY L. & GRACE DOHERTY CHAR ITABLE FOUNDATION

EDWARD A . DELMA

JAMES A. MACDONALD FOUNDATION

ROBERTW.SCOTT PATR ICIA STEELE

WILLIAM R. TOWER, JR.

CAPT. C. Y. W ILHO IT, J R. USN ( R ET.)

WILLIAM E. WOOD

SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011

• • • ' ' ' ' 111111 - - / I l l 111111

••••••r '''"••

In all of travel, only one voyage reigns above all The Transatlantic Crossing aboard

OJJ EEN

East and Westbound 7-Day Crossings From MAY to DECEMBER 2012

MARY 2® fares from

$1195*

ALTOUR pauline.power@altour.com

Call 212-897-5145 to plan your adventure today. *Fares are per person 1 based on double occupancy, voyage only, subject to availability, capacity controlled. Call the above agency for more details. Government fees and taxes are additional. Air add-ons are available. See applicable Cunard brochure for terms, conditions, and definitions that apply to all reservations. Other restrictions may apply. ©2011 Cunard. Ships registry: Great Britain.

TRAVEL

Grand Autumn Crossing

Caribbean Holiday

FT. LAUDERDALE

20 nights, Nov 7 - 27, 2011

14 nights, Dec 21 , '11 - Jan 4, '12

I

Ci v it avecchia/ Ro m e • La Spez ia St Tropez • Barce lo na • Valenc ia Cad iz/Sev ill e • Casa blanca Agad ir • Puerto d e l Rosa ri o Sa n Se bastian d e la Gom era Half Moon Cay • Fo rt Lauderda le

Fort Laud erdale • St. Jo hn Bridg etow n • Scarbo rough Po rt Eliza beth • Fort -d e-Fra nce Les Sai nts • Ph ilipsb urg Ro ad Tow n • Fort Laud erdale

To 1

~. ~~g~~~XLE

-

$1,899 $1,999 AB - Verandah $2,999 M - Inside

per person•

G - Oceanview

per person •

Pisa Brothers Exclusive ' 100' shipboa rd c redit

per person •

TILBURY (LONDON)

Spring Crossing

14 nights, Jun 26 - Jul, 2012

Fort Lauderda le Horta Pe nta De lgad a Lisbo n (overni ght) Brest • Cherbourg Tilbury/London

A m sterdam • Lo ri ent La Roc helle • Bo rd eau x (overnight) Girond e Estuary Biarrit z/Hendaye • Bi lbao Du b lin (overnight) • Fowey St. Pet er Port • A m sterdam

Pisa Brothers Exclusive ' 100' sh ipboard cred it

Holland America Line A Signature of Exce!Lence

..

$2,499 $2,699 AB - Verandah $4,999 N - Inside

per person '

H - Oceanview

per person• per person •

Bordeaux Explorer

15 nights, May 13 - 28, 2012

From FT. LAUDERDALE

Tobago

.

ms Prinsendam Pisa Brothers Exclusives ' 100' shipboard cred it Pinnacle Gril l Dinner

Barbados I

Pisa Brothers Exclusive ' 100' shipboard c redit

Contact Society Member

Brad Hatry 212.265.8420 orB00.729.7472 ext. 222 brad@pisabrothers.com

' Fares areper person, cruise only, based on double occupancy, include non-discountable amounts, and are subject to change. Government Fees &Taxes are additional. Fuel supplement has been suspended. HollandAmericaLinereservestheright to reinstate thefuel supplement for all guests at up to $9 per person per day if the NYMEXoil price exceeds $70 per barrel. Any applicable shipboard credit and amenities arefor two guests. Pisa Brothers Travel strongly recommendsthepurchase of travel insurance.

Wereservetheright tocorrect errorsand omissions. Offers are capacity controlled and may not be combinable with other offers or discounts. For complete terms and conditions contact PisaBrothers Travel. Ship's Registry: TheNetherlands.