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American Coastal Rescue Craft: A Design History of Coastal Rescue Craft Used by the USLSS and Uscg

William D. Wilkinson

This book provides detailed history and technical design information on every type of small rescue craft ever used by the United States Life-Saving Service and United States Coast Guard, from the ... More

This book provides detailed history and technical design information on every type of small rescue craft ever used by the United States Life-Saving Service and United States Coast Guard, from the early 1800s to the current day. By looking at these vessels, many of which featured innovative designs, the chapters shed light on the brave men and women who served in USLSS and USCG stations, saving innumerable lives. In the book rare photographs and drawings of each type of boat are enhanced by detailed design histories, specifications, and station assignments for each craft. The book includes motorized, wind-powered, and human-powered vessels.Less

Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy: Privateer, Patriot, Pioneer

Sheldon S. Cohen

Abraham Whipple (1733–1819) commanded insurgents who destroyed HMS Gaspee in Narragansett Bay and helped direct the successful invasion of the Bahamas. This little-known, yet intrepid and frequently ... More

Abraham Whipple (1733–1819) commanded insurgents who destroyed HMS Gaspee in Narragansett Bay and helped direct the successful invasion of the Bahamas. This little-known, yet intrepid and frequently successful Continental Navy officer contributed significantly to the War for Independence. An esteemed officer of the fleet, he spent his last years in frontier Ohio where he was respected by and appealed to younger generations as a “representative of the Revolution.” This biography of Whipple presents a look inside the life of a Continental officer. The book illustrates at a personal level the complexities of naval warfare, including Whipple's reliance on personal finances and family connections to outfit his ships and pay his crew. It also reveals the commander's treatment as a British prisoner of war, and his eventual migration west, shedding light on experiences shared by many Revolutionary War veterans.Less

Cruise of the Dashing Wave: Rounding Cape Horn in 1860

Phillip Hichborn

William Thiesen (ed.)

This book recounts a harrowing 1860 clipper ship passage from Boston to San Francisco by way of Cape Horn, as recorded by Philip Hichborn, the ship's carpenter, in his journal. On board the Dashing ... More

This book recounts a harrowing 1860 clipper ship passage from Boston to San Francisco by way of Cape Horn, as recorded by Philip Hichborn, the ship's carpenter, in his journal. On board the Dashing Wave, even the disagreeable food was a blessing as it distracted the crew from the oppressive cruelty of the elements. The weather and heavy seas of Cape Horn pushed the sailors to their physical limits and often punctuated their watches with moments of despair, amazement, and fear. Hichborn would later rise to become a major figure in the U.S. Navy, but on this, his first voyage, he was still unfamiliar with life aboard ship. As ship's carpenter, he was not obligated to stand watch at night, giving him unique opportunities to observe and make notes on an extraordinary cruise that weathered devastating gales, ice, and snow; the death of a crew member; and a near mutiny. Most accounts of seafaring are written by captains, mates, or members of the forecastle crew, but this account captures life aboard a nineteenth-century tall ship from the point of view of a landsman. As such, it lays bare the social and professional interactions of a team of strangers stressed to the point of rebellion and murder—revealing that the rigid traditional hierarchy of a ship could be challenged by a man of skill and personality.Less

The Development of Mobile Logistic Support in Anglo-American Naval Policy, 1900–1953

Peter V. Nash

Though completely unsung and commonly left out of battle histories, nothing is more important than the details of logistics and support operations during a military campaign. Without fuel, food, ... More

Though completely unsung and commonly left out of battle histories, nothing is more important than the details of logistics and support operations during a military campaign. Without fuel, food, transport, communications, and medical facilities, modern military engagement would be impossible. This book compares the methods the British and American navies developed to supply their ships across the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean during the first part of the twentieth century. The author argues that the logistics challenges faced by the navies during World War II were so profound and required such innovative solutions that the outcome was the most radical turning point in the history of mobile logistics support. He shows how the lessons learned during the final campaign against Japan were successfully implemented during the Korean War and transformed the way naval expeditionary force is projected to this day.Less

Diplomats in Blue: U.S. Naval Officers in China, 1922-1933

William Reynolds Braisted

The 1920s and 30s were an especially turbulent period in Chinese history, and the U.S. Navy was deployed there not as an instrument of war, but of diplomacy. Their task was to keep China intact, ... More

The 1920s and 30s were an especially turbulent period in Chinese history, and the U.S. Navy was deployed there not as an instrument of war, but of diplomacy. Their task was to keep China intact, independent, and free of occupation. They faced warlords fighting throughout the country, growing nationalist sentiment, and, eventually, the rise of Chinese communists and heightened Japanese aggression. Their mission included protecting embassies, conducting river patrols, protecting American lives and property, and carrying out civil affairs with the Chinese government. In this narrative, the author — an admiral's son who actually lived in China during his father's tour of duty with the Navy at this time — is both historian and a witness with special insight.Less

I Fear I Shall Never Leave This Island: Life in a Civil War Prison

David R. Bush

There was no standard treatment for prisoners-of-war (POW) during the American Civil War by either the Union or the Confederacy. Each side struggled with the incarceration and civilized treatment of ... More

There was no standard treatment for prisoners-of-war (POW) during the American Civil War by either the Union or the Confederacy. Each side struggled with the incarceration and civilized treatment of former citizens captured and utilized various types of facilities for housing prisoners. The Johnson's Island Civil War Prison was designed by the Union as a stand-alone facility to house both officers and enlisted men in a humane yet practical manner, and over 10,000 Confederate officers were taken there between April 1862 and September 1865. Their stay could be as short as several weeks to over two years. This book is the story of one prisoner, Wesley Makely, as he struggled with all the unknowns associated with surviving imprisonment. Letters written between Wesley, and Kate, his wife, chronicled his drive for survival. The recovery of archaeological materials and other historical accounts provide an in-depth context for their dialogue. This concentration of Confederate officers, representing the finest and most educated the South had to offer, provides a rich historical record and the very diverse cultural material assemblage used in the interpretation of these letters. The in-depth study of Wes Makely's experiences at Johnson's Island provides an understanding of how imprisonment affects the incarcerated and how each individual attempts to cope with the loss of freedom in unique ways. Finally, the inhumanity that plagued POW treatment during the U.S. Civil War, justified by retaliatory or revengeful acts and viewed from this individual account, is challenged in the final chapter.Less

Sir Samuel Hood and the Battle of the Chesapeake

Colin Pengelly

The Siege of Yorktown — the military engagement that ended the American Revolutionary War — would not have been possible without the French fleet's major strategic victory in the Battle of the ... More

The Siege of Yorktown — the military engagement that ended the American Revolutionary War — would not have been possible without the French fleet's major strategic victory in the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5, 1781. It was during this battle that British fleets lost control of the Chesapeake Bay and the supply lines to the major military base at Yorktown, Virginia. As a direct result, General George Washington's forces and the newly arrived French troops were able to apply the pressure that finally broke the British army. Sir Samuel Hood (1724–1816) was one of the commanders of the British fleet off the Virginia Capes during the American Revolution. Responsibility for some of the missed opportunities and gaffes committed by the British during the bloody Battle of the Chesapeake can be traced to him, specifically his failure to bring his squadron into action at a key moment in the action. Afterward, Hood defended his actions by arguing that ordering his ships to attack would have contradicted the orders sent to him by battle flag. Hood largely escaped blame, which was assigned to Rear Admiral Graves, who commanded the fleet. Though Hood's inaction arguably resulted in the loss of the American colonies, he ultimately rose to command the Mediterranean fleet. This book engages the details of this battle, and the author sifts through Hood's own propaganda to determine how he escaped subsequent blame.Less

The Southern Mind Under Union Rule: The Diary of James Rumley, Beaufort, North Carolina, 1862-1865

Judkin Browning

James Rumley was the 48-year-old, well-educated, Clerk of the Carteret County Court when the Union forces arrived in his hometown of Beaufort on March 25, 1862. He began a diary at the moment of ... More

James Rumley was the 48-year-old, well-educated, Clerk of the Carteret County Court when the Union forces arrived in his hometown of Beaufort on March 25, 1862. He began a diary at the moment of Union occupation and continued to keep the diary until August 1865, when civil authority was returned to local white residents. Rumley maintained a decidedly secessionist view from the very beginning of Union occupation. In fact, he was unique, because he was a staunch Confederate who nevertheless befriended Union agents, hid his pro-secessionist feelings, and was able to stay within Union lines at a time when the Union army was actively compelling those with Confederate sympathies to leave the region. While projecting a neutral façade in public, he secretly spouts his anger and disapprobation of Union policy into the privacy of his diary. While there are numerous “colorful” phrases in the diary, especially regarding the autonomous actions of local African Americans (of which he strenuously disapproved), Rumley was a highly educated man, who prided himself on his classical allusions, and who had a very sophisticated view of the nature of Union and of civilian actions in the region.Less

Sovereignty at Sea: U.S. Merchant Ships and American Entry into World War I

Rodney Carlisle

This book demonstrates that, although President Woodrow Wilson worked to maintain United States neutrality during World War I, his administration's policies resulted in a decision by Germany to ... More

This book demonstrates that, although President Woodrow Wilson worked to maintain United States neutrality during World War I, his administration's policies resulted in a decision by Germany to unleash unrestricted submarine warfare against all shipping bound for Britain, France, or Italy in the Atlantic. After nine US ships were sunk by German submarines, and one was lost to a British mine, the US government saw the sinking of US ships flying the American flag as an attack on American sovereignty at sea. The final decision to enter the war was shaped by the details of those ship losses more than by any other factor. When Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war, he sought to explain the casus belli in broader terms, such as defence of democracy against autocracy, even though the actual precipitating action had been the specific nature of the sinking of some of those ten merchant ships.Less

Stalking the U-Boat: U.S. Naval Aviation in Europe during World War I

Geoffrey L. Rossano

This book studies U.S. naval aviation operations in Europe during World War I. The navy's experiences in this conflict laid the foundations for the later emergence of aviation as a crucial—sometimes ... More

This book studies U.S. naval aviation operations in Europe during World War I. The navy's experiences in this conflict laid the foundations for the later emergence of aviation as a crucial—sometimes dominant—element of fleet operations, yet those origins have been previously poorly understood and documented. Begun as antisubmarine operations, naval aviation posed enormous logistical, administrative, personnel, and operational problems. The book charts how the USN developed this capability, on foreign soil in the midst of desperate conflict.Less

Uncommonly Savage: Civil War and Remembrance in Spain and the United States

Paul D. Escott

Uncommonly Savage: Civil War and Remembrance in Spain and the United States studies the process of remembrance and the contests over historical memory in two nations that experienced savage, ... More

Uncommonly Savage: Civil War and Remembrance in Spain and the United States studies the process of remembrance and the contests over historical memory in two nations that experienced savage, destructive civil wars: Spain and the United States. After showing why the effects of such bitter internecine conflicts can be long-lasting, it analyzes their impact on ideology and memory, on politics, and on national integration. It focuses on key institutions and elites—such as Spain's Church and Southern planters in the United States—that have used commemoration and the grievances of war to construct purposeful interpretations of the past. Religious and secular organizations as well as political parties have reflected the divisions of wartime as they recruited descendants of the opposing sides. This book demonstrates how generational change can intensify or diminish the battle over the meaning of the past, and why. It discusses the reasons ideologies undergo updating or revision. Comparison reveals major similarities but also some striking differences in the events of the two countries, in particular mirror-image symmetry in regard to dominance of the initial postwar debate. The meaning and nature of reconciliation are considered, taking into account the debates of recent decades over amnesty, justice, human rights, and truth and reconciliation commissions. Finally, asking how societies can escape a bloody and divided past, this book explores the relationship between remembrance and historical memory, on the one hand, and economic and social change, on the other.Less

War on the Gulf Coast: The Spanish Fight against William Augustus Bowles

Gilbert C. Din

This book, based on extensive Spanish documentation, presents a new perspective on William Augustus Bowles's life and the Spanish fight against him on the Florida Gulf Coast, rejecting the notion ... More

This book, based on extensive Spanish documentation, presents a new perspective on William Augustus Bowles's life and the Spanish fight against him on the Florida Gulf Coast, rejecting the notion that he was the director general of the Creeks. Spain battled the adventurer, who sought to subvert Indians living under its dominion between 1787 and 1803, and, as declining imperial power, struggled with limited manpower and resources to defeat his machinations. Initially an agent of Nassau merchants, Bowles attempted to oust Alexander McGillivray and transform himself into the leader of the Creeks and Seminoles in the Indian state of Muskogee to boost his self-importance. These Natives briefly considered him as a savior who might supply them with arms and goods needed to ward off land-grabbing Georgians. Spain used its Mississippi River gunboats to defeat many Nassau ships bearing goods from reaching Bowles, who operated against a background of international rivalry and intrigue on the Gulf Coast between Spain, Britain, and the United States. The American frontier was chaotic as several political entities briefly arose, and Bowles desperately sought and failed to obtain British assistance to enable him to achieve his aspirations.Less