BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy MuseumDC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy Museum:
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WNYNM_180615_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_WNY_NavyMus DC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy Museum (1 photo from 2018)
WNYN18_140824_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_WNY_NavyMus_1812 DC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy Museum -- War of 1812 temporary exhibit (47 photos from 2014) From Defeat to Victory: 1814-1815
WNYN18_140824_009.JPG: Naval Actions in 1814-1815:
During the War of 1812, the United States Navy not only fought at sea, but also rendered vital indirect and direct support to the Army on inland waters. These actions included Joshua Barney's battles against the British at St. Leonard's Creek and ashore at Bladensburg, Sailors' contributions to the defense of Baltimore, Thomas Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain, and the naval actions in the New Orleans campaign.
WNYN18_140824_012.JPG: The Chesapeake Bay
WNYN18_140824_015.JPG: Chesapeake Flotilla:
When the British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn arrived in the Chesapeake Bay during 1813, American forces faced an overwhelming enemy. Former naval officer Joshua Barney suggested opposing the enemy with a fleet of barges of row-galleys. The squadron would guard the bay and harass the enemy in order to delay attacks on important towns. Barney's plan was authorized and he received a captain's commission in the Navy for the Chesapeake campaign's duration.
WNYN18_140824_018.JPG: Commodore Joshua Barney:
"I am therefore of the opinion the only defense we have in our power, is a kind of Barge or Row-galley, so as to draw a small draft of water, to carry Oars, light sails, and One heavy long gun..."
-- Commodore Joshua Barney, outlining his plan for the defense of the Chesapeake Bay
Following a distinguished career as a merchantman and naval officer in the Revolutionary War, Joshua Barney served as a privateer at the beginning of the War of 1812. He proposed the creation of [a] large fleet of small, inexpensive barges to contend with the larger enemy ships that dominated the Chesapeake Bay. Secretary of the Navy William Jones agreed and gave Barney command of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla.
WNYN18_140824_023.JPG: Battles of St. Leonard's Creek:
The Battles of St. Leonard's Creek began after Rear Admiral Cockburn forced Barney's squadron up the Patuxent River to the creek. Commodore Barney and his flotilla, after a few games of cat and mouse, started fighting on 10 June 1814. Barney attacked with the barges de-masted for speed, giving the Americans the upper-hand until the British chased them back to the creek. A stalemate ensued, ending with frenzied preparation culminating in the Second Battle of St. Leonard's Creek on 26 June 1814. The Americans needed control of the high ground to escape, and they planned a coordinated barrage from both land and sea. Miscommunications delayed Barney's flotilla, but it managed to surge forward and hull the British frigates. Both sides exchanged fire until both retreated; the Americans due to their exposed position, and the British due to ignorance of the Americans' plight.
WNYN18_140824_026.JPG: Flotillamen:
The flotillamen fought the British in the Chesapeake region, at the Battles of Bladensburg and Baltimore. The flotillamen continuously resisted the British for three months. After the Battle of Bladensburg, Admiral Cockburn remarked how the flotillamen were the best men faced by the British in that battle ashore.
Lieutenant John Adams Webster always acquitted himself with great efficiency and bravery. Anxious to take part in the fighting, Webster served in the Battles of St. Leonard's Creek and Bladensburg under Commodore Barney. At Baltimore, Webster received wounds to his right shoulder, and later had charge of a six-gun battery between Forts McHenry and Covington. For his services in the defense of Baltimore, he received swords from both Baltimore and Maryland for preventing the British taking and sacking Baltimore.
WNYN18_140824_033.JPG: 1813 Derringer Pistol:
Marked "M" for Maryland, Henry Derringer of Philadelphia delivered 510 pistols from March to August 1813. Maryland militia units used them at Bladensburg and Baltimore.
WNYN18_140824_036.JPG: Fragment from Frigate Columbia:
After the defeat at Bladensburg, Tingey's men in the navy yard burned the frigate USS Columbia rather than allow its capture and use by the enemy.
WNYN18_140824_039.JPG: U.S. Navy Pike Head:
Boarding pikes, such as the ones used by Commodore Joshua Barney, were useful as both defensive and offensive weapons. Sailors yelled "board 'em" as they charged the British at Bladensburg.
WNYN18_140824_040.JPG: The Battle of Bladensburg:
On 24 August 1814, 4,400 British troops met a patchwork group of 7,000 American troops with 490 Sailors and Marines at Bladensburg, outside the capital city. Despite the brave actions of the sea servicemen under Barney, the British forces easily overwhelmed the American forces. After forcing Barney to retreat, British forces advanced on Washington DC.
"But the fact is, that, with the exception of a party of sailors from the gunboats, under the command of Commodore Barney, no troops could behave worse than they did."
-- George Robert Gleig, a British officer, on the performance of the American forces at Bladensburg
WNYN18_140824_043.JPG: The Burning of Washington:
"The avowed object of the Enemy is, the destruction of the City and Navy Yard, at Washington, the City and Navy yard at Norfolk, and the City of Baltimore..."
-- Commodore Joshua Barney discussing the importance of establishing a sufficient defense for the Chesapeake Bay region
After the Battle of Blandensburg, the British marched into Washington DC, and there they dined on Madison's "victory" dinner. Afterwards, they burned the White House (then known as the Executive Mansion), Treasury Building, Capitol, Library of Congress, and the Washington Navy Yard. Severe weather, fear of an American counter attack, and an accidental explosion, at what is now Fort McNair, convinced the British to withdraw from the city.
On 24-25 August 1814, the British occupied Washington, burning the Executive Mansion, the Washington Navy Yard, and other public buildings.
After Bladensburg, some United States Soldiers and Marines retreated to Sewall-Belmont House and its grounds. When they saw the British troops stop nearby to obtain water, they opened fire, killing General Robert Ross's horse. Ross ordered his soldiers to burn the house in retaliation.
WNYN18_140824_046.JPG: The Star-Spangled Banner:
"Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."
-- Francis Scott Key, "The Star-Spangled Banner"
On the eve of the Battle of Baltimore, the young lawyer Francis Scott Key was in a group aboard a British ship attempting to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes, an American imprisoned for jailing looting British soldiers. The British then detailed the Americans to prevent them from carrying news of the impending assault. After the bombardment ended, Key penned the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner," which was officially adopted as America's national anthem in 1931.
WNYN18_140824_052.JPG: Baltimore & Fort McHenry:
After the burning of Washington, the Americas prepared defenses around Baltimore. On 12 September, a force of British soldiers landed at North Point east of the city. The Americans lost the battle there, but killed General Ross. The British navy then bombarded Fort McHenry, but the fort's garrison persevered.
WNYN18_140824_058.JPG: Lake Champlain Campaign:
"Our Guns on the starboard side, being nearly all dismounted, or not manageable, a Stern anchor was let go, the bower Cable cut, and the ship winded with a fresh broadside on the Enemy's ship, which soon after surrendered..."
-- Thomas Macdonough
In summer 1814, both the United States and British massed troops and ships for a decisive battle at the northern end of Lake Champlain. The fighting resulted in a victory for the Americans, leading to the successful conclusion of treaty negotiations in Ghent, Belgium. Located in a strategic position, Lake Champlain became the focus of American and British naval efforts. American control would permit a United States attack on Montreal, and British control would have isolated the New England states.
Thomas Macdonough distinguished himself during the First Barbary War rising to Lieutenant. During the War of 1812, he served as Commander of the Champlain Fleet. His skillful leadership at the Battle of Lake Champlain earned him a promotion to captain. Macdonough's victory ended the British offensive aimed at splitting the United States, which led British negotiators in Ghent to drop demands for a separate American Indian nation.
WNYN18_140824_067.JPG: Battle of Lake Champlain:
In contrast to most naval clashes during the war, the Battle of Lake Champlain was stationary. Macdonough anchored his fleet and awaited the British arrival. Having suffered extensive damage to one side of his flagship Saratoga, Macdonough swung his ship around and brought the undamaged guns to bear. The new firepower lead to the defeat of the British flagship, and three other enemy ships surrendered. Upon seeing the American victory, British land forces ceased their attack, signaling the end of the British offensives from Canada.
Thomas Macdonough, as he often did, personally aimed the first shot of the Battle of Plattsburgh and destroyed the steering wheel of the enemy's flagship Confiance.
The popular story of "Saratoga's fighting gamecock" features a rooster which was liberated from confinement by a rogue shot. The crowing rooster, viewed as a sign of victory, inspired the crew to continue fighting.
WNYN18_140824_071.JPG: Treaty of Ghent:
Signed on 24 December 1814, the Treaty of Ghent paved the way to end the war, and led to a return to previous borders and relations. After the burning of his residence, President James Madison and his family moved to The Octagon House, home of Colonel John Tayloe, a commander of the District of Columbia militia cavalry. Madison signed the treaty in a second floor room on 16 February 1815. The treaty went into effect after it was ratified by the United States Senate on 18 February 1815.
This Federal architectural masterpiece, The Octagon House, became the temporary home of James and Dolly Madison.
WNYN18_140824_073.JPG: Proposed Indian Nation:
Macdonough's victory of Lake Champlain led the British to drop their demand for the creation of an American Indian Nation (which would have extended British power into the Midwest), allowing negotiations at Ghent to proceed. The British abandonment of the Indians placed them at a major disadvantage in challenging U.S. demands; between 1815-1830 they offered no violent resistance to demands for their lands.
WNYN18_140824_077.JPG: New Orleans Campaign:
The New Orleans campaign occurred before the Senate had ratified the Treaty of Ghent. Veteran British soldiers, transferred from Europe after the defeat of Napoleon's army, fought Tennessee and Kentucky riflemen, backed by a few regulars, Marines, local militia, and a detachment of Sailors, all led by General Andrew Jackson.
Major General Sir Edward Pakenham planned two main assaults on Jackson's forces. The direct attack on New Orleans ended in over 2,000 British casualties. A small British force, including one hundred Royal Marines, overran the American line on the west bank of the Mississippi.
The British defeat at New Orleans marked the last offensive of the war and the greatest land victory of American armed forces, including sixty-six Marines from the navy yard, who held "Line Jackson" against British Highlanders of the 93rd Regiment of Foot.
WNYN18_140824_081.JPG: The Battle of Lake Borgne:
Tasked with defending the east side of New Orleans, Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, with his five gunboats and 185 men delayed an overwhelming British advance across Lake Borgne. Trapped by an unusually low tide, the Americans fought valiantly, but were unable to repulse the larger British forces of more than forty longboats carrying roughly one thousand sailors and Royal Marines. Equipped with cannons, the British vessels survived the American defensive barrage. The British quickly overtook the gunboat flotilla, and captured it in boarding actions.
WNYN18_140824_084.JPG: Night Attack on the British:
On the night of 23 December, Andrew Jackson led an attack against the British troops on the Mississippi River's east bank. The American schooner Carolina, commenced the battle by firing on the unsuspecting British. The attack was a U.S. success and slowed the British advance, giving the Americans more time to fortify the canal.
WNYN18_140824_088.JPG: Constitution vs. Cyane & Levant:
On the night of 20 February 1815, USS Constitution fought both HMS Cyane and HMS Levant. Though the war had officially ended, word had not yet reached the ships off West Africa. After an exchange of fire between the three ships, Constitution's broadside damaged Levant and forced her to disengage for repairs. U.S. Captain Charles Stewart then ordered his crew to back sail toward Cyane. Constitution fired two broadsides into her, forcing surrender. Though Levant returned to the battle, she too struck her colors.
WNYN18_140824_095.JPG: Chambers Swivel Gun:
Joseph Chambers, an inventor from Middletown, Pennsylvania, created a multi-barrel system for firing pistols, muskets, and swivel guns like this one. He successfully convinced the Navy Department that these guns could be useful on ships by mounting them on capstans and fighting tops. Each swivel had seven barrels loaded with 32 bullets and powder charges. Each bullet was ignited by the firing of the round ahead of it, similar to roman candle. When the flintlock discharged the first bullet, the remaining bullets fired continuously for two minutes, allowing the gunner to "sweep" the gun across the deck against enemy boarders.
This gun had clear disadvantages: loading took time and the weapon could not be stopped once firing started, meaning the gunner had to maintain a steady aim during the chaos of battle. Although there is little record of these swivel guns in use, they were used by USS Constitution in the capture of HMS Cyane and Levant in February 1815.
WNYN18_140824_110.JPG: The Steps to War:
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
The War of 1812 arose from disputes -- over the rights of neutrals at sea rights, American ideas of citizenship, and westward expansion in North America -- set against the background of constant war between France and Great Britain.
Britain ruled the sea and France dominated Europe; each took aim at neutral US merchant ships to hurt the other. The British also outraged US citizens by pressing American sailors into its navy, claiming them as subjects. Even frontier Americans resented Britain for her Indian alliances, which create[d] a barrier to expansion.
In response to these affronts, real and imagined, and the increasing pressure of a sizable pro-war party, President James Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war on Great Britain on 18 June 1812.
"The final step ought to be taken; and that step is WAR."
-- Henry Clay, "War Should be Declared," Washington National Intelligence, 1812
WNYN18_140824_116.JPG: On Land and Sea:
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
The US Marines served with distinction in the War of 1812, in all the celebrated naval actions and major land battles. At sea, Marines kept order and served as sharpshooters; ashore, they guarded naval bases.
Their most memorable sea actions included the loss of USS Chesapeake, where the Marines resisted to the bitter end, and the duel between USS Wasp and Reindeer, where the Marines' musketry turned the tide.
In the climactic campaigns of 1814, Marines served with distinction alongside soldiers and militia defending Washington, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Valiant in victory and defeat, they set a shining example everywhere.
Although rarely numbering a hundred men at any one post, the US Marines served in every theater of the war, on both land and sea, and left a proud legacy for today's servicemen and women.
"The... Marines... promised all that could be expected from a cool intrepidity, and a high state of discipline."
-- Letter from Secretary of the Navy Jones to Congressman Richard M. Johnson, 3 October 1813
WNYN18_140824_119.JPG: Upon the Coasts:
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
Before the US established the Navy, the Treasury Department's Revenue Cutter Service watched its shores. During the War of 1812, the Service did inshore patrol duty, freeing the Navy's ships for blue-water cruises.
Several of the Service's cutter crews distinguished themselves in combat during the war. In fact, the honor of capturing the first enemy ship fell to the cutter Thomas Jefferson in June of 1812.
"Your gallant and desperate attempt... excited such admiration..."
-- Letter from Lieutenant John Crerie, Royal Navy, to Captain Travis, US Revenue Cutter Service, 1813
The next year, the cutter Vigilant captured a famous British privateer off Rhode Island, while the cutter Eagle fought to the last ounce of powder against a [sic] two larger British warships, before escaping overland.
A century after its display of dedication and courage in the War of 1812, the Revenue Cutter Service was converted into the US Coast Guard, which continues its proud traditions today.
WNYN18_140824_125.JPG: War At Home
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
War in the territories of the United States, bound by inland waterways, required close cooperation between military and naval forces. The strategic focus of both sides was the US-Canadian border, a vast and bountiful wilderness with few defenses.
Though American generals expected great conquests at the border, only the British made real gains. The deteriorating land war stabilized when US Navy squadrons won total victories on the Great Lakes.
Commitments in the Canadian theater left other regions under-defended. By 1814, British amphibious forces were poised for a knockout blow aimed at Washington, Baltimore, and New Orleans.
Wherever the British landed, the Navy was there to share in the defense, along with Army and militia forces. Unable to break American resolve, the British sought a diplomatic solution, concluding with peace in 1815.
"We have met the enemy and they are ours..."
-- Dispatch from Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison, 1813
WNYN18_140824_127.JPG: War on the Sea:
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
Facing numerical odds of 20 to 1, the US Navy initially took advantage of Britain's commitments fighting France, and won a series of ship-to-ship duels in 1812.
By the next year, the British used their superior numbers to blockade American ports, trapping much of the Navy in home waters. By 1814, however, several US ships had broken free, and fought duels from Britain to the Pacific.
"We had retired from the combat with the stripes yet bleeding on our backs."
-- London Times, 30 December 1814
Alone and on the run, the remaining American warships plagued British shipping. They took more than 500 enemy merchantmen and drove up prices in already war-weary Britain.
By 1815, the US Navy had achieved greatness wholly out of proportion to its size, stunned the world, and upheld American resolve until an honorable peace was won.
WNYN18_140824_130.JPG: Postwar Times:
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
Peace negotiations began in the Netherlands in late 1814. Aided by the American victories at Plattsburgh and Baltimore, US diplomats signed the Treaty of Ghent, which dictated a return to the status quo ante bellum, the state before the war.
Fighting the world's leading empire to a draw brought international acclaim to the United States, especially to the Navy. Congress voted to expand the Navy shortly after the peace, to ensure future national security.
Moreover, the War of 1812 gave Americans a sense of destiny; that the United States and its unique freedoms were meant not only to endure but to shine before the whole world.
"... in a short time the nation became a young Hercules in their eyes."
-- Reverend George Jones, Sketches of Naval Life, 1829
WNYNMA_140824_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_WNY_NavyMus_Art DC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy Museum -- Art gallery section (41 photos from 2014) The Vietnam Experience
The US Navy was present in all its diversity during the Vietnam War. The blue water Navy provided the big gun ships of the offshore firing line that supported the troops of the US and its allies engaged in combat operations ashore. The aircraft carriers on Yankee Station sent naval aviators on missions deep into North Vietnam and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, in addition to providing air support for the infantrymen south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Inshore, the brown water Navy's fast patrol boats patrolled coastal and inland waterways to intercept enemy supplies and troop movements. These patrol boats also carried out operations with Navy SEALs and shore-based Navy helicopters. Since the front line was non-existent, the war surrounded these Sailors and there was no telling when and from where the next attack would come.
In addition to their inshore activities, the Navy also carried out onshore assignments in South Vietnam. Navy Mobile Construction Battalions (Seabees) continued their tradition of expert military engineering in support of combat troops, while also engaging in projects to help the local people. Navy medical personnel and chaplains were attached to US Marine combat units, and provided assistance and comfort for the wounded and dying. Navy personnel additionally operated the logistical shore facilities where massive amounts of material were landed from ships in support of allied military forces.
Navy combat artists recorded all of these aspects of naval operations, and they often shared the same risks as Sailors and Marines they chronicled. For those who were not there, the scenes depicted here give a visual sense of the Vietnam War: the colors, the landscape, the people, and the action.
WNYNMA_140824_060.JPG: During the Great War the foibles of the French Navy were delightfully pictured by H. Gervese. These cartoons became the favorites of a whole generation of American Navymen who served at sea with out French and British allies in 1917-1918. This complete set in their original frames is from the estate of the late Admiral J.O. Richardson, Commander in Chief, US Fleet 1940.
WNYNM_140824_007.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_WNY_NavyMus DC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy Museum (199 photos from 2014)
WNYNM_140824_010.JPG: Turtle:
Turtle originated in the mind of a thirty-something Yale student named David Bushnell. Built from wood and iron with glass slits for viewing, a hand-cranked propeller for power, and a mine for a weapon, the egg-shaped craft had great potential for surprise attacks on British warships. The secret tests went well, then things began to go wrong. The trained pilot of Turtle was injured in a fall shortly before the first attack against the British flagship Eagle anchored in New York harbor. His replacement made two attempts to attach the mine by means of a screw, but an iron bar in the hull foiled him. After the failure of a second attack on a British frigate anchored in the Hudson River off Fort Lee, a disappointed and disgusted Bushnell destroyed the craft and burnt his drawings. After the war a still miserable Bushnell moved to Georgia, changed him name to "Bush," and abandoned naval engineering for medicine.
WNYNM_140824_031.JPG: USS Princeton Chair
WNYNM_140824_035.JPG: USS Princeton Chair
This chair was on the screw steamer USS Princeton when a rifle cannon exploded, killing several high-ranking government officials and injuring other bystanders. After the tragedy, the chair was passed along and supposedly ended up in the Navy Department Telegraph Office. It was commonly believed that President Lincoln frequently sat in this chair while waiting for telegrams from the war.
However, new research proves that Lincoln rarely ever visited the Navy Department Building. Instead, he waited for war dispatches in the War Department. Indeed, the structure used by the Navy Department -- the Winder building -- had no telegraph lines, thus debunking the myth of a "Lincoln chair" in the Navy Department telegraph office.
WNYNM_140824_042.JPG: Arctic Exploration
WNYNM_140824_059.JPG: Admiral Dewey's cocked hat, dress coat, pants, and shoes. Shoes are the rarest uniform item to survive, since most officers continue to wear them long after they have retired the rest of their uniform.
WNYNM_140824_066.JPG: Commemorative porcelain humidor in the shape of a capstan with Admiral Dewey on the top and his flagship Olympia and a crest with the motto "Steam ahead and follow me" emblazoned on it.
WNYNM_140824_072.JPG: Lapel pin commemorating the sinking of Maine in Havana Harbor, 15 February 1898.
WNYNM_140824_075.JPG: Silver server tray made by the Gorham Company and used in the wardroom of the battleship Maine. It was salvaged from the wreck by Ensign Charles S. Bookwalter.
WNYNM_140824_083.JPG: This commemorative spoon shows Captain Sigsbee on the handle and his ship USS Maine in the bowl. Many items such as this were manufactured in a huge patriotic outpouring after the Maine was sunk in Havana in 1898.
WNYNM_140824_108.JPG: Peacetime Navy:
During the interwar years the majority of the US Navy was assigned to the Pacific, where the biggest problem was how to defend the Philippines and maintain the "Open Door" in China. Each year the fleet participated in a major maneuver or Fleet Problem, either in the Caribbean on in the Eastern Pacific. The US Fleet was based on the West Coast until 1940, when it shifted to Pearl Harbor. The smaller Asiatic Fleet operated in the Western Pacific and on the rivers of China. For over a century, the US Navy had the job of protecting American commerce in the Far East. With the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War in the 1920s and the Japanese invasions of China in the 1930s, this job became increasingly difficult. Between operations, ships visited various ports and lived up to recruiting posters which called for volunteers "to join the Navy and see the world."
WNYNM_140824_110.JPG: Join the NAVY
-- and Free the World
WNYNM_140824_112.JPG: War on the Horizon:
World peace collapsed in the late 1930s. Japan's brutal invasion of China, plus Hitler's and Mussolini's aggression, progressively set Asia and Europe ablaze.
German victories in 1940 and 1941 dashed America's hopes to stay neutral. Struggling to rearm herself, she also increasingly aided the beleaguered Allies. By the fall of 1941, there was an undeclared naval war between the US Navy and German submarines in the Atlantic. American economic sanctions designed to deter Japanese aggression were deeply resented by Japan.
By November 1941, American entry into World War II seemed not a question of "if," but "when."
WNYNM_140824_129.JPG: Someone Talked!
In 1942, the Office of War Information began a drive to limit talk about the war. The potential loss of human life became a recurring theme on these security posters. Hundreds of thousands of them were published and displayed throughout the country.
The reading of British codes and analysis of radio traffic by Doenitz's intelligence branch proved far more successful than spies' reports. From the start British codes were broken. With the American and Canadian navies using British ciphers for joint operations, the Germans enjoyed a steady flow of information. The situation continued through the crucial months of the Battle of the Atlantic. Fortunately, the British unit at Bletchley Park resumed reading the German naval codes in December 1942 after a ten-month hiatus, allowing convoys to be diverted to avoid wolf packs.
WNYNM_140824_133.JPG: "You bet I'm going back to sea!"
Register at your nearest US Employment Service Office
US Merchant Marine
War Shipping Administration
Man the Victory Fleet
Merchant sailors were in continual demand to crew hundreds of new ships. The Wartime Shipping Administration used posters to appeal to both prewar merchant seamen and new recruits. The National Maritime Union, led by Joseph Curran, supported the effort that recruited over a quarter of a million seamen. At least 6,700 of them died in the war.
WNYNM_140824_177.JPG: V-E Day
8 May 1945
WNYNM_140824_179.JPG: Enough War, for the Present... by Knott
Kamerad!
Master Race
Underground
John F. Knott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Francis Knott (December 7, 1878 – February 16, 1963) was an American cartoonist. He was born in Pilsen, Austria and emigrated to Sioux City, Iowa with his widowed mother at the age of five.
Knott started working at The Dallas Morning News in 1905. He drew daily cartoons in the paper during Woodrow Wilson's first presidential campaign and World War I. Knott's most famous cartoon character "Old Man Texas" was a champion for government honesty, low taxes and property ownership. It is believed his cartoons supporting American entry into World War I helped increase the sales of Liberty Bonds and donations towards the war effort.
Knott's cartoons were reprinted in several publications including The Literary Digest, Review of Reviews, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Evening Post, the New York Herald Tribune, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
WNYNM_140824_196.JPG: Captain Elisha Peck
With four decades of ship decks under his feet, the 59-year-old Commander Peck was definitely an old sea dog. In August 1849 the Navy ordered Peck to his last sea duty as captain of the sloop-of-war Portsmouth in the West African Squadron. Although Peck and his crew patrolled off the African coast in search of slave ships for nearly eight months, they failed to capture any vessels carrying human cargo. Peck returned to America, receiving shore commands until the Navy placed him on the reserve list in 1855. With the great demand for naval officers during the Civil War, the Navy recalled Peck to take charge of newly recruited sailors at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire. For this service Peck was promoted to captain in 1863, just three years before his death.
WNYNM_140824_204.JPG: Breech Mechanism & Gun Shop
Extended 297 feet, 1899.
Rear Admiral Charles O'Neil, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance.
Comdr EC Pendleton, USN, Supt. Naval Gun Factory.
WNYNM_140824_209.JPG: Starboard anchor from USS Anzio CVNE 57
WNYNM_140824_210.JPG: Dedication of the Navy Memorial Museum
Washington Navy Yard
7 December 1982
"Not all that we remember, O Lord, can be houses in a museum full of exhibits and models and medals. Some things are too precious, like the friendships forged among shipmates and messmates. Some things are too vital, like the good humor of fighter pilots and boatswain's mates. Some things are too fragile, buried in the silent graves of those we have known for a time and loved, with the love of a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend.
But on this Pearl Harbor day, full of its own memories, we ask your blessing upon this place, where we have placed things we cherish and things we can keep. We pray that those who come here will shake some of our reverence for the sea and the land and the air, whose majesty and power have been but glimpsed by our pioneers. We pray that children will sense the adventure of discovery and want to pursue the dreams that are yet to be realized. We pray, O God, that mature men and women will find here affirmations of their past endeavors and all persons will renew their pride in our great navy.
Bless our coming in here to remember and to learn and our going out to serve this nation and you, O Lord, our god, we pray. Amen.:"
-- Rear admiral Ross H. Trower, CHC, USN Chief of Chaplains
WNYNM_140824_217.JPG: The American Revolution and the French Alliance
Beginning with the opening months of the Revolution in 1775, the patriotic cause was hamstrung by Britain's control of the seas. Yet, even before the signing of our first Treaty of Alliance in 1778, the French provided naval support for the American cause. Continental Navy ships and state privateers were allowed to put into French ports for refitting and supplies. Operating in European waters, American captains such as John Paul Jones, Lambert Wickes, Gustavus Conyngham, and Nicholas Biddle harassed British trade and won a number of individual ship engagements. But in the last analysis, the French/American concentration at Yorktown under Generals Washington, Lafayette, and Rochambeau, and the French fleet action off the Virginia Capes in September 1781 under Admiral de Grasse were decisive in the American War of Independence. That was, as the Commander-in-Chief, George Washington said, "the pivot upon which everything turned."
In this exhibit, we extend our grateful respects to France and the French Navy.
WNYNM_140824_223.JPG: Forefoot of one of the galleys that served General Arnold of Lake Champlain. Galley was sunk during the battle at Valcour Island.
WNYNM_140824_228.JPG: The Bon Homme vs Serapis
by Tom Freeman
On the evening of 23 September 1779 near Flamborough Head in the North Sea, the ship Bonhomme Richard, commanded by Captain John Paul Jones, opened fire on the British ship HMS Serapis, commanded by Captain Richard Pearson. Faced with a more maneuverable foe with greater firepower, Jones determined to run Serapis aboard and overpower her with his large crew. Lashed together, they battered each other until Serapis, exhausted, surrendered. Bonhomme Richard was damaged beyond repair and shortly after the Americans transferred to their new prize she sank.
WNYNM_140824_233.JPG: Privateers:
American privateers during the Revolution were privately owned vessels licensed by state governments to wage commercial warfare against Great Britain. In March 1776 Congress authorized privateering, and by the end of the war nearly 2,500 American cruisers had taken over 2,000 prizes. Their efforts forced the British to disperse the Royal Navy and to form and escort trade convoys. Privateers frustrated the establishment of an effective blockade of North America, enabling the patriots to receive the European assistance they needed for victory.
WNYNM_140824_239.JPG: Bronze bust of John Paul Jones by Jean Houdin
WNYNM_140824_247.JPG: John Paul Jones:
Captain John Paul Jones gained prominence in the Continental Navy's Alfred and Providence in 1776. Sailing off Nova Scotia, he captured over fifteen vessels, including the heavily armed Mellish. After the French Alliance enabled the Navy to strike at the British Isles, Jones, in Ranger and Bonhomme Richard, raided enemy ports, captured numerous merchantmen, and achieving the most celebrated naval victory in the war. Encountering a Baltic convoy, Bonhomme Richard engaged and captured the escort, HMS Serapis, in a bloody duel during which Jones retorted to the suggestion that he surrender his sinking ship, "I have not yet begun to fight!"
WNYNM_140824_256.JPG: Alfred Leaving Boston Harbor
by Nolan Van Powell
The 24-gun ship Alfred, built in Philadelphia in 1774, was purchased by the Continental Navy in November 1775 and named for the Saxon king who is considered the founder of the English Navy. Alfred served as Commodore Hopkin's flagship for the expedition to the Bahamas. At the end of 1776, Alfred, now under command of John Paul Jones, made a cruise to the fishing grounds off Nova Scotia and in company with Providence captured nine prizes. Enroute from France after her third cruise, she was captured by two British warships, thus ending her distinguished career.
WNYNM_140824_270.JPG: The Establishment of the United States Navy:
Responding to attacks on American shipping by Barbary pirates, Congress in 1794 voted to construct six frigates -- the 44-gun United States, Constitution, and President and the 36-gun Constellation, Congress, and Chesapeake. When a treaty was signed with Algeria in 1796, ending at least temporarily harassment of American shipping, construction was suspended. The next year, however, disputes with France over the seizure of American commerce led to a major expansion of the Navy and to the establishment on 30 April 1798 of the Department of the Navy headed by Benjamin Stoddert. At Stoddert's request, Congress appropriated funds to build six 74-gun ships of the line and a number of smaller vessels. Stoddert used some of the funds to acquire Government shipyards. The Washington Navy Yard, initially commanded by Captain Thomas Tingey, was the first Yard established to build the new ships.
WNYNM_140824_274.JPG: The Quasi-War with France
1798-1801
The years of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars were filled with rich opportunities and dangers for the United States. As a neutral, America's trade benefitted, but Old World powers challenged her position. France, our former ally, applied political, diplomatic, and military pressure to force the United States into a pro-French alignment. French seizure of over 300 ships led the Americans to respond with force in 1798. During the next two and half years an undeclared naval war was fought primarily in the West Indies. American warships, by defeating their equals and capturing more than 80 French vessels, gave the world a convincing demonstration that the US Navy was a professional fighting force.
Thomas Truxtun was named captain, the highest rank in the US Navy, because of his service during the Revolutionary War. He supervised the building and launching of the Constellation at Baltimore and fought the most successful engagements of the Quasi War. On 9 February 1799, Constellation's lookouts sighted a French frigate. The French fled and the determined Americans pursued. The well trimmed Constellation weathered a sudden squall, but L'Insurgent lost her main topmast. Unable to escape, she turned to fight, but Constellation made short work of the man-of-war. An hour after the action had begun. L'Insurgent's trilcolor flag was struck.
WNYNM_140824_277.JPG: Thomas Truxtun:
Born on Long Island in 1755, Thomas Truxtun went to sea at the age of 12. Three years later, he was snatched from the deck of a merchant ship and impressed on board a British man-of-war. Truxtun was promised advancement, if he would remain in the Royal Navy, but he obtained his release and returned to the merchant service. During the Revolution, he commanded several successful privateers, and when the United States Navy was organized, he was selected as one of its first six captains. He put to sea immediately in the new frigate Constellation to fight the French.
WNYNM_140824_281.JPG: Barbary Wars
1801-1805
For years the greedy rulers of the Barbary States demanded tribute from all nations trading in their waters. Barbary pirates seized passing ships, ransoming the passengers and crew. After 1775, British warships no longer protected American interests. The United States had little choice but to pay tribute until our Navy was built. The expanding American trade made the United States a most profitable enemy and the atrocious conduct of the Barbary pirates brought the nations closer to war.
In 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli declared war and several US Navy squadrons were sent to the Mediterranean. Commodore Edward Preble's squadron, with his flagship Constitution, arrived in Tripoli in 1803. Assisted by daring officers like Stephen Decatur, Preble bested the Tripolitans and the Pasha was brought to terms.
WNYNM_140824_284.JPG: Leather Covered Box
WNYNM_140824_287.JPG: Decatur Boarding a Tripolian Gunboat
by DM Carter
During the summer of 1804, Commodore Preble decided to send gunboats to bombard the fortifications in Tripoli Harbor. Stephen Decatur, the youngest captain in the US Navy at age 25, was in charge of a division of three gunboats. He and his men plunged into the midst of nine enemy boats and began to board them. After fierce hand-to-hand fighting, the enemy was driven from the decks of the ships and three prizes were taken by the Americans.
WNYNM_140824_291.JPG: Reuben James
by Dorothy Short
Boatswain's Mate Reuben James served with Stephen Decatur during the Barbary Wars. During the fight to capture an Algerian gunboat, an American seaman placed himself between Decatur and an enemy blade. This act of bravery is attributed to Daniel Frazier or to Reuben James who is pictured here with his injured arm.
WNYNM_140824_296.JPG: Preble Takes Command:
The first two US Navy squadrons temporarily over-powered the Barbary States and saved many American ships, but the squadrons had no permanent success. A tight blockade of Tripoli was impossible sine small craft could hug the coast where Navy ships could not follow them. In 1803, Edward Preble was appointed to command the squadron. The frigates Constitution and Philadelphia, along with several shallow watercraft, were included in the squadron. Preble at 42 was dismayed to find that all of his officers were under the age of 30. Although Preble was a strict disciplinarian, he was an experienced and throughly [sic] professional naval officer. His young officers were soon proud to be known as "Preble's boys," a title they carried into the War of 1812, in which every one of them made a distinguished name for himself.
WNYNM_140824_303.JPG: The End of the War:
In 1804, Commodore Samuel Barron relieved Preble as squadron commander in the Mediterranean. Barron maintained the close blockade of Tripoli and kept a watch on the other Barbary States. In 1805, Captain John Rodgers continued the blockade with an American squadron of 31 vessels. A Marine Corps detachment under First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon marched across the desert and captured the city of Derna which forced the Pasha to end the war.
WNYNM_140824_306.JPG: Punishment:
The most brutal part of the 19th century seaman's life was the harsh punishment that was inflicted for even the smallest breach of regulations. Flogging was the captain's favorite punishment for most enlisted men -- it was simple, direct, and public. A ship's captain could order no more than 12 lashes for a single offense, unless he summoned a court-martial. However, clever commanders, Preble being among the most prominent, soon found a way to administer more than the routine 12 lashes by compounding several offenses and ordering the appropriate punishment.
Punishment hour was traditionally 1100. The shriek of the boatswain's pipe summoned all hands to the top gun deck to watch the spectacle. The guilty man, with a bare back, was tied to a hatch grating. One or more boatswain mates came forward with the cat-o-nine-tails, a whip with nine strands, each knotted and weighted at the free end. To ensure a proper flogging, the mates would trade off after a few strokes. When the decreed number of lashes had been applied, the man was cut down, his back attended to, and he was returned to duty as soon as possible. His shipmates, who had been required to witness his punishment, returned to the day's routine.
WNYNM_140824_313.JPG: The War of 1812
1812-1815
During the early 19th century, America was caught up in the Napoleonic Wars -- the global struggle between Britain and France. British restrictions on American trade, violations of neutral rights and territorial waters, and the illegal blockade of European ports outraged the American public.
The practice of British naval commanders to conscript or "press" sailors from American merchant vessels into the British Navy was particularly galling. Between 1798 and 1812, nearly 10,000 American servicemen were so victimized. The American outcry against impressment increased in June 1807 when HMS Leopard fired on US frigate Chesapeake, killing three and wounding sixteen men. Chesapeake was then boarded and searched so that the British could reclaim four "deserters."
On 18 June 1812, with a total of 18 warships and a scattering of gunboats, the United States declared war on Great Britain, the greatest sea power in the world.
WNYNM_140824_318.JPG: USS Essex Bone Model:
During the Quasi-War of 1798-1800, French prisoners of war carved this bone model of USS Essex. The 32-gun frigate was paid for by public subscriptions from the people of Salem and Essex Counties, Massachusetts, and presented to the US Navy in 1799. Essex later became the first US Navy ship to reach the Pacific Ocean, and served until she was captured by two British ships in a battle at Valparaiso, Chile in 1814.
WNYNM_140824_326.JPG: Ship's Figurehead:
This wooden figurehead from the early 19th century bears a striking resemblance to the Prince Regent, who later became King George IV of England. The two decorations on his chest are the Order of St. George and the Star of the Order of the Garter.
WNYNM_140824_330.JPG: The Mexican War
1846-1848
Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836, but Mexico refused to recognize the new state. When the United States formally annexed Texas in 1845, Mexico sent an army to oppose General Zachary Taylor's advance toward the Rio Grande.
After watching operations in northern Mexico for several months, President Polk agreed to a direct assault on Mexico City from Vera Cruz. Under Commodore David Conner and Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the Home Squadron transported General Winfield Scott's 12,000 man army from Texas. They landed at Vera Cruz on 9 March 1847. After the fall of the city, naval and marine landing parties captured every major port from Tampico to Yucatan.
Meanwhile, Commodore John Sloat commanding the Pacific Squadron, occupied Monterey and San Francisco. In the next six months, Commodore Robert Stockton relieved Sloat and conquered the entire state. With California secured, the squadron, now under Commodore James Biddle and later William Shubrick, blockaded Mexico's west coast and captured Guaymas and Mazatlan.
As a result of the Mexican War, the United States added the vast domain extended from west Texas to northern California. The war also served as a training ground for nearly all the military leaders in the Civil War and witnessed the development of amphibious doctrine which would become standard practie for modern amphibious operations.
WNYNM_140824_337.JPG: The Barbary Wars Again:
Shortly after the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent in February 1815, President Madison asked Congress to declare war on the Algerians. While the United States was at war with Britain, the Algerians had again seized American ships.
Three 74-gun ships of the line, Washington, Franklin, Independence, as well as the heavy frigates, Guerriere and Java, had recently been commissioned. Stephen Decatur took Guerriere as his flagship and immediately led a squadron to the Mediterranean. Less than a month later, the squadron defeated the flagship of the Algerian fleet, Mashouda, and sailed into Algiers to present the dey with the terms of peace. The United States was granted most-favored nation status, payments of tribute were ended, and all American prisoners were freed.
The American squadron next visited Tripoli where it was joined by William Bainbridge in Independence with his squadron. Impressed with the growing naval power of the United States, the Barbary rulers readily agreed to the peace treaty. The two squadrons cruised the Mediterranean independently, showing the American flag at various ports until October 1815 when they sailed for home.
Decatur, who had little faith in the good intentions of the Barbary rulers, wrote to James Monroe that "the only secure guarantee of the peace just concluded with those people is the presence in the Mediterranean of a respectable naval force." For this reason, several ships were left behind to protect American commerce.
WNYNM_140824_341.JPG: The Battle of Lake Borgne
14 December 1814
The Battle of Lake Borgne was an essential prelude to American victory in the Battle of New Orleans. A large British fleet, carrying about 10,000 troops, anchored east of Lake Borgne on 9 December 1814. According to plan, the British would move across the shallow waters of Lake Borgne into the bayous below New Orleans, some 40 miles to the west. A handful of US Navy gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones obstinately anchored in the narrows at the entrance of Lake Borgne. After a brisk fight, the British overwhelmed the Americans, but Jones's determined stand delayed the enemy advance for several days.
In the meantime, General Jackson and Commodore Daniel Patterson were able to prepare the defense of New Orleans. After several weeks of savage fighting, Jackson's troops, aided by the cannons of Louisiana and Carolina, repulsed a major attack on 8 January 1815. Unknown to the participants, a treat ending the War of 1812 had been signed in Ghent, Belgium, two weeks earlier. Despite this fact, the victory provided decisive proof of American military prowess.
WNYNM_140824_343.JPG: The Burning of Washington
24 August 1814
The British attack on Washington DC climaxed a two-year campaign along the shores of Chesapeake Bay. A British force of 2,500 troops marched from Benedict, on the Patuxent River, through Upper Marlboro, without meeting any resistance. General William Winder, leading an untrained militia, made a stand just west of the bridge across the Anacostia River at Blandensburg. They could not hold hold there position. Although Commodore Barney's sailors and marines resisted to the end, the British regulars overwhelmed them after a two-hour skirmish.
Led by General Robert Ross and Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, enemy troops entered Washington and set fire to the Capitol. To prevent enemy seizure, Captain Thomas Tingey set fires int he Navy Yard which consumed the sawmill, rigging loft, paint shops, timber sheds, the new frigate Columbia, and the sloop of war Argus.
WNYNM_140824_347.JPG: Barney's Cheseapeake Flotilla
1813-1814
The resources of the Navy Department were so thinly stretched that neither men nor ships could be spared for the defense of Chesapeake Bay. When the British fleet appeared in early 1813, they met little resistance. Privateer Captain Joshua Barney proposed that the Navy appoint him to command an independent flotilla of barges and other shallow-draft vessels to harass British amphibious operations. By the spring of 1814, the US Chesapeake Flotilla amounted to some 26 barges and gunboats, manned by 900 men. Leaving half his force to defend Baltimore, Barney made the Patuxent River his base of operations. Most of his skirmishes with the British took place at the mouth of that river and in one of its tributaries, St. Leonard's Creek.
WNYNM_140824_350.JPG: Hamilton and Scourge:
Historical Treasures from the War of 1812:
In the early morning hours of 8 August 1813, Hamilton and her fellow schooner Scourge were hove to with 11 ships of the American Squadron on Lake Ontario. They were waiting for the first light to renew action against the British-Canadian Squadron. A sudden squall caught both ships capsizing them and sending them to the bottom 50 fathoms (300 feet) below with 53 sailors. This was the largest single loss of life on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.
In 1975, an underwater survey located the ships sitting upright and intact on the lake floor. Later the National Geographic Society conducted a photographic survey of both vessels. The images confirmed the near perfect preservation of the ships in the nearly freezing temperatures and utter darkness. The Hamilton/Scourge Foundation hopes someday to raise the schooners and exhibit the archaeological treasures in Hamilton, Ontario.
WNYNM_140824_356.JPG: This shell, fired from US ship "Saratoga" on Lake Champlain at the Battle of Plattsburgh, NY, September 11, 1814, is presented to Union College by Gilbert K. Harroun as a reminder to college students of American loyalty, skill and intrepidity.
WNYNM_140824_361.JPG: Macdonough Desk:
Made in Britain, this walnut desk belonged to Commodore Thomas Macdonough. His name is engraved on a brass plate on the lid.
WNYNM_140824_365.JPG: Lake Erie:
Commodore Issac Chauncey appointed Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry to take charge of the squadron building at Erie, Pennsylvania, during March 1813. Despite great difficulties, Perry completed his warships by 4 August. These vessels, supplemented by schooners brought from Niagara, engaged the British squadron commanded by Commodore Robert H. Barclay on 10 September. This battle, which began at noon and lasted for nearly three hours, resulted in a decisive victory for Perry. He sent news of his success to General William Henry Harrison with the words, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Harrison's army pursued the British and their Indian allies into Canada, routing them at the Battle of the Thames on 5 October 1813.
WNYNM_140824_367.JPG: Lake Ontario:
Commodore Isaac Chauncey took command of naval forces on Lakes Ontario and Erie and, coverting [sic] merchantmen to armed schooners, achieved control of Lake Ontario by November 1812. He established a Navy Yard at Sackets Harbor and commenced construction of larger warships. The British did likewise at Kingston and York and brought in contingents of the Royal Navy under Commodore Sir James Yeo. The balance of power swayed from side as each commanded attempted to outbuild the other and avoided a major confrontation. Despite the lack of a decisive battle, Commodore Chauncey kept Yeo's squadron at bay, twice raided the enemy shipyard at York, landed troops at Fort George, escorted army transports, and protected General Wilkinson's descent of the St. Lawrence River. Chauncey's vigilance prevented the British from taking advantage of the vulnerable New York state frontier.
WNYNM_140824_370.JPG: The War on the Lakes:
At the outset of the War of 1812, the United States had few fortifications on the Canadian border, only a handful of troops, and virtually no naval strength on the northern lakes. In the opening land campaigns, the United States military were completely frustrated in attempts to conquer Canada. By the end of 1812, both America and Britain realized that the key to land victory was through the control of the lakes. From then on, the shores of Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain became scenes of feverish shipbuilding activity. The military victories later achieved by Generals William Henry Harrison, Winfield Scott, and Alexander Macomb owed much to US Navy dominance on the northern lakes.
WNYNM_140824_372.JPG: General Armstrong:
Although privateers generally avoided engaging British warships, the choice was not always theirs. On 26 September 1812, General Armstrong was trapped at Fayal in the Azores by three British naval vessels. Captain Samuel C. Reid in Armstrong took the initiative and opened fire. The British fought their way in small boats up to Armstrong's bow and attempted to board. In a final thrust, with all his officers killed, Reid repelled the British and then scuttled his vessel.
WNYNM_140824_374.JPG: Privateers:
American naval forces throughout the early history of the Republic were assisted by private vessels. The fast-sailing, heavily armed, and heavily manned privateers preyed upon enemy merchantmen to profit from the sale of their captured vessels and their cargo. Significantly disrupting enemy commerce, this action was strongly encouraged by Congress. Joshua Barney, one of the most successful privateers, captained the schooner Rossie, owned by several Baltimore merchants. During a remarkable three month cruise in the Caribbean, he captured 3,700 tons of British shipping valued at a million and a half dollars.
WNYNM_140824_380.JPG: We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority has the right to break up the government whenever they choose.
-- President-elect Abraham Lincoln
WNYNM_140824_382.JPG: There are only two sides to the question. Every man must be for the United States or against it. There can be no neutrals in this war, only patriots -- or traitors.
-- Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, April 1861
WNYNM_140824_390.JPG: Seizure of the Slaver Martha:
On 6 June 1850 a boarding party from the brig USS Perry seized the slaver Martha just hours after she loaded a cargo of 1,800 Africans from Angola. Martha's skipper first thought Perry to be British, so he hoisted the American flag because federal law prohibited foreign warships from stopping an American ship. When the skipper spied a US naval officer on board the brig, he hastily raised the Brazilian flag. Perry's sailors prevented further trickery by warning him that his crew would be arrested as pirates instead of slavers should he persist in denying his true aims. Charges of piracy could result in a death penalty. Perry's captain, Lieutenant Andrew H. Foote, sent his prize to New York where the admiralty court condemned the ship. The skipper broke bail, having been fined; the first mate spent two years in prison for slave trading; and the others escaped justice because they were not Americans.
WNYNM_140824_398.JPG: Andrew H. Foote:
A fervent Protestant, temperance supporter, and abolitionist, Lieutenant Andrew H. Foote was captain of the brig Perry. He commanded the Western Flotilla during the Civil War.
WNYNM_140824_403.JPG: Although America withdrew from the transatlantic slave trade in 1808, Africans continued to be sent west illegally in US ships. The Navy's role in the struggle against slavery began in 1820 when warships deployed off West Africa to catch American slave ships. Enforcement of the slave trade ban was sporadic, however, until the Navy deployed a permanent African Squadron in 1842. Despite the vigilance of American, as well as British and French, warships in African waters, the overseas slave trade increased in the 1850s, owing to the high demand for slaves in Latin America. Watching for and chasing slave ships afforded American sailors valuable training on distant stations and reinforced the blockading experience gained during the Mexican War.
WNYNM_140824_406.JPG: The diagram shows how slave traders crammed 400 men and women into a ship's hold 25 feet wide and 100 feet long, where they lived for at least 30 days in wretched confinement.
WNYNM_140824_419.JPG: Statue of Richard E. Byrd.
WNYNM_140824_423.JPG: Portrait of Richard E. Byrd by J. G. Cowell, completely shortly after Byrd's return from his flight over the South Pole in 1929.
WNYNM_140824_428.JPG: This equipment was installed in the hut and used by Byrd during his Second Expedition and on subsequent trips to Antarctica.
WNYNM_140824_450.JPG: Admiral William Sowden Sims
(1858-1936)
by E Hodgson Smart, 1923
The United States Navy's wartime representative in London, William Sowden Sims, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1880.
An inspiring leader, he made significant contributions to the prewar "New Navy." Particularly notable were his methods of gunnery training and his development of destroyer concepts and tactics.
Rear Admiral Sims was enroute to Europe on a liaison mission when the United States declared war on Germany. He grasped the dire threat of the enemy submarine campaign, and convinced Washington to spur the deployment of American anti-submarine forces to Europe. He was a strong advocate of the convoy system used so successfully in this war.
Promoted in May 1917, the next month Vice Admiral Sims was designated Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters. He made full admiral in December 1918.
WNYNM_140824_461.JPG: The Panay Incident:
Panay was one of six gunboats built in the 1920s to replace old vessels captured during the Spanish American War. Their primary mission was to protect American lives and property in China. When the Japanese invaded China in the 1930s, they faced a new threat. As the Japanese advanced on Nanking at the end of 1937, Panay evacuated American embassy personnel to avoid the fighting. The gunboat was anchored upriver from the city on 12 December, when Japanese naval aircraft attacked and sank her, killing three men and wounding 48 others, including five civilian passengers. The Japanese claimed that the attack was unintentional and paid a large indemnity. Even so, the Panay incident heightened tensions between the two powers. Four years later, the United States and Japan were at war.
WNYNM_140824_464.JPG: JH Land, wounded in the attack on Panay, sits on the bank of the Yangtze River after the ship sank.
WNYNM_140824_468.JPG: Motor Sam_Pan
USS Panay
sunk in Yangtze River
12 December 1937
by Japanese bombing planes
WNYNM_140824_476.JPG: China Service Medal:
Awarded to sailors, like the crew of Panay, who confronted the Japanese in China from 1937 to 1939.
WNYNM_140824_480.JPG: Forty-eight star flag flown from the stern of Panay during the attack
WNYNM_140824_488.JPG: Bloodstained order written by Lieutenant Arthur Anders to abandon Panay. Anders was wounded in the throat and unable to speak, so he scribbled out the orders on the back of a Yangtze River chart splattered with his own blood. The message reads: "Get all small boats alongside. Can we run aground, if not, Abandon Ship."
WNYNM_140824_496.JPG: Japan Expands
WNYNM_140824_498.JPG: The Pacific Dec. 1941-Feb. 1942
Here Japan struck to begin the War of the Pacific.
WNYNM_140824_500.JPG: In 1931, the Japanese militarists occupied Manchuria and began to consolidate their control of the government. Six years later they invaded China proper and outraged the world with the "Rape of Nanking." In 1939 Japan occupied Hainan Island in the South China Sea and annexed the Spratly Islands off Indochina. After the fall of France in 1940, the Japanese occupied Indochina with the reluctant approval of the Vichy government. In response, the United States froze Japanese assets and imposed an oil embargo, cutting off the source of 80 per cent of Japanese oil. War was inevitable unless the United States backed down or Japan evacuated China and Indochina.
WNYNM_140824_502.JPG: A young Chinese refugee carried an infant as she flees from Japanese troops during the occupation of Canton in October 1938.
WNYNM_140824_505.JPG: War Telegram:
Upon receiving news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the Navy sent copies of a message ordering implementation of war plan Rainbow 5. However, the losses and disorganization created by the air raids prevent the fleet from sailing to reinforce the garrison in the Philippines. Even the ships of the Asiatic Fleet, which received this message, could take limited measures to defend those islands.
WNYNM_140824_513.JPG: Nimitz Takes Command:
On 17 December 1941, Chester W. Nimitz assumed command of the Pacific Fleet with the rank of admiral. By 1941, the 56-year-old Texan had spent 40 years in the Navy mostly in battleships and submarines. The new admiral possessed all the essential attributes for taking command of a battered and demoralized fleet. Kind, courteous, quiet, and soft spoken, Nimitz was also hardworking, patient, and calm. He had excellent organization abilities and realistic strategic insights. Nimitz judged men well and made prompt, firm decisions. He also inspired confidence in his men. The new admiral's immediate objective was to restore the morale of the men at Pearl Harbor. Beginning with his staff, Nimitz told them, "There will be no changes. I have complete confidence in you men. We've taken a terrific wallop but I have no doubts as to the ultimate outcome." Nimitz faced terrible military difficulties from the start. He had to ensure the security of the shipping from the US to Hawaii and Midway and from Hawaii to Australia. Any further Japanese advances in the Central Pacific had to be halted. Furthermore, the ships at Pearl Harbor were to carry out raids that would divert Japanese strength from the invasion of the oil rich Netherlands East Indies. Within a few weeks Nimitz transformed the fleet at Pearl Harbor into a force capable of fulfilling all these objectives. From that beginning he went on to organize the Navy's victory in the Pacific.
WNYNM_140824_516.JPG: Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942
unknown Japanese artist
Savo Island was one of the greatest Japanese night surface victories of the war. Taking advantage of their superior night-fighting capabilities, an enemy cruiser squadron entered Ironbottom Sound int he early hours of 9 August 1942 and sank four Allied cruisers.
WNYNM_140824_521.JPG: Disney studios designed insignia for many of the Navy's submarines as a contribution to the war effort.
WNYNM_140824_589.JPG: New Technology:
Although steel had been manufactured in the United States since the 1850s, the industry could not produce the quantity or quality of steel required by the Navy. Despite possessing the technology for the open-hearth process, America's iron industry lacked the incentive to expand into full-scale steel production. The Navy sought to develop the necessary industrial base by combining its steel requirements into large orders, thus enticing private industry to build modern steel-making facilities. The Bethlehem Iron Company of Pennsylvania became one of the first private companies to risk updating their facilities in order to handle the Navy's requirements. The company was awarded a Navy contract for gun forgings and steel armor plate in 1887. Although the navy yards at New York and Norfolk constructed some of the Navy's new steel ships, commercial businesses built the majority. The most notable private yards were William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Virginia, and Union Iron Works of San Francisco, which required the same high level of investment to meet the Navy's needs as the steel mills had spent.
WNYNM_140824_594.JPG: Boatswain Mate Charles W. Riggin of USS Baltimore was killed on 16 October 1891 in an attack on American sailors in the streets of Valpariaso, Chile. This attack was sparked by anti-American feelings arising from the US decision to grant political asylum to former Chilean leaders who had been overthrown in a recent revolution. Responding to a suggestion in the New York Recorder, the public contributed over 26,000 silver dimes for three memorial statues of Boatswain Riggin. Cast from a model by Alexander J. Doyle of New York City, the statues were presented to President Benjamin Harrison, the Secretary of State James G. Blaine, and this one to the Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy.
WNYNM_140824_599.JPG: Sailors, Steelships and Diplomacy
World Cruise of the Great White Fleet
WNYNM_140824_606.JPG: Aid from America
"To the Senate and House of Representatives... The immense debt of civilization to Italy; the arm and steadfast friendship between that country and our own; the affection for their native land felt by great numbers of good American citizens who are immigrants from Italy; the abundance with which God has blessed us in our safety; all these should prompt us to immediate and effective relief."
-- President Theodore Roosevelt, January 5, 1908 letter to the US Congress
WNYNM_140824_609.JPG: Parnerships
WNYNM_140824_617.JPG: The fleet arrived for the first time in the Philippines on October 2nd. Their arrival corresponded with the tail-end of a cholera epidemic that had caused more than 12,500 deaths in 12,450 cases in the previous two months. With this, Admiral Sperry directed there would be no visit. His fleet had yet to meet the Japanese fleet and he chose not to take a risk on introducing cholera to the ships. The local reception committee was upset having spent $170,000 on arches, bunting and perishable food to feed the crowds of a naval parade. Unfortunately, no food or drink would be purchased ashore or for re-supplying the ships. The ships took on coal and departed after a week.
While half the fleet was enjoying the hospitality of the Empress of China, the other half returned to Subic Bay for gunnery practice. On November 8th, the fleet once again regrouped and entered Manila Bay. It was Sperry's wish to visit the city but the epidemic was worse than before.
WNYNM_140824_624.JPG: As a result of the Great White Fleet, US relations with the countries visited were either improved or initially established in a positive way. Notably, the visit to Australia led to important personal contacts between Americans and Australians while strengthening the sense of shared national interests. On August 20, the Fleet was greeted at Sydney, Australia, by half a million people who stayed up all night so as not to miss the ships' arrival. For the next eight days, there was a nonstop celebration in honor of the Navy visitors. With all this celebrating, some of the crewmen were beginning to feel the wear and tear. One sailor was found asleep on a bench in one of Sydney's parks with a sign he had posted a sign [sic] above his head which read: "Yes, I am delighted with the Australian people. Yes, I think your park is the finest in the world. I am very tired and would like to go to sleep." Being truly hospitable, Sydney let him sleep.
Melbourne also rolled out the red carpet for the Fleet. Nothing was too great for the American Sailors, who were given the key to the city. Melbourne's hospitality made such an impression that many sailors were reluctant to leave when the ships got underway for Albany in Western Australia.
WNYNM_140824_625.JPG: Cooperation
WNYNM_140824_629.JPG: The Great White Fleet was manned by 14,000 Sailors and Marines first under the command of Rear Adm. Robley "Fighting Bob" Evans, and subsequently under Rear Adm. Charles Stillman Sperry, all embarked on a historic once-in-a-lifetime adventure. They were the ambassadors of goodwill and the vehicles through which others perceived and judged America and the Navy. The good conduct the Americans displayed when on liberty left a positive impression in every port of call around the world. Similarly, the patriotism with which the Sailors of the Great White Fleet wore the uniform made an impression on their character that they carried throughout their lives.
Interestingly, junior officers among the fleet included Ensign Harold R. Stark and Ensign William F. Halsey. Later, they would rise to the ranks of Admiral and Fleet Admiral, respectively. Admiral Stark assumed command as the eighth Chief of Naval Operations in 1939. Fleet Admiral Halsey, renowned Commander of the Third Fleet, operated successfully against Japanese forces in World War II.
WNYNM_140824_631.JPG: Power Projection
WNYNM_140824_635.JPG: The battleships of the Atlantic Fleet, painted white with gilded scrollwork, were divided between five ship classes: Kearsarge, Illinois, Maine, Virginia, and Connecticut. They displaced 11,525-16,000 tons and measured 375 to 456 feet in length overall.
The cruise provided Navy personnel with practical experience in sea duty and ship handling, leading to improved formation steaming, coal economy, and morale. Gunnery exercises doubled the accuracy of gunfire in the fleet. At the same time, the cruise underscored the dependence of the fleet on foreign colliers as well as the need for coaling stations and auxiliary ships for coaling and resupply.
WNYNM_140824_641.JPG: Forward Presence
WNYNM_140824_645.JPG: Although today US Navy ships are deployed around the world 24/7, in 1907 the US fleet did not maintain a regular forward presence. Theodore Roosevelt recognized that naval presence provided not only a measure of power projection, but also an instrument for diplomacy and international partnership. Initial announcement described the plan to sail around Cape Horn on a practice cruise ending in San Francisco Harbor. Once the battleships had reached the west coast of Mexico without major mechanical issues, it was announced that the cruise would continue back to the Atlantic by way of Australia, the Philippines, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. That announcement led to many invitations from countries along the route for the fleet to pay port visits.
WNYNM_140824_647.JPG: Whatever the significance of the world cruise for US international relations, and whatever its significance for the Navy as an institution, imagine what participation meant individually to the 14,000 Sailors and Marines who circumnavigated the globe in the Great White Fleet. They had joined the Navy and, literally, seen the world. Consider the reaction of Frank B. Lesher, for instance, an electrician in USS Virginia. In a letter home, Lesher marveled, "It all seems a sort of a dream to me now that it is over with, but never-the-less the cold fact remains that I have been to Cairo and have stood upon the Sahara Desert while the pyramids built over forty centuries ago gazed down upon me."
WNYNM_140824_649.JPG: The Great White Fleet: The Vision:
Maritime Security
WNYNM_140824_652.JPG: In December 1907, Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, sent a portion of the Atlantic Fleet on a world tour to test naval readiness, establish global presence, generate international goodwill, and garner enthusiasm for the US Navy. Sixteen battleships and 14,000 men embarked on an historic voyage that steamed 43,000 miles and made 20 port calls on six continents. Painted white with gilded scrollwork on their bows, the participating ships became known as the "Great White Fleet."
"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace."
-- President Theodore Roosevelt, December 2, 1902, second annual message to Congress
WNYNM_140824_679.JPG: Great White Fleet:
On 16 December 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt stood in attendance as the Atlantic Fleet, painted in peacetime white, departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, in an unprecedented worldwide tour. Better known as the "Great White Fleet," the sixteen US battleships covered 43,000 miles and made twenty port calls on six continents during its 14 month long voyage. On 22 February 1909, the fleet arrived back at its point of origin.
The tour of the Great White Fleet was a grand pageant of American sea power. President Roosevelt wanted to assert the nation's growing naval prowess after the Russo-Japanese War, viewing the world tour as the perfect opportunity. The cruise also helped win congressional support for increased funding for the Navy, forever a goal of the president.
WNYNM_061218_005.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2006_DC_WNY_NavyMus DC -- Southeast -- Washington Navy Yard -- U.S. Navy Museum (99 photos from 2006)
WNYNM_061218_048.JPG: Model of the USS Maine
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Description of Subject Matter: The Navy Museum is housed in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Gun Factory (Building 76). Built between 1887 and 1899, the 600-foot-long building was one of several shops in the Yard that produced ordnance, missile components and electronic equipment until 1962.
In 1961 Admiral Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, recognizing that the Washington Navy Yard was the Navy's oldest and one of its most historic sites, persuaded Secretary of the Navy John B. Connally to establish the U.S. Naval Historical Display Center (later the U.S. Navy Memorial Museum, then the Navy Museum).
Opened in 1963 to collect, preserve and display naval artifacts, models, documents and fine art. Through its exhibits, the Museum chronicles the history of the United States Navy from the Revolution to the present. The exhibits commemorate the Navy's wartime heroes and battles as well as its peacetime contributions in such fields as exploration, diplomacy, space flight, navigation and humanitarian service. Tools, equipment and personal materials offer the visitor a unique opportunity to gain an understanding of naval customs, way of life and contributions to society. The Navy Museum presents over 225 years of naval and maritime history, tracing wars, battles, and crises from the American Revolution through the Vietnam War.
The Navy Museum exhibits an extraordinary collection of ship models, uniforms, medals, ordnance, photographs and fine art. The museum collection also includes an F4U Corsair, nicknamed "Big Hog"; a twin mount 5-inch .38 caliber anti-aircraft gun; the foremast Fighting Top from frigate Constitution; and the bathyscaphe Trieste that descended nearly seven miles to the deepest location in the Pacific Ocean.
One of the most comprehensive exhibits, "In Harm's Way," examines the Navy's role in World War II from the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to Japan's surrender in 1945. Divided into three sections, the exhibit examines the Pacific and Atlantic c ...More...
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I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
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