Book Reviews

Benjamin Armstrong. Small Boats and tion’s maritime military arm well into Daring Men. Maritime Raiding, Ir- the nineteenth century. regular Warfare, and the Early Ameri- Under these conditions Benjamin can Navy. Norman, OK: University of Armstrong examines the early Ameri- Oklahoma Press, www.oupress.com, can Navy and foregrounds his analysis 2019. xi+264 pp., illustrations, map, on the third tip of the maritime strate- notes, bibliography, index. US $34.95, gic trident, tactics of guerre de razzia, cloth; ISBN 978-0-8061-6282-9. war of raiding. The Navy did not have the ability or materiel to undertake a The early American Navy, through the guerre de d’escadre, fleet-to-fleet bat- mid-nineteenth century, was not an ef- tle. The Revolutionary era Battle of fective blue water force. Most of the Block Island Sound (1776), where a 50 or so Revolutionary-era vessels were single British vessel eluded an entire taken by the British or burned to prevent American squadron, and the destruction capture. The few that survived the war of the Penobscot Expedition (1779) are were sold out or returned to the French. prime examples of the structural and The War of 1812 produced a few sig- operational issues. Guerre de course, nal victories, but by the time the British commerce raiding, was a well known finally paid attention to North Ameri- technique that American civilians took ca, after Napoleon’s exile to Elba, the up with aplomb, seizing thousands of American Navy was bottled up in port vessels during both wars with Britain or worse. Early Republic finance was and the Quasi-War with France. With not attuned to support expenditures for rare exception, the United States had a navy with fleets commensurate to the no access to battle fleets to project na- maritime nation that the United States, tional power and commerce raiding in fact, was. During this era, the Jeffer- could effectively be accomplished by sonian gunboat navy and embargo in no privateers. It is not surprising that the way enhanced American naval prow- composition of the marine military ess. The structural deficit of ships-of- force would evolve strategies that were the-line had a distinct influence upon appropriate to the conditions at hand. the strategy and tactics of the young na- Armstrong’s monograph explores the The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord, XXIX, No. 1 (Spring 2019), 55-105 56 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord under- appreciated tactics of irregular origins of early naval tactics. maritime warfare in coastal waters. As a resident of Rhode Island, this Using chronological examples of reviewer was pleased to read of the Ga- asymmetrical warfare from the Rev- spee Affair (1772), which some might olution and Quasi-War through to consider the first shots of the American America’s early nineteenth-century Revolution. Highlighted as the book’s deployments in the Mediterranean, opening vignette, a British naval officer Great Lakes, Caribbean and Indo/Pa- was shot and his vessel burned. Unfor- cific regions, Armstrong puts forward tunately, this action is reported as tak- numerous examples. Names of famous ing place at Pawtucket, which is where American captains—Jones, Talbot, a falls demarcates the Blackstone River Hull, Porter, Preble, Chauncey and De- above from the Seekonk River below. catur—and their exploits, illuminate The event actually occurred at Paw- the courage and audacity of these men. tuxet, several miles further south. This Inventors and inventions that contrib- initial geographic misidentification of uted to the advancement of naval war- two similarly named areas is a minor fare during a time of rapid material and flaw and appears to be an editorial ab- industrial growth are also presented. erration, in no way detracting from the Finally, the idea of naval officers as attention to detail that obviously went on-site diplomats is introduced while into the book. The volume is well re- focusing on interactions in the Indo-Pa- searched and fully footnoted, with bib- cific during the 1830s. liography and index for the serious re- Armstrong posits numerous themes searcher. that he believes are extant in and con- Small Boats and Daring Men is a nect to each of the selected irregular niche market monograph for the mar- warfare operations analyzed. The ideas itime trade. Those with a military explored range from local partnerships mindset should enjoy the analysis of and intelligence, to the utility of na- the strategic theory of guerre de razza. tion-state partnerships, whether former- Historians of the navy, technology and ly recognized or not. He casts a wide early American diplomacy should also net indeed, finding several other factors find something in the book to pique that link the actions under consideration their interest. Maritime historians, in through the early decades of the Amer- general, should find the topic enlight- ican Navy. Is this deep thinking too ening. Academically, the book might much, as the structure of the forces may be appealing as a text for an upper level not have been able to accomplish other or graduate course. Readers who like strategic objectives? One could suggest true adventure, and many of the raiding that pragmatism may have had as much expeditions are, to say the least, adven- influence under the circumstances. It turous, will be fascinated by the auda- might have been instructive to expose ciousness of the mariners of yore in a glaring failure of irregular warfare small boats. It would be nice if a book during this era to test the theories pro- of this quality of scholarship obtained moted. As JFK reportedly said after the an audience beyond a naval/maritime Bay of Pigs, “Victory has a thousand readership. fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” Either way, Armstrong makes well-reasoned Michael Tuttle and evidence-based arguments that Cranston, Rhode Island should get readers thinking about the Book Reviews 57 Doug Bock Clark. The Last Whalers: had its run-ins with Greenpeace and the Three Years in the Far Pacific with a World Wildlife Fund, but contemporary Courageous Tribe and a Vanishing Way Western environmental perspectives are of Life. New York, NY: Little Brown alien to them. They consider the sperm & Co., www.littlebrown.co, 2019. 368 whales rewards from the Ancestors pp., illustrations, maps, glossary, notes. for faithfully keeping to the old ways. US $15.99, CDN $19.99, paper. ISBN This does not blind them to the beau- 978-0-31639-063-7. (Audio book avail- ty or complexities of the natural world. able.) They respect these things and approach all of their hunts with a deep spiritual “Row like you want to feed your fami- connection to their prey and the interre- lies!” (4) With that exhortation ringing lated life web that we moderns can only in their ears, members of a remote Indo- envy. After a successful kill, nothing is nesian tribe pull hard after sperm whales wasted, and the hunters portion out the in the Savu Sea, harpooning them from meat so that everyone in the tribe gets a rickety bamboo platforms. The story of share. According to Clark, this practice these resilient people, known as Lama- makes the Lamalerans one of the most lerans, and their struggle to hold onto generous societies in the world. their ancient lifeways is beautifully told Clark’s focus on four families gives in this absorbing new book by journal- his narrative emotional resonance. ist Doug Bock Clark. Clark lived in- Among the more memorable characters termittently with the Lamalerans over a are Jon Hariona, an aspiring harpoon- period of three years and learned their er; his younger sister Ika, a lighthearted language, took reams of notes, conduct- girl hungry for an education; and Frans ed numerous interviews, and snapped Bediona, an elder struggling to strike 20,000 photographs in his quest to un- an intelligent balance between tradition derstand them as deeply as possible. and encroaching modernity. Perhaps The Lamalerans live on the remote the most consequential character fea- island of Lembata at the southeastern tip tured outside the four families is Salés of Indonesia. Not for nothing do other Bataona, a former town mayor and Indonesians call it “The Land Left Be- energetic entrepreneur determined to hind,” for it is 2,000 miles from main- wed his tribe to the global economy by land Asia and 600 northwest of Aus- building an ice house and a fish factory. tralia. The tribe’s 1500 members live Jon’s odyssey to become a lama- clustered by the water’s edge where they fa, the Lamaleran word for harpooner, can easily spot sperm whales migrating pits his youthful impatience against the close offshore. Perhaps 300 Lamaler- years-long realities of responsible ap- ans regularly participate in these whale prenticeship. Eager to prove himself, hunts, but their take is so modest—at he practices spearing devil rays and best 20 leviathans a year—that there is dolphins. But sperm whales are the no significant impact on this still robust prized prey, requiring close cooperation species. In any case, as Clark makes among hunters. Clark excels at describ- clear, Indonesia has not signed the In- ing these bloody encounters—leaping ternational Convention for the Regula- harpooners, thrashing flukes, roiling tion of Whaling, and even if it does, the seas, and ravening sharks. The skill and Lamalerans’ hunts would still be legal bravery of the lamafa almost beggar be- “under a clause protecting aboriginal lief. Perched at the prow of a wooden subsistence hunts.” (12) The tribe has téna, or local whaling ship, which is 58 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord itself considered “a living being, with Indonesian government to ban whale its soul linked to the bloodline’s Ances- hunting and push the Lamalerans into tors,” (28) the lamafa carefully chooses ecotourism. For the present, Clark his moment before launching both his writes, the Lamalerans “still choose to harpoon and his person at the massive follow the Ways of the Ancestors, and mammal surging alongside. A success- every day that choice is getting harder.” ful strike means the Asian equivalent of (316) Whatever the future holds, Clark a Nantucket sleighride, complete with has done an inestimable service in tell- smoking ropes, rocketing boats, and de- ing their remarkable story. nouements hours and miles later. In or- John S. Sledge der to finish the whale, multiple lamafa Fairhope, Alabama clamber onto its back, driving their har- poons deep, working through several feet of blubber to hit vital organs. Raymond G. Caryl. Catkiller 3-2. An Despite the effectiveness of these Army Pilot Flying for the Marines in ancient methods, they are increasingly the Vietnam War. Annapolis, MD: Na- being eroded by modern convenienc- val Institute Press, www.usni.org, 2018. es like outboard engines—immensely xiii+239 pp., illustrations, appendix, popular with the tribe’s youth—and bibliography, index. US $29.95, cloth; ruinous large-scale fishing practices ISBN 978-1-68247-352-8. (E-book like drift netting and long-line fishing, available.) the latter pursued by foreign trawlers illegally plundering the Savu Sea. On Wartime aerial reconnaissance has land, smart phones, television, mo- been in existence since balloons were torbikes, and the exotic lure of distant first used in the 1700s. Throughout the cities like Jakarta have further loos- 1800s, balloons were the only means of ened the bonds between tribal elders aerial reconnaissance, but the develop- and their offspring. Clark’s admiration ment of the airplane in the 1900s offered for traditional cultures’ advantages— a new technology for aerial reconnais- stronger families, closer connection sance. In the First and Second World to the natural world, and better mental Wars, light aircraft were often used to health—is evident, but this does not di- spot enemy forces, direct artillery fire, minish his appreciation for modernity’s and many other tasks. The develop- gifts. Women have especially benefited ment of the jet aircraft for combat use, from labour-saving improvements like often capable of carrying a large ordi- electricity and running water. Ika, for nance load, gave aerial reconnaissance example, values her culture as much as a new task: the requirement to spot and Frans, but she is also keenly aware that direct attack aircraft to drop bombs and the Ways of the Ancestors have privi- launch rockets accurately against ene- leged “men and the elderly at her ex- my forces and positions. pense.” (173) The Vietnam War saw major uses It is an open question whether the of what was called “Tactical Aerial Lamalerans can preserve their cul- Controllers, Airborne” (TACA.) These ture going forward. Bright lights and pilots often flew light aircraft, exposed social media entice the young, cash to enemy fire and flying at low altitudes, economies subsume barter, overfishing while directing jet aircraft. Catkiller threatens delicate natural balances, and 3-2. An Army Pilot Flying for the Ma- international pressure increases on the rines in the Vietnam War is a memoir Book Reviews 59 of one of those pilots and his year in Caryl flew the Cessna O-1 light air- Vietnam. craft, named “Birddog.” (The Canadi- Raymond G. Caryl enlisted in the an Army flew the same aircraft in the U.S. Army in the mid-1960s and earned 1950s and 1960s with the designation a commission. After completing air- L-19.) The company call sign, “Cat- borne (paratrooper) school, he then killers,” derived from the fact that dogs went through Army flight school and kill cats and since the aircraft the pilots was sent to Vietnam. Here he became flew were named Birddogs, the call part of an historic and, for its time, sign was obvious. The O-1 was a sin- unique assignment: U.S. Marine Corps gle-engine, high-wing, unarmed light (USMC) units were heavily engaged aircraft—perfect for tactical air control. in the Vietnam conflict and quite often Although some O-1s were armed with required air support. Hence, the need machine guns, the normal armament for a TACA to properly direct the air- for a pilot was a carbine and a pistol— craft supporting the USMC units on the which had to be fired by the pilot out a ground. The problem was, the USMC window with one hand on the firearm simply did not have suitable aircraft to and the other hand on the control stick. support its own forces via tactical air Canadian-built aircraft are given a brief control. The solution was to assign an mention—American military use of the Army aircraft company, the 220th Re- DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter and C-7 connaissance Aircraft Company (RAC) Caribou are mentioned in the text—a to support the USMC units. The air- reminder that DeHavilland Canada craft and pilots were Army; due to built rugged aircraft suitable for short USMC insistence that the 220th RAC landing strips in all climates. control the direction of air support, the Caryl’s book brings the human di- aerial observer was a U.S. Marine. This mension of wartime to the reader. He was an uncommon (for its time) occur- writes easily and the narrative does not rence—Army and Marine personnel flag. It is full of combat, crashes, mis- working together. The 220th RAC and haps, victories, leave, the climate, and a few pilots of another Army company, the dangers of his missions, of humor- the 21st RAC, were the only Army pilots ous incidents so common at bases in to combine with Marines. Equally un- wartime when men have to find what- heard of at the time, was the operational ever lightness is available to them. He control of the 220th Company, an Army also does not hesitate to take a light unit, by the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions. tone when such is appropriate. One Caryl spent the period 1967-68 as comment—the book is unavoidably a member of the 220th RAC and this rampant with military acronyms which memoir is a vivid recounting of his time can put a general reader off. Despite in that unit. It makes a valuable addi- Caryl’s thoughtful placement of a list tion to the Vietnam War literature by il- of the acronyms at the beginning of the lustrating a first-person view of combat book, this reviewer spent much time from a perspective not often document- flipping back to that list for the mean- ed. Although the U.S. Army and the ing of an acronym. The illustrations USMC have had a historic rivalry, Cat- support the text. The cover is a colour killer 3-2 shows how warriors from dif- photograph of the author standing next ferent services, with different approach- to O-1, holding a carbine and wearing a es to combat, overcame that rivalry and flak jacket—his only protection against developed close working relationships. enemy fire. 60 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord It is reassuring to know that Caryl not specifically refer to combat arenas, went through his year in Vietnam with- but rather to the locations where the out injury and returned to the USA safe source documents were produced. Re- and sound. He finished his active duty garding the naval operations of France service in 1970 but stayed in various and England, Crawford emphasizes in U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard his Editor’s Preface that such engage- units, this time flying helicopters. He ments of the larger global war were further served the U.S. government as only covered when “directly related to a pilot with first the U.S. Forest Service the role of sea power in the winning of and then the U.S. Customs Service, American independence” (xiv). The retiring from reserve military duty in arrival of French Vice Admiral Com- 1997 and U.S. government civilian fly- te d’Estaing and his fleet in American ing the following year. Not yet ready waters along with the resulting interac- to quit flying, Caryl flew helicopters for tions naturally dominates most of the another six years, first for an Arizona American Theatre documents, while television station and as a contract pilot crew troubles, political wrangling, and flying on forest fires. He finally end- administrative problems pervade the ed his flying career in 2004 after nearly later European documents. Two appen- 38 years in aviation. Caryl served his dices offer an interesting assortment of country in many capacities well. documents as well, with the first chron- This book is one for the aviation en- icling the outcome of New Jersey Mar- thusiast and student of the Vietnam War, itime Court decisions from December not for the maritime enthusiast, but it is 1777 through March 1778, and the sec- a rewarding read and is recommended. ond offering a detailed account of HMS Rainbow’s capture of the ship Marquis Robert L. Shoop de La Fayette. Finally, an extensive in- Colorado Springs, Colorado dex concludes the work. As Crawford states, annotations Michael Crawford (ed.) Naval Docu- and analysis are largely absent from ments of the American Revolution, Vol. this work. The source materials are 13: 1778. Washington, D.C.: naval His- preceded by brief summaries, however, tory and Heritage Command, www.his- consisting of approximately two-and- tory.navy.mil, 2019. xxxvi+1306 pp., a-half pages for the American theatre illustrations, maps, tables, appendices, and two pages for its European coun- notes, index. US $99.00, cloth; ISBN terpart. These sections constitute the 978-1-943694-01-2. majority of historical interpretation for the text, and offer quick and concise This work is the latest addition to the overviews of the major background Navy’s longstanding project to compile events in the war, such as the British records of the American Revolution’s withdrawal from Philadelphia and dip- naval aspects into a chronological com- lomatic manoeuvering in Europe, then pendium, the first volume of which was neatly summarize the naval occurrences originally published in 1964. This, the discussed in the transcribed documents. thirteenth volume, covers records relat- All entries follow the same format, ed to the American and European the- with a bolded day and date preceding atres of operation from June 1 through all entries from said date. Each docu- August 15, 1778. It should be noted that ment is titled, usually with the names the designation of these theatres does of correspondents, such as “Lord North Book Reviews 61 to Earl of Sandwich,” or with informa- neatly summarizes the rapid and some- tion regarding the log, diary, report, or what unprepared nature of early French news outlet that produced the text. In assistance, saying “We also need… the event that the text is an extract, it what was forgotten or refused at Toulon is noted above the transcription, and in [France], for powder without balls does the event of a translation, the original not kill even quails” (972). non-English text is presented first. Any As an aside, the index to this tome is notes associated with the text are locat- impressive in its own right for its thor- ed at the end of the entry. These usually oughness and meticulous nature. The are short notes as to the names of peo- 145 pages of double-columned entries ple or vessels alluded to by the authors, begin with an introductory paragraph, but there can be exceptions, such as explaining choices in terms of spelling, the lengthy transcribed account of the abbreviation, and ship data. Entries of capture of the Loyalist ship Providence individuals and vessels often have de- (260-261). tailed sub-entries, such as the two full The American section takes up the columns of index information provided vast majority of the main text, consisting for Lord Richard Howe alone (1221- of 864 pages, or just over three-quarters 1222). Such an exhaustive and well of the primary documentation. Texts executed undertaking further speaks to range from small annotations taken the dedication of those researchers in- from letters and journals to multi-page volved, and is a magnificently helpful entries, such as lists of vessels captured asset to those searching for a particular by the Royal Navy over set periods and topic. an August 6, 1778 recording of Vice In terms of possible improvements Admiral Viscount Howe’s fleet off to consider for Volume Fourteen, few Sandy Hook (173-176, 715-717). The come to mind. Annotation is largely intermingled documents offer a good up to the chief editor in cases like this, view of the building presence of the and the preference for or against varies French Navy’s arrival off North Amer- from scholar to scholar. One sugges- ican shores, both in terms of physi- tion is somewhat beyond the scope and cal ships and in the more far-reaching function of the document compendium, waves sent through American logistical but might be useful as an appendix: networks and British tactical planning. the visual representation of common- In comparison, the European theatre ly referenced vessels. The inclusion documents take up 275 pages, and are of scaled profiles of ships, akin to the primarily concerned with Franco-Brit- profiles presented on pages 162-165 of ish actions and discontent among the Aidan Dodson’s 2018 work Before the American crews operation in Europe- Battlecruiser, would help researchers an waters. One of the more interest- not only visualize the size and profiles ing pairs of documents in this section of vessels, but give a sense of scale actually refers to the American theatre, to combative actions by allowing for being a back and forth between ambas- quick visual comparison of the size and sador Conrad-Alexandre Gérard and armaments of opponents. Another is Vice Admiral Comte d’Estaing on the the numbering of documents, akin to situation regarding Philadelphia, New what is done by the United Kingdom’s York, and Halifax, along with issues of Naval Records Society within their re- American cooperation and supply (929- cord compilations. Such numbering 930, 953-973). D’Estaing’s ending could be correlated to a quick reference 62 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord index in the back of the work, allowing officer, Rear Admiral Frank Johnson, to for faster identification of relevant re- keep the machine guns covered or even cords and aiding in citation by scholars stowed below decks. Practically speak- referencing specific documents in their ing, Pueblo and its crew were sent on a research. potentially hazardous mission unarmed. All in all, this volume is a fine ad- The North Korean Navy fired on dition to the Naval Documents of the Pueblo, killing one American sailor. American Revolution project. The long To save the lives of his crew, Bucher gaps between volumes are well justified surrendered Pueblo and the ship was by the meticulous and in-depth archival boarded by armed North Korean sail- work which is visible throughout the ors. Bucher and his crew had to sail transcribed and translated documents the ship into Wonsan Harbour, North which otherwise could take lone schol- Korea. Pueblo’s crew was imprisoned ars untold days of searching through for eleven months, frequently undergo- repositories on both sides of the At- ing torture. After many negotiations, lantic Ocean to locate. The inclusion Pueblo’s crew (including the body of of French-language documents in their the killed sailor) was released in late original form also increases the use- December, 1968. fulness for those who understand the The story of the U.S.S. Pueblo has language, and the time period covered remained controversial for the 51-plus makes this an invaluable primary source years since its capture. James Duer- compilation for those interested in early meyer, a retired USN Commander, re- French-American military interactions. lates this tragic story with the advantage of perspective as well as access to con- Charles Ross Patterson II temporary accounts and reactions. He Yorktown, Virginia relates the background to Pueblo’s sail- ing; the United States government was James Duermeyer. The Capture of the short of sea-going intelligence assets USS Pueblo. The Incident, the Aftermath and, therefore, converted several Sec- and the Motives of North Korea. Jeffer- ond World War-vintage cargo ships to son, NC; McFarland Publishing, www. intelligence ships. Equipped with elec- mcfarlandpub.com, 2018. x+199pp., tronics, the ships’ duties were to gather illustrations, notes bibliography, index, intelligence on Communist countries— US $39.95, paper; ISBN 978-1-4766- including North Korea. The ships were 7540-4. (E-book available.) lightly armed, prone to mechanical mal- functions, and not properly equipped On 23 January 1968, a U.S. Navy (USN) with destruct equipment in case of cap- intelligence ship, the U.S.S. Pueblo, ture. The ships’ missions were guided was attacked by units of the North Kore- by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency an Navy—two subchasers, four torpedo (CIA) and the U.S. National Security boats, with support from two North Ko- Agency (NSA), as well as the U.S. De- rean MiG fighter jets. Pueblo’s skipper, partment of Defense and the USN. This Commander Lloyd Bucher, quickly saw multiplicity of government agencies, all the futility of resisting the North Kore- involved in the ships’ missions, was a ans. Pueblo was armed only with two recipe for disaster. Moreover, while .50 machine guns plus some small arms Pueblo itself was captured in interna- available to the ship’s crew. Moreover, tional waters, away from North Korean Bucher had been told by his superior shores, authorities had apparently for- Book Reviews 63 gotten that the 1950-1953 Korean War determined to make Bucher (and his had ended in an armistice, not a peace officers) the scapegoat. The USN op- treaty, so legally, the Korean War was erates on the principle that a ship’s cap- still going on. Moreover, the period tain is responsible for what happens on 1966-1969 saw so many small-scale and to his ship. This is normally a good military actions on the Korean penin- principle, but not in the case of Pueb- sula that that period has been termed lo. The junior officers all testified that “The Second Korean War.” On board a Bucher had not the ability to resist the lightly armed, poorly equipped, break- North Koreans; public opinion, as the down-prone ship, Commander Bucher facts of the capture were related by the and his crew sailed into a potential com- news media, gradually swung towards bat zone against an aggressive enemy. Commander Bucher and his crew. The Pueblo’s capture was a boon to the court of inquiry found that Bucher had Soviets. Lacking enough destruction the ability to resist the North Koreans equipment in case of capture, Pueblo’s but failed to do so; he, along with his crew could not destroy all the docu- intelligence officer were to be given ments they had obtained nor their intel- letters of reprimand and the executive ligence-gathering equipment. The cap- officer was to be given a letter of admo- tured material was quickly sent from nition. As well, Admiral Johnson and North Korea to the Soviet Union. the head of the Naval Security Group The reaction of the American gov- Pacific were to be given letters of rep- ernment was confused. Pueblo’s cap- rimand—a move that would have killed ture came at a terrible time; the Amer- the careers of all those officers. ican involvement in the Vietnam War Fortunately for them, a new Pres- was reaching its apex, while domestic idential Administration took over on troubles dominated the news. The U.S. 20 January 1969, and with it, a new military was stretched to the breaking Secretary of the Navy. John Chafee, a point with its commitment in Vietnam, Second World War U.S. Marine Corps and troops stationed elsewhere. Pres- veteran, who had recently served six ident Lyndon Johnson’s administration years as the Republican Governor of the decided to not pursue military action heavily-Democratic state of Rhode Is- against North Korea in favour of ne- land, knew how important public opin- gotiations—which lasted almost a full ion could be and as well, what the real year. situation was for Bucher and his men. Duermeyer also examines North Chafee dismissed the charges against Korea’s motive for seizing Pueblo and Bucher and the officers recommended its crew, which appears to have been the for discipline and stated that the failure North Korean concept of juche—trans- started from all levels, not just Bucher lated as self-reliance. Far from being a and his men. small part of an overall Soviet-inspired Duermeyer’s book is well-written plan of military and world domination, and researched. He writes easily and North Korea’s capture of Pueblo was the narrative flows smoothly. He deals an independent action by North Korea, deftly with the various issues involved, which was determined to show its inde- from the actual capture scene, to the his- pendent military prowess. tory behind the intelligence ships, the After Pueblo’s crew was released, reasons for North Korea’s actions, the the USN set up a court of inquiry into U.S government’s reaction to Pueblo’s its capture and quickly seemed to be capture, the aftermath, the mistreatment 64 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord of the ship’s crew, and the court of in- These were the times when some quiry. It is clear from this book that Bu- whale-men went to sea with paper, wa- cher and his crew were sent into harm’s tercolour paints, brushes, pen and ink, way without proper armament or equip- and sharp scrimshander’s scribers. The ment. The bibliography lists the many artworks that theses sailors created works on Pueblo’s capture and related were vividly coloured contemporane- sources, including books, articles, gov- ous drawings found in ship log books, ernment documents, and websites, but crewmen’s personal journals and a few Duermeyer’s book suffices as a defin- diaries. The images date from the ear- itive work on its subject. It is highly ly part of the nineteenth century. A recommended. few others are from books, maritime What of the main characters of this broadsheets and intricately engraved tragedy, the U.S.S. Pueblo and Com- scrimshawed souvenir pieces on whale mander Lloyd Bucher and his crew? teeth or bone. The paintings and draw- Pueblo remains in North Korea as a war ings are largely from the collections of prize. It is now berthed on the Taedong the New Bedford Whaling Museum, River at North Korea’s capital, Pyong- the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, yang, as a museum piece and is visit- the Kendall Whaling Museum and the ed by many North Koreans. Most of Mystic Seaport Museum. Pueblo’s crew left the USN over time. Dyer uses various art forms to ex- Commander Bucher attended the Naval amine the details of the vocation of Postgraduate School, earned a graduate whaling, accompanied by texts about degree, held two shore assignments, shipboard life at sea and the tedious and retired from the USN in 1973. He and treacherous job of whale hunting died on 28 January 2004—exactly 36 which was sometimes thrilling, com- years and 5 days after he and his crew monly boring, and often disappoint- were sent into harm’s way ill-equipped ing. Even after locating their prey, and unsupported. there was no guarantee of a successful capture. Some whales fought back, Robert L. Shoop perilous weather could capsize small Colorado Springs, Colorado boats, lines tangled, and whaling gear occasionally broke under the strain of Michael P. Dyer. “O’er the Wide and landing these gigantic creatures. Inju- Trackless Sea.” Original Art of the Yan- ries occurred during the routine voyage kee Whale Hunt. New Bedford, MA: and especially the hunt. These contrib- Old Dartmouth Historical Society/New uted to a host of potential variables that Bedford Whaling Museum, www.whal- interfered with a successful voyage. ingmuseum.org, 2017. 327 pp., illustra- Between sighting whales and lower- tions, bibliography, index. US $65.00, ing whaleboats, a whale-man’s life was cloth: ISBN 978-0-9975161-3-5. a repetitive daily routine of shipboard maintenance and sometimes cruel disci- The Chinese proverb “A picture is worth pline. The most welcome break was the a thousand words” is now a cliché, but sighting of another ship on the horizon, Michael Dyer’s book, filled with a mag- the possibility of exchanging news and nificent collection of drawings, scrim- potential camaraderie. When all these shaw pieces and photographs, is an en- shipboard complexities worked well, tire library about Yankee whaling from and the desired number of whales was its earliest days to the present. found, killed, and processed, the reward Book Reviews 65 was a full vessel— homeward bound. ed specimens to which artist had easy Aboard every whaler was a logbook, access.” (331) Other illustrations show usually a journal, diary, and likely, what one might call a waterline view pieces of scrimshaw that told a whaler’s of anatomic characteristics of the right, story. bowhead, fin, and humpback species. “O’er the Wide and Trackless Sea” Dyer’s book ends with a Clifford features a series of scholarly treatises. Ashley allegorical quote concerning Chapters include whaling as an Amer- the twilight of the whaling industry ican culture, a comparative overview (, 118 (Boston, MA: Houghton, Mif- of log books and journals, recognizing flin, 1926). He describes whale-men landfalls, a gallery of ship portraits, an- as “wrinkly-eyed old men pacing the other of whaling scenes. and finally, an wharves gazing seaward, his seaweed epilogue describing the waning years blown away unheeded, his hoops rust- of Yankee whaling supplemented with ed, his staves dried out, and is oil trick- informative captions that accompany led and seeped down into the earth of each image or group of images. Ex- the wharf unheeded.” (335) quisitely intricate scrimshaw pieces “O’er the Wide and Trackless Sea” provided remarkable details of the hunt is an oddly shaped 11X10-inch volume on their recto and verso sides. These perhaps best read on a table, but it is engraved images reveal the type of oar magnificent on several levels. It isa locks used on some whaleboats, their collection of whaling related artworks, hull construction such as lapstrake a scholarly reference book concerning verses carvel planking and the dates of a now defunct maritime industry and an their usage, when and how sails were enjoyable read that graphically narrates used on these work vessels, and even many whale hunt adventures—and a the racial mixture of the whaling crews. few misadventures. Michael P. Dy- Some whaler’s jargon is also explained; er’s book is likely destined to become for example, to “gam” is speaking with classic about whaling and an excellent others from a whale ship at sea, or an addition to the libraries of all maritime alternate name for a whale pod, while historians. a gall-eyed whale is an animal that is scared off or alarmed. Louis Arthur Norton The artwork contains all sorts of West Simsbury, Connecticut macro-details such as whaling ship design, sail plans and their evolution, drawings of landfalls, recognition aids Norman Friedman. Winning a Future used for determining one’s location, War. War Gaming and Victory in the even the natural history of global places Pacific War. Washington, DC: Naval and the science of cetology are illustrat- History and Heritage Command, www. ed. As Dyer notes, the mostly-amateur history.naval.mil, 2019. xiii+261 pp., artists were fastidious in their whale illustrations, maps, appendices, notes, drawings. In fact, “One hundred years bibliography, index. US $63.00, cloth; before, at the turn of the nineteenth cen- ISBN 978-1-943604-45-6. (E-book tury, the general public little knew what available.) a sperm whale actually looked like. Natural history books of the period pre- Governments change, people change, sented pictures of sperm whales that even religions change, but macro-geog- were often based on desiccated strand- raphy rarely changes (and when it does it’s a long drawn out affair). Why is this 66 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord important? Because the Pacific Ocean It was the frequent war gaming of we know today is very much the same War Plan Orange that enabled the US as it was in 1941 with its various land Navy to accurately predict Japanese masses, coral atolls, huge expanses of actions, test alternative and tactics and, open ocean and a reliance on sea borne most importantly, adjust its force struc- trade and movement for the nations that ture to meet the coming conflict. As border it. Many of the naval and mili- a result, both the US Navy and Army tary planning problems of 1921, 1941 realised that in a coming war, the Phil- and 2021 in this respect are also un- ippines could not be held against a Jap- changed. anese invasion and that it would mean This latest book from the eminent a long ‘island hopping’ campaign to re- strategist Norman Friedman examines cover it and other lost territories. Addi- the role that war gaming, at the United tionally, the games revealed that Japan States Naval War College during in the could ultimately be defeated by cutting inter-war period (1919-1941), played its sea lines of communication (starving in preparing the US Navy for the war it of the raw materials it needed to wage in the Pacific during 1941-45. The US war). To do this, the US Navy required Navy ended the First World War as very fewer battleships and more aircraft car- much a battleship-centric force; but it riers, more aircraft and the pilots to fly had seen the effect that airpower, sub- them, more logistics support vessels to marines, and effective logistics could keep the fleet at sea across significant have on a future conflict. War gaming distances, more submarines to inter- at the college had begun in earnest in dict Japanese SLOCs and a US Marine 1911, but it was Rear Admiral William Corps capable of capturing (or recap- Sims, who had commanded US naval turing) forward operating bases in the forces in the European campaign in Pacific. 1917-18, and was President of the War By the mid 1930s, the War Col- College during 1919-1922, who took lege’s ability to influence higher level it to a new level of importance. As a strategy was waning, but the major de- result, war gaming became a central cisions on US Navy force structure had, part of the curriculum and its outcomes by this time, been made and building keenly examined by the higher eche- and training programs put in place. Al- lons of the US Navy. though the attack on Pearl Harbor was Throughout the 1920s and early not predicted, much of the war gaming 1930s, the War College examined the predictions proved ominously correct various US war plans with War Plan and the US Navy focus on air power, Orange (a potential war with Japan) as logistics (the bullets, beans and black the major consideration. War Plan Red, oil to keep the fleet at sea far from their with Great Britain, as the adversary was home ports) and investment in the US also examined, but mainly as the British Marine Corps amphibious capability were a near peer force. Many US naval were major factors in winning the fu- officers even recommended a formal al- ture war. liance with Britain was needed, in the Winning a Future War has much to face of an increasingly belligerent Ja- offer the current-day reader, as the eyes pan, but Congress was unsympathetic, of the world turn once again to the Pa- with many still seeing the British as a cific Ocean and the potential for yet an- potential enemy; or at least concerned other ‘future war’. about being drawn into another Europe- an war. Greg Swinden Canberra, Australia Book Reviews 67 James Goldrick. After Jutland: The Na- when the ice-enforced inactivity and val War in Northern European Waters, poor relations between the officers and June 1916-November 1918. Barnsley, the lower decks combined to turn the S. Yorks: Seaforth Publishing, www. larger warships into hotbeds of revolu- seaforthpublishing.com, 2018. 332 tionary sentiment. pp., illustrations, appendices, bibliog- The Russians were not unique in raphy, index. UK £25.00, cloth; ISBN this respect, as the Germans faced sim- 9781526742988. ilar problems with the squadrons of the High Sea Fleet. Contrary to popular James Goldrick’s survey of naval com- impressions of a port-bound fleet, this bat in northern Europe during the latter was not the result of inactivity, as Gol- half of the First World War serves as a drick describes a succession of sorties follow-up to his 1984 book, The King’s mounted by Admiral Reinhard Scheer Ships Were at Sea. In that work, Gol- in a continuing effort to create some op- drick, who was, at the time, a lieutenant portunity that might reduce the grow- in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), ing imbalance between their forces and published an Anglo-centric operational the Grand Fleet. Instead, the problem history of the first six months of com- lay with the social distance between bat in the waters between Britain and the officers and men, the inequalities Germany. In his new book, following a between whom were enhanced by the long career in the RAN culminating in increasing hardships caused by the war. his retirement as a two-star admiral, he This problem of resource deprivation picks up his narrative in the aftermath affected the ships as well as the men, of Jutland and expands the scope of his as Goldrick points to the declining fit- coverage to include operations in the ness of the ships as more of a constraint Baltic as well as the North Sea. on operations than was any caution on This latter decision is especially Germany’s part. Faced with limited laudable, as it highlights the interac- opportunities and deteriorating condi- tion between the two theatres. This was tions, the Germans turned increasingly most true for the Germans, who, posi- to new technologies and tactics in an tioned as they were between the seas, effort to win an advantage. Emphasis were ideally situated to transfer their on the use of such weapons as mines, forces from one sea to another in sup- zeppelins, torpedoes, and airplanes is port of their operations. That the Brit- one of the great strengths of this book, ish also maintained a submarine flotilla as the author effectively demonstrates in the region, despite the growing chal- how efforts to employ them influenced lenges they faced in reinforcing it, was operational planning on both sides and a testament to the importance the Admi- foreshadowed the nature of naval com- ralty placed upon operations there. Yet bat in the war that would follow. these were constrained by the Russians, Perhaps foremost among these new whose growing political problems ex- tools was signals intelligence. Goldrick acerbated ongoing morale issues and gives due attention to the efforts of the hampered their ability to confront the Admiralty’s famed Room 40 in decod- Germans as effectively as they might ing German messages, aided by the have under different circumstances. Germans’ excessive reliance upon radio Goldrick is particularly critical of the for inter-ship communication even in Russians’ management of their sailors’ port. As commander of Britain’s Grand time during the slack winter months, Fleet, David Beatty is singled out for 68 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord his appreciation of the value of signals secondary works (albeit with a cou- intelligence, even though its employ- ple of surprising omissions) contain ment was hampered by issues with tim- material only from English-language ing and other factors. This points to an- archives. This constrains the scope of other recurring theme of this book: the his achievement. While deepening our gap between plans and actions. For all understanding of the factors shaping the of the careful planning and new tech- naval war in northern Europe in 1916 to nologies, weather remained the decid- 1918, Goldrick points to how much we ing factor in the outcome of battles, as still have to learn about the complicated wind, fog, and storms intervened to turn nature of the war on that front. carefully staged operations into incon- clusive muddles. This helped make the Mark Klobas war at sea as attritional as the one on Phoenix, Arizona land, with victory in the northern Euro- pean waters in the end won by the side John Henshaw. Liberty’s Provenance. that could best mobilize the manpower The Evolution of the Liberty Ship from and matériel necessary to sustain op- its Sunderland Origins. Barnsley, S. erations over the long term. Here the Yorks: Seaforth Publishing, www.sea- British proved their greatest capability forthpublishing.com, 2019. 128 pp., over the Germans, aided by the increas- illustrations, tables, appendices, notes, ing support provided by the United bibliography, index. UK £25.00, US States Navy from the summer of 1917 $42.95, cloth; ISBN 978-1-5267-5063- onward. While the Royal Navy’s stand- 1. ing suffered from the inability to thwart German raids or stop the U-boat threat, Wars have been won largely by lethal the raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend pro- weapons, but an unsung mode of trans- vided a fillip to morale and presaged portation, a seaborne “eighteen-wheel- other imaginative operations that were er” called the Liberty Ship, performed in the preparation stages when the war an equally critical mission. During the came to an end in November 1918. Second World War, it carried crucial Overall Goldrick’s book is a worthy se- supplies across the North Atlantic to quel to his earlier history of the naval besieged Britain ensuring that nation’s war in the North Sea. By expanding the survival. John Henshaw meticulously scope of his coverage and integrating traces the origins and evolution of this technological innovations and intelli- legendary vessel in Liberty’s Prove- gence efforts, he provides a well-round- nance. ed operational history that incorporates A metaphorical Atlantic bridge factors often excluded from previous of twentieth-century ships was estab- accounts. Yet this book also suffers lished, first to combat the U-boat fleet from many of the same flaws as his of the Central Powers, and later, to foil earlier work. Despite his expanded the Nazis who occupied the western scope, his coverage remains frustrat- European coastline, both of which iso- ingly narrow as he minimizes the role lated the island nation of Great Britain. of the French navy and mentions the German submarines of both wars had reactions of the neutral Scandinavian met with limited success in starving out countries only incidentally. This is, in the British thanks to the convoy system part, a reflection of his sources, which and the efforts of a stalwart merchant while including most of the standard marine. Towards the end of the First Book Reviews 69 World War, the British Admiralty and er for dry or bulk cargo, tanker, collier, Merchant Shipbuilding Advisory Com- troopship, hospital ship, maintenance mittee developed a prototype of a mer- vessel, rudimentary aircraft carrier, air- chant ship that was relatively inexpen- craft box carrier and an aircraft main- sive to build and operate. These vessels tenance ship. Highly skilled American became the workhorses of “The Battle and British shipwrights built the ship of the Atlantic” that lasted from the first using the same plans, but in their own day of the Second World War to its con- distinct way. American yards required clusion, therefore, arguably, the longest detailed drawings and specifications and most important battle of the war. because the workforce was relatively Winston Churchill said “the only thing untrained, its worker pool having been that ever really frightened me during drafted for other defense industries or the war was the U-boat peril . . . the the military. The British, by contrast, dominating factor all through the war. had a long history of apprenticeships. Never for one moment did we forget Their highly experienced shipwrights that everything happened elsewhere, on did their jobs almost intuitively. Hulls the land, at sea, in the air, depended au- were mass-produced on an assembly tomatically on its outcome.” (29) line from prefabricated steel ready-to- Although German U-boats success- run modules. The Americans welded fully sunk many merchant ships, the Al- the sections together, while the British lies’ industrial capability and technolo- commonly used rivets for longitudinal gy were able to replace them. During overlapping plates. Also, the units of the Second World War, the American measurement were slightly different. and British dockyard workers produced Therefore, care had to be taken so that cost-effective vessels commonly known everything fit properly. The propul- as Liberty Ships, a name credited to Ad- sion systems initially varied from sin- miral Emory Scott Land, the head of the gle-screw double-reduction geared United States Maritime Commission. steam turbines to the simple so-called (73) They were easy to repair, yet ex- Scotch boilers. For standardization, the pected to last no more than five years in relatively simple VTE reciprocating en- service. Eighteen shipyards along the gine was adopted for the vessels. They Atlantic and Pacific coasts built 2,710 were mostly oil powered, but because of these vessels, the backbone of a mas- the British Isles were rich in coal, some sive sealift of troops, armament, ordi- ships ran on the alternate fuel. Liberty nance and raw materials to both Atlan- Ships were seaworthy, but slow, with a tic and Pacific theatres of war. maximum speed of about 11 knots. A A decade after the First World crew constantly sailing into harm’s way War, a relatively young English ship needed some one-on-one protection— designer, Cyril Thompson at Joseph at least psychologically, so the ships L. Thompson & Son Limited shipyard were armed with bow and stern guns at Sunderland’s North Sands, came up and port and starboard machine guns with a hull plan that would be fabricated on each side of the bridge. Fortunately, many times on both sides of “the pond.” their bodyguard ships, largely destroy- Liberty Ships were about 441 feet 6 ers and destroyer escorts, had an array inches long, with a 57-foot beam and of more potent defensive weapons. a 37-foot 4-inch draft. Their flexible Henshaw meticulously traces the designs were the epitome of versatility. provenance of the Liberty Ship, from They could be configured as a freight- SS Embassage in 1935, to SS Dor- 70 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord ington Court of 1939, through the Em- maritime historiography of the Second pire Wind and Empire Liberty series and World War. the “Ocean” Class. The final iterations were the Liberty, Fort, Park and Victo- Louis Arthur Norton ry classes that ended roughly with the West Simsbury, Connecticut war’s conclusion. He has made numer- ous detailed scale drawings of the ships and supplements them with many archi- Helen Hollick. Life of a Smuggler. Fact val photographs. Henshaw also discuss- and Fiction. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen es the contribution of the American firm and Sword, www.pen-and-sword.co.uk, of Gibbs & Cox and the remarkable ship 2019. vi+ 170 pp., illustrations, notes, builder Henry J. Kaiser. The Kaiser bibliography, index. UK £14.99, US shipyard is credited with producing the $24.95, paper; ISBN 978-1-5267-2713- Robert E. Peary in four days and 15 ½ 8. hours. However, the author questions its probable unrecorded defects and Helen Hollick successfully brings to “how it would be possible to get three life the assorted adventures of smug- coats of enamel paint, sprayed, rolled or gling, while presenting a historic nar- brushed on and dry in that time.” (69) rative of an illegal trade over several Henshaw praises the American “can centuries. Smugglers thrived along the do” spirit and accomplishments, but English coastline as a need for goods presents strong evidence that the cred- pushed demand for highly taxed items it for devising the so often replicated such as salt, tin, and leather. This later hull plans for the Liberty Ship should evolved into an organized enterprise for go to his fellow countryman, Sir Cyril smuggling tobacco, brandy, and other Thompson. President Franklin Roos- popular commodities. The book com- evelt was unimpressed with the original bines Hollick’s passion for storytelling plans of the emergency cargo ships and (she has published several novels) and called them dreadful looking objects. transforms her vision into an in-depth TIME magazine subsequently called examination of this historic illegal pro- the vessels “ugly ducklings.” (73) Hen- cess. The reader may easily envision shaw, however, feels that this mundane tricks of the trade as smugglers perfect- vessel was the vital implement that se- ed their craft of outwitting the revenue cured the Allies’ victory. The SS John collector. Gradually, this turned into Brown and SS Jeremiah O’Brien are a lucrative business run by unsavory the only two surviving Liberty Ships gangs. Finally, Hollick brings this story and they serve as mobile museums on full circle to its significant role in spark- the east and west coasts of the United ing the American War of Independence. States, respectively. Hollick writes in a reader-friendly Liberty’s Provenance is a relative- fashion, exploring popular pirate slang ly brief scholarly work. It is a capti- and dispensing enticing facts which vating read about a class of ships that prompt readers to delve deeper into perhaps lacked romance, but excelled the book. Highlights include a playful in grit. They were the unrecognized composite of pirate tales and smug- behind-the-scenes toilers in history’s gling folklore passed down through most-costly war in lives and treasure. the generations by witnesses and local John Henshaw’s highly informative historians. Often, smuggling activities book is a seminal contribution to the involved local taverns, which, when in- Book Reviews 71 terest in smuggling lore spiked, inspired For example, she explains how women tavern owners to rename their establish- used hooped skirts to hide contraband ments to capitalize on these sentiments, and explores women who dressed as i.e. The Smuggler’s Inn. For example, men and joined the Royal Navy. Smug- Hollick connects historical fact to fic- glers redesigned water barrels to allow tion by exploring the Jamaica Inn, made them to hide contraband inside, without famous by author Daphne du Maurier fear of a disastrous inspection. Hollick in her 1936 novel Jamaica Inn. Using makes great use of her coastal knowl- popular fiction as an anchor to intro- edge to describe secluded points of en- duce factual elements, Hollick brings try along the English coast which be- smuggling history to life. came benchmarks for evading Customs The author presents a synchronized authority. She also explains how atti- examination of the typical smuggler, tudes to and among smugglers changed who they were, the morality behind over time. Though inspired, the book this trade, and how smuggling evolved lacks detailed references to justify the over time. She explains that during author’s conclusions. A more intense the 1600s, smuggling became a means use of sources would have allowed the of survival in small towns along the reader to understand better the depth of English coast. Fishermen and many the author’s arguments. townsfolk participated in acquiring cer- Finally, the author examines the tain goods while avoiding the King’s American War for Independence, once tax. Participants viewed these as es- more embracing smuggling as a vir- sential items which fishermen bought tuous venture. She details events in from a supplier directly and distribut- Rhode Island which involved the mo- ed to neighbours at a small profit. The lasses trade, the Sugar Act, and how exchange benefitted the community, this type of smuggling activity bruised and therefore, necessitated the cooper- relations between the King of England ation of people within the community. and the colonies. Tax resistance ignited Smugglers operated at night in seclud- events such as the Boston Tea Party and ed locations, entrusting members of led to the formation of the Continental the community with storage assistance Congress. Hollick explores how indi- or as lookouts, and on many occasions viduals like Samuel Adams, the Sons bribed the revenue men to overlook of Liberty and others became American questionable activity. patriots rather than common smugglers Later, organized gangs became in- or rebels and how smuggling evolved in volved in smuggling. This could in- both structure and morality. clude larger groups of 40-50 men, and The Life of a Smuggler is a com- occasionally, hundreds of men. Some fortable and informative instrument for of these gang members used violence all readers. It entertains and educates to circumvent the law, while the law, through the lives of those who partic- in turn hanged men caught smuggling. ipated as smugglers. From an histori- Once the morality of individuals in- cal perspective, the book captures the volved became tainted, members of the essence of smuggling using vivid de- community cooperated, but did not out- tail while expanding our geographical wardly promote smuggling as they had knowledge by tying this trade directly to in previous generations. life on the English coast and elsewhere. Hollick makes use of interesting de- The author successfully illustrates how tails to illustrate the smuggler’s tactics. smuggling shaped the history of coastal 72 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord life, first in England and then into Ja- the preeminent navy, with vast global maica and the American colonies, cel- reach significant in the expansion of ebrating history through the smuggling the British Empire and in the protec- trade. tion of trade, bases and colonies. That navy has often been called “Nelson’s Diana Ritzie Navy.” For that reason the year 1805 is Highlands Ranch, Colorado of signal importance, and the Battle of Trafalgar, the preeminent event, the cli- Peter Hore (ed.) The Trafalgar Chron- max of the age of fighting sail. Inspired icle New Series 3. Barnsley, S. Yorks; students of the naval epoch, realizing Seaforth Publishing, www.pen-and- this 25 years ago, established The 1805 sword.co.uk, 2018. 255 pp. illustra- Club. Its objects were to conserve the tions, notes, index; UK £20.00, paper; graves, monuments and artifacts of peo- ISBN 978-1-4738-9980-3. ple associated with the Royal Navy and the merchant navy during the era of the Here at last, and very welcome, is a vol- Georgian sailing navy. No other orga- ume in this distinguished and imagina- nization is dedicated to the preservation tive series that is devoted to women and of these memorials and relics, which are the Senior Service, mainly in the age vital parts of British and Imperial naval of fighting sail. Not that women have heritage. Since 1990 the Club has con- not been studied elsewhere in the naval served sixty-five graves and memorials context before, ashore or afloat, but this in Britain and overseas, created three collection brings so many of the con- new memorials, arranged events, and stituent parts together—and opens new furthered publications in cooperation vistas. As such, it forms more than the with the leading Seaforth Publishing, sum of the parts. And as such, too, it including Nelson’s Band of Brothers, will form a basis for much further think- one of my favorite books. The annual ing on the subject—and will lead other Trafalgar Chronicle is its flagship, its writers to do more in this important as- leading edge of research and commu- pect of naval affairs. It has often been nication. To be invited to write for its said that if there had been more Emmas pages is a tribute to one’s scholarship there would have been more Nelsons! and to be a member of the Club indi- I leave it to the reader to comment on cates a companionship that covers the this. But it is certain that whereas the seven seas and unites all continents. Naval Service was a world inhabited, (For membership: www.1805club.org) and in large measure controlled, by Captain Peter Hore, energetic males the influence of females was con- champion of naval history, turned his siderable, though not in proportion to attention to the matter of females and their numbers. the Navy. Here is his opening line: Some readers will not be famil- “Women have for various reasons left iar with The Trafalgar Chronicle, so a a light footprint in the sands of histo- word is in order here about this publi- ry, and historians, established—mainly cation and its proprietors. The publica- male historians—have unfairly over- tion has always been a prime source of looked women and their importance information on the Georgian navy, that in the tides of history.” Years ago he is to say, the Royal Navy in the ages of decided to set the record straight, to the Hanoverian or Georgian kings. In correct the imbalance. He called on this era, the Navy rose to greatness as Margarette Lincoln, late Director of Book Reviews 73 Research, National Maritime Museum, most persuasive arguments and tight to present the overall case and to evalu- reasoning. And speaking of Emma, one ate the growing literature on the subject also must include Fanny Lady Nelson. of women’s myriad connections with We know of That Hamilton Woman, the seas. Years ago she had written, Alexander Korda’s film of 1941. But “women’s contribution to British naval who knew that an utterly charming and supremacy in the long eighteenth cen- adorable Fanny had been the subject of tury tends to be neglected or sensation- the silver screen in Nelson (1918)? One alized.” Captain Hore set out to redress of the latter’s screen-stills reads: ”Like the imbalance, and he has done so with most men of genius, Nelson craved for discretion and distinction, bringing in warm-hearted appreciative response. many authors and subjects. Unfortunately his wife lacked the pow- Lincoln herself opens the whole er to supply this, so despite his appar- with a broad and insightful “Women ently happy peaceful home life, he and the Sea.” Then follows Peter James welcomed the opportunity for action.” Bowman’s study of Jane Austen’s naval This “jarring dismissal” is to be found hero, the answer to be found in Persua- in the BFI National Archives along sion (1817). Jo Stanley describes Nel- with the rest that make up this hither- son’s Afro-Caribbean, nurse Cuba Corn- to-forgotten piece. Having authored wallis. Kevin Brown, distinguished my own work on allied subjects, That historian of naval medicine, writes on Hamilton Woman: Emma and Nelson sexual health in Nelson’s Navy. Other (Seaforth, 2016), to coincide with the chapters provide insights into the naval National Maritime Museum’s Emma world, and the one that caught my atten- exhibition, I can attest to the enduring tion was the riveting “Sea Surgeons and fascination with the topic. But the ex- the Barbers’ Company of London,” by hibition never met the expectations of Peter Willoughby. Because I had stud- the managers and patrons, and it gradu- ied closely this subject under the tute- ally disappeared from view and into the lage of my late friend Vice Admiral Sir cabinets of curiosities of the Museum. James Watt, I was particularly pleased I close this review of this wonderful to note that this subject continues to at- contribution to The Trafalgar Chron- tract the best of historians, and also that icles with two quotes. The first, from the documentary material available to Susan Sontag’s Volcano Lover: “People them is indeed rich and extensive. will be very sorry they spoke so cruelly But the allure of this book is nat- of me. One day they will see that they urally and understandably Emma Lady were abusing a tragic figure.” The sec- Hamilton, and one is naturally led to ond comes from W. Clark Russell, the ask the question: “What’s new to say great describer of Nelson: “It is strange about Lady Hamilton?” A great deal, as to observe how the unfortunate Emma it turns out, even a created “Television mingles herself with the life of Nelson. Interview with Emma, Lady Hamil- The student cannot get away from her. ton,” by that imaginative historian Joe She is as a strand in the rope of his ca- Callo, made possible by paranormal reer, and makes herself as much a por- communications. When The Host uses tion of his later life as if she had been a the term mistress in reference to Emma, ship or a battle.” she naturally takes exception, pointing out she was really Nelson’s paramour. Barry Gough, I will leave it to the reader to follow her Victoria, British Columbia 74 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord Edward J. Marolda. Combat at Close within the text, information side bars Quarters. An Illustrated History of the to highlight key issues, concepts and U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War. Annap- technology. The first chapter, written olis, MD: Naval Institute Press, www. by Marolda and Norman Polmar, focus- usni.org, 2018. xi+346 pp., illustra- es specifically on the role of the USN tions, maps, bibliography, index. US in the air war, especially the Rolling $39.95, cloth; ISBN 978-1-68247-195- Thunder Campaign (1965-1968). It 1. examines the status of the USN aircraft technology and the operational realities It has been approximately 44 years of working carriers into Rolling Thun- since the most divisive war in American der. Of particular importance are two history came to an end. To this day, for aspects of the chapter. The first is the a vast number of people, Vietnam re- discussion of the changing technology mains an often-painful enigma. While when it came to the fleet air arm and historians are now delving into the its impact on performance. The second complex history of the conflict, too of- revolved around where carriers operat- ten the information available is sketchy ed as part of the operation and the role or heavily politically biased due to the of the supporting fleet. This included rawness of the events. It is in this envi- Operation Sea Dragon (1966) which ronment that Edward Marolda’s edited brought the gun line to bear on North work Combat at Close Quarters enters Vietnamese lines of communication the historiography of Vietnam. and coastal defenses. Marolda brings a wealth of skill and Chapter two picks up the same basic experience to this effort. Having served approach. In “Green Hell: Warfare on as the Acting Director of Naval Histo- the Rivers and Canals of Vietnam,” Ma- ry and Senior Historian for the United rolda and R. Blake Dunnavent examine States Navy (USN), he was the 2017 the role of the brown water navy in the recipient of the Commodore Dudley W. conflict. This will be more familiar to Knox Naval History Lifetime Achieve- readers who have at least watched films ment Award. His experience with the like Apocalypse Now, which placed a Vietnam War is equally impressive. huge emphasis on patrol boats navi- With nine works under his belt on the gating Vietnam’s countryside which is USN’s role in the conflict, and a sup- interlaced with rivers and canals. This porter and participant in the creation of natural waterway system was exten- Oral Histories, Marolda has a great deal sively used by all sides and the USN of first-hand experience with the mate- needed to maintain a presence here to rial. Ironically, he served in Vietnam interdict supplies and the movement of as an Army Officer, not as part of the forces as well as to support American USN. ground operations. Again, the account In Combat at Close Quarters, Ma- is a fascinating read that provides a rolda acts as both author and editor, great deal of depth to the operations. contributing to three of the four chap- The third chapter, “Nixon’s Trident: ters along with some outstanding schol- Naval Power in South East Asia, 1968- ars. Overall, the text is broken down 1972” by Johan Darrel Sherwood, re- into four chapters supported with the turns to a discussion of the USN’s role usual forward and preface as well as in the Nixon years. An accomplished a list of suggested readings. The text author with four books on the USN is also heavily illustrated and utilizes, and naval aviation during the Vietnam Book Reviews 75 War, Sherwood provides an interesting scale of naval operations is in itself sur- appraisal of the fleet. Starting with the prising. Most telling, however, is the Tet Offensive of 1968 and the election complexity of changing technology and of Nixon, the chapter examines the pe- adapting military power. It presents a culiar air operations during the Viet- very different and important alternative namization of the war. While the US discussion for the Vietnam war that is officially avoided bombing the North, often missing. Yet there are a couple of “protective reactionary” strikes were issues that stand out with the text. As conducted attacking norther air defens- many might expect, it is a history of the es and related materials. Ironically, it is USN in the war and, as such, focuses also the period when American air oper- almost exclusively on that aspect. A ations were expanded to include Laos, secondary impact is it comes across in an effort to interdict the movement of to the reader as a bit too pro-navy and men and material into South Vietnam. thus, biased. Being a very focused In the process, the US made Laos the study, some bias may be inevitable, but third most bombed nation in the world, even if it is occasionally a bit irksome, being outstripped by only Germany and it is not a reason to avoid the book. The Japan in the Second World War. This second issue is more about lay-out. The reached a pinnacle during the 1972 Eas- separate sections focusing on specific ter Offensive when the USN, with only aspects of the war like technology and limited Army and Airforce support, aircraft design are included for very were able to blunt and stop the offen- specific reasons, but somehow seem to sive. detract from the text. They make the The final chapter by Marolda and book feel more like a high school text or Richard A. Mobley, “Knowing the en- a coffee table book and less like a valu- emy: Naval Intelligence in South East able study. This, of course, is a person- Asia,” examine the extensive intelli- al perspective which should not deter gence operations that were an essential anyone from the text. Despite these two hallmark of the Vietnam War. Any kind minor issues, the text is a solid and en- of insurgency/revolutionary war places lightening read. Its dense detail makes a great deal of emphasis on both find- it an excellent addition to a reader’s li- ing the combatants in a sea of civilians brary. but also in identifying the key political issues and forces at work within the Robert Dienesch country. Once identified, in theory, they Truro, Nova Scotia can then be utilized to the advantage of the government. Of course, the story of Joseph McKenna. British Blockade Vietnam is resplendent with examples Runners in the American Civil War. of intelligence operations run amok. Jefferson NC: McFarland, www.mc- Stories of drug smuggling and other il- farlandpub.com, 2019, vii +209 pp., legal activities tend to draw most read- illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, ers’ attention. This chapter helps bal- index. US $49.95, paper; ISBN 978-1- ance that by outlining the scale of the 4766-7679-1. (E-book available.) operations. Overall, the text of Combat at This book is a detailed account of Brit- Close Quarters provides a fascinating ish and British-built Confederate block- read and presents a great deal of in- ade runners in the American Civil War credible material to the consumer. The of 1861-1865. It describes the econom- 76 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord ic basis of the trade and the cargoes in were successful as the Union had no- and out, along with exciting accounts where near enough warships to mount of the runners dashing through the an effective blockade. By mid-1862, blockading squadrons (and sometimes however, the blockade was becoming getting caught). As for the ships them- more effective and a change of tactics selves, the records of the prize courts was required. provide detailed information about It was quickly perceived that the those ships that had been captured by best type of blockade runner was ex- the U.S. Navy, as well as their cargoes, emplified by the paddle steamers that while shipbuilders’ archives, newspa- connected Glasgow with the numerous pers and correspondence both official settlements on the Clyde estuary. They and personal contributed a rich lode of were small and fast with a shallow draft information. It was not that the builders that could get over sandbars where the and owners were broadcasting details Union gunboats could not follow. They of their activities in what was, suppos- were bought by British entrepreneurs edly, a clandestine activity, but the scale and registered as both British merchant of construction was such that it was im- ships as well as Confederates vessels. possible to hide it from the press and Cargoes were carried by larger ships to the Illustrated London News. Bermuda, Nassau and Havana and there While the North was an industri- transferred to the runners that took them alized society, the South was agrarian. through the blockade to Confederate To wage a war, it would need armament ports: Wilmington, Charleston, Savan- and many other items that could only nah and St. Augustine on the East Coast come from Europe. They would be and Mobile, New Orleans, Galveston paid for with cotton and tobacco. On and the Mexican port of Brazos in the 19 April 1861, President Lincoln issued Gulf of Mexico. A typical cargo could a proclamation of a blockade. This had include thousands of rifles, hundreds the unintended effect of defining the of thousands of rounds of ammunition, Confederate States as a separate coun- perhaps cannon, uniforms, cloth, and try, which was then promptly recog- medicines as well as luxuries and fine nized by Britain and France. wines. The outward cargo was chiefly After describing the legal and dip- bales of cotton plus tobacco and resins. lomatic events at the instigation of the Due to the high prices being paid by the blockade, McKenna turns to its imme- British mills for cotton, this traffic was diate effects. The chief Confederate immensely profitable: two successful naval agent in England throughout the voyages could more than pay for the conflict was James D. Bulloch, who ship. The crews were well paid and was tasked with purchasing or con- the personal danger was not great. If structing suitable ships, to be fitted out intercepted, the ship and cargo would as commerce raiders (like the famous be seized and any Americans in the Alabama) or as blockade runners. Bull- crew would become prisoners of war, och acquired comparatively large ves- but neutrals (British, for the most part) sels, expecting them to run from Britain would be released after a few weeks. directly to Southern ports. They wore Some of the captured ships were tak- the Confederate ensign and the captains en into the United States Navy; others were in the Confederate Navy, although would be sold at a prize auction. After most were ex-U. S. Navy, while the passing through a few owners, they of- crews were mainly British. At first, they ten returned to blockade running, as did Book Reviews 77 the crew. Some of the British-owned render. Blockade running crews, who ships were commanded by Royal Navy had made good money while it lasted, officers who had temporarily relin- went back to regular merchant service, quished their commissions and sailed the Royal Navy officers reclaimed their under assumed names. The Admiralty commissions and the ships were sold. does not seem to have objected to this. Several ended up in Bedford Basin McKenna next surveys the ship- in Halifax, including the Druid (nine building centres around Britain. At successful runs) which was bought by most British shipyards “Clyde Type” the Government of Nova Scotia and in vessels were being built as blockade 1867 and turned over to the Canadian runners. These ships were long and Department of Marine and Fisheries. narrow, about 200 ft long, 23 ft wide She served until 1901. had a draft of 10 ft or less and were reg- This is a very good account of an istered at about 350 tons. An excellent important aspect of the War between illustration of their simple, efficient de- the States. The Confederacy could not sign is found on p.94. By the end of the have lasted six months without the arms war, these ships were attaining speeds and other supplies brought in by the of 18 knots, faster than any existing blockade runners. Even if you already warship. They were built of iron, with have Lifeline of the Confederacy by a few of steel (an early use of this ma- Stephen R. Wise, (University of South terial). Those that had screw propellers Carolina Press, 1988), it should not de- instead of paddles were twin screw (to ter you from getting this book. They keep the draft small). This section is il- cover the same events but with different lustrated with contemporary prints and emphases. Positive accounts of any- photographs. thing Confederate are much criticized The next chapter lists the known these days, but we must not let political ships alphabetically, with the number of correctness prevent us from recounting runs by each through the blockade and what actually happened. describes some of the exciting escapes and captures. Blockade runners were C. Douglas Maginley not armed: to fire on a Union warship Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia would have been considered piracy. If intercepted, they surrendered. While Leonard Noake (author) and David some were caught on their first or sec- Creamer (ed.) Recollections of an un- ond trip, others accomplished 20 and successful Seaman. Caithness (UK): reputedly 30 runs. Overall, about 75% Whittles Publishing, www.whittles- of their voyages were successful. publishing.com, 2018. 178 pp., illustra- The last part of the narrative de- tions, notes. £ 18.99, US $ 24.95, paper- scribes what happened as the Confeder- back; ISBN: 978-1-84995-393-1. ate military situation declined. By 1865, the blockade had become very effective Whenever assigning a book review in as Union forces were capturing the des- one of my classes on maritime histo- tination ports or the forts that guarded ry, I recommend that students avoid an their entrance. Confederate money was autobiography or a memoire. This is no longer being accepted in Europe because a review should be a discourse and payments were made in “cotton on the (scholarly) argument put forward bonds”—a promise to supply so many in the book under review and a discus- bales of cotton. Then came the sur- sion of its contribution to the field. For 78 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord obvious reasons, most autobiographic being truly multinational (12) with at works do neither a scholarly argument least nine nations represented illustrates nor do they contribute to the existing one of his main goals, which is to pres- body of knowledge, except as primary ent a critical account of the living and source material. working conditions within the British When agreeing to review Recol- merchant marine. His analysis contin- lections of an Unsuccessful Seaman I ues throughout the book, culminating in had this issue in mind, but must say a fictional radio interview written by the that I was pleasantly surprised. This is author himself as the last chapter of the not just another set of recollections and book. sea-stories, but a carefully selected col- Except for the very pick of positions lection of autobiographical experiences in the Merchant Service, (and even compiled by Leonard Noake. The result these are very ill paid) the profession is a coherent argument, and thus, a book of an officer in the British Mercantile definitely well suited to be reviewed. Marine is an extremely poor one, in ev- Noake wrote the manuscript in ret- ery possible way. (159) Noake’s sum- rospect and, in fact, while in hospital marizing comment might not come as after receiving a terminally ill diagnosis a real surprise for many maritime his- at age 42. Writing the manuscript and torians, but is definitely a counterpoint creating the drawings accompanying to the way the merchant marine is way the book was a way to occupy himself too often portrayed in popular histo- while in hospital and knowing that he ry publications. The same applies to had an incurable disease. his comments on local stevedores and Born in 1887, Noake joined the foreign crews temporarily joining the maritime industries in 1903 and start- ships while working the African coast. ed serving as an officer in 1908. Aside He not only notes the living conditions from a few short stints on land, he of these men (4) but also observes that served on a wide variety of British mer- officers gained personal profit by offer- chant vessels of all sizes right up to the ing passage to native passengers and point when he was hospitalized. charging ‘excessive luggage fees’ (6). Organized chronologically, Noake’s A small collection of photos and book provides easily readable insights watercolours painted while he was into the British merchant fleet without hospitalized and working on the manu- the slightest hint of drama. More im- script completes the book and provides portantly, he seems to be one of the very a good insight into the author’s special few merchant sailors whose autobiogra- type of humour. Fortunately, his great phy does not try to make himself a kind nephew, David Creamer, recognized the of hero. This might be explained by the manuscript’s potential and preserved fact that the manuscript was not origi- the original tone of the text while tran- nally intended for publication, but writ- scribing and editing it for publication. ten for his family in the certain knowl- When assigning a review to my stu- edge he was dying. It seems particularly dents, I always ask them to conclude relevant in the chapters dealing with the with a recommendation. While I for- First World War and his service on mer- tunately ignored my own advice not to chant vessels supplying the Allies with review an autobiographical work, I’ll all kinds of goods from the Americas, obey this second suggestion. Recol- including substantial numbers of hors- lections of an Unsuccessful Seaman is es. Noake’s description of one crew as definitely to be commended: to the ca- Book Reviews 79 sual reader interested in maritime his- and hesitant responder to the Royal Na- tory, because it provides a counterpoint vy’s innovation, which revolutionized to most other comparable accounts; to battleship configuration and design and the maritime historian, because it is a was copied by other great powers, no- primary source allowing one to take a tably Germany, with alacrity and com- good look at the history of the British mitment. While the naval race between merchant marine and, in particular, the Great Britain and Germany dominated social and labour history of the trade; the decade and a half before the Great and finally, to a general audience long- War, the shift to the dreadnought-type ing for the ‘good old days,’ as it clearly was adopted by all who wished to de- shows that they might not have been scribe themselves as serious maritime that good, but that all kind of issues powers. Why did France hang back? related to international labour markets, As recounted by Noppen, there wage differentials between developed were several reasons for French reluc- and less developed parts of the globe, tance. Foremost was finance. France living and working conditions for (in- was fully committed to the land de- ternational) crews on merchant ma- fence of the country from the very real rine vessels that existed a century ago. threat posed by Germany, a threat that While Recollections of an Unsuccessful was fully realised in 1914. Funds avail- Seaman can be an entertaining evening able for the Marine Nationale were read, it deserves to be read as a serious consequently limited. This difficulty and critical account. was compounded by a shipbuilding infrastructure that was ineffective, in- Ingo Heidbrink efficient and obsolete. Indeed, French Norfolk, Virginia investment in its navy had languished for decades, notably encouraged by the Ryan Noppen. French Battleships navy’s seeming irrelevance in the cat- 1914-1945. Oxford, UK: Osprey Pub- astrophic defeat in the Franco-Prussian lishing, www.ospreypublishing.com, War of 1870-71. The years thereaf- 2019. 48 pp., illustrations, bibliography, ter were dominated by the thinking of index. UK £11.99, US $19.00, CDN the Jeune École, which conceded that $25.00, paper; ISBN 978-1-4728-1819- matching the power of the Royal Navy, 5. then considered France’s most probable enemy, given the many points of fric- Osprey Publishing, familiar to many, tion in the troubled relationship with is renowned for its high-quality short Great Britain, was infeasible. To inflict monographs on military and naval sub- any check at all on Great Britain would jects from all time periods. This par- be a stretch, but the best method to do ticular one examines the French navy’s so was a guerre de course against Brit- experience with battleships in their hey- ish merchant shipping with speedy ar- day—from prior to the Great War to the moured cruisers. Battleships had little end of the Second World War. to offer in this assessment. In the case of France, the Marine The immediate pre-war years wit- Nationale was late to the dreadnought nessed the establishment of the Entente game as unleashed by Great Britain’s Cordiale with Great Britain in 1904, Royal Navy with the rapid construction once the remaining issues, mainly co- and commissioning of HMS Dread- lonial, had been resolved. France es- nought in 1906. France was a reluctant sentially assumed that the Royal Navy 80 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord would look after the security of the had an ‘interesting’ career during the French Atlantic and Channel coasts, Second World War in a political sense, while it could concentrate on the Medi- but rather less so as fighting warships. terranean threats posed by Austria-Hun- This complicated history is skilfully gary and Italy. The battleships that were sketched out by Noppen. built in the years prior to the First World The Osprey oeuvre is noted for its War were designed with these threats in strength in photographs, line drawings mind. The first modern dreadnoughts, and illustrations. This example is no of the Bretagne class, were not com- exception to these well-established pleted until 1916. The battleships of the standards. French Battleships 1914- preceding Danton and Courbet classes 1945 is well served in all these areas, were hybrids, and were dated on com- particularly with the photographs that pletion in comparison with other navies, illuminate the text. The drawings are including those of France’s Mediterra- superb. As history, the book is entirely nean rivals. Neither class was a match derivative from secondary sources but for contemporary dreadnoughts of the that is not a criticism as there is no pre- British, German or American navies of tence that it is expected to uncover new this period. Noppen clearly describes ground in a very brief account. What it this circumstance, thus providing good does do is provide a quick summary of context for French decisions and its its topic and is accompanied by the full relatively small battleship investment panoply of illustrations that combine to during this period. form a very attractive package. On that Noppen’s narrative includes a brief basis, this book is recommended. operational history of the battleships during the Great War, the interwar pe- Ian Yeates riod thereafter, and concluding with Regina, Saskatchewan the Second World War. As the locus of the naval war during the First World Ronald C. Po. The Blue Frontier. Mar- War was in the North Sea, and since itime Vision and Power in the Qing the threats from Austria-Hungary and Empire. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Italy were nugatory, transient or trans- University Press, www.cambridge.org, lated to an ally, that history was largely 2018. xvi+292 pp., illustrations, maps, uneventful. Indeed, the crews experi- tables, appendices, notes, bibliography, enced significant boredom which led to index. CDN $114.95, cloth; ISBN978- a number of postwar mutinies. The in- 1-108-42461-5. ter-war period did not alleviate the for- mer problem, and French finances and China’s ‘century of humiliation” be- shipbuilding capacity remained prob- gan after the country lost a war on lematic. The Washington Treaty and drugs (1839-1842) against the United its follow-on negotiations meant almost Kingdom, a conflict known as the First no new battleships were built and these Opium War. Opium was grown in India in the mid- to late 1930s. The ships of and sold in China under British super- the Dunkerque and Richelieu classes vision. When the Qing government re- were, like their contemporaneous King sisted against the import, Britain resort- George V class battleships of the Roy- ed to gunboat diplomacy, which led to al Navy, built in accordance with treaty another Opium War from1856 to 1860. limitations. They were alone in this re- The defeat of China made way for oth- gard. The four ships of the two classes er foreign powers such as France, Rus- Book Reviews 81 sia, the United States and Japan to also and the annexation of offshore islands, invade and conquer parts of China to shoals and sandbars. (Present day China expand their trade and empires. For seems to have adopted similar policies). China, the humiliation finally ended in Apart from rampant piracy, things re- 1997 when, after 156 years, Britain re- mained relatively quiet for a long time. turned rule over Hong Kong to China This peace at sea was a major cause of and the term “unequal treaties” was ar- the decline in the Qing’s naval develop- chived in the realm of history. ment. With no stimulus for innovation The Qing dynasty (1644-1912), and naval reform, and no need to adopt with its 14500 kilometres of coastline, foreign military techniques, the empire had been integrated into Asia’s nine- missed out on many opportunities to teenth century maritime world through strengthen and reinforce itself as a mar- its maritime militarization and seaborne itime power. shipping. Like its predecessor, the In the last quarter of the eighteenth Ming dynasty, the Qing developed a century, the Qing dynasty faced a host maritime consciousness. Among its de- of challenges: corruption, nepotism, fining factors were ecology and the ge- factional struggles, administrative dis- ography of the coast and the scale and array, fiscal weakness, explosive popu- type of activities the state employed in lation growth, inflation and a low rice using the channels and resources of its production. On top of that, the gov- waters and economic linkages. To reg- ernment was confronted with popular ulate, monitor and oversee expanding unrest; rebellions like the Miao Revolt markets, as well as to administer their (1797-1806), the White Lotus Rebel- maritime area, navy and customs office lion (1796-1804) and the Lin Shuangw- in a proper manner, the Qing devised a en rebellion (1787-1788) proved that system of rules and regulations. Their the government was incapable of orga- navy was organized and funded to deal nizing an army that could swiftly put an with known enemies. The naval forces end to negative sentiment. In these con- sent by Britain were of an entirely dif- flicts more than 100,000 people died. ferent order of magnitude. Even worse, the myth of an almighty The Qing considered their coastal government died with them. waters as an inner sea. The outer sea The Opium Wars and the Sino-Jap- was beyond the purview of adminis- anese war (1894-5) dealt heavy blows trative governance and economic ex- to the Great Qing by draining its trea- traction. A frontier was middle ground sury and exposing its ineptitude in bat- or an in-between space that facilitated tles at sea. The war against Japan was the flow of people, ideas and commodi- the climax of China’s ‘century of hu- ties. The border between the inner and miliation’. It was a disastrous defeat for outer sea fluctuated with shifting geo- China, both politically and economical- graphic political and cultural factors. ly. Unlike the European powers of the The government focused mainly on time, the Qing navy was not designed to expanding their empire to the west since pursue territorial expansion on the high China had no external threats on its seas. Its aim was to assist the state in eastern and southern shores. Compared safeguarding maritime trade. The Qing to the Ming navy which was focused navy played a significant role in moni- on naval defence, the Qing navy had toring and policing its maritime frontier, a more professional structure that sup- which included suppressing marauding ported the national interest in expansion pirates. Against invading foreign na- 82 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord val powers, however, it was no match, propagandistic terms, most notably in lacking funding, organization, ships the case of the ubiquitous Battle of Sa- and equipment. Failure to compete left lamis against the Persians. Combining China to endure defeat, plunder, occu- modern scholarly research, archaeolog- pation and unequal treaties as ultimate ical evidence, and the primary source consequences. writings of key ancient authors, Rees The author is successful in shed- selects battles from four main docu- ding light on the maritime policies of mented conflicts and examines them in the Qing navy and the theories behind a standardized format. Each conflict it. At first glance, this book is aimed studied opens with a contextualizing at maritime historians, as an attempt to introduction, then each subsequent bat- right historic wrongs. One could also tle begins with a listing of the primary consider it as an apology, or perhaps an sources, followed by sections on the explanation, for China’s in-your-face background, forces, battle, and after- maritime policies of today. math. The work is bookended by an introduction into Greek naval technol- Jacob Bart Hak ogies and tactics along with a glossa- Leiden, The Netherlands ry of common terms. The conclusion describes the evolution of late Archaic Owen Rees. Great Naval Battles of and Classical naval warfare. Detailed the Ancient Greek World. Barnsley, S. endnotes, a selected bibliography, and a Yorks: Pen and Sword Maritime, www. short index are also included. pen-and-sword.co.uk, 2019. xii+219 The four conflicts analyzed are the pp., illustrations, maps, glossary, notes, Persian conflicts, the Archidamian War, bibliography, index. UK £19.99, US Ionian War, and the warfare of the early $32.95, cloth; ISBN 978-1-47382-730- fourth century; all are largely self-con- 1. tained, as are their internal chapters. Introductory texts provide the frame- This work is a chronology of the record- work for each of the engagements, just ed large scale naval engagements of the as the primary introduction establishes ancient Greek world, from the Battle of the basic framework of Greek naval Lade in 494 BC through the Battle of equipment and doctrine. Rees presents Cnidus in 394 BC. Author Owen Rees both sides of the engagements as equal- initially undertook this as a chapter in ly as possible, given surviving sources, his work about ancient Greek land bat- and does an admirable job with some of tles, but at the suggestion of his editor, the less well-documented engagements. agreed “to bring the multitude of naval While the first section on the Persian engagements… into a broader modern Conflict recounts the earliest chronicled awareness” (ix). This has always been and best known Greek naval battles at somewhat problematic for scholars, Lade and Salamis, the three engage- for while naval warfare was intrinsic ments of the Archidamian War “show to the Greek method of war, ancient the range of fighting systems available sources seem to assume that their read- to Greek fleets,” albeit largely from the ers already knew a great deal, and did perspective of Athenian writers and not need to explain everything. Rees, commanders (39). The Ionian War re- therefore, focuses on those engage- ceives the most analysis, as this later ments importance enough to demand stage of the Peloponnesian War saw ex- some elaboration, albeit sometimes in tensive documentation survive regard- Book Reviews 83 ing the warring leagues of the Classical engagements are harder to map, but the superpowers. While less widely known addition of two or possibly three more than Salamis, Rees covers the critical detailed depictions of the battles would Battle of Aegospotami and resulting greatly help the lay reader to visualize destruction of the Athenian navy with- the battle. in this section, marking the beginning Great Naval Battles of the Ancient of the end for Greek naval supremacy. Greek World is a fine introductory text The final chapter examines the major to the study of the late Archaic and naval engagements of the Greco-Punic Classical periods. Rees’ style of writ- War and Corinthian War, showcasing ing is excellent, with a good flow and the creation of the quinquereme amidst scholarly air without any signs of com- the rise of Carthage, and the dissolu- ing across as wooden or clinical in its tion of Panhellenic sentiment against dissertation of facts. Given the relative the backdrop of another Greco-Persian scarcity of ancient naval warfare analy- conflict (143-144). ses among recent publications, this text In addition to the main text, Rees’ is a worthwhile addition to the histo- endnotes are quite helpful and informa- riography of pre-Hellenistic Greek na- tive. While some are simple citations val engagements and tactics. of specific sources, others are more detailed analyses containing informa- Charles Ross Patterson II tion that would have otherwise broken Yorktown, Virginia the flow of the main text, but are nev- ertheless of interest to scholarly work. Helen M. Rozwadowski. Vast Expans- This includes details like calculations es. A History of the Oceans. Chicago, of naval expenditures based on pay IL: The University of Chicago Press, scales provided in the writings of Thu- www.uchicago.edu, 2019. 268 pp., il- cydides, examinations and explanations lustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, of choices in regard to more contested index. US $25.00, cloth; ISBN 978-1- pieces of the primary source narratives, 78023-997-2. and citations for alternative scholar- ly interpretations for those interested This powerful progressive text demands (193, 201). For those seeking further that we accord the ocean its history, free research and viewpoints on any of the from the romantic, anthropomorphic selected engagements, these endnotes and gendered language of the past, and add a great deal to potential research of accept the reality that the human role in the topic, as well as providing a better the story is one of destruction: without understanding of several of the larg- humans the oceans would recover from er contentions in the modern scholarly all the their current problems, revers- historiography of Ancient Greek naval ing centuries of exploitation, pollution warfare. and folly. All of those who go down to In terms of possible improvements, the sea in ships, books or other media the primary suggestion would be more will profit from reading Helen Rozwad- maps. Understanding land and sea en- owski’s timely, concise and compelling gagements is always easier with an il- book. As a historian of the seas, focus- lustration, although when they are sim- sing on ocean science, environmental plified down to a single graphic fora issues and public history, Rozwadow­ multi-stage engagement, some details ski’s text has obvious resonance with can be lost. Naturally the less detailed the Maritime Studies programme she 84 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord has founded at the University of Con- lighthouses, do not need a crew. necticut. It is both an overview of cur- The absence of humans has obvi- rent thinking and a programme for fu- ous implications for writing about the ture development. As humanity slowly oceans. As Jonathan Raban noted, sea comes to accept that the sea is essential literature is rarely concerned with the to its future on this planet, we will need sea since most of us run out of ideas such sound guidance. This book will when confronted with such an alien reach audiences around the world, as space, while the purpose of seafaring maritime studies proliferate, and a wid- has always been to journey from one er public becomes increasingly aware piece of land to another, or to bring of the issues that face their oceans go- back an ocean harvest to the land. It is ing forward. not a place to live, and few who spend While mankind was shaped by the much time on it have the luxury of time sea, the sea only acquired a written his- to reflect. In rare cases, Melville and tory as ocean-facing communities be- Conrad for instance, men of the sea gan to interact. It was no accident that found an oceanic voice back on shore, the Phoenicians developed a simple and mined the deeper resonances of the writing system to support commerce, oceans as a place of work and wonder. or that the Greeks adapted it. The so- Elsewhere mariners’ words have been cieties used the sea to escape the lim- adopted and repeated by landlubbers, its of their terrestrial context, for trade, who, like Shakespeare in The Tempest, war and culture. The Illiad is, at heart, locate their drama ashore. about trading relationships, and oceanic While the resources that first drew power projection in the Aegean. Trade men onto the oceans are more attractive promoted ocean science, from astral than ever, rising demand for protein, navigation to submarine telegraph ca- hydrocarbons and metals has sparked a bles, industrial development and a new critical legal and intellectual shift from form of imperialism, the sea empires of open seas to EEZs: what was once free Athens and Carthage. is now subject to legal regimes that seek In the twentieth century human to continentalize ocean space. The le- exploitation of the oceans accelerated, gal structures of UNCLOS II of 1982 while new, more invidious pollutants provide a basis for international juris- began to challenge the ability of the diction on these offshore claims. The seas to regenerate. Today the ocean is People’s Republic of China, however, primarily viewed as a playground for recently refused to accept an adverse the fortunate, and a workplace for a judgement concerning its claims in strikingly low percentage of the world’s the Western Pacific Basin, leaving the population. Massive ships, economies whole system of regulation in crisis. of scale, container shipping and auto- Carving up the oceans into offshore mation have stripped the seas of their provinces on the basis of national pow- workers, at a time when the global pop- er, which is at the core of the current ulation is expanding rapidly, concen- dispute, is a truly terrifying prospect. trating on the coast, and becoming ever Large continental empires have consis- more dependent on oceanic resources. tently treated the ocean with contempt, The rise of the sea-based wind turbine as an inconvenient, alien, barrier to the has provided a new way to exploit the extension of Imperium, the locus of di- seas, without increasing the sustainable sasters and a space that had to be domi- workforce. Wind turbines, like modern nated. Owned seas just might be treated Book Reviews 85 with more concern, policed against pol- his reminiscences involved an exten- lution, over-fishing, and other abuses, sive file of his letters to his family that and the political will of landed popula- has since been discarded. These letters tions might be mobilized to serve their provided a framework for Schofield and own interests. While environmental were certainly not quoted to any great altruism may shape the debate, some extent at all. Indeed, references to his countries are culturally attuned to see family life are almost non-existent. the sea, but most are not. Vast Expanses Truly, his first commitment was to the has the capacity to advance understand- Royal Navy at a cost to his personal life ing, extend engagement and promote a that contemporaneous society would more sophisticated view of our respon- likely find inconceivable and unaccept- sibility for the future of oceans. This is able. At his time such devotion to the a work of the first importance for stu- Service was quite normal. That there dents of the sea. was a cost is evident in that his first marriage ended in divorce in 1941, af- Andrew Lambert ter some nineteen years, at a time when London, United Kingdom divorce was quite unusual. Schofield’s career of some 42 years B.B. Schofield. With the Royal Navy in was extensive and varied. His sea-go- War and Peace—O’er the Dark Blue ing experiences started in HMS Indom- Sea. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen and Sword itable and a Mediterranean cruise in Books, www.pen-and-sword.co.uk, 1913-14. He clearly enjoyed his life as 2018. xviii+270pp., illustrations, maps, a midshipman, the port visits and the notes, index; UK £25.00, US $49.95; excitement of service in the Royal Navy ISBN 978-1-52673-647-5. at its heyday. Schofield’s Great War in- volved service in little ships, primarily Vice Admiral Brian Schofield is known with the Harwich Force under Commo- as a naval historian who wrote a num- dore Reginald Tyrwhitt. He was pro- ber of books in the 1950s and 1960s on moted to Lieutenant at this time, serv- the subject of the Royal Navy’s Sec- ing ultimately as Executive Officer in ond World War. His service, howev- HMS Torrid. Schofield’s war service er, stretched from his years at Osborne is an important reminder of the efforts and Dartmouth Colleges as a pre-war made to control the Channel and south- midshipman starting in 1908. He re- ern portion of the North Sea from both tired as a Rear Admiral, appointed Vice the German High Seas Fleet as well as Admiral at that point, in 1950. His ca- from submarines and light surface forc- reer spanned the first half of the twen- es. It was a constant struggle that has tieth century and the Royal Navy’s last been almost completely overshadowed years as a global force. Not for him the by the drama of the great battlefleets. dispiriting descent into the second or Life in the interwar years saw even third rank of naval powers of the Schofield serve in HMS Renown for 1950s and beyond. the Prince of Wales’ visit to Canada in It may seem a rather late publication 1919, training as a navigator and serv- of his memoirs that were written in the ing in a variety of warships in home and mid-1950s. The book has been com- Mediterranean waters. Schofield was a piled by his daughter, Victoria Schof- linguist and also served as an interpreter ield, from his drafts, which were in the and translator in both French and Italian family’s possession. The sources for for whichever fleet he found himself. 86 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord After qualifying as navigator for ‘big waning. Schofield the man comes ships’, he served in a number of battle- across as a personable and thoroughly ships, as well as assuming staff posts competent individual who served his both ashore and afloat. In 1938 he was country well and enjoyed considerable promoted captain and was sent to Paris success in his profession. He had the and Brussels as assistant naval attaché. good fortune to be at the centre of many The outbreak of the Second World War critical events during the Second World saw him relinquish this function on the War, particularly when with the Trade defeat of France and take command of Division, and was an astute observer the light cruiser HMS Galatea in 1940. as to the reality of things vis-à-vis the In early 1941, he assumed his most im- relative position of Great Britain and portant post as Director of Trade Divi- the United States. He never expressed sion at the Admiralty and so was central- resentment over this circumstance, ac- ly involved in fighting the U-boat war. cepting it as inevitable and with good This task saw him interact directly with grace. Schofield, indeed, was one of the highest levels of command—naval those officers responsible for ensuring and civil—in both Great Britain and the the good working relationship between United States. He witnessed import- two very unequal partners and, in con- ant meeting such as that at Argentia, cert with his peers and superiors, was Newfoundland, in late December 1941, certainly successful. between Churchill and Roosevelt, the We are, therefore, quite fortunate Casablanca Conference in 1943, and that Schofield’s family saw fit to publish numerous sessions in Washington and this memoir. As editor, Victoria Scho- London. Schofield’s recollection of field lets her father speak for himself, various discussions with the formidable but has added short notes at appropriate Admiral E.J. King, USN is of consid- points to provide context for certain ep- erable interest. He took command of isodes that will be unfamiliar to many HMS Duke of York in the months before today. These are never intrusive and its engagement with the Scharnhorst, will be of value to some. The collection leaving in November 1943 to take on of photographs included is well done, HMS Dryad, the navigation school. as are the footnotes (which overwhelm- While there he was directly responsible ingly involve providing details of indi- for converting the school into the head- viduals identified in the narrative, who quarters for General Eisenhower and are largely unknown today), and the Admiral Ramsay ahead of the Norman- maps. Indeed, the latter are quite help- dy invasion. Schofield finished the war ful and artfully executed. There is no in command of HMS King George V in bibliography outside the footnotes. the closing months of the Pacific War. This is a useful and well-done In the five years after the war, prior to memoir. I can recommend it unhesitat- his retirement in 1950, Schofield was, ingly to anyone interested in this period inter alia, posted to Washington where of the Royal Navy, as well as anyone he served with the liaison staff there as who would like to learn a little more Rear Admiral and directly witnessed about the author of British Sea Power, the unambiguous passing of the torch of The Russian Convoys and The Arctic naval supremacy to the United States. Convoys. Schofield’s memoirs are of consid- erable interest as they detail the life in Ian Yeates the Royal Navy over a period of four Regina, Saskatchewan decades that witnessed its waxing and Book Reviews 87 Frank Singleton. Reeds Weather Hand- produce by Reeds/Adlard Coles, effec- book for Sail and Power, 2nd edition. tively all of the illustrations and exam- London, UK: Reeds, www.bloomsbury. ples provided are mostly UK-specific, com, 2019.144 pp., illustrations, maps, providing French and Dutch weather appendices, sources, index. US $14.00, and forecasting examples as well as paper; ISBN 978-1-4729-6506-6. domestic. The appendices, however, are extremely good, and provide both This is not an academic book, but a free and paid examples of services for guidebook for both commercial and weather information. recreational uses of maritime spac- I have absolutely no hesitation rec- es. It is one of an extensive series of ommending this book for anybody who handbooks that covers topics from is learning more about weather from a the use and maintenance of small die- yachting perspective. sel engines to a general overview for those skippering yachts. Reeds is well Samuel McLean known as the publisher of professional Toronto, Ontario maritime engineering books, as well as other manuals. That they publish these Myron J. Smith, Jr. Ironclad Captains handbooks for recreational boaters and of the Civil War. Jefferson, NC: McFar- racers is a result of their close relation- land & Company, Inc. Publishers, www. ship with Adlard Coles Nautical (via mcfarlandpub.com, 2019. 254pp., il- Bloomsbury Publishing). This relation- lustrations, appendix, bibliography, ab- ship also works because Adlard Coles breviations, index. US $75.00, paper; is largely responsible for publishing ISBN 978-1-4766-6636-5. the Royal Yachting Association’s in- structional material. As a result, mate- The strange-looking ironclads of the rial from RYA publications can be pub- Civil War were unmistakable. They lished under Reed’s brand and brought were hardly beautiful with their hulk- to a new audience and market. ing nondescript shapes and strange This small book is designed for silhouettes, and certainly alarming to those who know little about weather, those who had to face them in com- but can also serve as a handy reference bat. The officers assigned to operate for those who are more experienced. these ugly, armour-plated vessels with Divided into sections, the book deals big guns, rotating turrets and unique with Air Masses, Fronts and Depres- mechanical machinery that generat- sions, Sea and Land Effects, Waves ed intense heat and noise were a new and Swell, Weather Forecasting (the breed of men, sailors who could adapt background), Using Forecasts, Sources to novel technology and naval tactics of Weather Information, Getting Fore- that would arise from these innova- casts, Observing (Learning by Experi- tions. Rifled guns could shoot further ence) and then the Appendices. and, with better aiming equipment, they This book is well written, concise, were far more accurate making ship-to- and the images help to illustrate the ship bombardments more devastating. points. It is lovely to see it updated to Historically, inter-ship communication include modern ways of finding weather was accomplished with flags by day data via the internet, radio communica- or lantern lights by night, usually with tions and other sources. The only draw- coloured lenses in various numbers, back with this book is that, because it is hung from masts. Since most ironclads 88 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord had no masts, they operated with oth- reviewer notes that several other USN ers somewhat blindly, sometimes used vessels were named after Confederate as lone wolves to ram and sink their Officers: CSN officers H.L. Hunley, opponents. The commanding officers George Dixon, Raphael Semmes, James assigned to ironclad duty were an obvi- Iredell Waddell and Richard Page: CSA ous group worthy of documenting and officers Robert E. Lee and Stonewall study. Jackson. Sailors traditionally take great Myron Smith, a well-known and pride being associated in some way knowledgeable Civil War, brown-wa- with the ship’s namesake.) ter historian, has created a formulistic The biographical summaries of biographical directory of ironclad cap- each naval officer are followed by an ab- tains (A-Z). Each entry begins with the breviated list of sources. These books, captain’s name, date of birth, and death periodicals, newspaper articles, inter- (if known), and his naval affiliation— net references and scholarly papers are USN or CSN, followed by a biographic more expansively covered in the com- profile in which appears the name of the prehensive bibliography. An appendix Northern or Southern ironclad vessel in lists all of the Union and Confederate bold type. In brief narratives, the author ironclads followed by their captains. relates the battles in which the ship took Ironclad Captains of the Civil War part. Smith’s clearly written accounts is purposely not replete with sophisti- are succinct and include an abundance cated prose or descriptions and analy- of facts in a style reminiscent of ency- ses of historical events. The excellent clopedia or Wikipedia entries. He has forward by Mark F. Jenkins, along with included approximately 200 photo- Professor Smith’s scholarly introduc- graphic images or drawings of almost tion, however, provides a perspective every captain and many photos of the concerning these unorthodox vessels ironclads in which they served. Al- and their deployment in combat or de- though the photographs are from the fense during the Civil War. As men- early days of printing, the quality of tioned above, a well-written directory is these illustrations is excellent. a useful ingress for those who are drawn Several entries are more in-depth, to the history of Civil War ironclads and such as those for Captains Daniel Am- their officers. Myron Smith has made men, John Payne “J.P.” Bankhead, Isaac an excellent contribution by organizing Newton Brown, Franklin “Old Buck” data for scholars of that groundbreak- Buchanan, Greenleaf Cilley, James Au- ing (or perchance wave-breaking) naval gustin Greer, Thomas Oliver Selfridge, war about its often-intriguing captains and Henry Walke—officers who fought and their innovative armoured vessels. gallantly on both sides of the conflict. Almost all of these pieces end with in- Louis Arthur Norton formation about whether one or more West Simsbury, Connecticut US naval vessels were subsequently named after these captains. Forty-one Gary Staff. Battle for the Baltic Islands Union officers were so honoured and 1917, Triumph of the Imperial German two Confederate Officers, Captain Jo- Navy. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen & Sword siah Tattnall of the CSS Virginia and Maritime, www.pen-and-sword.co.uk, Admiral Franklin Buchanan also of 2019. xiii+178 pp., illustrations, maps, CSS Virginia and CSS Tennessee. (Al- appendices, index. UK £12.99, US though not the focus of this book, this $22.95, paper; ISBN 978-1-52674-849- 2. Book Reviews 89 When it comes to the First World War Staff does a delightful job of deliv- German Navy post-Jutland, aside from ering the narrative of this very interest- the U-boats, the massive Hochseeflotte ing campaign. One of the book’s strong- the Kaiser had built is largely forgot- points is the lengths the author went to ten. Most would think that it sat idle locating sources to ensure a balanced until the large mutinies and the eventual narrative. He uses several Russian pri- steam into British captivity in Novem- mary and secondary sources along with ber 1918. Gary Staff sets out to tell an their German counterparts, bringing entirely different story, one that shows to light a number of interesting points that not only was the German fleet an throughout. What stands out most is active force after Jutland but it was still, that, by this time, the revolutionary el- in fact, a very powerful force to be ements had seeped through and largely reckoned with. shattered the Russian Imperial Army, The author focuses on the Battle although their intelligence system was for the Baltic Islands in late 1917. This almost unaffected. In fact, the only arm poorly-known operation was, arguably, of the Russian forces that was function- the first, successful, large-scale com- ing well during the operation was their bined arms amphibious landing. As a intelligence, which remained good and very basic summary, German troops accurate (16). Although Russian sol- landed and successfully captured the diers were still willing to fight, with islands of the West Estonian Archipel- decent morale, they were continually ago from 12-20 October 1917 under hampered by soldier’s councils and the the codename ‘Operation Albion.’ The ability of officers and commanders to invasion was covered and supported by veto decisions. a large naval force, a special detached On the German side, not everything squadron (Sonderverband) of the High went well either. Surprisingly, German Seas Fleet under Vizeadmiral Erhardt naval gunnery appears to have been Schmidt. The bulk of the fleet was quite poor, and the navy was general- comprised of no less than ten dread- ly unaggressive and unwilling to take nought battleships and their supporting much risk. Staff also highlights the cruisers and torpedo-boat flottilas. time-consuming nature of naval mine The just over a week-long oper- warfare and the significant effect of well ation resulted in the loss of a Russian laid barrages. If mine-sweeping forc- pre-dreadnought battleship (Slava), a es were unsuccessful or driven off, a destroyer (Grom), and a British subma- mine could render a dreadnought battle rine HMS C32 along with more than ineffective. For example, Bayern was 20,000 troops captured in return for the struck on the first day while approach- loss of a few hundred German troops ing her firing position and significantly and a number of small craft. This out- damaged, forcing her to detach from the come, as the author quotes a Russian operation. Navy Commander, “had enormous sig- While very good, the narrative it- nificance for the further course of the self is the sum total of the book. Even war…the result of being forced from though the author does state, right in the Moon Sound was our further retreat and introduction: “In writing this book I did possible abandonment of Riga.” (148) not seek to make any great analysis of In effect, ‘Albion’ had torn apart the the fighting, but rather wanted to pres- Russian flank and began the end of the ent a balanced and accurate narrative Eastern Front of the First World War. (xii),” one is still left with the question 90 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord ‘so what?’ A little analysis, even if just bibliography. US $17.99, paper; ISBN to guide the reader along the narrative 978-1-51326-137-9. (E-book avail- path would have been a great asset to able.) the work. The combined arms assault by the Two stories separated by 143 years but Germans, using naval forces, aerial re- united by a ship are compacted into The con with airplanes and Zeppelins, and Ship, The Saint And The Sailor. One the assault by ground forces was high- story is the history of Russian Alaska ly successful, but exactly what was represented in the Kad’yak. The other learned from it? What was its impact is an account of its discovery and re- on future operations? How did the im- covery of its artifacts that provides an provisation of small craft actually shape insight into the practices and challeng- future thinking and planning? Perhaps es, both natural and human, of marine most importantly, how heavily did this archeology. shape the Eastern Front from then on, The ship is the Kad’yak, the and are the conclusions drawn by some three-masted barque built in Lubbock, of the primary sources indeed accurate? Germany in 1851 and purchased by the These are just a few questions that come Russian-American Company in 1852. to mind that will have to be left for an- In the spring of 1861, it sailed from other work. its home port of Kodiak bound for San The text is nicely complemented Francisco with a cargo of ice on a voy- by a good collection of photos from the age that it would not complete. events. Naval historians will be quick The saint is Father Herman, the to realize that infantry landings in the Russian Orthodox priest who arrived at Baltic in 1917 were just like something Kodiak in 1794 as part of a mission or- out of the Nelsonian Era—longboats dered by Empress Catherine the Great. going ashore packed with troops. Hap- While providing religious support to pily, the author included 15 maps that Russian settlers, he also saw the need allow the interested reader to not only to bring salvation and education to the follow along with the narrative, but also natives. His years of dedicated service understand the strategic implications of spawned a reputation reflected in his the battle area and the terrain involved. recognition as St. Herman of the Rus- A fast and easy read, both the histo- sian Orthodox Church. rian and the interested reader will enjoy The sailor is Captain Illarion Arkhi- churning through the narrative. For a mandritov, a native Alaskan, the son quick, linear overview of the Baltic is- of a Russian father and a native moth- lands campaign, this is certainly a book er. A mariner trained in St. Petersburg, worth looking at. he was well known and experienced in Alaskan waters who, after failing to Christopher Kretzschmar keep his promise to hold a Te Deum (a Rusagonis, New Brunswick religious service) for Fr. Herman during his visit to Kodiak, ran Kad’yak onto Bradley G. Stevens. The Ship, The a rock in front of Fr. Herman’s grave, Saint, And The Sailor: The Long Search leaving the topgallant spar horizontal For The Legendary Kad’yak. Berke- slightly tilted, forming the shape of a ley, CA: Graphic Arts Books, www. Russian Orthodox cross. GraphicArtsBooks.com, 2018. 280 pp., This narrative places the saga of illustrations, maps, appendices, notes, Kad’yak and its captain in context nar- Book Reviews 91 rative by introducing the reader to the researchers eventually led to legal bat- history of the settlement and economy tles and broken trust and friendships. of Russian Alaska in an era when the The temptation to profit from evading territory was managed by the Russian the rights of the State of Alaska under American Company and its main ex- the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act reveals port was, no joke, ice. Like some other the pervasive influence of human nature areas of North America, its industries and the gave the courtroom proceedings were worked by colonials and based an importance comparable to those oc- on fur trading and the sea. I found the curring underwater. explanation of the ice trade to be fas- Although I found the exploration cinating. How did Russian ships begin to be fascinating, I was more interest- transporting ice from Alaska to San ed in the history reflected in Kad’yak’s Francisco? In the days before refriger- tale and artifacts, yet the writing held ation, the ice that formed in Tanignak my attention even when the topic was Lake in the woods of Kodiak Island was less personally interesting. The pho- high quality, suitable for a city by the tographs and contemporary and histor- bay growing in size and sophistication. ic maps are helpful supplements to the Ice from Kodiak was cheaper than from text. There is a happy ending to the tale its major competitor—Boston! in the sense that the recovered relics are There would have been no book on display in local museums on Kodiak without the second story; Stevens’ ac- Island and the maritime history of Rus- count of the archaeological discovery sian Alaska is better known. Stevens and exploration of Kad’yak and the packs a lot of information into a short recovery of its artifacts. In some de- book. I recommend it for anyone with tail, he describes the process of deci- an interest in Alaskan history or marine phering the location of the wreck from archelogy. Captain Arkhimandritov’s journal and other records, a task that has the mak- James M. Gallen ings of a mystery or a puzzle. Here St. Louis, Missouri Stevens introduces the reader to the equipment and methods used in marine Adrian Stewart. The War with Hitler’s archeology. The difficulties of seeing Navy. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen and in the dark, even at relatively shallow Sword Maritime, www.pen-and-sword. depths, maintaining orientation among co.uk, 2018. 212 pp., illustrations, unfamiliar landmarks, and blowing off maps, notes, bibliography, index. UK nitrogen to prevent crippling “bends” £19.99, US $34.95, cloth; ISBN 978-1- after dives demonstrate the difficulty of 5267-1057-4. such explorations. Unlike higher pro- file explorations, the Kad’yak opened It was with some interest that I read a link to Russian Alaskan history but Stewart’s The War With Hitler’s Na- was not a path to riches. Because of vy—a surprisingly slender volume, con- its non-commercial nature, it attracted sidering the comprehensiveness of its a different type of researcher: profes- title and the thousands upon thousands sionals working with volunteers, do- of pages previously written about the nated vessels, requests for historical topic. British publisher, Pen & Sword, grants, and dives squeezed in between lists at least 24 directly related books paying jobs. The interplay of state and in its current catalogue, including one federal laws and competition between with a very similar title, Hitler’s Navy! 92 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord The appetite for this subject seems in- tle, beginning with Admiral Graf Spee exhaustible. So why read Stewart’s ver- in 1939. The U-boat war, the only thing sion? “that ever really frightened” Churchill, As a postwar baby boomer, I even- has two chapters to itself. tually developed a deep sense of that Stewart writes smoothly and pro- dreadful struggle against Nazi and Fas- fessionally, befitting an author with cist totalitarianism that was the Second more than a half-dozen war-related World War. Three uncles served in the books to his credit on an eclectic vari- Royal Canadian Air Force; one was ety of subjects. In this case, he has the shot down and killed in 1944. As part good sense not to reinvent the wheel, of an early 1960s grade school project, judiciously deploying quotes from oth- a fellow nerdy, history-enthused bud- er well-known texts rather than redo- dy and I gave a rousing performance ing them. It is a measure of his ability of Johnny Horton’s great hit, Sink the that in such a slim volume he combines Bismarck. While this did not make me overall strategic views and sharp po- an expert on the Kriegsmarine, Nazi litical perceptions with specific bat- Germany’s successor to the First World tle descriptions, technical discussions War Imperial German Navy, as a young and personal (sometimes amusing) man I read voraciously about Bismarck, anecdotes that tie everything together Scharnhorst, the armed merchant raid- in a neat package. Direct quotes are er Atlantis and German U-boat ‘Aces’ end-noted in each chapter. such as Jost Metzler, with La Vache Qui There is a decent selection of pho- Rit (The Laughing Cow) painted on the tographs, including both ships and in- conning tower of U-69. Whenever I buy dividuals, and their captions generally cheese I am still reminded of the horrif- add value, though there are a couple ic Battle of the Atlantic and 12 doughty of errors misidentifying ships. Grat- little corvettes built in my hometown, ifying to me in a more parochial way Kingston, Ontario, which went to war was Stewart’s reasonably even-handed in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). description of the RCN’s important, if Two would not return. initially somewhat ham-fisted contribu- This is not a book for historians tions to winning the Battle of the Atlan- who are already experts on the topic tic. I do quibble with his statement that since there is little new research. Its Canadians “tended to allow themselves nine chapters are organized chrono- to be diverted from their main duty of logically, beginning with a brief dis- sticking close to the merchantmen … cussion of the limitations on German instead embarking on vain hunts for Naval power by the 1919 Treaty of Ver- submarines that had been reported in sailles and the various violations of it their vicinity.”(130) In one of the more that allowed the Kriegsmarine to begin notorious incidents of that sort, U-69 to build up a new fleet. Grand Admi- torpedoed a Newfoundland ferry, SS ral Raeder had planned sufficient naval Caribou, in 1942, and the commander construction, including aircraft carriers, of escorting Bangor-class minesweeper, to allow Germany to challenge Britain HMCS Grandmère, was criticized for in 1944, but this was not to be. Stewart attempting to ram the surfaced U-boat describes well the resulting piecemeal, and then spending two hours hunting it sometimes tentative deployment and instead of stopping to pick up survivors. destruction of Germany’s small but still Indeed, the Flag Officer of the New- formidable surface fleet, battle by bat- foundland Force noted that attacking Book Reviews 93 U-boats in such situations was normal Barbara Tomblin has written an excel- operational doctrine. Stewart levels lent overview of life in the Navy of the rather more reasonable criticism (he is Confederate States (CSN) during the not alone) at the inexperienced RCN American Civil War. Employing offi- corvette commander who notoriously cial records, private correspondence, abandoned convoy SC 42 to save a pre- and memoirs she provides an in-depth cious torpedoed tanker by towing it to look at their day-to-day life aboard ship Iceland. and ashore, their response to the war, In spite of these being well- and their involvement in specific en- ploughed historical waters, some of gagements. the anecdotes were intriguingly new to At the start of the Civil War, the me, such as the Royal Air Force con- breakaway Southern states did not sidering battle cruisers Scharnhorst and have a navy. The initial effort consist- Gneisenau the “Ugly Sisters” of the ed of individual states pulling together Kriegsmarine. (108) My own view is ships, officers and men. Quickly, this that many of the modern German war- became a Confederate effort with the ships were rather elegantly designed, appointment of a Secretary of the Navy particularly compared to British battle- and the establishment of a formal navy ships such as HMS Rodney, oddly trun- department. States then simply turned cated due to the Washington Treaty. The over their vessels and men to the gov- final chapter on Baltic actions near the ernment in Richmond, Virginia. Most end of the war was also relatively new Southern officers in the Union Navy re- and interesting. signed their commissions and headed to One thing unfortunately absent was their home states to offer their services. an epilogue stating the author’s overall Ships were assembled from what was at conclusions about how the Kriegsma- hand, and construction begun on others, rine had been deployed, though such either in the form of converting vessels observations are to some extent, woven to naval use, or building from the keel through the book’s fabric. Overall, I up. From nothing quickly rose a small, think Stewart’s book well worth read- largely limited in range, but impressive- ing; the drama, horror and heroism of ly effective fleet. the times are evoked in an understated A key problem which plagued the way, as are the effects of Hitler’s per- CSN throughout the conflict was the re- sonal direction of his war, which helped cruitment of men. There never seems to to sink his vainglorious dream of a have been enough trained or seasoned Thousand Year Reich in just six cata- seamen, necessitating the use of lands- strophically bloody years. men, often recruited from among the army. Tomblin does note that some sea- David More men at the outbreak of war enlisted in Kingston, Ontario the army, with the desire to get into the thick of what was thought would be a Barbara Brooks Tomblin. Life in Jeffer- short war. For many, the thought of the son Davis’ Navy. Annapolis, MD: Na- North’s naval resources made the prob- val Institute Press, www.usni.org, 2019. ability of the South having an effective vii+318 pp., illustrations, maps, notes, naval presence remote. Tomblin’s re- bibliography, index. US $54.00, cloth; search reveals a widely-held patriotism ISBN 978-1-68247-118-0. (E-book aligning officers and seamen to the available.) Southern cause. 94 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord Like other navies around the world, ors began to fear for their family’s safe- recruitment was driven by officers ty, as the Northern forces moved into the drawing on local social links to get men South, men simply left the navy when to join, recruitment drives among the opportunity presented itself. Some de- larger population and specifically with- serted as their ships were taken out of in army regiments, and the offering of service, or they were stuck in what they bounties. Not only whites, but a limit- must of thought was an endless round ed number of blacks, enslaved and free, of inaction. These men often deserted were taken into the naval service. The from the navy to the army, in order to total numbers in the Confederate navy get closer to the fighting; not the usual never surpassed 5,000, about a tenth of type of desertion engaged in by sailors. the Union navy’s enlisted men. Discipline was a priority aboard For those used to serving in a naval Southern ships of war. The master at vessel, adapting to life in the CSN was arms often served as the detector of not difficult, but most recruits were not transgressions reporting them to se- accustomed to shipboard life and the nior officers. The usual range of inap- adjustment was taxing. From sleeping propriate behaviour included, fighting, in a hammock, to the watch rotation drunkenness, insolence, disobedience, schedule for work and rest, through theft and gambling. Punishments were the repetitive drills at the guns, and the handed out according to the captain’s work of operating a steam-powered sense of seriousness of the crime. They vessel seemed for many, daunting. But could include being placed in irons, be- Tomblin’s evidence is clear that most ing tied up by the elbows into the rig- recruits settled in, found their sea stride ging, loss of prize money, or grog al- and made good sailors. lowance. More serious offences, such Morale was of keen interest to the as desertion or mutinous activity, were Southern officers. They took pains to handled by a court martial, resulting in provide opportunities for their sailors more severe penalties. Other than not- to relax and recreate, including cards, ing examples of corporal punishments, song, alcohol, tobacco and visits ashore the courts martial demoting officers, (often to see relatives or friends. Offi- and the mentioning of one death sen- cers appear to have enjoyed theatre and tence (commuted by Jefferson Davis), formal social gatherings while ashore, Tomblin does not provide any statistical in keeping with the middle and upper evidence, or advanced analysis, about class values associated with their rank. the relationship between disordering Shore leave did see its share of drunk- behaviour and punishment. In part, this enness and fighting among the sailors, is due to a dearth of documents on the but they were never the main activities. subject. She does suggest that, at times, Officers made concerted efforts to tend harsh corporal punishment was a cause to the religious needs of their crews, of desertion. providing divine service, or at least The fighting experience of the Con- trips ashore to church on Sunday, when federate sailor is brought out in four possible. chapters. One deals with warfare along But the seamen were not always a the southern coast, another on the high contented lot, desertion and other dis- seas, a third on combat on southern riv- order occurred. The desertion seems to ers and the fourth on the South’s use of have increased as the war dragged on, ‘torpedoes’ and experimental underwa- especially towards the end. When sail- ter craft. The high seas chapter address- Book Reviews 95 es the Confederate raiders. Southern an easy win for a Union ship. Through- commerce raiders took the war to the out these chapters Tomblin never fails Northern whalers and merchantmen as to highlight the rough living and hard their vessels plied their business around working conditions aboard the ironclad the world. Few in number, they were ships, the continuing difficulty of rais- effective in raising insurance costs for ing enough men, and the frustration ex- Union ship owners. When faced with perienced during the long periods when manpower shortages, the captains of men were idle. the raiders often enticed crew from cap- The author explores new territory in tured ships to join them in their pursuit the chapter on the naval shore gunnery of prize and glory. Their demise was crews, Confederate use of ‘torpedoes,’ not only due to the effective Union and underwater craft. Though under- blockade, but the gradual shift of sym- water craft have been mentioned before, pathy among countries originally sup- the development of ‘torpedoes’ is new. portive of the Southern cause, and their The Confederate navy made wide use eventual denial of safe harbour. of torpedoes, which were either used as Most of the CSN’s activity was underwater mines or were attached to a within the confines of the Confedera- long boom, at a ship’s bow, that would cy. Their ships predominantly resisted be dropped as the vessel approached Union efforts to blockade and attack the enemy. In the case of the mine-like southern ports. The most common form use, the torpedo would be placed under- of aggressive move by the Confederate water in an area thought to be passed coastal navy was cruising in the space by enemy shipping. As an enemy ship between the defences of a Southern har- sailed over top, a person ashore would bour and the blockading Union navy in complete an electrical circuit and the search of lone Union craft to take. The mine would explode. Another use was attack on Union ships off Charleston by on a ship which delivered the explosive the CSS Chicora and Palmetto State is to the side of the enemy vessel, lower- an example of such an encounter, pro- ing the boom (so to speak) and detonat- ducing a tighter blockade by Northern ing the charge as it hit the target. The forces, and a propaganda win for the deployment of naval forces ashore to South (135-9). Naval engagements man gun batteries occurred more often along rivers were just as critical as the as Confederate naval assets were de- coastal campaigns, for example, the de- stroyed, captured, or so closely block- struction of the USS Underwriter by a aded that manning them was no longer Confederate naval raiding party (197- good use of personnel. They served 202). effectively in the defence of Southern Tomblin amasses a number of ex- cities as Union forces closed in. amples that indicate a ferocious naval A chapter on prisoners and prison resistance to Union invasion. Perhaps camps examines life in captivity for the the best known example is the Battle of Confederate sailor. Captivity was easi- Mobile Bay (140-50). The reader is left er in the early years in most camps, but with the impression that Southern offi- as the war went on they became over- cers and seamen prosecuted their orders crowded, disease spread, food rations to the best of the ability, often against were cut, and in mid-1864 the prisoner overwhelming odds, with the best re- exchange system all but ended. Men oc- sults to be expected, even if that was ul- cupied themselves with activities rang- timate defeat. There never seemed to be ing from gambling to furniture making. 96 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord Some received visits from family and of the book states that there were 8,000 friends, but that too was curtailed as the sailors in the Confederate navy at the war progressed. For many prisoners of time of the South’s defeat (234). She war (soldiers and sailors) the way out does not explain this discrepancy. of the intolerable conditions was to take Tomblin has performed a great ser- the Union oath and join the Northern vice in exploring the conditions faced army. Tomblin makes the most out of by the Confederate officer and sailor. the few memoirs and personal records Her work on the daily life in Jefferson’s relating to the prisons. The reader’s un- navy will serve as an important jump- derstanding of the experience of enter- ing off point for future research into this ing a prison, existence in it, and the var- subject. In the end, she leaves us with ious ways out (death, escape, exchange, the appreciation that the Confederate enlistment with the North, and end of naval officer and seaman were like most the war) is amplified by the personal others (certainly those in the Union narratives. The use of Black troops as Navy). Most worked hard to learn the guards created great tension among the tasks at hand, fought to win, enjoyed Southerners. their free time, played and prayed. In the final months of the war, sail- They shaped their world as best they ors were brought ashore more often to could, sometimes parting ways with the assist in the South’s defence. As the navy, but mainly they sought to support Union closed in on Richmond, deser- the Southern cause, afloat or ashore. tion rose substantially among the army and the navy. Seeing defeat coming, Thomas Malcomson few wished to stay till the very end, pre- Toronto, Ontario ferring to return to their family as soon as possible. At the war’s end all Con- Milan Vego. Maritime Strategy and federate troops and sailors were prison- Sea Denial: Theory and Practice. ers. Their choice was to take the oath of New York, NY: Routledge Publishers, allegiance to the Federal Government, (Cass Series: Naval Policy and History, or stay confined. Those who swore the Book 62), www.routledge.com, 2018. oath could return home. xx+328 pp., illustrations, maps, notes, Tomblin includes two maps, one of bibliography, index. US $116.00, cloth; the Atlantic voyages of CSS Florida, ISBN 978-1-13848-591-4. (E-book and the other of the location of prison available.) camps. A set of 14 black and white im- ages are found between pp. 184-5. They A sequel to Vego’s Maritime Strategy depict Confederate ships, officers, and and Sea Control: Theory and Practice engagements, and a picture of Jefferson (2016), this volume addresses maritime Davis and Secretary of the Confederate warfare theory from the perspective of Navy, Stephen R. Mallory. The end- smaller, and weaker, navies (e.g. Can- notes are numerous and thorough, mak- ada). Building upon the premise that ing good use of archival and secondary the maritime theory of stronger mar- source material. The index is workable. itime powers may suffer from a false There is one problem causing confu- reading of historical precedent, Vego sion, though relatively minor. At the remarks that it is possible for small na- outset, the author gives the number of vies to also fall victim to this error. In men in the Confederate navy as “nev- this instance, smaller/weaker navies use er exceeded 4,966” (22), but at the end maritime strategies based upon a lim- Book Reviews 97 ited interpretation of classic defensive ogy. Unlike Trevor Dupuy (Numbers, maritime strategies. In effect, he calls Prediction, and War: Using History to for a re-reading of naval operational Evaluate Combat Factors and Predict history vis-à-vis small navies. His fun- the Outcome of Battles [Revised Edi- damental argument is that medium and tion], [Hero Books, 1985]) who was small navies can use the traditionally positive that everything in battle could defensive maritime strategy of sea deni- be qualified, Vego argues that no metric al offensively. Sea denial strategies are apart from the most general (e.g., a larg- also important for large naval powers, er fleet is more likely to defeat a smaller particularly when they are forced on the one; or a highly trained fleet will likely defensive, but Vego argues that attempt- do well against a fleet with poor lead- ing to prosecute strategies strictly of sea ership) can be ascribed to guaranteed control is an unsound doctrine. Strate- success. Rather, he argues that a navy gies of sea denial are best established in ought to be designed to fill a specific peacetime, for implementation in time role, and its success measured based on of war. By Vego’s definition, maritime its ability to fulfill the role assigned to strategy is a component of a nation’s it. grand-strategic plans which must man- Much of Vego’s modern historical ifest in both peacetime and time of war discussion, at least until 1919, can be in order to be effective. Gauging the supplemented by Vincent P. O’Hara, W. success of a maritime strategy is con- David Dickson, Richard Worth, eds. To tingent upon its strategic role within a Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of grand strategy, and whether a nation’s the First World War, (Annapolis: Naval maritime forces met the sine qua non Institute Press, 2013). Many of Vego’s for “success” placed before it. case studies, however, are pulled from The scope of the book is broad, the Second World War at the earliest. ranging from defending against Ma- He does occasionally dip into the an- hanian decisive-battle strategies, to cient past, scraping up examples from the Jeune École of both France and such periods as the First Punic War the Soviet Union, and engaging firmly (264-241 BCE) to illustrate a point. In with the theories of Julian Corbett, and some cases, he places an ancient and Samuel P. Huntington. Vego critiques a recent example side-by-side, creat- Mahanian doctrine particularly, and in- ing an interesting comparative narra- sists that small navies use their connec- tive through temporal juxtaposition, tion to land masses in order to advance although this occasionally introduces warfare. He pursues his argument by a discontinuity into his analysis. Vego dipping into joint maritime warfare tends to examine concepts thematical- practices in both offensive and defen- ly rather than a strictly chronological- sive situations. The book opens by ex- ly, leading the unwary reader toward a amining variations on the theme of suc- state of mild confusion as his narrative cess from various perspectives; from skips from period to period. Readers the tangible (materiel comparisons), to expecting an argument that conforms to intangible (i.e., morale, training, and a time line will be confused, and may unpredictable events), and concludes have to re-read the section. If, however, that the only constant in predicting the they anticipate that Vego will define a outcome of a war is the chaotic com- concept, and then choose isolated cas- ponent of the metric of success intro- es from history’s broad scope, they will duced by humans, and human technol- fare better. Had Vego stuck to a strictly 98 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord chronological examination and inserted James E. Wadsworth, Global Piracy: A thematic notes as appropriate, he would Documentary History of Seaborne Ban- have produced a highly disjointed, and ditry. London, UK: Bloomsbury Aca- inflated, book. Instead, by matching demic, www.bloomsbury.com, 2019. an illustrative event with the theme at xii+328 pp., illustrations, maps, notes, hand, he ensures his point is made con- bibliography, index. UK £29.99, paper; cisely. ISBN 978-1-350-05818-7. Researched, constructed, and fully cited, Maritime Strategy and Sea Deni- Global Piracy: A Documentary Histo- al provides researchers with a textbook ry of Seaborne Banditry is an under- application of the 2017 edition of the graduate-level textbook on the history Chicago Manual of Style, including the of piracy from the classical world to phasing-out of “ibidem.” The author the modern day. It argues that pirates draws upon both English and German have always been standard features of sources, as well as translated Russian seafaring life—and historically were resources. While providing readers viewed as such—and cannot simply with a broader range of scholarship be- be reduced to criminalized outsiders. yond Anglo-American-based maritime The text builds a global history of pi- theory and historiography, Vego still racy through contextualizing primary conforms to a certain degree of homog- sources and uses the conceptual trio of enization within the field of study. De- episodic, intrinsic and parasitic pira- spite the rapid rise of maritime activi- cy to understand and categorize piracy ty by Russia and Asia-Pacific nations, throughout the chapters. Each chapter there is a distinct lack of discussion of is about a different region and era that Asiatic maritime theory. Drawing upon is relevant to the history of piracy, and the occasional sample from the Rus- includes a contextual introduction, dis- so-Japanese War or the Second World cussion questions and a selection of pri- War is insufficient to provide a truly mary sources. wholistic assessment of maritime war- The text seeks to fill two very real fare theory; thus, does he perpetuate voids in the study of pirate history: the Eurocentric analyses. need for high-quality academic text- Milan Vego has created a book on books to accompany the growing num- small maritime-power which, com- ber of piracy-focused history classes, bined with supplementary texts of equal and the need for a more diverse and crit- virtue, can form a solid core of modern ical approach to the increasingly popu- maritime warfare theory primers: Ian lar field. The introduction promises to Speller’s Understanding Naval Warfare address many of the most pressing and (Routledge, 2014) comes to mind. If relevant issues in pirate studies today, one can afford the price tag character- such as its Western-centric approach istic of Routledge books, it is a highly and the oversimplification of the defini- recommended addition to navalists’ li- tion of piracy. braries. The work correctly names problems and challenges in the history of piracy, Ambjörn L. Adomeit but does not make much real progress London, Ontario in counteracting them. It promises to diversify our understanding of piracy by bringing in different perspectives and questions on topics like race, gen- Book Reviews 99 der and class, but it is difficult to take done more to stimulate it. Of course, as that claim seriously when only one a teaching tool, the text would be paired woman is mentioned, Cheng I Sao, and with lectures in which those themes a minimal discussion of gender is sim- could be teased out in more detail. ply tacked onto her. Even if one were In addition, the chapters could be to decide that only one female pirate assigned out of order or not in their to- is worthy of being included in a global tality, so it makes sense to make them history, the presence of women is not capable of standing on their own. The the only time gender is a relevant topic; episodic, intrinsic and parasitic cate- isolated, all-male communities present gorization was clearly meant to be the more than enough for discussion. connecting thread throughout the entire For a documentary history there text, as it is mentioned in at least one are surprisingly few documents. As discussion question in almost every this is intended to be assigned as class chapter; however, the categorization is readings, one would expect the prima- too confusing and not reiterated enough ry sources to be the centrepiece of the to make a real impact. The discussion chapters—yet, some chapters only have questions that are provided are in some two or three examples, and it is not al- instances good prompts to train stu- ways clear where that primary source dents in primary source analysis, but came from or who wrote it. It is stat- would have benefited from calling upon ed overtly that the text intends to move broader themes and there were some- away from the sources that dominate times so many questions as to be over- the field in favour of a fresh approach, whelming. but does not provide a satisfactory alter- The introductory sections for the native. I appreciate the intent to decon- chapters are often too long and loaded struct some of the flawed and dogmatic with detail that does not seem necessary. notions in the study of piracy, yet the As a result, the bigger ideas and con- text does little to educate the reader on cepts get lost in the weeds—not just re- those notions in order to more effective- garding piracy, but of the era and region ly challenge them. One does not have to more generally. In those introductory rely entirely on sources like A General sections there are a number of instances History of the Pyrates and Grotius, but where the author relies too heavily on it is hard to imagine ignoring them en- too few historians and consequently, the tirely, if only to address the impact they introductions do not provide the reader have had on the study of piracy itself. with a thorough understanding of the The choice to approach piracy from topic. Additionally, the writing style is a global perspective, however, is a good inconsistent; it was evidently intended one and provides opportunities to pin- to be accessible to students, but alter- point where ideas about piracy come nates between simple and dense. from and to compare piracy between In essence, the concept of a glob- eras and regions. It can highlight uni- al history of piracy textbook that chal- versalities as well as how regional and lenges and diversifies the field is prom- temporal context affect piracy and how ising and prescient. This text does not it was perceived. The main appeal of quite fill the voids that were promised, a global approach is to create precise- but hopefully it will help to highlight ly these sorts of connections, and while those needs and push the study of pi- the potential for the reader to form those rate history in the direction it needs to connections is there, the text could have go: less Western-centric, less rigid in its 100 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord definition of a pirate and less reliant on tions by Spanish and French pirates and dated and dogmatic ideas. brigands who repeatedly raided coastal settlements. Brigandage and lawless- Sarah Toye ness aside, the Delaware estuary was, Halifax, Nova Scotia in the author’s estimation, one of the three most important maritime systems Kennard R. Wiggins, Jr. America’s An- in colonial America. Problematical- chor: A Naval History of the Delaware ly, however, it was devilishly difficult River and Bay, Cradle of the United to navigate, so people had to develop States Navy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland navigational aids. In sum, this was a Publishing, 2019. 288 pp., illustrations, region marked by the “vagaries of war notes, bibliography, index. US $45.00, and piracy, weather, and the uncertain- paper; ISBN 978-1-4766-7197-0. ty of water and wind” but, at the same (E-book available). time, “by steady forward progress in improving ships, ship-building skills, In America’s Anchor, Kennard R. Wig- trade, and the safe navigation of sea- gins, Jr., the author of several other borne vessels” (19). This curious du- volumes of Delaware history, offers an ality reminds scholars that the tendency account of the Delaware estuary from to ignore Delaware in favour of other the 1600s through the end of the Sec- colonies is a mistake; there are many ond World War. He focuses specifical- reasons to study Delaware history. ly on the role this region played in the As the narrative moves into and development of the U.S. Navy. Indeed, beyond the American Revolution, Wig- the men and women, not to mention gins pays particular attention to com- the resources, of the Delaware estuary bat, the construction of the navy, and “built a navy manned by trained and the role the Delaware estuary played disciplined sailors led by dedicated and in both topics. He argues that the “wa- visionary officers” (4). Although many ters of the Delaware estuary were con- residents of this region might pay the tested during almost the entirety of the waterway little heed today, Wiggins War of Independence” (21). One of the argues that the Delaware has always strengths of the volume is the author’s played a significant role in North Amer- attention to the ships and personalities ican history—whether as the cradle of that sailed these waters. Once the rev- the U.S. Navy or as “the area’s only olution ended, the new nation faced a link to the outside world, a vital artery pressing question: did it need a navy? of transport, trade, and communication” Despite opposition, it quickly became (5). apparent that doing without a navy was The first permanent settlement a terrible idea which left the U.S. ex- was in 1638 in Wilmington by a group posed to attack by sea. Thus, the feder- of Swedes. This means, Wiggins ob- al government invested time and money serves, that Wilmington predates Phil- in a navy that quickly proved its worth. adelphia by half a century and Balti- Indeed, the new navy “turned the cor- more by a full century. He explores, ner for America in freeing itself from as one would expect, the interactions the tribute paid to piracy and then gave between various European powers and a good account of itself in the face of far the contest over what would eventual- superior forces during the War of 1812 ly become the state of Delaware. The (79). In the years between the War of Delaware coast suffered from depreda- 1812 and the Civil War, the Delaware Book Reviews 101 estuary contributed to the maintenance sive attention to detail, a chapter on the and development of this navy. period after the Second World War and As most people know, the size of a more detailed account of the decline the U.S. Navy ballooned during the of “America’s anchor” would have American Civil War. The North needed strengthened the book. These points vessels to transport soldiers and sup- aside, this book will appeal to anyone plies, to conduct joint operations with interested in the subject matter. the army, to shell fortified positions on rivers and coasts, to protect U.S. ship- Evan Rothera ping from commerce raiders, and to Fort Smith, Arkansas blockade southern coasts. Not surpris- ingly, once the rebels surrendered, the Kathleen Broome Williams. Painting federal government reduced the size of War. George Plante’s Combat Art in the navy and slashed naval appropria- World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval tions. Nobody, in other words, wanted Institute Press, www.usni.org, 2019. to pay to maintain a huge navy. The pe- xiv+278 pp., illustrations, notes, bibli- riod between the Civil War and the First ography, index. US $29.95, cloth; ISBN World War, especially after the Span- 978-1-68247-426-6. ish-Cuban-American War, was one of experimentation and evolution in naval Painting War: George Plante’s Com- design and featured competition among bat Art in World War II is a rare type the powers to build the biggest and best- of publication about the Second World armed vessels. Wiggins devotes a chap- War. Contrary to what the reader might ter each to the First and Second World expect from its title, the book is not a Wars. His analysis in both cases cov- chronological account of the war cen- ers combat as well as shipbuilding. The tered and focused on the actions and number of ships U.S. yards cranked out activities of the professional artist and during these conflicts was staggering. illustrator George Plante. Nor is it The author contends that the Delaware an analysis of Plante’s art in the con- estuary reached its apogee of strength text of early-twentieth-century artistic and became the arsenal of democracy in movements intersected with the war. the period from 1914-1945. The book It is also not the biography of the man ends somewhat abruptly after the Sec- as an artist and sailor. This book is a ond World War, when the infrastructure thoughtful analysis of Plante’s wartime and many of the shipyards disappeared. experience elicited primarily through Still, as Wiggins notes, “the Delaware his frequent letters home to his wife, his estuary remains an important strategic memoirs, and the memories and stories maritime resource” (220). told to Williams, Plante’s stepdaughter. One of the strengths of this volume George Plante was born in Edin- is the author’s attention to individual burgh, Scotland, in 1914. As a young personalities. Many readers will appre- student, Plante developed an early inter- ciate his detailed capsule biographies est in art. He attended art school, first in of some of the famous residents of the Edinburgh, where he met his first wife Delaware estuary. That said, he some- Evelyn, recipient of his wartime letters. times spends too much time on the in- He then finished his education in Berlin. dividual biographies and the result is While studying in Berlin, he witnessed that the narrative becomes somewhat and was deeply affected by Hitler’s rise choppy. In addition, given his impres- to power. Plante returned to Britain and 102 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord began his professional career as a com- few written personal documents illus- mercial artist and illustrator. trating this period, though he did keep By spring 1940, Plante had not yet several examples of his work. It was in been called up to war service. Keen this capacity that Plante completed his to avoid potential infantry duty, Plan- wartime service. te presented himself, but the RAF and What sets Painting War apart from Royal Navy both told him to wait for nearly all histories of the Second World official service orders. A naval official War is the fortuitous combination of told Plante about the great need for radio archival, historical, memorial, and an- operators in the British merchant navy. ecdotal material from which Williams Plante returned to Edinburgh for train- drew to create the narrative description ing in radiotelegraphy, and upon com- and analysis of Plante’s wartime experi- pletion, was assigned to his first vessel, ence. Instead of relying solely on archi- the coastal steamer Amelia, to learn the val and previously published materials, fundamentals of life at sea in wartime. this work draws from five very different, His next post was the converted whale uniquely important lines of inquiry and factory ship oil tanker SS Sourabaya, evidence: what is known historically; which sailed the North Atlantic in the what Plante contemporaneously wrote dangerous merchant convoys between in his letters; what Plante wrote retro- England and New York. spectively in his memoirs; what Plante While at sea, Plante used his free illustrated and painted both contempo- time to sketch and paint life aboard the raneously and retrospectively; and what vessel, the convoy underway, combat Plante told Williams directly, from her action with German U-boat wolfpacks, childhood until his death in 1995. (She and sailors rescued by Sourabaya from states that Plante died before she began combat casualties. Plante was then this book project). This allows Wil- assigned to the SS Southern Princess. liams to evaluate consistency, variation, The vessel was torpedoed and sunk in and change present in her sources. 1943; Plante and all but four persons There is a marked difference in the aboard the vessel were rescued. narrative style and material presented Plante used his shore leaves in New between Plante’s merchant marine and York to successfully pursue profession- clandestine propaganda services. The al contacts in art and advertising; he former is much more personal and intro- clearly never suspended his identity as a spective, and is presented in a focused, professional artist during his merchant direct perspective. Since Plante could marine service as a radio operator. He not write contemporaneously about was commissioned to produce paint- his clandestine service, this section of ings of the North Atlantic campaign to the book primarily places Plante’s ac- promote American support for the war. tivities in context of the overall PWE Plante’s artistic endeavours and com- operations from a mostly remote, third- mercial skill caught the interest of the person perspective. While this renders Political Warfare Executive (PWE), and the second half of the book somewhat he was recruited to its Cairo office to less compelling than the first half, it is produce illustrated propaganda book- highly illustrative of the historical-ana- lets and leaflets, which were distributed lytical process, and the type of narrative throughout southern and eastern Eu- historians can produce from available rope. As much of this work was clan- material. destine and/or secret, Plante produced In historical analysis of modern Book Reviews 103 wars, for which there is more source presented with the movements, activ- material than could ever be used to pro- ities, and ultimate disposition of ships duce a cohesive study of an individu- as monolithic entities (e.g. ‘the ship al theatre, operation, or service, such sailed from Liverpool to New York’ or as the North Atlantic merchant marine ‘the ship fired on the enemy vessel’). convoys or the clandestine propagan- Painting War gives us an analysis of da programs of the PWE, it is easy to an intimate, first-person account of the focus on the programs themselves, the war and life at sea in the North Atlantic, chronological events and activities, and as well as of the clandestine services, the statistics of their outcomes. When as experienced by a single individual people are introduced into the historical striving to navigate and control his own narrative, it is often those in charge, the participation on the international stage. decision makers who are discussed. It This is why Williams’s study and pre- is easy, and perhaps even necessary, to sentation of Plante’s wartime experi- gloss over the lived experiences of the ence and this volume is so important. people who carried out the orders and activities. This is especially true for Alicia Caporaso maritime history where we are often New Orleans, Louisiana BACKLIST by David H. Gray

Thomas E. Appleton. Usque Ad Mare: sional engineer. He spent the war years A History of the Canadian Coast Guard as a Royal Canadian Volunteer Reserve and Marine Services. 1968. Department officer (RCVR), in command of mine- of Transport, Ottawa. xiii+318 pp., il- sweepers and escort ships, and later lustrations, appendices, bibliography, served for six years on the active list of index. Cloth Pre-dates ISBN numbers, the RCNR. Born in Scotland, he was DOT catalogue #T22-1868. (Available an avid sailor (later owning a Dragon from Amazon.com or SeaOceanBooks. class sailboat, and being Commodore com) of the Britannia Yacht Club in Otta- wa). In 1960, he joined the Department Many organizations within the Cana- of Transport as a marine historian and dian government undertook to publish continued a life-long interest in marine their history as part of Canada’s cen- history. tennial celebrations in 1967 including Marine history is coloured by the the Canadian Coast Guard. This many peculiar nature of the shipping industry, years later, it is worth reviewing Thom- conservative thought, an uncompromis- as Appleton’s history of the Canadian ing sea, and advancements in technolo- Coast Guard and its antecedents, from gy. Appleton’s history begins with John the beginning of European settlement Cabot’s discovery of Newfoundland, its of Canada to 1967. It is also important rich fishing grounds, and European’s to revisit what was considered import- desire for lots of fish for their diet. The ant 50 years ago and what the author arrival of French settlement in Que- and his agency saw as the future. bec around the Gulf of St. Lawrence Thomas Appleton began his career, brought the first semblance of manage- on deck, as an apprentice in the marine ment to marine affairs; for example, the service, eventually becoming a profes- lighthouse at Louisburg. The formation 104 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord of individual provinces brought in the There is a chapter on search and individual management of fisheries, ad- rescue which includes the lifesaving ministration of law and order and the stations on Sable Island and other shore- supplying of aids to navigation (lights based lifeboats. Would you believe that and buoys). The author describes the messenger pigeons were tried? Anoth- complexity of amalgamating all these er chapter recounts the development of separate entities after Confederation in marine regulations in steamboat (partic- the chapters on Confederation and the ularly boiler) inspection, deck loads and Years of Growth. The navigability of shifting of grain and other loose car- the channel upstream to Montreal, and goes, freeboard, load-lines, ship-sub- the canals to, and through, the Great division and fire. The last significant Lakes were continuing enterprises chapter of the book mentions the Civil throughout the reporting period of the Service and how obtaining a job was so book. very different from the more modern The federal government’s Marine Public Service. After Confederation, Services (administered by various de- people were hired for their ability to partments over the years) have struggled write with a good hand, spell and write to have the right ships to fulfill the vari- grammatically, and be conversant in ous duties—lightships, supply ships for arithmetic. Applicants needed a med- aids to navigation (floating or ashore), ical certificate and a letter of recom- search and rescue, law enforcement (of- mendation—anything from less than a ten fisheries), icebreaking, etc. These cabinet minister was insufficient. And ships are much better described than in at the next change of government, one The Ships of the Canada’s Marine Ser- might be out of a job. We have come a vices (2001) by Charles Maginley and long way, baby! Bernard Collins, because Appleton ex- Usque Ad Mare not only contains plains why the ships were designed and good insights into what was important what technical developments were used half a century ago, but it is still relevant in their construction. Indeed, there is today. There are references to what we a whole chapter dealing with ships and now call ‘climate change’ and the de- shipbuilding. struction of the environment. And that Appleton also explains the devel- is several years before the creation of opment of the lighting apparatus in the Department of the Environment. lighthouses and in floating aids better than most of the dozen books which the LCdr. T.A. Irvine. The Ice Was All Be- reviewer has on lighthouses. What is tween. Toronto, ON: Longmans, Green lacking is the acknowledgement of the and Company, 1959. xxiv+216 pp., effort in building the earliest light sta- illustrations, maps. Cloth. (Available tions. There is only a single reference from Amazon.ca) to W.P. Anderson, the General Superin- tendent of Lights (later the first Chief It may seem strange to review of a 60- Engineer of the Department). This re- year old book, but its relevance contin- viewer considers him Canada’s nearest ues in newspaper headlines on a week- equivalent of Scotland’s famed light- ly basis. It is a description of the Royal house builder, Robert Stevenson (1772- Canadian Navy’s icebreaker, HMCS 1850). Appendix 4 lists the light-sta- Labrador’s first season in the Arctic, tions (and light-ships) in service in where it became the first deep-draught 1867, with their year of establishment. ship to transit the Northwest Passage. Book Reviews 105 The relevance strikes home in the did a search and rescue of a trawler Foreword, written Labrador’s captain: from Boston, MA, which needed ice- “The rich resources that lie within the breaking assistance to get out of the un- Canadian Arctic will remain there until charted Baring Channel (between Rus- such time as we have need of them. It sell and Prince of Wales Islands). The behoves [sic] us, however, to carry out ship next met the USS Burton Island the research that is necessary to exploit and USCG Northwind, both having these raw resources now, before we come from west-coast American bases, need them. They are in our storeroom and then the three ships sounded par- and will remain there as long as we pro- allel lines as they crossed the Beaufort tect this storeroom.” Sea and rounded Point Barrow, Alaska. Tom Irvine served during the Sec- From there it was all haste to Esquimalt ond World War in Royal Navy cruisers, with a very sick crewman. The Lab- destroyers and corvettes, and following rador completed the circumnavigation the war, he transferred to the Hydro- at more leisurely pace via the Panama graphic Department of the Royal Navy. Canal with stops at San Francisco and He immigrated to Canada in 1950, Granada, Nicaragua. joined the Canadian Hydrographic Ser- I remember meeting Tom Irvine vice, then enlisted in the RCN as a hy- on several occasions at Canadian Hy- drographer. He was the hydrographer drographic Service and Canadian Hy- in charge on the Labrador on this mo- drographers’ Association functions in mentous trip. He died in Ottawa in Oc- Ottawa and recognized that here was tober 2008. The title is taken from The someone with a great deal of experi- Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel ence. It is only after reading this book Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). that I realize that I had missed a great The book describes the circumnavi- opportunity to tap that resource. Ir- gation of North America, from the ship- vine’s book is light reading filled with yard at Sorel, Quebec, the frightening interesting dialogue and a good amount trip downriver where no one, including of humour. One of the best is the sig- the river pilot, knew the characteristics nal-light message from a passing tramp of handling a deep-draught icebreaker. steamer in the Caribbean: “I’m in the There were two major equipment fail- Caribbean; where are you?” I highly ures during the transit that could have recommend the book as a description wrecked the ship were it not for some of Arctic navigation for those who have excellent ship-handling. The ship went not had that opportunity. to Halifax to complete her provisioning for the trip and take on about 20 sci- entific staff. From there, she traveled to Resolute, and then moved a RCMP special constable from Craig Harbour (south side of Devon Island) to Alexan- dra Fiord (midway up the east side of Ellesmere Island) encountering massive icebergs en route. Back at Resolute, Ir- vine and his seamen did conducted a harbour survey. They visited Beechey Island, the site of Sir John Franklin’s last known winter anchorage, and then