26 September 2023
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
Huzzah to the recently promoted Captain B. J. Armstrong, who earned that fourth stripe as the program chair of the hugely successful 50th anniversary McMullen Naval History Symposium. A recap of the US Naval Academy Symposium is our featured content.
To add icing to the cake, the US Naval Institute, at the close of the symposium, hosted the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Lifetime Achievement Medal celebration recognizing the work of Dr. William M. Fowler Jr. and the late James D. Hornfischer. USNI also played a critical role in facilitating the Chief of Naval Operations History Essay contest, and Vice Admiral Peter Daly joined with Naval History and Heritage Command Director Rear Admiral Sam Cox to recognize this year’s winners at a Thursday luncheon during the symposium.
The Naval Order of the United States Navy and the National Maritime Historical Society also took active roles during the symposium, recognizing some of the outstanding scholarship and organizing a forum to encourage new research and writing. More on that below.
Naval History Book Reviews is offering a review by Capt. Richard Dick on Soviet Submarines. Enjoy! If you have recently published a naval history-related memoir or history—let us know! We were able to find reviewers for titles we had on hand at the McMullen Naval History Symposium and acquire NEW book titles (Thank You, Naval Institute Press!) A revised book list is attached!
Tuesday Tidings is compiled by Dr. David F. Winkler and Jessie Henderson as a benefit for members of the National Maritime Historical Society and friends of naval history.
Noting that this Thursday marks the anniversary of Congress putting an end to flogging in 1850, as always, comments are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
| ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST |
28 September 2023 - Movies at the Navy Memorial: Top Gun (1986)
7:15 PM (EDT) (in person)
29 September: New Navy Monitors
Mariners’ Museum
Noon–1 PM (live/Zoom)
3 October: Navy Memorial Lone Sailor Award Dinner
National Building Museum, Washington, DC
5 October: New York Navy League Council Maritime Security Conference 2023 at John Jay College
Navigating Global Commerce and Conflict
7 October: Steamship Historical Society of America Annual Meeting
Ship History Center, 2500 Post Road, Warwick, RI
9 October: US Naval Institute 150th Celebration
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McMullen Naval Symposium Recap | |
The US Naval Academy McMullen Naval History Symposium, held last Thursday and Friday, marked the fiftieth anniversary of what has become the go-to event for anyone who is interested in the state of research and scholarship in the field. The symposium was named in recent decades for Dr. John J. McMullen, a 1940 graduate who after serving 15 years in the Navy, found success in the business world and eventually would own the Houston Astros and New Jersey Devils. Upon his passing he left a generous bequest to the US Naval Academy. Fittingly, the Naval Academy’s ice arena is named for him and additional funds from the bequest have been used to underwrite the naval symposium that is named in his honor.
With travel restored to pre-pandemic norms, the McMullen Naval History Symposium enjoyed an influx of overseas scholars, boosting the number of registrants to over 400, the highest tally in recent decades. In addition, some of the sessions were set up to allow additional scholars to participate via video connections. Over the two days there were seven back-to-back 105-minute sessions, with three sessions held on Thursday and four on Friday. Within each session, attendees could attend one of nine concurrent panels. Each panel featured 3 to 4 presentations. In summary, the creation of the symposium’s program created logistical and creative challenges that were adroitly handled director by director Capt. Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong, USN, PhD, and his deputy Cdr. Ryan Mewett, USN, PhD. They were ably assisted by Dr. Roger Bailey, Major Ben Brewster, Lt. Cdr. Chris Costello, Dr. Abby Mullen, Capt. Bob Qu, Major Tom Scovel, and Dr. Gene Smith, who served on the Program Committee.
The opening plenary on Thursday was presented by Dr. Jason W. Smith of Southern Connecticut State University in a talk titled “A Historian Looks at Forty: Some Reflections on ‘Doing Naval History’ at Mid-Life.” The author of the award-winning To Master the Boundless Sea, having just returned from sabbatical, gave thoughts on his current interest on cultural attitudes about the Navy at the turn of the 20th century and offered encouragement to use differing perspectives to study naval history. The day closed with the always eloquent Dr. Andrew Lambert of King’s College in London providing the McMullen Sea Power address titled Sea Power as Culture: Mahan, Corbett and Strategic Choice. As a scholar of the Royal Navy in the 20th century, Lambert has the deepest appreciation of the impact both theorists made within the Royal Navy hierarchy, which made for many interesting follow-on discussions following the talk and the next day. Another highlight of the Symposium was presentations made at the CNO Naval History Writing Contest Award Luncheon. See a summary of the prize-winners below.
The US Naval Academy History Department looks forward to welcoming back the community in two years, which will closely coincide with the 250th birthday of the US Navy.
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Winners of CNO’s 2023 Naval Essay Contest Announced
Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command
Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, acting superintendent of the US Naval Academy, presented awards to the recipients of the Chief of Naval Operation’s 2023 Naval History Essay Contest during the McMullen Naval History Symposium luncheon held at the US Naval Academy on 21 Sept. For this year’s contest, 117 essays were submitted—67 in the Rising Historian category, 13 in the Professional category, and 37 in the Student Historian category.
The CNO Naval History Essay Contest originated in 2017 under then-CNO Adm. John Richardson to further understanding of how lessons from history can inform the Navy’s way ahead. The goal of the contest is to leverage the knowledge and creativity of current and former uniformed and civilian members of the US maritime services and the Merchant Marine and professional historians to broaden and deepen the Navy’s warfighting knowledge by applying lessons from history to help ensure maritime superiority in an era of great power competition. “Our Navy’s story is ever-growing, and our fleet’s legacy shines bright. This endeavor is personally important to me,” said Kacher, who is also the author of several Naval Institute Press books. “I’m a sailor by trade, but my writing life—which is a vocation—started with a contest similar to this. That was the gateway for me to explore, think, learn and write. And I could not be more grateful for this tradition that we have—started nearly a century ago—that still provides a venue to celebrate independent thought. I want to praise all the contestants for having the courage to write and submit an essay. All the participants faced the writer’s greatest adversary—the blank page...Your submissions and efforts have tremendous value to the fleet. We may not be able to predict the future. We don’t know what competition or conflict tomorrow may bring, but the rigorous study and reflection can assure we are better prepared for whatever challenges remain ahead.”
Previous years of the competition had only two categories: Professional and Rising. This year’s contest expanded the competition to include a Student Historian category.
Read full article>>
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National Maritime Historical Society Sponsors Naval History Eco-System Lunch
In what portends to be a new event associated with the McMullen Naval History Symposium, the National Maritime Historical Society (NMHS) hosted a Friday noon luncheon at the USNA Officers Club to survey the waterscape for upcoming opportunities for up-and-coming scholars to present and publish new naval history content. Captain Jim Noone, chairman of the society, welcomed representatives from six nations, a myriad of naval/maritime heritage organizations, and from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard history offices, and turned the program to his former Navy Reserve shipmate Dr. Dave Winkler to moderate an engaging roundtable discussion.
For the prestation side of the program Dr. Ingo Heidbrink opened with a proposal to add a naval-specific component to next year’s 9th International Maritime History Association Congress in Busan, South Korea, and asked for volunteers to evaluate paper submissions. Dr. Winkler then shared news from the National Maritime Alliance about forthcoming plans to have the 12th Maritime Naval Heritage Conference in Buffalo, New York, in two years, ideally in the week following the next McMullen Naval History Symposium to allow historians travelling from overseas to participate in two major forums. Various organizational leaders then spoke about additional presentation/participation opportunities at next month’s Naval Order Congress in San Diego, CA; November’s NATO naval history conference in Wilhelmshaven, Germany; February’s Western Naval History Association meeting in San Diego, CA; April’s Society of Military History Annual Meeting in Arlington, VA; and June’s joint North American Society of Oceanic History/Canadian Naval Research Society meeting in St. Catherine’s, Ontario.
For the publishing side, Dr. Charles Chadbourn, editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Naval History, and Dr. Charles Steele, the current IJNH book editor, announced a transition to fleet up Steele to the editor-in-chief job, and Steele welcomed support and ideas. Other attendees contributed publication suggestions, such as Dr. Judy Pearson representing the 1805 Club mentioning the Trafalgar Chronicles and the Kedge Anchor. Canadian naval historian Chris Perry, touted Canadian Nautical Research Society’s Northern Mariner and Dr. Mark Barton of Britain’s Nautical Research Society spoke with pride about the Mariner’s Mirror. The Naval Institute’s Naval History journal was discussed and of course, with NMHS hosting the luncheon, all left with a copy of Sea History.
With time limited due to the resumption of afternoon sessions Denise Krepp of the Naval History and Heritage Command recommended publishing an article summarizing publication opportunities for distribution to multiple outlets. A volunteer was identified to write a draft.
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Tuesday Tidings content compiler Jessie Henderson and her teacher Dr. Julie Mitchell from Cleveland, Tn. were recognized during the Naval History Eco-System Luncheon for Ms. Henderson’s prize-winning projects at National History Day, which earned Dr. Mitchell the former Naval Historical Foundation’s “Teacher of Distinction” award, now presented by NMHS. Henderson, a sophomore at Lee University, presented her paper on US Navy relief for the Irish famine at the symposium. | |
Naval Order Recognizes Top-Notch Panel
In the photo above, National Capital Commandery Commander John Shanahan presents Naval War College historian David Kohnen with a certificate and check in recognition of his contribution to a Friday morning panel, “Operations and Aspirations: Applying America’s Sea Power to Defeat Japan.” The panel, which earned Naval Order of the United States sponsorship, featured the “‘Using a Sledgehammer to Drive a Tack’: The Use of Overwhelming Force in the Central Pacific, from Tarawa to Tinian” by independent scholar Andrew K. Blackley; “Germany First, but Not So Fast: Committing to an Early Pacific Offensive” by Trent Hone of ICF International; and Kohnen’s “The Long March for American ‘Sea Power’: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Vision of a US Navy ‘Second to None.’” John T. Kuehn of the United States Army Command and General Staff College chaired, and offered comment on what he dubbed “The Admirals Panel.” All presenters as well as the chair received Naval Order recognition in the form of a certificate and $250 check. Blackley was also recognized as a CNO History Essay Contest Winner earlier in the symposium.
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NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | |
From Julietts to Yasens: Development and Operational History of Soviet Cruise-Missile Submarines 1958–2022; By Alejandro A. Vilches Alarcón, Warwick, UK: Helion and Co., Ltd., (2022).
Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (Ret)
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...After several different conversions based on the Project 613 “Whiskey” class, the first large class of SSG, Project 651 “Juliett,” carried the P-6 missile system (SS-N-3 “Shaddock”). When Soviet industry could produce enough nuclear reactors to equip SSGNs, shipyards produced the Project 659, “Echo I” (SS-N-3) and the Project 675m “Echo II” (P-500, SS-N-12 “Sandbox”). The Project 670/670M (“Charlie I/II”) were the first series-built submarines to be able to launch submerged, although their missiles had significantly shorter ranges than those of the first generation SSGs/SSGNs. With the deployment of the Project 949/949A “Oscar I/II” with the P-700 SS-N-19 “Shipwreck,” the Soviet Navy at last gained the capability to keep up with and track NATO carrier battle groups and to launch submerged a massive strike (24 missiles per submarine) from long range.
The author provides in-depth histories of all the classes, including ones-of-a-kind like the Project 661 “Papa,” discussing development, construction, and deployments. He also explores the many SSG and SSGN accidents, from relatively minor mishaps to disasters like the catastrophic reactor accident on Echo II Class K-431 in Chazma Bay in 1985 and the fatal torpedo explosion on Oscar II Class Kursk in the Barents Sea in 2000.
One wonders why the author listed so few Russian sources in his bibliography; especially notable by its absence is A. S. Pavlov’s 1992 The Navy of Russia and the CIS. There are a few instances in which translation issues between Russian, Spanish, and English have apparently led to some curious phrasing, like referring to “main condensers” in the primary loop of a pressurized water reactor. All told, though, Vilches Alarcón has done an excellent job of telling a complex story in a compact format without sacrificing quality.
Read full review>>
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NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | |
Recent release of video survey of IJNS Akagi—one of the four Japanese carriers lost at the Battle of Midway | |
Flogging in The United States Navy
By Major Leo F. S. Horan, US Marine Corps (Retired)
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Artist concept of a previously common punishment aboard vessels—flogging with a cat-of-nine-tails (US Naval Institute Photo Archive) | |
Flogging men across their bare backs with a cat-of-nine-tails, while their hands were fastened above their heads and their legs spread apart and ankles tied to a grating, was lawfully practiced on ships of the United States Navy for 75 years.
The “cat” used in such cases was not of standard construction, but was usually made of nine lashes or tails of whipcord or log line, about 18 inches long, each knotted near the end, and fastened to a handle of wood of about drumstick length. It has also been described as having three knots on each cord, at regular intervals, one being near the end. The part of the ship where the cat was used was as varied as the ships themselves. Sometimes the grating was rigged on the main deck, or on the spar deck; near the mainmast, or at the gangway. The one inflicting the punishment was required to see that the ends of the cat tails were not entangled while in use, but were disengaged from time to time and, if necessary, washed in water.
Early English and American Laws
In tracing the legal authority for flogging in the United States Navy from its origin to abolition, it is necessary not only to go back to Colonial times and follow legislative Acts commencing with the Continental Congress through to the Act passed at the first session of the 31st Congress, but also to trace the sources of those legislative Acts by turning back the pages of history to the thirteenth year of the reign of Charles II of England in 1661 (cited as 13 Charles II). Parliament then passed an Act, the preamble of which reads: “For the Establishing Articles and Orders for the Regulating and better Government of His Majesties Navies, Ships of War and Forces by Sea.” My copy is printed in Old English, black letter, in a folio-sized pamphlet, with headings in Latin. Thring’s Criminal Law of the Navy (London, 1877) states that that Act “was the first legislative code for the enforcement of discipline and punishment of offences in a standing navy, and the first positive enactment of military law to be found in the statute-book.”
In 1749 that law was repealed by an Act of Parliament (22 George II) entitled “An Act for amending, explaining, and reducing into one act of Parliament, the laws relating to the government of his Majesty’s ships, vessels, and forces by sea,” effective 25 December, 1749.
Read full article>>
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NAVAL HISTORY CALLS FOR PAPERS | |
The Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize is a $50,000 prize sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The award recognizes the best book on American military history in English distinguished by its scholarship, its contribution to the literature, and its appeal to the broadest possible general reading public. Books that touch upon historic military events of other countries may be considered as long as their primary focus is on American military history. Publishers, critics, and authors may submit or nominate books published in the current year.
Please note that as of 2022, only books with a primary focus of American military history can be considered.
To nominate books copyrighted in 2023, please send five copies to the address below before the submission deadline of December 31, 2023.
Daniela Muhling
Book Prize Manager
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
49 West 45th Street, 2nd Floor
New York NY 10036
For more information, please call 646.366.9666 ext.144 or send an email to bookprizes@gilderlehrman.org.
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UPCOMING NAVAL & MARITIME HISTORY GATHERINGS | |
PREBLE HALL NAVAL HISTORY PODCAST |
A naval history podcast from Preble Hall – the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. Preble Hall will interview historians, practitioners, military personnel, and other experts on a variety of naval history topics from ancient history to more current events.
Click here for the latest episode: 197: Live from McMullen>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
| DRACHINIFEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL |
Welcome to Navy History Matters, Naval History and Heritage Command’s biweekly compilation of articles, commentaries, and blogs related to history and heritage. Every other week, they gather the top-interest items from a variety of media and social media sources that link to related content at NHHC’s website, your authoritative source for Navy history.
Click here for most recent article>>
| INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAVAL HISTORY |
The International Journal of Naval History (IJNH) provides a preeminent forum for works of naval history, researched and written to demonstrable academic standards, with the goal of stimulating and promoting research into naval history and fostering communication among naval historians at an international level. IJNH welcomes any scholarly historical analysis, focused on any period or geographic region, that explores naval power in its national or cultural context. The journal is independent of any institution and operates under the direction of an international editorial board that represents various genres of naval history.
Click here to read the February 2023 edition and archived issues on the IJNH website >>
| SUPPORTING US NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE |
With the 250th anniversary of the US Navy on the horizon, NMHS seeks your support as we plan to honor those who have provided for our maritime security.
Click here to donate today >>
If you are one of those friends who have considered joining the Society or have wanted to recommend membership to friends, the Society is offering a 60th anniversary membership sale: ten bucks! See: Anniversary Membership Special Offer.
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