Tuesday Tidings is published by the National Maritime Historical Society with support from the US Naval Institute. Interested in joining USNI? Click on the USNI logo to become a member! | | | |
21 October 2025
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
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With the Navy portion of the 250th anniversary celebrations hosted in Philadelphia in our wake, Tuesday Tidings offers a recap of two major naval history gatherings and some breaking news from one of those gatherings about the status of the National Museum of the US Navy. There is also a significant conference on “Battleships in the Baltic” scheduled for Thursday evening in Germany that can be viewed over the lunch hour on the US East Coast. Check it out! Later this week there will be a conference and dinner in Portsmouth to commemorate the 220th anniversary of Trafalgar. Tuesday Tidings will provide coverage.
For Naval History Book Reviews, we thank Dr. Satterfield for his review of Dr. Kohnen’s book on Admiral King. The book bin has been replenished with titles from Casemate and Naval Institute Press. There are some top-notch titles, including the long-awaited At Sea Against the Soviet Fleet: The Evolution of US Navy Operational Intelligence in the Cold War by retired Capt. Bryan H. Leese, the latest in the line of successful doctorate candidates who studied under the able guidance of the Laughton Professor of Naval History at King’s College Andrew Lambert. Congratulations to Bryan for getting his dissertation published!
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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.
As always, comments and naval history news items are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
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ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
Tuesday, 21 October – World War II Discussion Forum
The Mighty A: The Short, Heroic Life of USS Atlanta (CL 51)
With David F. Winkler
8 PM EDT (Zoom)
Tuesday–Wednesday, 21–22 October – Scottish Maritime Heritage Forum Glasgow, Scotland
Thursday, 23 October – Institute for Security Policy Kiel University
Battleships and the Baltic: Does Maritime Strategy Need Big Guns?
Hosted by Dr. Sebastian Bruns
11 AM–1:30 PM ET
Friday, 24 October – Mariners’ Museum Legacy Program
Capt. John Rodgers: Hero of the Battle of Wausau Sound
With John V. Quarstein
Noon–1 PM ET (Live/Zoom)
Saturday, 25 October – St. Peter’s Chapel, Mare Island Historic Park Foundation
Haunted Mare Island
With Jeffrey Dwyer, PhD
4 PM PT (Live)
Sunday, 26 October – PT Admiral’s Mansion, Mare Island
Historic Furniture Sale
10 AM–2 PM
Wednesday, 29 October – Maritime History North Autumn Conference, Liverpool, UK
Thursday-Friday, 30–31 October – Naval History Conference Maynooth University, Ireland
Contact Anglosphere2025@gmail.com
Monday, 3 November – Morison Award Dinner New York Naval Order Commandery
Honoring Dr. Kate Epstein
Racquet & Tennis Club on Park Ave
6 PM ET
| | Amid the festivities celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the US Navy there were two significant gatherings that offered outstanding presentations on US Navy and Marine Corps history. Tuesday Tidings offers the following two recaps! | | |
Navigating the Past: Histories of the US Navy and Marine Corps, 1775–2025 Conference
Conference summary courtesy Tom Duffy
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On Friday–Saturday 10–11 October, the McNeil Center for Early American History at the University of Pennsylvania and the History Department of Rutgers University-Camden helped to kick off Navy 250 History celebrations in Philadelphia with a two-day academic conference titled “Navigating the Past: Histories of the US Navy and Marine Corps, 1775–2025,” which convened scholars from across the country to consider the whole sweep of United States sea service history.
Former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson addressed the conference participants and invited guests at the Thursday-evening opening reception held at the Library Company of Philadelphia. In his remarks, he emphasized that on this 250th Celebration of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, those gathered should remember that US sailors and Marines are national treasures. In addition to being the finest maritime warriors on the planet, they serve to protect the national economy by keeping open the sea lanes and US access to foreign markets, and they support the diplomatic power of the nation. Admiral Richardson closed his remarks by commissioning the historians present to stand ready with interesting and relevant examples from the past that can help us more quickly understand the fast-moving present.
| | Admiral Fallon addresses conference attendees. Photo courtesy Kate Blair. | | |
Retired Admiral William J. “Fox” Fallon, a native of the Philadelphia region, former Pacific Command and Central Command Commander, and ultimate chairman of the Naval Historical Foundation, provided keynote remarks on Saturday emphasizing the importance of naval history in comprehending current events as well as the significant roles the Philadelphia region played in the history of the United States Navy.
The conference opened on Friday, 11 October, at the Kislak Special Collections section of Van Pelt Library; in addition to an amenable conference space, the library had arranged a collection of historical documents tied to the entire history of the US Navy, with curators standing by to address detailed questions. Emma Hart, the Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center at Penn, provided welcoming remarks with Rutgers History Chair Andrew Shankman chairing the first session: The First American Navies. That session featured Chris Magra of the University of Tennessee with “Manning the First American Navy: The Military Mobilization of Maritime Labor in 1775;” Benjamin Schaffer, of the University of South Carolina, with “A Revolutionary Partnership: The Relationship between the Continental and South Carolina State Navies, 1775–1780;” and Paul A. Gilje, University of Oklahoma, emeritus, with “Commerce, Diplomacy, and the US Navy in St. Domingue in 1799–1800.”
The next session, chaired by Larrie Ferreiro of George Mason University, examined The Early Republican Navy: Anti-Slavery Patrols and the War of 1812. The session featured Andrew Fagal, Princeton University, with “The US Navy’s Suppression of the African Slave Trade during the Quasi-War;” Justin P. Jones, Vanderbilt University, with “The Foxardo Affair, David Porter, and the Question of Slavery: The US Navy’s Anti-Piracy Campaign and Its Relation to the Slave Trade in the Nineteenth-Century;” and Andrew J. Lyter, University of Portsmouth, with “Elias Hutchins—A Naval Life over Neptune’s Dominions.”
The third session, chaired by Lindsay Schakenbach Regele of Miami University examined Officer Culture in the Jacksonian Era. The session featured Rodney Hessinger, John Carroll University, with “‘We have met the enemy and they are [us]’: Swagger, Discretion, and Codes of Manhood in the Perry-Elliott Controversy;” Amber Shoopman-DeVries, Southeast Community College, with “The Navy Adrift: The First Moral and Intellectual Reformation of the US Navy;” and Laura June Davis, Columbus State University, with “An Officer and a Gentleman: Dueling and Honor Culture in the US Navy and Marine Corps, 1775–1865.”
The day’s final session, chaired by Dael Norwood, University of Delaware, examined Exploration and the Antebellum Navy. The session featured Konstantin Dierks, Indiana University, “Globalizing the US Navy in Antebellum America;” Michael Verney, Drury University, with “Cartographic Conflict: The US North Pacific Exploring Expedition, Cross-cultural Violence, and Imperial Mapmaking in Japan, 1853–1856;” and Janika Dillon, Northeastern University, “Unraveling the History of Two Children’s Dresses Made of Tapa: Material Culture, Imperialism, and the 1899 USS Albatross Scientific Expedition.”
The conference reconvened on Saturday, October 11 on the fantail of USS New Jersey, punctuated by the ship’s bell marking the half-hours along with 1MC announcements involving USS Billings (LCS 15), moored outboard of New Jersey. Richard Immerman, Temple University, chaired the opening session of Sea Power in the Age of Industrialization and Globalization. The session featured Nicholas A. Lambert discussing “Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Promise of Sea Power;” Katherine Epstein, Rutgers University-Camden, with “Battleship Gunnery Computers and the Pax Americana;” and Kathryn Steen, Drexel University with “Ruling the Air Waves: The US Navy, Radio, and Patents.”
The next session, chaired by Marc Gallichio, Villanova University, was titled Wielding the Trident in World War II. Salvatore Mercogliano, Campbell University, told the story of “Six Oilers: The Epic History of American Naval Logistics in the Second World War,” while Timothy Wolters, Iowa State University, examined “The Evolution of the Combat Information Center (CIC), 1943–1945.”
The concluding session was chaired by Mary Mitchell, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University-Newark, and examined The Navy in the Nuclear Era. David Alan Rosenberg spoke on “The Foundations of United States Navy Nuclear Deterrence: Strategy, Technology, Operations, Institutions and Individuals, 1945–1975,” while Lillian Young, University of New Hampshire, examined “The Second Korean War and the Shootdown of Deep Sea 129.”
All told, the conference was an interesting mix of social history and the history of science and technology, with a bit of operational history for good measure. As conference co-chair Kate Epstein observed in her concluding remarks, the sessions were a little light on the US Marine Corps; one hopes this is just the first in a sequence of conferences that will inevitably give the Marines their due.
| | Naval Order Congress Sets the Bar High | | |
The exit interviews at the conclusion of last week’s annual Congress of the Naval Order of the United States drew a consensus of praise for the program and content of the four-day gathering that commenced on Wednesday, 15 October, at the Element Hotel, located in the heart of Philadelphia’s Center City. Drawing over 100 companions from around the nation, the hosting Philadelphia Commandery weaved together a productive agenda that interspersed tours and talks among the business of the Naval Order sessions.
| | Companions tour the New Jersey. Tuesday Tidings photograph. | | History was made on Thursday as the prestigious Admiral of the Navy George Dewey Award was presented for the first time on Dewey’s Flagship at Manila Bay, USS Olympia. Rear Adm. Thomas Lynch, USN (Ret.), a former teammate of Roger Staubach at the Naval Academy who later had success in his naval and private sector careers, was the honored recipient. Besides touring Olympia, companions had the opportunity to either visit the battleship New Jersey or the Independence Seaport Museum. | | Naval Order Commander General Rear Adm. Peter Andrus with Dr. Lambert following his Mahan presentation. Tuesday Tidings photograph. | | The Congress heard top-notch sea service presentations, starting on Friday with Dr. Nicholas Lambert, who discussed his well-received book on A. T. Mahan titled The Neptune Factor. Retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Vince Patton gave a tour de force on the history of the Coast Guard, giving emphasis on “Our Daddy,” Alexander Hamilton. Closing out the sea service trident was Maj. Gen. Jason Q. Bohm, USMC (Ret.), who recently dug into the Naval Documents of the American Revolution to publish a narrative titled Washington’s Marines, that has gone far to fill a void in the history of the Corps. | | MCPOCG Patton Tuesday Tidings photograph | | |
The gathering also had an opportunity to hear about contemporary operations. Companions were awed by their choice for the Naval Order Distinguished Sea Service Award, Senior Enlisted Award Recipient, Command Master Chief Laura Nunley, USN (Ret.), who spoke about her career and the support provided by her spouse as she culminated her career as the command master chief in the plank-owning crew of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford. The other Naval Order Distinguished Sea Service Award was presented to recently retired Adm. John C. Aquilino, USN (Ret), who discussed the current threat environment from his perspective as the former Indo-Pacific Commander. Additional perspectives were shared during a panel discussion with former Navy Secretary John F. Lehman and Kenneth J, Braithwaite. While Lehman lamented the state of the industrial base and failures in ship production over the past three decades, Braithwaite discussed the situation with China as a cause for concern, especially with regards to Taiwan. The question-and-answer portions of the presentations offered some blunt assessments and in the case of Secretary Braithwaite—the chairman of the Navy Museum Development Foundation—a revelation when he announced that the current Secretary of the Navy John Phelan had withdrawn the Navy from the land-swap arrangement made last September for a parcel of land adjacent to the Washington Navy Yard, putting his fundraising efforts on hold until a new site can be identified. Stay tuned to this space. (An overview of previous sites considered for the Navy Museum will be provided in next week’s TT.)
Many sessions were dedicated to exploring how to conduct outreach to promote heritage and the good works of the Naval Order, whether it be through National History Day support, online presentation offerings, or the growth of a speakers’ bureau. Needless to say, these conversations will continue next year when the Congress meets in the Cradle of Naval Aviation in Pensacola.
Finally, a Huzzah to the New York Commandery, which earned the Douglas Award for the best large commandery, and the Newport Commandery, which earned the Armstrong Award for the top small commandery, and best wishes to retired Capt. Fred Passman, who relieved Rear Adm. Peter Andrus as the Commander General.
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Battleships and the Baltic: Does maritime strategy need big guns?
Thursday, 23 Oct. 2025, from 17:00 to 18:30 (11 AM–12:30 PM ET)
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In October 1985, the mighty American battleship USS Iowa (BB 61) arrived in Kiel for its inaugural Baltic Sea visit. Accompanied by the brand-new guided missile cruiser USS Ticonderoga (CG 47), sporting the state of the art Aegis system, the recommissioned World War II behemoth sent a powerful message to NATO allies and the Warsaw Pact at the height of the second Cold War: the Baltic Sea and the northern flank would be defended and the Soviet Union would be unbalanced by an offensive, forward-leaning US-led maritime strategy buttressed by a 600-ship navy.
Four decades later, the Baltic Sea is back as a theater for maritime strategists and naval professionals. President Donald Trump has even insinuated that the US might be building new American battleships (though it is not entirely clear whether he meant Iowa-style big guns, or other warships). Join host Dr. Sebastian Bruns (Fellow, Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre) to hear from Larry Seaquist, former commanding officer of USS Iowa and a retired academic and policy-maker, as we discuss taking the mighty battleship to Europe’s northern flank in the 1980s. Johannes Peters, Department Head Maritime Strategy & Security at the Institute for Security Policy Kiel University (ISPK), will provide comments on today’s maritime security situation in the Baltic, and whether we need to bring back battleships. Time for Q&A will be provided.
Battleships and the Baltic: Does maritime strategy need big guns?
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | | |
King’s Navy: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897 – 1947 By David Kohnen, Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., (2024).
Reviewed by John R. Satterfield
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Fleet Adm. Ernest J. King was one of four World War II naval leaders promoted to five-star rank. He wielded unprecedented power as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commander in Chief, US Fleet (COMINCH). He served on the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the highest-ranking Army, Army Air Forces, and Navy officers who guided policies and operations for American forces, and on the British, American, and Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS), overseeing global allied efforts.
King may be the least- and least-favorably remembered US wartime staff leader. British and US naval historians assert that King was a vituperative anglophobe, emphasizing the Pacific Theater to the detriment of the Germany First strategy of President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill, and the CCS. King could be argumentative, ill-tempered, stubborn, and quarrelsome. FDR called him “my blowtorch.” Thanks to Thomas Buell’s 1980 biography, Master of Sea Power, King’s personal reputation suffered from allegations, quickly accepted as fact despite protests from King’s family and closest associates, of excessive drinking and extramarital affairs, some with wives of subordinate officers.
David Kohnen’s biography and strategic study presents a more sympathetic portrait of King, covering his entire naval career from Naval Academy entry in 1897 until a 1947 stroke ended his active service. King spent much time in hospitals until his 1956 death at age 77. During the half-century of King’s service, the US Navy became preeminent, far exceeding the Royal Navy’s global power at the British Empire’s apogee in the Victorian era.
King presided over more than seven thousand vessels, 64,000 aircraft, and four million personnel in the wartime fleet. His unswerving, international strategic vision placed the Navy as first among equals in securing victory, establishing stability, and maintaining lasting peace as an outcome. He fought vociferously for strategic consistency and coherence in Allied planning meetings throughout the war, striving to save lives with efficient applications of force to fix and destroy enemy assets, prevent Axis initiatives, and facilitate restored post-war tranquility. According to Kohnen, King championed a United Nations naval force in line with FDR’s hopes to maintain these conditions while discounting the view of air power advocates who wrongly believed that strategic bombing could win the conflict. King also argued that invading Japan, as well as atomic bomb use to forestall that invasion, were unnecessary. He called for coordinated pressure from Soviet and Chinese troops against Japan’s forces in China to defeat the Empire. King believed that England and Formosa (now Taiwan) should be Allied strategic springboards for continental operations in Europe and the Pacific. FDR and the CCS rejected these arguments, following Churchill’s indirect approach through the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Italy, and Douglas MacArthur’s Philippines invasion, but King provided full combat and logistical support for these campaigns. His disciplined objections also stopped useless forays that could prolong the war.
After 1945, however, development of nuclear weapons, the ensuing Cold War, long-range jet air power, and unified defense administration undercut King’s vision for naval strategic dominance. Today, the USN active and reserve fleet numbers fewer than five hundred; the RN has sixty-three commissioned ships.
King’s remarkable career mirrored the maritime technical revolution in the twentieth century. He was born in Ohio in 1878 and graduated fourth in his USNA Class of 1901. He served in the Spanish American War as a midshipman, then spent twenty years progressing in surface ships and staff assignments. In World War I, he advanced to captain’s rank at age thirty-nine while serving on the USN staff in London. King qualified for submarine command in the early 1920s and earned naval aviator’s wings in 1927 at the age of forty-eight. He commanded an aircraft carrier and headed the Bureau of Aviation in 1933, attaining flag rank. Although King was close to retirement, the new CNO, Adm. Harold Stark, made him CinC, Atlantic Squadron, quickly renamed the Atlantic Fleet in early 1941, giving King four stars. After Pearl Harbor, King transitioned to CinC, US Fleet, the Navy’s senior operational officer. In 1942, King became CNO when Stark transferred to London, and he remained in both positions until 1945.
Kohnen’s admirable research uses extensive, unexplored documentation to support his claims and presents a more positive view of King, clearly demonstrating the admiral’s superior intellect, leadership, complex personality, and humanity. King married in 1903, fathered six daughters and a son, enjoyed his large family and many close friends, played with grandchildren when he could, and displayed a robust, if sardonic, sense of humor. He caroused in his early career, but quickly matured, earning outstanding evaluations from superiors and early promotions. Given the demands of his role in the war and that FDR kept him in service well past the mandatory retirement age of 64, one may question Buell’s allegations.
Unfortunately, Kohnen’s work is not without flaws. The author gives King individual credit for many policies and directives that had to be collaborative. King had final approval of these actions but could not have conceived and developed them alone. He was brilliant, but not a superman. Kohnen does point out occasional mistakes or personal flaws, but King’s achievements do not need inflation or exaggeration. Nor should other exceptionally able commanders, such as Leahy, Nimitz, Spruance, Kinkaid, and others be minimized.
Another major problem is that the 462-page narrative could have been tightened up. Kohnen’s dense writing style lacks continuity and is excessively repetitive. A more rigorous copy-edit would have improved and caught errors in syntax and simple typos. That being said, the publisher Schiffer is to be praised for taking on such a project of this length, given the significance of King in naval and World War II history. The book is most worthy of a close read. Kohnen deserves much credit for modifying the prevalent historical record on Admiral King.
David Kohnen serves as the Captain T. B. Kittredge Historian at the Naval War College. He is an award-winning maritime museum exhibition producer and the author of several historical studies of American sea power. Having served in the enlisted ranks, Kohnen completed thirty years among active and reserve ranks punctuated by multiple deployments as anNaval officer afloat and ashore in designated combat areas on the global stage after 11 September 2001.
Dr. Satterfield writes about and teaches military and naval history for the University of Maryland Global Campus.
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | | |
HMS Victory & Trafalgar Week
Commemorating the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
| | W. L. Wyllie (c. 1925),H.M.S. Victory. © Royal Museums Greenwich (PAF1491). Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND. | | |
Trafalgar Week holds profound significance for the Society for Nautical Research (SNR), reflecting its enduring commitment to preserving and promoting maritime heritage. Celebrated annually around the 21st of October, Trafalgar Week commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and the death of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson, a pivotal moment in British naval history. For the SNR, this week is not only a time of remembrance but also a reaffirmation of its foundational mission.
The Society played a central role in the preservation of HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar. In 1922, the SNR launched the “Save the Victory” campaign, successfully securing funds to restore the deteriorating vessel and placing it in dry dock at Portsmouth. This act of preservation became a landmark achievement in maritime conservation and remains a cornerstone of the Society’s legacy. Read more about this HERE.
Whilst the National Museum of the Royal Navy accepted the ship into the HMS Victory Preservation Trust in 2012, the SNR remains instrumental in funding surveys to improve understanding of Victory as an artefact and as an educational platform. This week episodes of the Mariner's Mirror Podcast will speak with some of those who are currently involved in the HMS Victory: The Big Repair project in a two-part special that also traces the final moments of Admiral Lord Nelson on his flagship 220 years ago.
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NMHS First Thursdays Seminar Series: Launching Liberty
With Author Doug Most
Before the United States entered World War II, U-boats were sinking ships and Washington knew logistics would decide the conflict. In this talk, author Doug Most traces how Franklin Roosevelt and Henry J. Kaiser built a nationwide shipbuilding program from scratch, trained a diverse workforce, and drastically cut build times to send Liberty ships to sea. The story connects home-front mobilization, innovation, and the people who made it work. You will hear about planners, builders, and sailors, including women and Black Americans, who stepped into skilled roles and found new opportunity. This is the human story behind the steel and the supply lines that helped win the war.
Watch here>>
| | Call for Applications: 2026 Summer Seminar in Military History | | |
Through the generous support of the John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis at the Virginia Military Institute, and the Society for Military History, the 2026 Summer Seminar in Military History will be held on the VMI campus in beautiful Lexington, Virginia, June 1–12, 2026.
This two-week in-residence experience draws on the long tradition of Summer Seminars. This year, the theme will be “Foundations of Military History.” Participants will engage with visiting scholars, VMI faculty, and the program director to develop core skills and concepts in the study of military history. Seminar Fellows will also interact with public historians and archivists and participate in a battlefield staff ride.
The seminar is open to advanced doctoral students (ABD at time of application) in history or a closely related field, early career scholars no more than five years beyond the conferral of their PhD, or scholars new to the discipline of military history (including public historians or historians employed in government positions).
Due to funding constraints, the seminar is only open to US citizens or permanent residents.
Summer Seminar Fellows will receive:
- lodging for the duration of the seminar
- select meals, including a welcome dinner, lunch each seminar day, and a closing banquet
- all reading materials
- a $1,300 stipend to help offset transportation costs to and from Lexington, Virginia, and other costs, such as evening meals, laundry, etc..
Seminar Fellows are encouraged to seek additional support from their home institutions to supplement travel and other costs.
Applications will be submitted via https://form.jotform.com/252778234204053. The application consists of a brief form, plus the following items to be uploaded:
- A two-page letter of interest, outlining the applicant’s motivation, qualifications, and goals for the seminar and their future career
- A CV/Resume
Doctoral students will include the name and contact information of their academic supervisor, who will submit a letter of reference.
Applications will be accepted through December 12, 2025. Applicants will be selected based on their potential contributions to the field of military history and on the contribution the program can make to their future teaching and research. Selected Fellows must be members in good standing of the Society for Military History. Click here for membership information.
Questions about the program can be sent to the Director, Dr. Adam Seipp (Professor of History, Texas A&M University), at aseipp@tamu.edu.
| | Grimsley Fellowship Announcement | | |
The Society for Military History (SMH) seeks a doctoral student in military history and who is a member in good standing in the SMH to fill its Mark Grimsley SMH Fellowship in Social Media. This position honors Dr. Mark Grimsley, Associate Professor of History at the Ohio State University, a widely published scholar and leading pioneer in military history social media and academic blogging. The Grimsley Fellow will serve a two-year term beginning January l, 2026, and receive a stipend of $2,000 per year from the SMH.
The Grimsley Fellow will join the SMH’s Social Media Committee and act primarily to maintain the SMH presence on X (formally known as Twitter), Instagram, and Bluesky. Among other duties, the Grimsley Fellow will focus on posting abridged versions of notices that appear on the SMH Facebook Group, Facebook Page, and the SMH web site.
Any student of military history currently enrolled in a doctoral program—who is also an SMH member—is eligible for the Grimsley Fellowship. Please submit your application electronically to the SMH Social Media Committee Chair, Dr. Brittany Huner, at brittanyhuner@my.unt.edu. Applicants must submit:
- A cover letter including the applicant’s experience managing social media with a statement describing how social media can benefit and be utilized by the SMH
- The applicant’s CV
- Written confirmation from the applicant’s adviser that he or she is a student in good standing in an accredited program.
The deadline for applications is 15 October 2023. The Grimsley Fellow will be chosen by a search committee composed of the SMH Social Media Committee. Contact Dr. Brittany Huner at: brittanyhuner@my.unt.edu with any questions.
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Aftermath of the 1956 Suez crisis: Global Ramifications and Reflections
for Dockyards and Shipyards
Naval Dockyards Society 30th Annual Conference (hybrid)
National Maritime Museum Greenwich Saturday 28 March 2026
Sponsored by the Society for Nautical Research
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Writing a decade after the Suez crisis, one contemporary politician dismissed the affair as merely “the dying convulsion of the British Empire.”* This view is still widely held today, but how authentic is that interpretation in hindsight?
How did the Suez crisis redefine Britain’s international identity and economic profile and its relationship with former colonies and ongoing allies? And how did it influence attitudes among Britain’s allies, including France and Israel, who had taken part, and the United States who had forced an early end to the action?
Critically, how did the Suez aftermath and its often bitter recriminations shape future British naval policy on home and overseas dockyards and shipyards and their communities?
Conference themes will include:
- Overview of how the Suez crisis shaped subsequent British and Allied naval strategy and deployment in the Cold War
- Political, local, social and economic effects of Suez on dockyards and shipyards globally
- Global strategic threats and opportunities arising from Suez
- Suez accelerated the global power shift from Britain to the United States—evidence?
If your proposal is accepted, you will present in-person or online. We shall refund UK/European travel fares to the conference (other overseas: travel from UK airport to Greenwich), your fee, and lunch, and contribute to accommodation, publish your paper and give you a journal volume. Your talk will be c.30 minutes, the printed paper 6–10k words, due 31 June 2026.
Send your title, a 300-word synopsis and a 100-word biography by 15 December 2025 or earlier to Roger Bendall roger@rogerbendall.com and Dr Ann Coats avcoatsndschair@gmail.com N.B. The proposal should present original research.
https://navaldockyards.org/conferences/ https://navaldockyards.org/ Facebook: NavalDockyardsSocietyhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1443502952760615
* Nutting, Anthony. No End of a Lesson. Constable, 1967. p. 108. A noted Arabist, Nutting resigned as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in protest at the invasion of Egypt.
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Maritime Margins: Missing Voices, Overlooked Places, and New Perspectives
New Haven, Connecticut, 27–29 May 2026
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The North American Society for Oceanic History invites you to its annual conference at the Canal Dock Boathouse and Hotel Marcel in New Haven, Connecticut, 27–29 May 2026. From the Black engineer William Lanson, who once made New Haven’s Long Wharf the longest structure of its kind in North America, to the birth of industrialized oystering in the waters between river, harbor, and Long Island Sound, New Haven sits at multiple margins of human and natural histories. The city is also the “cultural capital of Connecticut,” boasting renowned museums, research libraries, and some of the best “apizza” outside Naples.
All scholars of the history or archaeology of fresh and saltwater, maritime cultural landscapes, navies, maritime security and strategy, and maritime actors (including the natural environment itself) are encouraged to submit proposals. We particularly seek presentations that highlight historically marginalized people, places, and subjects, including papers that consider race, class, gender and imperial, colonial, and environmental histories.
The program committee invites panel proposals of at least three and no more than four papers. We also welcome roundtable and individual paper proposals. The committee will consider a limited number of remote presentations from international participants only on a case-by-case basis. Participants from the United States must present in-person.
Proposal submissions should be in single document (.doc or .docx) and include: A) panel or paper title; B) 150-200 word abstract for the full panel and for each paper submitted; C) phone number, address, affiliation, and email of presenter(s); and E) any special requests to include remote participation by international presenters or any physical or technical accommodations required beyond a basic projector, laptop, and screen. Conference registration is required for all participants.
Proposals should be submitted electronically to nasoh.conference@gmail.com by February 2, 2026. Contact Dr. Jason W. Smith at smithj131@southernct.edu for general questions about the conference.
Student Grants and Awards
All students applying to present are automatically considered for NASOH’s Chad Smith Travel Grants. Students are also encouraged to submit their paper to be considered for the Clark G. Reynolds Student Paper Award. Additional information on award guidelines can be found on the NASOH website.
| | Call for Papers: International Journal of Naval History | | Brigadier General James L. Collins Jr. Book Prize in Military History | | |
The US Commission on Military History proudly announces the submission date for all books for consideration for the Brigadier General James L. Collins Book Prize in Military History. The prize entails a $2,000 award to the author, irrespective of nationality, of the best book written in English on any field of military history published during 2024. The Book Prize Committee, comprising USCMH members Dr. Edward J. Marolda, (Chair), Dr. Jeffrey Clark, and Dr. John Hosler, will review the submitted books and select the winner. Topics in all periods and all aspects of military history (including naval and air warfare) will be considered.
One copy of books for consideration by the Collins Prize Committee must be submitted to each of the following addresses:
Dr. Edward J. Marolda
15570 Golf Club Drive
Montclair, VA 22015
Dr. Jeffrey Clarke
1011 North Van Dorn Street
Alexandria, VA 22304
Dr. John Hosler
Command and General Staff College
Department of Military History
100 Stimson Avenue
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
Copies must be postmarked no later than 31 December 2025. Upon notification from the
selection committee, the Collins Prize will be presented at the USCMH Annual General Meeting
usually held in early November of the following year. For further information contact the Collins
Prize Committee Chair at: edwardmarolda@yahoo.com
| | 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—featuring interviews with 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: 252 - David Gendell - Battles at Annapolis>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
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DRACHINIFEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL
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NAVY HISTORY MATTERS
Welcome to Navy History Matters, the 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>>
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At NMHS, we preserve the stories of America’s sailors and the Navy that has safeguarded our nation for 250 years. With your support, and through publications like Tuesday Tidings, we keep naval history alive and accessible to all.
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