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! | | | |
27 May 2025
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
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Today marks the 106th anniversary of the arrival of NC-4 from Newfoundland to Lisbon, completing US naval aviation’s first trans-Atlantic flight. Fly Navy!
The deadline for submissions for the 12th Maritime Heritage Conference is this Saturday. (Call for papers below!) However, since the program chair of the conference will be attending the Naval Dockyard Society gathering in Bermuda this weekend, he will not notice if you slip it in on Monday morning!
For this week’s Naval History Book Review, we thank Master Chief Jim Rhodes for his review of At Home and At Sea: An American Navy Couple During World War II. Over the past week some new titles have arrived, including one on domes that were built by the Brits during World War II to conduct anti-aircraft training. Who knew?
Congrats to NASOH on another successful annual meeting, and to the winners of their coveted John R. Lyman Book prizes. The NASOH press release is our lead story, followed by an update on the previously reported book purge at the USNA.
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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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May 17, 2025
The North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) today announced the winners of the John R. Lyman Awards in Maritime History.
Maritime and Nautical Archaeology
Winner
Jane Webster, Materializing the Middle Passage: A Historical Archaeology of British Slave Shipping, 1680–1807 (Oxford University Press, 2024).
Maritime and Naval Biography and Memoir
Winner
Gelina Harlaftis, Onassis Business History, 1924—1975 (Brill, 2024).
Honorable mention
Andrew Lipman, Squanto: A Native Odyssey (Yale University Press, 2024).
Maritime and Naval Reference Works and Edited Primary Sources
Winner
Katelynn A. Hatton and Alex Christopher Meekins, eds., North Carolina Troops, 1861–1865: A Roster, Volume 22: Confederate States Navy, Confederate States Marine Corps, and Charlotte Naval Yard (North Carolina Office of Archives and History, 2024).
Honorable mention
Robert F. Weir and Andrew W. German, The Watch’s Wild Cry: A Voyage Aboard the Whaling Vessel Clara Bell (Lyons Press, 2024).
Maritime and Naval Science, Technology, and the Environment
Winner
Tyler A. Pitrof, Too Far on a Whim: The Limits of High-Steam Propulsion in the US Navy (University of Alabama Press, 2024).
Honorable mention
Daniel Macfarlane, The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History (McGill-Queens University Press, 2024).
North American Maritime History
Winner
Jeff Forret, The Price They Paid: Slavery, Shipwrecks, and Reparations Before the Civil War (The New Press, 2024).
Honorable mention
Susan Gaunt Stearns, Empire of Commerce: The Closing of the Mississippi and the Opening of Atlantic Trade (University of Virginia Press, 2024).
North American Naval History
Co-Winner
Randy Carol Goguen, From Yeomanettes to Fighter Jets: A Century of Women in the US Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2024).
Co-Winner
Abigail G. Mullen, To Fix a National Character: The United States in the First Barbary War, 1800–1805 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).
World Maritime History
Winner
Mary E. Hicks, Captive Cosmopolitans: Black Mariners and the World of South Atlantic Slavery (University of North Carolina Press, 2024).
Honorable mention
Li Tana, A Maritime Vietnam: From Earliest Times to the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2024).
World Naval History
Winner
Kuan-Jen Chen, Charting America’s Cold War Waters in East Asia: Sovereignty, Local Interests, and International Security (Cambridge University Press, 2024).
Honorable mention
Nick Hewitt, Normandy: The Sailors’ Story: A Naval History of D-Day and the Battle for France (Yale University Press, 2024).
| | Update from the AP on the USNA Book Situation | | |
The Associated Press, known as the news organization that still calls that body of water on our southern shores the “Gulf of Mexico,” reports (See: Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn | AP News) that most of the books that we reported being removed from the shelves of the Nimitz Library at the US Naval Academy have been returned following a memorandum signed on May 9 by Timothy Dill who is performing the duties of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In an article posted on May 21, reporter Lolita C. Baldor wrote that the memorandum provided additional clarity about what materials were to be purged and the new guidance gave a green light to many of the earlier pulled titles to be returned to the shelves. She reports some 20 books are undergoing further review, noting some of the books being looked at were not on the original list.
In the meantime, Operation Caged Bird, an effort led by retired Cdr. William Marks, Jinny Amundson, and Janice Holmes to make the banned titles available to midshipmen at locations around Annapolis were among the first to receive a Courage Project Award. The Courage Project is fiscally sponsored by the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation. A note posted at Don’t Give Up the Book shares appreciation for all the support given to the project.
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The Gunboat at Ground Zero: A Revolutionary War Mystery
14 May 2025–31 January 2026
South Hall New York State Museum Albany New York
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In 2010, archaeologists excavating the World Trade Center site made an extraordinary discovery: the remains of an 18th-century wooden gunboat buried deep beneath Manhattan’s historic landfill. Likely built near Philadelphia in the early 1770s, this Revolutionary War-era vessel once patrolled shallow waterways before being abandoned along the Hudson River. Preserved for over 200 years in oxygen-poor soil, the ship measured about 50 feet long and featured a raised deck.
More than 600 pieces of timber and 2,000 artifacts—including musket balls, buttons, and ceramic tankards—were recovered from the site. Evidence suggests the vessel was likely captured by the British and traveled south, perhaps as far as the Caribbean, before arriving in New York. How it ended up buried in New York City remains a fascinating mystery.
Stabilized and studied for over a decade under the direction of Dr. Peter Fix, associate research scientist of archaeological watercraft and aircraft conservation at Texas A&M University, the ship returned to New York in the spring of 2025. It is now being reconstructed for permanent display at the New York State Museum by Dr. Fix and his team.
Visitors are invited to experience history in the making as they watch the weeks-long reconstruction of the ship and explore a curated selection of artifacts recovered from the site. As one of the few documented American-built Revolutionary War vessels, the gunboat offers a rare, tangible link to the nation's fight for independence and highlights New York’s enduring role in shaping American history.
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Deep-Sea Submarine Alvin Documents Remains of Two Navy Wrecks
May 22, 2025
| | Photogrammetric reconstruction of the submarine USS F-1 on the seafloor west of San Diego, Calif. (Image by Zoe Daheron, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | |
By Naval History and Heritage Command Communication and Outreach Division
WASHINGTON NAVY YARD – The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), aboard the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-owned research vessel (R/V) Atlantis, visited and documented the final resting places of two US Navy sunken military craft off San Diego with the human-occupied vehicle (HOV) Alvin in late February 2025.
Alvin, carrying a science observer from both NHHC and ONR, was piloted by WHOI to explore the World War I-era submarine USS F-1 (SS 20), which serves as the final resting place for 19 sailors, and a post-World War II Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft, BuNo. 53404.
The mission, funded by the US National Science Foundation in partnership with WHOI’s National Deep Submergence Facility, had the main objectives to conduct Alvin and Atlantis team and pilot training in parallel with engineering exercises in collaboration with AUV Sentry. During this time, multiple systems were improved upon in Alvin, which are certified by Naval Sea Systems Command Advanced Undersea System (PMS 394), and support new pilot certification, conducted by the Navy’s Submarine Development Squadron Five for WHOI’s National Deep Submergence Facility staff. However, the partnerships with NHHC and present-day submariners in the investigation of the two sites added a deeper purpose to the mission, further enhancing the training operation.
“Operating at sea has always been inherently dangerous, and even more so for early submarines. In this case, night, fog, speed, and radio miscommunications contributed to the loss of 19 men, who demonstrated great courage just by volunteering for submarine duty in those days,” said Naval History and Heritage Command Director Sam J. Cox, US Navy rear admiral (retired).
The WHOI team first deployed the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry to locate the wrecks, using side-scan and multi-beam sonar. Once located, a remotely operated observation vehicle descended to conduct a single reconnaissance dive on USS F-1 to assess the condition of the wreck. Next, the team equipped Alvin with an array of high-definition and 4K cameras to capture video and still imagery of the submarine and aircraft wrecks with the intention of creating three-dimensional photogrammetric models of the sites.
Read full article>>
| | Keel Laid For Ship to Honor Coast Guard Captain | | |
BATH, Maine — The keel for the future USS Quentin Walsh (DDG 132), an Arleigh Burke-class Flight III guided missile destroyer, was laid during a ceremony on 20 May at Bath Iron Works (BIW).
During the ceremony, the keel is authenticated when the ship’s sponsor welds their initials into the keel plate, with the assistance of a BIW welder. The ship’s sponsor is Madison Ann Zolper, great-granddaughter of the ship’s namesake, Coast Guard Capt. Quentin R. Walsh, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions during World War II.
Walsh received the Navy Cross for his leadership during the 1944 Battle of Cherbourg, where his 53-man reconnaissance unit captured 750 German soldiers and liberated 52 American prisoners of war. After World War II, he served during the Korean War and held various roles at Coast Guard headquarters. After his Coast Guard career, he worked as a teacher and parole officer in Maryland and became known for his dedication to community preservation.
| | CORRECTION: Last week we announced Dr. David Alan Rosenberg and Dr. Bernard C. Cole have been named as the 2025 recipients of the Dudley W. Knox Medal lifetime achievement award from the US Naval Institute—it is Dr. Bernard D. Cole! | | NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | | |
At Home and At Sea: An American Navy Couple During World War II
By Royce A. Singleton, Jr. (Self-Published: 2024)
Reviewed by Master Chief James H. Rhodes, US Naval Reserve (Retired)
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This book is a highly personal account of the author’s father and mother during World War II. It is based primarily on the 200 letters they sent to each other when he was deployed as a US Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific.
His father, Royce A. Singleton Sr., joined the US Naval Air Corps in January 1942. He spent 12 months undergoing aviation training at various locations around the country, emerging as a carrier-qualified pilot flying the new class of F6F Hellcat fighters. He married his hometown sweetheart, Becky, on 9 March 1943. They only had six months together before his fighter squadron deployed to the Pacific Ocean in October 1943 on the escort carrier USS Suwannee. Before he shipped out, they learned that Becky was pregnant. Their first son (the book’s author) was born April 11, 1944.
Over the next 12 months, Suwannee’s fighters provided air cover at Tarawa, New Guinea, the Marianas, Philippine Sea, Tinian, Guam and Leyte Gulf. In October, kamikaze bombers attacked Suwannee at Leyte, leaving the ship disabled but salvageable. They buried their dead at sea and limped back to Seattle for overhaul and repair, arriving 26 November 1944. Royce spent the rest of the war as a flight instructor. After the war ended, he decided to stay in uniform to continue pursuing his passion for flying. He retired from the Navy after 30 years of service in 1971.
Mr. Singleton’s book is of interest on several different levels. Most naval histories of the Pacific war give insufficient attention to the important role played by the escort carriers and their air squadrons, and Mr. Singleton’s book fills that gap nicely with descriptions of the role played by Suwannee and its Hellcat fighters in the Pacific campaigns in 1944.
Becky wrote letters every few days. They were typically long and chatty, relating all the news from home, especially about family finances, her pregnancy, and the birth and infancy of their new son. They paint a vivid picture of life on the home front during the war. Royce’s letters were shorter and less frequent. As a result, the book feels a mite out of balance.
Read full review>>
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | | |
Mark Stille, CDR, USN (Ret)
Midway
Naval Order Heritage Night: 14 May 2025
Watch here>>
| | Call for Papers: International Journal of Naval History | | |
Maritime Communities Celebrating Milestones
SAVE THE DATES!
24–27 September 2025 • Buffalo, NY
We are delighted to be holding the 12th Maritime Heritage Conference in Buffalo in September 2025.
The conference brings together organizations and participants that engage in all aspects of maritime heritage. This includes maritime museums, historic lighthouses, tall ships for sail training and youth, small craft, marine art, sailing, naval and maritime scholars, advocacy, and more. It is also a gathering of the leadership of the maritime heritage community. Buffalo will host the first Maritime Heritage Conference to be held in the Great Lakes region.
The 12th Maritime Heritage Conference (MHC) will bring together nautical heritage organizations and individuals for an information-packed conference encompassing a broad array of topics on the banks of Lake Erie at historic Buffalo, New York. Following in the wake of the World Canal Conference, which concludes with a bicentennial celebration of the opening of the Erie Canal, the 12th MHC will use that historic milestone to open a three-day program that invites attendees to consider other historic nautical milestones worthy of broader public attention.
The MHC has earned a reputation for its high take-away value, networking opportunities, and camaraderie. The conference steering committee invites you to become involved as a presenter; both session and individual proposals are encouraged. Don’t miss this opportunity to gather with individuals from all segments of the maritime community.
Call for Papers & Session Proposals Papers and session topics include, but are not limited to:
- Inland Water Commerce and Seaport Operations (Erie Canal bicentennial!)
- Maritime and Naval History (2025 marks USN/USMC 250th Birthday)
- Maritime Art, Literature, and Music
- Education and Preservation
- Underwater Archaeology
- Trade and Communications
- Maritime Libraries, Archives, and Museums
- Marine Science and Ocean Conservation
- Historic Vessel Restoration
- Maritime Heritage Grant Program
- Maritime Landscapes
- National Marine Sanctuaries
- Small Craft
- Shipbuilding
- Marine Protected Areas
Focus sessions include, but are not limited to:
- Non-Profit administration
- Event Management
- Fundraising
- Media and Publications
- Media and Social Media
Submissions
Individual paper and session proposals should include a 250–400 word abstract and a one-paragraph biography about each presenter.
Please e-mail proposals and other queries to Dr. David Winkler at: MHC@seahistory.org
Deadline for proposals for papers and sessions is 31 May 2025.
| | 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 interviews 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: 248 - Marc Leepson - Unlikely War Hero>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
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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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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.
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