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12 March 2024
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Coincidently, this Sunday’s holiday marks the 107th anniversary of the Navy authorizing the recruitment of women. Now that’s something worthy of a toast!
This week we offer exciting news from the Lone Star State as the battleship Texas is again afloat after spending a long-needed period in a dry-dock in Galveston. Still much work needs to be completed during this ongoing restoration, but we congratulate the Battleship Texas Foundation on this major milestone.
Congratulations are offered as well to Cathy Green, who will be taking the helm as the new executive director at the National Maritime Historical Society. Welcome Aboard!
In this edition, we want to alert readers to scroll down below to some new naval history prize opportunities. The guidelines for the Chief of Naval Operations annual naval history essay contest have been posted and the Australian Naval Institute seeks submissions for its Sam Bateman Book Prize. Also, the North American Society for Oceanic History has opened the portal for registration for its upcoming conference on 20–23 June at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Visit www.nasah.org.
Tuesday Tidings co-compiler Dr. Dave Winkler will be profiling some of the individuals associated with America’s First Aircraft Carrier during this Wednesday’s Naval Order’s Heritage Night. In this week’s Naval History Book Reviews, Winkler offers his assessment of Felix Haynes’s biography of one of those individuals to be profiled: Kenneth Whiting. Also, some new books have arrived for review and the book list for those interested in writing reviews has been updated.
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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 are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
| ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
13 March 2024 - Baylor University Author Series - “A New Force at Sea: George Dewey and the Rise of the American Navy”
With Dr. David Smith
Noon, (CST) (Virtual/in person)
13 March 2024 - Naval Order Heritage Night - America’s First Aircraft Carrier: USS Langley and the Dawn of US Navy Aviation
With Dr. David F. Winkler
8 PM–9 PM (Virtual)
15 March 2024 - USS Monitor Lecture Series with John V. Quarstein
Lt. Samuel Dana Greene: Executive Officer of Monitor
Noon-1 pm (EDT)
21 March 2024 - Continental Commandery Maritime History Virtual Lecture (all are welcome) with CDR George Wallace, USN (Ret)
“A Short History of Submarine Technology From Bushnell’s Turtle to a Virginia-Class SSN”
7 PM (EDT) (Virtual)
26 March 2024 - New-York Historical Society with Eric Dolan
To discuss Privateers, Pirates, and the American Revolution
6:30–7:30 PM (EST) (In person/Virtual)
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Battleship Texas Afloat Again! | |
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Photo courtesy Battleship Texas Foundation
On the morning of March 5, the Battleship Texas Foundation, Valkor Energy Services, and Gulf Copper succeeded in undocking the battleship Texas. The event occurred after the famed World War I-vintage dreadnought spent months high and dry as part of an extensive restoration. Over 700 tons of steel were renewed on the ship and hundreds of thousands of man hours were put in to make the hull substantially watertight. With the 112-year-old hull back in the water, the Battleship Texas Foundation will be subjecting the hull to an extended evaluation period while the ship remains in the shipyard for additional topside restoration. For additional updates and information regarding how to support the restoration visit: Battleship Texas Foundation
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NMHS Appoints Cathy Green as New Executive Director | |
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The Board of Trustees of the National Maritime Historical Society (NMHS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Cathy Green as the organization’s new Executive Director, effective March 1, 2024. With more than 25 years of experience in the maritime heritage field, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep passion for maritime history to her new role.
Cathy Green’s career spans various facets of the maritime world, with professional work in shipboard education, history, and archaeology. As both a grant writer and grant administrator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, she managed environmental grant programs on the Great Lakes, showcasing her commitment to conservation and sustainability within maritime ecosystems. Ms. Green has also been a prominent figure in the museum community, most recently as executive director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, where her visionary leadership and innovative approach revitalized the institution’s impact and relevance in the community.
In her new role, Ms. Green will spearhead initiatives to build on the success of the Society and expand its outreach, enhance educational programs, and strengthen partnerships within the maritime heritage community and beyond. “We are thrilled to welcome Cathy Green as the new executive director of the National Maritime Historical Society,” said NMHS board chair Jim Noone. “Her exceptional leadership skills, extensive background in the maritime field, and dedication to promoting our maritime heritage make her the ideal candidate to lead NMHS into the future. We look forward to the exciting path ahead under her guidance.”
“I am honored and excited to join the National Maritime Historical Society as executive director,” said Green. “I look forward to collaborating with the dedicated team at NMHS and leveraging our collective efforts to preserve the rich maritime heritage that has shaped our nation and our world. Together, we will inspire future generations to understand and appreciate the profound significance of our seafaring past.”
Please join us in welcoming Cathy Green to the National Maritime Historical Society.
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NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | |
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Kenneth Whiting: Remembering a Forgotten Hero of Naval Aviation and Submarines By Felix Haynes, Conneaut Lake, PA: Page Publishing (2023)
Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D.
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 |  | ...So with such a resumé, Whiting certainly would seem to be a slam-dunk to make Flag rank. What happened? The term “Sea Daddy” is Navy vernacular to define a more senior officer and mentor who has your back. Whiting’s Sea Daddy was the Bureau of Aeronautics chief Vice Adm. William Moffett, who perished when the dirigible Akron went down off New Jersey on April 4, 1933. Three years earlier, Whiting, in command of Naval Air Station Norfolk, had run afoul of the rear admiral in command of the Fifth Naval District, who accused Moffett’s aviators of flying recklessly during a Navy Day airshow. That rear admiral would take Whiting to task for not disciplining any of the aircrews. Whiting, who determined his aviators had not flown improperly, stood his ground. Haynes argues that without Moffett available to champion Whiting, this blotch on his record would prove fatal before future selection boards. Haynes’ underlying premise is that Whiting’s non-selection was a petty triumph by the so-called “Gun Club” that wanted to keep naval aviation in its proper place in the “battleship is supreme” inter-war Navy. I’m not convinced, given that the board that failed to select Whiting selected 50 percent of aviators whose service records were reviewed but only 35 percent of non-aviators who were up for selection. Haynes also pointed towards Whiting’s declining health as a potential factor. I suspect that could have been an underlying factor, along with his known reputation to imbibe.
Kenneth Whiting is a fine complement for America’s First Aircraft Carrier. With his narrative, Haynes has swayed me to detach the “Father of” title from Clayton Simmers should I publish a second edition. As for arguments for posthumous promotion and an aircraft carrier Kenneth Whiting—it never hurts to make a case. Hopefully, that case could be furthered by a mainstream publishing house that would be willing to work with the author to take this book up to the next level. The Kenneth Whiting story is deserving of such treatment.
Read full review>>
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NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | |
The Story of the Female Yeomen during the First World War
By Nathaniel Patch
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Women in today’s military answer their country’s call in all services and ranks. Until World War I, however, the military establishment did not officially accommodate women who wished to serve. Some women had to dress like men to fight in the field, and others risked their lives as frontline nurses, but these brave women were not recognized by the military.
At the turn of the 20th century, the progressive social movements advocated women’s rights, but it took the first global war to give women the opportunity to prove themselves.
World War I was the first industrial war. It introduced new weapons like the machine gun, airplanes, tanks, battleships, and submarines. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare propelled the United States from neutrality to war. The submarine, introduced to world navies around 1900, evolved from a coastal-bound vessel to a terror on the open seas. When unrestricted submarine war began in January 1917, the German navy sank 540,000 tons of shipping in the first month. In April 1917, the month’s total had risen to 900,000 tons, several thousand of them American. Because Germany refused to stop sinking American shipping and Great Britain increased pressure for American intervention, the United States entered the war.
The Naval Act of 1916 Opens the Door
The call to arms went out, and hundreds of thousands of men volunteered for or were drafted into military service. Even with increase of manpower, the Navy remained shorthanded. The number of ships increased from three hundred to a thousand.
How were these new ships going to be manned? The answer lay in the unassuming language of the Naval Act of 1916, which unintentionally opened the door to women volunteering in the US Navy. As in previous wars, women were prohibited from joining the Navy and other Regular armed services.
But the act’s vague language relating to the reserve forces did not prohibit women. The act declared that the reserve force within the US Navy would consist of those who had prior naval service, prior service in merchant marines, were part of a crew of a civilian ship commissioned in naval service, or “all persons who may be capable of performing special useful service for coastal defense.” This last element contained the loophole that allowed women to enlist.
Read full article>>
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Preble Hall: Admiral Sir Ian Forbes
Dr. John Sherwood’s interview with Admiral Sir Ian Forbes on his experiences in the Falklands War.
Listen here>>
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NAVAL HISTORY CALLS FOR PAPERS | |
Canadian Nautical Research Society Call for Papers 2023 | |
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Shaped by the Sea: The Maritime World as Transformative for Work, Culture, Ideas, Networks
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, 17–18 August 2023
Historians have long emphasized the significance of the maritime as a transportation vector between global regions, between metropole and colony, and between networks of commodity extraction and production sites. The 2023 meeting of the Canadian Nautical Research Society seeks papers with a focus on the maritime world as transformative, shaping the objects, ideas, and people who travelled by sea. Maritime workers, vessels, and the ports that connected ship to shore left indelible impressions upon the people and objects that passed through their midst, reshaping ideas on land but also impacting the maritime world itself.
The 2023 CNRS Conference will take place in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on 17–18 August. A vibrant port and a region of significant maritime transformation as a military station, fishery, and a gateway to the North Atlantic and Arctic, Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be shaped by the proximity of its peoples to the sea.
The Conference will be a hybrid meeting, hosted in-person at the site of one of the British Empire’s largest archives of working men’s documents, Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Maritime History Archive. The MHA’s collection includes the bulk of Britain’s crew agreements created between 1863 and 1972, as well as important collections of maritime documents and photographs from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Proposals on other maritime topics from all time periods are also welcome. We invite interdisciplinary and inter-professional proposals from speakers who will contribute to the diversity of our discussions and community. Presenters must be members of the CNRS/Scrn by the time of the conference. Memberships are available at rates starting at $30 CAD, $25 CAD for students and early career researchers. Please visit https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/membership/index_e.html.
New scholars are encouraged to apply for the Gerry Panting Award for New Scholars to assist with expenses associated with travelling to the 2023 CNRS Conference in St. John’s, NL. Details for this award are available at: https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/books_and_awards/panting_e.html.
Submissions should be sent to Dr. Meaghan Walker, conference moderator, at mwalker@mun.ca, and should include the presenter’s name, institutional or professional affiliation (optional), title of the presentation, an abstract of 250 words or less, and a biographical note of 100 words or less. The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2023.
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Kings Maritime History Seminars
21 March 2024 – The Coal Black Sea: Winston Churchill and the biggest naval catastrophe of the First World War
Stuart Heaver, journalist and author
Note: This session will be delivered entirely online.
25 April 2024 – Ship of State? Regionalism and Cold War soft power aboard La France
Claire O’Mahony, University of Oxford
9 May 2024 – The Ordered Sea: Naval diplomacy in the Mediterranean, 1815–1911
Erik de Lange, King’s College London
23 May 2024 – The Post-Napoleonic Employment of Former Warships in the British Southern
Whale Fishery, 1815–1845
Julie Papworth and Roger Dence, King’s College London
Seminars for 2023–24 will continue as hybrid events, which means that they may be attended in person or online (with the exception of the entirely online event on the 21st of March). As always, attendance is free and open to all. To take part, you must register by visiting the KCL School of Security Studies Events page. Those of you attending online will receive instructions shortly before the event, by email, about how to join. Otherwise, we will meet in person, as usual, in the Dockrill Room, K6.07, at King’s College London. Papers will begin at 17:15 GMT. The King’s Maritime History Seminar is hosted by the Laughton Naval Unit and the Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. It is organized by the British Commission for Maritime History in association with the Society for Nautical Research. For further information contact Dr. Alan James, War Studies, KCL, WC2R 2LS.
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International Maritime History Association - Frank Broeze Prize for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis in Maritime History
Professor Frank Broeze was one of the leading maritime historians of his generation. In his honor, the International Maritime History Association has instituted the Frank Broeze Prize to be awarded to the author of a doctoral thesis which, in the opinion of the panel, makes the most outstanding contribution to the study of maritime history.
As befitting Frank’s visionary approach to the field, maritime history encompasses all aspects of the historical interaction of human societies and the sea. The panel of judges will therefore consider works that focus on the maritime dimensions of economic, social, cultural, political, technological and environmental history.
The Frank Broeze Prize carries with it a cash award of €500 and reimbursement of the registration fee at the Ninth International Congress of Maritime History in Busan, South Korea, August 2024.
To be considered for this prestigious award, those who have completed a doctoral thesis between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2023 are invited to submit a copy of their thesis for consideration. If the thesis is written in a language other than English, the entrant should provide a summary of their work (minimum 10,000 words) in English.
The judges will apply the following criteria in deciding the winner of the prize:
• Contribution to knowledge and understanding of the maritime past;
• Originality of approach, source material and/or findings;
• Depth and coherence of argument;
• Choice and application of methodology;
• Presentational and stylistic quality.
Eligible candidates should submit their entries, including a letter of support from their supervisor, via e-mail attachment to Prof. Ingo Heidbrink (iheidbri@odu.edu) president of the IMHA, no later than 15 May 2024. The prize will be awarded at the Congress in Busan.
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2024 CNO Naval History Essay Contest
The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) announces the 2024 CNO Naval History Essay Contest and calls for the submission of papers no later than 30 April 2024.The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) is the lead for the contest, and the US Naval Institute (which has been sponsoring essay contests since 1878) is supporting.
The Challenge
The CNO invites entrants to submit essays that apply lessons from throughout naval history to solving today's Navy challenges. Entrants should consider that today’s era is marked by:
a. Determined and increasingly aggressive efforts by China and Russia to coordinate their respective instruments of power (e.g., economic, political, and military) to compete for commercial, geostrategic, political, and military advantage and access.
b. Chinese and Russian expansion across the spectrum of military operations (competition, crisis, and contingency) and domains (sea, air, land, space, cyberspace, and electromagnetic spectrum).
c. The rise of China as an economic and maritime power and the importance of the maritime domain as well as the need for the US to integrate Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard operations and multi-domain operational concepts and capabilities.
d. The increased importance of navies, sea control, and allies and partners in a globalized world where 90 percent of world trade (by volume) and information travels via the seas or undersea cables.
e. The proliferation of advanced weaponry and the erosion of key US technological advantages that make it difficult for the US to project power to manage crises, deter aggression, and reassure allies and partners.
f. Fundamental strategic and technological shifts and advances that promise to change the character and conduct of naval warfare and challenge the Navy’s ability to adapt conceptually and materially.
The contest seeks submissions from professional historians, midshipmen and cadets, and rising
historians. Guidelines for each group below.
2024 CNO Naval History Essay Contest - Professional Historian | US Naval Institute (usni.org)
2024 CNO Naval History Essay Contest - Midshipmen and Cadets | US Naval Institute (usni.org)
2024 CNO Naval History Essay Contest - Rising Historian | US Naval Institute (usni.org)
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The Australian Naval Institute Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize | |
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Inaugurated in 2021, the Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize is awarded annually by the ANI to recognise excellence in books making a major contribution to the study and understanding of naval and maritime matters. The Prize is sponsored by the National Shipbuilding College.
The Prize is named after Commodore Sam Bateman AM RAN (1938–2020), a former ANI Councillor and strategic thinker in recognition of his efforts to raise greater awareness of naval and/or maritime matters and progressing the understanding and value of navies in society.
Award of the Prize
The winner of the ANI Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize is announced on the second Wednesday of each December. It is awarded in a ceremony in Canberra in March the following the year where the author will be asked to deliver the Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize Lecture.
Entries are now being received for the 2024 Sam Bateman Book Prize
Entries are to be in the English language and will:
- Raise the understanding of naval and/or maritime affairs,
- Have been published from 2 November 2023 to 1 November 2024 and received between 1 April and 1 November 2024, and
- Be of high literary quality and style
Books can be nominated for consideration by either ANI book reviewers or publishers.
For further information or to submit a book first email books@navalinstitute.com.au for dispatch details.
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UPCOMING NAVAL & MARITIME HISTORY GATHERINGS | |
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18–21 April 2024: Society For Military History Annual Conference Arlington, VA
24–25 April 2024: Council of American Maritime Museums, Constitution Museum, Boston, MA
18 May 2024: Naval Dockyards Society 28th Annual Conference
From Yards to Hards: Preparing Allied naval forces for the 1944 Normandy Landings
The D-Day Story, Portsmouth - Partner and Venue: Clarence Esplanade, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 3NT
23–26 May 2024: 75th Annual Conference of the Company of Military Historians, Augusta, ME
3–5 June 2024: Warships Resting in Peace, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland
20–23 June 2024: Joint NASOH/CNRS Conference, St. Catharines, Ontario
September (TBD): Historic Naval Ship Association (HNSA) Symposium
24–28 September 2025: 12th Maritime Heritage Conference, Buffalo, NY
| 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: 223: Interview with Dr. Cameron McCoy, Part 2>>
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 >>
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