Throughout history, rivers have been vital arteries of transportation, commerce, and communication and, consequently, are key military areas in times of conflict or war. Brown Water Warfare is the first history of riverine warfare as conducted by the U.S. Navy, R. Blake Dunnavent traces the evolution of riverine warfare in U.S. military operations from its informal inception in the 18th century to its establishment as a formal doctrine in the 20th century. As the key to understanding the emergence, development, and later adoption of this particular military strategy, he examines the conflicts in which riverine tactics figured prominently: the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Rio Grande Patrol, the Philippine-American War/Yangtze River Patrol, and the Vietnam War. Dunnavent provides descriptions of these campaigns and demonstrates that lessons had to be learned anew in virtually every case. Only with the escalation of the conflict in Vietnam did naval leaders come to consider riverine forces an important component of their task force and begin to develop a formal doctrine. The collective lessons learned from two centu

From the "In the 21st century the division between the maritime and terrestrial worlds has virtually disappeared. Events and issues that previously involved only maritime subjects need to be reexamined today from the perspective of those events and developments occurring simultaneously ashore. It is through this approach, as demonstrated by this fine collection of essays, that maritime history truly becomes a vehicle for understanding global history." Maritime events today appear to be tied more closely to events ashore than ever before, and seafaring has been the primary catalyst of much of world history. These essays by many of the world’s leading scholars present an up-to-date assessment of the field of maritime history in the early 21st century. They offer fresh insights into the impact of seaborne exploration, warfare, and commerce on the course of history, from the independent traditions of ancient Japanese, Arab, and Mediterranean seafarers to the rapid European expansion around the globe from the 16th century onward. The book is organized around the themes of the sea as a theater of exploration, a highway of commerce, an arena for conflict, and a muse for artistic inspiration. The authors utilize information from the earliest recorded voyages to the present to illuminate an era’s interesting and universal attributes and the successful explorers’ motivations—usually a combination of scientific, political, economic, and religious reasons. They also show that the competing principles of freedom of the seas versus exclusive governance by political entities are central to all discussions of the sea in history. The book underscores how the myriad events that entwine humankind with the sea—both those of written record as well as those of oral tradition—form the substance of a history of worldwide significance. Its wide-ranging perspective will appeal to all readers who seek an engaging evaluation of the significance of the sea in human history. Daniel Finamore is Russell W. Knight Curator at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Published jointly with the Peabody Essex Museum New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology

One of the untold stories of World War II is the guarding of Greenland and its coastal waters, where the first U.S. capture of an enemy ship took place. For six months in 1942 and against standing orders of the time, Thaddeus Nowakowski (now Novak) kept a personal diary of his service on patrol in the North Atlantic. Supplemented by photos from his last surviving shipmates, Novak’s diary fills a void in the story of American sailors at war in the North Atlantic. It is the only known diary of an enlisted Coast Guard sailor to emerge from WWII.Though the Greenland coast was of vital importance to Allied forces, U.S. Coast Guard crews serving there were relegated to converted fishing vessels known as “wooden shoes.” Hastily commissioned in Boston to serve as escorts for supply routes to new air bases in Greenland, ten Arctic trawlers were transformed into the basis of the Greenland Patrol, transporting young men who had never been away from home into a realm of mountainous icebergs, lurking U-boats, and the alien culture of native Greenland Eskimos. This story of the Nanok ’s 1942 patrol is a remarkable account of a sailor thrown into a global war in a remote area full of environmental hardships that few endured in World War II. Between the sudden excitements and mind-numbing boredom of military life, Novak records the routine details of day-to-day patrol, contacts with the native Greenlanders and their impenetrable way of life, and actions such as the loss of the cutter Natsek and its entire crew on the night of December 17,1942. Not an account of grand strategy or hand-to-hand combat, this story of a twenty-year-old petty officer on duty in the Arctic is rather the life of an ordinary individual at war, coping with rigorous hardships during a time of great crisis.Novak’s account will be of significant value to students of the U.S. Coast Guard and of naval service in wartime. His illumination of the small details of a sailor’s life and perceptive observation of the arctic region and its little-known people will appeal to anyone interested in maritime history.

Throughout the 19th century, the shipbuilding industry in America was both art and craft, one based on tradition, instinct, hand tools, and handmade ship models. Even as mechanization was introduced, the trade supported a system of apprenticeship, master builders, and family dynasties, and aesthetics remained the basis for design. Spanning the transition from wood to iron shipbuilding in America, Thiesen’s history tells how practical and nontheoretical methods of shipbuilding began to be discarded by the 1880s in favor of technical and scientific methods. Perceiving that British warships were superior to its own, the United States Navy set out to adopt British design principles and methods. American shipbuilders wanted only to build better warships, but embracing British practices exposed them to new methods and technologies that aided in the transformation of American shipbuilding into an engineering-based industry. American shipbuilders soon improvised ways to turn U.S. shipyards into state-of-the-art facilities and, by the early 20th century, they forged ahead of the British in construction and production methods. The history of shipbuilding in America is a story of culture dictating technology. Thiesen describes the trans-Atlantic exchange of technical information that took place during this era and the role of the U.S. Navy in that transfer. He also profiles the lives of individual shipbuilders. Their stories will inspire enthusiasts of ships, shipbuilding, and shipbuilding technology, as well as historians and students of maritime history and the history of technology.

Lord Keith, a Scottish admiral who rose to prominence serving His Majesty from 1761 to 1815, ended his career by overseeing Napoleon’s surrender in 1815. Born George Keith Elphinstone, Keith at one time or another held nearly every important command in the British navy, and his story illustrates the navy’s history during the Age of Fighting Sail. McCranie’s book is the first modern biography of Keith, who learned the art of commanding single ships and small squadrons during the American Revolution. Keith eventually commanded four major fleets—the Eastern Seas, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, and the Channel. Though he never led a fleet into battle, Keith supported joint operations with the British army and its allies while simultaneously maintaining command of the sea and ensuring the free passage of commerce. A skilled administrator, who at times controlled more than 200 ships over thousands of square miles of ocean, Keith successfully navigated the political and social waters as well. Drawing on more than 100,000 private and public records, McCranie documents Keith’s dealings with the British government, the Royal Family, the Admiralty, the French government, the French navy, the British army, and Britain’s allies. Citing letters Keith wrote to his wife, his sister, his oldest daughter, and his father, to whom he described his first impressions of the navy, the author offers a personal portrait and narrative of a career-conscious officer who worried about what others thought of him. This book will appeal to historians of the Royal Navy, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic era, as well as enthusiasts of the Age of Fighting Sail.

Schroeder’s interpretive biography restores Rodgers to his rightful place in history as the preeminent and most influential naval officer during America’s Age of Sail. Between 1798 and 1815, Rodgers fought with distinction in the Naval War with France, the Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He shaped the postwar development of the navy as president of the Board of Navy Commissioners from 1815 to 1835, and he led a major diplomatic mission to the Mediterranean in the mid 1820s. Drawing on extensive manuscript sources—including the voluminous Rodgers family papers—and the wealth of articles, essays, and monographs on American naval history in recent years, Schroeder provides a candid appraisal of Rodgers’ personal strengths and weaknesses, professional successes and failures. Resented for his gruff exterior but celebrated for his determination to build a navy of the highest professional standards, Rodgers never revealed to his naval contemporaries the passionate and emotional dimension of his character that is evident in his correspondence with his wife, Minerva, who bore him 11 children. Their letters represent a rare and remarkably detailed account of family life in the 19th century.Schroeder’s thorough analysis of official documents offers a fresh perspective on the dramatic events of Rodgers’ long career, including his personal involvement in the capture of the French frigate L’Insurgente in 1799, the war with Tripoli, the testing of Robert Fulton’s experimental torpedoes in 1810, the Little Belt affair in 1811, the escape of the British frigate Belvidera in 1812, the defense of Baltimore in 1814, the deadly duel between Stephen Decatur and James Barron in 1820, and the introduction of steam power to the U.S. Navy. This first modern biography of Rodgers since Charles O. Paullin’s work in 1910 will be of special interest to scholars and devotees of early American naval, political, and diplomatic history, especially the Age of Fighting Sail.

Crisis at Sea is the first comprehensive history of the United States Navy in European waters during World War I. Drawing on vast American, British, German, French, and Italian sources, the author presents the U.S. Naval experience as America moved into the modern age of naval warfare. Not limited to an operations account of naval battles and strategies, this volume—the second in a series—examines diplomatic policies, cabinet decisions, logistics, the home front, support systems, and shipbuilding to illustrate the complexity and enormity of America's naval participation in World War I. This is a thorough treatment of not only the events but also the personalities of the war, with particular attention to the difficulties they faced. The book reveals penetrating insights into the United States' relations in the world, the nation's unpreparedness for such a war, the limits imposed on the Navy by the cabinet, and the unexpected conclusion to the war. Much of the author's exhaustive research is new, such as the use of French official documents and British recollections of the American ships and sailors. This book will be the standard reference volume for libraries and serious scholars with a special interest in World War I and in the history of warfare.

"It is Van Tilburg’s goal to broaden our understanding of Chinese nautical technology, to explore the evolution of Chinese vessels between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, to investigate the differences between Chinese and Western ships and, in the absence of historical documents, to read the vessels themselves as cultural artefacts \[sic\] or texts that contain historical information regarding their construction and functions that would otherwise be lost to history."—International Journal of Maritime History "This monograph is rather unusual, not because it deals with old-fashioned Chinese ships but because it treats surviving ships as living records of China’s pre-modern shipbuilding and shipping practices at an archaeological and anthropological juncture. This is a welcome move in scholarship."—Mariner’s Mirror "Seeks to introduce Chinese agency into Pacific history by focusing on the voyage of ten junks that crossed the Pacific between 1905 and 1989…. Reveals the multifarious history behind these vessels and the stereotypes held by an intrigued American public witnessing their arrival."—Bulletin of the Pacific Circle "This important and original study, with the rather unlikely selection of twentieth-century representatives, reaches far beyond that era to explain the historical and cultural significance of a vessel type poorly understood by westerners."—Sea History "Successfully shows how Chinese oceangoing junks are linked to the West, both in the past and the present."—Historical Archaeology "Van Tilburg’s whole-hearted admiration of the achievements of Chinese ship-builders and sailors underlies his exploration of their role in the modern North American and Chinese maritime culture."—Cheryl Ward, Florida State University From a Western perspective, junks were among the most mysterious vessels ever to sail the open seas. Offering more than just history, Chinese Junks on the Pacific focuses on ten ships, such as the Whang Ho, Ning Po, and Amoy, that sailed to the United States in the early twentieth century. Hans Van Tilburg examines why these ships, some of the last commercial sailing junks of China, came to the West, what they represented, and why we are only now beginning to understand East Asian seafaring. Crowds gathered in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland to welcome the ships with a mixture of surprise and derision. In the era of the steamship, these were quaint, unwieldy constructions fashioned to look like sea monsters and bizarre objects of fancy. But they were also traveling cultural objects. Some served as floating museums, displaying grisly weaponry and other artifacts. The arrival of these vessels allowed Western observers a rare glimpse of a littleknown yet sophisticated maritime technology and seafaring culture. Combining history with ethnology, anthropology, maritime archaeology, and nautical technology, Van Tilburg provides a window into the lives of Chinese seafarers, their transpacific experiences, and a critical look at our own crosscultural perceptions. He draws on a wide range of newspaper sources, secondary texts, nautical treatises, archaeological site work, rare historical photos and sketches, and the personal testimony of the sailors themselves to view these junks not only as transport vehicles but as complex cultural artifacts that “speak” of a distant seafaring past and intimate cultural ties to the sea.

For millennia, Malta has always been considered a site of strategic importance. From the arrival of the Phoenicians through rule under Carthage, Rome, Sicilian Arabs, Normans, and Genovese, to the Order of St. John ("Knights of Malta"), the advent of the Napoleonic Wars, and even World Wars I and II, the Maltese islands have served as re-provisioning stations, military bases, and refuges for pirates and privateers. Building on her systematic underwater archaeological survey of the Maltese archipelago, Ayse Atauz presents a sweeping, groundbreaking, interdisciplinary approach to maritime history in the Mediterranean. Offering a general overview of essential facts, including geographical and oceanographic factors that would have affected the navigation of historic ships, major relevant historical texts and documents, the logistical possibilities of ancient ship design, a detailed study of sea currents and wind patterns, and especially the archaeological remains (or scarcity thereof) around the Maltese maritime perimeter, she builds a convincing argument that Malta mattered far less in maritime history than has been previously asserted. Atauz's conclusions are of great importance to the history of Malta and of the Mediterranean in general, and her archaeological discoveries about ships are a major contribution to the history of shipbuilding and naval architecture.

Thousands of cargo ships sailed in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II manned by young men who braved blockades, torpedoes, and bombings to deliver vital supplies to the Allied forces and make victory possible. These mariners have received little if any credit; they are the forgotten group of "the greatest generation." Merchant Mariners at War offers firsthand accounts of the wartime experiences of veterans who graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy—the largest supplier of ships' officers in WWII. Gathered over more than a decade at the academy in Kings Point, New York, the interviews offer a unique portrait of the young officers who delivered the vital war materiel and provide a valuable window into the world of the merchant marine during WWII. The stories often include startling accounts of privation and endurance. Their stories give voice to a new perspective on WWII maritime history. Chapters cover such subjects as Liberty ships, U-Boats, the Battle of the Atlantic, D-Day, the Philippines, the vast Pacific, and the Murmansk Run. Throughout the book, interesting anecdotes from the veterans enliven the narrative and add to its contribution to the historical record—heretofore non-existent.

Kenneth Goldman's father, Lt. Robert W. Goldman, USNR, was aboard ship for five of her six battle operations. As a junior officer (he eventually became the ship's navigator), he held a high security clearance and saved a large portion of the documents to which he was privy. These invasion maps, photographs, ship's plans of the day, convoy position orders, enemy force assessments, and more form the backbone of Attack Transport. Yet Goldman graciously keeps his father out of center stage in telling the "life" of a ship that participated in almost all of the major U.S. amphibious assaults in the European Theater. Using weathered diaries and letters from other crew members, along with their memories of service, he captures the humor, boredom, combat fears, and capers on liberty that give this view from the lower deck a charm that operational histories do not have.

HMS Fowey Lost and Found traces the life of the ship, the court martial of her captain, her rediscovery in the 1970s, and the long process of artifact recovery and ship identification. Written for general readers, the result is a fascinating story of intrigue and adventure that stretches across the centuries.

A two-volume anthology of source readings for maritime history courses "An indispensable resource for anyone interested in teaching American maritime history. This well-organized and edited collection of primary documents will significantly advance students' knowledge of the fundamental role the sea has played in our nation's past."—Christopher P. Magra, California State University at Northridge "The sources in these volumes vividly illustrate the rich maritime tradition that forms the core of American social, economic, political, military, and diplomatic development over two centuries."—Kenneth J. Blume, author of Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from the Civil War to World War I "This is the most comprehensive collection of maritime history documents ever published. Drawn from a wide variety of sources, they survey virtually every aspect of American maritime history including maritime exploration, fishing and whaling, labor, diplomacy and warfare, trade and travel, and ecology."—James C. Bradford, Texas A&M University Intended as a text for college and advanced high school students, Voyages covers the entirety of the American maritime experience, from the discovery of the continent to the present. Published in cooperation with the National Maritime Historical Society, the selections chosen for this anthology of primary texts and images place equal emphasis on the ages of sail and steam, on the Atlantic and Pacific, on the Gulf Coasts and the Great Lakes, and on the high seas and inland rivers. The texts have been chosen to provide students with interesting, usable, and historically significant documents that will prompt class discussion and critical thinking. In each case, the material is linked to the larger context of American history, including issues of gender, race, power, labor, and the environment.

A two-volume anthology of source readings for maritime history courses "An indispensable resource for anyone interested in teaching American maritime history. This well-organized and edited collection of primary documents will significantly advance students' knowledge of the fundamental role the sea has played in our nation's past."—Christopher P. Magra, California State University at Northridge "The sources in these volumes vividly illustrate the rich maritime tradition that forms the core of American social, economic, political, military, and diplomatic development over two centuries."—Kenneth J. Blume, author of Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from the Civil War to World War I "This is the most comprehensive collection of maritime history documents ever published. Drawn from a wide variety of sources, they survey virtually every aspect of American maritime history including maritime exploration, fishing and whaling, labor, diplomacy and warfare, trade and travel, and ecology."—James C. Bradford, Texas A&M University Intended as a text for college and advanced high school students, Voyages covers the entirety of the American maritime experience, from the discovery of the continent to the present. Published in cooperation with the National Maritime Historical Society, the selections chosen for this anthology of primary texts and images place equal emphasis on the ages of sail and steam, on the Atlantic and Pacific, on the Gulf Coasts and the Great Lakes, and on the high seas and inland rivers. The texts have been chosen to provide students with interesting, usable, and historically significant documents that will prompt class discussion and critical thinking. In each case, the material is linked to the larger context of American history, including issues of gender, race, power, labor, and the environment.

"This is a carefully researched, judiciously considered, and well-crafted study of the most important and the most controversial naval battle for winning American Independence."—Michael Duffy, University of Exeter The Siege of Yorktown—the military engagement that ended the American Revolutionary War—would not have been possible without the French fleet's major strategic victory in the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5, 1781. It was during this battle that British fleets lost control of the Chesapeake Bay and the supply lines to the major military base at Yorktown, Virginia. As a direct result, General George Washington's forces and the newly arrived French troops were able to apply the pressure that finally broke the British army. Sir Samuel Hood (1724-1816) was one of the commanders of the British fleet off the Virginia Capes during the American Revolution. Responsibility for some of the missed opportunities and gaffes committed by the British during the bloody Battle of the Chesapeake can be traced to him, specifically his failure to bring his squadron into action at a key moment in the action. Afterward, Hood defended his actions by arguing that ordering his ships to attack would have contradicted the orders sent to him by battle flag. Hood largely escaped blame, which was assigned to Rear Admiral Graves, who commanded the fleet. Though Hood's inaction arguably resulted in the loss of the American colonies, he ultimately rose to command the Mediterranean fleet. Colin Pengelly engages the details of this battle as no other historian and sifts through Hood's own propaganda to determine how he escaped subsequent blame.

"Presents the tale of several vessels in a Spanish convoy wrecked by a hurricane along the Virginia/North Carolina coastline. Solidly grounded in the most current academic trends such as transnationality, international relations, pirates and their booty, disaster and its aftermath, and compelling personal stories of survival."—Sherry Johnson, Florida International University "At its basic level, this is a history of a neglected and important event in colonial Latin American and British North American history. Yet it is also a powerful story of personal survival and demonstrates how a seemingly isolated August 1750 hurricane impacted the diplomatic relations of Spain and Britain, with legal consequences stretching into the twenty-first century."—Gene Allen Smith, Texas Christian University Spanish flotas (convoys) traversed the Atlantic throughout the colonial period, shuttling men and goods between the Old and New Worlds. In August 1750, at the height of hurricane season, a small convoy of seven ships left Havana for Cádiz. A fierce storm scattered the ships from North Carolina's outer banks to Maryland's eastern shore. Spanish merchants, military officers, and sailors struggled to survive, protect their valuable cargo, and, eventually, find a way home. They faced piracy, rapacious English officials, and discord among crew and passengers (including dozens of English prisoners). Two and a half centuries later, the discovery of the wreckage of the convoy's flagship, La Galga, set off a legal battle between Spain and American treasure companies over salvage rights.

"The most comprehensive work on the coastal rescue craft of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Life-Saving Service. This work should be consulted by anyone interested in maritime search and rescue, especially from shore-based stations."—Dennis Noble, author of The Rescue of the Gale Runner "Provides a detailed history of a very proud element of American maritime history, the development and evolution of the coastal rescue craft of the United States Life-Saving Service and its successor, the United States Coast Guard."—Clayton Evans, active member of the Canadian Coast Guard William Wilkinson and Timothy Dring provide detailed history and technical design information on every type of small rescue craft ever used by the United States Life-Saving Service and United States Coast Guard, from the early 1800s to current day. By looking at these vessels, many of which featured innovative designs, the authors shed light on the brave men and women who served in USLSS and USCG stations, saving innumerable lives. In the book and on the accompanying CD, rare photographs and drawings of each type of boat are enhanced by detailed design histories, specifications, and station assignments for each craft. Including motorized, wind-powered, and human-powered vessels, this work will become an important reference for maritime historians, rescue craft preservation groups, and museums, as well as members of the general public interested in these craft.

Sovereignty at Sea not only adds much to our understanding of maritime and diplomatic history during the First World War period but also speaks to contemporary concerns with issues surrounding the U.S. justification for wars.

Abraham Whipple (1733-1819) commanded insurgents who destroyed HMS Gaspee in Narragansett Bay and helped direct the successful invasion of the Bahamas. This little-known, yet intrepid and frequently successful Continental Navy officer contributed significantly to the War for Independence. An esteemed officer of the fleet, he spent his last years in frontier Ohio where he was respected and appealed to younger generations as a "representative of the Revolution." Sheldon Cohen's biography of Whipple presents a look inside the life of a Continental officer. He illustrates at a personal level the complexities of naval warfare, including Whipple's reliance on personal finances and family connections to outfit his ships and pay his crew. Cohen also reveals the commander’s treatment as a British prisoner of war, and his eventual migration west, shedding light on experiences shared by many Revolutionary War veterans.

A harrowing true story of capture, torture, shipwreck, and survival "Recounts one of the most heartrending stories of the U.S. Navy's submarine service."—William Thiesen, author of Industrializing American Shipbuilding "We find ordeal and torment of a kind that afflicts the imagination. Unbelievably brave British and Australian POWs are its heroes. U.S. submarine crews are its angels. You and I are its beneficiaries."—Michael Gannon, author of Black May and Operation Drumbeat Today USS Pampanito is a tourist destination. During WWII the submarine earned six battle stars, sank six Japanese ships, damaged four others, and rescued seventy-three British and Australian POWs from the South China Sea. Astonishingly, this rescue happened three days after she sank one of the transport ships on which the Allied prisoners were being ferried to Japan. The chain of events that led to this rescue is truly remarkable. Captured in 1942, forced to spend fifteen months constructing the Burma-Thai Railroad, and then loaded onto floating concentration camps—hellships, as they were called—the prisoners were in the wrong place at the wrong time when Pampanito and her wolf pack attacked a Japanese convoy. Returning to the coordinates a few days later, the crew was astonished to discover survivors in the water from among the more than 2,200 prisoners who had been aboard the Japanese ships. Even more remarkable is that the officers and crew of Pampanito, after picking up these men (the Lucky 73), thought to have them record their thoughts and experiences while the events were still fresh in their minds, before returning to port. While working as curator for Pampanito, Aldona Sendzikas discovered these documents and began an odyssey of tracking down one of the most incredible rescue stories of the Pacific War. A volume in the series New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology, edited by James C. Bradford and Gene Allen Smith

Meet the heroes of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita “An in-depth, first-hand, on-the-scene account of the valiant efforts of the men and women of America’s Coast Guard during one of the nation’s worst natural disasters, and the resolve, grit, and determination which led to the saving of tens of thousands of lives.”—Clayton Evans, author of Rescue at Sea “Tremendous. Canney describes how a service smaller than the New York City police department was able to rise to the occasion with near perfect execution of its missions.”—Vincent W. Patton III, Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard (retired) Of all the Homeland Security agencies operating in New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, no agency performed its duties with the same level of diligence and heroism as did the U.S. Coast Guard. Tirelessly, Coasties in helicopters and small boats pulled survivors from rooftops, floating debris, and high ground and ferried them to safety as the rest of us watched live on CNN. Only a few days later, disaster struck again in the form of Hurricane Rita, which left even more people in desperate need of rescue and assistance. In the aftermath of the storms, some 5,000 Coast Guard personnel rescued 33,735 individuals—six times more than the annual average number rescued by the service nationwide. Then, unobserved by the media, the Coast Guard successfully restored the vital navigation aids in the region, preventing further death and destruction. In Katrina’s Wake presents a riveting account of the astounding operations undertaken by the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard in the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike America. While other government agencies struggled to mobilize and failed to provide real solutions, one small, decentralized agency stepped forward and performed above and beyond the call of duty.

"An exceptional piece of scholarship. Rossano clearly points out that military organizations in general, and a naval air force in particular, are built from the ground up and not the other way around. While we celebrate the exploits of the pilots, Rossano reminds us that there were myriad mechanics, constructors, paymasters, and even some ship drivers who played a vital role in naval aviation during WWI."—Craig C. Felker, U.S. Naval Academy "A fine book that will stand for many years as the definitive study of U.S. naval aviation in Europe. Well-researched and written, the book ranges widely, from the high-level planning in Washington for a naval air war to moving thousands of men and hundreds of aircraft across the ocean to the routine but dangerous training, patrol, and bombing flights that constituted the navy’s air mission in World War I."—William F. Trimble, author of Attack from the Sea Stalking the U-Boat is the first and only comprehensive study of U.S. naval aviation operations in Europe during WWI. The navy's experiences in this conflict laid the foundations for the later emergence of aviation as a crucial—sometimes dominant—element of fleet operations, yet those origins have been previously poorly understood and documented. Begun as antisubmarine operations, naval aviation posed enormous logistical, administrative, personnel, and operational problems. How the USN developed this capability—on foreign soil in the midst of desperate conflict—makes a fascinating tale sure to appeal to all military and naval historians.

"An epic shipwreck tale. Sacrifice and heroism are recounted in a comprehensive study of a ship that embodied America's role in the nineteenth-century Pacific as Yankee enterprise helped open Asia to trade. Well-researched, well-written, this book also takes readers for the first time into Saginaw 's long-lost grave beneath the sea."—James P. Delgado, president, The Institute of Nautical Archaeology "An impressive study of a naval vessel from construction to destruction."—William Still Jr., author of Crisis at Sea The USS Saginaw was a Civil War gunboat that served in Pacific and Asian waters between 1860 and 1870. During this decade, the crew witnessed the trade disruptions of the Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, the transportation of Confederate sailors to Central America, the French intervention in Mexico, and the growing presence of American naval forces in Hawaii. In 1870, the ship sank at one of the world's most remote coral reefs; her crew was rescued sixty-eight days later after a dramatic open-boat voyage. More than 130 years later, Hans Van Tilburg led the team that discovered and recorded the Saginaw' s remains near the Kure Atoll reef. Van Tilburg's narrative provides fresh insights and a vivid retelling of a classic naval shipwreck. He provides a fascinating perspective on the watershed events in history that reshaped the Pacific during these years. And the tale of archaeological search and discovery reveals that adventure is still to be found on the high seas.

Puts a human face on both undocumented migrants and those who enforce policy "Illustrates the complexities and heartbreak of attempting to enforce U.S. immigration laws." — David Kyle, University of California, Davis "Noble skillfully interweaves tales of bravery, compassion and skill on the part of U.S. Coast Guard servicemen with moving portraits of those willing to risk their lives in dank, overcrowded holds and on rickety rafts for a chance at a new life in the U.S." — Kelly M. Greenhill, author of Weapons of Mass Forced Displacement, Coercion and Foreign Policy Of all the hot-button issues facing the United States in the early twenty-first century, perhaps none is presently generating more passion than illegal immigration. But what the vociferous public debates and sound bites often miss is that the story is far larger than the land border with Mexico. The U.S. Coast Guard has been charged with preventing undocumented migrants from entering the country for its entire existence. Best known, perhaps, for rescuing lives and preventing the smuggling of goods, the USCG is the only branch of the armed forces actually charged with law enforcement. Dennis Noble highlights the policies, strategy, and tactics used by the U.S. Coast Guard in enforcing immigration laws. But throughout, the focus remains on the human stories—both those of the small group of men and women charged with carrying out a difficult mission as well as those of the desperate men and women willing to risk their lives for a chance to escape crushing poverty or persecution. In many cases, the service’s interdiction responsibilities go hand in glove with rescue operations. As Rear Admiral Arthur E. Brooks puts it, "You can’t do migrant operations without having your heart broken." Dennis L. Noble retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as a Senior Chief Marine Science Technician. He is the author of numerous articles and a dozen books, including The Rescue of the Gale Runner and Captain "Hell Roaring" Mike Healy. A past recipient of the U.S. Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award, he lives in Sequim, Washington.

United States Maritime Literature Award In the late 1880s, many lives in northern and western maritime Alaska rested in the capable hands of Michael A. Healy (1839-1904), through his service to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. Healy arrested lawbreakers, put down mutinies aboard merchant ships, fought the smuggling of illegal liquor and firearms, rescued shipwrecked sailors from a harsh and unforgiving environment, brought medical aid to isolated villages, prevented the wholesale slaughter of marine wildlife, and explored unknown waters and lands. Captain Healy's dramatic feats in the far north were so widely reported that a New York newspaper once declared him the "most famous man in America." But Healy hid a secret that contributed to his legacy as a lonely, tragic figure. In 1896, Healy was brought to trial on charges ranging from conduct unbecoming an officer to endangerment of his vessel for reason of intoxication. As punishment, he was put ashore on half pay with no command and dropped to the bottom of the Captain's list. Eventually, he again rose to his former high position in the service by the time of his death in 1904. Sixty-seven years later, in 1971, the U.S. Coast Guard learned that Healy was born a slave in Georgia who ran away to sea at age fifteen and spent the rest of his life passing for white. This is the rare biography that encompasses both sea adventure and the height of human achievement against all odds.

Passamaquoddy Bay lies between Maine and New Brunswick at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of it (including Campobello Island) is within Canada, but the Maine town of Lubec lies at the bay's entrance. Rich in beaver pelts, fish, and timber, the area was a famous smuggling center after the American Revolution. Joshua Smith examines the reasons for smuggling in this area and how three conflicts in early republic history—the 1809 Flour War, the War of 1812, and the 1820 Plaster War—reveal smuggling's relationship to crime, borderlands, and the transition from mercantilism to capitalism. Smith astutely interprets smuggling as created and provoked by government efforts to maintain and regulate borders. In 1793 British and American negotiators framed a vague new boundary meant to demarcate the lingering British empire in North America (Canada) from the new American Republic. Officials insisted that an abstract line now divided local peoples on either side of Passamaquoddy Bay. Merely by persisting in trade across the newly demarcated national boundary, people violated the new laws. As smugglers, they defied both the British and American efforts to restrict and regulate commerce. Consequently, local resistance and national authorities engaged in a continuous battle for four decades. Smith treats the Passamaquoddy Bay smuggling as more than a local episode of antiquarian interest. Indeed, he crafts a local case study to illuminate a widespread phenomenon in early modern Europe and the Americas.