With this issue of Naval History we celebrate the bicentennial of one of history's great battles—Trafalgar, the Napoleonic wars' climactic sea fight. Too much of Napoleonic history is monopolized by, well, Napoleon and his land battles. Unfortunately, about all that the average American knows about the Battle of Trafalgar is that Britain won and its one-armed admiral was killed. Naval History's regular readers are no doubt more knowledgeable about the fight. I hope that our package of three articles will excite and further enlighten you, as well as spark others' interest in learning more about this pivotal non-American sea battle.
Rear Admiral Joseph Callo, USNR (Retired), deserves most of the credit for assembling our Trafalgar lineup. A longtime contributor to Naval History, Admiral Callo is an accomplished author of numerous books about Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson. He submitted his article about Nelson's Trafalgar campaign and enduring lessons gleaned from it back in January 2004.
Shortly after I started working at the Naval Institute, I met Admiral Callo and discussed enlarging Naval History's coverage of Trafalgar to a package of articles. He graciously contacted Dr. Colin White, who contributed the excellent piece about Nelson's leadership style, as revealed in numerous recently located letters, papers, and orders books. I'm not sure how he found time to write the article; in addition to being a prolific author, Dr. White is director of the National Maritime Museum's Trafalgar 200 series of commemorative events in Britain.
Dr. Ann Coats, a second Briton deeply involved in that country's Trafalgar bicentennial celebrations contributed our final Trafalgar-related article—an account of the amazing history of HMS Victory. Dr. Coats, the secretary of the Naval Dockyards Society, organized the 2005 Portsmouth Dockyard in the Age of Nelson conference. She also edited a new book by the keeper and curator of the Victory, Peter Goodwin: The Ships of Trafalgar (Conway Maritime Press and the Naval Institute Press).
This issue's other offerings include an article adapted from Dr. Geoffrey Till's keynote speech at the Navy's 2005 Battle of Midway Commemorative Dinner. While touching on Trafalgar, Dr. Till argues that Midway was not so much the turning point of the Pacific War as an important victory in a decisive campaign. Dr. Brian Linn's discussion of America's love-hate relationship with expeditionary warfare was originally presented at the 2005 Annapolis Naval History Symposium. Look for more papers from that conference, as well as information about the 2006 symposium, in coming issues.
Since the publication of our August issue, three legends of the American Sea Services have passed away. Vice Admiral James Stockdale, USN, earned the Medal of Honor for his heroism while a North Vietnamese POW. General Louis H. Wilson, a former commandant of the Marine Corps, also earned the Medal of Honor, for his courageous actions during the July 1944 fight for Guam. Captain Slade Cutter, USN, was no less a hero. In this issue, Paul Stillwell recounts his friend's life as a Naval Academy sports legend, World War II submarine warrior, post-war naval officer, and honest human being. The accomplishments of these Sea Service giants deserve wider attention, and accounts of their feats will grace future issues of Naval History.
—Richard G. Latture, Editor-in-Chief