Granting a reader’s wish is always rewarding. And in this issue, Bob Dowd, a New York policeman who retired to Greenville, South Carolina, gets his fulfilled. Several months ago, I got a call from Mr. Dowd during which he criticized the emphasis on the Union Navy in our April Civil War issue and urged me to publish more articles about the Confederate Navy. His subsequent “In Contact” letter appeared in the June issue (“Give the C.S. Navy Its Due”). I’m sure he’s happy to see that our cover story is about the CSS Alabama.
Specifically, Norman Delaney’s article, “The Alabama’s ‘Bold and Determined Man,’” profiles Seaman Michael Mars, whose daring exploits on board and off the Rebel raider were chronicled in his shipmates’ memoirs. But the author goes beyond relying on those well-known accounts and uncovers long-obscured facts about Mars—including his real name. According to Dr. Delaney, the article “required a lot of detective work and was quite a challenge.” It complements the author’s December 2010 article, “‘I Didn’t Feel Excited a Mite,'" in which he profiled Kearsarge sailor John Bickford, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Union ship’s duel with the Alabama.
Alan Rems’ article about steamboat pioneer Robert Fulton, “Man of War,” also offers some surprises. Generally portrayed as the early United States’ quintessential inventor, Fulton eagerly sold his naval weaponry to the highest bidder and led an eyebrow-raising personal life.
Elsewhere in this issue, retired Navy Lieutenant Commander Thomas Cutler examines the key ingredients that make for a successful ship museum. His essay is set against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to save the iconic cruiser—but failed museum ship—Olympia, whose role in the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay was the subject of his article in the February issue (“‘Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight’”).
Numerous World War II warships are enjoying second careers as museum ships, but only one U.S. Navy ship active during the Civil War is still afloat, the sloop Constellation, in Baltimore Harbor (the frigate Constitution served as a U.S. Naval Academy training ship during the war). In his “Historic Fleets” column, Robert Cressman takes a look at a celebrated, battle-tested Union screw sloop that came heartbreakingly close to becoming a museum ship before slowly sinking to the bottom at her Norfolk Navy Yard berth and being dismantled.
One of those World War II vessels that still survives, the submarine Cod, is the setting for “Fire in the Torpedo Room,” by J. T. McDaniel. The article, about how the boat suffered her only fatality of the Pacific conflict, is based on the official report of her sixth war patrol. Paul Farace, curator of the USS Cod Submarine Memorial in Cleveland, provides a sidebar containing crewmen’s recollections of the deceased sailor’s eerie premonition.
While Mr. McDaniel’s article documents how a group of U.S. sailors responded to crisis, retired Navy Captain Amedeo Galvini’s explains how many others fought battles. In “Beep, Beep, BOOM!” the captain recounts a 1944 night fight from his station inside his destroyer’s Mark 37 gun director. Norman Friedman’s sidebar, “Mark 37 Direction and Fire Control,” provides background on the advanced Mark 37 system. On board many of the U.S. Navy’s surface combatant ships during World War II, the Mark 37 fire control system was largely responsible for the accuracy of their 5-inch/38-caliber guns’ punch.