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“Sweethearts and Wives”
(See pages 63-69 February, 1960 Proceedings)
Captain Edgar K. Thompson, usn.— Female sailors were less common than female soldiers. This was because of the seaman’s universal belief that women on board brought bad luck. However, this superstition was done away with and during the 17th and 18 th centuries and even well into the 19th, most ships took the wives of a few warrant officers and petty officers to sea with them. Armies never had to contend with this problem, since from time immemorial land forces had always been accompanied by camp followers who cooked and otherwise attended to the men.
There is no orthodox limit to women’s ambitions nowadays. Since WAVES now form an integral part of our Navy, we may expect the more advanced to be thinking of higher posts in the service. While female ad
mirals are admittedly rare in the annals of naval history, they are not altogether unknown. Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, personally commanded a squadron in alliance with the Persian forces of Xerxes and proved herself an able tactician in battle and still more able in retreat. In the Greek War of Independence against Turkey, Admiral Las- carina Bouboulina took a gallant and effective part which has been neglected by historians. There is even an instance of a female Minister of Marine. In 1647, Cardinal Mazarin of France did not feel able to direct the navy and nominated for this post the Queen Regent Anne of Austria, who held his high office until 1650.
Of all the centuries, the 18 th was the golden era of the female sailor. This is not surprising, for that period was a glorious age of seamanship and, although the life was hard, so, too, were the women. But, as Major Hargreaves recounts, it was tempered with romance and adventure.
There were many unsung heroines in the Royal Navy. The frigate Maidstone had Ann Mills in her complement in 1740 and at Lord Howe’s victory of the Glorious First of June, Mary Ann Talbot, as John Taylor, had more than a casual hand in the engagement. She served as powder monkey in HMS Brunswick. Later, while serving in HMS Vesuvius, she was captured by the French and spent 18 months in prison. Released, she returned to England, where she was seized by a press gang, at which time her sex was disclosed. Ann Hopping and Mary Ann Riley were at the Battle of the Nile.
In 1759 Mary Lacey disguised herself in men’s clothing and enlisted in the navy and was apprenticed to the carpenter of the Royal William. On one occasion, both husband and wife serving in the same ship met death together. When HMS Swallow engaged two French ships off Frejus in 1812, both Mrs. Phelan and her husband were killed in action and, sewed up in one hammock, were buried in a common grave. In Rodney’s battle with de Guichen off Martinique in 1780, there was a woman on board who fought a 24- Pound gun and afterwards attended the whole night upon the wounded men.
The Ann Perrian (not Perriam) mentioned by Major Hargreaves took part in more major battles than perhaps any other English female sailor. She was at Lorient in 1795, Cape St. Vincent in 1797, the Battle of the Nile in *798, to say nothing of various minor engagements.
The most interesting of these nautical Amazons was Hannah Snell, who served in both the army and the navy. As James Gray, she served for some years in Colonel Guise’s Regiment of Foot, then shifted her allegiance and enlisted in Fraser’s Regiment of Marines and sailed with Admiral Boscawen to the East Indies. She participated in the siege of Pondicherry and was wounded twelve times. Later she served in HMS Eltham where, because of her smooth chin in those days of whiskers, she was nicknamed “Molly.” Hannah Snell also was a very enterprising Woman. After she left the naval service, she capitalized on her experience and acclaim by opening a public house in Wapping, known as “The Female Warrior.” She had a sign Painted, delineating her in regimentals on one side and in her jacket and trousers on the other. Hannah inspired the catch:
“Hannah in breeks behav’d so well That none of her sex could tell.”
A few of the female sailors not only achieved renown, but infamy. Mary Read and Ann Bonney, after serving their apprenticeship in the Royal Navy, turned pirates and, during the 17th century, infested the West Indies and the Spanish Main.
De Quincy, in his paper on Joan of Arc, wrote: “We have such ardent females amongst us, and in a long series; some detected in naval hospitals when too tired to remember their disguise; some on field of battle; multitudes never detected at all; some only suspected, and others discharged without noise by War Offices and other absurd people.” The custom of women being on board was wholly irregular and was never officially countenanced. The old “Instructions for Service at Sea,” first issued in 1731 and essentially unchanged until after Trafalgar, specifically laid down: “He is not to carry any Woman to Sea, nor to entertain any Foreigners to serve in the Ship, who are officers or gentlemen, without Orders from the Admiralty.” When women were in ships, every Sunday they stood muster on the forecastle and were inspected by the First Lieutenant and the Master-at-Arms.
Major Hargreaves is in error when he states Ann Chamberlayne, the remarkable female sailor, became the wife of a naval officer and the mother of another. This naval Amazon is buried in the S. W. corner of Chelsea Church graveyard and the inscription on her tomb contains these lines:
“Anne,
only daughter of Edward Chamberlayne, doctor of laws, born in London, the 20th January 1667, who having long declined marriage and aspiring to great achievements, unusual to her sex and age, on the 30th of June 1690, on board a Fire-Ship, in man’s clothing, as a second Pallas, chaste and fearless, fought valiantly six hours against the French, under the command of her brother. Snatched, alas, how soon, by sudden death, unhonoured by a progeny like himself, worthy to rule the main. Returned from the engagement, after some few months, she married to John Spragg, Esq, with whom for sixteen more, she lived most
amiably happy. At length, in childbed of a daughter, she encountered death, 30 October 1691. This monument, for a consort most virtuous, and dearly beloved, was erected by her husband.”
One hardly knows which to admire most—the courage of the heroine or the gentleman who married her. If she had happened to have been a shrew, it would have been a Herculean task to have tamed her.
Officers’ wives were allowed to be carried in men-of-war until the Admiralty issued an order against the practice in 1830. The injunction was evaded, however, especially by commanding officers. Often the family of one captain would take passage as guests of another captain in the same fleet, instances of which were seen as late as 1869. Mrs. Nelson went to England from the West Indies with her husband in HMS Boreas in 1787. Admiral Codrington had his family on board the flagship Asia until just before the Battle of Nava- rino in 1827.
This happy practice was not followed in the U. S. Navy, but there is a record of a Miss Elizabeth Taylor, who, while an Englishwoman, fought in the Federal Navy during the War Between the States. She always went about in male attire, and was known as “Happy Ned.” In England, a ballad was inscribed to Miss Taylor, two stanzas of which were:
“My name is Elizabeth Taylor,
But bless you, I’ve long been a man;
I served in the fleet as a sailor,
When the War of Secession began;
I fought for the North like a good un, Though I wasn’t a Yankee mysel’;
And why it all ended so sudden,
I’m dash’d if I ever could tell.”
Women on board warships in the old days underwent unusual deliveries, produced by means other than by firing broadsides to leeward. On occasions, sea-going obstetricians resorted to “quilling,” which involved blowing snuff through a quill up the nose of a woman in labor to produce a sudden expulsion force. A child was born on board HMS Romulus on March 8, 1801, when the British Expeditionary Force landed at Aboukir Bay and Horatia Thompson, wife of the sailmaker of HMS Elephant, was taken in labor during
the bombardment of Copenhagen and gave birth to a child in the sailroom.
John King, Brighton, Massachusetts.— Readers of Major Hargreaves’s excellent article, “Sweethearts and Wives,” may be interested to learn that Daniel Tremendous MacKenzie was carried on the muster roll of HMS Tremendous in the rating of “baby” and was duly credited with having served in the Battle of the First of June, 1794. He was truly born in battle and must qualify as the youngest veteran known, being eligible from birth for the Naval General Service Medal, awarded for over 230 different engagements between 1793 and 1840, and finally issued in 1847. Major Hargreaves has us wondering; did Daniel remain in the Navy and did he receive his medal 53 years after he earned it?
Major Reginald Hargreaves, M.C.— With regard to Master Daniel Tremendous MacKenzie, it is something like 25 years ago since I made his acquaintance, so to speak, and my recollection of him is a bit hazy. My impression is that he did serve at sea, but I have grave doubts that he lived to claim the Naval General Service Medal. As Nelson pointed out, the sailor of his day was “finished at 45, double ruptured, raw with scurvy, and racked with agonizing pain after each meal.” He did not last long, once he had “gone on the beach.” In my view it is very doubtful that MacKenzie reached the age of 54 to claim his award.
The British Army, incidentally, put the whole thing on a far more regularized footing. “Marriage on the strength,” i.e., with the commanding officer’s written permission, not only gave the woman in question a recognized locus standi, but entitled her to draw halfrations for herself and quarter-rations for any offspring of the marriage. With a battalion proceeding on active service, the quota of women permitted to accompany it ran from three to six per company or squadron. With eight companies to a battalion, this accounted for quite a number of the women, who had balloted for inclusion in the quota. The lucky ones, of course, were responsible for laundering, cooking, and rough and ready nursing in the distinctly elementary field hospitals. On the fate of the unhappy women left behind it is not too comfortable to dwell.
There was widespread “alarm and despondency” when George Augustus Viscount Howe, Chief of Staff for the enterprise against Ticonderoga in 1758, ruthlessly cut out all female camp followers, and thus condemned his officers and men to laundering their own shirts and “smalls.” The womenfolk with Bur- goyne’s army in 1777 were headed by Lady Acland and the Baroness Riedesel—complete with three small daughters in a “travelling caleshe” and included an unusual number of unauthorized camp followers. The Crimea campaign was the last occasion on which wives “officially” were permitted to accompany their husbands on active service.
The womenfolk mentioned in Captain Thompson’s most interesting letter were dealt with as faithfully as may be, together with a good many other Amazons, in an early work of mine entitled, Women at Arms.
John F. Upton, Charlestown, Mass.— In 1946, Eire purchased from Great Britain three Flower-class corvettes, later renamed Cliona, Macha, and Maev. Macha was modernized at Cork in 1957 and now serves as a leader. Each of the three has a standard displacement of just over 1,000 tons and is equipped with Hedgehog rockets and depth charges.
Eire’s main naval establishment at Haul- bowline, County Cork, is a training center for officer candidates and ratings. Annually, or whenever there is a need, competitive examinations are held throughout the nation for appointment to the naval officer training school. Cadets usually complete the course within two years, occasionally in eighteen months.
Martello Towers
(See pages 92-101, August, 1958 Proceedings, pages 121-122, December, 1958 Proceedings, and pages 100-101, October, 1959 Proceedings.)
Lieutenant Commander David P. Marvin, uscg (ret.).—A brick Martello tower, called the Walbach Tower, was built at Fort Constitution, at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire, probably during the War of 1812. It mounted a 32-pounder gun, which could be trained to sweep the nearby beach. The ruins of this tower were there two years ago, as I can testify. I suspect that accumulations of loose brick periodically have been removed to serve as weights in local lobster pots.
The Maritime Administration Replacement Program
Captain E. B. Perry, usn (ret.).—The Maritime Administration has just released a number of tables, showing the merchant ships required to be constructed by 14 of the presently subsidized steamship lines, the estimated cost of this replacement program, vessels now under construction, and the additional vessels which would be required to be constructed if certain applicants are successful in their bids for operating-differential subsidy contracts.
Summarized, the 14 presently subsidized operators will be required to build 293 or 294 vessels; 270 or 273 freighters, five or six passenger vessels and 15 or 18 combination vessels. This entire program is now estimated to cost about $4.64 billion. Of this program of about 293 vessels, four ships have been delivered to the owners and 32 are now under construction. Seven of the subsidized lines now have applications pending for construction-differential subsidies to build one passenger, three combination, and 24 freighter vessels. Should the existing applications for additional operating-differential subsidies be granted, an additional 108 freighters would be required to be built, and the cost of the program would be increased to about $5.8 billion.
The 32 vessels now reported to be under
construction are all of the dry cargo freighter type, five of them being built for West Coast operators primarily for Pacific service and 27 for Atlantic and Gulf Coast operators, primarily for service in the Atlantic. Using this data released by the Maritime Administration as to numbers and costs and the characteristics of the two classes which have been made available, from time to time, by the prospective owners, the average vessel of each of the two classes is about as follows:
Weighted average Atlantic service Pacific service
Length overall | 493' | 563' |
Beam | 70' | 76' |
Draft | 28' 6’ | 31' |
Displacement, tons | 16,870 | 21,500 |
Deadweight, tons | 10,650 | 14,000 |
Bale cubic, feet | 621,500 | 736,700 |
Bale cubic to DWT | 58.3 | 52.6 |
Speed, knots | 18 | 20 |
Cost, $ millions | 10.45 | 15 |
The Pacific service ships are of a modified Mariner design. Two of the Atlantic operators are building ships of the “engine aft” type and one of the operators has incorporated “roll- on/roll-ofP’ features.
“The Fatal Virus of a Static Strategy”
(See pages 23-30, February, 1960 Proceedings)
Vice Admiral S. H. Ingersoll, usn.— Mr. Eliot, in this article, has given us another of his incisive criticisms of the strategic dilemma in which we find ourselves today. He spells out clearly the danger of disregarding those weapons systems and capabilities that will give us freedom of action, in order to build an ever greater nuclear bombardment capability.
I believe, however, that his choice of extracts from Mr. Kissinger’s N.Y. Times book review of Mr. Bernard Brodie’s Strategy in the Nuclear Age, quoted on page 27 of the February, 1960 Proceedings, is done in such a manner as to carry Mr. Kissinger’s remarks somewhat out of context. Few in uniform would fully agree with Mr. Kissinger’s last quoted sentence: “As a result, much of the most fundamental thinking in the field of strategy is now done by scholars who, unencumbered with an almost useless tradition, have sought to fill an intellectual void.” But to be fair to
him, the whole quote should be used. The italicized portion in the following reprint was omitted by Mr. Eliot:
. . .“The scale of experience on which the expertise of most professionals has been formed has been almost completely overtaken by the new technology.” In the past, much of military thought addressed itself to a stable technology; or else it was understood that an advantage could always be gained by increasing the destructiveness of weapons and the speed of their delivery. Now, technology is pressing against the margins of what is strategically significant in both these categories. When one bomb can destroy a city and missiles span continents in minutes, little is gained by additional increments of destructiveness and speed. Instead, the manner of employment, the protection of available forces, the balance between offensive and defensive capabilities determine the shape both of strategy and in a sense, of politics.
“It has been hard for men trained in traditional patterns to adjust to this upheaval. As a result, much of the most fundamental thinking in the field of strategy is now done by scholars, who, unencumbered with an almost useless tradition, have sought to fill an intellectual void.”
Mr. Kissinger’s point is indeed well taken, in which he clarifies the mental burden which military leaders must shoulder today in facing up to the decisions involved in maintaining a strong and creditable military posture in these times of extremely rapid scientific and technological developments. It is this very set of problems which makes the contribution of our National War College and our Service War Colleges one of transcending importance to the future of our military forces. For it is at these institutions that our senior officers have the opportunity to think deeply and to grapple with the vast imponderables which are a part of the solution of our politico-military or of our military-strategic problems; solutions which must be arrived at accurately and in a timely manner if our civilization is to survive.
Commander Henry P. Jorda, usn.—It is my personal opinion that George Fielding Eliot’s article, “The Fatal Virus of a Static Strategy” is one of the best papers I have read in my more than a score of years in the naval service. The author and the Naval Institute are to be congratulated. Every naval officer should have the opportunity of reading this satisfying article.
Mail Buoys
Captain Harold Payson, Jr., usn.—Recently my wife and I made a call on the master, Captain Uebel, of the Hamburg-Amer- ican Line ship, Gottingen. He told us an amusing story about a mail buoy. Too many of us, I am afraid, have been nurtured in a school of scepticism.
Captain Uebel has worked for the Ham- burg-American Line for 36 years. Several years ago he made a non-stop voyage from Balboa, C. Z., to Yokohama. His course, laid out to take advantage of the most favorable weather, brought him within sight of the Hawaiian Islands. Prior to reaching the nearest point of land, he had all hands informed that a mail buoy would be made up and dropped over the side. Anyone wishing to post a letter therein was welcome to do so, although air mail delivery was not guaranteed.
A suitable tin box was prepared by one of the engineers and fitted to a float with a marker pole and flag attached. The box was filled with a box of cigars, a can of corned beef, a bottle of rum, and the letters. A note was enclosed, asking the finder to please mail the latter at his earliest convenience. At the designated spot, the buoy was lowered tenderly oyer the side and set adrift.
Upon arrival at Yokohama, nearly two weeks later, Captain Uebel and his crew were surprised and delighted to receive answering mtters to the ones they had posted in the sea. the captain had one from his wife who had 3ccn overjoyed to hear from him at such an early and unexpected date. Among the captain’s mail there was also a letter from the commanding officer of the Coast Guard cutter 'Wan. He said that he was glad to report that fits cutter had picked up the mail buoy, only a day or two after it had been dropped, that fie was proceeding to Honolulu with it, the xec was smoking the cigars, and the Chief ' ngineer was eating the corned beef. He said, to°, that since he was so delighted to come upon and take part in an almost forgotten Practice of the sea, he had added postage to all the letters and was sending them air mail.
Captain Uebel told us that the practice of dropping mail buoys was common among ships passing near the Canaries and Azores. There, he said, the fishermen keep a sharp lookout for the telltale flag and often race to pick up the buoy and its friendly gift within.
“Magic Carpet”
(See page 152, January, 1960 Proceedings)
George E. Kaiser, Glendale, New York. —The photograph of the frigate John S. McCain brought to mind the Coast Guard- manned USS General William M. Black (AP- 135) in similar surroundings on “Magic Car-
pet” assignment to the CBI theater. She was one of the first troop transports to moor at Calcutta, in September, 1945, and probably one of the largest ships to make the trip up the winding Hooghly.
“An Open Letter to Junior Officers”
(See pages 48-49, February, 1960 Proceedings)
Lieutenant Commander John W. Fer- rill, usn (ret.).—This letter by Fleet Admiral Nimitz manifests a faith possessing common sense and reason. In his simple, direct, and clear statement of faith, arrived at after a careful examination of the various aspects of a naval career extending over half a century, Fleet Admiral Nimitz provides guidance and direction both for those seeking the answer and those in position to counsel junior officers. All of us should be deeply grateful to Fleet Admiral Nimitz for his contribution.