In 1844 the USS Yorktown sailed from New York, as part of the U.S. Navy's newly established African Squadron, to interdict slave ships leaving the African coast. Aboard the sloop of war, Master's Mate John C. Lawrence, an educated New Yorker in his early twenties, kept a private journal describing what happened during the extraordinary two-year voyage and his reactions ...
Foreword by Edwin Howard Simmons
Depending upon where and when they served, Americans had vastly different experiences in the Vietnam War. Among the more unique experiences were those of the advisors who worked closely with their Vietnamese counterparts, sharing the dangers, privations, local politics, tactical victories, and ultimate defeat as part of the long saga of the Vietnam War. U.S ...
Great technological advances were made in almost every area of maritime military activity between 1793 and 1914. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Napoleonic wars marked the zenith of fighting sail and wooden hulls. By the dawn of the twentieth century, heavily armed iron-hulled warships, powered by oil-fired burners and driven by screw propellers, pointed to the shape ...
U.S. Marines have been sent to Haiti many times since 1800, including as recently as 1995, but one of the most intriguing operations has—until now—been the least known. The 1959-63 mission exposed America's Cold War domino theory to the quagmire of Third World political tyranny. This revealing firsthand account of the operation is a tale of good intentions gone bad ...
Every aspect of the common sailor's life in the Union navy—from recruiting, clothing, training, shipboard routine, entertainment, and wages to diet, health, and combat experience—is addressed in this study, the first to examine the subject in rich detail. The wealth of new facts it provides allows the reader to take a fresh look at nineteenth-century social history, including issues like ...
The period of the French Wars (1793–1815), known as the golden age of fighting sail in Great Britain because of the extraordinary victories won by the Royal Navy, produced an impressive roster of brilliant flag officers. To date, however, these naval leaders have been overshadowed by the legendary status of their contemporary Admiral Lord Nelson. This book corrects the oversight ...