Dr. Robert M. Browning Jr. earned his Ph.D. at the University of Alabama and embarked on his history career, working as a park superintendent at the Battleship Texas. In 1989, he began work as a historian with the U.S. Coast Guard and two years later became the Coast Guard’s chief historian, retiring from government service in 2015. He is the author of six books and more than four dozen articles relating to the Coast Guard, the Civil War, and U.S. naval and maritime history.

Articles by Robert Browning

National Archives

'Damn the Torpedoes'

By Robert M. Browning Jr.
July 2014
Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut’s timeless words echo down the corridors of naval history—but just what exactly were those words?
patrickobrienstudio.com

'Go Ahead, Go Ahead'

By Robert M. Browning Jr.
December 2009
After watching from his flagships rigging as his battle plan collapsed, Admiral Farragut acted with characteristic boldness in leading his squadron forward.
Fort Jackson Civil War

More Than Just Blockade Duty

By Robert M. Browning Jr.
December 2009
In addition to interdicting Confederate shipping, the West Gulf Blockading Squadron seized New Orleans and helped open the Mississippi River.
Douglas Munro

Semper Paratus: Douglas Munro

By Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr.
December 1992
The U.S. Coast Guard manned more than 350 ships and thousands of craft for the Navy during World War II; amphibious- type assault craft constituted the largest number of these ...