The Battle of Midway, fought from June 3 — 7, 1942, seventy-seven years ago this week, was a major American victory in the Pacific theater in World War II. Only six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Midway was … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. A repost on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for … Continue reading
USS Batfish is a Balao-class submarine, known primarily for the remarkable feat of sinking three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines in a 76-hour period, in February 1945. Since 1973, USS Batfish has served as an unlikely museum ship hauled up on shire … Continue reading
For several years, we have followed the efforts to save the USS Texas, the last surviving dreadnought, as well as the only battleship in existence today that fought in both World War I and World War II. Since 1948, the … Continue reading
In January 2018, the news broke that a journalist believed that he had found the burned wreckage of the schooner Clotilda, the last vessel to carry Africans into bondage in the United States. By March, however, further research and excavation … Continue reading
In 1933, the US Congress created National Maritime Day to recognize the maritime industry in the United States. The date chosen to celebrate the new holiday was May 22, in honor of the day that the auxiliary packet ship Savannah … Continue reading
For centuries, ancient megalithic monuments, such as Stonehenge, existing all across Europe, have been abiding mysteries. Who built them, how and why? A new study by Bettina Schulz Paulsson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden may have at least one … Continue reading
In 1919, the three-masted schooner William H. Sumner was wrecked on the North Carolina shore near New Topsail Inlet, after a mutiny by its crew. Since then the wreck has played hide and seek, disappearing beneath the sand and emerging … Continue reading
Recently, we posted about the planned sinking of the USS Clamagore as an artificial reef. The 1945 built Balao-class submarine has been an exhibit at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, SC since 1981, but the museum says … Continue reading
The News is reporting that Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is setting sail today from Portsmouth Harbour, heading to a celebratory tour of Falmouth, where he finished his record-setting voyage on April 22 in 1969, becoming the first person to sail non-stop … Continue reading
The Flying-P Liner Pommern will soon be open to the public again at a new dock with new exhibits in Mariehamn, on the Åland Islands of Finland. The 1903 built, steel, four-masted bark has been closed to the public since … Continue reading
Cortés ordering his fleet to be destroyed may be one of the iconic moments in history. In 1519, Hernán Cortés led an expedition of 11 ships from Cuba to Mexico. On arriving in Mexico, the crews found themselves vastly outnumbered … Continue reading
In early January, we posted about the containership ship MSC Zoe which lost 350 containers over the side in a storm off the Frisian Islands of the Netherlands. Now, a Dutch salvage team, looking for lost containers from the Zoe, … Continue reading
The National Museum of the Royal Navy at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has a new exhibition — Jolly Roger: A Symbol of Terror and Pride. The website describes the exhibition as telling the story of the skull and crossbones flag, … Continue reading
Six years ago, we posted about the sunken lost city of Thonis-Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay near the Canopic Mouth of the Nile. The city sank into the Mediterranean around 1,2000 years ago and was only rediscovered in 1999. The … Continue reading
The disappearance of the Capesize bulk carrier MV Derbyshire in Typhoon Orchid shocked the shipping industry. How a new, large and well-built ship with a trained crew could have simply vanished became a mystery that would take more than 20 years … Continue reading
During Women’s History Month it is a worthwhile remembering Eleanor Creesy, the navigator of the clipper ship Flying Cloud, who with her husband, Captain Josiah Creesy, set world sailing records for the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco. … Continue reading
In February 1869, one hundred and fifty years ago, construction of the composite clipper ship Cutty Sark began on the banks of the River Clyde for the Jock Willis Shipping Line. The clipper ship sailed on its first voyage a … Continue reading
We recently posted about a planned statue honoring Kate Walker, the lighthouse keeper of the Robbins Reef Light in New York harbor for close to 35 years. Kate took over as keeper when her husband died of pneumonia in 1886. … Continue reading
New York City has announced a new statue of the late Robbins Reef Lighthouse keeper Katherine Walker which will be installed at the Staten Island Ferry landing. Though standing only 4’10” tall and weighing around 100 pounds, Katherine Walker served … Continue reading