Naval Diplomacy (cont.)

                                      14 FEBRUARY – 8 JUNE 1839                                        NAVAL DIPLOMACY (cont.) When Master Commandant Uriah P. Levy approached the coast of Yucatan in USS VANDALIA, 20, in March 1839 it was uncertain the degree of intimidation he would discover to which American interests Read More

Naval Diplomacy

                                     11 FEBRUARY-12 APRIL 1842                                  LAST EVERGLADES EXPEDITION After our acquisition of Florida from Spain in 1819, settlers came into increasing conflict with the Native Americans of Florida, collectively called Seminole Indians.  Conflicts over territory and over the sheltering of runaway slaves Read More

Last Everglades Expedition

                                     11 FEBRUARY-12 APRIL 1842                                  LAST EVERGLADES EXPEDITION After our acquisition of Florida from Spain in 1819, settlers came into increasing conflict with the Native Americans of Florida, collectively called Seminole Indians.  Conflicts over territory and over the sheltering of runaway slaves Read More

RED ROVER and since…

                                               6 FEBRUARY 1908                                         RED ROVER AND SINCE… When early American naval forces fought in distant locales our Navy often had to supply her own hospital facilities.  In our earliest days this was accomplished by designating certain of the expeditionary warships as Read More

Daisy Chain Rescue

                                   27 JANUARY-3 FEBRUARY 1943                                           DAISY CHAIN RESCUE In 1941, months before Pearl Harbor, American freighters crossing the North Atlantic were being torpedoed by German U-boats as Hitler tried to starve England into submission.  By May, President Franklin Roosevelt declared an “Unlimited Read More

“Down the Throat”

                                               24 JANUARY 1943                                            “DOWN THE THROAT” USS WAHOO (SS-238) is one of best remembered submarines of WWII, and her third war patrol from 14 January to 7 February 1943, under CDR Dudley W. “Mush” Morton, is perhaps the most noteworthy of Read More

Navy Veteran Presidents

                                               20 JANUARY 1961                                     NAVY VETERAN PRESIDENTS The inauguration of Donald J. Trump as our 47th President later today calls attention to the dwindling number of government legislators with prior military service and the impact this has on defense issues.  For the Read More

Ft. Fisher Falls (cont. from DEC 25)

                                            13-15 JANUARY 1865                                FT. FISHER FALLS (cont. from Dec 25) After MGEN Benjamin Butler’s Christmas assault was rebuffed, RADM David Dixon Porter returned off Fort Fisher on the 12th of January.  Two lessons had been learned in the failed attempt–the naval Read More

The Origin of “U.S.S.”

                                     TODAY IN NAVAL HISTORY                                                 8 JANUARY 1907                                           THE ORIGIN OF “U.S.S.” Prior to the 20th century there was no policy governing the titling of US warships in official correspondence.  Navy vessels were sometimes distinguished from merchant or research ships by Read More

“Live” Patient

                                                4 JANUARY 1966                                                 “LIVE” PATIENT Dr. James H. Chandler completed his residency at Columbia University, then under one of a series of Vietnam-era physician recruitment plans, reported for duty with the US Navy.  He received orders to the Marine Corps’ Field Read More