Recent Reads: From Sail to Steam: Recollections of Naval Life by Alfred Thayer Mahan

 

Alfred Thayer Mahan shown late in his career (Naval History and Heritage Command)

By Dr. Ira Hanna
HRNM Docent

If any group of naval officers from any nation were asked what the name Mahan would bring to their minds, “Sea Power Wins Wars” would be their first choice. But Mahan’s life tells a lot more. From his first ship, the Congress, he learned what it felt like to be under “full sail.” Built in 1840, it represented the culmination of the era of sail. And from his last ship, the USS Wachusett, he became fully knowledgeable about being under “full steam.” This book is his story of how the U. S. Navy went from sail to steam power.

Mahan was born September 27, 1840, at West Point, New York, where his father was a professor at the Military Academy. Even so, he visited Norfolk often and became interested in the Navy and its ships. He always thought of himself as a Virginian. Although Mahan remained true to the Union during the “War of Secession,” he forever was influenced by the Chesapeake Bay. His father told him, “your mother is northern and very few can approach her, but still none compare for me the southern woman.” His father met Lafayette when he toured America in 1825-26 and spent time in France visiting him. His mother had a strong strain of French blood. Alfred said of himself that he was one half Irish, one quarter English, and “a good deal more than a trace of French.”

As a young boy, Mahan was fascinated by books written by the “old salts.” So it was not unusual that he chose to go to the Naval Academy rather than the Military Academy which his father preferred. In 1870, Mahan obtained command rank but was concerned with the “apathy” of the American people toward the navy. He called it a time of naval stagnation. That was when he began to read every book that told how sea power influenced the success of a nation, commercially as well as militarily.

By 1884, he had published a number of articles in popular magazines and become a regular lecturer at the Naval War College. He collected those articles and lectures into a book and in 1889 published The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660 – 1783. He continued to publish books that changed the way Americans, especially Congress and the President, felt about the need to build “a navy second to none.” Some of them were: The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793 -1812 (published in 1892); The Life of Nelson (1897); The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present, and Future (1897); and The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence (1914). During his lifetime, Mahan authored over 40 books and before his death in 1914, predicted the defeat of the Central Powers and German Navy in World War I.

Although written in Victorian Era English with its hidden meanings, some revealing tales, and insights into the navy’s leadership, there is no doubt that Alfred T. Mahan influenced that leadership. The present navy reflects his belief that technological advances will influence what kind of ships will be built now and in the future in order for America to maintain its place as a world leader.

Pulp Fiction in "Civil War News" Trading Cards

In 1962, during the Centennial of the Civil War, the Topps Trading Card company released a set of 88 cards with graphic depictions (very loosely) based on the war.  The set was officially titled "Civil War" but because the back of each card looked like an old newspaper with the heading "Civil War News," this latter name stuck.  Aimed at young boys, the images of battle were done in a very vivid and overtly gory way, sensationalizing the war. Images of stabbing, point blank cannon fire, and blood were fairly commonplace.  In this manner it was a throwback to the popular "Horrors of War" series in 1938 which focused on recent conflicts of that time (Spanish Civil War, Ethiopian War, and Sino-Japanese War).  

Topps enlisted pulp artist Norm Saunders (who also did Mars Attacks) to help with the images, while Topps creative editor Len Brown did the text. In an interview many years afterward, Brown describes the battle cards as "phony."  The disregard for historical accuracy is readily visible when looking at them as many details in the text or pictures are clearly fabrications.  Brown affirmed this when he spoke on making the cards: "We'd dream up a scene, some gory scene...from there it was dreamland...I'm sure kids thought this was the real history.  And we had teachers writing us, thanking us for teaching kids history." 

Of interest to this blog are a few cards that portray naval battles. There are three images that depict the Battle of Hampton Roads, which is more than any other battle in the series, even Gettysburg.  Whether this is owing to the importance of the battle or because the cards are earlier in the set is unclear. 

Card #7 from the series shows USS Cumberland being attacked by CSS Virginia. 121 Cumberland sailors died on March 8, 1862. 

Card #8 inaccurately shows the attack on the USS Congress (Virginia did not ram it). In an uncommon nod to accuracy, the artist placed what appears to be CSS Patrick Henry in the background. 

Card #10- Note the inaccuracies such as the gaping hole torn in the armor and giant gun port. 

Other naval battles are also displayed in pulp fashion.  One humorous example is the CSS Hunley's attack on USS Housatonic seen below (card #59).  The Southern Cross is prominently displayed on the side of the vessel, visible underwater to the viewer.  The text on the back of the card claims that this attack happened in the afternoon (instead of night), and that the submarine rammed the ship when it could not fire its (non-existent) guns.  Truly Brown was not lying when he claimed to be in "dreamland" while developing this trading card set.   

Another example of ignoring facts for the sake of a good picture (and sales) is card #69, showing the aftermath of the battle between USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama.  Sharks are seen attacking the Alabama's crew as they flounder in the water.  In actuality most survivors were picked up by the Kearsarge, although Capt. Semmes and some other officers escaped on the British yacht Deerhound.  Any that were lost in the water died from drowning, not sharks. 

In contrast the card (#76) depicting Adm. Farragut's USS Hartford fighting CSS Tennessee at Mobile Bay seems fairly tame and loosely based on previous paintings ("August Morning with Farragut" by William Heysham Overend). 

When examining this series, it is important to remember that these cards were ultimately designed to tap into the market created by the Centennial events.  Yet for all of their countless ahistorical shortcomings, the cards probably helped spark interest in the Civil War among the young male segment of the population during the 1960's.  Regarded as collector's items these days, the "Civil War News" series is a very interesting piece of cultural history. 

(Excerpt of Brown's interview can be found in Baetens, Jan. "Civil War News: How Pop Culture Rewrites History." Journal of American Culture, (1997), 1-6.)

1907 Print of the Battle of Hampton Roads

This is a lithograph entitled Last of the Wooden Navy.  Published in 1907 by the Washington, D.C., print shop of A.B. Graham and Company, the work depicts the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 8, 1862). It shows the ironclad CSS Virginia engaging the U.S. Navy's wooden warships USS Cumberland (on the left) and USS Congress (on the right).  It currently hangs in HRNM's Civil War gallery, and many other copies of the work survive today at other museums and historical societies.

The print is a copy of a painting by nationally-known artist George Bagby Matthews, who based his work on a sketch by Hardin B. Littlepage, one of Virginia's midshipmen.  Last of the Wooden Navy is among the more accurate depictions of the battle.  Unlike several other prints/paintings of this event, the artist makes no attempt to embellish the basic facts of the battle. Matthews simply shows calm waters, very little wind, Cumberland slowly sinking, and Virginia engaging Congress from the stern while the frigate attempts to escape.  Other artists often showed more action in their works by including more fire and destruction, brisk weather, or, even worse, showing USS Monitor engaging Virginia (that did not happen until the next day).

What also makes this work remarkable is that Matthews is not known for his battle art.  He specialized in portraits, and studied this skill in Paris under the great French portrait artist Carolus Duran.  Several of Matthews' works hang in the U.S. Capitol, including a portrait of Virginia patriot/statesman Patrick Henry and Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones.  Many modern art commentators believe that Matthews' finest work is Lee and His Generals, which depicts General Robert E. Lee and twenty-six Confederate generals.

USS Cumberland-Defeated, but Not Conquered

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads. It began with the attack by the ironclad CSS Virginia on the sail sloop-of-war USS Cumberland at 1 p.m. With no means of getting out of the way because the winds were calm, Virginia rammed Cumberland. Commodore Franklin Buchanan demanded that Cumberland's acting commanding officer, Lieutenant George U. Morris, surrender his ship. After consulting with another officer (Acting Master William P. Randall), Morris gave his legendary response: "Damn you, I will never strike." By 3:30 p.m., the fighting was over and the sloop-of-war sank. Her flag continued to fly at the highest mast.

Morris, the younger son of the War of 1812 hero Commodore Charles Morris, never received the coveted "Thanks of Congress" resolution or the Medal of Honor for his act. In letters to his fiancé, Morris admitted he had trouble coping with the loss. While serving on blockade duty off the coast of Florida in 1864, he wrote, "Sometimes I think of those one hundred twenty men now lying so quietly at the bottom of the James River. I think of my friends there. I find as if with my own hand I could be with them."

However, Morris' defiance received an honor equal to any formal award. The act was remembered by Union and Confederate sources as the ship that refused to surrender. "No ship fought more gallantly," one Confederate historian wrote. Literary giants such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Longfellow, and Herman Melville all wrote essays in Cumberland's honor.

Buchanan is to have said to his crew before attacking the U.S. Naval squadron, "sink before surrender." Little did he know, it was his first opponent who had to make that choice. "Don't Give Up the Ship" is an expression uttered by Captain James Lawrence during the 1813 Chesapeake-Shannon battle and informally still used by the U.S. Navy today. Morris and his company upheld that saying and the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

One hundred and twenty-one of Cumberland's sailors and officers died that day. Some rest peacefully with their brother sailors from USS Congress at the cemetery behind Portsmouth Naval Medical Center. But most are still with their ship in Hampton Roads. If you are ever out on your boat in Hampton Roads near Newport News, be sure to stand up, look towards shore, and salute their bravery.

(Learn more about USS Cumberland, her history, and artifacts at the museum's USS Cumberland Center)

The Calm Before the Storm, March 7, 1862

This calm and pleasant scene of the Union shore batteries at Newport News is brought to you by the fine folks at Harper's Weekly. An artist sketched this on March 7, 1862, the day before CSS Virginia and friends rained havoc upon the Union squadron. At left is the sail frigate USS Congress and at right is the sail sloop-of-war USS Cumberland. In between is the gunboat USS Louisiana. The Navy had placed the ships there as the first line of defense against anything that would come out of the Elizabeth River. Upon seeing the ships at anchor, Virginia's executive officer Catesby ap Roger Jones later remarked, "Cumberland and Congress were tempting targets."

The engraving illustrates just how calm the weather was (on this day at least). Union soldiers and sailors had had to suffer through a major rain and sleet storm the week before. Captain John Martson, the senior U.S. Naval officer in charge, even had the sailors deck all the ships out in ceremonial bunting during the storm in honor of George Washington's birthday.

To be sure, everyone knew the Confederates were building a new weapon. Union officers debated how capable this new weapon would be. Virginia's commanding officer Commodore Franklin Buchanan wanted to find out sooner rather than later. Due to the bad weather, his pilots and junior officers advised against it. He agreed to wait until March 8.

USS Minnesota Ship Model and USS Congress Jack

This is a model of the magnificently designed 48-gun steam frigate USS Minnesota that is on display in the museum's gallery. C. Lester McLeod built the 1/8" to 1 foot scale model and delivered it to the museum in 1990. Launched in the 1850s, Minnesota served as the flagship to the locally-based North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She served in several actions during the Civil War including the Battle of Hampton Roads (both days), the 1861 Hatteras Expedition, and both 1864 and 1865 Fort Fisher campaigns. The frigate's design was respected (and feared) by naval observers worldwide as she provided a perfect balance of speed and firepower.

Behind the model is the jack from the sail frigate USS Congress. The frigate is most famous for being the second ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia on March 8, 1862. A jack is a flag flown by a ship at the bow of the vessel. It typically is a partial design of the ship's national ensign and traditionally indicates that the ship is open for visitors. This particular artifact is one of the few artifacts from USS Congress known to exist.

Cutlass of USS Zouave's Commanding Officer

On this anniversary of the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 8, 1862), we present the cutlass of Henry Reaney, who was a volunteer naval officer that served in the battle.  The museum received and accessioned the weapon just a few weeks ago.

The weapon is a standard cutlass manufactured for the U.S. Navy by the Ames Manufacturing Company. Ames made thousands of such weapons during the war. The stamp "D.R." stands for Daniel Reynolds, a U.S. Navy weapons inspector.

Reaney was the commanding officer of USS Zouave, an armed tug assigned to blockading naval forces in Hampton Roads at the time of the battle. Reaney's original standing orders were to assist the sloop-of-war USS Cumberland, if and when Confederate forces attacked. When CSS Virginia launched her assault, Reaney was told by Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge on board Cumberland to go ahead and find out what ship was coming up the Elizabeth River (and not to assist Cumberland). Renaey compounded the mistake by firing the tug's 30-pounder Parrot Rifle at Virginia at long range (to no effect). After seeing Cumberland rammed and sunk by Virginia, Reaney moved Zouave over to the frigate USS Congress and assisted that ship in getting to shallow water.

Reaney wrote about his ship's action for Battles and Leaders of the Civil War.