Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History PDF
Preview Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History
Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2005 by Craig L. Symonds First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2006 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Symonds, Craig L. Decision at sea : five naval battles that shaped American history / Craig L. Symonds. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-19-531211-9 (PBK.) 1. United States—History, Naval—Anecdotes. 2. Naval battles—United States—History. I. Title. E182.S995 2005 359.4’773—dc22 2004029394 Book design and composition by Mark McGarry, Texas Type & Book Works Set in Minion DECISION AT SEA Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History CRAIG L. SYMONDS ALSO BY CRAIG L. SYMONDS The Battle of Midway Craig L. Symonds There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. Available October, 2011 Navalists and Antinavalists A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography Gettysburg: A Battlefield Atlas The Naval Institute Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan The American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg EDITED BY CRAIG L. SYMONDS Charleston Blockade New Aspects of Naval History Recollections of a Naval Officer A Year on a Monitor and the Destruction of Fort Sumter Jubal Early’s Memoirs Jefferson Davis: A Memoir by His Wife The Civil War Recollections of Ellis Spear The Civil War Reader, 1862 The Lost History of Gettysburg DECISION AT SEA For those in peril on the sea [CONTENTS] Acknowledgments Author’s Note Foreword by Thomas B. Buell PROLOGUE: NAVAL BATTLES AND HISTORY PART ONE: WOODEN WARSHIPS AND THE WESTERN FRONTIER The Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 PART TWO: IRON, STEAM, AND NATIONAL UNION The Battle of Hampton Roads, March 8–9, 1862 PART THREE: ARMORED CRUISERS AND EMPIRE The Battle of Manila Bay, May 1, 1898 PART FOUR: NAVAL AVIATION AND WORLD WAR The Battle of Midway, June 4, 1942 PART FIVE: MISSILE WARFARE AND THE AMERICAN IMPERIUM Operation Praying Mantis: The Persian Gulf, April 18, 1988 EPILOGUE: NAVAL BATTLES AND THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Notes Index [ACKNOWLEDGMENTS] My initial acknowledgment must go to the late Tom Buell, who originally conceived of this project—or at least a project similar to this one—and who invited me to take up the challenge of making it a reality. If the final product is very different from what Tom had in mind, his vision informed the way I attacked and presented the material. Nevertheless, all the conclusions and interpretations offered in this volume, as well as any errors that may have crept in, are mine alone. I also want to thank Bob Pratt, the excellent cartographer at National Geographic, who produced the maps in the book; Tim Wooldridge and Janis Jorgensen of the U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archives, Claudia Jew at the Mariners’ Museum, and Scott Harmon, director of the Naval Academy Museum, all of whom helped me with the illustrations; and, at Oxford, Peter Ginna, my superb editor, who had faith in the project from the start, as well as the efficient and accomplished Furaha Norton. Finally, I offer thanks to Barbara Breeden, Barbara Manvel, and the wonderful staff at the Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy. Prologue. I am indebted to my friend John Hattendorf, the Ernest J. King Chair of Maritime History at the Naval War College, who read the Prologue and made several helpful suggestions about my treatment of the Battle of the Capes. Part One: Lake Erie. Gerard Altoff, the park historian at the Perry Memorial and International Peace Monument at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, very generously shared with me the results of his many years of research about the Battle of Lake Erie and offered valuable criticism on, and corrections to, an early draft of the text. His generosity of spirit defines academic collegiality. Thanks are due as well to John C. Dann, director of the William L. Clements Library on Early Americana at the University of Michigan, who allowed me to quote from the Oliver Hazard Perry Papers, and to Elisabeth Proffen, the special collections assistant at the Maryland Historical Society, for allowing me to quote from the Samuel Hambleton Diary. Part Two: Hampton Roads. Dr. Francis J. DuCoin of Stuart, Florida, who has made the technical aspects of the Monitor a special study, helped me to appreciate the fine details of Ericsson’s revolutionary vessel, particularly the characteristics of the pilothouse. John W. Hinds of Shoreline, Washington,
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