Military History Digest #152
Contents
Long 19th Century
1. Post-Blogging the Chinese Revolution of 1911 by Brett Holman
"At Frog in a Well China, Alan Baumler is post-blogging the
Chinese Revolution of 1911, beginning with a premature mutiny
in Canton. It should make a nice companion series to David
Silbey's earlier effort on the Boxer Uprising.
..."
2. The Question of Inevitability I: the Coming of the War by Brooks D. Simpson
"Folks disagree over whether the Civil War was inevitable. I
think there are questions that need to be answered when
asking about Civil War causation, because I think we need to
prove what is often assumed. So I want to …"
3. The Question of Inevitability II: the Civil War by Brooks D. Simpson
"Historians who try to explain Union victory and Confederate
defeat during the Civil War approach that question by asking
several questions (or at least implicitly offering their
answers). The first question is whether Union victory and
Confederate defeat were, in … Continue reading →..."
4. The Question of Inevitability III: Reconstruction by Brooks D. Simpson
"For many years Reconstruction historiography was the story of
lost opportunity. Yes, there was the rather predictable
retelling of scholarly and semischolarly understandings of
the conflict from the beginning of the twentieth century,
usually starting with a recapitulation of the … Continue
reading →..."
5. Eric Foner on Reconstruction by Brooks D. Simpson
"Given this morning’s post on Reconstruction, I’m hoping that
these three videos featuring Eric Foner’s views on
Reconstruction will help spark reflection and discussion.
Once again, thet come from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History. In the first video … Continue reading →..."
6. Disunion – a Jewish View of American Slavery by Donald Shaffer
"Yesterday’s Disunion in the New York Times has a noteworthy
essay by Adam Goodheart on Morris J. Raphall, rabbi of New
York City’s B’nai Jeshurun synagogue during the Civil War
era. In January 1861, Raphall had delivered and published an
address entitled, “The Bible View of Slavery.” In it, Raphall
reluctantly concluded the Torah justified slavery. Goodheart
writes: The learned sage delved deep into the Hebrew Bible –
citing the books of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Job and even
Exodus – before concluding that “slaveholding is not only
recognized and sanctioned as an integral part of the social
structure … [but] the property in slaves..."
7. An Account of the First Day of the Battle of Hampton Roads by gordon.b.calhoun@navy.mil (Gordon Calhoun)
"On this anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads, we
presented a slightly different account of the battle. Below
is a partial account as told by Henry Reaney, a volunteer
U.S. Naval officer. At the time of the battle, Reaney was
serving as the commanding officer of the armed tug USS
Zouave. His ship was one of several armed tugs assigned to
U.S. Naval blockading forces in Hampton Roads. The U.S.
Navy's mishandling of the tugs was one of the reasons for the
loss of both Cumberland and Congress, as the they were
suppose to help the large warships manuever..."
8. Day 1 (Ctd.) and Day 2 of the Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend by matthew.t.eng@navy.mil (Matthew T. Eng)
"NEWS FROM THE FRONT! (Continued Day 1)March 5, 2011 1:00 pm:
Attended the second lecture of the day focusing on the
efforts of the Blockade during the Civil War. The 1:00
lecture centered on the role of the Grey Ghost, CSS
Alabama, and its operations throughout its storied history.
Dr. William S. Dudley, former director of the Naval
Historical Center (now the Naval History and Heritage
Command), was the speaker for the event. After discussing the
elements that surround the theories of Union and Confederate
strategy and sea power at the start of the war, Dr. Dudley..."
9. "The First of Iron-Clads," John Taylor Wood by matthew.t.eng@navy.mil (Matthew T. Eng)
"Currier & Ives IllustrationToday marks the 149th anniversary
of the storied engagement between the USS Monitor and CSS
Virginia. The following is an excerpt from an account of the
Monitor and Virginia (Titled The First of Iron-Clads) from
John Taylor Wood, CSA. No changes have been made to the
original text to keep with the historical integrity of the
document. Excerpt from"The First of Iron-Clads" But at
daybreak we discovered, lying between us and the Minnesota, a
strange-looking craft, which we knew at once to be Ericson's
Monitor, which had long been expected in Hampton Roads, and..."
10. William Waldie by Steve Soper
"William Waldie was born in 1836 in Scotland or Canada, the
son of James (b. 1814) and Isabelle (b. 1817).Scottish-born
James married English-born Isabelle sometime before the late
1830s when they were living in Canada where they resided for
many years. They were probably living in Canada in 1848 when
their son Adam was born and in 1856 when their son george was
born. The family reportedly came to Michigan, settling first
at Otter Lake near Flint in Genesee County, before moving on
to the western side of the state. Nevertheless, it does
appear that they did..."
11. The Predictable Press by Brooks D. Simpson
"In December 2005 I was sitting in my office at ASU, minding
my own business, tying up loose ends from the fall semester,
when the phone rang. It was a reporter from the Christian
Science Monitor. He wanted to discuss … Continue reading →..."
12. Slavery in the Permanent Confederate Constitution by Donald Shaffer
"On March 11, 1861, the Confederate Congress, meeting in
Montgomery, Alabama, adopted a permanent constitution for
their new nation to supersede the provisional constitutional
they had hastily adopted a little over a month before. Civil
War Emancipation has already dealt with the latter document
as it pertained to slavery. Today, it will deal with the
permanent constitution on the same issue. Like the
provisional constitution, it was largely based on the U.S.
Constitution, but with significant differences. As Stephanie
McCurry writes in yesterday’s Disunion in the New York Times,
“They purged the text of all of the ambivalences, compromises
and..."
13. Professor Edward C. Smith’s Black Confederates by Kevin Levin
"Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from
one of Professor Edward C. Smith’s current students.
Professor Smith teaches at American University and on
occasion has been a vocal advocate of the black Confederate
narrative. He was featured not too long ago in a post that
included an excerpt of a speech he [...]..."
14. Rodney Wampole by Steve Soper
"Rodney Wampole was born on July 30, 1843, in Livingston
County, New York, the son of John (b. 1804) and Elizabeth (b.
1814). (The 1920 census lists his birth place as Canada and
the online burial record for Washington State veterans’ homes
lists his birthplace as Ontario, Canada.)Pennsylvania native
John married New York-born Elizabeth sometime before 1833
probably in New York where their daughter Matilda was born.
The family resided in New York for many years and by 1850
Rodney was living on the family farm in West Sparta,
Livingston County, New York.Rodney was possibly the same
Rodney..."
15. The Cavalry Commander by The General
"From General August V. Kautz’s war-time manual, Customs of
Service for Officers of the Army, we have Kautz’s list of the
qualifications required for a good cavalry commander. As
Kautz himself was a cavalryman, this makes for an interesting
list.
687. CAVALRY.—A Cavalry Commander requires peculiar
qualifications, that are far more rare than for any other arm
of the service. He should, first of all, be young, and of
fine physical qualities, capable of enduring great fatigue.
He should be quick of thought and decision, without being
rash; he should be able to form his plans rapidly and..."
16. Digging Up the Truth by Jay Jaffe
"Abner Doubleday had nothin' to do with it. A few weeks ago,
Major League Baseball did something right by naming John
Thorn its Official Historian. Best known as the author and
editor of the Total Baseball encyclopedia series and the
senior creative consultant on Ken Burns’ Baseball series
(where he got plenty of face time), Thorn is the sport’s
preeminent scholar, a methodical researcher who talks a good
game as well. Nowhere has his work been more important than
in unraveling — and subsequently reconstructing — its
official history. Suffice it to say that everything you
thought you knew about Abner Doubleday..."
17. Roger Taney Does a Good Deed by Donald Shaffer
"Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in
1861, is probably best remembered for writing the majority
opinion in the infamous Dred Scott decision and its atrocious
statement that black people “had no rights which the white
man was bound to respect.” Yet on March 14, 1861, he
delivered the majority opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court in
Kentucky v. Dennison considerably friendlier to African
Americans, by implication if not by design. The case involved
extradition law and whether federal courts could compel state
governors to honor warrants of extradition from other states.
The case had begun..."
World War I
1. World War One Navy Recruiting Posters by Charles McCain
"A constant theme throughout the history of the United States
is the need for manpower for the armed services. To this end,
there have always been recruiting efforts and the most simple
and straight forward of these has been the poster. No matter
which era they are from, they repeat a common message - do
your duty and serve your country because only through your
help can we win. Over the next few weeks, I will be providing
some examples of these recruiting posters as they pertain to
the Navy.
The following posters are from World War One and feature
images..."
World War II
1. Incompetence, Stupidity, and Cowardice: the Royal House of Savoy and the Governance of Italy, 1861-1946 by Charles McCain
Fast forward to 7 December 1941,"a date which will live in
infamy," when the Japanese made their sneak attack on Pearl
Harbor. On 8 December 1941, at the request of President
Roosevelt, the Congress declared war on Japan. And only
Japan. Here's the really interesting part of which many are
not aware: on 11 December 1941, in a coordinated
announcement, Italy and then Germany, declared war on..."
2. Incompetence, Stupidity, and Cowardice: the Royal House of Savoy and the Governance of Italy, 1861-1946 by Charles McCain
Intellectuals whom the Fascist government of Italy thought
would undermine them, or had spoken against them, were sent
into internal exile in distant mountain villages, mainly in
Southern Italy. Once brought to the village by the police,
the intellectual offender could not leave or communicate with
the outside world, at least not formally.
The suicidal boredom of such a situation, the pettiness of
the quarrels..."
3. Profile 46 -"Satan's Chillen" by wily1@mac.com (JSM)
"The study sketch above is of a B-17G that flew with the 401st
Bomb Group based at Deenethorpe, Northhamptonshire, England.
Specifically, the bomber belonged to the 613th Squadron. But,
if you're really, really into the details, her serial number
was 43-37706 and was accepted into the U.S. Army Air Force
inventory on May 13, 1944.Today, all that's left of this
bomber resides in the minds of her two surviving air crew,
pilot Lt. William Mannix and bombardier,"Dick" Rostrom.The
closest I've gotten to the bomber's pilot was a scratchy
phone call to Mannix's wife - her husband was..."
4. Profile 46 -"Satan's Chillen" by wily1@mac.com (JSM)
"I couldn't bear the previous paltry sketch, so I fleshed out
the study a bit tonight. These little pencil sketches are
important to me because they help train my mind for the
airplane's proportions.Bombers have never been my 'thing.'
Temperament-wise, I can't imagine the idea of riding along in
what is essentially a military bus, stuck to my office.
Sitting or standing for a 3, 4, 5, 6 hour mission is hard to
fathom, don't you think?There's an interesting analog between
a WW2 bomber and many people's work environment - their
cubicle, their office, is their position. Pilot, bombardier..."
5. Wednesday, 12 March 1941 by Brett Holman
"The Glasgow Herald, like many early-twentieth-century
'provincial' newspapers, made a serious effort to cover war
and other international news, as well as reporting on
national and local issues. (In fact, it almost seems more
interested in what's happening overseas than it is in London
or even Edinburgh.) Its highmindedness is also evident in its
lack of interest in trivialities (no sports section today!)
and in its rather staid appearance, with the outside pages
taken up with classified ads, and the news and editorials at
the centre of its twelve page. The Herald might be excused
for its old..."
6. Thursday, 13 March 1941 by Brett Holman
"The Glasgow Herald today again leads with Lease-and-Lend,
specifically the massive appropriation request made by
Roosevelt to Congress -- over half a billion pounds' worth of
'aircraft and aeronautical material, including engines,
spares, and accessories' alone (5). The Bill will be ready
for debate early next week: the Speak of the House of
Representatives, Sam Rayburn, promised 'We are going to put
everything else aside'.
Of course, the passing of Lease-and-Lend was welcomed here in
Britain. Churchill, with a degree of historical inexactitude,
likened it to the Magna Carta. His speech was 'spoken with
that artistic perfection..."
7. Friday, 14 March 1941 by Brett Holman
"The big news today is that the latest Italian offensive
against Greek forces in the Tepelini sector has been a
disaster. War correspondents estimate 10,000 Italian
casualties, including 2000 dead; yet 'it was stated in
authoritative circles in London yesterday that the Italians
do not appear to have made any perceptible progress' (5).
This is despite (perhaps there's a hint of because of)
Mussolini's presence at the front lines over the last few
days, 'leading or encouraging the Italian troops'. Greek
spirits are understandably high. Looking at the bigger
picture in the Mediterranean, the Herald's military
correspondent suggests that the..."
8. Saturday, 15 March 1941 by Brett Holman
"The war news today is much closer to home for the Glasgow
Herald than usual. A big air raid last night on 'a Central
district of Scotland' (5) is vividly described, as though the
reporter had witnessed it: readers would know for themselves
just how far away it was. One Nazi 'plane which appeared to
be heading for home was spotted by searchlights, and
immediately there was a road of gunfire as battery after
battery opened up and poured shells into the apex of the
searchlights. The crackle of bursting shells followed a maze
of flashes. When the gunfire stopped..."
9. German Type 212A U-Boat by Charles McCain
The technological prowess of the Type 212A U-Boat can be
directly traced back to research made in the latter half of
World War Two with the development of the Type XXI U-Boat.
Designed as a true submarine rather than as a surface ship
that could submerge for short periods of time, the Type XXI
was technically and technologically more sophisticated than
the Type VII U-Boat.
Many of the advances incorporated into its design included: a
substantial increase in battery capacity and recharging
ability; a more streamlined and hydro-dynamically clean..."
Cold War
1. Best Defense Bookshelf: 'Fragging,' the Vietnam War's Characteristic Crime by Thomas E. Ricks
"Just when you think there is not much new to say about a
subject, along comes a book that overhauls your understanding
of that subject. I say this because I just finished Fragging:
Why U.S. Soldiers Assaulted Their Officers in Vietnam, by
George Lepre. I've been reading about Vietnam full-time now
since early last summer, and so wasn't surprised to see how
the Army fell apart in Vietnam, for example going from 47
drug apprehensions of soldiers there in 1965 to 11,058 in
1970. (P. 113) Or that one U.S. Army division, the ill-fated
Americal, in 1970 had..."
2. Diary Entry 41: Saigon, Saturday Morning, 7 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"Saigon Saturday Morning, 7 August 1965Just been as busy as a
one-armed paper hanger and plain tired out. Activity is
stepping up here so fast it takes 18-20 hours a day to keep
things under control. So many things happen that it is hard
to remember what I have done. Guess that must be a sign of
getting old! Either that or so many things happen that you
just get lost in the maze of events. So let’s see if I can
tax my brain and recall what has happened since I last
wrote.Wednesday morning took a flight..."
3. Diary Entry 42: Saigon, Sunday Night, 8 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"Saigon Sunday Night, 8 August 1965Yesterday, Saturday, spent
the morning working over staff papers and had a quick
sandwich at the desk for lunch. After lunch had to go over to
MACV I to see General [William B.] Rosson, [MACV] Chief of
Staff, about USOM rice shipments. Interesting discussion but
mostly one-way---chief did most of the talking and I did the
listening. Major General William B. Rosson, U.S. Army,
MACV Chief of Staff [pictured here as a general]. (Photo
courtesy U.S. Army) Later on had a meeting at our office
with a bunch of people about ammo discharge..."
4. From the Editor: Letter, General William C. Westmoreland, to Lieutenant Colonel Richard P. Clark, Jr., 5 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"This letter was typed on onionskin typing paper and
deteriorated between 1965 and the present day. The editor
scanned the fragments of the letter, converted the image from
color to black-and-white, and digitally repaired the image so
it resembles, as best as possible, the original document.
Note that the letter was addressed to J-2 (Intelligence),
rather than J-4 (Logistics). (Document courtesy Richard P.
Clark, Jr. collection)..."
5. Diary Entry 43: Saigon, Wednesday Night, 11 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"Saigon Wednesday Night, 11 August 1965This may not be a very
long entry tonight as I get interrupted by frequent phone
calls every 15 or 20 minutes. We’ve had a rough tactical
emergency going since early yesterday at Pleiku and Duc Co.
As usual, everybody wants airplanes and we don’t have enough
to go around. Our scheduled operations were shut down
completely and I have had only a few hours sleep in the last
48 hours. Spent most of my time over in the J-3 Combat
Operations Center trying to keep up with the situation. Had
good company. [Lieutenant..."
6. From the Editor: the Siege of Duc Co, 10-17 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"In early August 1965, the Viet Cong encircled a U.S. Army
Special Forces camp at Duc Co, west of Pleiku, and attacked a
South Vietnamese military relief convoy on Highway 19 between
Pleiku and Duc Co. [See map.] Movements Branch programmed
U.S. Air Force C-123 flights that made airdrops along the
highway, resupplied the blocked convoy, and made paradrops of
supplies and medical equipment to the besieged camp. As Clark
noted in his diary on 7 August, one C-123 aircraft received
mortar damage and more than twenty small-arms hits during a
medical evacuation at Duc Co. The..."
7. Are Lpd-17s Modern-Day Mitschers? by Craig Hooper
"It is always easy to point at the latest shipbuilding
“disaster” and claim that it is the “greatest” fiasco ever.
It’s true that smaller-scale shipbuilding SNAFUS are a fact
of life. But these days, to some observers, mistakes are a
distinguishing characteristic of naval shipbuilding. The big
“disaster” of my era is the LPD-17. But the LPD-17 saga,
according to Navy Institute Uber-Scribe and author of the
Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, Eric
Wertheim, is not unique. Wertheim was quoted in the LPD-17
article I was quoted in and discussed earlier..."
8. Diary Entry 44: Saigon, Friday Night, 13 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"Saigon Friday Night, 13 August 1965This has certainly been a
good day. Had a successful promotion party at the Hong Kong
BOQ and everybody seemed to have a good time. Two brigadier
generals, Crowley and Reichel, came early.Well, it was a good
day up to the time of the above half-paragraph. Then I got a
call from BG DePuy, the J-3 (Assistant Chief of Staff for
Military Operations) to come over to his office right away
and discuss airlift with him. Did just as he requested and
now it is just a little past 1 a.m. and am..."
9. Frequently Mentioned Persons: Brigadier General John D. Crowley, Jr., U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Macv J-4, 1965-1966 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"Brigadier General John Denis Crowley, Jr., U.S. Army
Transportation Corps, was the MACV assistant chief of staff
for logistics (J-4), from February 1965 to August 1966. He
was the principal staff logistical officer responsible for
all ammunition, construction, supply, maintenance, medical
services, fuel, and transportation in South Vietnam. [1] In
1965, Jack Crowley reached a high point in a career in which
his fortunes rose and fell with the suddenness of a roller
coaster. Born in Boston in 1916, Crowley enlisted in the Army
in 1934 and served in the 5th Infantry in 1934. In 1938,
Crowley won appointment..."
10. Diary Entry 45: Saigon, Tuesday Night, 17 August 1965 by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"Saigon Tuesday Night, 17 August 1965 Since last Saturday,
we’ve just been real busy almost up to midnight thrashing out
some plans. Have even been a very bad host as I had company
visit with me Sunday and Monday and the host just didn’t
treat them the way he should have. [Major] Jim Greenquist and
[Major] Harry the Horse [Brockman] were my guests Sunday and
Monday. I had told each of them to come by and see me
whenever in Saigon and they both showed up the same day.
Commercial hotel rooms in Saigon are either too expensive
($20..."
11. From the Editor:"Discipline Is in Order": Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Macv, 1965. by noreply@blogger.com (J.R. Clark)
"On 17 August 1965, Clark wrote:"Sergeant Heizman, who is
newly assigned to the Sealift Center, has been reported from
the hospital as having been treated for VD, so tomorrow he
will probably be PFC Drake’s replacement as discipline is in
order. This is a fascinating statement if we look back at a
diary entry on 14 June 1965 in which Clark described the
different branches that comprised the Transportation Division
of MACV J-4:"The office:Brigadier General Crowley (TC)
J-4Colonel Smith (Inf) Deputy J-4Colonel Plate (USAF) Trans
OffMajor Clark (TC) Chief Movements BranchMajor Beaver (USAF)
Air Force..."
Misc/Thematic
1. New Owner Sought for Historic Warship Olympia by The Associated Press
"PHILADELPHIA — A historic warship in Philadelphia is looking
for a new owner...."
2. Transatlantic Flight Record by Naval Institute Archives
"March, 15th 1957 Goodyear N-class ZPG-2 airship, commanded by
Commander J. R. Hunt, landed at NAS Key West, Florida after a
flight that began on March, 4th at South Weymouth,
Massachusetts. The flight continued over the Atlantic toward
Portugal, then south toward the African coast and back across
the Atlantic covering 9,448 miles and remaining [...]..."
3. Million-Man Training by NHHC
"On 14 March 1943 the Fleet Operational Training Command,
Atlantic Fleet was formally established, with Rear Admiral
Donald B. Beary in command. Beary, known as “Red” to his
fellow Naval Academy graduates of the Class of 1910, came to
the new assignment from a seventh-month stint as Commandant
of the Naval Operating Base in Iceland. [...]..."
