Read A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy Online
Authors: Thomas J. Cutler
A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy
A Sailor's History
of the U.S. Navy
This book has been brought to publication
with the generous assistance of Edward S. and Joyce I. Miller.
Other Titles in the Blue & Gold Series
The Bluejacket's Manual
The Chief Petty Officer's Guide
Newly Commissioned Officer's
Guide Naval Officer's Guide
Command at Sea
Principles of Naval Weapons Systems
Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions
Dictionary of Naval Terms
Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations
Division Officer's Guide
Watch Officer's Guide
Dutton's Nautical Navigation
The Naval Shiphandler's Guide
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A Sailor's History
of the U.S. Navy
Thomas J. Cutler
A Co-publication of the U.S. Naval Institute and
the Naval History & Heritage Command
NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS
Annapolis, Maryland
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2005 by Thomas J. Cutler
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Lyrics to the ballad “Brave Yankee Boys” appear here courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.
ISBN-13: 978-1-61251-164-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cutler, Thomas J., 1947â
A sailor's history of the U.S. Navy / Thomas J. Cutler.
p. cm. â (U.S. Naval Institute blue & gold professional library)
1. United States. NavyâHistory. 2. SailorsâUnited StatesâHistory. I. Title. II. Series.
VA58.4.C88 2004
359'.00973âdc22
2004023713
12
9 8 7 6 5
To all who serveâ
yesterday, today, tomorrow
A Sailor's Preface
More than half a century ago, Theodore Roscoe wrote a book called
This Is Your Navy,
an informal history written specifically for Sailors. On the first page he asked: “What's the good of going back to the old days, or even yesterday, when you've got your hands full with affairs in the present? You're kept jumping by what's going on around you here and now. You're busy with what you're doing here today.” His comments are still true today.
Roscoe's answer to his own question was, “What you do today depends largely on what was done yesterday”; that “the things you're doing now result from, and are a continuation of, things done in the past.” He quoted American patriot Patrick Henry (who is best known for his stirring words, “Give me liberty or give me death”) as saying: “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know no way of judging the future but by the past.”
This is a good answer. But for me, there has always been an even better reason. Perhaps it's a little selfish in its origin, but it has served me well. In my many years of service in the U.S. Navy, I sometimes felt like quitting. Although I loved many things about the Navy, it was a tough life in a lot of ways, making demands on me that other people my ageâthose who had chosen an easier life in the civilian worldâdid not face. Sometimes the hardships of life at sea, the separation from my family and friends, or the multitude of dangers that were never very far away would cause me to long for a quieter life, a more “normal” life, a less demanding life. But then I would stand before a mirror, getting ready to shave, look at the face staring back at me, and say, “You work for the Acme Soap Company.” And I did not like what I saw. I would try again. “You work for Smith & Johnson, Inc.” And I still did not like what I saw. Then I would say, “You are a Sailor in the United States Navy.” And I very much liked what I saw.
The reason that the last statement worked when the others did not was that I knew I was part of something special. And what made it specialâfar different from anything else I might doâwere the great things that had been done in the past by Sailors just like me. The uniform I wore with such prideâthat made me instantly identifiable as someone specialâmeant little without the knowledge that other people wore that same uniform, or some form
of it, when they fought the Barbary States of North Africa, charged into hostile Confederate fire at Mobile Bay, and destroyed Nazi submarines and Japanese aircraft carriers when evil men were hell-bent on dominating the world.
Another thing that made being a Sailor special for me was using terms like “galley” and “starboard” and “scuttlebutt,” a language that connected me with “iron men who sailed wooden ships,” that made me part of a “club” that has been around for a very long time and whose initiation requirements were that I give my own “honor, courage, and commitment.”
The lather-covered face I saw each morning in the mirror was not unusual in any particular way. Yet it was special because it had felt the sting of salt spray and had seen the wonders of a starry night at sea just as Sailors had done for many centuries before. It had been darkened by the sun while patrolling the waters of Vietnam and weathered by heavy gales in the Mediterranean during the Yom Kippur War. It had known the bitter cold of patrols in the North Atlantic during the Cold War and been streaked with tears of pride the first time I heard “Anchor's Aweigh” played at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.
No doubt, I would have been proud of my service even if I had never known any of the history that had preceded me. But the more I learned about those Sailors who had gone before me, the more special I felt, the more determined I became to measure up to the standards they had set. I could have served the Navy well without knowing its history,
but I sure wouldn't want to.
In the pages that follow, I have tried to capture some of the magic I myself experienced as I served in the Navy and discovered the exciting past that made my “club” so special. I have done so in an unconventional way. Even though this book can be called an “informal history” of the Navy, just as Roscoe's book was, I have tried to make it a
heritage book
instead of a history book. To me, history is the stuff that scholars study for the good of the world. Heritage is the stuff that makes me stand a little taller and walk with a hint of a swagger.
Most history books start at the beginning and move forward through time. This book charts a different course. I have chosen to explore our heritage by way of themes rather than by chronology. It may be a little confusing at times, because we may jump from the recent war in Afghanistan to a battle in the American Revolution, but the goal here is not to make us historians, but to share in the heritage that makes us different and special. In case you occasionally need a road map to figure out where we are, I have included a chronological account of the major parts of our history in the
appendix, titled
“Battle Streamers.”
You may also want to refer to the date-by-date chronology that is Appendix B in your
Bluejacket's Manual,
which includes other major historical events besides the battles. For the most part, however, we will be traveling through time with few concerns about dates and chronologies, focusing instead on the Sailors who gave us reasons to be proud.
The word
sailor
has many meanings, ranging from the “iron men in wooden ships” of yesteryear to highly trained technicians running nuclear power plants in submerged submarines, from a young girl plying the waters of her hometown lake in a tiny sloop to a merchant marine captain carrying oil from the Middle East to Japan. The word has even had different meanings within the Navy; there was a time when it was used to differentiate enlisted personnel from officers. Today, however,
sailor
has come to have a special meaning, with a bit of mystique to itâso much so that it is now capitalized to make it clear that “Sailor” means a man or a woman who is a part of the greatest Navy the world has ever seen, one who carries on the heritage we will sample in this book. It refers to officer and enlisted alike: to seamen, airmen, firemen, and corpsmen; to those who stand watches on decks and those who man the ramparts of a five-sided building near the nation's capital; to those who stay for thirty years and those who move on after a single hitch; to those whose names are distinguished by USN or USNR.
Unlike most other histories of the Navy, this one focuses on all Sailors, in all their varied roles, from seaman to admiral. You will come to know Vernon Highfill, a fireman in the forward engine room of USS
Lexington
in World War II, as well as Commodore George Dewey, commander of the squadron that defeated the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay. You will meet Lieutenant John Worden, who commanded USS
Monitor
in her epic battle with CSS
Virginia,
and Quartermaster Peter Williams, who steered that ironclad into history. You will fly with Petty Officer Alvin Kernan, submerge with “Doctor” Wheeler Lipes, and sail with Ordinary Seaman John Kilby.
