Boatswains and Bacteremia

The video above is the trailer showcasing Joe Follansbee’s...

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:31:17 +0300

The video above is the trailer showcasing Joe Follansbee’s recently published book called, The Fyddeye Guide to America’s Maritime History. Watch the video above and feel free to take a look at Joe’s book on Amazon (link), it looks perfect for those interested in finding maritime historical sites in their area or in the greater USA. Joe is the main blog editor over at www.fyddeye.com.

Delaware Makes First Quasi-War Capture, 7 July 1798 | Naval History Blog

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:41:00 +0300

Delaware Makes First Quasi-War Capture, 7 July 1798 | Naval History Blog:

The title says it all. If you are at all interested in this war, time period, or what have you, then I highly suggest picking up Ian Toll’s book, Six Frigates. He gives an excellent, rousing account of the Quasi-War and the War of 1812. Click the title to go to the original post from the Naval History Blog.

Photo

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 07:54:00 +0300

Evidence of fish tanks on Roman ships

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:52:00 +0300

Evidence of fish tanks on Roman ships:

(Original article link in title) A lead pipe found on a wreck of a Roman ship has led experts to suggest that this may be the only remaining evidence of on-board fish tanks. We do know that the Romans possessed the technology necessary for such a device to have been a reality (i.e. pump and piston mechanisms). Some researchers say that the fish tanks open up all new possibilities of trade and transport of fish from where they were caught to far-off ports. It was originally thought that fish caught at sea were eaten at the nearest harbor. This may add evidence to disprove that theory.

“It would change completely our idea of the fish market in antiquity. We thought that fish must have been eaten near the harbours where the fishing boats arrived. With this system it could be transported everywhere.”

Other researchers say that the proponents of fish tanks are too quick to disregard possible fire-fighting mechanisms. Hopefully more evidence will come to light and reveal the answers to the debate.

USS Triton Circumnavigates the Globe | Naval History Blog

Tue, 10 May 2011 10:01:00 +0300

USS Triton Circumnavigates the Globe | Naval History Blog:

May 10, 1960

(Link in title) The USS Triton completes a submerged circumnavigation of the globe in only 84 days. The mission was called Operation Sandblast and was a first in history. The sub followed routes taken by Magellan, making the voyage even more historically relevant. At the time, the Triton was the largest and most expensive submarine the world had ever known.

Scurvy Awareness Day | May 2nd

Mon, 02 May 2011 19:28:00 +0300

Scurvy Awareness Day | May 2nd:

This site was too awesome not to post (click title for link). Enjoy, and happy Scurvy Awareness Day to everyone!!

Confirmed: Y. pestis bacteria caused the Black Death

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:33:00 +0300

Confirmed: Y. pestis bacteria caused the Black Death:

A very interesting blog post from The History Blog (click on above title for link) concerning the (now-known) microbial origins of the Black Death. Yersinia Pestis, the causative pathogen, is known to infect hosts, such as rats and fleas, and then be transmitted to humans. The three known types of plagues (i.e. bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic) were responsible for countless deaths in the European continent over a period of 400 years. The list of symptoms for each type are listed below and are relatively severe and gruesome. Each of them had a mortality rate over 75% with the most severe type, septicemic, killing nearly 100% of those it infected.

Bubonic plague

-Incubation period of 2–6 days, when the bacteria is actively replicating.

-Universally a general lack of energy

-Fever

-Headache and chills occur suddenly at the end of the incubation period

-Swelling of lymph nodes resulting in buboes, the classic sign of bubonic plague. The inguinal nodes are most frequently affected (“boubon” is Greek for “groin.”)

Septicemic plague

-Hypotension

-Hepatosplenomegaly

-Delirium

-Seizures in children

-Shock

-Universally a general lack of energy

-Fever

-Symptoms of bubonic or pneumonic plague are not always present

Pneumonic plague

-Fever

-Chills

-Cough

-Chest pain

-Dyspnea

-Hemoptysis

-Lethargy

-Hypotension

-Shock

-Symptoms of bubonic or septicemic plague are not always present

A fascinating video from BoingBoing discussing the mysterious...

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 09:34:01 +0200

A fascinating video from BoingBoing discussing the mysterious and undeniably interesting neurological powers of cephalopods (octopuses, squids, etc.). The video is only ten minutes long, but gives a good sense of why exactly these creatures are so important to study and how they are able to pull off some of the amazing feats they are capable of. For the longer version (~30 min), go here.

adventures-of-the-blackgang: US Sloop of War Hornet sinking...

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:41:10 +0200

adventures-of-the-blackgang:

US Sloop of War Hornet sinking the HMS Peacock; War of 1812

“…At the same moment another sail appeared, and proved to be HMS Peacock approaching the port. Clearing for action, Hornet quickly closed the distance and hauled up her colors. Peacock hauled up hers and at 5:25 pm the ships opened fire with full broadsides at a range of less than 20 yards. Passing each other, Peacock quickly came about only to find Hornet had maneuvered to a position close aboard on her bow, firing broadside after broadside into the British ship which was in turn unable to respond by virtue of Hornet’s position. Peacock, severely damaged, hauled down her colors at 5:39, just 14 minutes after the first shots were fired.”

Leaving comments FYI

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:46:36 +0200

The comments link might be easy to use, but it’s even easier to miss! Should anyone want to leave a comment on any post on my main blog page, just press the “n comments” link (n = however many comments that post has) which is located at the bottom of the post usually next to the date and time stamp. Insightful/not-so-insightful comments are always welcome.

Scurvy was one of the plagues of long distance travel by...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:19:00 +0200

Scurvy was one of the plagues of long distance travel by sailing ship, when voyages could last for months to years. During that time the crews lived on salted meat and dried root vegetables, the only things that could be kept edible without refrigeration. It was discovered empirically in the early 18th Century that drinking the juice of citrus fruits—which is high in vitamin C—would prevent this affliction, and the work of James Lind proved the curative and preventative powers of citrus fruits, especially limes, in treating this condition.

The Royal Navy promptly adopted a regulation that required all its men to drink a weekly ration of lime juice. This practice was so rigorously enforced, and became so strongly associated with British sailors, that to this day Englishmen are still known by the nickname given to them by other Navies: “Limeys.”

artist: Robert A Thom; A History of Medicine in Pictures, 1960

Some interesting maritime links from the last month!

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:15:55 +0200

Image via Wikipedia

Picked up a few links in my browsing over the last few weeks that I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy and let me know what you think of any of the stories!

1861: Superior Naval Bureaucracy (Naval History Blog)

New York City Honors USS United States, 7 January 1813 (Naval History Blog)

The Navy and the Nation in the 1740s (NMM Collections Blog)

Dear Diary, You’ll NEVER Guess What Happened Today! (BOOKTRYST)

Vikings Navigated the Sea with Sunstone Crystals (A Blog About History)

New Website Launched Highlighting African American Maritime Heritage (Fyddeye)

“Fighting Bob” Evans at Fort Fisher (Naval History Blog)

Sir Francis Drake: Patriot or Pirate? (General-History.com)

Pride and Piracy: The Diary of Captain Bartholomew Sharpe (Old Salt Blog)

John Paul Jones and Russia (Naval History Blog)

Enjoy the links, and as always, comments welcome!

Watercolor Images from The Battle of Waterloo

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:41:00 +0200

Above is a watercolor image originally painted by a Scottish surgeon and gifted artist named Charles Bell. During the Battle of Waterloo, Bell witnessed many horrific and gruesome injuries, many of which he was careful to record and then transform into medical artwork.

From the Wellcome Library’s blog:

Leaving for Belgium on 26 June 1815, Bell took with him his surgical instruments and a sketchbook, in which he could document the injuries he witnessed and tended to. In 1836, he turned his sketches into a series of stunning watercolours, which are on deposit at the Wellcome Library from the [Royal] Army Medical Services Museum. Four of these watercolours are to go on loan to the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn for a major exhibition, ‘Napoleon und Europa: Traum und Trauma’ (‘Napoleon and Europe: Dream and Trauma’), which will run from 17 December 2010 to 25 April 2011.

The watercolours provide us with a graphic representation of the dreadful injuries suffered by soldiers fighting at Waterloo. The images of missing arms, protruding intestines and gaping wounds to the chest and neck - together with the pained expressions on the soldiers’ faces - all convey the horror of the scenes witnessed by Bell and other surgeons in the battlefield hospitals.

Bell wrote descriptions to accompany his paintings. For one, of a soldier suffering from a head wound, he noted:

“…On the fifth day after the battle was insensible. A portion of the frontal bone, an inch in diameter, was found driven into the brain, and it stood perpendicularly; not possible to extract it, from its being firmly wedged. Trepanning performed. Quite insensible during the operation and showed no sensibility until on the next day, being bled, he shrank….On the removal of the bone a quantity of blood and brain came out, and coagulum was scooped out from betwixt the skull and dura mater. Three days after the operation he became more sensible, and has been improving.”

All of these medical and surgical procedures were of course performed without any semblance of septic technique, wound preparation, or antibiotics as none yet existed. No surgical gloves were worn, no masks, no nothing. After going through my surgical rotation, I can say that the idea of these types of crude operations being done in the open with men in plain clothes leaves one with a very different image of surgery. The wounds themselves are unfortunately not completely dissimilar from much of what is seen today in wars or even just in trauma cases. The evolution of sterile technique from the time of Waterloo until today often makes me wonder which of today’s medical and surgical practices we will look back on as being archaic and barbaric.

Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for reading my little corner...

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:03:00 +0200

Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for reading my little corner of the web, it’s been a lot of fun writing here and I’m looking forward to doing more of the same in 2011!

All the best!

Any good books on The Restoration, naval or otherwise?

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:54:23 +0200

Image via Wikipedia

I recently completed J.D. Davies’ fiction work, Gentleman Captain, my first foray into the world of naval historical fiction, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am preparing a review of it shortly, but wanted also to ask readers if they had any recommendations on books pertaining to this period in British history? I am mainly referring to the period involving Oliver Cromwell, the Commonwealth, and the eventual Restoration of the monarchy. The books can be naval-related, as is my interest, however, if anyone can suggest a quality work that covers this time period well, I would love to hear it. I am looking to broaden my understanding and knowledge of this period as Davies’ work has really piqued my interest. Davies’ historical knowledge shines through in the book, so anyone with an interest in this time period would likely enjoy it. He explained much of the geo-political flavor of the time, but really left me wanting to learn more (a compliment to his writing in my opinion!)

So, any suggestions?

Turning bombs into...furniture?

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:51:00 +0200

Turning bombs into...furniture?:

Old Salt Blog just posted an interesting albeit slightly odd story about an Estonian sculptor named Mati Karwin, who is apparently creating furniture with the marine mine husks left behind by the Soviets when they pulled out of Naissaar Island area following the Cold War. Go to his site here. Pictures from the website below.

A bit of the story, and the history, behind Karmin’s creations:

The Naissaar Island is situated in the Gulf of Finland, 15 kilometres away from Tallinn. As a military object, Naissaar has always interested the rulers of Estonia, which is the reason why the inhabitants have often been forced to leave the island. The area of Naissaar is 18,6 km2. Naissaar used to be a favourite spot for pirates and smugglers during the earlier times.

The first military object - a cannon battery - was erected on Naissaar by the Swedish rulers during the Great Northern War in 1705.

After the end of the Great Northern War, when Estonia was included in the Russian Empire, Russia continued militarising the Naissaar Island: a defensive building with five bastions was erected in 1720.

Russia started modernising the military objects of the Gulf of Finland at the beginning of the 20th century. The Naissaar and Mäkiluoto cannon batteries and a minefield connecting them were designed to be the priority in this system. The project was not completed due to the outbreak of WW I. When retreating from the Germans in 1918, the Russians blew up most of the defensive buildings. Naissaar was used as a fortified naval base also by the Republic of Estonia in 1918-1940. Naissaar was classified as a secret military facility during the Soviet times. There was a large factory for assembling marine mines in the centre of the island and a railway taking directly to the harbour. Mining the whole Gulf of Finland would have been a matter of hours.

When departing in the beginning of 1990s, the Soviet army burned the explosives out of the mines that were stored and in working order, leaving a multitude of cases scattered around. Lots of them were taken to the mainland as scrap-iron during the cleaning of the island. There is still an existing field of mines in Mädasadam as a sight for tourists to see.

He has created some very imaginative works with these former bombs (I might be worried that the Soviets did not diffuse them as carefully as one would hope) and the works have an undeniably steampunk/industrial look and (I imagine) feel to them. Though, as a future physician, the idea of having a baby rolling around in a metal, and possibly rusty, tube is not the first thing that jumps to my mind when considering the proprieties of parenting…but hey, to each his/her own.

On another note, and speaking of being a physician, this year (my third of four) has been (and likely will be) quite the workload…and of course posting my hit a sparse stretch here and there. I try to post anything interesting and relevant to my fields of interest that I come across in my web browsing and reading, so any feedback or thoughts are welcome. I hope to continue the book review of Six Frigates I began a couple months ago…it is an excellent book for anyone who has not yet read it! I recently picked up a naval historical fiction work (the first one Ive yet to read) and plan on starting that soon…updates to come.

John Wesley Powell's Water-based States: How the Western U.S. Could Have Looked

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:25:00 +0200

John Wesley Powell's Water-based States: How the Western U.S. Could Have Looked:

A very interesting article that gives us a “what if” scenario where the layout of the states in the American West would have been based on irrigation systems and watershed areas. The map is the product of John Wesley Powell’s, a mogul in the history of the exploration and management of the western states, proposed borders for states based upon said water sources. The face of America would have looked very different indeed.

Click on the above title to take a look at the article from Big Think.

Wasp vs. Frolic -- The Story

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:00:00 +0200

Image via Wikipedia

To give a little background to the picture I put up the other day from the Naval History Blog, I figured I would give some more details on just what the battle between the USS Wasp and the HMS Frolic was.

The Frolic had left the Gulf of Honduras on September 12, 1812 to convoy fourteen merchantmen to Britain. A strong gale soon scattered the convoy and forced the Frolic to jury-rig a new main yard. The Wasp had left the Delaware River on September 13, 1812, and cruised to the south in order to prey on British shipping to and from the West Indies. Despite losing its jib boom in the same gale that scattered the Frolic’s convoy, crew spotted several unknown sail to leeward on September 17. At dawn on September 18, the captain of the USS Wasp, Jacob Jones, gave chase to the brig identified amongst the merchantmen.

Though the gale had passed, there were still heavy seas forcing the crews to shorten sail. Both vessels cleared for action. The main weaponry on each vessel were short-range carronades, forcing the ships to come within 60 yards of each other before opening fire. Because the Wasp was positioned to windward, it fired low into the hull of its adversary, whereas the Frolic was forced to fire into the opposing ship’s rigging because of its position to leeward. This was a very uncommon tactic for a British ship as firing cannon into the hull of an opposing ship was a central tenet of the British strategy in naval encounters. The ships got so close together at one point that the American gunners could supposedly strike the Frolic with their rammers as they reloaded.

After less than 30 minutes, both vessels were heavily damaged, however, the Frolic was much more so. The British ship had suffered 90 casualties to the American ship’s 10. The two ships collided, and a final broadside from the Wasp sealed the Frolic’s fate. American gunnery had proved superior in this naval battle.

After the battle, both of the Frolic’s masts came down and the Wasp sent a prize crew to man the tattered vessel. However, as fate would have it, a British ship-of-the-line, the HMS Poictiers, happened upon the scene and claimed both vessels. Captain Jacob Jones of the USS Wasp was held captive for a short time but went on to command the USS Macedonian, captured from the British on October 25. The Frolic was too badly damaged to be salvaged and was broken up in November of 1813, whereas the Wasp served for one year in the Royal Navy as HMS Peacock but was wrecked in 1814.

Wasp vs. Frolic in the War of 1812 via www.navalhistory.org

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:53:00 +0200

Wasp vs. Frolic in the War of 1812 via www.navalhistory.org

Some interesting maritime links from the last month!

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:27:25 +0200

Image via Wikipedia

I have collected some very interesting and worthwhile maritime history and naval history-related links over the past month or so, and figured I would collect and share them here. Enjoy and comments welcome, as always.

A Good Boatswain is Hard to Find - Naval History Blog

Eyewitness to Trafalgar 205 Years Ago Today - Old Salt Blog

Ships Ahoy! They don’t make ships like this anymore. - Readex Blog

Conservation of Nelson’s Trafalgar Uniform - NMM Collections Blog

The Battle of Valcour Island 11 October 1776 - Naval History Blog

The Birth of the Continental Navy - Naval History Blog

On Quarantine - Of Ships and Surgeons

Gull Scavengers and the Lobsterman’s Shack - The Scuttlefish

The US Navy and Inventor Robert Fulton - Naval History Blog

Elderly woman, daughter find incredible ocean treasure - Old Salt Blog

Thanks to Naval History Blog, Old Salt Blog, The Scuttlefish, Of Ships and Surgeons, and NMM Collections Blog for posting the excellent historical articles above.