International Journal of Naval History

From the Naval Historical Center

Washington D.C.

Fellowships and New Publications:

Hayes Fellowship: The Director of Naval History selected Peter A. Shulman, a doctoral candidate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to receive the $10,000 Rear Admiral John D. Hayes Predoctoral Fellowship in U.S. Naval History for 2006-2007.  Mr. Shulman is preparing a dissertation entitled “ Empire of Energy: The United States and Environmental Geopolitics Before the Age of Oil.” Shulman intends to investigate the impact of coal, essential for steam-powered warships and commercial vessels operating overseas during the late 19^th century, on America’s naval expansion. Specifically, he plans to focus on how the United States established and developed its international coaling network and how that related to national security requirements.  

Hooper Grants: TwoVice Admiral Edwin B. Hooper Research Grants in U.S. Naval History ($2,500 each) were selected by the Director of Naval History for 2006-2007.

Dr. Stephen R. Taaffe, a Professor of History at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, has authored a number of military and naval historical works. He will employ his grant to study the leadership of the Union Navy’s five geographically based naval squadrons during the Civil War. 

The second recipient, Dr. John W. “Jack” Coe, received his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He plans to organize the papers of Captain John G. Crommelin, USN, at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida, and publish his findings. 

Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 11, edited by Michael J. Crawford, et al., is the latest work in a series that brings together from widely scattered sources the basic documentation necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the maritime heritage of the United States and the role played by the war at sea in the nation’s struggle for independence. Volume 11 treats the first three months of 1778, when Continental and state naval forces harassed shipping supporting the British occupation of Philadelphia, and France signed a treaty of alliance with the Unites States and prepared to dispatch a fleet to oppose the Royal Navy in American waters. This publication can be ordered through the Government Printing Office Web site: http://www.gpoaccess.gov

Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-1900, with a foreword by Rear Admiral Paul E. Tobin, USN (Ret.), the Director of Naval History. This work, first published in 1901 by Edward W. Callahan, provides an alphabetical listing of leaders from these two military services. It contains the names of the legendary and the obscure, wartime notables and peacetime unknowns, the heroic and the humdrum. Beneath these names lies one segment of the history of America during its first 125 years that still awaits the introspective investigation of the genealogist and the historian. Recognizing its importance as a valuable research tool, the Naval Historical Center has digitized and revised the list for online use, making the data searchable for today's scholars. (http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/index.htm)

Riverine Warfare: The U.S. Navy’s Operations on Inland Waters, with a foreword by Edward J. Marolda, Senior Historian, Naval Historical Center. In response to current Navy interest in riverine warfare and a recent conference on the subject held at the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Historical Center has posted on its Web site (http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/riverine.htm) this booklet first published in 1969. The work provides a brief survey of the Navy’s involvement in riverine operations during the War for Independence, the wars of the early 19^th century, and the Civil War. Particular focus is on the Navy’s extensive riverine operations of the Vietnam War. In addition, the Center has posted a complementary resource:

Riverine Warfare in Vietnam (1946-1973): A Select Bibliography (http://www.history.navy.mil/library/guides/riverine_bib.htm)