Maritime History

The Great Australian “Shanty Off!”

The Great Australian “Shanty Off!”

The Great Shanty Off! Calling all Sea-Shanty groups!

We are seeking expressions of interest from shanty groups (big or small) located on the Eastern Seaboard of Australia . . .  Read More »

The Mary Celeste is spotted at sea (1872)

The Mary Celeste is spotted at sea (1872)

The Mary Celeste, a ship whose crew mysteriously disappeared, is spotted at sea December 5, 1872.

The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots . . .  Read More »

The Mary Celeste is spotted at sea (5 Dec 1872)

The Mary Celeste is spotted at sea (5 Dec 1872)

The Mary Celeste, a ship whose crew mysteriously disappeared, is spotted at sea.

The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, . . .  Read More »

The Moonlight Battle at Sea (16 Jan 1780)

The Moonlight Battle at Sea (16 Jan 1780)

British Admiral Sir George Rodney, with 18 ships-of-the-line, engages an inferior Spanish squadron of 11 battleships commanded by Don Juan de Langara off the southwestern . . .  Read More »

The Moonlight Battle at Sea (16 Jan 1780)

The Moonlight Battle at Sea (16 Jan 1780)

British demonstrate naval supremacy in The Moonlight Battle

British Admiral Sir George Rodney, with 18 ships-of-the-line, engages an inferior Spanish squadron of 11 battleships commanded by Don Juan . . .  Read More »

The Moonlight Battle at Sea (16 Jan 1780)

The Moonlight Battle at Sea (16 Jan 1780)

British demonstrate naval supremacy in The Moonlight Battle

British Admiral Sir George Rodney, with 18 ships-of-the-line, engages an inferior Spanish squadron of 11 battleships . . .  Read More »

The War of Jenkin’s Ear (Begun 22 Oct 1739)

The War of Jenkin’s Ear (Begun 22 Oct 1739)

The War of Jenkins’ Ear (known as Guerra del Asiento in Spain) was a conflict between Britain and Spain lasting from 1739 to 1748, mainly in New Granada and among . . .  Read More »

Thomas Downing was a fine-dining pioneer with a secret

Thomas Downing was a fine-dining pioneer with a secret

Thomas Downing was a fine-dining pioneer with a secret.

Tony Barrand Dies (2022)

Anthony Grant Barrand (April 3, 1945 – January 29, 2022) was a British-born American folk singer and academic. He was a Professor of Anthropology, College of Arts and . . .  Read More »

Trafalgar Day (21 Oct 1805)

In one of the most decisive naval battles in history, a British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the coast of Spain.

 . . .  Read More »

U.S. Navy stages daring mission during First Barbary War  (February 16, 1804)

U.S. Navy stages daring mission during First Barbary War  (February 16, 1804)

During the First Barbary War, U.S. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur leads a military mission that famed British Admiral Horatio Nelson calls the “most daring act of the age.”

In . . .  Read More »

U.S. Supreme Court rules on Amistad slave ship mutiny case

U.S. Supreme Court rules on Amistad slave ship mutiny case

At the end of a historic case, the U.S. Supreme Court rules, with only one dissent, that the enslaved Africans who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally . . .  Read More »

U.S.S. Monitor battles C.S.S. Virginia

On March 9, 1862, one of the most famous naval battles in American history occurs as two ironclads, the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia, fight to a draw off Hampton . . .  Read More »

United States Congress authorizes privateers to attack British vessels (1776)

Because it lacked sufficient funds to build a strong navy, the Continental Congress gives privateers permission to attack any and all British ships on April 3, 1776.

In a . . .  Read More »

USS Constitution defeats HMS Java (29 Dec 1812)

USS Constitution defeats HMS Java (29 Dec 1812)

On This Day – December 29, 1812 – USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) was sailing in the Atlantic just off the coast of Brazil. In the morning sails were sighted on . . .  Read More »

USS Constitution defeats HMS Java (29 Dec 1812)

USS Constitution defeats HMS Java (29 Dec 1812)

On This Day – December 29, 1812 – USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) was sailing in the Atlantic just off the coast of Brazil. In the morning sails were sighted on . . .  Read More »

USS Monitor Sinks (1862)

USS Monitor Sinks (1862)

On December 30, 1862, the U.S.S. Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North . . .  Read More »

USS Monitor Sinks (30 Dec 1862)

On December 30, 1862, the U.S.S. Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North . . .  Read More »

USS Monitor Sinks (30 Dec 1862)

On December 30, 1862, the U.S.S. Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North . . .  Read More »

Vasa departs Stockholm and Sinks (1628)

Vasa departs Stockholm and Sinks (1628)

Vasa is a Swedish  . . .  Read More »