In Hostile Waters: The Cruise of USS Argus (Oliver Baldwin Novel Book 3)
Page 27
When word of Lieutenant Allen’s death reached Washington, the Secretary of the Navy, William Jones, had Commodore Rodgers personally deliver his parchment commission as master commandant to Allen’s father in Rhode Island. A year and a half later, the senior Allen died, broken-hearted at the loss of his eldest and favorite son.
Henry’s tomb fell into some disrepair and in 1857, two visiting American warships raised the funds necessary to restore it, reincise the inscription, and leave a small fund for continued upkeep. But by 1932, it was again in disrepair and the National Society, United States Daughters of 1812, provided the money to again repair it and fix a permanent mounting for the marker nearby, on the wall of the medieval Prysten House. The marker survived the war (WWII) even though the church suffered badly from bomb damage. The marker and grave are still there today, tended by the cemetery keepers at St. Andrew’s.
Uriah Levy, one of the only Jewish officers in the navy at that time, was released from captivity with the other officers and went on to a distinguished naval career. Of note is that following his navy experiences, he became quite wealthy and ultimately purchased Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s home), saving it from neglect and likely destruction. He also presented the country with a statue of Jefferson which now stands in the U.S. Capitol.
Midshipman William Jamesson stayed in the Navy, making it all the way to admiral and died in 1873, the longest lived Argus survivor. His navy career was cut short by blindness from a wound he suffered in the Mexican War. He was eighty-two at his death.
The story of Argus will complete my ramblings on the War of 1812 – at least in book form – and I hope you enjoyed reading some of them. A complete listing of the titles can be found elsewhere in this volume or at my website, www.seafiction.net.
William H. White
West Bay, Grand Cayman
March 2015
THE WAR OF 1812 TRILOGY
A Press of Canvas
SECOND EDITION
Volume One in the War of 1812 Trilogy
by William H. White
© William H. White 2000
William H. White’s action-packed tale introduces a new character in American sea fiction: Isaac Biggs of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Sailing from Boston as captain of the foretop in the bark Anne, his ship is outward bound with a cargo for the Swedish colony of St. Barts in the West Indies in the fall of 1810. When the Anne is stopped by a British Royal Navy frigate, Isaac and several of his shipmates are forcibly pressed into service in the Orpheus, actively engaged in England’s long-running war with France.
The young Isaac faces the harsh life of a Royal Navy seaman and a harrowing war at sea. His new life is hard, with strange rules, floggings, and new dangers. Then the United States declares war on England and Isaac finds himself in an untenable position, facing the possibility of fighting his own countrymen.
Written from the aspect of the fo’c’sle rather than an officer’s view and through the eyes of an American, A Press of Canvas provides new perspectives and an exciting story of this often neglected period in American history.
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A Fine Tops’l Breeze
SECOND EDITION
Volume Two in the War of 1812 Trilogy
by William H. White
© William H. White 2000
William H. White’s action-packed tale continues the adventures of the newest character in American sea fiction: Isaac Biggs of Marblehead, Massachusetts. In the second volume of the trilogy, Isaac ships as Third Mate on the Salem privateer General Washington in February 1813. At the same time, his friends from the British frigate Orpheus and the Baltimore schooner Glory find berths on the American warship USS Constellation and, eventually, they wind up on the USS Chesapeake in Boston just in time for her disastrous meeting with HMS Shannon. Throughout the spring of 1813, Isaac and the General Washington roam the waters between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, taking prizes and harassing the British. When the American survivors of the Chesapeake/Shannon battle are confined in Melville Island Prison in Halifax, the General Washington and Isaac play an important role in securing their freedom.
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The Evening Gun
SECOND EDITION
Volume Three in the War of 1812 Trilogy
by William H. White
© William H. White 2001
The year is 1814, the final year of the War of 1812. With the Atlantic seaboard closed by the British blockade, Isaac Biggs, Jack Clements and Jake Tate, fresh from their harrowing adventures in Canada, find berths with Joshua Barney’s Gunboat Flotilla on the Chesapeake Bay. These swift, shallow-draft little vessels are a thorn in the side of the British fleet and the British command is determined to destroy them. Chased up the Patuxent River by the British, the flotilla finds an uneasy refuge in Benedict, Maryland, where Isaac falls in love with the daughter of a militia colonel. Then, the men of Barney’s flotilla are called ashore to fight at the Battle of Bladensburg and assist in the defense of Washington and, later, of Baltimore. They witness the bombardment of Fort McHenry from the outer harbor in the company of Francis Scott Key.
Written from the aspect of the fo’c’sle rather than an officer’s view and through the eyes of an American, A Press of Canvas and A Fine Tops’l Breeze and The Evening Gun provide new perspectives and exciting stories of this oft-neglected period in American history.
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Critical Acclaim for The War of 1812 Trilogy
“With the publication of A Fine Tops’l Breeze, the second of his War of 1812 Trilogy, William H. White has taken his place in the charmed circle of writers of really good fiction about the days of fighting sail: Melville, Forester, O’Brian, Nelson, and Kent. Like them, his attention to the detail of ships and their hulls, spars, rigging and sails is meticulous. And, like them, his characters are not only credible, but memorable. He is a thoroughly welcome writer to this genre, which has brought so much pleasure to so many.”
Donald A. Petrie, author of The Prize Game: Lawful Looting on the High Seas in the Days of Fighting Sail (1999)
“Through Bill White’s evocative prose, one smells the salt breeze and feels the pulse of life at sea during the War of 1812.”
John B. Hattendorf
Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History, U.S. Naval War College
“Sailors everywhere will rejoice in the salt spray, slanting decks and high adventure of this lively yarn of the young American republic battling for its rights at sea.”
Peter Stanford, President
National Maritime Historical Society
“Read the trials and tribulations of Isaac Biggs and enjoyed them immensely. Haven’t read anything like this since Forester. You write better sea stories than I do.”
Clive Cussler
Author of the Dirk Pitt Series
“The War of 1812 is a forgotten war. Few Americans recall much except there were some naval engagements and we won the Battle of New Orleans. Many don’t realize that Washington was burned, let alone know about the battles on the Patuxent. Bill White has brought this neglected period of our history alive with all the drama, panic, and confusion that gripped Washington, Baltimore and the Chesapeake region as a whole in 1814. The description of the attack on Baltimore and the writing of the “Star Spangled Banner” humanize an event that we don’t think about when we sing our national anthem. The War of 1812 and the sacrifices that were made to preserve out liberty will be better understood after reading The Evening Gun. An enjoyable way to learn history.”
C. Douglass Alves, Jr.
Director, Calvert Marine Museum
Meet Oliver Baldwin in his first novel
The Greater The Honor
A Novel of the Barbary Wars
SECOND EDI
TION
by William H. White
© William H. White 2003
In William H. White’s historically accurate, colorful, and carefully crafted tale, fourteen-year-old midshipman Oliver Baldwin tells the story of our fight with the corsairs of the Barbary Coast from the deck of Captain Stephen Decatur’s ship as the young man, like the young nation he represents, struggles to find his way on the course to manhood. Gunboat battles, duels, and storms encourage his personal growth and challenge his maturity as he learns his role as an officer-in-training of the United States Navy. More than a “sea story,” it is a coming of age story of both a young man and the fledgling navy he serves.
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“This is a rollicking sea story of the American naval officers who proudly called themselves “Preble’s Boys.” They took their ships to a distant station to defend the new Republic. They cowed the Tripolitans and impressed the British. Finally, Stephen Decatur and the rest of Preble’s Boys get their due. Their adventures and courageous acts challenge Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower and they are all the more impressive because their story is true. White’s skill as a novelist and his passion for historical accuracy put him on a course with Patrick O’Brian.”
William Fowler, Ph.D.
Director, Massachusetts Historical Society
Reviews
“White’s fourth book is his best effort to date. The novel is a ‘coming of age story’ about a young sailor named Oliver Baldwin who signs on as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy during the early 1800s. Historically accurate, the novel’s main focus surrounds the Barbary Wars where the fledgling country, The United States of America, is defending its merchants from Mediterranean pirates.”
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“Unique to this novel is the way that White introduces young Baldwin to the trials and tribulations of life as a sailor. The various parts and names of 18th century sailing ships can cause the novice to this period shy away from these types of stories. White does an excellent job teaching the reader as Baldwin learns and grows accustomed to life aboard a naval ship.”
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“I frequently found myself fully engrossed in the story, looking over Baldwin’s shoulder as he works aboard the ship, makes friends with his fellow shipmates, and fights the pirates of the Mediterranean. The novel is fast paced, and the descriptions are truly magnificent. From the sea spray in your face, to the boom of the guns, to the heat of the battle, White truly puts you in the front row seat for all the action.”
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“White’s skill as a novelist and his passion for historical accuracy put him on a course with Patrick O’Brian.”
William Fowler, Ph.D.
Director, Massachusetts Historical Society
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IN PURSUIT OF GLORY
An Oliver Baldwin Novel
SECOND EDITION
by William H. White
© William H. White 2006
Following his return from the Barbary Coast, Oliver Baldwin is assigned in USS Chesapeake just in time for her epic and disastrous meeting with HMS Leopard outside the Virginia Capes. He testifies at Commodore James Barron’s court martial in 1808 and then sails, again under Captain Steven Decatur in Chesapeake, to enforce the Jeffersonian Embargo. Reassigned, with Decatur to the heavy frigate United States, Baldwin experiences the start of the War of 1812 and the capture of HMS Macedonian, one of the most thrilling single-ship engagements of the war.
“William White’s newest seafaring novel deals with the U.S. Navy as it emerged from the Barbary Wars and enters the difficult period leading into the War of 1812. We see the action through the eyes of Midshipman Oliver Baldwin who had entered the Navy in 1803 and was serving on the ill-starred USS Chesapeake as she put to sea from Norfolk. He is eyewitness to HMS Leopard’s bombardment of Chesapeake and its aftermath in the court martial of Commodore James Barron and others in the immediate chain of command. Through his observations and those of his shipmates, we are privy to the turbulent emotions wrought by that event and the desire for revenge on the British felt generally throughout the Navy. The protagonist gains further seasoning serving with and under a variety of officers over the next few years. Under the command of Captain Stephen Decatur, Jr., in USS United States, Baldwin participates in the battle with HMS Macedonian and brings her safely back to Newport as a member of the prize crew. White cleverly recreates the language and manners of days long past while sticking closely to the basic historical facts. He weaves his fictional and historic personages seamlessly into the context of the times and vividly brings to life a time when the U.S. Navy was emerging from infancy to adolescence.”
William Dudley, Ph.D.
Chairman Emeritus Navy Historical Center
“If you yearn to smell the salt air, hear the wind sing through the rigging, and feel the roll of the sea beneath your feet, but you don’t have a ship of your own, step aboard In Pursuit of Glory. If you want to duck British cannonballs and ride out storms at sea, all from the safety of your favorite armchair, set sail with William White. If you do, he’ll take you on a fascinating voyage into American naval history, and you’ll make port edified and entertained.”
William Martin
NY Times Best-selling Author of The Lost Constitution, Cape Cod, Back Bay, Harvard Yard, Citizen Washington, Annapolis
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WHEN
FORTUNE
FROWNS
Introducing Edward Ballantyne
SECOND EDITION
by William H. White
© William H. White 2008
Most people are aware of the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Few, however, know what happened to the mutineers. They did not all sail to Pitcairn Island; indeed only nine of them did, leaving sixteen in Tahiti by their own choice. The Royal Navy was not about to let them remain at large and sent an armed frigate, HMS Pandora, to the Pacific to capture them and return them to England for trial. When Fortune Frowns is the story of this voyage, the capture of the remaining mutineers, and the perilous and disastrous return voyage to England. Storms, tropical islands, monotony, and shipwreck all figured into the epic tale, unearthed and carefully researched by noted maritime author William H. White. A well crafted conclusion to one of the most heinous and well known stories of the Age of Sail.
“William White brings to life the maritime history of HBM frigate Pandora’s quest for HMAV Bounty and her mutinous crew. This riveting novel is a scholarly, well-written tale with wonderful descriptions of the banality of the 18th century British naval life, punctuated by brutality and the occasional bravado, but always liberally flavored with the salty language of the time.”
Louis Arthur Norton
Maritime historian and author
“When Fortune Frowns is a great historical fiction – a fascinating (and true) story, scrupulously researched and fleshed out with characters who have the ring of authenticity. William H. White has done a fine job of bringing the story of the Pandora, the often forgotten sequel to the mutiny on the Bounty, to life.”
James L. Nelson
Author of George Washington’s Secret Navy
“White’s skill as a novelist and his passion for historical accuracy put him on a course with Patrick O’Brian.”
William Fowler, Ph.D.
Director, Massachusetts Historical Society
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GUN BAY
An Edward Ballantyne Novel
by William H. White
© William H. White 2013
In February 1794, ten ships, nine merchants and a Royal Navy frigate, wrecked on the reef at the east end of Grand Cayman Island. They were part of a convoy of fifty-eight ships that had left Jamaica only a few days prior and were bound for North
America and England.
Edward Ballantyne, White’s fictitious narrator from When Fortune Frowns, returns to tell the story of this disastrous event, still well-known in Cayman lore and, while the bones of the wrecked ships are no longer visible, several cannon from the Royal Navy frigate, HMS Convert can be found in the front yards of homes along the bluff above Gun Bay. There is naturally a great deal of “folk lore” associated with the event, but the Cayman Archives hold part of the story; the rest can be found in archives in England, Jamaica, and France.