Category: Navy

Captain James Willing’s Mississippi Raid, Part 1

On By Eric SternerIn Campaigns, Navy, Personalities, Slavery, Uncategorized, Western Frontier2 Comments

 

Willing's Mississippi Raid
Willing’s Marine Expedition, The Marines in the Revolution: A Pictorial History, (Washington, DC: United States Marine Corps/Government Printing Office, 1975)

In 1778, Captain James Willing and his crew sailed and rowed the bateaux Rattletrap down the Ohio River to the Mississippi.   A “left” turn of sorts then took them down the Mississippi all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  Willing’s purpose was straightforward: secure the neutrality of residents along the Mississippi, obtain supplies from New Orleans, and return them to the new United States.  It was as tall an order as the Ohio and Mississippi were dangerous.   British rangers and their Native American allies closely watched both shores and would readily attack vulnerable river traffic.  Willing’s only refuge lay in a string of forts the Americans had established on the Ohio, but they did not extend very far.  He would have to make due with his crew and the two swivel guns that armed Rattletrap. Continue reading “Captain James Willing’s Mississippi Raid, Part 1” →

Press Release: US Founding Father may have contributed to forgotten ship wreck – study

On By erwpostIn Civilian, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Navy, Personalities, Preservation, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, could have contributed to a forgotten shipwreck narrative, according to new research.

benjamin franklin
Benjamin Franklin

Based on studies of Franklin’s early life as a printer, Dr Hazel Wilkinson claims there are clues which provide information about Benjamin Franklin’s activities during his first visit to London as an 18-year-old printer.

Dr. Wilkinson – from the University of Birmingham, in the UK – suggests a previously unobserved connection between the young Franklin and Richard Castelman, an English theatre manager with an intriguing past. Continue reading “Press Release: US Founding Father may have contributed to forgotten ship wreck – study” →

“Old Ironsides” To Set Sail Again!

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Monuments, National Park Service, Navy, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

Happen to be around Boston this weekend? Or live within traveling distance? Check out the special event happening this weekend from Sunday, July 23rd through Monday, July 24th at the U.S.S. Constitution Museum and Charlestown Navy Yard.

The U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat will set sail again. Launched in 1797 and named by President George Washington, the vessel is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate. She has been dry-docked since May 18, 2015 but will return to the water on July 23rd.

Old Ironsides
“Old Ironsides” the U.S.S. Constitution, photo taken April 2016 (author collection)

The event, co-sponsored with the National Parks of Boston will have a full-plate of free, family-fun events starting at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday and continuing into the morning hours of Monday.

For a full-listing of these events, including information about the museum, and answers to a few frequently answered questions, click here.

For those that cannot make it live to the re-launch, the event will be live on Facebook video streams at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. along with live video streams throughout the night of the major events. Check out the Facebook site for the museum by clicking here.