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The Uses of Maritime History in and for the Navy

by

Professor John B. Hattendorf

Naval War College ReviewVolume LVI (Spring 2003), pp. 1338.

Scanned and electronically published byAmerican Naval Records Society

Bolton Landing, New York2012

AS A WORK OF THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENTTHIS PUBLICATION IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.


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Professor Hattendorf, chairman of the Naval War Col-

leges new M ari time Hi story Department, has served

since 1984 as the Coll eges Ernest J. K ing Professor of

MaritimeHi story. Hisserviceto the U.S. Navy extends

over threedecadesasanofficer wi th combat experience

at sea in destroyers, at the Naval Histori cal Center, and

asboth a uni formed and a civi lian Naval War College

facultymember. Heearnedhismastersdegreein history

from Brown University in 1971and hisdoctoratein war

history from the Uni versity of Oxford in 1979. Kenyon

College, where he earned his bachelors degree in 1964,

awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1997, and the

Nat ional Marit imeMuseum, Greenwich, awarded him

its Caird Medal in 2000 for hiscontributionsto thefi eld

of mari ti me history. Since 1988 he has dir ected the

Advanced Research Department in theCenter for Naval

Warfare Studies. He is the author, coauthor, editor, or

coeditor ofnumerousarticlesandmorethan thirt y books

on Briti sh and Ameri can marit ime history, including

Sailors and Scholars: The Centennial History of the

Naval War College,studies on Alfred Thayer Mahan

andStephen B. Luce, andAmericaand theSea: AMari-

time History.His most recent works include coedit ingWar at Sea in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

(2002) and a major exhibition catalog for the John

Carter Brown Library,TheBoundlessDeep: TheEuro-

pean Conquest of the Oceans, 14501840 (2003).

The author acknowledges wi th great appreciation the

constructi ve cri ti cismsmade on an earli er draft of this

arti cle by Dr. Chr istopher M . Bell, Naval War College;

Dr . Phil ip L. Cantelon, H istory Associates, I nc.; Dr.

Rodney Carli sle, Rutgers Uni versity; Dr. Wi lli am S.

Dudley, Di rector of Naval Hi story and Director, Naval

Historical Center; D r. Edward M arolda, Senior Histo-

rian, Naval Historical Center; Professor David A.

Rosenberg, chairman, secretary of the Navys Advi sory

Subcommitteeon Naval H istory;HenryH. Gaffney andCaptain Peter Swart z, USN (Ret.) , Center for Strategic

Studiesat theCNA Corporation;and JayThomas, Navy

Cultural ResourcesOffi cer, Naval Facili tiesCommand.

Notwi thstandingtheir generousadvice, theauthor alone

is responsible for the views expressed herein.

Naval War College Review, Spring 2003, Vol. LVI , No. 2


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THE USESOFMARITIME HISTORY IN AND FORTHENAVY

John B. Hattendorf

Theknowledgeof the past, the record of tru ths revealed by experience,

is eminently practi cal, i san instrument of acti on, and a power t hat goes

to themaking of the future.LORD ACTON (18321902)

There isan ever-present human tendency to think that all that went before isirrelevant and useless, especially in an era of transformation and change.Naviesarepart icularly susceptible to thistendency since, in contrast to officers

in other branchesof service, naval officers, by and large, havetended to ignore

thevalueof and advantagesto befound in historical insight.

Thisnegativeatti tudetoward history within theNavyhasitsrootsin thepre-

vailing naval culture; it is shared widely among navies that have developed

within theAnglo-American t radit ion. A dispassionate look at thepatternsand

processof innovation in the past, however, remindsusthat such tendenciesare

to bedeterminedly guarded against. Marit imehistory isacentral part of an un-

derstanding of the heri tage and tradit ion of navies, but i ts value lies in more

than heri tage alone. Knowing what actually happened in the past is central to

understandingthenatureand character of naval power. It assistsin knowing the

limits to theusefulnessof naval power aswell asin understandingwhereweare

today in the development and progression of the art of naval warfare. Asevery

navigator understands, it is crit ical to know where we are and what external

forcesaffected uson theway there if weareto lay thebest coursetoward where

wewant to be.1

Thesejudgmentshaveonceagain been reaffirmed in themost recent study of

theusesof history by, for,and in theAmerican navy. In 2000on therecommen-

dation of theSecretary of theNavysAdvisory Subcommitteeon Naval History,

Secretary Richard Danzig commissioned an independent evaluation of the

Navyshistorical programs. Thisreport , completed in October 2000, concluded


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that theU.S.Navy hasfailed to usether ichhistorical informationavailableto it

in order to manageor apply effectively thoseresources for internal or external

purposes.2Moreover, while history survivesin isolated pockets theuseof na-

val heri tage history is disjointed, sporadic, inconsistent, and occasionally con-

tradictory. Without a clear service-widemission, history in the Navy has itself

become an arti fact, delivering traditional products for use in a Navy seeking

other types of information. Subsequent meetings in 2000 and 2002where

representatives of the perceived stakeholders of naval history throughout the

Navy and supporters of naval history outside the service joined in the discus-

sionsreviewed early draftsfor aproposed strategyand afive-year plan for im-

plementing it.

Nonetheless, despite theseinitiatives, at the beginning of 2003 the Navy sti ll

lacks an integrated policy for employing naval history. Therecommendations

and requests of Dr. David A. Rosenberg, the chairman of the Secretary of theNavysAdvisory Subcommitteeon Naval History, for astrongand detailed pol-

icystatement,establishment of requirements,and thedirectivesnecessary to re-

versethecurrent trend havenot yet been answered.3

If thissituation isto berecti fied,theU.S.Navyssenior leadership needsto estab-

lish clear policy guidance. Theestablishment at Newport of theMaritimeHis-

tory Department thisyear isbut oneof thefirst stepsto betaken throughout the

Navyif weareto reap therewardsfrom theintegration of history,itslessonsand

itscautions, intoall aspectsof contemporary naval thinking,doctr ine,planning,

and education.

THE PRESENT CONDITION

Thestakeholdersand supportersof naval history within theU.S.Navyarefew. It

has been left largely to civi lian specialists at the Naval Historical Center at the

Washington Navy Yard and thehandful of academicsand administratorsin the

Navystwelvemuseums,at theNaval Academy,and theNaval War College.Naval

history findsmuchmoresupport outsidetheservice,ascan easily beseen in the

keen interest in popular novels, fi lms, and television programs with histor ical

themes. A number of private organizationsin theUnited Statespromote naval

history and heri tage, including the Naval Historical Foundation and the U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation in Washington, the Naval Order of the United

States, theHistoric Naval ShipsAssociation, and theCenter for Naval Analyses.

Perhapsthe most activepublisher of work on U.S. naval history outside of the

Navy is another private organization, the U.S. Naval Insti tute, which issuesnot

only i ts monthlyProceedingsbut also, since1986, the quarterlyNaval History.

Sincethe1960s, theNaval Insti tutePresshaspublished an increasingnumber of

14 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW


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prize-winning bookson mari timehistory.Theinstitute hasalso established an

important photographic archive, available to thepublic. Since1969it hasbeen

theleader in thefield in oral history, producing morethan two hundred bound

volumeson recent naval leaders.

For thosein,or whowork for,theNavy,history isnot someamorphous,abstract,

and intellectual creation; it happensaround them all thetime. What naval pro-

fessionalsdo every day ispart of our nationshistory,asisthework of their pre-

decessors. Ships and shore stations are historic sites, as well as places where

important tasksarecarr iedout today and areprepared for tomorrow.Many na-

val buildingsandreservationsarehistoric and even contain archaeological sites

of great cultural importance. Many officesand naval stations contain valuable

objects, historicdocuments,artwork, and books,or official recordsdestined for

permanent retention in theNational Archives.TheNavyand MarineCorpsrep-resent a broad crosssection of American history; the safekeeping of national

heri tage, asreflected in i ts material culture, hasbeen left to thosewho manage

theNavysassets. In theNational Historic Preservation Act, Congressmadethe

Navy Department responsible to the nation for thepreservation of thecultural

resourcesthat i t owns. It is an awesomeresponsibil it y but oneeasily forgotten

by peoplestruggling with immediateproblems. TheNavy needs to balance its

management of these important cultural assets with its responsibi li ties for na-

tional defense, and it must do so,asthe act requires, in aspir it of stewardship

for theinspiration and benefit of present and futuregenerations. 4

Despite widespread interest and generous outside support, the uniformedNavyhasyet to makefull and effectiveuseof mari timehistory asaresource.The

practical challenge of implementing a Navywide policy for the support and

practical useof maritimehistory in and for theNavyisacomplexone. It involves

promotingarangeof interrelated but distinct levelsof historical understanding

as well as organizing and supporting a variety of responsibilities, tasks, and

functionsacrosstheNavy. If such aprogram is to succeed, mari timehistory in

theNavywil l haveto havethedirect attention and thesolid and continuingsup-

port of theflagofficerswho lead theservice.

MARITIME AND NAVAL HIS TORY DEFIN ED

To begin avibrant historical programwithin theNavy,oneneedsfi rst to under-

standwhat onemeansby mari time andnaval history,respectively.Therehas

longbeen confusion about thetwo terms, but in thepast decadea consensusin

usagehasformedthat clari fiesthematter.Maritimehistory embracesnaval his-

tory; it istheoverarchingsubject that dealswith thefull rangeof mankindsrela-

tionshipsto theseasandoceansof theworld. It isabroad themethat cutsacross

H A T T EN D O RF 1 5

Conti nued on page 19


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THE HISTORY OF HISTORY IN THE U.S. NAVY AND THE SEA SERVICES

1800 President John A dams orders the first Secretary of the Navy,

Benjamin Stoddard, to gather books for a professional library, to

consist of the best writi ngs in D utch, Spanish, French, and espe-ciallyEnglish. This is the origin of the Navy Department Library

(since 1970 it hasbeen housed in the Washington Navy Yard).

1813 ThomasC lark publishesthe first historical studyof the U. S. Navy,

basing it on personal communications with participants of the

War of 1812.

1814 Congressestablishesthe Navysfi rst museum collection bydirect-

ing that all captured naval flagsbe sent to NavyDepartment cus-

tody in Washington.

1833 Commander M atthew Perry is instrumental in establishing the

U. S. Naval Lyceum, to incite the officersof thenavalservice to in-

creased diligence in the pursuit of professional and general

knowledge. Following thislead, a similar institution wouldbees-

tablished at Boston in 1842, and later another at M are Island in

California. The naval historical collections from New York and

Boston wi ll be donated to the Naval A cademy M useum in 1892

and 1922.

1839 James Fenimore Cooper writes the first major history of the U.S.

Navy.

184546 The newlyestablished Naval A cademy at A nnapolisbuildsits first

libraryand lyceum. Its permanent museum collection is founded

three yearslater, with the transfer of the captured War of 1812

flagsfrom the NavyD epartment.

1873 U.S. Naval Institute is founded. Two of its founders, Captain

Stephen B. Luce and C ommodore Foxhall Parker, will become

among the earliest U. S. navalofficersto advocate the professional

study of naval history. James R. Soley launches the N aval A cad-

emyscurriculum first series of lectureson naval history.

1882 The O ffice of Naval Records and Library is founded. Its head,James Soley, fi rst systematically compiles the Navys records, rare

books, and other historical materials. Comprehensive publication

of operational documentsand dispatchesrelating to the C ivil War

begin in 1894 and the Spanish-A merican War operational records

are published in 1899.

1884 Rear A dmiral Stephen B. Luce establishes the Naval War College

at N ewport. Luce valueshistorical study for learning to deal with

specific situations and developing generalizations; he recruits

Captain A lfred Thayer M ahan to research naval history and

therebyexplain to rising senior officersthe art and science of high

command. M ahanspioneering historicalwork will establish some

concepts that retain value after more than a century.

18991900 Captain CharlesStockton of the Naval War College facultyexam-

inesthe history of international law and producesthe fi rst codifi-

cation of the law of naval warfare.

1905 The remainsof John Paul Jones are ceremonially removed from

Paris to A nnapolis, reviving widespread interest in the countrys

earlynaval history.

1917 Rear Admiral William S. Sims, Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval

Forces, Europe, createsthe Navys fi rst historical section on a ma-

jor operational staff, which will continue until the end of the war.


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A separate historical section is also organized in Washington

within the recently created O ffice of the C hief of Naval

O perations.

1919 M ajor G eneral Commandant G eorgeBarnett of theM arineC orps

createsa H istorical Section under the A djutant and Inspectors

Department. The f irst officer i n charge is M ajor Edwin N.

M cClellan.

1921 CaptainD udleyW. Knox becomesheadof both theHistoricalSec-

tion in the O ffice of the Chief of Naval Operationsand the O ffice

of NavalRecordsand Library, launching a monograph seriesbased

on materialscollected by the London Historical Section.

1926 The Naval Historical Foundation isfounded to collect naval manu-

scripts and artifacts, eventuallyacquiring and donating to the Li-

braryof Congressthe most important single collection of private

naval papersi n the Uni ted States.

1927 The Historical Section in the O ffice of the Chief of Naval O pera-

tions and the O ffice of Naval Recordsand Library in Washington

merge.

1930 Dudley W. K nox assumes additional responsibility as Curator of

the Navy. In 1934, in close personal cooperation wi th President

Franklin Roosevelt, he will begin publication of a multivolume se-

riesof naval documentson the BarbaryWars and the Q uasi-War

with France.

1931 After overhaul, USSConstitutionis recomm issioned and sent on

tour of A merican ports.

1938 Congress establishes Naval Academy M useum, authorizing

tax-exempt gifts.

1942 DudleyW. Knox formsanO perationalA rchive to collect and orga-

nize wartime records. Separate from it, Samuel Eliot M orison of

Harvard receivesa direct comm ission as a lieutenant commander

to prepare an operational naval history, receiving presidential carte

blanche for travel and access. Hisfif teen-volume History of UnitedStates Naval Operations in Wor ld War IIwill appear 194762.

1943 Professor Robert G. A lbion of Princeton is appointed to a

part-time position to oversee 150 naval officerswriting some two

hundred studieson the Navysadministrative historyduringW orld

War II, a project that will be completed in 1950.

1944 Secretaryof theN avyJamesForrestal establishesthe O ffice of Na-

val History within the O ffice of the Secretary of the Navy. I ts first

director is retired A dmiral Edward C. Kalbfus, twice President of

the Naval War C ollege. K nox becomes deputy director of naval

history under K albfus.

1945 The Bureau of Ships establishes the O ffice of Curator of Ship

M odelsat the David Taylor M odel Basin, to overseethe continuing

acquisition of a collection that dated to the 1883 requirement to

build and retain exhibition-quality models of the N avys newest

ships. Now sponsored by the Naval Surface Warfare C enter, the

Naval Sea Systems Command, and the Naval Historical Center, it

currentlyhasover 2,100 modelsasa three-dimensional record of

naval ship and aircraft design.

1947 The Civil Engineer Corp/Seabee M useum opensat Port Hueneme,

California, with a command historian and archive.


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1948 A t the recommendation of A dmiral Raymond Spruance, the Sec-

retaryof the Navyapprovesestablishment of an academicchair of

maritime history at the Naval War College, subsequently named

in 1953 in honorof Fleet Admiral Ernest J. K ing. USSTexas(BB 35)

becomes a memorial and museum ship at San Jacinto State Park ,in Texas.

1949 The O ffice of Naval History merges with the O ffice of Naval Re-

cordsand Libraryto create the Naval Recordsand LibraryD ivision

of the O ffice of the Chief of Naval Operations. In 1952, it will be-

come the Naval History Division, under the D irector of Naval

History.

1952 The Secretaryof the NavysA dvisoryCommittee on Naval History,

an independent group of expertson naval history, is founded to

advise the Navy on i ts historical programs. O ver the years, its

members will include such distinguished A merican historians as

Samuel Flagg Bemis, Francis L. Berkeley, James Field, John

K emble, Alan Nevins, and Walter M uir Whitehill, aswell asretired

senior flag officersand some of the countrysleading art experts,

museum directors, and librarians.

1957 The Navy transfers ownership of A dmiral G eorge Deweys flag-

ship, USS Olympia,to a private organization for preservation and

display.

1960 The first M arine Corps M useum isopened at the M arine Corps

Base at Q uantico, V irginia. It wi ll come under the control of the

newlycreatedHistoryand M useumsDivision during 197273 and

moveto thefirst floorof the M arineC orpsHistorical Center in the

Washington N avyYard during 197677. It remains there today.

1961 The U.S. Naval Historical Display Center, the forerunner of the

Navy M useum, is established in Washington, to open in 1963.

1963 The Naval A ir Station Pensacola museum, now the National M u-

seum of Naval Aviation, i s founded.

1964 The Submarine Force Libraryand M useum is established at New

London, Connecticut, with materials acquired from the Electric

Boat Companyscollection.

1967 The Coast G uard establishesa curatorialservicesdepartment. The

Coast G uard A cademy establishes a museum at New London,

Connecticut, to complement itsteaching program; in 1971, it wi ll

become the U .S. Coast G uard M useum.

1970 The Naval War College creates Naval Historical Collection for its

archives, manuscript collection, and rare books.

1971 TheNaval HistoricalC enter in theWashington NavyYard isestab-

lished, replacing the Naval H istorical Division. Its director (a civil-

ian since 1986), serveson the NavyStaff as the Di rector of Naval

History.

1972 The U.S. Naval A cademy holdsi ts first naval history symposium,

which soon becomesa biennial meeting and the most important

regularacademicconference within the field of U. S. navalhistory.

1974 The Naval Supply CorpsSchool at A thens, G eorgia, establishesa

museum.

1976 The private, nonprofit USSConstitut ionM useum isestablished.

1977 The Naval Research Laboratoryestablishesitshistorical office and

developswriting, research, and oral historyprograms. The M arine

Corps Historical Center in the Washington Navy Yard opens its


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academicboundariesand buildsl inkagesbetween discipl inesto form ahuman-

isticunderstandingof themanydimensionsinvolved.Marit imehistory involves

in particular the histories of science, technology, cartography, industry, eco-nomics, trade, polit ics, international affairs, imperial growth and rivalry, insti -

tut ional and organizational development, communications, migration, law,

social affairs, leadership, ethics, art, and literature. Therangeis immense,and the

possible vantagepoints and topicsare many. Yet the focus is clearly defined

ships and the sailors who operate them, with specific sets of scientific


doorsto house the Historyand M useumsDi vision of the M arine

C orps, formed in 1973 under Brigadier G eneral Edwin H.

Simmons, USM C .

1978 A museum devoted to the historyof aviation test and evaluation

is founded at the Patuxent River Naval A ir Station i n M aryland.

The Naval War College opens a museum in the Colleges first

classroom building. The M arine C orps Aviation M useum i s cre-

ated (to be renamed the M arine Corps A ir-G round M useum in

198283) asa field activity of the History and M useumsD ivision.

It occupies several exhibit and storage buildings and hangarsat

M arineBase Q uantico, Virginia, beforeclosing to the public in an-

ticipation of a new National M useum of the M arine Corps to be

opened at Q uantico in 20052006.

1979 U.S. M erchant M arine A cademyat K ingsPoint, New York, estab-

lishesa museum to complement its teaching of marit ime history.

The C ommander, Navy Region, M id-Atlantic establishes the

Hampton RoadsNaval Exhibit devoted to the naval history in the

Hampton Roads, York town, and Norfolk, Vi rginia, areas. The M a-

rine CorpsH istorical Foundation isestablished in the Washington

NavyYard.

1980 The Bureau of M edicine and Surgery establishes historical activi-

tiesas an additional duty for the editor of the Navy M edical De-

partmentsjournal,Navy Medicine.The editor developed writing,

research, and oral historyprogramsuntil the O fficeof Historian of

the Naval M edical Department was established in September

2002.

1986 The Naval Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, acquires

the deactivated USSNautilusfor itsSubmarine Force M useum.

1991 The Naval Undersea M useum at Keyport, Washington, is estab-

lished, devoted to the ocean environment and the history of U .S.

torpedo, mine warfare, and submarine technology.

1995 The Ci vilEngineering CorpsSeabee M useum establishesa branch

on the G ulf C oast at G ulfport, M ississippi.

2000 TheM useum of Armament and Technologyat theNavalWeapons

Center, C hina Lake, C alifornia, is established to display technol-

ogyand weaponsthat haveplayed an important role in the previ-

ous six decadesof the serviceshistory.

2003 The Naval War College creates a M aritime History Department,

consolidating i ts activiti esand collection in the field of mariti me

historyand establishing a research unit for basicandapplied mari-

time history.

Continued from page 15


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understanding and technological devices, in their hostile sea environment,

which covers the greater part of the globe.

Within thebroad field of mari timehistory,thereareanumber of recognized

major subspecialt ies.Amongthemarethehistory of navigational and mari time

sciences; the historiesof ships and their construction, the aircraft that fly over

the seas, and thesubmarinesthat passunder their surface; mari timeeconomic

history; thehistoriesof merchant shipping,fishing,and whaling; thehistoriesof

yachting and other leisure activities at sea and on the seaside; the histories of

geographical explorationand cartography;social and laborhistory, thehealth of

seamen; maritime law, maritime art, maritime literature; and naval history.

Thesesubspecialt iesare interrelated within the framework of mari timehistory

to varying degrees, but each istied aswell to historical subject areasoutside the

mari timefield.Characteristically,amari timesubspecialtysrelationship outside

the field definesitsperspectiveon, and approach to, mari timehistory.War at sea and the development of its poli tical, technological, insti tut ional,

and financial elements is, thus, the focus of the naval history subspecialty.

Within thestructureof mari timehistory,naval history relatesto theother mari-

timesubspecialt iesasa special case, aparticular application of the historiesof

ships and shipbuilding,geographical exploration, cartography, social and labor

issues,health, law,art , li terature,and soon.It also connectsto thestudy of agen-

ciesand seaservicesthat cooperateor shareresponsibilitieswith navies, suchas

(in the United States) the Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Revenue Service, and

Coast Survey. The last three have fulfilled under a variety of organizational

namescri tical mari timefunctionsashydrography, policing and safety of navi-gation,piloting,and thelicensingof mariners.Outsidethemari timesphere,naval

history isclosely associated with,and hasadopted thebroad approachesof, such

fieldsasmil itarystudies, international affairs,polit ics,government, and thehis-

tory of technology.

Naval history specifically involvesthestudy and analysisof thewaysin which

governmentshaveorganized and employed forceat seato achievenational ends.

It rangesacrossall periodsof world history and involvesa wide variety of na-

tional histories, languages, and archival sources. (Most prominent among the

latter aregovernmental archives,supplementedbytheprivatepapersof individ-

ualswho served in or withnavies.) Thestudyof naval history involvesanalysisofthe waysin which decisions were reached and carr ied out, aswell asof thede-

sign,procurement, manufacture,and employment of vessels,aircraft,and weap-

onstoachievetheendsin view.AsAdmiral Sir Herbert Richmondsuccinctly put

it , naval history



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includes the whys of strategy in all its phases, from the polit ical sphere to that of

minor strategy and tactics of fleets and squadrons: it includes the hows of actual

performances: and, not less important, the whys of success and failure. It embraces

all those elements of foreign diplomatic relations, of economics and commerce, ofinternational law and neutrality, of positions, of the principles of war, of administra-

tion, of the nature of the weapon, and of personality.5

Naval history in themachineagefacestheneed to explain thesematterscom-

prehensively,placingindividual decisionsand thecollectiveinteractionsof lead-

ers within awide context of technological, financial, and operational issues.6

A tradit ional work in the field of naval history tracesthe waysin which na-

tional leaders dealt with international situations and decided upon courses of

action that involved employment of shipsand weapons at sea, and the reasons

why. It then followstheresultsof thosedecisionsand examinestheactual usesof

naval forceat seaand itsconsequences, often in termsof thebiographiesof par-ticular admirals, specificbattles, campaigns, or accountsof theactionsof fleets,

squadrons, and even individual shipsand aircraft.

In contrast, modern naval historians have come to understand that navies

and thosewho servein uniform donot exist separately from other partsof soci-

ety. In addition to seeing their actionsin terms of leadership, tactics, and strat-

egy, scholarsmust also understand them in termsof theexternal environment,

domestic poli tics, bureaucratic poli tics, the stateof technological development

and capabil it ies,procurement issues,organizational culture,and thecapacity of

naval men and women (in aprofession marked byrigid hierarchical structures)

for innovation,change,and alternativeapproaches.7

Modern naval history looksat naviesnot only within their national contextsor asinstrumentsof part icular

national statesbut also from wider international and comparativeperspectives,

in terms either of the chronological development of specific events or of the

broad, long-term development of naviesaround theworld.8Clearly theactions

of onenavy cannot beconsidered in isolation from foreign influences, whether

enemies, alli es, or world developments.

Naval historians, aspractiti oners of the wider field of mari timehistory, are

bound bythesamegeneral requirementsand standardsasapply to scholarswho

work, research, or write in any other historical area. Any historical project re-

quiresawideunderstandingof thecontext in whichtheeventsunder study tookplace, adeep appreciation of thehistorical li terature addressing thesubject and

itsbroad field,and athorough examination of theoriginal documentsandother

primary sourcematerials that establishauthoritatively what occurred,how, and

why.



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THE AUDIENCES FOR MARITIME HISTORY

For thehistorical program to besuccessful, theNavy and itshistoriansmust be

morestrategic in their approaches, recognizingthat they must appeal to anum-

ber of different audiencesat once.Marit imehistory in theUnited Stateshasfour

distinct audiences, eachof whichrequiresdifferent approaches, levelsof under-

standing, and vantagepoints: Congressand other government leaders, includ-

ing uniformed members of the nonnaval services; the men and women of the

U.S. Navy; academics; and thegeneral public.

Thefirst two audiencesCongress,government leaders,and uniformed men

and women in all the armed serviceslook to a historical understanding that

providesconsiderationsand insight useful for thecurrent and future develop-

ment of theNavy.Their collectiveinterest and approach maybedescribed asap-

plied history.9The last two audiences, the general public and academe, form a

related pair ; they look toward broad understanding and evaluation of mari timeand naval eventsasfundamental and asessential for understanding world his-

tory andnational li fe.Their interestsmaybedescribedasthoseof basichistory.

Th e D ecisi on M akers: A Focused Aud i ence

Thegeneral publicsunderstanding of mari timeand naval affairsdeveloped,

corrected, and expanded by the academic communityprovidesthe founda-

tion for at least the ini tial understandingsof the people in chargeof leading,

building, funding, and developing the Navy. Thesedecision makers, leaders of

government, arethosewhomakeup an important audiencefor applied history.

However, their needsin mari timeand naval history are moredetailed, specific,

and technical than thoseof thepublic and academe, addressprofessional inter-

ests beyond the scopeof popular and academic interests, and typically need to

beformulated and presented in different ways.

Congressand Government Leaders

Members of Congress, congressional staff members, and the uni formed men

and women of servicesother than theNavy form adistinct audiencefor certain

aspectsof mari timehistory.Thisaudienceiswidely varied but may includerep-

resentatives from areas that have long-standing interests in mari time affairs,

such ascoastal states, stateswith traditional Navy ties, vocal groupsof naval re-

ti reesor veterans,or stateswhereassetsfor theNavyareproduced or itsbasesare

located.Thispart of theaudiencewil l havespecial interestsin specificaspectsof

naval history that relate to their own state and its history, polit ics, or interests

but may need specific information that builds on their traditional ties or

broadenstheir regional outlook into anational perspective. Congressand gov-

ernment leaders also includethosewho do not havesuch buil t-i n interests but



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needunderstandingsof howandwhytheNavyhasdeveloped,if theyaretocarry

out their responsibilitieseffectively.

A component of thisaudienceof specific interest to the Navy comprisesthe

NavyDepartmentssenior civil ian appointees, suchastheSecretary of theNavy,

the Assistant Secretariesof the Navy, and thenoncareer deputy assistant secre-

taries.Most typicallyhaveshort tenureswith theNavyDepartment in thecourse

of careers that take them to avariety of executivebranch posit ions. Likemany

membersof Congressand leadersin other services, theydo not necessarily have

previous exposure to naval matters. These leaders with important present re-

sponsibili tieshaveadirect, practical need to knowabout therolesandfunctions

of theNavy and when, why, and how it hasbeen used, misused, or neglected in

thepast. AsSir Basil Liddell Hart oncewrote, History isacatalogueof mistakes.

It isour duty to profit by them.10

Thosewho makedecisionson present and futurenaval issuesneed to profi tfrom past errorsand problems. They alwaysneed asenseof thebackgroundsof

thedi fficult issuestheyarestrugglingto solve.TheNavyshistoriansshouldpro-

vide historical understanding in ways that are accessible to busy leaders, who

need specific information and interpretation focused on particular elements of

mari timehistory in waysthat provideinsight into current debatesover funding,

policy making, and joint -serviceoperational and technical planning. This type

of information is likely to bepreciseand detailed, even quantified, pointing to

specific incidents in American historical experienceor drawing broad parallels

to situationsin American or world history.

The recent independent study commissioned by the Secretary of the Navy,Hi story and Heritagei n theU. S. Navy, found that theNavydoeslitt leto support

decision makers by providing them with historical background to current is-

sues. What i sbeing doneis scattered informally through avariety of activit ies,

including the Center for Naval Analyses, the Naval Historical Center, the Navy

Museum, the Naval War College, and several nongovernmental organizations

and museums.11 Plainly the audience of congressional and other government

leaders is a neglected audience, but one neglected at great cost. Whenever the

country faceswar, Congress, civil ian leaders in theexecutivebranch, the leaders

of other servicesthat cooperatewi th theNavy,and,aboveall , thenationsstates-

men cri tically need to knowand understand, in termsof actual practiceand ex-perience, the fundamental roles, l imitations, and practicali ties of the Navys

organization and itsabilit y toprovidemobili ty for mili tary forces,project power

overseas, control and protect sea and air routes, servetheobjectivesof foreign

policy,and carryout itsvariety of other functions.Theyneed to understand also

thetypical challengesthat theNavy facesand thereasonswhy anumber of roles



14/28

that a statesman might be tempted to assign the Navy would be inadvisable,

would distract it from its useful purposes. Leaders who have a broad under-

standing of and insight into mari timehistory and perceivethehistorical usesof

and limitationsupon fleetswil l bein a far better posit ion to makeproper deci-

sionsin regard to thepresent and futureuseof naviesthanthosewhohavenone.

Uniformed Men and Women in theNavy

Thepeoplewho serve in uniform in the Navy provide a special audiencewith

part icular needs for history. For theuniformed Navy naval history is heri tage,

but at the same time professionals within the Navy need to analyze crit ically

their professionshistorical experiencein waysthat inform their thinking and

decision making.

Understandingmari timehistory ispart of naval professional identity.Under-

standing their own profession leadsofficers or enlisted personnel aliketo feel a

natural bond with other sailors, whatever their form of marit ime endeavor or

nationali ty.Todayssailorsshareaproud heri tagethat includestheworldsgreat

seamen and world explorers, suchasChristopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magel-

lan,and JamesCook. Naval leaders,of course,arepart of thisprofessional mari-

timepantheon. Here weusually think of the great fighting commanders in the

context of batt lesand fleet operations: Drake, Tromp, Blake, deRuyter, Nelson,

Togo, Jell icoe, and Scheer, and within our own navy, Farragut, Dewey, Nimitz,

Spruance, and Halsey. But a navy, of necessity, is madeup of people of many

kindsof abili ties.Thosewho specializein oneform of warfareor spend their ca-

reers in science, technology, education, and logisticsoffer modern sailorsmod-

elsof inspiration and devotion to their profession no lessvaluablethan thoseof

fleet commanders.

Amongsuchother models about whom our professionalsneed to learn, and

toward whom they should look, are the scientist and oceanographer Matthew

Maury, the inventor John Ericsson, the thinker and strategist J. C. Wylie, the

mathematician C.H. Davis,thesalvageexpert Edward Ellsberg,thegun designer

John Dahlgren, the logistician Henry Eccles, the educator Stephen B. Luce, the

naval engineer B. F. Isherwood, the civil engineer Ben Moreell , the intell igence

offi cer J. J. Rochefor t, the aviator Wil li am Moffett , the naval dipl omati st

Matthew Perry, and the submariner CharlesLockwood; Joy Bright Hancock, a

pioneering advocate for women in the U.S. Navy; Grace Murray Hopper, thebri ll iant developer of computer languages; Charles M. Cooke and Forrest

Sherman, operational planners; H. Kent Hewitt, the amphibious innovator;

Sumner Kimball, of the Life Saving and Revenue Cutter Services; Ellsworth

Bertholf, of the Coast Guard; Spencer Baird, of the U.S. Fish Commission;

Alexander Bache, of the Coast Survey; the many examplesto befound in the



15/28


16/28

accurate relation of the historical eventsand their context underscores the real

achievements.

Entertaining and instructivestories that define ideals and motivate profes-

sionalsto achievethem isneither all that naval professionalsneed to knowabout

mari timehistory nor all that historianscan offer theNavy.Asnaval officersgain

professional maturity and becomeinvolved in broader issues, thehistorical les-

sonsthey need begin to overlap with thekindsof information that government

leadersuse. Sti ll , there isaprofessional naval dimension that differentiatestheir

historical study from that of other usersof naval historytheneed to think cri t-

ically about thenaval past in order to deal with theproblemsof thepresent and

future. To a greater degree than history used for motivational and leadership

purposes, professional historical knowledge involves clear, criti cal, rational

analysisof successand failure, in considerably moredetail than the information

that isnormally useful or relevant to nonspecialist government leaders.The present-mindedness of American naval culture typically leads serving

professionals to consider as entirely new bright ideas that havein fact been

tr iedbefore, in circumstancesthat may cast light on their applicabili ty in anew

and different context. History ispart icularly valuablefor theinsight it can bring

to issuesthat recur only rarely,perhapsoncein ageneration: reorganization of

theNavy Staff; the interrelationshipsof theofficesof the secretariesof defense

and theNavy, theOfficeof theChief of Naval Operations; and theadministra-

tion of the Navysshoreestablishment by regions. Similarly, the Navy haslong,

useful experiencein minewarfarecountermeasures. Homeland harbor defense,

a joint Army-NavyCoast Guard concept that wasapplied in Vietnam and theGulf Warsand isnowarising again, wasa live topichalf acentury ago but dis-

appeared from view at theend of World War II.

Operational doctrineand theprinciplesof war areattemptstodisti ll such ac-

tual experiencehistorical experience, even if very recentinto axioms that

can bereadily applied to thepresent and future.13

There isno doubt wisdom in

them, but the ideathat human conduct can beeffectively reduced to axioms is

doubtful. Human actions and reactions do not conform to the lawsof physics,

mechanics, or the natural sciences. In the nineteenth century, many thinkers

thought they might, but later analysts discarded such ambitions, decades ago.

Such formulations and professional axioms of the past are merely rules ofthumb; they cannot be used blindly. They must be continually and critically

tested against experiencesin dif fering contexts. A study of the past showswhat

hasworked and what hasfailed, but no two eventsareever quite thesame. His-

torical analogiesdo not createaxiomsbut, morevaluably, suggest thequestions

that need to beconsidered and the rangeof considerationsthat pertain.



17/28

American naval writershavebeen all tooapt, in part icular, to searchthewrit-

ingsof AlfredThayer Mahan for axiomsof naval strategy,but hehimself isapart

of history, and hisworksneed to beunderstood in termsof his intentionsand of

how theyhavesincebeen used, misused, superseded, broadened, and modified.14

Historical study providesthepractical basis of, and its approachesdevelop the

intellectual tools for, an understanding of thenatureof strategyand theprocess

it involves.15

In thisconnection, historical understandingand knowledgeof past

events isnot theobject but rather oneof several meansto improvetheabil it y of

professionals to solveproblemsmorewisely than arbi trary choice, purechance,

or blind intuition would allow.

The General Publi c

Far morethan many academicsarewil ling to grant, thegeneral publicsinterest

in thefield of mari time history is significant and continuesto grow. There is a

largemarket for popular worksacrossawide rangeof media: biographies, nar-

rative books and articles, heavily illustrated books and magazines, historical

novels, featurefi lms,television serieson themajor networksaswell assuch out-

lets as Public Broadcasting Service, the History Channel, and the Discovery

Channel. Thiswidepublicaudienceincludesformer and reti red membersof the

seaservices,but it isnot limited to them.A largenumber of peoplewith noprior

connection to the servicesare fascinated by naval events,are intr igued by war-

ships, aircraft, and naval equipment, and admire and take an interest in those

who go to seaand haveaccomplished featsof navigation or geographical explo-

ration. This is an audience with interests that are wide and general but at the

sametimeoften focused on individual events,specificseamen,or heroicactions,

ships, or weapons. The Navy meets the interests of this audienceby supplying

historical information; making available historical photographs, films, and

other images; maintaining museums, opening its librariesand archives to the

public,and making availableexpertswho can assist in theproduction or edito-

rial review of popular works and adviseon their historical accuracy. TheNavy

alsopostsagreat deal of information on websites, where it iseasily accessibleto

thepublic.Most notableamongthem isthat maintained bytheNaval Historical

Center in Washington,D.C.;16

on it can befound awidevariety of historical in-

formation, bibliographies, a guide to manuscripts located in repositories in

Washington and throughout the country, and a guide to organizations, pro-grams, and resources relating to the U.S. Navyshistory. The website also in-

cludeslinksto numerousnaval historyrelated sitesoutsidethe Navy.

In a democratic state, ordinary cit izens need to understand why such vast

sumsof taxpayers money arespent on their navy and what i t achieves. They do

not need to know all the technical details, but surely they need abasic senseof



18/28

the importanceof naval supremacy in international relations, aswell asof the

rolesand functionsof thenavyin both peaceandwar, if they areto haveacom-

plete appreciation of the history of thenation. Thewider public in the United

Statesneedsto understand theroleof theseain American history and theessen-

tial rolesthat marinersplayed in itscolonization,settlement, and early national

development. Amonga wide rangeof other things, the public needsto under-

stand the essential contr ibut ion of the French navy to the mili tary decision at

Yorktown, which won American independence. It needs to understand that

nearly theentireincomeof thefederal government in theearlydecadesof there-

public derived from tari ffson mari timetrade. American cit izensneed to know,

asamatter of their national heri tage, about therole and influenceof mari time

power on thecoastsand on riversduring theCivil War; about theterr ificstrug-

glesand dramatic victoriesat sea in theFirst and Second World Wars; morere-

cently, about how the Soviet naval threat during the Cold War was met; andabout the rolesand accomplishments of the Navy in thepostCold War era, in

theCaribbean, theAdriatic and Mediterranean, thePersianGulf, and theIndian

Ocean.

Moreover, to stimulate and maintain this broad audience, war monuments

and veterans memorials may be found in virtually every county, if not every

town, in thecountry. Comparatively judged, there area largenumber of mari -

time museums in the United States. TheAmerican Council of Marit ime Mu-

seums currently has some forty-two insti tut ional members, and twenty-one

other museumsareaffil iatemembers. Itsmembership currently includestwoof

thetwelvemuseumsthat theU.S.Navyoperates( theNavyMuseum in Washing-ton and the Naval Academy Museum) and theNavysCurator of Ship Models.

Threeof the Navystwelvemuseumshavebeen accredited by theAmerican As-

sociation of Museums ashaving reached high professional standards: theNavy

Museum in Washington, the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola,

and the Naval UnderseaMuseum at Keyport, Washington.

In addition, therearemorethan ahundred historic ships, operated bysome

seventy organizations, open to thepublic in theUnited States. Moreover,avari -

ety of other museumsand librariesdraw largeaudiencesto view major perma-

nent or temporary exhibit ionsin marit ime and naval history.

Not everything of historical i nterest, of course, can or should be saved, butneither should they be inappropriately destroyed or left unmanaged. Some

thingsare intrinsically valuable; someare useful only for the information they

contain; someare both, someneither. The variety is immense. But every item

worthyeven of consideration for preservationhasali fecycle,comprising identi -

fication,preservation, interpretation,use,and disposit ionperhaps, transfer to

appropr iate repositor ies, or disposal. Every historical object needs to be taken



19/28

upbyaninstitutional infrastructurethat can manageand preserveit andmakeit

useful and accessible for professional useor publicknowledge.Even tactical and

administrativecomputer systems that processpotentially historic information

should bedesigned from theoutset to preservethat information for futureuse.

To beaposit ivehistorical asset, an object must beplaced in thecontext of amu-

seum collection,an archive, alibrary,or someother specially formed collection

with cataloging, identi fication, and retr ieval systems.17

In order to do this in a

way that meets modern professional demands, a major naval shore command

may need atrained historical officer,whoiseducated in mari timehistory,serves

asaresource, advisesthe commander, and coordinateswith guidancefrom the

Director of Naval History in Washington, theenti re rangeof activit iesrelating

to mari timehistory that theparticular command is likely to facelocal history,

archaeology, preservation of records, archives, rarebooks, chartsand maps, art ,

histor ical commemorations, museums, and histor ical objects.

The Academi c Audience

By contrast, theacademic audienceis small and generally limited to arelatively

small number of studentsand faculty at collegesand universit ies, but i t isan

extremely impor tant audience, far more so than it s numbers suggest. Its im-

portancel iesin thefact that theindependent thinkingandscholarship of these

researchers create thefundamental historical understanding of maritimeand

naval eventsthat servesasthe basisfor thoseof all theother audiences. Other

audiences may use the products of scholarly history in ways that academics

might consider fragmentary or lacking in depth, but their understandingsare

ultimately based upon academic perceptions, debates, and prevailing

interpretations.

Themost important way in which theNavyinteractswith theacademic world

isthroughdirect discourseitspart icipation in academic research,writing,and

professional evaluation of academic li terature.Thisparticipation isundertaken

largely by the research staff at the Naval Historical Center in Washington and

throughtheresearchand publicationsof faculty memberswhospecializein na-

val history at theNaval Academy in Annapolis, the Naval War Collegein New-

port, and the Naval PostgraduateSchool in Monterey, Cali fornia.

The abili ty of historians within the Navy to publish historical studies that

meet high academic standards and becomepart of theacademic historical dis-courseis essential to theNavysabili ty to inform thepublic about i tscontribu-

tionsto national li feand its role in international affairs. Additionally, theNavy

makes an essential contribution to the academic audienceby allowing its own

academichistoriansto act asadvocateswithin theservice. It contr ibutesalsoby

publishing (on the basis of the professional knowledge and judgment of its



20/28

historians) official documents on naval history and by declassifying and other-

wisemakingavailablefor scholarly researcharchival material and historical col-

lectionsowned by theNavy.18

For a long time, the academic standard of mari time history in the United

Stateswasnot of thehighest quali ty; only afew collegeor university history de-

partments in the United States provided courses in any aspect of the subject.

Nonetheless, over the past decade there havebeen strong indications that this

trend isbeingreversed.19MysticSeaportsgeneral historyAmeri ca and theSea:A

MaritimeHistory(1998) hasapparently been adopted asageneral textbook for

thispurposeon several campuseswherethesubject wasnot previouslyoffered.20

It iscertainlyusedat MysticSeaport in Connecticut,wheretheMunsonInsti tute

of American MaritimeHistoryoffersaccredited,graduate-level summer courses

in mari timehistory.21

Today asizeable number of individual scholars, scattered

across the country in various universities, colleges, and research insti tut ions,pursue professional research and writ ing interests in naval history and within

thebroader scopeof mari timehistory. It is theseestablishedscholars,alongwith

agrowingnumber of graduatestudentsresearchingmastersand doctoral theses

within these areas, who constitute the main academic audience within the

United States. They are joined by a similar set of scholars in other countr ies,

most recently in Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, I taly,

India, Norway, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Portugal,

Sweden, and Latin America, who share interests in this field and bring to i t in-

valuable perspectives from the vantage points of other cultures, navies, and

maritimeenvironments.The Navys single most important interaction with the academic historical

audienceis the Naval History Symposium, sponsored by the U.S. Naval Acad-

emy at regular intervals sincethe first washeld in Annapolis in May 1972.Ori-

ginallyconceivedasanannualevent, it hasbeen held bienniallysince1973.Since

the third symposium, in 1980, avolumeof selected conferencepapers hasusu-

allybeen published after eachconference, reflectingthenew interpretationsand

perspectives in naval history of this forum, attended regularly by several hun-

dred historiansand graduatestudents.22

TheNavyshistorians, librarians,and archivistsassist academicresearchersin

finding materialsthey need for research.In addition to archival guidesandoffi-cial naval records madeavailable for research at theNational Archivesand Re-

cord Services, the Naval Historical Center continually updateson its websitea

guide to manuscriptsavailable for research in librariesand archivesacross the

country.23

Complementing this, the Naval War College, likeother insti tutions,

maintainson itsown websitealist of i tsmanuscript andarchival holdings(in its

Naval Historical Collection) with a list of available research aids.24



21/28

Two commands within theNavy and several civil ian organizationshaveat-

temptedto raisethestandardsof naval historyand promotenewacademicwork

through theestablishment of prizes.Amongthecivil ian organizations, theNew

York Council of theNavy Leagueof theUnited States, the TheodoreRoosevelt

Association,and theFranklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Insti tutehavejoinedforces

to recognizeannually thebest book in U.S.naval history with theTheodoreand

Franklin DelanoRoosevelt Prizein naval history. In 2002, thisaward wasmadea

cash prizeof fivethousanddollars. In addition, thenationsprofessional organiza-

tion for mari timehistorians, the North American Society of Oceanic Historians

(NASOH),awardsannually itsprestigiousJohn Lyman Book Prizesfor arangeof

subjects in mari time history, including one in the category of U.S. naval history.

TheNaval Historical Center promotesnewacademicwork through theestab-

lishment of theRear Admiral John D.HayesPre-doctoral Fellowship in U.S.Na-

val History for civil ian graduate students; Vice Admiral Edwin B. Hooperresearch grantsfor postdoctoral scholarsand accomplished authors; theSamuel

Eliot Morison Naval History Scholarship for active-duty naval and Marineoffi-

cers engaged in graduate studies; and theErnest M. Eller Prize, awarded annu-

ally for the best article on American naval history published in a scholarly

journal.

In addit ion to theseprizes, the Naval War CollegeFoundation awardsannu-

ally theEdward S.Mi ller History Prizefor thebest art icleon naval history to ap-

pear in theNaval War College Review. It also funds the Edward S. Miller

Fellowship in Naval History,a thousand-dollar grant to assist ascholar using the

Collegesarchivesand historical collections. Thework of naval historiansisalsoconsidered for theSamuel Eliot Morison,Victor Gondos,Moncado,and Distin-

guished Book Prizesawarded annually bytheSociety for Mi li tary History in the

broad field of mili tary history. TheU.S. Commission on Mil itary History pro-

videstwo $2,500 grants to encourageand support American graduatestudents

seeking to present the resultsof their research in U.S. naval history topicsat the

annualoverseascongressof theInternational CommissiononMil itary History.

MARITIME HISTORY I N T HE U.S. NAVY TODAY

A singlebroad historical thememight bepresented to all four audiences, but it

needs to be presented to each in a different way and by di fferent means. Someaudiencesand groupsmay acquiretheir general knowledgethrough booksand

articles, but others are reached most effectively through imagesfi lms,videos,

and dramatizations. An academicresearcher may requireoriginal documents;a

teenager, an interactivegame; a member of Congress, a succinct tabulation of

data;acareer naval professional, atechnical analysis. Thedetailed and technical

information that makes mari time history useful for the professional audience



22/28

makesit opaqueand uselessto thegeneral public.Government leaders seeking

crit ical analytical insight into current problemsquickly dismisselementsof cel-

ebrationand commemoration.Marit imehistoriansandthosewho present their

work must beawareof thedif fering needsof their audiencesand the levels and

approachesto history appropriateto each.Thereisno off the rack history.No

onesizeand style fitsallbut all stylesareneeded if history is to becomemore

useful in and for theNavy than it isnow.

The issue, however, is more than just a question of the audiences that wil l

benefit from historical insight, and thediffering stylesthey need. It i s far more

basic than that, and thesituation ismuch morecritical. In June1999, thechair-

man of the Secretary of the NavysAdvisory Subcommit tee on Naval History

formally reported to Secretary Danzig that the U.S. Navy as an institution

needed to put a much higher priorit y on preserving and using history The

Navy placesa far lower priori ty on history than the other servicesmeasured incompeti tivedollarsand manpower.

25What money theNavydoesreceivefor its

current historical programs at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, i t

stretches. . . very thin. TheNavy employsfewer professional historians, archi-

vists, or museum specialists than theother servicesand hasnothing comparable

to the separately funded U.S. Military History Research Institute (at theArmy War

Collegeat CarlisleBarracks) or theseparately funded Air ForcesHistorical Research

Agency at the Air University, which complement the work of their Washington-

based service historical offices. For the Navy, the Naval Historical Center in

Washington has had the major burden, researching and writing history while

also runningtheservicesoperational archive, theNavyMuseum,an Underwa-ter Archaeologybranch that monitorsnaval ship and aircraft wrecksaround the

world, and theNavysart collection. Theother serviceshavedispersed networks

of historical officesto ensurethat headquartersand operational history arepre-

servedand recorded; theU.S.Navyhasno similar system outsideof Washington.

There are no naval historianspermanently attached to operational commands.

TheNaval Historical Center hasonly onenaval reserveunit and asmall naval

reservevolunteer trainingunit to handle the job of gatheringhistorical materi -

als from deployed unitsto form thebasis for thepermanent historical record of

the Navyscurrent operations. In the Navy today, operational history from de-

ployed units is preserved only in summary form, through the annual ship,squadron,and unit command histories. Thesereportsareoften delegated to ju-

nior officers, who havelit tleappreciation of thefact that they arepreparing the

permanent official recordsof their commands activities. They sometimestreat

the assignment asa public affairsexercise rather than aseriouspermanent re-

cord that documentscommands activit iesfor thehistory of theNavy aswell as

for professional information and use in future decades. Unlike during World



23/28

War II or the Korean and Vietnam Wars, ships and major operational com-

mands no longer submit action reports or keep war diaries; the annual com-

mand history was designed to replace these older methods of report ing, but

operational commandersoften overlook thisresponsibility.

Today, the Navyskey operational units are the numbered fleets, with their

important battle fleet experiments,carr ier battlegroups,and amphibiousready

groups, but few, if any, of thesehaveever produced command historiesasper-

manent recordsof their operations. Theseoperational commanders,of course,

havewars to fight and win; nonetheless, the result of neglecting their historical

obligation isthat thenation hasno permanent record of their operationsfor the

benefi t of professionals today or of future generations. Congress, government

leaders, the general public, and uniformed and civil ian professionals working

within theNavywil l enti rely lack authoritativerecordsof thecontemporaryhis-

tory of our times, unlesssomeaction is taken to recti fy thesituation.In somecaseswhererecent recordshavebeen created,theyhavebeen put into

amicrocopyor electronic formatsthat arenot useableon apermanent basis; the

information that thesesystemswere supposed to havesaved is enti rely lost. In-

formation and raw data that could beused for futurehistorical researchand re-

tr ieval appears in e-mails and the electronic formats that the Navy uses every

day, yet neither operational naval commandsnor shore establishmentshaveef-

fectivesystemsby whichelectronic archivescan beroutinely saved and delivered

to safeand permanent archival storage,and theelectronicdatasystemsthemselves

saved for futureuseandreference.Thepaper copiesof documentsthat naval com-

mandshavetradit ionally transferred to archivalstoragedeclinedby75percent be-tween 1981and 1990, and thevolumeof archival acquisit ionsdeclined a further

50percent in thefollowingdecade.26

No effectiveelectronicor automated means

of permanent record keeping has yet been created to fi ll this void.

In December 2001, thechairman of theSecretary of theNavysAdvisory Sub-

committee on Naval History reiterated these issues to Secretary of the Navy

Gordon England and noted that

for too long the Navy as a whole has viewed history as someone elses problem. As

a result, much of our histor ical record over the last fi fty years has been destroyed,

and few of our Sailors know or appreciate our history. This mindset needs to be chal-

lenged. Every unit of the Navy shares responsibili ty for preserving records, under-standing naval history and tradit ions, and drawing inspiration and wisdom from past

accomplishments.27

As a result of these repeated reports to the Secretary of the Navy, the Vice

Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Wi ll iam J. Fallon, issued an instruction in

August 2002 to all shipsand stations to establish apolicy for thedevelopment



24/28

and useof histor ical lessons learned and of historical resourcesto support and

inform naval operations, plans, and programs.28

Despite thisclear and posit ive

step, much remains to bedoneto implement a more effectiveand servicewide

histor ical program for theU.S. Navy.

TheHistorical Center in Washingtonhasanine-mill ion-dollar budget,which

includesfundingfor USSConstitutionbut not thesupport of themuseumsout-

side of Washington and educational activi tiesat theNaval War Collegeand the

Naval Academy. The Navy has notcompletelyneglected mari time history, and

budgets for theNaval Historical Center havenot been cut to theextent that the

budgets for other naval commands havebeen cut in recent years. At the same

time,mill ionsof dollarsin theNavysfundinghavegoneinto thereview and de-

classif ication of archival records of many Navy commands. All thisgivessome

strength andsupport to mari timehistory asit isbroadly construed.Theprimary

issue is not oneof increased funding or addit ional manpower; the major chal-lengeisoneof changing theNavyscurrent mind-set andculture,whichresult in

failure to conservea permanent record of recent activities. They tend, specifi-

cally, to consider theNaval Historical Center astheonlyagencywith anyrespon-

sibili ty for theNavyshistorical interest and to disregard thehistorical assetsthat

are already at hand.

Thehistorianswho work for and advisetheNavycan only point out, asthey

haverepeatedly donein recent years, that theNavyand thecountry are in jeop-

ardy of losingtherecord of asignificant portion of their recent past and that the

Navy is not making effectiveuse of its historical assets and information. Only

those who bear direct responsibi li ty, the U.S. Navys senior civi lian and uni-formed flag off icers, can ever hope to change this mentali ty. Changing a

servicewideattitudetoward somethingso fundamental ashistory isnoeasytask,

but it can bedoneif flagofficersthroughout theNavyactively engagethemselves

in theprocess.Even so,however, it cannot happen overnight.Tounderstand how

aprofessional can usehistory effectively requireseducation, reading,reflection,

and knowledge.

Thelack of general historical understandingwithin theU.S.Navyand itscur-

rent inabil ity to usehistory effectively is emblematic of thelarger issuethat the

Navyfacesin graduateand professional education asawhole.At least 90percent

of thegeneral officers in theother U.S.armed serviceshaveattended both an in-termediateand asenior servicecollege, wherehistorical understandingplaysan

important role in educatingsenior officers in policy, strategy, and thenature of

warfare. In contrast, only around 30 percent of the serving flag officers in the

U.S.Navyhaveattended even onesenior servicecollege,whilelessthan 5percent

haveattended both an intermediateand asenior servicecollege.29

Thus,even at

the highest level, naval professionals lack education in the whole range of



25/28

discipl ines that provideenhanced cri tical thinking and decision skills for deal-

ingwith our modern world, with its increasingcomplexity and potential for in-

formation overload.

It isastonishing that anyonewould seriously arguethat historical insight isir -

relevant to professional understanding,but that isaviewoneoften finds today

in the U.S. Navy. Amongthe many usesof historical understanding in and for

theNavy, perhapsthemost important is theneed that our highly technological

and interconnectedsociety createsfor an interdisciplinaryeducation.30Precisely

becauseour world is highly technological, education in technology and science

aloneis insufficient. Amongall thediscipl inesand formsof understanding that

naval professionalscan and should useto broaden their outlook and to sharpen

their abilit iesto deal with thepresent and thefutureishistory,parti cularly mari-

time historya resource and tool with which the U.S. Navy has madelimited

progress.Muchmorecould andshouldbedonefor andwithmari timehistory.


MARITIME HISTORY AT THE NAVAL WAR COLLEGE

A t itsfoundingin 1884and for itsfirst half-century, theN aval WarC ollege wasa

major force in promoting naval historicalunderstanding. A lfred Thayer M ahans

books,The Inf luence of Sea Pow er upon Histo ryandInfluence of Sea Pow er

upon the French Revolut ion and Emp ire,werethe published versionsof lectures

that he delivered to N aval War C ollege studentswhile serving as the C olleges

President. A t A dmiral Lucesinstigation, M ahan returned to the College on ac-

tive duty in 1910 to revise another set of hisearlier college lecturesfor publica-

tion, asNaval Strategy. Thereafterthe cultureof present-mindednessin a faculty

that wasthen limited to active-dutyofficersserving short toursof dutygradually

eroded the role of innovative historical research at Newport, although the clas-

sicsof mi litary and naval history remained part of the curriculum. In 1930, the

College established its fi rst Research and Analysis Department, which in 1931began research on the history of warship types; a study of grand strategy of

World War I; studies on naval actions in that war (including Jutland and the

G allipoli campaign); translationsof the official G erman naval historyof the war;

and translations of the writi ngsof important foreign naval strategists, such as

Wolfgang Wegener and Raoul C astex.

In 1948, as part of hi s concept to wi den the education of naval officers,

A dmiral Raymond Spruance, President of the C ollege, recommended that the

Secretary of the Navy approve a plan to employ civilian academicsto teach the

social sciences, polit ical affairs, and naval history. A sthe C ollegeschief of staff

explained to Spruancessuccessor, a professor of historywas to be the means

bywhich we clarify our thinking on the signif icance of sea power and maritime

transportation in m odern civilization. He wi ll be one meansby which the Naval

War College w ill regain, maintain, and exercise world leadership in naval

thought. That goal remainsa daunting challenge byany standard and for any

academic, but in the event, the chair, authorized bythe secretaryon 29 Decem-

ber 1948, remained unf illed until 1951. In 1953, the Secretary of the Navy

named the chair in honor of Fleet A dmiral Ernest J. K ing (wi th the admiralsper-

sonal approval). O ver the next twenty yearsthe chair was occupied by a succes-

sion of the countrysleading maritime and mili tary historians such prominent

historians as John H . K emble, Charles Haring, James Field, Theodore Ropp,

Stephen A mbrose, and M artin Blumenson who came to Newport on one-year

visiting appointments.

Thispracticechanged in 1972, when Vice Admiral Stansfield Turner created a

large civilian facultywith longer-term appointments. Turner also explicitlyrevived


26/28

N O T E S

1. The classical statements of the argument in

this essay were written by Sir John Knox

Laughton, The Scientific Study of Naval H is-

tory,Journal of the Royal United Servi ces In-

stitution18 (1879), pp. 50827, and Admiral

Herbert W. Richmond, The Importance of

the Study of Naval History,Naval Review27

(May 1939), pp. 20118, reprinted in Naval

Review68 (April 1980), pp. 13950. Theirideas are subsumed and extended herein.

2. History Associates Inc.,Hi story and H eri tage

in the U.S. Navy(Rockville, Md.: 16 October

2000), p. 3.

3. Ibid., executive summary, p. 3.

4. As quoted from the National Historic Prop-

ert iesAct in H. T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary

of the Navy (Installations and Environment),

memo to Vice Chief of Naval Operations and

Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps,

16 November 2001.

5. Richmond, p. 201.

6. James Goldr ick, The Problems of ModernNaval History, in Doing Naval H istory:

Essays toward Improvement, ed. John B.

Hattendorf (Newport, R.I.: Naval War Col-

lege Press, 1995), p. 11.

7. Robert Jervi s, Navies, Politi cs, and Politi cal

Science, in ibid., p. 46.


the idealstoward which Luce and M ahan had striven nearlya centurybefore, by

mak ing intensive use of historicalscholarship a keyelement of theCollegesaca-

demic program, designed to educate mi dcareer officersfor leadership roles in

high command and asadvisersto national leaders. Under hisguidance, the new

Strategy and Policy course carefully selected historical case studies that illus-trated the recurring and major problems in the formulation of national policy

and strategy.

The Collegestwo other core courses, Joint M ilitaryO perationsand National

Security Decision M ak ing, also use in-depth case studiesin marit ime history. In

addition, a varietyof optional electiveshavebeenoffered in maritime history, in-

cluding one-trimester courses on naval warfare in the age of sail, the Second

World War in the Pacifi c, underwater archaeology, and the classics of naval

strategy. A ll these form part of the curriculum for the master of artsdegree pro-

gram in national securityand strategic studies, for whichthe College wasaccred-

ited in 1991.

Turner also made innovations to promote the value of the history of the

Navy. He established a Naval HistoricalM onographseries, to be publishedbythe

Naval War C ollege Press; i tsfirst volume appeared in 1975, and a f ifteenth,The

Memoirs of Adm iral H. Kent Hewit t, i sbeing prepared for pressat this writing.

Building on the i nitiativesof the C olleges archivist, A nthony S. Nicolosi, whofrom 1970 had begun to reconstitute the schools scattered archives and de-

velop a rare book and manuscript collection, Turner approved a concept to es-

tablish a research center for naval history. This original plan was only partially

implemented, but in 1978 the College reacquired itsoriginal building from the

Newport Naval Station, arranged for it to be designated as a national historic

landmark, and renovatedit asthe Collegesmuseum, underN icolosisdirection.

In the fi rst monthsof 2003, Rear A dmiral Rodney Rempt, current President

of the C ollege, revived the unfulfi lled plan of hi s predecessor of a quarter-

centuryearlierand establishedthe M aritime HistoryDepartment within the Col-

legesC enter for N aval WarfareStudies. Chaired bythe Ernest J. K ing Professor

of M aritime History, this department is designed to include a research unit wi th

faculty membersequipped to do both basic and applied history and to coordi-

nate all of the Colleges activiti esin maritime history including the Naval War

College M useum and the Naval HistoricalCollection of rarebooks, manuscripts,

and archivesof the HenryE. EcclesLibrary. T he new M aritime H istory Depart-

ment underscoresthe Naval War Collegeslong-standing commitment, dating

back to the Collegesconception and founding in 1884, to make effective use of

maritime history for professional purposesin and for the Navy.


27/28

8. N. A. M. Rodger, Considerations on Writing

aGeneral Naval History, in ibid., pp. 11728.

9. For the application of the distinction between

basic and applied history to naval history, Iam grateful to Dr. Rodney P. Carlisle and Dr.

Philip L. Cantelon and the work of History

Associates, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, in the

report of their independent evaluation for the

under secretary of the Navy,Hi story and Her-

itage in the U.S. Navy: A Status Report , 16 Oc-

tober 2000, p. 5. Some wri ters have used the

terms public history and applied history

interchangeably to describe all historical work

outside academia. In this article, I argue that

there is a need to make a distinction between

public history that is designed to inform

the wider public outside academia and ap-

plied history that is used for highly special-ized purposes with a profession. In the case of

the Navy, this involves the development of

professional pride as well as using the assis-

tance of historical findings in developing

policy.

10. Basil Liddell Hart, Thoughts on War(London:

Faber and Faber, 1944), p. 138.

11. History Associates, Inc., p. i v.

12. Will iam S. Dudley, Reinventing Naval His-

tory,Shipmate, JulyAugust 2002, p. 40.

13. See D. W. Knox, The Rle of Doctrine in

Naval Warfare, U.S. Naval Insti tuteProceed-

ings41 (MarchApri l 1915), pp. 3175.

14. See Jon Tetsuro Sumida, Inventi ng Grand

Strategy and Teaching Command: The Classic

Works of Alfred Thayer Mahan Reconsidered

(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press; and

Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wi lson Center

Press, 1997), and his New Insights from Old

Books: The Case of Alfred Thayer Mahan,

Naval War College Review54, no. 3 (Summer

2001), pp. 10011.

15. See David A. Rosenberg, Process the Real-

it ies of Formulating Modern Naval Strategy,

in Mahan I s Not Enough: The Proceedings of a

Conference on the Works of Sir Julian Corbett

and Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond, ed. James

Goldrick and John B. Hattendorf (Newport,

R.I.: Naval War College Press, 1993), pp.

14175.

16.Naval Histori cal Center, www.history.navy.mil.

17. Jay Thomas, Navy Cultural Resources Offi-

cer, Naval Facilit ies Command, e-mail to

Naval Historical Center Stakeholder Working

Group, 7 October 2002.

18. On making available official documents, see

Purpose and Contribution in Editing NavalDocuments, inNaval History and Mari time

Strategy: Col lected Essays,ed. John B.

Hattendorf (Malabar, Fla.: Krieger, 2000),

pp. 91108; and Christine Hughes in a yet-

to-be-publ ished paper Franklin D. Roose-

velt, Dudley W. Knox, and Naval

Documents.

19. See Benjamin W. Labaree, The State of

American Maritime History in the 1990s;

Kenneth J. Hagan and Mark R. Shulman,

Mahan Plus One Hundred: The Current

State of American Naval History; and David

Alan Rosenberg, Beyond Toddlerhood:

Thoughts on the Future of Naval History; allin Ubi Sumus? The State of Mari time and Na-

val H istory, ed. John B. Hattendorf (Newport,

R.I.: Naval War Col lege Press, 1994), pp.

363419. See also, Frank Broeze, ed., Mari-

time History at the Crossroads: A Cri ti cal Re-

view of Recent H istor iography, Research in

Marit ime History 9 (St. Johns, Nfld.: Inter-

national Maritime Economic History Associ-

ation, 1995). For reflections on more recent

developments, see Jaap R. Bruijn, Reflec-

tions on the Recent Past of Maritime History

in the Netherlands and Abroad, and Frank J.

A. Broeze, Riding the Wave: The State of

Marit ime History, Opportunit ies and Chal-lenges, in Frut ta di M are: Evolut ion and Rev-

olution in the Mariti me World in the 19th and

20th Centur ies, ed. Paul C. van Royen et al.

(Amsterdam: Batavian Lion International,

1998), pp. 918, 195207, and Sarah Palmer,

Seeing the Sea: The Mar it ime Dimension in

History. An Inaugural Lectur e Delivered at the

Universit y of Greenwich 11th M ay 2000

(Greenwich, U.K.: University of Greenwich,

2000).

20. Benjamin W. Labaree et al., America and the

Sea: A M arit ime Hi story(Mystic, Conn.: Mys-

tic Seaport, 1998).21.Mysti c Seaport : The Museum of America and

the Sea, www.mysticseaport.org/.

22. Over the years, the conference proceedings

have appeared under slightly different t it les

and from different publishers. The first pub-

lished volume was Robert Love, ed.,Changing

In terpretati ons and New Sources in Naval



28/28

History(New York: Garland, 1980). The

fourth and fifth symposia papers appeared

under the titleNew Aspects of Naval History,

by two different publishers (Annapolis, Md.:

Naval Institute Press, 1981; and Baltimore:Nautical and Aviation, 1985); the sixth and

seventh appeared under the titleNaval Hi s-

tory(Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources,

1987, 1988). From the eighth symposium

(1987) to the fourteenth symposium (1999),

the Naval Institute Press published the pro-

ceedings under the tit leNew Interpretations in

Naval H istory. The fifteenth symposium was

planned to begin on 12 September 2001 but

was canceled due to the terrorist attacks on

the previous day in New York and Washing-

ton. However, many of the papers that were

to have been presented there were published

as the first issue of the e-journalInt ernational

Journal of Naval Hi story1, no. 1 (April 2002),

www.ijnhonline.org/index_apr_02.html.

23. Sources on U.S. Naval H istory in the United

States,Naval Histori cal Center, www.history

.navy.mil/sources/index.htm.

24. Naval War College Library: Naval H istorical

Collection,Naval War College, nwcinet/

library/2general%20information/libarch.htm.

The library site is www.nwc.navy.mil/library.

25. This quotation and the information in this

paragraph is based on Dr. David A. Rosen-berg, chairman, The Report of the Secretary

of the Navys Advisory Subcommit tee on Na-

val History for 1998, to Secretary of the

Navy Richard Danzig, 27 June 1999, quota-

tion from p. 1.

26. Dr. David A. Rosenberg, chairman, The Re-

port of the Secretary of the Navys Advisory

Subcommit tee on Naval History for 2001, to

Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, 7

December 2001, p. 6.

27. Ibid., p. 1.

28. OPNAV [ Navy Staff] Instruction 5750.4D of

23 August 2002.29. Transforming Graduate and Professional

Mil itary Education, Graduate Education Re-

view Board briefing, 2002, p. 14 (using 1998

data).

30. Richard Suttie [Capt., USN] , The Value of

Graduate Education for Corporate America,

white paper for the Graduate Education Re-

view Board, 2002, p. 4.
