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Navy

Francis Mallaby: Witness to Sackets Harbor History

January 20, 2022 by Constance Barone Leave a Comment

1835 painting of ship house covering unfinished War of 1812 USS New Orleans located on Navy Point at Sackets HarborThe name Francis Mallaby may not be familiar in New York history but sailing master Mallaby served at the Sackets Harbor navy yard in a prosperous time of lake shipping and community growth. He helped make a difference by initiating purchase of land which is cherished today as the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site.

This War of 1812 veteran received high compliments from Lake Ontario navy commander Isaac Chauncey and Captain Woolsey that helped influence Mallaby’s 1817 appointment as master of the first steamboat on Lake Ontario, based in Sackets Harbor in Jefferson County, NY. [Read more…] about Francis Mallaby: Witness to Sackets Harbor History

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Canada, Fort Tompkins, Great Lakes, Jefferson County, Lake Ontario, Maritime History, Military History, Naval History, Navy, Patriot War of 1837-38, Sackets Harbor, St. Lawrence River, Steamboating, Transportation History, War of 1812

1940s Tugboat, Barge Sunk For Artificial Reef

December 23, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

45-foot steel tugboat Chickadee deployed to McAllister Grounds Reef courtesy DECNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the deployment of two steel vessels, the Chickadee on the McAllister Grounds Reef and Barge 226 on Smithtown Reef, as part of the State’s ongoing efforts to expand New York’s network of artificial reefs.

These final deployments for 2021 continue to build on DEC’s efforts to develop a stronger, more diverse marine ecosystem and provide shelter for fish and other marine life off New York’s shores. [Read more…] about 1940s Tugboat, Barge Sunk For Artificial Reef

Filed Under: Nature, New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Atlantic Ocean, DEC, Diving, Fisheries, fishing, Great South Bay, Long Island Sound, Marine Life, McAllister Grounds Reef, Navy

NY Man Who Affected The Outcome at Pearl Harbor

December 11, 2021 by Sean Kelleher Leave a Comment

December 7th 1941-The USS Nevada by R G SmithOn December 7, 1941, the Japanese forces launched a devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and a New York man played a big role in defending against that attack. Furthermore, his actions have been credited with shortening the war in the Pacific. [Read more…] about NY Man Who Affected The Outcome at Pearl Harbor

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Maritime History, Military History, Navy, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Schuylerville, World War Two

The Submarine U-505: Predator, Prey, and Memorial

September 9, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

Tugboat Pauline L. Moran employing a 'breast-tow' to move the U-505 through the St. Lawrence River courtesy TowLine Magazine June 1954 Many unusual craft have passed through New York’s several natural and man-made waterway systems through the years. A remarkable vessel that was certainly one of the most unique to travel the waters of the Empire State was the German submarine U-505, captured by the Unites States Navy during the Second World War. [Read more…] about The Submarine U-505: Predator, Prey, and Memorial

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Maritime History, Military History, Navy, World War Two

Henry Ford’s Barge Canal Fleet: A Short History

August 5, 2021 by Bill Orzell 8 Comments

River RougeFew industrialists in the history of the United States have been so widely involved in multiple production operations as Henry Ford. His business philosophy was to operate and control all phases of his manufacture, which included transportation between production facilities.

Certain operations of his automobile empire involved the transportation of raw materials, and completed sub-assemblies between the main plants in the Detroit area, and satellite plants on the eastern seaboard.

Ford, a trenchant industrialist, realized that the New York State Barge Canal offered business a tremendous economic corridor between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. [Read more…] about Henry Ford’s Barge Canal Fleet: A Short History

Filed Under: History, Mohawk Valley, New York City Tagged With: Barge Canal, Erie Canal, ford, Industrial History, Maritime History, Navy, Transportation History, World War Two

Sampson State Park’s Remarkable Military, Education & Public Health History

July 11, 2021 by Bill Orzell 1 Comment

Sampson Boot sculpture by Felix W. de WeldonThe site of the present Sampson State Park in Romulus, Seneca County, NY was formerly the site of the Sampson Navy Base. As the United States found itself at war following the attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941, the U.S. Navy had an immediate need for sailors. Basic training bases, or boot camps, were constructed across the country to meet this emergency requirement. [Read more…] about Sampson State Park’s Remarkable Military, Education & Public Health History

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Air Force History, Aviation History, Finger Lakes, Korean War, Maritime History, Military History, Naval History, Navy, Nelson Rockefeller, Sampson State Park, sculpture, Seneca County, State Parks, tuberculosis, World War Two

Indispensables: New Book On Marblehead’s Soldier-Mariners

May 23, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The IndispensablesBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new book The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2021) by Patrick O’Donnel looks back at the American Revolution’s soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts. [Read more…] about Indispensables: New Book On Marblehead’s Soldier-Mariners

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: American Revolution, AmRev, Books, Maritime History, Military History, Navy

Dixie Kiefer: The Indestructible Man

March 26, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Indestructible ManBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new book The Indestructible Man: The Incredible True Story of the Legendary Sailor the Japanese Couldn’t Kill (Stackpole Books, 2021) by Don Keith with David Rocco, looks at the life and naval career of Dixie Kiefer. [Read more…] about Dixie Kiefer: The Indestructible Man

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Books, Maritime History, Military History, Navy

Naming the Lakes of the Eckford Chain

March 14, 2021 by Mike Prescott 3 Comments

Ebenezer-Emmons-1-216x300In the summer of 2017 I decided to paddle the Eckford Chain of Lakes in the Adirodnacks. We set out one fine August morning from Raquette Lake, crossed the lake, and proceeded up the Marion River, through the carry, putting back in at the Utowana dock, continuing through Utowana Lake into Eagle Lake, and then into Blue Mountain Lake before pulling our boats out at the Blue Mountain beach.

Our conversation (and questions) turned to the name Eckford Chain of Lakes. [Read more…] about Naming the Lakes of the Eckford Chain

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Blue Mountain Lake, Eagle Lake, Eckford Chain of Lakes, Navy, paddling, Raquette Lake, Raquette River, surveying, Utowana Lake

Decades After Closure, Brooklyn Navy Yard Sails On

November 11, 2019 by Randall Whitestone 2 Comments

Sands Street entrance to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 1904.A decidedly unglamorous black-hulled cargo barge plying the turbid waters off Staten Island represents the last working evidence of two centuries of New York history. McAllister Towing & Transportation Co.’s Atlantic Trader, a 300-foot container-carrying barge which entered service in 1977 appears to be the last vessel built from the ground up at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The plodding, anonymous Atlantic Trader had many famous Navy Yard forebears, including the USS Arizona, destroyed at Pearl Harbor where the Second World War began for the United States on Dec. 7, 1941, and the USS Missouri, where the war ended 45 months later with the formal Japanese surrender on her polished teak deck in Tokyo Bay. Other warships built in Brooklyn included the USS Maine, whose 1898 destruction in Havana Harbor helped launch the Spanish-American War; the USS Ohio, a 74-gun ship-of-the-line launched in 1820 that saw action in the Mexican-American War; and eight battleships and eight aircraft carriers completed between 1911 and 1961. Ships built at the yard saw service in every major American conflict from the War of 1812 to Operation Iraqi Freedom. [Read more…] about Decades After Closure, Brooklyn Navy Yard Sails On

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Labor History, Military History, Navy, New York City

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