Cold weather = return to computers!

Hello world - and apologies for the general lack of updates here in, well, months.  Things have been quite busy for the NHS team this year, with something always seeming to come up and get in the way of 'ops normal'.  Nevertheless, in the past few weeks - and despite the holiday! - we're starting to get back to business.  As the cold weather begins to set in, more and more of our volunteers are returning and our office is beginning to hum again.  And not a moment too soon - our inboxes are full of demands for information.

So here we are - November 2012 coming to a close and here's what we've been up to:

HORNET - we're still hard at work here.  The Summer of 2012 proved to be our busiest season of meetings ever.  But after significant interest and some impressively high-level discussions we have reached something of a relative standstill in terms of funding.  As it turns out, the kind of capital we've been working to secure for the project is rather hard to come by these days.  This does not mean we're giving up - far from it - just kicking our start date further down the pike.  A disappointment, I know.  But we haven't exactly returned to you with nothing to show for our stellar year of pitching - I'll save the biggest announcements for our also-neglected newsletter, but suffice it to say that we're going to be unveiling something on the scale of Mini-HORNET (our 1:12 scale mock-up) quite soon.  We've also added several new members to the Project Team.

THE PENNANT - I know how you all so loved the weekly trivia, so we're bringing our flagship weekly publication back in the first week of December to make some of the big announcements for the Hornet Project and bring everyone up to speed on the biggest stories of the past year.  So if you haven't signed up for the newsletter, visit our website and enter your email address soon.  For those who have signed up but not received anything - you'll start getting them December 3rd.

THE DOCKYARD - By far our biggest hit this year was sustained by the Dockyard facilities in Norfolk VA.  Our Deep Creek Annex has been humming on and off, and our giant Hornet demo model has migrated there.  But the Norfolk shop has been largely closed this year - a function of many of our active-duty volunteers being reassigned to move on to bigger and better things.  The Monomoy Pulling Boats are all perfectly preserved, exactly where we left off, ready to re-start operations as soon as our capabilities permit.

I'm also preempting the New Year and making a resolution to begin making more regular updates here.  After all, there is plenty to talk about these days.  So standby in the coming days - yes, I'm THAT ambitious - it's time to kick this pig!

NNNN

Spoils of War

So many in the naval community have been inside the auditorium in Annapolis' Mahan Hall - certainly every Midshipman who's ever attended the Naval Academy has nodded off there during a presentation or two.  But few that I've spoken to even remember giving so much as a passing thought to the decorative cases that line the actual auditorium, and the corridors around it.  After all, the contents are faded, shabby, and for all intents and purposes trapped for the foreseeable future beneath thick plate glass that was installed to seal the cases as the building was constructed around them.

Lurking inside those oft forgotten veritable glass dungeons are precious and irreplaceable artifacts - spoils of war once heralded at mastheads and paraded triumphantly through American streets accompanied by cheers.  In this year and during the next few, they may warrant an occasional glance, and perhaps a few sparks of recognition.

Happy PENGUIN Day!

On this date in 1815, the US Sloop of War HORNET was attacked by and subsequently captured and sank HMS PENGUIN in the South Atlantic in a fierce 22-minute battle.  To relate a portion of the story of that great victory, I'd like to post the text of an article written by Mr. Joe Holt, who formed part of the Marine Detachment aboard the most recent USS HORNET, CV-12 from 1967 to 1969.

Take it away, Mr. Holt:

We all know the history of seagoing Marines goes back as far as the Navy itself, but how often do we come across an opportunity that tells their tale?  All after-action reports promote the Navy’s exploits, but it’s rare to come across a ship’s account that brags on its Marines.  I’ve been lucky enough to discover just such a report.

Research, or, When Nerds Get Excited

Yes, that's me.
Yesterday the NHS team received a very exciting bit of research from Stephen Duffy, author of Captain Blakeley and the Wasp - a copy of a letter and drawing sent by Isaac Chauncey in July 1805 to then Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith.  It reads:
Sir,
I have the honor to submit for your consideration and approval a plan of the head for the U.S. Brig Hornet building at this place -
      I have the honor to be (etc)                            
                                  Isaac Chauncey

As those who've read the cursory history of Hornet published on the NHS website, the ship was originally fitted with an eagle figurehead that could be unshipped and replaced with a plain billet head.  Several contemporaries wrote of admiring the carving, which reportedly had an eight foot wing span, and even Hornet's builder, William Price, reported that it was hoisted into position on the ship's stem from the roof of his home and office at 910 Fell Street in Baltimore - a building which still stands today.

This latest bit of research is the first actual sketch, drawing or illustration we've had of this apparently notable feature of the original ship, and needless to say, we're very excited.

24 February - HORNET sinks PEACOCK

Happy Peacock Day!  Here at NHS we're commemorating the 199th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Peacock by the US Sloop of War Hornet, commanded by Master Commandant James Lawrence.  I had originally intended to publish a much longer paper on the subject, but as has so often been the case, new information has come to light that is redirecting some of my conclusions.  Nevertheless, I hope to have it ready for next year's 200th anniversary.

So what exactly happened there?  How did Hornet manage to "maul so unmercifully" (as one period newspaper wrote) a ship of approximately similar size that she was reduced to a sinking condition in less than 15 minutes?  The general story, though often retold in short by almost every author writing on the War of 1812, is far more interesting than it would seem.  And though the action didn't officially begin until 5:25 pm, 199 years ago today, this morning in fact, the events that led both ships into the engagement were already playing out.

Footage of a bygone era

If I asked any number of naval history/heritage enthusiasts about their favorite film footage, most are likely to give me a Hollywood title - there certainly are a number of films made (or partially shot) aboard actual US Navy ships, most in the 1950s and '60s.  If you look closely you can even find James Cagney in a Monomoy, circa 1960!  In most of those films, Sailors past and present will undoubtedly recognize marked similarities to shipboard life today, and aside from the odd cigarette in the wardroom and general lack of OSHA approved safety gear, would be hard pressed to find real differences.

My favorite footage, however, is a bit older and more seemingly foreign.

Welcome Gary Jobson!

This week's edition of the NHS newsletter, The Pennant, announced sailing legend Gary Jobson joining the USS HORNET Project Board of Advisers.  Welcome, sir, and thanks for your support!

NHS Staff | News | 7 February 2012

GARY JOBSON WELCOMED TO HORNET TEAM

In a meeting with NHS Chairman Will King, sailing legend Gary Jobson volunteered to join the USS Hornet Project Board of Advisers. 

        “Sail training provides a lifetime experience in leadership, teamwork and understanding the world.  Hornet will provide thousands of young people the opportunity to learn life’s lessons.” he said.