Winter 2004

Frontispiece to Caesar's Commentaries, 7th edition by Bladen The original copy was probably the 6th edition.

War and Politicks: Military Aspects of The Original Collection

by Theodore L. Gatchel
____________________________________________________________________

In a letter to his wife, Abigail, written from Paris in May 1780, John Adams noted, "I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural history, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine."

Fifty years earlier the men who selected the books that now make up the Redwood's Original Collection appear to have had a somewhat different view. Like Adams, they had experienced the trials of war. Most recently, for example, Rhode Islanders had seen action against the French in King George's War, the North American portion of the War of Austrian Succession. That conflict was still in progress in 1747 when Abraham Redwood donated £500 Sterling to purchase the books that would make up the Original Collection. In spite of the war, the founders of Redwood Library apparently believed the patrons had the luxury of being able to study the subjects that Adams wished for his children and grandchildren, in addition to War and Politicks.

A review of the 1764 catalog of the Original Collection reveals books covering virtually all the subjects mentioned in Adams's letter to his wife. I was particularly struck, however, by several aspects of the books on military subjects.

The first aspect that caught my attention was the choice of military books. The 1764 catalog does not include a specific military category. Books were cataloged by size, as was common at the time, with some headings by subject within the size categories. Works on military topics are interspersed throughout the collection under such headings as "Clasicks," "History," "Law," and a catchall titled "Natural History, Mathematics, &c."

Books on military topics made up a relatively small part of the overall collection. Using a broad and rather arbitrary definition of the term "military," I counted at least 38 books that would meet my criteria. That represents slightly more than four percent of the 867 titles. Using a somewhat different set of categories, the 38 books can be placed into three groups: ancient history, modern-for the time-history and biography, and practical military matters - such as fortification, tactics, gunnery, and international law.

The collection contains a number of Greek and Roman classics, of which several are of particular military interest. In some cases there are multiple editions of the same work: one in English and others in either Greek, Latin, or both. Included in that category are Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War: Xenophon's The Expedition of Cyrus in to Persia; and The Retreat of the Ten Thousand Greeks; Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. Caesar's Commentaries are of particular interest because it is one of the books that George Washington was known to have read in his unfulfilled quest to obtain a commission in the British Army.

Washington was not alone in his efforts to study military matters. Because the British did not permanently station regular troops in the colonies, the Americans were forced to provide for their own defense. At the time that the Redwood was established, military forces in the colonies were evolving from classic militias based on the English model to what military historian Don Higginbotham has called semi-professional armies. Although not full-time soldiers in the sense of regulars, officers in these colonial units took their military obligations seriously, and many had fought in campaigns alongside British regulars.

Because there were no formal military schools available to train these officers, they were forced to augment their experience in the field withself-study. Presumably the founders of the Redwood had such study in mind when they included a selection of practical military texts in the Original Collection. One such work was Humphrey Bland's A Treatise on Military Discipline, the most widely used British drill manual of the period and a text that George Washington was known to have studied.

Also included in the category of practical military texts were books on militia, gunnery, and fortification. Missing from the last category was any work by Sebastien le Prestre de Vauban, a marshal of France and the most celebrated military engineer of the time. The collection did contain, however, a text by Vauban's best-known rival, the Dutch engineer Baron Menno van Coehoorn. Peter Harrison, architect of the Redwood Library, might well have taken a special interest in its books on fortification. Before planning the library, he had designed Fort George on Goat Island. By 1755 the work had fallen into a state of disrepair, and the Rhode Island General Assembly asked Harrison to plan for the modernization of the fort.

According to his biographer, Carl Bridenbaugh, Harrison was heavily influenced in his rebuilding efforts by the works of John Muller, a German-born professor of artillery and fortification at the Royal Academy of Artillery, Woolwich, England. Harrison probably did not use the Library's copy of Muller's The Attack and Defence of Fortify'd Places, because he had the two-volume work in his personal library. He could conceivably have consulted some of the Library's other books on fortification, however. Unfortunately, we will probably never know because the system that the Redwood used at the time to check out books does not allow us to connect the names of individual members with the books that they borrowed.

Members of the Redwood who used the collection to improve their knowledge of military affairs could also find an ample supply of accounts of important wars of the period and biographies of significant military figures. With the benefit of more than 200 years of hindsight, military historians Ernest and Trevor Dupuy made the assessment that the period between 1700 and 1750 produced one general of "great-captain rank," Frederick the Great of Prussia, and four other generals of "truly outstanding ability": Prince Eugene of Savoy; John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, from England; Charles XII of Sweden; and Claude, Duke of Villars, from France.

Lacking such hindsight, the directors who chose the Original Collection nevertheless covered three of the five generals on the list. Marlborough and Prince Eugene, whose armies frequently campaigned together with cooperation that one historian has called "unique in history," are the subjects of a two-volume work titled The Military History of the Late Prince Eugene of Savoy, and of the Late John Duke of Marlborough and individual biographies of each of the generals. Charles XII is covered in Voltaire's The History of Charles XII. King of Sweden.

Only the Duke of Villars and Frederick the Great are missing, and the early Redwood directors can perhaps be forgiven for neglecting the latter. Frederick was still on the throne of Prussia when the Redwood was founded, and some of his most famous military victories were still to come. His classic, Military Instructions, which might have been useful to the Redwood's members, was not published in London until 1761 after the Austrians had captured a copy the year before.

Of the various military books in the Original Collection, two titles stand out in my view because of an unusual link that they form between the concerns of the men who chose the Redwood's initial collection and those who govern the curriculum of the Naval War College today.

In 1972 Vice Admiral Stansfield Turner became president of the Naval War College with a two-fold charge from the Chief of Naval Operations: broaden the students, who were often specialists, and help them learn to analyze problems. A Rhodes Scholar himself, Turner looked to fellow Oxford graduates for advice as to how best to accomplish his mission. One of his advisors suggested that Turner have the students read The Peloponnesian War by the Greek historian Thucydides. Turner took that advice and found that the Greek classic provided a way for students to analyze strategic issues without the distracting passion that would have come with using wars in which the students had participated and therefore had a stake. Today The Peloponnesian War still forms a cornerstone of the War College's course on strategy and policy.

When the Redwood's founders chose their books, they also selected Thucydides. Maybe their choice simply reflected the classical bent of their patrons. The collection has two editions, a volume in Greek and Latin and a two-volume English edition translated by Thomas Hobbes in 1723. On the other hand, the Redwood's founders might have agreed with Admiral Turner's advisors that Thucydides could help them better understand the military problems of their own times.

The other title that caught my eye was also a classic, The Enchiridion by the Roman-slave-turned-stoic-philosopher, Epictetus. Vice Admiral James Stockdale, who became president of the Naval War College in 1977, had won the Medal of Honor for heroism during his captivity as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. He attributed much of his ability to survive to a grounding in philosophy, especially the work of Epictetus. As a result, he saw the need to teach all military officers the basics of moral philosophy, particularly the ideas of Epictetus. Together with Joseph Brennan, a retired professor emeritus from Barnard College, Stockdale created and taught such a course, and it remains in the curriculum today. As with the works of Thucydides, the Redwood collection has works by Epictetus in both Latin and English. Perhaps the founders saw the same need for stoicism that Admiral Stockdale experienced as a prisoner of war.

Overall, the founders of the Redwood did an excellent job of choosing the books that make up the military part of the OriginalCollection. Although some are now obscure works, they undoubtedly served the practical needs of the day. Others have proven to be classics that deal with timeless issues and form a remarkable link with today's military world.

War and Politicks: Military Aspects of The Original Collection

by Leonard Panaggio
____________________________________________________________________

Rhode Island is proud of the fact that the nation's navy was conceived, cradled, and reared in Narragansett Bay. Among the principal cities of colonial America, Newport was the most exposed to the open ocean. The inhabitants worried about marauding pirates and consequently invasions from foreign powers.

Train bands, an early form of militia units, were formed on the island and in 1640 the men appeared at two general musters a year: one at Portsmouth, the other at Newport. The late Newport historian Lloyd A. Robson noted that as early as April 1641 an armed boat was providing further protection. In 1700 Fort Anne, later Fort George, was constructed on Goat Island.

The United States Frigate Santee off Goat Island Watercolor by John P. Newell (Born in Newport) ca 1830 - 1898

Throughout the 17th and part of the 18th centuries Rhode Island ships and sailors participated in battles and expeditions against the enemies of Great Britain.

The Continental Congress did not give much thought that the effort to win a war for independence would require a navy. In June 1775 John Brown's sloop Katy and another vessel, Washington, became the Rhode Island navy. On June 15, three days after the General Assembly authorized this navy, the Katy ran aground the tender Diane of the British frigate Rose. Congress established the Continental Navy, and in December 1775 the Katy, with her name changed to Providence, reported to Philadelphia as the first ship of the squadron. In 1776 it became the first command of John Paul Jones.

Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island commanded the new Navy. William Vernon of Newport was appointed President of the Eastern Navy Board (the equivalent of Secretary of the Navy).

Among Rhode Islanders who served in this early navy was Robert Gray of Tiverton. In 1789-90 Captain Gray, as a civilian, sailed his ship, Columbia, around the world, the first global display of our flag. He repeated this feat in 1791-93. During this time he entered a river he named the Columbia, which cemented the nation's claims to the Oregon Territory disputed by Great Britain.

In August 1798 the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) put into Newport for supplies before sailing in pursuit of French warships. She made a grand appearance May 8, 1861, when she arrived with 150 midshipmen to re-establish the U. S. Naval Academy for the duration of the Civil War. The academy had been founded in 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, who spent numerous summers in Newport.

On September 10, 1813, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, born near Wakefield, decisively defeated the British fleet on Lake Erie and reported, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." He had been ordered to build his warships at Presque Isle (now Erie, PA) and, with eight officers, eleven petty officers, and carpenters from Rhode Island, four of his fleet were built when scores of other men joined in that operation. Five other ships were acquired in the Buffalo area and converted for the battle. It was this fleet that has gone down in history as the first one ever to defeat a British fleet.

Perry's Newport-born brother, Matthew Calbraith Perry, sailed a squadron into Tokyo Bay in 1853 with a mission that eventually opened Japan to world trade. Perry's vision for a strong navy resulted in his becoming known as the "Father of the Steam Navy."

In 1869 the first permanent establishment of a navy installation took place when a naval torpedo station was ordered to utilize Goat Island. Through the years experiments with gun cotton and electricity and the development of underwater ordinance brought great expansions of this facility. During World War II it was reported that 13,000 people were employed there. Soon after that war, emphasis shifted to research and development resulting in the highly sophisticated and technical complex in Middletown, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.

During the life of the Torpedo Station, various types of torpedoes were tested, the Naval Small Arms Board convened to test weapons, and a submarine instruction school was established in 1905, as well as a school for engineers. The USS Chester, at sea in April 1912, was reported to have sent the names of survivors of the Titanic tragedy to the station's wireless unit. Among the many distinguished officers who served at this station, the navy's leading technical and scientific institution, was Commander, later Admiral, George Dewey.

The nation's first Naval Training Station was established on Coasters Harbor Island in 1881. Prior to this installation, recruits were trained aboard ships. In 1884 the navy's highest institution of learning, the Naval War College, was founded by Admiral Stephen B. Luce, who was also responsible for the training station on that island. Among its many illustrious graduates is Commander Alan S. Shepard, class of 1959, the first American to rocket into space and orbit the globe.

The nation's first torpedo boat, progenitor of today's missile firing destroyers, was built at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol in 1885. Named The Stiletto, the United States purchased it in 1887. In May 1897 the Herreshoff-built torpedo boat USS Porter made a record six-hour run from New York to Newport. In 1919 three naval aircrafts started on a transatlantic flight. Only one made it. The hull of that NC-4 was built at the Herreshoff yard.

A site in Portsmouth was selected in 1901 for the nation's first naval coaling station. Originally named Bradford, the site became the Melville Fuel Depot. It was at Melville that the navy's first Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) Squadron was organized. Among those who trained there were John F. Kennedy and John D. Bulkeley. The latter evacuated General Douglas MacArthur from the Philippines and transported him to Brisbane, Australia.

In 1901 Our Naval Apprentice rolled off the presses. Now The Newport Navalog, it is the navy's first and oldest newspaper.

Since World War I, much naval aviation history has been made in Narragansett Bay: In July 1923 the greatest assemblage of navy planes - a total of 22 - flew to Newport for maneuvers with the Atlantic Fleet. In August 1924 the U. S. Navy dirigible Shenandoah successfully attached to the mooring mast of the USS Patoka at Newport, the first test of this kind. In January 1928 the U. S. Navy dirigible Los Angeles, the first craft of its type, landed off Newport on the deck of the new aircraft carrier Saratoga.

In 1941 Quonset Naval Air Station, North Kingstown, was commissioned. It was one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. The famous Quonset Hut was first developed here. (Richard M. Nixon was temporarily assigned to Quonset.) Adjoining this installation was Davisville where the nation's first Construction Battalion was established. The famous Seabee insignia was the work of Frank Iafrate of North Providence. An auxiliary field was established at Charlestown, RI, where night flying was taught. George W. Bush is among the notables who got his training here.

Charles A. Zimmerman, a member of the U. S. Naval Academy band stationed at Newport during the Civil War, became the proud father of a son bearing the same name. The Newport native eventually became the Academy's musical director and authored the stirring march "Anchors Aweigh."

Lt. Richard E. Byrd, Jr. was detailed as Inspector-General of Naval Militia in June 1915. This was his first command and he reported at Quonset Point where the Rhode Island Naval Militia had its camp. In 1926 he flew the American flag across the North Pole and three years later over the South Pole. Both flags were presented to St. George's School in Middletown.

It was from Newport that the USS Olympia sailed to France on a mission to return the body of the Unknown Soldier.

The naval installations on Coasters Harbor Island and Coddington Point flourished. In 1946 it was reported that more than 100 ships would be homeported at Newport. By 1973 this fleet, which had been comfortably berthed at 1950s-built Piers 1 and 2, was notified that it was to be transferred to other ports. About 40 ships were involved, while a reserve squadron of destroyers remained until eventually transferred.

The loss of the fleet was unexpected and difficult to fathom. However, in March 1994 the Naval Station and Naval Officer Training Center were replaced by the Naval Education and Training Center. On October 1, 1998 it became Naval Station Newport where the Naval War College and eight other schools flourish. In 1994 the Officer Candidate School, Newport, closed. During its 43 years it commissioned 100,000 ensigns. The U. S. Naval Academy, founded in 1845, had graduated only 60,000 as of 2003.

Newport has long been recognized as the "Birthplace of the Navy." It has been known as a "Navy Town" for generations. On October 18, 2003 an estimated 6,000 people gathered in mid-40° weather to attend and cheer the commissioning of the USS Chafee, in honor of the late Rhode Island native John Chaffee, U. S. Senator, and one-time Secretary of the Navy.