Shipwrecks, Sea Raiders, and Maritime Disasters along the Delmarva Coast, 1632-2004

Shomette, Donald G.

Johns Hopkins University Press（2008/02発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 448 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780801886706
• DDC分類 910.4520975

Full Description

Nor'easters, blizzards, and hurricanes. Spanish galleons, German U-boats, and presidential yachts. Pirates and privateers. The ephemeral and deadly nature of islands, dunes, inlets, and shoals. The history of the Delmarva Peninsula's Atlantic coast is rich with tales of fantasy and adventure, heroism and tragedy, greed and charity. Claiming more than 2,300 vessels since 1632, it rivals North Carolina's Outer Banks for the infamous title "The Graveyard of the Atlantic." Maritime historian Donald G. Shomette brings these stories to life. Featuring the accounts of twenty-five ill-starred vessels-some notorious and some forgotten until now-this anthology provides a fascinating history of a local maritime culture and charts how the catastrophic events along this shore significantly affected U.S. merchant shipping as a whole. Shomette weaves together history, folklore, and legend in accounts of the tragic loss of the 1750 Spanish treasure fleet, the British blockade of the Delaware in the American Revolution, the depredations of Confederate commerce raiders during the Civil War, the Billy Mitchell affair, the Hurricane of 1933, and the Nazi U-boat offensive of World War II.
His appendix provides a complete catalog of all 2,300 recorded wrecks, including coordinates and location descriptions where available. A vivid montage of seafaring adventures and pivotal events in American history, this volume makes an essential contribution to the library of the history buff, wreck diver, and local adventurer.

Contents

Preface
Introduction: From CapeHenlopen to Cape Charles
1. Indians with English Jackets
2. A GoodMany Chests of Money
3. The Roebuck's Horns
4. A Column of Liquid Fire
5. Le Serpent
6. The Infamous Tar
7. Now That Is What I Call Comba
8. Plunder till They Could Plunder No More
9. So Much for Attending Congress
10. The Captain Was in a Hilarious Mood
11. The Unfortunate Spaniards Waved Their Handkerchiefs
12. Rothschilds among the Toilers of the Sea
13. Assailed by Overwhelming Odds
14. Unprecedented Disregard
15. Suits of Ice
16. Chips of Wood on the Angry Waves
17. Poor Pussy
18. Five-Poler
19. The Rules of Engagement
20. Billy and the Battleship
21. Chopping the Bank Right Off
22. Unterseeboot
23. Like a Knife Gutting a Fish
24. A Long Shudder
25. The Trouble with Treasure
26. Treasure Redux
Appendix
Chronological Index to Vessel Losses on the Delmarva Coast
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index