In July 1882, the steamboat "Red Cloud" hit a snag near Fort Peck, Montana, and settled into the bed of the Missouri River with a full cargo. The flagship of I. G. Baker & Company, which controlled much of the trade that flowed to Fort Benton and the upper reaches of the Missouri River, the "Red Cloud" had served as an agent of change in the West through which it traveled. Through the story of the boat and its owner, Annalies Corbin casts new light on the role of entrepreneurs and steamboats in the development of the West.
The "Red Cloud" was a symbol--and a source--of the trading...

For almost a millenium, a modest wooden ship lay underwater off the coast of Serce Limani:, Turkey, filled with evidence of trade and objects of daily life. This second volume on the ship's discovery focuses on the excavation, conservation, and study of the glass found in its wreckage.

In 1671, Dutch diplomat and scientist Nicolaes Witsen published a book that served, among other things, as an encyclopedia for the "shell-first" method of ship construction. In the centuries since, Witsen's rather convoluted text has also become a valuable source for insights into historical shipbuilding methods and philosophies during the "Golden Age" of Dutch maritime trade. However, as Andre Wegener Sleeswyk's foreword notes, Witsen's work is difficult to access not only for its seventeenth-century Dutch language but also for the vagaries of its author's presentation. Fortunately for...

This book is a guide to the study of the most marvelous structures ever built by humankind-wooden ships and boats. It is intended for nautical archaeologists and for anyone charged with documenting and interpreting the remains of wrecked or abandoned vessels. It will also be of value to historians, authors, model builders, and others interested in the design and construction of wooden watercraft of the past. The text is divided into three parts. The first introduces the discipline and presents enough basic information to permit the untrained reader to understand the analysis of ship and boat...

A hundred and fifty years ago, naval warfare entered a new phase with the introduction of ironclad vessels. On March 9, 1862, the USS "Monitor," prototype of this new class of warships, fought the Confederate ironclad CSS "Virginia" at Hampton Roads, Virginia, after the "Virginia" had ravaged the Union fleet blockading the James River, sinking larger, seemingly more powerful wooden warships in a potent demonstration of the power of an armored, heavily-gunned, steam-powered warship.In the world's first clash between iron-armored warships, "Monitor" and "Virginia" exchanged gunfire at close...

Lavish illustrations (photographs, site drawings, and artifact sketches) complement this informative and highly readable account. Naval warfare buffs, amateurs and professionals involved in maritime archaeology, and Civil War aficionados will be intrigued and informed by "USS "Monitor" A Historic Ship Completes Its Final Voyage."

In The Origins of the Lost Fleet of the Mongol Empire, Randall Sasaki provides a starting point for understanding the technology of the failed Mongol invasion of Japan in 1281 CE, as well as the history of shipbuilding in East Asia. He has created a timber category database, analyzed methods of joinery, and studied contemporary approaches to shipbuilding in order to ascertain the origins and types of vessels that composed the Mongol fleet.
Although no conclusive statements can be made regarding the origins of the vessels, it appears that historical documents and archaeological...

In 1995, Texas Historical Commission underwater archaeologists discovered the wreck of La Salle sLa Belle, remnant of an ill-fated French attempt to establish a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River that landed instead along today s Matagorda Bay in Texas. During 1996 1997, the Commission uncovered the ship s remains under the direction of archaeologist James E. Bruseth and employing a team of archaeologists and volunteers. Amid the shallow waters of Matagorda Bay, a steel cofferdam was constructed around the site, creating one of the most complex nautical archaeological...

The principle of the ""seamlessness"" of human interaction with the maritime environment undergirds author Ben Ford's sweeping survey. In The Shore Is a Bridge: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Lake Ontario, Ford explores human interaction with the waters of the lake, spanning the international border, from 5,000 years ago to the early twentieth century.