This week’s list of maritime events covers 200 years of maritime and naval history, from wars to shipping, and one of the longest continuously-published resources.

March 23: The US Navy has had eight different ships named “Hornet” in its history. In 1815, a brigantine named Hornet (DANFS history, ShipIndex) captured the British sloop Penguin (ShipIndex),  off the island of Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic. Neither vessel had yet heard that the war they were fighting, the War of 1812, had ended a month earlier. “Hornet” and “Wasp” are among the most common names for US Naval ship.  [[HT: see pic of battle at https://www.shipindex.org/vessels/Q5633735]] 

March 24: In 1970, the 1914 tug Eppleton Hall (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) arrived in San Francisco, after a six-month voyage from Newcastle, England. The tug is now an integral part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. 

March 26: Nathaniel Bowditch, author of one of the most important works in navigation ever published, is born in 1773. Bowditch’s first “New American Practical Navigator” appeared in 1802, and is still published, now by the US Government. The 2024 edition is available to all, online, from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

March 28: The Battle of Valparaiso, part of the War of 1812, took place in 1814, off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile. USS Essex (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) and USS Essex Junior (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) battled – and lost – against the better-armed HMS Phoebe (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) and HMS Cherub (Wikipedia, ShipIndex). Essex was captained by David Porter, who captured a whaler called Atlantic, and renamed it Essex Junior. Essex served as HMS Essex until 1837.

March 29: The Ever Given (Wikipedia, ShipIndex), one of the largest container ships in the world, was released from being stuck in – and completely blocking – the Suez Canal, in 2021. The closure of the canal, due to the ship’s grounding, highlighted the critical role of maritime transport in moving goods all around the world. 

For more about these ships, check out ShipIndex.org. And let us know if you have events that you think we should include!

In this installment of maritime history events, we look at oil spills, new technology, and Pacific exploration. If you’ve got an event that you think should be included, let us know in a comment below, or in an email to comments@shipindex.org.

March 16: In 1978, the oil tanker Amoco Cadiz (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) ran aground off the coast of Brittany, France, causing the largest spill of its kind up to that point in time. The Amoco Cadiz was built in Spain, in 1973-75, so it was a fairly new ship when it was forced to put the rudder hard to port to avoid another ship during a gale, and the rudder got stuck. Despite attempts to be pulled to safety by a tug, and dropping anchors, Amoco Cadiz eventually ended up on rocks that pierced the hull and caused the release of all oil and fuel on board. Like the Torrey Canyon disaster almost exactly eleven years earlier, the wreck was bombed to sink the ship and limit additional damage. 

March 18: In 1967, the SS Torrey Canyon (Wikipedia, ShipIndex), a Suezmax oil tanker built at Newport News Shipyard in 1959 (then enlarged in Japan several years later), ran aground off the coast of Cornwall, England, spilling much of its cargo. The British government decided to attempt to burn off the spilt oil, to minimize its impact, and therefore bombed the spill site with large bombs, jet fuel, rockets, and napalm, with limited success.

March 20: The USS Langley (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) was commissioned in 1922, as America’s first aircraft carrier, just 18 years after Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first flight in North Carolina. Jupiter, a collier, or coal-carrying ship, was launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1920, and then recommissioned as Langley (CV-1) two years later, with a wooden deck for airplane movements. Langley also saw service in World War II, but was attacked by a group of Japanese bombers and was damaged so much that the ship needed to be scuttled. 

March 22: The Tonquin (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) arrived at the Columbia River on the US West Coast in 1811. While getting over the treacherous Columbia Bar led to the loss of eight sailors, the crew was able to make it to shore, and soon founded a trading post that would become Astoria, Oregon. Tonquin continued north to trade with native fur trappers. A battle in June 1811, between Tonquin sailors and native Tla-o-qui-aht traders in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, led to the deaths of all but four sailors. One of the four, who was badly wounded, remained on board ship while the other three escaped, and then lit a fuse that detonated the ship’s powder magazine, killing as many as 100 natives and destroying the ship. The other three sailors were eventually captured and killed; a native Quinalt man who had served as a translator was the only survivor, and the only one to make it back to Fort Astoria to tell the tale.

For more about these ships, check out ShipIndex.org. And let us know if you have events that you think we should include!

Today we are starting a new feature that we think will help highlight the importance of maritime history in World history: a list of several central and important events that happened this week, at some time in the past. Most posts will focus on an event or a ship or the ships involved in a specific event. If you have an event you think we should include, please let us know, in a comment below or in an email to comments@shipindex.org. Enjoy!

We’re kicking off this feature with one of the most important-but-inconsequential-at-the-moment events in maritime history: the Battle of Hampton Roads, between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor. While the battle between the two ships had little immediate impact, the importance of the first battle between two ironclads cannot be understated. Read more about it, and other events, below.

March 3: The first US Naval ship built on the West Coast, USS Saginaw (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) was launched on this day in 1859. Given the name Toucey at launch, the ship was renamed Saginaw a few months later. Saginaw sailed from San Francisco Bay a year later, on March 8, 1860, and served in the western Pacific, primarily in China and Japan, before returning to the US West Coast during the Civil War. In the late 1860s, Saginaw charted and explored the Alaskan coast, after it was purchased from Russia. Saginaw was lost in 1870, while visiting Kure Atoll, near Midway, to see if any shipwrecked sailors were on the atoll. All of Saginaw’s crew got to the atoll, and a small group sailed in a small boat for Honolulu, but only one of the sailors survived. The remaining crew were rescued in January 1871. The Saginaw wreck was discovered in 2003. 

March 6: In 1987, the ro-ro ferry Herald of Free Enterprise (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) sank minutes after leaving its dock in Zeebrugge, in Belgium. Investigators determined that the car deck doors had been left open, causing the ferry to sink quickly. Of 539 on board, 193 passengers and crew died.

March 8-9: The Battle of Hampton Roads took place in 1862; it was one of the pivotal battles in naval history, as it was the first battle between two ironclad ships, and presaged the future of naval warfare.The hull of the former USS Merrimack (Wikipedia, ShipIndex), which the Union forces had burned to the waterline, was converted to an ironclad steamer, renamed CSS Virginia (Wikipedia, ShipIndex). On March 8, 1862, Virginia engaged and rammed the USS Cumberland (WP, ShipIndex), in the waters off Hampton Roads, Virginia. USS Congress (wp, ShipIndex), having seen the ramifications of the ramming, grounded in shallow water. After battling with Virginia, Congress eventually surrendered. Overnight, USS Monitor (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) arrived, and Monitor and Virginia battled each other the next morning, as the first naval battle between ironclads got underway. The battle was, however, not decisive, with neither vessel gaining the upper hand. 

After the battle Virginia remained blockaded in Hampton Roads by multiple US Navy vessels, eventually including several additional ironclads. In May 1862, Confederate forces reluctantly sank Virginia to avoid it being taken into Union hands. Six months later, Monitor was directed to join the blockade of Charleston, but sank in a late December storm, with the loss of sixteen sailors, off Cape Hatteras. Monitor’s wreck was discovered in 1973; since 1998 various portions of the ship, including Monitor’s gun turret have been recovered. Many parts of the vessel are now on display at the USS Monitor Center at the Mariners’ Museum, in Newport News, Virginia.

For more about these ships, check out ShipIndex.org. And let us know if you have events that you think we should include!