A Sailor's Log

Water-Tender Frederick T. Wilson, USN, on Asiatic Station, 1899-1901

James Reckner

• Editorial: The Kent State University Press
• Año: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781612773780
• Categoría: Histoire
• Categoría: Histoire de l'armée et de la marine

Frederick T. Wilson was an engineer who carried the rank of first-class petty officer and served on one of the Navy's first modern battleships, the USS Oregon, at the turn of the twentieth century.

Wilson offers a rare uncensored picture of enlisted life, with descriptions of bar girls and waterfront establishments that catered to the needs of American bluejackets, as well as observations on world events during imperialism. Wilson also discusses one of the great yet largely ignored issues of the turn-of-the-century U.S. Navy—the failure of naval officers to provide the quality leadership necessary to ensure the operation of efficient, effective warships. A Sailor's Log is a detailed and insightful account of life in the Asiatic Fleet that enriches our understanding of U.S. Navy life a century ago.

Index

acting warrant machinists: and black gang, 114; and bolo-men, xxiii, 118, 130–32; and coal, 218–19; competence of, xxiii, 114, 123, 141; creation, xxiii, 115; criticism, xxiii; drunkenness, 66; in Kure, 139; relationship with crew, xxiv, 115, 118, 119, 123, 132, 175; seniority of, 373n18; Wilson and, 123, 127, 141, 161–62

Adams, Lt. Cdr. Charles A., 102, 138, 164–65, 187, 219, 259–60, 275, 368n14; abusive, 112, 119, 120–22, 138, 166–67, 273; attitudes, 142; and bag inspections, 180; as “Jack the Ripper,” xxv

Adamson, Archa A., 361n18

Aden (gulf), 19, 20

Admiral Chips (warrant carpenter), 139

African Americans, xiv–xv, 17, 59

Aguinaldo, Emilio, xxx, 21, 43, 94,

air bedding, 29

Akitisushima (Japanese cruiser), 368n25

Alaska, 330

Albany (protected cruiser), 361–62n1

alcohol: at sea, 88, 250–51; availability of, 23, 107, 220; shellac cocktail, 23; and Wilson, 88, 109

American businessmen (Philippines), 92

American (Manila newspaper), 85

American petty officers, 129

Amoy, China, 308

apprentices, 34

Arcadia bar-hotel (Shanghai), 209

Askold (Russian cruiser), 357

bad conduct discharge, 107

bag inspection, 11, 180

Baltimore (cruiser), 68

Barfleur, HMS, 270

barmaids, xiv, xix, xx, 23, 72–73, 75–76, 247, 288

bars: in Hong Kong, 283, 288; in Kulang Su, 309–10; in Kure, 143; in Manila, 90; in Nagasaki, xix, 68, 73, 76; in Seattle, 334; in Shanghai, 209, 226, 283; in Yokohama, 315

Bates, Angus G., 262–65, 376

battalion drills, 102

Bay of Waterfalls, 340

beach combers, 2...