C. The Navy

1660. Albion, Robert G., and Robert H. Connery. Forrestal and the Navy. With the collaboration of Jennie Barnes Pope. New York, Columbia University Press, 1962. 359 p. illus. 62–9974 E748.F68A6. Bibliography: p. [335]–342.

An account of the career of James Forrestal (1892–1949) as Secretary of the Navy from 1944 to 1947. Combining biographical material with naval administrative history, the authors present a case study of a civilian executive in charge of a military service. They discuss the Navy Department and Navy organization during this period and also analyze the problems of interservice coordination and unified theater commands in World War II. Forrestal’s views on postwar military preparedness, as well as his role in the movement for a unification of the armed forces, are examined. When the new position of Secretary of Defense was created in 1947, he was chosen to fill it.

1661. Braisted, William R. The United States Navy in the Pacific, 1897–1909. Austin, University of Texas Press [1958] 282 p. fold. map (in pocket) 57–12530 E182.B73. Bibliography: p. 247–262.

The author examines the relation between American naval and diplomatic policies in the Pacific from the beginning of the Spanish-American War through the end of Theodore Roosevelt’s second administration. During this expansionist period, the United States, pursuing its economic and strategic interests in the Far East, formulated basic foreign policies which were to make increasing demands on the Navy in the years to come. In Prelude to Pearl Harbor; the United States Navy and the Far East, 1921–1931 (Columbia, University of Missouri Press [1963] 212 p.), Gerald E. Wheeler describes the manner in which the Navy was readied for action during the 1920’s and the development of its Far Eastern policies during that period. Robert E.Johnson’s Thence Round Cape Horn; the Story of United States Naval Forces on Pacific Station, 1818–1923 (Annapolis, United States Naval Institute [1963] 276 p.) chronicles the increasing importance of the eastern Pacific Ocean to the Navy and discusses the policies responsible for the Navy’s presence there.

1662. Heinl, Robert D. Soldiers of the sea; the United States Marine Corps, 1775–1962. Foreword by B. H. Liddell Hart. Annapolis, United States Naval Institute [1962] 692 p. illus. 61–18078 VE23.H4. Bibliography: p. 649–659.

Combining sea, land, and air action, the Marine Corps represents the prototype of an integrated fighting force. Colonel Heinl traces the evolution of the Corps from its origin in 1775 to 1962. The Marines have served in every major war in American history and in numerous minor encounters and skirmishes. The author amply covers their activities, especially in World War II. Taking a broad approach to military history, he deals with "planning, policy, command, administration, traditions and personalities," as well as with battle accounts. A more condensed general history of the Marines, written by Philip N. Pierce and Frank O. Hough, is The Compact History of the United States Marine Corps, new and rev. ed. (New York, Hawthorn Books [1964] 334 p.).

1663. Pratt, Fletcher. The compact history of the United States Navy. Revised by Hartley E. Howe. Illustrated by Louis Priscilla. New and rev. ed. New York, Hawthorn Books [1962] 350 p. 62–9039 E182.P84 1962

A popular history of the Navy’s formation and growth. In addition to describing battles and engagements, the book tells the story of the American sailor—"who he has been and who he is today; where he came from at first and where he comes from today; what he has done to the Navy; and what the Navy has done to him." In the Picture History of the U.S. Navy, From Old Navy to New, 1776–1897 (New York, Scribner, 1956. 1 v., unpaged), by Theodore Roscoe and Fred Freeman, more than 1,000 prints, photographs, maps, and other visual materials are reproduced. Marshall Smelser, in The Congress Founds the Navy, 1787–1798 ([Notre Dame, Ind.] University of Notre Dame Press, 1959. 229 p.), focuses on the political origins of the Navy and shows that partisan politics was the major influence on naval decisions in the Federalist period. The Navy League of the United States (Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1962. 271 p.), by Armin Rappaport, is the history of an organization founded in 1902 and dedicated to the promotion of a "big navy."

1664. U.S. Naval History Division. Dictionary of American naval fighting ships. Washington, 1959–63. 2 v. illus. 60–60198 VA61.A53

The first two volumes in a multivolume series intended to present historical and statistical data on more than 10,000 ships which have formed part of the Continental and U.S. Navies since 1775. The information, arranged alphabetically by name of ship, includes such data (whenever available) as the name of the builder, identity of sponsor, launching date, tonnage or displacement, length, speed, class, armament, and operational history. The second volume carries the list of ships through the letter"F" and contains appendixes on aircraft carriers and on vessels of the Confederate Navy.

1665. The Watts histories of the United States Navy. New York, Watts [1965] 4 v.

Four volumes planned as part of a coordinated history of the Navy. In A Chronologyof the U.S. Navy, 1775–1965 (471 p. 65–21636 E182.C73), David M. Cooney provides brief descriptions of significant events in the history of both the Navy and the Marine Corps. Daniel J. Carrison, in The Navy From Wood to Steel, 1860–1890 (186 p. 65–11939 E591.C3), concentrates on the role of the Navy in the Civil War. Brayton Harris, in TheAge of the Battleship, 1890–1922 (212 p. 65–21634 E182. H25), follows the Navy through an expansionist period, which ended with the convening in Washington of the International Conference on the Limitation of Naval Armaments. The United States Nuclear Navy (199 p. 65–21635 VM317.G5), by Herbert J. Gimpel, features the development of naval technology since World War II.