USS Essex and the Forgotten War
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2022
- Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas islands. If you haven’t heard of it, watch to learn more because the US once fought a war there! Join The History Guy for another snippet of forgotten history and be sure to subscribe for more.
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #USNavy
I’m a self-styled U.S. Naval historian. This is the first time I’ve heard an oral history of the senior Porter’s exploits and it was remarkably complete, accurate, and well presented. Thank you shipmate!
I, too, am a dilettante military historian, and I was unfamiliar with this as well. It’s such an intimidatingly vast subject! Always a pleasure to learn something new.
Did you also know the four 5" naval guns used in the defense of Wake Island were removed from Battleship Texas during a refit? I didn't but I heard it from the History Guy first. This is some deep dive content! Cheers!
Then you're a pretty poor "historian"
@@dziban303 How so?
saying you are a self styled *anything* is a great way to over-represent your credentials. thank you for that, im stealing it 🥸
Never knew about the exploits of the first USS Essex. My grandmother's older brother, George Dunning served aboard a later version of USS Essex in 1898 during the Spanish-American war. We have a photo of him standing on the deck with the name "USS Essex" clearly readable on his cover.
"Six Frigates - The Epic Founding of the U.S. Navy" by Ian W. Toll is an excellent book about this period.
Truly stated,an amazing book.
Thanks THG, as soon as you said the Essex sailed into the Pacific to capture whaling ships, I thought to myself, "Yep, seen this movie!" 😅
I have never read the book but remember how those that had were incensed that the bad guys in the movie were French instead of Americans. I didn't realize that the story was actually based off real events though.
This one was one of your best. I actually had no previous knowledge of this bit of history. Great video.
I never knew of this war in the South Pacific! Wow! Love learning history that is obscure!
I have family on Nuku Hiva and it caught me off guard to hear the little island mentioned in the start of your video.
The Marquesan people have had a rough history since European contact and one estimate I hear suggests the island's population today is less than 5% what it was before European contact.
Nuku Hiva is still a small but significant supply port for small vessels traveling the Pacific and one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.
There were/are four other USS Essex's. An ironclad steamer during the American Civil War, a wooden screw steamer, the lead ship (CV-9) of the Essex-class aircraft carriers during WW2, and the current USS Essex (LHC-2) an amphibious assault ship.
Ahhh I suppose pirates had to appear at some point like all good stories!🤔 You sir are a natural storyteller, and I can't get enough!
Indeed, he is a Raconteur par excellence
You and me both...pirates now the tale truly begins!!!🙏👍⚓👻
At ucsb there were 2 history profs that people would sit in lectures to be amazed and entertained and not be taking the class. Men such as this keep history alive and relevant which is a great service. It seems people now ignore history and feel irellivant .
My favorite 15 minutes of the day! Thank you THG!
Another beautiful Gem of History.
Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺💯
T.H.G. Still keeping it real.
One of your very best HG...I was waiting for the O'brien reference with baited breath!!! fantastic research and wonderful dialogue makes obriens series a fantastic read...four times..all 21 novels I have read.
*bated* breath
As in: abated (stopped or withheld)
As in: to hold one's breath in anticipation
No minnows, worms, or cheese involved :-)
The Essex is still remembered by model ship builders :) Model Shipways, the oldest US model boat company currently has an absolutely gorgeous Admirality style model, but it is not for the beginner :)
My family had an ancestor on HMS Phoebe, Charles Sampson who was a Royal Marine. He wrote letters home (We still have them!) detailing the action and capture of the USS Essex off Valparaiso.
She was patched up, sailed to England and became a prison hulk, eventually she was scrapped.
'The Frigate Essex Papers' by Philip Chadwick Foster Smith is a book detailing the building of the Essex, naming all the subscribers who paid for her, their professions and their donations. The book also has folded plans of the ship tucked into the back cover.
Thank you for this episode!
It must be fun choosing just the right bow tie to wear for each video you record History Guy.
12 years old? Damn. What honor what respect for office those men must have had could you imagine being in a combat situation and the man giving the orders is a 12 year old but you don’t see that you see his rank you see his courage you see his honor and that is what you follow. We raise children nowadays in a very different way almost completely opposite we treat kids like kids for way to long and back then they saw them as nothing more than small adults
Typically commanding a prize crew was seen as an honor and a grave and a sober test, it often being one’s first opportunity at command. But there was a second, lesser-known and darker purpose - it was also a way to get rid of an unsatisfactory and undesirable officer; the individual is nominally in charge but is generally sent with despatches explaining how the officer failed in his duties so thoroughly that he has been affectively banished from his ship. Not, obviously, that ensign Farragut fell in that category of course!
In those days most officers would start their careers as Ensigns at the age of 10-12. This wasn't unique to just the navy. At that age most commoners would be apprentices working to learn a trade and often started as young as 7 or 8. What we think of as kids today is a very very modern thing. Even as recent as the early 1900s this wasn't an unusual practice in western countries and in poorer countries it was the norm for much longer.
@@alexsis1778 Indeed. It is curious to have become old enough to notice and wonder about the way we continually perpetuate childhood. I never have quite been able to understand the ’why’… and it’s difficult not to see it as being to the detriment of the youth in particular and society in general.
Yes, today some naval officers start at 14
@@heinzguderian628 😹your nom de plume.
You refer perhaps to the sea cadets?
Another fascinating story! "Master and Commander" is the BEST depiction of period naval warfare to date.
Best depiction of naval life at sea & a great story line - I agree wholeheartedly. As for naval warfare - as an Age of Sail enthusiast, I was Gravely disappointed - both battles are completely Mel Gibson-Ized.
Ask yourself: "Which way is the wind blowing?" in both engagements. Look at how the sails are set in succeeding frames.
In the 2nd engagement, we are to believe a 28 gun frigate can go from almost a dead stop, then, via setting a single main sail, to performing a total 360 degree turn (the 1st 180 into the very light wind), to end up on the other side of the Acheron, meanwhile, the French never have time to recover & fire at least 1 or 2 devastating broadsides? Then they abandon their quarterdeck during the boarding action? Pish Posh!!!!
In the 1st engagement, Lucky Jack plows ahead resolutely for 3 minutes (count em in the movie - 3 minutes!!!!) into the teeth of Acheron's acknowledged superior raking broadsides, never once considering a strategic retreat, whilst his ship is pounded into matchwood? Even Capt Jack Sparrow knew to turn & run from The Flying Dutchman in the 2nd Pirates movie, & knew how to use evasive maneuvers, yes, a supernatural character in a movie based on a Disney ride was Savvy-er than Lucky Jack. Savvy!!!!!
And you can still visit one of the six, Old Ironsides in Boston. It is quite Illuminating to see how little space those men had below decks. Imagine being cramped like that for years on end!
I was there in May- they let me fire the cannon.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Video please?
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel they did?! That's so amazing! I was there a long time ago on a road trip, when I was on Constitution. They had a massive whaling ship that was being restored as well. I remember taking some of the chips of wood off the ground from it. I still have it actually! Idk what ever became of it though.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Indeed? Impressive, is it not? Makes you better appreciate the names of the guns of Captain Jack Aubrey‘s gun deck- particularly ‘Jumping Billy’!
Maybe that’s why they had 12 year old midshipmen. . .
"Master and Commander" flashbacks.
I love your stories about the early US Navy. I'm struck by the number of ships, cities and men whose names were honored by the Navy naming ships for them in WWII. Essex, Salem, Boston, Porter, Downs and many more.
I tend to like all your videos (being a history buff , myself) but this one was outstanding. It taught me a few thing from the times that I didn't know. Thanks.
I visited Valparaiso Chile in 1993 on USS Whidbey Island LSD 41 while deployed in support of UNITAS 34-93...Circumnavigated all of South America...
Very good report. I like the idea of private patrotic contribution. I remember my parents telling me of how people on the homefront helped in fighting WWII. It is difficult to believe one could get people to do that today. I truly hope to be proved wrong.
You would be proved wrong if the circumstances were right. In WW2 people really believed the Axis could attack the continental US if allowed to. These days it’s a lot more difficult for people to believe they are in any real danger of being attacked and thus they are not inclined to band together and work towards a common goal. In fact it seems like Americans are only afraid of being attacked by other Americans. Though I am generalizing and simplifying the situation quite a bit.
How much money, stuff and time do the people of the US donate through private organizations for disaster relief and charitable aid?
There are the people you speak of.
There is only maybe 2 or 3 people who could afford to build a fighting navy ship today - one is busy building electric cars, one sells software that always seems to need improving and one sell Chinese made stuff to the masses. i might be able to pitch in to provide a rubber life raft 😂
@@HoopTY303 I agree with a large enough danger war bonds of this kind could certainly be raised again.
I love these naval histories that you’ve been making. Thank you for sharing our forgotten gist on the high seas.
Another schooling this morning.
Porter is the kind of man, a lot like General George Patton , that never quit fighting. I would want him in my fighting force whether it be army or navy.
Thanks so much for this lesson in American history.
American author Herman Melville's ship Acushnet, an American whaler, sailed into Nukuhiva Bay, where he and a friend jumped ship and stumbled upon the Typee tribe while making good their escape. VERY cool story in his book 'Typee'. Well worth the read!
This was fascinating! Definitely one of your best.
Farragut- "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
In the novel the Frigate was USS Akron. In the movie it was French Frigate the Akron. Interesting how the movie switched it from a US warship to a French privateer.
The French frigate in the movie was the Acheron
Aye, and Yankee-built, too. A true product of the fascinating age in which she was built.
Naming a Polynesian bay (or rather trying to name) after a US state named after a Native American people is kind of funny-ironic in a grim way.
“It’s called a cruel irony, like my dependence on _you!“_ ~Yzma, The Emperor’s new groove
I didn't know about the island war, though I'm familiar with the Barbary Powers War, thanks to Charles Harding's DVD on it.
Thank you for making this episode.
I recommend reading the time life series the seafarers book the frigates. It covers most of this and other ships of the early navy. David Farragut also stood down at mutiny with a pistol while command the ship at 12 yrs old. That is true courage.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets
So Edwin Star has an answer to his query regarding the value of military conflict? Then we can author a book and call it “My Struggle”?
Love your philosophy. Without struggle we cannot grow-
@@chrisbflory Or if you were an early 20th Century Austrian, you could call it 'Mein Kampf'!
Wow!!! Great words, put together correctly , imparting wisdom & confidence . Unfortunately a rare thing these days. Thank you.
Master and Commander is a great movie. They even mentioned how the ship they were perusing was made of hard white oak. Now I realize we were watching and cheering for the “enemy”. 😂
Very much “inspired by.” O’Brien made the ship French. Ironically, the trick Aubrey uses to draw in the the Acheron in the movie- pretending to be a whaler- is actually the ploy that Porter used on HMS Alert.
Saw it in the NJROTC in 10th grade.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannelPatrick O'Brien was a naval historian before he wrote his books, and they are a veritable trove of interesting little known history although with the Aubrey - Maturin fiction interposed. The books far exceed the movie.
Two requests for videos, please please please - 1) a factual account of the defense of Fort McHenry (There is an increasing number of false history videos on RUclips that need to be countered by actual historians) and 2) The defense of the 105th infantry Regiment against the 5,000 man Banzai charge on Saipan. Please - my uncle was the Regimental S-2 (intelligence officer) and the last man to see Lt Colonel William J O'Brien (posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor) alive. (Lt Luther "Luke" Hammond) and he was one of the primary sources used by Lt Colonel O'Brien's nephew when he wrote his book "Battling for Saipan"
@@erichammond9308 Wow! That would be interesting to hear.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Thank you. I do know watching that movie that at the time England was our enemy. A fact I remind my wife of every time she’s watching one of her Jane Austin movies.😉
The local women were friendly...really friendly. Guam has the highest concentration of different male haplotypes in the world, all of the whaling ships liked to stop there.
Tonga was similar
Fascinating stuff. I never heard of any of this. Thank You.
Congress in 1812: shocked that sailors had romantic liaisons with the local women of a foreign port.
USN: Good thing that never happened again!
Good Morning to both of you and I would like to just tell you that YOU ARE OUTSTANDING BOTH OF YOU ✨🚀👍👌😇 Cheers 🍻🍻
Excellent lesson! A great lead story for a follow-up lesson on the Essex-class carriers of WW2, perhaps?
Fantastic THG today!
Porter was ‘hell on wheels’ !
Hell afloat.
Thank you for the lesson.
Outstanding job,thank you THG,whether I know about the story or not your presentations are always well done.
Honestly haven't heard of this. Thanks for bringing this to light!
I live next to Salem(Beverly) and never knew this! Thank you THG!
This was another fun one! Thanks for digging so deep.
Charles Wilkes and the Exploratory Expedition of 1838 might make an interesting video for you. Have a good day.
A son of the USS Essex commander, Admiral David Porter (with the same name), commanded the "Western Gunboat Flotilla" during the American Civil War. The younger Admiral Porter captured Fort Henry (February, 1862); he helped General Pope capture Island Number 10 (April 1862); and, he directed river fleet operations during the Vicksburg Campaign (1862 -1863). His river fleet was pounded by the Confederates at Vicksburg, (April, 1863), as he bypassed them, and provided logistical supplies for Grants advance against the stronghold.
While watching “Master and Commander” in the theater I recognized that some of it was taken from the story of the Essex and David Porter. I read a lot of early U. S. Navy history in high school and college in the 1960’s. Problem with the Essex was it was armed mostly with carronades, short cannons that fired a large ball, very effective at short range but did not have a long range. Porter had complained about this but the Navy did not allow him to change it. Most frigates at that time had carronades on the upper deck and long guns of the gun deck. The British ship was able to stay out of the Essex’s range and just pound it into submission. I had always thought that Capt. Porter should have observed the Star Trek “prime directive” and stayed out of the natives war, but THG explained his reasoning for that.
Interesting obscure trivia: There were several other small frigates built under the subscription program - Boston, New York, John Adams, &, oddly enough, John Quincy Adams (1 of those was shortened to Adams, forget which one), all rated at 28 guns, 12 pdr's on their main decks, all slightly smaller than Essex. None went on to any glorious careers.
@@sideshowbob A quick internet search I can't fine it, but I am sure I have it in books I have in storage. The Adams had a mistake in building were the frames were larger on one side than the other (the keel was off center) and she could sail on one tack faster than the other. Charles Morris was in command in the War of 1812 and being chased by a larger British ship she managed to get on the faster tack and made it to an inlet in the US where they had to burn it to keep it from being captured.
@@WhaleGold I never heard that story - thanks!
Yes, it had been refitted with carronades as a main armament. Porter did not like the configuration and repeatedly asked that the ship be equipped with more long guns.
@@WhaleGold There used to be something called "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships" - had it in book form as a kid when I was into this stuff, then was in text form in the early days of the internet. Prolly replaced by Wikipedia.
I live in Porter County, Indiana, whose county seat is Valparaiso. Thank you THG for featuring our namesake!
Yes, Porter asked that the city be named after his greatest defeat.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Ha I just read that moments ago, as the name was familiar as I was curious about its origin and was going to add it, but It's already here :)
Yet another gem from THG! Thanks for this very interesting, obscure chapter NavHis.
Thank you all
Don't all good stories involve pirates? For the second time in a week! 😸
😅 I had to pause a moment because every time I see ‘Essex’ & ‘Pacific’ I think of the whaling ship ship & Moby Dick…
Alright! Awesome to see you're over a million subscribers. You definitely deserve more.
Some stories are just too much fun to pass up.
I LOVED learning this one! Thank you!
Another great report mate
Very interesting. You almost always have something new to me. thanks
FYI, the prefix 'USS' was created by an executive order signed by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907. Prior to that, ships were described by their type. Essex would have been officially known as 'United States Frigate Essex'.
I first learned of Porter in Junior High mostly because of his exploits with the West Indies Squadron in fighting pirates out of Key West starting in 1823.
Wonderful video! Thank you!
Love this channel. Ibhave a degree in history, chairedcan historical society, done resesrch and had as a hobby. The amount of history the history guy shows that i was unaware of is large. And done in a proffesionsl and interesting way. I enjoy emensly thanks. One thing he brings out well is how history is more interesting than most fiction. Thanks.
history guy.....'' ICON ''‼️®™️ ☑️☑️
And it was the Revenue Marine cutters (the original format of the USCG) which served in the dual role of stopping smuggling and fighting the French in the Quasi War, that was the de facto navy for the US.
ruclips.net/video/sdmBYFKHHWg/видео.html
Great episode
Great story.
Thank You.
Thank you, I'd never heard of this piece of history and the frigate USS Essex.
Don't recall ever hearing this story...but it's a good one, enjoyed watching!
What a GRAND ADVENTURE!! ⛵️
thanks
Awesome story! Love the details
What a great story. Thank you
I recall reading many years ago (I'm an Age of Sail buff) stories about an enterprising US merchant in the 1820's who wished to open up the spice trade from the East Indies directly to the US, cutting out the Dutch who had a virtual monopoly at the time. The East Indies were a vast network of islands, barely explored by Europeans, the Dutch had only really settled Java & parts of Sumatra. Much of the remaining islands were inhabited by VERY fierce cannibalistic tribes who would not do business with Europeans, despite cultivating all sorts of insanely valuable spices. So this merchant bought a couple surplus US Navy sloop of war's (3 masted single deck 20 - 24 guns), rehabbed & fitted them out, sailed to the East Indies, & proceeded to play "Little Lord Warlord" with the tribes along the coastlines. His modus operanti: "Open up trade with me or I'll blow your town to smithereens". He succeeded pretty well at this, did bombard a few towns, "persuaded" others to trade. He was technically violating Dutch territorial claims but since he opened lucrative trade for everyone, they let him be. I tried to find this story on Wikipedia but can't. Maybe Mr History Guy can? Sounds like it formed the core ideas behind Comm. Perry's forced opening of Japan a few decades later. I could have been reading fiction for all I know . . .
Sounds like the first and second Sumatra expedition to me 🤔 (you can look it up in Wikipedia)
(Also btw those two expeditions were undertaken by the US Navy)
The Polynesian women were still turning heads during WWII. My Dad was sent to the South Pacific with a stop in Samoa. The women were beautiful...and topless.
You mentioned pirates several times but never said "...don't all good stories involve pirates?"
American Exceptionalism at its Finest. Thank you THG.
Interesting history. Good night
You there man, guy!
Can't remember it if I never heard of it. Thank you high school.
Extremely well done, and I enjoyed learning a lot that was completely new to me. As it happens, I'm a fan of Patrick O'Brien's work and loved his version of this story without knowing it was based on the Essex, so thanks for that. Incidentally, it has always bothered me that Hollywood insisted on changing the nationality of the ship Aubrey was chasing from American to French. They apparently don't give their audience much credit for being able to recognize that Americans can be the adversaries in some stories, as though it would come as any surprise that the US and Britain were at war with one another! It's still an entertaining movie, despite that unfortunate change.
So that is how America got the Marshal Islands. Never knew this story. Good job.
The period when the Marshall Islands were a US Trust Territory was the result of WWII and unrelated to the Essex.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Thanks for that clarification. But it did seem that the expedition did take the Island.
Great story, thanks.
Great video.
Lot's of 1st's for the U.S. Navy here. Great history lesson.
I can listen to you reading 📚 cooking recipes. " hey there's an idea"
Long time Patrick O'Brian fan here and, although I *loved* this episode, and the novel The Far Side of the World involved the hunt for the Essex, the Peter Weir film by the same name had nothing to do with that. A fine film, certainly, but it was more a collection of moments from several O'Brian novels (there are 20 and a partial one he died while writing). And although I first thought that Russell Crowe was a poor choice to play Jack Aubrey, given that Crowe is so short, it worked out splendidly. A fine actor, Russell Crowe can *play large* despite his physical size. 😉
Hello beautiful how are you doing?
The early 19th century US Navy- wooden ships, iron cannon, and brass balls.
I asked my Magic 8 Ball if I should hold off on dinner and watch this episode. It said "as I see it, Yes".
Quite a feisty family, those Porters!
Good morning to everyone watching from Ft Worth TX. Please keep everyone in the path of Hurricane Ian in your thoughts as the storm approaches.
Thank you William for your kind words. As a native Texan I live in San Antonio now (was in Fort Worth as a child), but our son and friends in Florida do need prayer for safety an endurance. I join with you in prayer. Be a blessing.
@@mikenixon2401 You're welcome. My daughter and her husband live near Tampa. My aunt lives in Ft Meyers
@@RetiredSailor60 I hope they evacuated. My wife and I stayed for Harvey. That was a really bad decision.
I am north of Tampa and the storm is forecast to bypass me to the east but I am keeping a wary eye on it.
Please do a THG episode on, "Beautiful Jim Keys", the greatest and smartest horse in American history, bred and trained by a former slave, who fought in the Civil war for the Confederacy and after the war, he bought the plantation he was born on, and then gave the family who previously owned Jim and the plantation their house back to them and they lived together. It's history worth remembering and accepting.
"The Educated Horse." Very briefly mentioned in this episode: ruclips.net/video/I3CODJJutW4/видео.html
Aye matey !
Funny how USS Essex went to the Pacific to hunt whalers and ended up doing this near the Marquesas, then less than a decade later a whaler named the Essex went to the Pacific to hunt whales and sank near the Marquesas.
That Essex didn't merely sink, she was *sunk*, by a whale! And although the account here does not mention any cannibalism on the part of the tribesman of the Marquesas, there was definitely cannibalism practiced in the lifeboats that escaped the whaleship Essex....😳🤮
@@goodun2974 Yes - I was trying to get my point down last night before I fell asleep, so I sped through it :P
Man, I was still building starships with Legos at twelve. Where did I go wrong?
As an Essex, I approve of this video :)
@THG: '...the town of Salem'. Yes! The Witch Huntings would be a great topic!
Interesting history of the USS Essex. I live in the original County of Essex in SE England. Why was the Salem frigate called 'Essex'?
The Frigate was named after Essex County, Massachusetts, where it was built. But Essex county was named after the county in England.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel I understand. I know many people from Essex went off to the Colonies. There are many towns in Massachusetts named after towns in Essex England.
@@Musketeer009 Don't forget Essex Connecticut
@@philhawley1219 Hi Phil. I had no idea there was a town anywhere called Essex.
@@philhawley1219 Lol. Just discovered a town called Essex, in Essex County, Massachusetts.
Your initial descriptions of David Porter sounded like James T Kirk.
It's always been my understanding that the US Navy has long claimed no US warship was ever captured by the enemy until the Pueblo incident. The capture of the Essex seems to prove otherwise.
So interesting.
What an adventurous time to be alive! :p
I served on USS PORTER named, partially, after Commodore Porter.