naval history

Review: The Wager

/ rtrube54 / 4 Comments

The Wager, David Grann. New York: Doubleday, 2023.

Summary: An account of the shipwreck of the Wager, part of a naval squadron in one of England’s wars against Spain, and the effort of her captain to maintain order as the survivors struggled just to eat, and the divisions and mutiny of those who wanted to sail back to Brazil.

Except for the fact that both of these incidents really happened, this book, a tale of the sea, bears little resemblance to Killers of the Flower Moon, a real-life crime story against the Osage people of Oklahoma. Both reveal the skill of David Grann to weave a compelling narrative from historical archives, in this case, primarily from soaked and faded log books and after action accounts of the sad tale of the Wager. This is supplemented by research into shipboard life and accommodations.

George Anson commanded the squadron of which the Wager was a part in pursuit of a Spanish fleet during one of England’s wars with Spain, this in the 1740’s. The Wager was one of seven ships, commanded by David Cheap, captain of a ship for the first time. The Wager was one of the slower and older ships, carrying much of the arms for the squadron.

Trouble begins as they squadron encounters storms and high seas at the tip of South America. Already, a number have died of typhus and the effects of scurvy and malnutrition. They struggle for weeks to round the tip, ships are separated, and ultimately “dead reckoning” fails the Wager and they find themselves too close to land and are shipwrecked off a volcanic island that they name Wager Island.

Survival becomes the main order of business for the hundred or so that remain. Supplies salvaged from the wreck provide some food, but the island provides little. Some indigenous people who try to help are driven off by the rapacious character of some of the company. Despite Cheap’s effort to maintain discipline, relations among the crew degenerate. Grann traces the narrative through the eyes of three figures: Captain Cheap, Midshipman John Byron, and Gunner John Bulkeley, who kept the most detailed logbook of the voyage. Bulkeley, though subordinate, was a leader of men. As conditions deteriorate and men die, things come to head when Cheap, in a desperate effort to maintain control with an insubordinate man, summarily shoots him in the head to die a lingering death.

Bulkeley wants them to turn back to follow a Patagonian passage on the way to Brazil and leads the effort to extend one of the longboats and a couple of smaller boats that survived. Cheap refuses, wanting to press forward, with the hopes of rendezvousing with Anson or even capturing Spanish shipping and fulfilling his orders. The company goes with Bulkeley, leading to the decisive break of mutiny. Seventy sail off and several months later, on the edge of death, thirty make it to Brazil after a harrowing journey, including Bulkeley. Byron at first goes with Bulkeley but then with a few, stays with the captain.

Eventually, Bulkeley and his party make it back to England. Miraculously, with native help, and after imprisonment by the Spaniards, so does Cheap with Byron and one other. Bulkeley has already published an account, casting Cheap as a murderer. Cheap will make his case against the mutineers in court. This could mean either disgrace for the captain or death for the mutineers.

Grann narrates all of this in a vivid account in which we can imagine shipboard life, feel the gnawing hunger, and watch the veneers of command and naval discipline fall away as men simply try to survive. Stepping back, Grann leaves us to wonder about the futility of such naval expeditions. Yes, Anson seized a prize of a ship loaded with bullion. But the war cost far more and resolved nothing. He narrates the reality of press gangs that could force able-bodied men to leave family for years or die at sea, just to fill quotas. Of over 400 who sail on the Wager, but 30 or so survive. Yet there was a courage and indomitable character to those who do, both Cheap and Bulkeley, lost in the conflict between them. Once again, Grann has rescued from the archives, this time without first-person interviews, a riveting and harrowing tale.

Review: Indianapolis

/ rtrube54 / 7 Comments

indianapolis-9781501135941_lg

Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Summary: A narrative of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis by a Japanese submarine at the end of World War Two, the five day struggle for survival that took the lives of nearly two-thirds of those who made it into the water, and the fifty-year effort to exonerate her court-martialed captain.

The U.S.S. Indianapolis was a storied ship. For a time, it was the ship of state for Franklin Roosevelt. Subsequently, it was the flagship of the naval fleet in the Pacific theater, winning ten battle stars. After refitting due to a kamikaze strike, it is sent on a super-secret mission to deliver the components of one of the atomic bombs that ended the war. Then, just after midnight on July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine surfaced within striking distance as Indianapolis, under command of decorated Captain Charles McVay III, was steaming unescorted to the Philippine Island for crew training. Two torpedos sink the ship in twelve minutes. Nine hundred of the twelve hundred men, including McVay make it off the ship due to his abandon ship orders. SOS messages had been sent, although whether the radio equipment was working at that point was in doubt.

Days and nights elapse in the oil-slicked waters where survivors board rafts, nets, or simply hold onto each other, staying afloat with their slowly water-logging life jackets. Somehow, no one realizes the ship is missing and no search is mounted. Men succumb to injuries, or the consequences of drinking salt water when desperately thirsty, or to sharks. After five nights and four days, only a little over 300 are still alive. Only then are they spotted by a patrol plane and a rescue operation mounted, some dying even as they attempt to swim to rescue. Only 316 survive.

While the men’s physical ordeal has come to an end, that of Captain McVay is only beginning. Before leaving for the Philippines, he was assured there was no enemy activity along his route, despite intelligence to the contrary never communicated him. Because of overcast conditions, he had secured the ship from zig-zagging, a defensive measure, which was normal practice given what he knew. Nevertheless, he faced a rushed court martial for negligence that resulted in the ship’s sinking, on which he was found guilty, even while exculpatory evidence was either being covered up or developed. The failures of others were covered up, only he was held to account.

The last part of the story is about the efforts of a group of the survivors, the captain of the modern namesake submarine, William J. Toti, and a precocious eighth grade boy. Hunter Scott’s history project turns into a crusade that takes him to the halls of Congress and an appearance as witness in a Senate hearing, and is the most inspiring and heartening part of the book. Sadly, Captain McVay did not live to see this, only one of his sons.

This is a wonderfully told story that manages to fuse human and technical elements into a page-turning narrative. We experience the moments of fear, panic, and the shipboard disciplines of those last twelve minutes of Indianapolis. We sense the growing despair and struggles to sustain hope and sanity as hours stretch into days, and good friends succumb to injuries or sharks. We share the growing awareness of all who look into the court martial of McVay that a cover up has taken place, and an injustice done. All of this propels us to keep reading to see how this will resolve, and whether there will be survivors to celebrate. Whether you are a naval history buff, or simply enjoy a good story, this one has all the elements to be your next great read.