Andrew W. German

As America’s oldest merchant ship still afloat and the only wooden survivor of the once-vital whaling industry, the Charles W. Morgan has a complex story to tell. Elaborating on Mystic Seaport Museum’s earlier volumes on the Charles W. Morgan's history, this new book offers an expanded account, chronicling the ship'sconstruction and launch in 1841 through its 38th Voyage in 2014—the first time the Morgan had been sailed in more than ninety years—and its continuing role today as an historic icon and the museum’s flagship vessel. Chapters paint a picture of how whaling developed in Europe and the ways New England colonists adopted it as a profitable venture, and then, through the ship’s own story, proceed to sketch the evolution of America’s relationship with nature—and the whale, specifically—and with the many peoples of the world who were encountered by, or served aboard, a whaleship. This is the story of a National Historic Landmark—one that reflects our changing relationship with the natural world and with the diverse populations of the globe through two centuries of American history.

During the carnage of World War I, ambulance companies were essential, carrying casualties off the battlefield on litters, dressing wounds, and rushing the wounded to the rear, often amid intense fire and poison gas. As part of the 26th "Yankee" Division--the first full American division to arrive in France in 1917--the 102nd Ambulance Company spent 193 days at the front and carried more than 20,000 men in its ambulances. Based on the company diary of Sergeant Leslie R. Barlow and letters by other company members, this narrative follows the unit through its inception in Bridgeport, Connecticut, its National Guard training, passage overseas, and winter of adjustment in France. The book describes its contribution to British trench fever experiments and its role in disinfesting the division of "cooties"; and offers vivid descriptions of its combat experiences in five sectors between February and November 1918. The work is heavily illustrated with photographs of the company and includes a detailed roster.