1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Portland, Maine
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Portland is the largest city in the U. S. state of Maine, with a population of 66,881 as of 2015. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to half a million people. The Old Port district is frequented by tourists, while Portland Head Light is also a destination, the city seal depicts a phoenix rising from ashes, which is a reference to the recoveries from four devastating fires. Portland was named for the English Isle of Portland, and the city of Portland, Oregon was in turn named after Portland, Native Americans originally called the Portland peninsula Machigonne. Portland, Maine was named for the English Isle of Portland, the first European settler was Capt. Christopher Levett, an English naval captain granted 6,000 acres in 1623 to found a settlement in Casco Bay. The settlement failed, and the fate of Levetts colonists is unknown, the explorer sailed from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to meet John Winthrop in 1630, but never returned to Maine. Fort Levett in the harbor is named for him, the peninsula was first permanently settled in 1632 as a fishing and trading village named Casco. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony took over Casco Bay in 1658, in 1676, the village was destroyed by the Abenaki during King Philips War. During King Williams War, a party of French and Native allies attacked. On October 18,1775, Falmouth was burned in the Revolution by the Royal Navy under command of Captain Henry Mowat, following the war, a section of Falmouth called The Neck developed as a commercial port and began to grow rapidly as a shipping center. In 1786, the citizens of Falmouth formed a town in Falmouth Neck and named it Portland, after the isle off the coast of Dorset. Portlands economy was greatly stressed by the Embargo Act of 1807, which ended in 1809, and the War of 1812, in 1820, Maine became a state with Portland as its capital. In 1832, the capital was moved north to Augusta, in 1851, Maine led the nation by passing the first state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol except for medicinal, mechanical or manufacturing purposes. The law subsequently became known as the Maine law, as 18 states quickly followed, on June 2,1855, the Portland Rum Riot occurred. In 1853, upon completion of the Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal, the Portland Company manufactured more than 600 19th-century steam locomotives. Portland became a 20th-century rail hub as five rail lines merged into Portland Terminal Company in 1911. Following nationalization of the Grand Trunk system in 1923, Canadian export traffic was diverted from Portland to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the 20th century, icebreakers later enabled ships to reach Montreal in winter, drastically reducing Portlands role as a winter port for Canada. On June 26,1863, a Confederate raiding party led by Captain Charles Read, entered the harbor at Portland, more than 10,000 people were left homeless
3.
Neighborhoods in Portland, Maine
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Portland, Maine is home to many neighborhoods. Portlands Arts District is based around Congress Street in downtown Portland, the District includes the Portland Museum of Art, the Childrens Museum of Maine, the Maine College of Art and the State Theatre. It is a mixed use neighborhood with both apartments and commercial establishments, Back Cove is a neighborhood off of Portlands peninsula and downtown areas. With views of the Portland skyline across Back Cove, it borders the neighborhoods of Deering Center, North Deering, East Deering, Rosemont, Neighborhood boundaries are, Washington Avenue, Baxter Boulevard, Forest Avenue, and Canco Road. Within the boundaries of the Back Cove neighborhood are Woodfords Corner, Ocean Avenue, Payson Park, Cheverus High School, the map on Barry & Andersons _Deering, A Social and Architectural History_, p.15 is ambiguous as to the neighborhoods precise borders. Among Highlands most notable residents was conservative US Senator Ralph Owen Brewster. The neighborhood is almost entirely residential, but the largest institutional feature of the Highlands is the Maine Medical Centers Brighton Avenue Campus, the complex is now home of the New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland and also houses training facilities and an urgent care center. East Deering is the easternmost neighborhood of the city of Portland, the suburban neighborhood is situated between the Munjoy Hill and North Deering neighborhoods of the city, as well as the town of Falmouth. East Deering is a diverse place, featuring both public housing and more expensive single family homes. Much of the neighborhood has views of Casco Bay and nearby Mackworth Island East Deering was bisected by 295 in the 1960s, major landmarks in this neighborhood include the Burnham and Morrill Co. Baked Bean manufacturing plant, Martins Point, Presumpscot School, Payson Park, Payson Park, Presumpscot Elementary School, Bottos Bakery, and Martins Point peninsula are also in the neighborhood. The major throughways in East Deering are Washington Avenue and Veranda Street, Martins Point Bridge connects East Deering to Falmouth. East Bayside is a neighborhood in Portland, Maine and it is bordered by Franklin Street on the west, Washington Avenue on the east, to the north by Marginal Way, and the south by Congress Street. It was first developed a network in the early 19th century. By the 1820s the area was Portlands second seaport via the Back Coves ship channel, much of the debris from the great Portland fire of 1866 was deposited into Back Cove, significantly increasing the size of East Bayside. Maps produced around 1900 show an extension of the out to Marginal Way. The shoreline would not change again until the construction of the Interstate in 1974, the East End is a neighborhood on the far eastern end of Portlands peninsula. It is closely linked with Munjoy Hill and the Eastern Promenade, the East End Community School, located on North Street, serves the area
4.
Peninsula
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A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on the majority of its border, while being connected to a mainland from which it extends out. Examples include the upper and lower peninsulas of the state of Michigan, the surrounding water is usually understood to be continuous, though not necessarily named as a single body of water. Peninsulas are not always named as such, one can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, a point is generally considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water that is less prominent than a cape. A river which courses through a very tight meander is also said to form a peninsula within the loop of water. In English, the plural of peninsula is peninsulas or, less commonly, peninsulas can be found on coastlines and in smaller bodies of water throughout the world, ranging in scale from square meters to millions of square kilometers. Theres the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe, and in Southern Europe theres the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, south America has the Brunswick Peninsula, and Antarctica has the Antarctic Peninsula. In Africa, theres the Horn of Africa, and in Australia, asia has the 3 largest peninsulas in the world, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Peninsula, and the Indochinese Peninsula
5.
Casco Bay
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Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, the city of Portland sits along its southern edge and the Port of Portland lies within. There are two theories on the origin of the name Casco Bay, aucocisco is the Abenaki name for the bay, which means place of herons. The Portuguese explorer Estêvão Gomes, mapped the Maine coast in 1525, the first settlement in Casco Bay was that of Capt. Christopher Levett, an English explorer, who built a house on House Island in 1623-24. The United States Coastal Pilot lists 136 islands, leading to the islands being called that Calendar Islands based on the popular myth there are 365 of them. Later, Robert M. York, the former Maine state historian said there are more than two hundred islands. Casco Bay is also home to abandoned military fortifications dating from the War of 1812 through World War II, during World War II, see Forts of Casco Bay below. The State Historic Site of Eagle Island was the home of Arctic explorer Robert Peary. Walter Cronkite stated that, in his opinion, the bay offered some of the best sailing in the world. In 2008, up-and-coming composers Peter J. McLaughlin and Akiva G. Zamcheck wrote a piece in four movements paying homage to the wreck of the Don in Casco Bay in 1941, the piece received critical acclaim from the Portland Press Herald and from fellow Maine composers. Portland has a fleet of deep-sea fishing vessels which offload their catch primarily at the Portland Fish Exchange. Numerous towns and islands serve as ports for lobster boats, recreational fishing boats can also be chartered. During the 1980s and 1990s, Bath Iron Works operated a dry dock in Portland Harbor to repair US Navy vessels, predominant fish in the bay include mackerel, striped bass, and bluefish. Shellfish include lobsters, crabs, mussels, clams and snails, Harbor seals congregate on certain exposed ledges, and whales on occasion swim into the bay, and in a few instances into Portland Harbor. Seagulls, cormorants and varying species of ducks are the most common birds, more rarely osprey, eagles, Casco Bay contains bay mud bottoms and banks in some locations, providing important substrates for biota. The major islands in the bay are served by the Casco Bay Lines ferry service at the Maine State Pier in Portland, peaks Island is served by a car ferry and, during the summer, sees 16 ferries a day. The other islands see fewer ferries and no car transport, great and Little Diamond islands and Long Island are served primarily by the Diamond Pass run, which is popular with tourists in the summer months. Other services offered by Casco Bay Lines include a daily run, a cruise to Bailey Island
6.
Eastern Promenade
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The Eastern Promenade is a historic promenade,68. 2-acre public park and recreation area in Portland, Maine. Construction of the Promenade began in 1836 and continued periodically until 1934, the 1. 5-mile park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers design firm and experienced its greatest expansion from the 1880s to the 1910s. The Promenade rings around the Munjoy Hill neighborhood and occupies the farthest eastern portion of Portlands peninsula, the Eastern Prom Trail is popular with bicyclists. The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum is also located on the Eastern Promenade, the railway is a popular tourist attraction in the area and transported 30,000 people across the Promenade in 2009-2010. As of September 2010, the railway was considering moving due to financial concerns, Fort Allen Park is a 9.33 acres public park on the Eastern Promenade. It is the site of Fort Allen, which was active in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, the park is home to an American Civil War monument in the form of a granite bench dedicated in 1929. Fort Allen Park is also the home of the mast of the USS Portland, Portland was then damaged during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November. 26 of the prisoners were taken to the hospital and a month later,21 of the prisoners had died. The dead soldiers were buried in a grave at the foot of Quebec Street on the Eastern Promenade. In 1887, a plaque was affixed to the stone with the names of the dead soldiers. National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine Friends of the Eastern Promenade
7.
Lighthouse
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Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, and safe entries to harbors, and can assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance, before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since raising the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as a marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and promontories. The most famous lighthouse structure from antiquity was the Pharos of Alexandria, coins from Alexandria, Ostia, and Laodicea in Syria also exist. The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, advances in structural engineering and new and efficient lighting equipment allowed for the creation of larger and more powerful lighthouses, including ones exposed to the sea. The function of lighthouses shifted toward the provision of a warning against shipping hazards. The Eddystone Rocks were a major hazard for mariners sailing through the English Channel. The first lighthouse built there was a wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions secured in the rock. His lighthouse was the first tower in the world to have been exposed to the open sea. The civil engineer, John Smeaton, rebuilt the lighthouse from 1756–59, his tower marked a step forward in the design of lighthouses. He modelled the shape of his lighthouse on that of an oak tree and he pioneered the use of hydraulic lime, a form of concrete that will set under water, and developed a technique of securing the granite blocks together using dovetail joints and marble dowels. This profile had the advantage of allowing some of the energy of the waves to dissipate on impact with the walls. His lighthouse was the prototype for the lighthouse and influenced all subsequent engineers. One such influence was Robert Stevenson, himself a figure in the development of lighthouse design. His greatest achievement was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse in 1810 and this structure was based upon Smeatons design, but with several improved features, such as the incorporation of rotating lights, alternating between red and white. Stevenson worked for the Northern Lighthouse Board for nearly fifty years during which time he designed and oversaw the construction and he also invented the movable jib and the balance crane as a necessary part for lighthouse construction. Alexander Mitchell designed the first screw-pile lighthouse – his lighthouse was built on piles that were screwed into the sandy or muddy seabed, construction of his design began in 1838 at the mouth of the Thames and was known as the Maplin Sands lighthouse, and first lit in 1841
8.
Fort Gorges
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Fort Gorges is a former United States military fort built on Hog Island Ledge in Casco Bay, Maine. Built from 1858 to 1864, no battles were fought there, advancing military technology, including iron clad ships and long range guns, made the fort obsolete before it could be used. The fort is now a park, accessible only by boat and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Following the War of 1812, the United States Army Corps of Engineers proposed that a fort be built on Hog Island Ledge, in Casco Bay at the entrance to the harbor at Portland, congress, however, did not fund construction of Fort Gorges until 1857. The walls of the fort were begun the year. The fort was designed by Colonel Reuben Staples Smart, the chief architect in charge of construction was Thomas Lincoln Casey, who later became Chief of Engineers. It is similar in size and construction to Fort Sumter, but is built of granite instead of brick, the fort was completed in 1865 as the war ended. Modern explosives made the fort obsolete by the time it was completed, a modernization plan was begun in 1869, but funding was cut off in 1876, with the third level of the fort still unfinished. During the modernization project, sod-covered sand was added to the top level of the fort to protect gun encasements, the Forts armament consisted of thirty-four 10-inch Rodman guns mounted in the forts casemates. In 1898, all guns were removed from the fort except a large 300-pounder Parrott rifle which was on the top of the fort, the 300-pounder Parrott rifle still remains in place and is one of the largest surviving specimens of Civil War vintage artillery. The fort was last used by the Army during World War II and it was acquired by the city of Portland in 1960 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It is now open to the public as a park, and is only by private boat. Visitors are recommended to carry a flashlight to enter the powder magazines, the fort is in need of restoration. National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine This article contains public domain text from Fort Scammel and Fort Gorges, U. S. Senate, Art & History Home. This article contains public domain text from Fort Gorges, Hog Island Ledge, Portland Harbor, Portland, Cumberland County, media related to Fort Gorges at Wikimedia Commons Friends of Fort Gorges Website Article and photos of the fort - Fort Tours Article and photos of the fort
9.
Interstate 295 (Maine)
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Interstate 295 is a 53. 11-mile -long auxiliary route in the U. S. state of Maine from I-95 in Scarborough to I-95 in West Gardiner. The highway was designated the Richard A. Coleman Highway in 2015 by the Maine Legislature. I-295s first exit is in South Portland, giving access to the Maine Mall and U. S.1 in South Portland and Scarborough, its last exit is Exit 51, which gives access to Gardiner. The route starts at Exit 44 of I-95, and it has toll plazas just before its own Exit 1 and he was involved in projects ranging from Maines interstates to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. Coleman declined comment on the naming, only telling the Kennebec Journal that while the naming is humbling, he found it uncomfortable. Maine Sen. Roger Katz, the sponsor of the bill, said Very few people have heard of Dick Coleman, from its inception in 1960 to 2004, I-295 was an 11. 02-mile long route branching off the Maine Turnpike/I-95 to pass through downtown Portland. Four miles north of Portland the through freeway became I-95 at the junction with the Falmouth Spur, in 2004, to clear up confusion, I-95 was re-designated to continue along the Maine Turnpike for its entire length. I-295 was extended past the Falmouth Spur as a redesignation of I-95, the 4-mile long Falmouth Spur officially became I-495 but was left unsigned. At the same time, the exits were re-numbered, previously they had numbered more or less sequentially from south to north—there were skipped numbers, for example. After the changes the exits re-numbered to mile-log in relation to the Scarborough junction, except for the exits in Portland and South Portland, exits on Maines I-95 were similarly re-numbered based on mileage. The speed limit on Interstate 295 on the section past Tukeys Bridge to mile 51 in Gardiner was raised from 65 mph to 70 mph on May 27,2014, I-295 on Kurumi. com Steve Andersons BostonRoads. com, Interstate 295
10.
Back Cove, Portland, Maine
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Back Cove is an estuary basin on the northern side of the City of Portland, Maines downtown district. It is nearly circular and about one mile in diameter, a popular loop trail runs around the circumference of the cove. Being tidal, Back Cove dries out to mud flats at low tide and is not commercially navigable and it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Back Bay. Baxter Boulevard is a road and parkway that wraps around the west side of Back Cove, the roadway served as the means to head north from downtown Portland before Tukeys Bridge, now on I-295, was built. The road was part of US Route 1 until May 2007, the parkway and roadway began as an initiative of Mayor James Phinney Baxter, for whom it is named. It was envisioned as one of four parks in the city which would encircle the city, the parkway was designed by the noted landscape design firm Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot in 1895. Property owners donated the next to the cove and the walking and biking path were filled in. Originally called the Back Cove Boulevard, the parkway opened in 1917 and it covers 30 acres and the pathway is 2.25 miles in length. Tree planting began on the Boulevard in 1921 as a memorial to World War I victims, Baxter Boulevard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic landscape district in October 1989. A3.6 miles recreation path encircles Back Cove, an offshoot in the stretch that runs parallel to I-295 leads to East End Beach
11.
Portland Head Light
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Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the shipping channel into Portland Harbor. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine, construction began in 1787 at the directive of George Washington, and was completed on January 10,1791 using a fund of 1,500 dollars established by him. Whale oil lamps were used for illumination. That lens was updated with an DCB-224 aero beacon in 1991, the original plans called for the tower to be 58 feet tall. When the masons completed this task they climbed to the top of the tower and realized that it would not be visible beyond the headlands to the south, the tower was built of rubblestone, and Washington gave the masons four years to build it. While it was construction in 1789, the federal government was being formed and for a while it looked as though the lighthouse would not be finished. ”The tower was completed during 1790. The current keepers house was built in 1891, when Halfway Rock Light was built, Portland Head Light was considered less important and in 1883 the tower was shortened 20 feet and a weaker fourth-order Fresnel lens was added. The former height and second-order Fresnel lens was restored in 1885 following mariners complaints, the station has changed little except for the rebuilding of the whistle house in 1975 due to it being badly damaged in a storm. Today, Portland Head Light stands 80 feet above ground and 101 feet above water, the 224 airport style aerobeacon is visible for 24 nautical miles. The 400 watt metal halide lamp is rated for 20,000 hours and produces 36,000 lumens of light at 200,000 candlepower. The grounds, and keepers house are owned by the town of Cape Elizabeth, while the beacon and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Portland Head light on April 24,1973, reference number 73000121. Edward Hopper painted the lighthouse in 1927, the watercolor resides at Bostons Museum of Fine Arts. A snowy Portland Head Light was featured in the 1999 drama Snow Falling on Cedars, annie C. Maguire shipwreck Port of Portland, ME National Register of Historic Places listings in Cumberland County, Maine Portland Head Light - official site
12.
Peaks Island
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Peaks Island is the most populous island in Casco Bay, Maine. It is part of the city of Portland and is approximately 3 miles from downtown, the island became a popular summer destination in the late 19th century, when it was known as the Coney Island of Maine, home to hotels, cottages, theaters, and amusement parks. The island had an population of 927 from the years of 2011 to 2015. Hollywood film director John Ford was known as The Mayor of Peaks Island because of his affinity for the island. He vacationed there from boyhood through the early 1960s, worked as an usher at the Gem Theater and was a deckhand on the Casco Bay Lines ferries in his youth, fords relatives still live on the island. Besides the Gem, which featured performers including the Barrymore family. One, the Pavilion, opened in 1887, is said to be the first summer theater in the country, the Greenwood Garden Amusement Park sported the Greenwood Garden Playhouse. George M. Cohan tried his productions out at the islands theaters before taking them to Broadway, circa 1908, D. W. Griffith was torn between continuing to appear in plays produced at the islands playhouses as he frequently did or heading to Hollywood. Jean Stapletons first professional appearance in the summer of 1941 was in a production at Greenwood Garden, martin Landau also made his professional stage debut in a 1951 production of Detective Story at Greenwood Garden where for several seasons he was a resident cast member. Most of the hotels were lost to fires over the years, the Gem Theater was destroyed by fire on September 7,1934. 17 buildings burned to the ground on June 2,1936, the only original hotel structure remaining on the island is the Avenue House, which has been converted into condominiums. During World War II, the island was home to a military defense installation, including the largest structure, Battery Steele. When Battery Steeles guns were first tested, windows on the side of the island shattered. According to the 2000 census, Peaks Island is home to 843 year-round residents, with a population that swells to an estimated 2, 000–5,000. The island is served by Casco Bay Lines and is home to its own school, library. There have been at least six significant movements for Peaks to secede from the city of Portland, in 1883,1922,1948,1955,1992, and another effort in the period 2004 to 2011. The most recent effort grew out of a revaluation of all properties in the municipality, shortly thereafter, a group of island residents organized a committee to investigate seceding from Portland and forming a separate town. A successful petition drive put the issue to a vote on June 13,2006
13.
Great Diamond Island
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Great Diamond Island is an island in Casco Bay, Maine. It is part of the city of Portland, Maine, as of the 2000 census, the island had a year-round population of 77. The island is not accessible from the mainland by motor vehicle and has a network of roads. The primary modes of transportation are golf carts and bicycles and this fact has become a selling point for the island, marketing the area as car free and kid friendly. The island was used as a base starting in the late 19th century. After the base was decommissioned, the bunkers and residences were left idle for over 30 years before being developed, Diamond Cove is a ferry stop at the northeastern side of the island. The Diamond Cove properties are on the grounds of the former Fort McKinley, making use of the army barracks, the abandoned concrete coastal artillery batteries exist in the woods at the east of the island, although they are technically private property and off-limits due to safety concerns. The community is gated and, for the most part, not open to the public, although the Diamonds Edge restaurant is open. Tours of the grounds, by reservation, are available, a limited number of homes have been built on the waterfront areas of the island, many have been featured in local magazines and newspapers. The Fort McKinley Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, the Diamond Cove General Store, a seasonal business near the former Quartermasters Quarters, offers up groceries, candy and prepared foods from just before Memorial Day until just after Labor Day. Residents from both sides of the island rely on this fixture and it is an area where Diamond Cove residents congregate to be social. In a 2010 GQ magazine article about the coolest small cities in America, at the time of the Spanish American War, the island was converted almost entirely to a military base to defend Casco Bay. Fort McKinley was constructed between 1891 and 1907 and remained in service until the end of World War II in 1945, the property at Diamond Cove remained abandoned for decades, until its renovation to the community it is today. List of islands of Maine 8th Coast Artillery Great Diamond Island Site, a prehistoric shell midden site on the island Diamond Cove official site
14.
Korean War
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The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, U. S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments, both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union, on that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83, Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation, twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UNs military personnel. After the first two months of war, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter, in September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, at this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951, after these reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of fighting became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate, North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in combat for the first time in history. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed, the agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Periodic clashes, many of which are deadly, continue to the present, in the U. S. the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a police action as it was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. In South Korea, the war is referred to as 625 or the 6–2–5 Upheaval. In North Korea, the war is referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War or alternatively the Chosǒn War. In China, the war is called the War to Resist U. S
15.
Charles J. Loring Jr.
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Charles Joseph Loring Jr. was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later in the United States Air Force in the Korean War. Loring rose to the rank of major and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 22,1952 above Kunwha. Born in Portland, Maine, Loring joined the U. S. Army in 1942 and was selected to undergo pilot training. He spent several months stationed in Puerto Rico before being transferred to duty in the United Kingdom in 1944, there, he flew 55 combat missions in P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft before being shot down and serving six months as a Nazi German prisoner of war. By the outset of the Korean War, Loring was working in a role in the United States. During a patrol on November 22,1952, Loring was leading a flight of F-80 Shooting Stars of the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron in an attack on a Chinese artillery position, during the run, his aircraft was struck by intense and accurate anti aircraft fire. Rather than abort the mission, Loring continued his run, aiming his disabled aircraft at the position and obliterating it. After his death, Loring was awarded the Medal of Honor, Charles Loring Jr. was born on October 2,1918 in Portland, Maine to Charles J. Loring Sr. and Irene Cronin Loring. He lived in the town throughout his life, attending Cheverus High School. He entered service in Portland at age 23, after the US entry into World War II, Loring enlisted in the United States Army in March 1942, and as a private joined the Army Air Corps. By May 1942, he had selected as an aviation cadet at the USAAC pre-flight school at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. There, Loring completed primary, basic and advanced training courses. After graduating, Loring was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Army Reserve with a pilot rating. In December 1942, Loring was assigned to the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force at Losey Army Airfield in Juana Díaz, the unit flew anti-submarine patrols as part of a force defending the Panama Canal and Caribbean Sea areas. During this time, Loring primarily flew P-39 Airacobra and P-40 Warhawk fighter, after a stint of this duty, the 36th Fighter Group returned to the United States to Charleston Army Airfield in Charleston, South Carolina. There, Loring and the pilots of the unit trained with the P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. It briefly moved to Scribner, Nebraska as part of flight training. In April 1944, Loring and the moved to England to fly missions against Nazi German targets
16.
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
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Mount Washington, called Agiocochook by some Native American tribes, is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft and the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather, the mountain is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, in the township of Sargents Purchase, Coös County, New Hampshire. While nearly the whole mountain is in the White Mountain National Forest, the Mount Washington Cog Railway ascends the western slope of the mountain, and the Mount Washington Auto Road climbs to the summit from the east. The mountain is popular with hikers, other common activities include glider flying, and annual cycle and running races such as the Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb and Road Race. Before European settlers arrived in the region, the mountain was known by various peoples as Kodaak Wadjo or Agiochook or Agiocochook. The Algonquians called it Waumbik, white rocks, the first European to mention the mountain was Giovanni da Verrazzano. Viewing it from the Atlantic Ocean in 1524, he described what he saw as high interior mountains, darby Field claimed to have made the first ascent of Mt. Washington in 1642. A geology party, headed by Manasseh Cutler, named the mountain in 1784, the Crawford Path, the oldest mountain hiking trail in the United States, was laid out in 1819 as a bridle path from Crawford Notch to the summit and has been in use ever since. Ethan Allen Crawford built a house on the summit in 1821, little occurred on the summit itself until the mid-19th century, when it was developed into one of the first tourist destinations in the nation, with construction of more bridle paths and two hotels. The Summit House opened in 1852, a 64-foot-long stone hotel anchored by four heavy chains over its roof, in 1853, the Tip-Top House was erected to compete. Rebuilt of wood with 91 rooms in 1872–1873, the Summit House burned in 1908, the Tip-Top House alone survived the fire, today it is a state historic site, recently renovated for exhibits. Other Victorian era tourist attractions include a coach road —now the Mount Washington Auto Road—and the Mount Washington Cog Railway, for forty years, an intermittent daily newspaper, called Among the Clouds, was published by Henry M. Burt at the summit each summer, until 1917. CNL officials said they were directing their efforts against other hotels that use the mountains name, patent and Trademark Office seeks registration of the trademark Mount Washington for any retail service, any restaurant service, and any entertainment service. The summit station of Mount Washington has a climate or tundra climate, although it receives an extremely high amount of precipitation. Lower elevations have a subarctic climate, the weather of Mount Washington is notoriously erratic. This is partly due to the convergence of several tracks, mainly from the Atlantic to the south, the Gulf region. The vertical rise of the Presidential Range, combined with its north-south orientation, low-pressure areas are more favorable to develop along the coastline in the winter due to the relative temperature differences between the Northeastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean. With these factors combined, hurricane-force wind gusts are observed from the summit of the mountain on average of 110 days per year
17.
New Hampshire
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New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, New Hampshire is the 5th smallest by land area and the 9th least populous of the 50 United States. Concord is the capital, while Manchester is the largest city in the state and in northern New England, including Vermont. It has no sales tax, nor is personal income taxed at either the state or local level. The New Hampshire primary is the first primary in the U. S. presidential election cycle and its license plates carry the state motto, Live Free or Die. The states nickname, The Granite State, refers to its extensive granite formations, the state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire by Captain John Mason. New Hampshire is part of the New England region and it is bounded by Quebec, Canada, to the north and northwest, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Massachusetts to the south, and Vermont to the west. New Hampshires major regions are the Great North Woods, the White Mountains, the Lakes Region, the Seacoast, the Merrimack Valley, the Monadnock Region, and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee area. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any U. S. coastal state, New Hampshire was home to the rock formation called the Old Man of the Mountain, a face-like profile in Franconia Notch, until the formation disintegrated in May 2003. Major rivers include the 110-mile Merrimack River, which bisects the lower half of the state north–south and ends up in Newburyport and its tributaries include the Contoocook River, Pemigewasset River, and Winnipesaukee River. The 410-mile Connecticut River, which starts at New Hampshires Connecticut Lakes and flows south to Connecticut, only one town – Pittsburg – shares a land border with the state of Vermont. The northwesternmost headwaters of the Connecticut also define the Canada–U. S, the Piscataqua River and its several tributaries form the states only significant ocean port where they flow into the Atlantic at Portsmouth. The Salmon Falls River and the Piscataqua define the southern portion of the border with Maine, the U. S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2002, leaving ownership of the island with Maine. New Hampshire still claims sovereignty of the base, however, the largest of New Hampshires lakes is Lake Winnipesaukee, which covers 71 square miles in the east-central part of New Hampshire. Umbagog Lake along the Maine border, approximately 12.3 square miles, is a distant second, Squam Lake is the second largest lake entirely in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any state in the United States, Hampton Beach is a popular local summer destination. It is the state with the highest percentage of area in the country. New Hampshire is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, much of the state, in particular the White Mountains, is covered by the conifers and northern hardwoods of the New England-Acadian forests
18.
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
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The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. They are part of the northern Appalachian Mountains and the most rugged mountains in New England, the range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston and, to a lesser extent, New York City and Montreal. Most of the area is land, including the White Mountain National Forest. Its most famous mountain is 6, 288-foot Mount Washington, which is the highest peak in the Northeastern U. S. Mount Washington is part of a line of summits, the Presidential Range, that are named after U. S. presidents and other prominent Americans. The White Mountains also include the Franconia Range, Sandwich Range, Carter-Moriah Range and Kinsman Range in New Hampshire, in all, there are 48 peaks within New Hampshire as well as one in Maine over 4,000 feet, known as the Four-thousand footers. The Whites are known for a system of alpine huts for hikers operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Appalachian Trail crosses the area from southwest to northeast. It is not clear where the name White Mountains came from, there is no record of what Native Americans called the range, although pre-Colonial names for many individual peaks are known. The name and similar such as White Hills or Wine Hills are found in literature from Colonial times. According to tradition, the mountains were first sighted from shipboard off the coast near the Piscataqua estuary, the highest peaks would often be snow-capped, appearing white. An alternate theory is that the granite of the summits looked white to observers. The White Mountains are a section of the larger New England province. The magma intrusions forming the White Mountains today were created 124 to 100 million years ago as the North American Plate moved westward over the New England hotspot, widespread evidence of glaciation may be seen in the U-shaped form of various notches, or mountain passes. Glacial cirques form the heads of Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington, glacial striations are visible at numerous locations, including on the exposed rocks at the summit of Pine Mountain in Gorham. The Mount Washington Auto Road and the historic Mount Washington Cog Railway ascend the ranges highest peak, heavily visited Arethusa Falls, the second tallest waterfall in New Hampshire, lies on a southwest flank of Crawford Notch. The Old Man of the Mountain, a formation on Cannon Mountain that resembled the craggy profile of a mans face, was a White Mountain landmark until it fell in May 2003. It remains the symbol of New Hampshire. The range also includes a feature dubbed The Basin, consisting of a granite bowl,20 feet in diameter, fed by a waterfall. The areas around The Basin are popular spots for swimming in the ice-cold mountain-fed water, some of the earliest maps of the White Mountains were produced as tourist maps and not topographical maps
19.
Portland Observatory
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The Portland Observatory is a historic maritime signal tower at 138 Congress Street in the Munjoy Hill section of Portland, Maine. Built in 1807, it is the known surviving tower of its type in the United States. Using both a telescope and signal flags, two-way communication between ship and shore was possible several hours before an incoming vessel reached the docks. The tower was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006, it is now managed by a local nonprofit as a museum, Portland has a deep harbor sheltered by numerous islands. Ships entering the harbor are not directly visible from the wharfs and this problem was solved in 1807 when Captain Lemuel Moody organized the construction of an observatory on Portlands Munjoy Hill, visible from both the open ocean and the wharfs. During the War of 1812, the observatory was used as a watch tower, the 86-foot tall observatory is octagonal and lighthouse-shaped, with a fieldstone base of heavy loose rocks, and stands 222 feet above sea level. There is no basement but the rock ballast in the bottom floor, the observatorys lantern included a P & J Dolland Achromatic Refracting Telescope, which could identify ships 30 miles to sea. That telescope disappeared from the observatory in 1939, the observatory has been renovated numerous times over the years, including a Works Progress Administration renovation in 1939. It was most recently renovated from 1998-2000 to repair damage from moisture and this renovation won a 2001 National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The center column was not a feature, and was added in the 1939 renovation. In 2014 additional repairs to the windows and shingles were underway, the observatory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 2006, the observatory was made a National Historic Landmark, the Portland Observatory is the only remaining maritime signal station in the United States. A telephone was installed, extending the towers function until 1923. In 1937 the tower was turned over to the city, between the time of its closure and the 1990s, the building was often unlocked and popular among area children. Some older area residents have memories of playing in the building. The latest major restoration left as much of the wood as possible in place. This is distinguished by its dark stain while the replacement wood was left its original lighter color, greater Portland Landmarks, a non-profit organization, maintains the building. Guided tours with discussion about the history of the building and the neighborhood are provided by volunteer docents from Memorial Day to Columbus Day for a small fee, on very clear days the view from the cupolas balcony extends from the seaward horizon as far inland as Mount Washington
20.
USS Maine (ACR-1)
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USS Maine is an American naval ship that sank in Havana Harbor during the Cuban revolt against Spain, an event that became a major political issue in the United States. Commissioned in 1895, this was the first United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Maine, originally classified as an armored cruiser, she was built in response to the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo and the increase of naval forces in Latin America. She dispensed with full masts thanks to the reliability of steam engines by the time of her construction. Despite these advances, Maine was out of date by the time she entered service, due to her protracted construction period and changes in the role of ships of her type, naval tactics and technology. It took nine years to complete, and nearly three years for the armor plating alone, the general use of steel in warship construction precluded the use of ramming without danger to the attacking vessel. The potential for blast damage from firing end on or cross-deck discouraged en échelon gun placement, the changing role of the armored cruiser from a small, heavily armored substitute for the battleship to a fast, lightly armored commerce raider also hastened her obsolescence. Despite these disadvantages, Maine was seen as an advance in American warship design, Maine is best known for her loss in Havana Harbor on the evening of 15 February 1898. Sent to protect U. S. interests during the Cuban revolt against Spain, she exploded suddenly, without warning, the cause and responsibility for her sinking remained unclear after a board of inquiry investigated. Nevertheless, popular opinion in the U. S. fanned by inflammatory articles printed in the press by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Became a rallying cry for action, which came with the Spanish–American War later that year, while the sinking of Maine was not a direct cause for action, it served as a catalyst, accelerating the approach to a diplomatic impasse between the U. S. and Spain. The cause of Maines sinking remains a subject of speculation, in 1898, an investigation of the explosion was carried out by a naval board appointed under the McKinley Administration. The consensus of the board was that Maine was destroyed by an explosion from a mine. However, the validity of this investigation has been challenged, George W. Melville, a chief engineer in the Navy, proposed that a more likely cause for the sinking was from a magazine explosion within the vessel. The Navys leading ordnance expert, Philip R. Alger, took this further by suggesting that the magazines were ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker. The coal used in Maine was bituminous coal, which is known for releasing firedamp, there is stronger evidence that the explosion of Maine was caused by an internal coal fire which ignited the magazines. This was a cause of the explosion, rather than the initial hypothesis of a mine. The ship lay at the bottom of the harbor until 1911, a cofferdam was then built around the wreck. The hull was patched up until the ship was afloat, then towed to sea, the Maine now lies on the sea-bed 3,600 feet below the surface
21.
USS Portland (CA-33)
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USS Portland, the lead ship of her class of cruiser, was the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Portland, Maine. Launched in 1932, she saw a number of training and goodwill cruises in the interwar period. In World War II, she saw extensive service beginning at the 1942 Battle of Coral Sea and she screened for Yorktown again in the Battle of Midway, picking up her survivors as well. She then supported the carrier Enterprise during the phase of the Guadalcanal Campaign later that year. The torpedo inflicted heavy damage which put her out of action for six months as she was repaired in Sydney, Australia and later San Diego and she was involved in the October 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf, engaging Japanese ships in the decisive Battle of Surigao Strait. She then conducted shore bombardments at Lingayen Gulf and Corregidor Island, following World War II, Portland accepted the Japanese surrender in the Caroline Islands and then undertook several Operation Magic Carpet cruises to bring U. S. troops home. She was decommissioned in 1946 and scrapped by 1962, in her extensive service she accrued 16 battle stars, making her one of the most decorated ships in the U. S. fleet. Ordered for the U. S. Navy in Fiscal Year 1930, Portland was originally designated as a light cruiser, because of her thin armor, and given the hull classification symbol CL-33. She was reclassified a cruiser, because of her 8-inch guns, with the symbol CA-33 on 1 July 1931. Portland was designed for a displacement of 10,258 long tons. However, Portland only displaced 9,800 long tons when completed, in 1943, a light tripod was added forward of the second funnel on the ship, and a prominent fire-control director was installed aft. Her four Parsons GT geared turbines drove a propeller shaft using steam provided by eight Yarrow boilers. Portlands power plant generated 107,000 shaft horsepower and she had a maximum speed of 32 knots. The ship reached, however,32.7 knots on sea trials and she rolled badly until fitted with bilge keels. Portland was designed for a range of 10,000 nautical miles at 15 knots, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine Mark 9 8/55 caliber guns arrayed in three triple mounts, a superfiring pair forward and one aft. She was armed with eight 5/25 caliber guns for anti-aircraft defense, in 1945, her anti-aircraft defenses were upgraded, receiving twenty four Bofors 40 mm guns which were arranged in four quad mounts and four twin mounts. Portland was also upgraded with seventeen Oerlikon 20 mm cannons and she was originally designed with 1 inch of armor for deck and side protection, but during construction her armor was increased. As completed, the ship was protected with 3.25 inches of armor which increased to 5 inches around the magazines
22.
James Phinney Baxter
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James Phinney Baxter was an American businessman, historian, civic leader, and benefactor of Portland, Maine. His personal library, containing over 100 leather-bound books of maps, portraits, engravings, james Phinney Baxter was the son of Dr. Elihu Baxter and Sarah Cone Baxter. He was born in Gorham, Maine, on March 23,1831 and he attended Master Jacksons School until 1844, and then Lynn Academy until 1848. He used the wealth engendered by his business for many philanthropic purposes. He was particularly passionate about supporting educational endeavors, and donated a library to his birthplace, Gorham. He was mayor of Portland for six years, and the spirit behind Baxter Boulevard, a tree-lined road that circles the edge of Back Cove. One of his greatest literary and historical achievements was the editing of twenty of the twenty four volumes of The Documentary History of Maine, Baxter also devoted several years to unearthing the details of Capt. Christopher Levetts settlement at Portland in 1623–1624. An English sea captain and explorer, Levetts history and the details of the colony he attempted to found had been forgotten when Baxters scholarship illuminated them. Baxter later published a book about Levett, which incorporated the text of Levetts own earlier work, in 1887 Baxter was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1887. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts, Baxter was a member of the Maine Society of Colonial Wars. Baxter died in 1921 at the age of 90, and a Congregationalist pastor officiated at his funeral, although Baxter was also affiliated with the Swedenborg Church
23.
War of 1812
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Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. By the wars end in early 1815, the key issues had been resolved, the view was shared in much of New England and for that reason the war was widely referred to there as Mr. Madison’s War. As a result, the primary British war goal was to defend their North American colonies, the war was fought in three theatres. Second, land and naval battles were fought on the U. S. –Canadian frontier, Third, large-scale battles were fought in the Southern United States and Gulf Coast. With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, early victories over poorly-led U. S. armies demonstrated that the conquest of the Canadas would prove more difficult than anticipated. Despite this, the U. S. was able to inflict serious defeats on Britains Native American allies, both governments were eager for a return to normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. This brought an Era of Good Feelings in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of strengthened American nationalism, the war was also a major turning point in the development of the U. S. military, with militia being increasingly replaced by a more professional force. The U. S. also acquired permanent ownership of Spains Mobile District, the government of Canada declared a three-year commemoration of the War of 1812 in 2012, intended to offer historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border. At the conclusion of the commemorations in 2014, a new national War of 1812 Monument was unveiled in Ottawa. The war is remembered in Britain primarily as a footnote in the much larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe, historians have long debated the relative weight of the multiple reasons underlying the origins of the War of 1812. This section summarizes several contributing factors which resulted in the declaration of war by the United States, as Risjord notes, a powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honour in the face of what they considered to be British insults such as the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair. The approaching conflict was about violations of American rights, but it was also vindication of American identity. Americans at the time and historians since often called it the United States Second War of Independence, in 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a series of Orders in Council to impede neutral trade with France, with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law, the American merchant marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810, making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U. S. cotton, the British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition. The United States view was that Britains restrictions violated its right to trade with others, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy expanded to 176 ships of the line and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man. The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become U. S. citizens and this meant that in addition to recovering naval deserters, it considered any United States citizens who were born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the reluctance of the United States to issue formal naturalization papers and it was estimated by the Admiralty that there were 11,000 naturalized sailors on United States ships in 1805
24.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
25.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
26.
Cruiser
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A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundred years, and has had different meanings throughout this period. In the middle of the 19th century, cruiser came to be a classification for the intended for cruising distant waters, commerce raiding. Cruisers came in a variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protected cruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big as a pre-dreadnought battleship. With the advent of the battleship before World War I. The very large battlecruisers of the World War I era that succeeded armored cruisers were now classified, along with dreadnought battleships, in the later 20th century, the obsolescence of the battleship left the cruiser as the largest and most powerful surface combatant after the aircraft carrier. The role of the cruiser varied according to ship and navy, often including air defense, during the Cold War, the Soviet Navys cruisers had heavy anti-ship missile armament designed to sink NATO carrier task forces via saturation attack. The U. S. Adams guided-missile destroyers tasked with the air defense role. Indeed, the newest U. S. Navy destroyers are more heavily-armed than some of the cruisers that they succeeded, currently only three nations operate cruisers, the United States, Russia, and Peru. The term cruiser or cruizer was first commonly used in the 17th century to refer to an independent warship, Cruiser meant the purpose or mission of a ship, rather than a category of vessel. However, the term was used to mean a smaller, faster warship suitable for such a role. The Dutch navy was noted for its cruisers in the 17th century, while the Royal Navy—and later French and Spanish navies—subsequently caught up in terms of their numbers, during the 18th century the frigate became the preeminent type of cruiser. A frigate was a small, fast, long range, lightly armed ship used for scouting, carrying dispatches, the other principal type of cruiser was the sloop, but many other miscellaneous types of ship were used as well. During the 19th century, navies began to use steam power for their fleets, the 1840s saw the construction of experimental steam-powered frigates and sloops. By the middle of the 1850s, the British and U. S. Navies were both building steam frigates with very long hulls and a gun armament, for instance USS Merrimack or Mersey. The 1860s saw the introduction of the ironclad, the first ironclads were frigates, in the sense of having one gun deck, however, they were also clearly the most powerful ships in the navy, and were principally to serve in the line of battle. In spite of their speed, they would have been wasted in a cruising role. The French constructed a number of smaller ironclads for overseas cruising duties, starting with the Belliqueuse and these station ironclads were the beginning of the development of the armored cruisers, a type of ironclad specifically for the traditional cruiser missions of fast, independent raiding and patrol
27.
Siege artillery in the American Civil War
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Siege artillery is heavy artillery primarily used in military attacks on fortified positions. At the time of the American Civil War, the U. S. Army classified its artillery into three hundred varied types, depending on the weight and intended use. Field artillery were light pieces that often traveled with the armies, Siege and garrison artillery were heavy pieces that could be used either in attacking or defending fortified places. Seacoast artillery were the heaviest pieces and were intended to be used in permanent fortifications along the seaboard and they were primarily designed to fire on attacking warships. The distinctions are somewhat arbitrary, as field, siege and garrison and this article will focus on the use of heavy artillery in the attack of fortified places during the American Civil War. The weight and size of siege artillery prevented it from travelling with the armies. When needed, siege artillery and other material needed for operations were assembled into what was called a siege train. In the American Civil War, the train was always transported to the area of the siege by water. The siege trains of the Civil War consisted almost exclusively of guns, Guns fired projectiles on horizontal trajectory and could batter heavy construction with solid shot or shell at long or short range, destroy fort parapets, and dismount cannon. Mortars fired shells in an arcing trajectory to reach targets behind obstructions, destroying construction. Prior to the war, the U. S. Army had a variety of iron smoothbore siege guns, none of these pieces were used during the war as siege artillery. The advent of rifled artillery made them obsolete, the Civil War was the first major war to see the use of rifled artillery. Rifling gave the guns greater velocity, range, accuracy, and penetrating power, the ranges of these guns is somewhat problematic. The 6.4 inch Parrott rifle had a range of 8,845 yards. However, the absence of suitable sights, and a good system of directing fire on targets that could not be seen from the gun, limited the effective range of the rifled guns. The bombardment of Fort Pulaski demonstrated that rifled guns were effective against masonry fortifications. The reduction of Fort Macon two weeks later confirmed this, later experiences at the campaign against Charleston Harbor and the siege of Petersburg showed that rifled guns are much less effective against earthen field works. During the early part of the war, the Federal army lacked rifled siege artillery, to fill this gap, the army rifled existing smoothbore pieces with the system developed by Charles T. James
28.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
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Ethan Allen
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Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U. S. state of Vermont and he was the brother of Ira Allen. Born in rural Connecticut, Allen had a frontier upbringing but also received an education that included some philosophical teachings, in the late 1760s he became interested in the New Hampshire Grants, buying land there and becoming embroiled in the legal disputes surrounding the territory. Legal setbacks led to the formation of the Green Mountain Boys, when the American Revolutionary War broke out, Allen and the Boys seized the initiative and captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775. In September 1775 Allen led an attempt on Montreal that resulted in his capture by British authorities. First imprisoned aboard Royal Navy ships, he was paroled in New York City, upon his release, Allen returned to the Grants, which had declared independence in 1777, and resumed political activity in the territory. Allen wrote accounts of his exploits in the war that were read in the 19th century, as well as philosophical treatises. His business dealings included successful farming operations, one of Connecticuts early iron works, land purchased by Allen and his brothers included tracts of land that eventually became Burlington, Vermont. He was twice married, fathering eight children, Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the first-born child of Joseph and Mary Baker Allen, both of English and Puritan descent. The family moved to the town of Cornwall shortly after his birth and his lifelong interest in philosophy and ideas emerged against the backdrop of his fathers involvement in these Puritan debates and his fathers refusal to convert to the covenant by grace. As a boy Allen already excelled at quoting the Bible and was known for disputing the meaning of passages, seven siblings, all of whom survived to adulthood, joined the family between Allens birth in 1738 and 1751. Allen had five brothers and two sisters and his brothers Ira and Heman would also become prominent figures in the early history of Vermont. Although not very much is known about Allens childhood, the town of Cornwall was frontier territory in the 1740s. Joseph Allen died in 1755, at the time of his death he was one of the landowners in the area, ran a successful farm. Allen had, before his fathers death, begun studies under a minister in the town of Salisbury with the goal of gaining admission to Yale College. Allens brother Ira recalled that, even at an age, Allen was curious. Allen was forced to end his studies upon his fathers death, in that year, he became part owner of an iron furnace in Salisbury. He also married Mary Brownson, a five years his senior, from the nearby town of Roxbury
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United States Secretary of War
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The Secretary of War was a member of the United States Presidents Cabinet, beginning with George Washingtons administration. A similar position, called either Secretary at War or Secretary of War, had appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 and 1789. Benjamin Lincoln and later Henry Knox held the position, when Washington was inaugurated as the first president under the Constitution, he appointed Knox to continue serving. The Secretary of War was the head of the War Department, at first, he was responsible for all military affairs, including naval affairs. In 1798, the Secretary of the Navy was created by statute, from 1886 onward, the Secretary of War was third in the line of succession to the presidency, after the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of State. The office of Secretary at War was modelled upon Great Britains Secretary at War, the office of Secretary at War was meant replaced both the Commander-in-Chief and the Board of War, and like the President of the Board, the Secretary wore no special insignia. The Inspector General, Quartermaster General, Commissary General, and Adjutant General served on the Secretarys staff, however, the Army itself under Secretary Henry Knox only consisted of 700 men. Parties No party Federalist Democratic-Republican Democratic Whig Republican Confederate States Secretary of War Bell, commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005, Portraits and Biographical Sketches. United States Army Center of Military History, encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet 1789-2010. Charlottesville, Virginia, The Judge Advocate Generals School, U. S. Army
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Fort Sullivan (Maine)
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Fort Sullivan was a 19th-century military fortification in Eastport, Maine. It lay opposite New Brunswick, Canada, and served as an important coastal defense for the easternmost United States of America during the 19th century. In 1808, the United States Army decided to build a fort in Eastport, Massachusetts, to protect against possible threats from Britain, in 1808 or 1809, Major Lemuel Trescott oversaw the construction of the garrison atop Clarks Hill in the village. The fort contained a circular earthwork, a wooden blockhouse. Fort Sullivan reportedly took its name circa March 1813, British naval forces ultimately took control over the entire coast east of Penobscot Bay, renaming it New Ireland. The British demanded that the inhabitants of Eastport take oaths of allegiance to their crown, some complied, others evaded, through negotiations with the British in 1817, Americans renounced their claims to larger islands farther east and regained control over Eastport on 30 June 1818. Two active battalions of the Regular Army perpetuate the lineage of the old 40th Infantry Regiment, the state of Maine separated from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Missouri Compromise of 1820. The post surgeon began meteorological observations at the fort in 1822, the Army stationed officer Nathaniel Dana in the 1st U. S. Artillery at Fort Sullivan on 15 April 1822, when and where his wife bore his son, the fort was basically idle until the late 1830s, when disputes over the border with New Brunswick in northern Maine threatened to break out into war. The Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842 settled the boundary dispute, during American Civil War, the Army constructed earthwork batteries in the area. Maine Coast Guard Companies C mustered in at Eastport on 16 May 1864, stationed at Fort Sullivan, in 1873, the Army ceased using and occupying Fort Sullivan. In 1877, the government sold the property at Fort Sullivan, the new owners moved the northernmost barracks quarters to its present location at 74 Washington Street. Other parts of the fort collapsed over time, ruins of an old powder magazine still exist off McKinley Street, and are the only surviving in situ remains of the fort. Exhibits include the history of Fort Sullivan, the area sardine and ground fishing industries, local history, the museum is open in July and August. National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maine George J. Varney wrote an article, History of Eastport, Maine, in A Gazetteer of the State of Maine in 1886, david Zimmerman, Coastal Fort, A History of Fort Sullivan Eastport, Maine. Border history fathom series, no.3, Eastport, Moose Island, Me, Research Committee, Border Historical Society,1984. Barracks Museum - Border Historical Society
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Castine, Maine
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Castine is a town in Hancock County in eastern Maine, USA, which served from 1670 to 1674 as the capital of Acadia. The population was 1,366 at the 2010 census, Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine related industries. During the French colonial period, Castine was the tip of Acadia. During the 17th and early 18th century, New France defined the Kennebec River as the boundary of Acadia. The town is named after Jean-Vincent dAbbadie de Saint-Castin, called Majabigwaduce by Tarrantine Abenaki Indians, Castine is one of the oldest towns in New England, predating the Plymouth Colony by seven years. Situated on Penobscot Bay, it is near the site of Fort Pentagouet, few places in New England have had a more tumultuous history than Castine, which proclaims itself the battle line of four nations. Majabagaduce changed hands numerous times with shifting imperial politics, at one time or another, it was occupied by the French, Dutch and Englands Plymouth Colony. Castine was founded in the winter of 1613, when Claude de Saint-Etienne de la Tour established a trading post to conduct business with the Tarrantine Indians. There is evidence that de La Tour immediately challenged the English action by re-establishing his trading post in the wake of Argalls raid, captain John Smith charted the area in 1614 and referred to French traders in the vicinity. In 1625, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour erected a fort named Fort Pentagouet, English colonists from the Plymouth Colony seized it in 1628, and made it an administrative outpost of their colony. Colonial Governor William Bradford personally traveled there to claim it, in 1635, it was retaken by the French and again incorporated into Acadia, Governor Isaac de Razilly sent Charles de Menou dAulnay de Charnisay to retake the village. In 1638, dAulnay built a substantial fort named Fort St. Pierre. Emmanuel Le Borgne with 100 men raided the settlement in 1653, Major General Robert Sedgwick led 100 New England volunteers and 200 of Oliver Cromwells soldiers on an expedition against Acadia in 1654. Before taking its capital Port Royal, Sedgwick captured and plundered the French settlement at Pentagouet, the English occupied Acadia for the next 16 years. In 1667, after the Treaty of Breda brought peace, French authorities dispatched the Baron Jean-Vincent de St. Castin to take command of Pentagouet, the baron married an Abenaki woman, the daughter of the sachem Modockawando. She adopted the French name Mathilde and bore him 10 children, the baron became a widower and then married another Abenaki woman named Marie Pidiwammiskwa who bore him two additional children. Castine soon became a force in trade and diplomacy. During the Franco-Dutch War, Pentagouet and other Acadian ports were captured by the Dutch captain Jurriaen Aernoutsz who arrived from New Amsterdam, renaming Acadia, the Dutch turned the forts cannon on its own walls and destroyed most of it after the second siege
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William Henry Allen
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Master Commandant William Henry Allen was an American naval officer during the War of 1812. Allen was born in Providence, Rhode Island and was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy on 28 April 1800, between 1800 and 1807, he served successively in George Washington and Philadelphia. On 17 February 1807, he was promoted to lieutenant and was transferred to Chesapeake, Allen was credited with firing the only gun discharged in her own defense by the American ship. The incident was a key development in building American resentment toward the British which eventually resulted in the War of 1812. By 1812, Allen was first lieutenant of the frigate United States, under the command of Captain Stephen Decatur, at the conclusion of that capture, he was named to command the prize crew which took Macedonian into New York. On 24 July 1813, he was promoted to master commandant, on 14 August, he led his ship in the engagement with HMS Pelican during which he received mortal wounds. A round shot cut off his leg, but he remained at his station until he fainted from blood loss. After Argus surrender, Allen was taken to the hospital at Plymouths Millbay Prison where he died on 18 August 1813, master Commandant Allen was buried with full military honors in the churchyard of St Andrews, Plymouth, England. In 1814 a small row galley was named the USS Allen in his honor, the destroyer USS Allen was also named after him. The Allen served during World War I and was present at Pearl Harbor during the attack on 7 December 1941, the Allen was the oldest destroyer in the Navy during World War II. She was assigned to training duties and spent the remainder of the war at Pearl Harbor, after the war, she was decommissioned and sold for scrap. Allen Street in Manhattan, New York City It is possible that Allens Avenue in Providence and his father, William Allen, soon after the start of the American Revolution in June 1775, was commissioned an ensign in the 3rd Rhode Island Regiment in the Continental Army. His regiment served in the Siege of Boston and was disbanded on December 31,1775, in January 1776, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant in the 11th Continental Infantry Regiment and served until the regiment was disbanded at the end of the year. In January 1777 he was promoted to captain in the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment and he commanded a company of the Rhode Island line of troops at the Battle of Saratoga. He transferred to the 1st Rhode Island Regiment when the two Rhode Island regiments were consolidated on January 1,1781, William Allen was present and actively engaged in many of the battles which were fought during our Revolutionary War. In recognition of his service, he was advanced to the rank of major on September 30,1783. He served until the Continental Army was disbanded on November 3,1783, in 1786, Allen was appointed by Congress, senior officer of the legionary corps raised in Rhode Island. In the year 1799, he was appointed by the Rhode Island General Assembly a brigadier general of militia, the mother of William Henry Allen, was the sister of William Jones, who served as Governor of Rhode Island
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Joseph E. Brennan
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Joseph Edward Brennan is an American Democratic Party politician from Maine. He served as the 70th Governor of Maine from 1979 to 1987 and he is a former commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission. Born in 1934 in Portland, Maine, Brennan lived on Kellogg Street on Munjoy Hill and his first statewide candidacy was for Governor in 1974, he lost the Democratic nomination to George J. Mitchell, who he would later appoint to the U. S. Senate. Appointed State Attorney General in 1975, Brennan ran for Governor again in 1978, winning the primary, Brennan was reelected in 1982, serving as Governor from 1979 to 1987. In 1986 he ran for the U. S. House in Maines First Congressional District, after two terms in the House, Brennan ran for Governor again in 1990, losing to Republican John McKernan. He ran again in 1994, losing to Independent Angus King and he would face Collins in another statewide election in 1996, running for the U. S. Senate seat being vacated by Bill Cohen, a race which Collins won. He was renominated and confirmed for a term at the FMC in 2004. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
35.
John Ford
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John Ford was an American film director. His four Academy Awards for Best Director remain a record, one of the films for which he won the award, How Green Was My Valley, also won Best Picture. In a career spanned more than 50 years, Ford directed more than 140 films and he is widely regarded as one of the most important. Fords work was held in regard by his colleagues, with Orson Welles. Ford made frequent use of shooting and long shots, in which his characters were framed against a vast, harsh. Ford was born John Martin Jack Feeney in Cape Elizabeth, Maine to John Augustine Feeney and Barbara Abbey Curran and his father, John Augustine, was born in Spiddal, County Galway, Ireland in 1854. Barbara Curran had been born in the Aran Islands, in the town of Kilronan on the island of Inishmore, John A. Feeneys grandmother, Barbara Morris, was said to be a member of a local gentry family, the Morrises of Spiddal. John Augustine and Barbara Curran arrived in Boston and Portland respectively in May and they married in 1875 and became American citizens five years later on September 11,1880. John Augustine lived in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood of Portland, Maine with his family, and would try farming, fishing, working for the gas company, running a saloon, and being an alderman. Feeney attended Portland High School, Portland, Maine, where he was a successful fullback and he earned the nickname Bull because of the way he would lower his helmet and charge the line. A Portland pub is named Bull Feeneys in his honor and he later moved to California and in 1914 began working in film production as well as acting for his older brother Francis, adopting Jack Ford as a professional name. In addition to credited roles, he appeared uncredited as a Klansman in D. W. Griffiths 1915 The Birth of a Nation and he married Mary McBride Smith on July 3,1920, and they had two children. His daughter Barbara was married to singer and actor Ken Curtis from 1952 to 1964, what difficulty was caused by the two marrying is unclear as the level of John Fords commitment to the Catholic faith is disputed. A strain would have been Fords many extramarital relationships, John Ford began his career in film after moving to California in July 1914. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother Francis Ford, twelve years his senior. John Ford started out in his brothers films as an assistant, handyman, stuntman and occasional actor, frequently doubling for his brother, Francis gave his younger brother his first acting role in The Mysterious Rose. Despite an often combative relationship, within three years Jack had progressed to become Francis chief assistant and often worked as his cameraman, by the time Jack Ford was given his first break as a director, Francis profile was declining and he ceased working as a director soon after. One notable feature of John Fords films is that he used a company of actors
36.
Seacoast defense in the United States
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Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, Americas enemies could only reach her from the sea, after the 1940s, it was recognized that fixed fortifications were obsolete and ineffective against aircraft and missiles. However, in prior eras foreign fleets were a realistic threat, the defenses heavily depended on fortifications but also included submarine minefields, nets and booms, ships, and airplanes. Therefore, all of the armed forces participated in seacoast defense, designs evolved and became obsolete with changes in the technology available to both the attacking forces and the defenders. At the beginning of the American Revolution, many coastal fortifications already protected the Atlantic coast, prior to independence from Britain, local communities or colonies bore the cost and responsibility for their own protection. Urgency would wax and wane based on the climate in Europe. Most defenses were artillery protected by earthworks, as protection from pirate raids, though seldom used, the forts were a deterrent. Additional forts, called Patriot batteries, were built during the Revolution, when the United States gained independence in 1783, the seacoast defense fortifications were in poor condition. Twenty significant forts at thirteen harbors were approved for construction, mostly with traditional low walled structures with low sloped earthworks protecting wood or brick walls. The conventional wisdom was that soft earth would cushion the effect of fire against the walls. The angled walls also reduced the chance for more destructive straight-on hits from cannonballs, most First System forts were relatively small, and with some exceptions mounted only one tier of cannon, on the roof of the fort. Additional water batteries outside the fort provided more firepower, lacking trained engineers to supervise the work, Secretary of War Henry Knox placed a number of European engineers under contract. Although some fine forts were constructed, for the most part enthusiasm and funding waned, most of the partially finished earthworks and wooden structures deteriorated before they were needed to defend against the British in 1812. In 1802, Congress separated the artillerists and engineers into separate corps and directed the Corps of Engineers to create a military academy at West Point, one of the driving forces for establishing the new academy was the need to divorce the United States from its reliance on foreign engineers. In 1807-1808, new concerns over a war with Great Britain, prompted President Thomas Jefferson to renew fortification programs. One common weakness among the typical low-walled open bastion or star forts was exposure to fire, especially to new devices designed to explode in mid air. Gun emplacements which were at an angle to the sea were vulnerable to a solid shot running parallel to the taking out a row of guns. In the late 1770s, a French engineer, the Marquis de Montalembert and his design protected a forts gunners by placing most of them in covered casemate walls with openings for the guns
