Catskill

Hello all!

I found a new primary source document and thought this might be a good place to make people aware of it.

It is the travel memoir of Edward Ward, a US Navy midshipman aboard the USS John Adams on a flag-showing cruise around the world from 1838 to 1840. I discovered the handwritten manuscript while I was working at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. The journal had been President Roosevelt's personal property, part of his collection of historical documents and letters. I have edited the manuscript and added footnotes, a preface, and an epilogue.

I finished the manuscript in 2002 and have tried for about seven years to find either a publisher or an agent. No takers. The usual response runs along the lines of, "We find the manuscript very interesting, and enjoyed reading it, but doubt it would find a sufficiently large audience to justify publication." If they all knew how many of them claimed to have enjoyed reading the journal, they may have felt differently about having a "sufficiently large audience." In any case, the publishing industry has been in trouble for a long time, under pressure from many other forms of entertainment, and is unwilling to risk investing in anything other than what it perceives as a slam-dunk. The present economic climate cannot make it any easier.

Therefore I thought I'd offer this manuscript to the public free on the web, rather than continue trying to find a publisher. This journal is a fun read -- and it deserves to finally see the light of day, 169 years after the events it describes. Edward Ward would certainly be pleased to know he had helped others to "beguile an hour of its tediousness," as he says in the journal.

It can be read at http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/catskill


Enjoy!

Bucephalus

Hi Catskill. Welcome to Historum. I have read only Parts I and II of the memoir, and I agree that it is interesting - although I would also agree with the publishers that the amount of marketable interest in this type of work will be pretty narrow. I applaud your transcription efforts and your magnanimous decision to post it on the web for free. My guess is that the occasional researcher or academic will happen upon this and find it useful in their work. My naval history research focuses on a period 60 to 80 years after these events take place, so although historically it is not particularly relevant to my immediate work, I found the descriptions of places and peoples at that time to be a fascinating view into the past (and some of the geographical descriptions may yet be useful to me). Thanks.

Catskill

Glad you enjoy it! I know its historical value is very limited (which is why, for example, the Naval University Press declined to publish it), but it's still fun to read.

Cheers!

laxdoc

Catskill
i have read parts 1 and 2. have a question. Is there any discription of ship on board activity? anything aboud the makeup of the crew? How the ship sailed? I found a great amout of info on the shore sites. But wonder about what happen on board. Thanks for putting it on line.

Catskill

Hello!

Glad the journal has proven useful! There are some descriptions of the ship, crew, and operations, but they are scattered throughout the journal. The most interesting part for you might be when they attack two towns in Sumatra in retaliation for piracy.

Best,

David

VM1138

You could make it available for free to various archives and such so that historians could find it outside of an Internet search.

Really cool find, nonetheless.