The Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Co. was formed in South Portland, Maine, in 1940, followed by the South Portland Shipbuilding Corp. in 1942. This book details the formation of the two shipyards, and the congressional investigation of South Portland's operation that resulted in the merger of both companies into the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in April, 1943. Included is a list of all 2,710 Liberty ships delivered by U.S. shipyards, giving each ship's namesake and detailed descriptions of the companies that built the ships and the steamship companies that operated them during the war. Also featured is the Jeremiah O'Brien. Built by New England Ship in 1943 and one of only two operational Liberty ships left in the world, its service history and crew information are given along with its, postwar restoration and return to Normandy in 1994.

During World War II, the U.S. Navy swiftly expanded to include an array of vessels, from smaller yachts and fishing boats bought early in the war for patrol work to fast, modern commercial ships built to haul troops and supplies. After the Allied victory, this diverse fleet became unnecessary and the Navy sold many of its vessels. This comprehensive catalog documents the Navy ships and boats sold after the war and registered under the American flag for commercial or recreational purposes. Focusing on those vessels with names or clearly identifiable hull numbers and crew accommodations, it chronicles each craft's prewar ownership, wartime history, and postwar fate. The product of painstaking detective work in a wide-range of primary sources, this meticulous directory highlights an unexplored but illuminating aspect of U.S. maritime history.

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, France was plagued by war and massive crop failures and was desperately in need of supplies. Both legally and illegally, French privateers and cruisers took cargo from merchant vessels of every flag engaged in foreign trade, and perhaps no country was as affected as the United States. While it is impossible to know the true number of vessels, their value, or the value of cargoes confiscated or destroyed, 6,479 claims involving more than 2,300 vessels were filed under the French Spoliation Act of 1885. Filed by the descendants of vessel and cargo owners, insurance agents, and anyone else who had a financial interest in a voyage or lost property to French land forces, these claims give the closest possible approximation of American goods lost to the French. Section I presents a comprehensive index of losses as reported to the State Department, while Section II presents court cases detailing important questions of American and international law which relate to the French assault on American shipping. Section III presents the disposition of claims filed by insurance companies, administrators, executors, receivers, and trustees in the federal Court of Claims under the French Spoliation Act. Also included are a glossary, a list of important geographical locations, and an overview of relevant acts of Congress, proclamations, treaties, and foreign decrees.

Before December 1941, the United States had determinedly maintained an isolationist foreign policy and stubbornly remained neutral in the European war. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, this position changed overnight. Now faced with the prospect of war yet ill-prepared for the eventuality, the United States government found itself scrambling to launch a war effort. In a post-depression economy, inadequate supply coupled with wartime losses worldwide quickly created a demand which far outstripped production, especially when it came to naval supplies. This generally left the government only one realistic option - seizure of vessels and other property from private owners. Although the government had this power, under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution private property owners were entitled to just compensation for their goods. During and after the war, multiple lawsuits were filed against the government seeking retribution for transportation of pre- and post-war refugees, repatriation of destitute seamen, loss of pay, patent infringement and requisition of vessels for government service. This volume contains all naval and maritime-related claims brought against the United States government from World War II. These cases are presented chronologically according to the date of the incident which led to the lawsuit. Additional background is included when necessary to fully explain the nature of the claim. Each lawsuit was initially filed in a United States district court then petitioned to Congress or filed directly with the Court of Claims in Washington, D.C. Appeals were made to the Supreme Court but are mentioned only if the decision of the lower court was reversed. Appendices contain a glossary of shipping terms and a list of pertinent acts of Congress. Photographs and an index are also included.

The aftermath of the Civil War presented exceptional legal questions. Bitter strife and desperate shortages on both sides resulted in extreme wartime measures enacted by the United States government. The Confiscation Act of 1861, which legalized the seizure of property, proved particularly harsh. To soften the effects of this act on loyal citizens residing in Confederate territory, the Act of March 12, 1863, created the special legal theory of abandoned or captured property. This legislation set up a special Treasury fund to reimburse owners for loss of goods upon proof of ownership and verification of loyalty to the Union. After the war, more than 500 plaintiffs brought a total of 1578 claims against the United States government, regarding wartime losses they had suffered. Arranged alphabetically by claimant surname, the entries in this book present the particulars of the cases heard by the United States Court of Claims after the war. A concise overview regarding legal aspects of the war is provided, with the main body of the work focusing on the cases. Necessarily limited to those reported in detail by the courts, the discussion of these claims include disputed contracts; pay disputes; compensation for use of property or property lost, destroyed or damaged; and quartermaster or paymaster money stolen, captured, or lost. Suits filed by northern states to recover war expenses are also listed. The appendices include 1860 census data, federal revised statutes, relevant acts of Congress and the 1864 Kentucky Draft Case claimants.

In the many historical accounts of D-Day, the Navy, Coast Guard and merchant marine, who transported troops to the invasion beaches and supported the attack, are often given scant attention. Film clips of landing craft unloading men into the surf and battleships firing on enemy emplacements are familiar yet comparatively little is known about the contributions of the marine services and what they accomplished during the Normandy Invasion. This book describes the Allied naval command structure for Operation Neptune and offers a comprehensive look at integrated offshore operations-how they were organized, who the sailors were and what they experienced.

After Pearl Harbor, the American sailors of the fabled Asiatic Fleet were abandoned by Washington and left to conduct a war solely on their own, isolated from the rest of the fleet, while Congress discussed the hiring of 600 "sports coordinators" President Roosevelt thought were necessary for the prosecution of the war, despite his early efforts to wake up a pacifist nation and Congress. For sailors in the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies there was no hope of seeing waves of battleships, aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers, submarines, and B-17s come over the horizon to save the day. Their fate was death aboard a burning, exploding ship, being executed upon being captured, or spending three and a half years as a prisoner, trying to avoid being murdered or dying of starvation or disease. Soldiers, sailors, and Marines were abandoned because of the failure of Washington to maintain a strong, well-prepared Navy in the face of Imperial Japanese and Nazi Germany aggression. Many books have been written about the ships of the Asiatic Fleet but this is the first book that looks behind the scenes through the writings of war correspondents and concentrates on the sailors who were on the ships.

The book provides the first, complete overview of the American merchant marine during World War I: the rapid expansion of trans-Atlantic shipping; a record of shipbuilding between 1914-1918, including the revival of sailing vessel construction and wood and concrete freighters; profiles of the companies that operated ships; a record of all losses at sea from enemy action; highlights of the experiences of mariners with U-boat commanders and crews, mines, and aircraft attacks; and the role of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.