Tag: star

buttons

Recently I came across a news item where the United States Navy once again redesigned its working uniform.  Over the past decade, sailors complained they did not like the blue and purple or kelp green digital camouflage uniforms issued them by the fleet, nor did they appreciate having to change uniforms to and from work – Navy regulations forbade work uniforms being seen off-base although this directive has since loosened.  The Navy cited the uniform’s unpopularity as a factor for the redesign, but the real impetus was that the uniform’s nylon-cotton blend in a fire “will burn robustly until completely consumed” – in other words: it melts into the skin.  The new uniform is fire retardant and has the innovation that instead of buttons, it uses only velcro and zippers. The selling point of the latter is it is perfect for the flight deck since the uniform would not be a vector for the introduction of debris into aircraft engines. Buttons no more? 

USN Black Anchor Button (gutta purcha), 1930s. Col.: IW.

The button is such a commonplace item that it is taken for granted and paid not much attention.  A button on a coat, shirt, or trousers is an ever-present – simple molded affair or complex construction.  And yet despite being so small, the uniform button is often laden with symbolism endemic to the organization that wears it.  In the American maritime profession, British traditions hold sway and along with them British forms and configuration of a uniform with the placement and design of buttons.  Fortuitously. coupled with fabric and insignia construction, buttons offer an excellent means of identifying the context of uniforms and their period of manufacture. and in the context of this project, where a seaman figured within a ship’s hierarchy.

Below, please find my reference collection, as well as an interesting button collection at the American Merchant Marine Museum – the Dollar Lines button, is amazing. I have another page devoted to the buttons of United States Lines, here.

Do note: I am not a button collector by any stretch of the imagination, but I keep a collection of buttons to assist with identifying and dating uniforms and uniform items. Buttons are one of those items easily overlooked, yet understanding them provides a wealth of information.

united states navy

Many United States Navy buttons were manufactured in England; however, with the emigration of British artisans to New England, a button industry sprang up in Connecticut. Many of these early buttons were of sophisticated composition and had fine detail. The Waterbury button (NA-113) is a good example of this craftsmanship; some contracts were better than others, and for mass-market buttons, items such as NA-115 could be had (this came from the estate of an ex-American Mail Lines quartermaster). The plain anchor button of the Chief Petty Officer is often confused with that of a general nautical button; however, each of the examples presented shows the variation on a theme. With the re-design of the CPO reefer from eight to six buttons, buttons once exclusively worn by officers became standard for CPOs. The buttons marked a CPO and in nickel were worn by officer wardroom stewards; by the 1940s, the nickel buttons came to be replaced by white plastic buttons.

united states government marine

Included in the “Government Marine” section of my button collection is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers button. This button came from a reefer worn by a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dredge Fleet – these individuals were (and are) civilians in the employ of the Army who keep U.S. waterways passable. Among these buttons is the seldom-seen U.S. Maritime Commission (U.S. Maritime Service) button for both ship’s officers and stewards; this button has been all but forgotten, but reflects the close affinity of the nascent U.S. Maritime Service (USMS) with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). In 1941, the training mission of USMS was removed from the USCG and placed under the jurisdiction of the War Shipping Administration (WSA); I discuss the changes in USMS insignia here. The button of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA GO-26 and GO26-B) is a bit less straightforward and I will write about it at length at another date; suffice to say, the USMMA button became a “catch-all” maritime button, despite the existence of a such a button for that explicit use (see “Merchant Marine Generic, obverse” below). The USMMA “steward” button is a prime example of this shift.

united states merchant marine, schools, and organizations

Of interest is the “generic” Merchant Marine button; it was sold by Leopold Morse, Company which was an upscale Boston clothier that had also dabbled in uniforming Union officers during the United States Civil War. This button is fascinating as it illustrates the NOMMP button, which is a derivation of one of the oldest American nautical buttons – the New York Yacht Club. I have a selection of United States Lines (USL) button detailed here. Unlike this page, I analyze the timeline of USL button adoption and wear.

american merchant marine museum collection

The AMMM collection of maritime buttons has an absolute jewel in the form of the Dollar Steamship Line button. This entity was in existence from 1929 through 1938, and was ultimately seized by the United States Maritime Commission. What makes this button of particular interest is how a previous owner had made an effort to both pick out and file down the two pillars in the dollar symbol, thereby making it an S. Another button of interest is the C on a swallowtail. What makes this button interesting is how the designer (presumably) followed traditional heraldic tincture rules – the flag field would be green and the C would be on a white lozenge. If the rules were followed, it would not be the flag of W.R. Chamberlin.

References

Albert, Alphaeus H. (1977). Record of American Uniform & Historical Buttons 1775-1976. Bicentennial Edition. Hightstown: Alphaeus H. Albert.

This is the classic button reference. It shows most of the Armed Services. Government, and Merchant Marine issues. It is incorrect in attribution for many merchant marine buttons and lacks dates – but, at least it shows the major varieties (something is better than nothing).

McGuinn, William and Bazelow, Bruce S. (2006). American Military Button Makers and Dealers; Their Backmarks & Dates. McLean, Virginia: William McGuinn & Brice S. Bazelow.

A catalog of backmarks along with brief histories of manufacturers.

VanCourt, Don. (1998). Transportation Uniform Buttons, Vol. III: Maritime and Aviation. Madison, New Jersey: Don VanCourt.

The only reference on commercial maritime uniform buttons; the author uses McGuinn and Bazelow to assist in cross-referencing button dates.

mementos

Scrapbooks and snapshots capture ephemeral moments and act as sentinels for memory. In the period between the wars, scrapbooking was a great American pastime with families collecting bits and pieces of their lives to memorialize; this cultural phenomenon was not lost on members of the military or seafaring professions. During the Second World War, ever-present aboard ships, training stations, and at the maritime academies were shutterbugs and official photographers taking photographs and others carefully pasting, taping, or hinging memories away.

More often than not, when the dust settled merchant seamen tended not to speak about The War, leaving their children and grandchildren to wonder about their service to the country. Oftentimes, tucked away in an old trunk or in a box they left behind clues, such as a U.S. Department of Commerce “Seaman’s Identification Wallet.” These thick black oilskin wallets embossed with a twin-stacked steamship or a four funnel liner held a seamen’s work history and identity documents – from their discharge slips, Seaman’s passport, to award cards. Sometimes they might have a prayer or a photo of a loved one inside. These wallets had a chain on them to be linked to a seaman’s belt loop – that way, if the owner was blown overboard, their documents would go with them.

Other indicators of a life on the sea were union books and the once-hated Continuous Discharge Book. The latter was derisively called a “fink book” by the more militant union rank and file. Fink books could hold secret markings by masters upon pay off stating whether or not a seaman was a troublemaker, thus affecting future impartial employment and the use of the rotary system of ship assignment. Or at least that was the fear. Many books may have had a single entry during the course of the war – some mariners signed on to a single ship and it sailed to and fro for the duration. After that, short-timers left the industry, leaving this singular record for others to ponder.

When I look at these ephemera and photographs or flip through fink books, it helps me create a pastiche of the time and the lives of those on the sea during the war years.

Albums, Photos & Ephemera

Mementos and trauma
Samizdat
Rudolph P. Aron
Gale Rutter
William Tillman, Jr.
Robert “Bob” P. Neukum
Charles P. Lloyd

Seamens Identification Wallets & Fink Books

Irving Nachwalter
Anthony J. Morengo

ats, nts, msts & msc

The United States Army’s experience in troop transport during the Spanish-American War was dismal at best.  The United States Navy could not help to move men and material since its function was limited to being seaborne gun platforms, and many of the contractors the Army relied upon turned tail at the last moment.  To control the logistics process, the Army embarked upon building and maintaining its own permanent fleet.  The Army Transport Service (ATS), which was later restyled as the Army Transportation Corps – Water Division (ATC-WD) in the middle of the Second World War, became the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) when it merged with its analog, the Naval Trasport Service (NTS) immediately post-war.  In the 1970s it was rebranded as the Military Sealift Command (MSC). Through each of its iterations, civilians always manned these ships. Interestingly, there has always been continuity in the civilian mariners’ uniform insignia providing hints to the organization’s origin.  The following are some pages regarding “The Army’s Navy” and its successors.

The Ghost Fleet

A T S  &  A T C – W D

N T S

M S T S  &  M S C

Collection entries

united states maritime service

Not many people know what to make of today’s United States Maritime Service (USMS).  At the United States Merchant Marine Academy, midshipmen call it the “United States Mystery Service” since many had not heard of it prior to enrollment at Kings Point. There’s a bit more to it than that: it is, in its own words, “a uniformed, semi-military, organization.” With the reorganization of the uniformed services in the late-1950s, the USMS was not included; it remained and is a “uniformed civil service.”

Posts & Pages

U.S. Maritime Service Awards
mm dsm recipient photographs
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer
united states maritime service: an introduction
usms publications
usms rates, 1945
usmm uniforms: slate gray uniform, 1943
usmma uniforms: service dress khaki 1960-1970
NOMMP not USSB
A mysterious old photograph
usms uniforms: enlisted & unlicensed trainees
usms cap badges
usms shoulder boards
mm dsm citations
mm dsm roll of honor
usms garrison caps
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer

Collection items

seaman’s identification wallets & fink books

More often than not, when the dust settled merchant seamen tended not to speak about The War, leaving their children and grandchildren to wonder about their service to the country. Oftentimes, tucked away in an old trunk or in a box they left behind clues, such as a U.S. Department of Commerce “Seaman’s Identification Wallet.” These thick black oilskin wallets embossed with a twin-stacked steamship or a four funnel liner held a seamen’s work history and identity documents – from their discharge slips, Seaman’s passport, to award cards. Sometimes they might have a prayer or a photo of a loved one inside. These wallets had a chain on them to be linked to a seaman’s belt loop – that way, if the owner was blown overboard, their documents would go with them.

Other indicators of a life on the sea were union books and the once-hated Continuous Discharge Book. The latter was derisively called a “fink book” by the more militant union rank and file. Fink books could hold secret markings by masters upon pay off stating whether or not a seaman was a troublemaker, thus affecting future impartial employment and the use of the rotary system of ship assignment. Or at least that was the fear. Many books may have had a single entry during the course of the war – some mariners signed on to a single ship and it sailed to and fro for the duration. After that, short-timers left the industry, leaving this singular record for others to ponder.

Irving Nachwalter
Anthony J. Morengo

polar exploration

The British and American enterprise to explore the Antarctic has always been a source of fascination for me. As a young child, I was always interested to hear about sailors who came back from Operation Deep Freeze, and as a teen, I daydreamed over books about Scott, Amundson, and Shackelton and their daring adventures at the South Pole. I have a few pages which detail various aspects of that interest as they relate to matters maritime.

RRS Shackleton plaque
RRS John Biscoe, Signy Base & King Edward Cove 1960s
British Antarctic Survey

seaman albums, scrapbooks & mementos

Scrapbooks and snapshots capture ephemeral moments and act as sentinels for memory. In the period between the wars, scrapbooking was a great American pastime with families collecting bits and pieces of their lives to memorialize; this cultural phenomenon was not lost on members of the military or seafaring professions. During the Second World War, ever present aboard ships, training stations, and at the maritime academies were shutterbugs and official photographers taking photographs and others carefully pasting, taping, or hinging memories away.

When I look at these ephemera and photographs, it helps me create a pastiche of the time and the lives of those on the sea during the war years.

★ signifies collection is online.

crossing the line

One of my favorite things to think about is the ritual process where individuals pass from one state to another. We have our sweet sixteens, confirmations, baptisms, graduation ceremonies, inductions into secret societies, and so forth. We have markers – some permanent, others not – when we change from one status to another. Some societies tattoo to indicate these changes; ours hands out certificates or other tokens.

Shipboard life is a microcosm of the society from which the sailors come. Traditions such as these speak of how power has the threat of real physical violence behind it and when violence, even in play is acted upon, an individual’s social body – their person – is molded, for good or bad.

Below find various photographs, certificates, and tokens from Crossing the Line ceremonies – one the most marked of rituals participated by generations of seafarers over the centuries. In this ceremony, they venture into the topsy-turvy and enter the realm of Neptunus Rex.

TS Empire State 1930s

At some point during one of its cruises, cadets from the New York State Merchant Marine Academy crossed the line. Their hijinx were recorded by a staff member. Clearly visible are the running of the pollywogs, the ritual shaving, and the summons before King Neptune’s court; these photographs are part of a larger collection found here.

USS Santa Fe 1943

These photographs capture a “Crossing the Line” ceremony that took place onboard an American destroyer during the Second World War. In the midst of war and despite the potential for death at the hands of the enemy, the sailors re-enacted a ceremony passed down for centuries from sailor to sailor. The ceremony is bizarre: when a ship crosses the Equator, the ship stops and pays homage and fealty to King Neptune. He comes aboard and men who have Crossed the Line before, and along with Neptune’s Court initiate the men as his subjects. The pollywogs, as the uninitiated are called, are humiliated at every turn: they are shaven, spanked, and have their masculinity is challenged; finally, after further degradation in a watery pool, they are reborn as “Trusty Shellbacks” and pledge loyalty to King Neptune and join in fraternity with their fellow sailors. The ceremony crosses all lines of rank and class – from captain to mess-man.

A participant’s “War Book” is here.

fort schuyler

Fort Schuyler is the home of the State University of New York Maritime College, commonly known as SUNY Maritime. The school has had many names through the years, among them New York State Nautical School, New York State Merchant Marine Academy, and New York State Maritime Academy; I find it convenient to call it Fort Schuyler – its permanent home since 1929.

NameAbbreviationDates
New York State Nautical SchoolN.Y.S.N.S.1847-1929
New York State Merchant Marine AcademyN.Y.S.M.M.A.1929-1941
New York State Maritime AcademyN.Y.S.M.A1941-1948
State University of New York Maritime CollegeSUNY Maritime1948-present
All the names.

Below please find various pages with content devoted to or with content pertaining to Fort Schuyler’s cadets or faculty.

empire state 1932-1933
crossing the line
fort schuyler cadet corps uniform notes
buttons
usmma james harvey tomb chapeau
the saga of fort schuyler
William Tillman, Jr.
suny insignia

us army corps of engineers

dredge personnel

The U.S. Army once had a fleet of ships that rivaled that of the U.S. Navy.   With the merge of the U.S. Army-managed Army Transport Service and its successor organizations with that of the U.S. Navy, Navy Transport Service into the U.S. Military Sea Transportation Service in the late-1940s, one of the few U.S. Army waterborne activities remaining was that of the Floating Plant and Dredge & Lock personnel attached to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Below is a recruitment booklet circa 1960s.

Blog Posts

Collection entries