Facial Hair Friday: Herman Melville

Today’s post comes from Alyssa Manfredi at the National Archives History Office. Herman Melville is still revered today as one of the great American writers. Over his career, Melville wrote 17 short stories, 11 novels, and countless essays and poems.  Herman Melville. (National Archives Identifier 209202332) Melville was born in New York City in 1819, … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Herman Melville

Herman Melville: A Voyage into History

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of Prologue magazine. Herman Melville's classic American novel, Moby-Dick, was first published in the United States on November 14, 1851. In Moby-Dick and his earlier books, Melville called upon his own experience aboard whaling ships, most notably his 18 months spent aboard the Acushnet, sailing out … Continue reading Herman Melville: A Voyage into History

Mutiny on the high seas

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In the history of the United States Navy, no formal mutiny on the high seas has ever occurred, though one was narrowly averted on the storied decks of the USS Somers in 1842. Without a Naval academy to train future … Continue reading Mutiny on the high seas