The 1805 Dispatches #21.05 October 2021 5 of 6 LATE NEWS EXTRA It is intended that the The 1805 Dispatches will usually have a four-page format, but one of the joys of digitalonly publications is that there is a flexibility that is unavailable to printed matter. In August, twelve 1805 Club members (and spouses) enjoyed a two-hour Potomac River cruise aboard the Tall ShipProvidence. Launching from Alexandria, Virginia, we had fun recognizing familiar landmarks on the shore: Maryland’s MGM Grand Casino, Virginia’s Reagan National Airport, and the Washington Monument and US Capitol upriver in Washington, DC. Afterwards we dined at the Hummingbird Restaurant in Old Towne, Alexandria, with participants from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Bravo to US Secretary, Pete Stark for arranging the outing and to Peter Pennington for recommending the restaurant! The Tall Ship Providence is a replica of the sloop Katy; ownedby John Brown of Providence, Rhode Island. Built in 1769, Katy was a merchant ship, privateer, and whaler. In 1775 she became the flagship of Rhode Island, opposing the Royal Navy’s enforcement of British tax laws on maritime trade. In 1775 the Continental Congress passed legislation to purchase Katy for the Continental Navy. Katy was refitted in Philadelphia and renamed Providence in honor of Rhode Island’s capital city and, during four years of service, she took more than 40 prizes. In 1779, in the Penobscot Expedition to eject the British from American shores, she was burned, with other Continental Navy ships, to thwart capture by the British. To commemorate the US Bicentennial in 1976, the Bicentennial Council funded several projects, one being to build a replica of Providence, for the “Seaport 76” tall ship fleet. In 1995 she was sold to Providence, Rhode Island to serve as the city’s symbol. The city created the Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation to maintain her. In 2004 she appeared in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, but in 2005 the foundation folded and Providence went into dry dock. She had a private owner for four years and returned to dry dock, lapsing into a deteriorating condition. The Tall Ship Providence Foundation formed in 2017 to return the ship to her former glory. After renovation, she sailed to her new home in Alexandria, Virginia where she now delights the city with tours, cruises, and private charters. To learn more, visit the web site for the Tall Ship Providence Foundation at https://tallshipprovidence.org EAST COAST US 1805 CLUB MEMBERS ENJOY A CRUISE ON THE TALL SHIP PROVIDENCE, By Dr Judy Pearson 2021 MCMULLEN NAVAL HISTORY SYMPOSIUM U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, USA By Pete Stark The 2021 McMullen Naval History Symposium took place September 23 – 24. The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis MD USA, hosted this worldwide symposium, expertly employing the latest technology to enable video attendance and research presentation with minimal issues. This capability expanded conference attendance, with approximately 300 attending in person, and 300 attending virtually. The Academy History Department hosts this “world-renowned biennial event to highlight the latest research on naval and maritime history from world-wide academics and practitioners.” Since 2015 The 1805 Club has sponsored a panel of naval/maritime historians presenting their research. This year’s panel, chaired by ▻
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