Regarding Henry

[JPK Huson 1863]

Holy Cow! That's a little amazing, gee whiz!

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Yeah, he'd definitely have to let the beard grow.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Rats, for some reason the 2nd photo you posted just did not show up on this computer yesterday..... silly on the redundancy, 'scuse!

The resemblence IS super, I really do think Walke's life would make a fabulous movie- and can anyone imagine how much the value of his works would increase if Hollywood did take an interest? Whew. Nice for the man's heir's, too I always think. SUCH an awesome heritage, how wonderful to have it recognized.

We have a good friend, awfully, awfully, nice man- his father was involved in that project, WW2, returning stolen treasures the Nazi's swiped. There's a movie coming out based on it. He's always been so proud of his father, lovely to see just from a family perspective. Well, because this older fellow is the only one left who is capable-sharp and amazing in 2013, they wrote his part into the movie so he could be available for press coverage. Talk about pop with pride, for his family- not from 'fame', from having their father's incredible acheivements recognized SO publically.You'd have to meet them to believe it- genuinely not mixing with stars or fame, it's being blessed with a heck of a Dad. I keep seeing trailors for that film, gives me the good kind of chills.

Anyway, always think it's great from a heritage standpoint, this stuff brought to light- book or movie.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Just a little update in case anyone's interested.

I had the opportunity to visit with a direct descendant of Henry Walke a few weeks ago (the same one I mentioned earlier in the thread), and I got to see a number of his possessions and effects, such as his admiral's epaulets, cocked hat (his head was smaller than mine is), swords (referred to in another thread), his Lieutenant's commission (signed by President Martin Van Buren), his personal Bible (singed in the battle with the Arkansas according to a handwritten note in it, and containing much valuable family history information), and many, many examples of his artwork; some I'd seen before, many I hadn't. I also found myself holding what was apparently the handwritten manuscript for his book (or possibly for the Century Magazine articles, later reprinted in Battles and Leaders). Astounding.

Also got to meet up with Andy Hall and his friend Edward T. Cotham for some great seafood at the Monument Inn near the San Jacinto Monument and the battleship Texas.

I've been busily transcribing documents I scanned on this visit and also a recent (re-)visit to Ross County Historical Society in Chillicothe, Ohio (to which I donated a couple of microfilm rolls from the National Archives that I was done with and a print of a Walke painting). I feel that my research is approaching the point where I can start knocking out the book, but, as always, I keep getting distracted by more research angles. I need to shut myself up in a closet somewhere and start writing...

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Gee. Thanks for that! We just had an entire week sans electricity, on an island in the middle of a lake. It's kind of heaven, zero distractions, you get a LOT of work done, not to mention wierdly listening to Century Magazine audio while picking blueberries. I was JUST there, with Henry's stuff, can't imagine seeing the manuscript. Hope it was that, not the book! Believe it or not, I spend a bit of time wondering about old Henry, also. More, since I came across some articles in New York newspapers on him. That personality thing- I'm very interested to see how he turns out in your book. Bet it's very close, all the research and personal visits like this one, bound to be!

Louise Dickinson Rich used Parker's advice on the art of writing being the art of applying one's seat to the seat of chair, only in more Dorothy Parker-esque language. Much luck, I'd have to guess the tough part would be over, with the research and notes. Bet we won't see very much of the Naval War host for a little time!

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Still plugging along, finishing up on some transcriptions and running down more details.

One of the odd/frustrating things I've encountered (not the first time I've observed this, but it's much on my mind) is that I seem unable to get a clear image in my mind of Walke's personality, of what it was like to interact with him. Despite his fairly detailed writings, they are nearly devoid of any personal details. I know he mostly attended Episcopalian church services (though his father was a long-time Presbyterian); I have no idea what his politics were, though as his father was a strong Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican, Henry was likely a Democrat. If any personal letters to his family have survived, I haven't run across them; those would be a gold mine for getting farther into his skull. He seems to have continually looked out for his family, for instance getting his oldest son a series of jobs, yet he hardly even acknowledged in his histories that that son was wounded at Fort Donelson. In a number of cases, he expresses regret at his having to oppose those whom he sees as his countrymen and relations, reminiscencing fondly on domestic memories that clearly show his family owned slaves while in Virginia, and yet he is adamantly opposed to the 'treason' of secession and exhibited no qualms about taking in escaped slaves.

He appears in a few personal accounts by others on the Western rivers, and three things seem consistent: he seems to have had a quick temper and an equally quick cool-down (his steward, describing a sharp dressing-down, said that five minutes later 'a child could have played with him safely'), he frequently acted in ways that show a large dose of compassion (watching out for the sailors' welfare, arranging to house and feed a large number of contrabands even when criticized by other naval officers for doing so), and it seems he was always ready with a Biblical quote for nearly any situation. Some of his correspondence reveals a bit of a wry sense of humor, and he was unquestionably fascinated by details, both visually and in matters of procedure and etiquette.

This sort of description will have to suffice, I suppose. I just wish I knew him a little better.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Sorry to be stalking your ' Henry ' thread- confess to doing so, I think probably because Walke hasn't been one of those flash in the pan discoveries for me, where one finds an interesting personality and moves on- he just gets more interesting with everything read. Boy, must be terribly frustrating so familiar with all aspects of the man, not too many clues on what he was like. He does remind me quite a lot of my grgrandfather- the Forest Gump one who was everywhere. Army officer, doc, should have been an engineer ( battleax mother had a lot to do with career path ) .

I do always think these folks of huge compassion must have an odd kick in their gallop, when it comes to singular thinking. It took a lot of tthat to do some of the things he did, risk his professional career like he did for other sailor's lives. That was amazing to me. It sounds like he may have been a little difficult to interact with, really. Yes, very, very kind but anyone who would DO that also is not going to suffer fools gladly- for some reason they have the ability to see some huge overview of situations, take matters into their own hands and deal with what needs to be done instead of what other people tell them should be done. Talk about an original thinker. I don't know- I realize you're not actually asking for opinions, so please excuse. It just seems to me Henry Walke saw some things SO, so clearly, that as kind as he was, he also may not have indulged in a lot of small talk, or beating around the bush, or general politicing. He seems to have just gone out and DONE what was required, when various idjits remained in a muddle. May have been a little dismissive or impatient ( esp given that quick temper you said he had ) with the muddlers themselves, no matter who they were?

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

... Looking for motivation ...

When it comes to reading about the Civil War and its naval history, I'm all over it. When something intrigues me, I follow that rabbit down the hole and find out.

But I just have not been able to get into the swing of writing about it. It's very frustrating. Sometimes I think I'm ready to roll, and it's always when I'm busy doing something else and can't break away... when I do make time to sit down at the keyboard, a whole lot of nothing happens.

The clock is ticking... I expect it'll be easier to interest editors and publishers in a Civil War topic while the sesquicentennial is still going on than it will be later on; and I am utterly positive that I have enough research and source material. Sure, there are still some unanswered questions and other things I wonder about, but if I waited for omniscience I'd never get going...

Don't mind me... just blowing off some steam. (Which phrase comes directly from steam engines... a hot boiler kept producing steam, and if it didn't go somewhere, it would just keep raising the pressure in the boiler. The engineer had to either reduce the heat, eject some steam into the atmosphere, or use it to move the engine. Pardon the digression...)

My intended co-author is still working on his current project, so I'm not getting pressure from that angle yet. But I'd sure like to be farther along than I am when it comes time for him to start actively contributing. Ideally, I'd have an entire manuscript for him to look over, add to, and suggest changes, rather than some partly-written chapters and a lot of notes that seem organized to me but may not appear so to someone else.

Sigh...

 

[ExNavyPilot]

... Looking for motivation ...

When it comes to reading about the Civil War and its naval history, I'm all over it. When something intrigues me, I follow that rabbit down the hole and find out.

But I just have not been able to get into the swing of writing about it. It's very frustrating. Sometimes I think I'm ready to roll, and it's always when I'm busy doing something else and can't break away... when I do make time to sit down at the keyboard, a whole lot of nothing happens.

The clock is ticking... I expect it'll be easier to interest editors and publishers in a Civil War topic while the sesquicentennial is still going on than it will be later on; and I am utterly positive that I have enough research and source material. Sure, there are still some unanswered questions and other things I wonder about, but if I waited for omniscience I'd never get going...

Don't mind me... just blowing off some steam. (Which phrase comes directly from steam engines... a hot boiler kept producing steam, and if it didn't go somewhere, it would just keep raising the pressure in the boiler. The engineer had to either reduce the heat, eject some steam into the atmosphere, or use it to move the engine. Pardon the digression...)

My intended co-author is still working on his current project, so I'm not getting pressure from that angle yet. But I'd sure like to be farther along than I am when it comes time for him to start actively contributing. Ideally, I'd have an entire manuscript for him to look over, add to, and suggest changes, rather than some partly-written chapters and a lot of notes that seem organized to me but may not appear so to someone else.

Sigh...

I feel for you, Mark. Writing is hard work. And when you demand high standards of yourself, it's just that much harder. I'm sure that you'll find a way to press through your difficulty and start putting words on paper. Once you break that logjam, I'm sure you'll find the words flowing like the Porter's vessels through the breach in Bailey's Dam on the Red River.

 

[ole]

But I just have not been able to get into the swing of writing about it. It's very frustrating. Sometimes I think I'm ready to roll, and it's always when I'm busy doing something else and can't break away... when I do make time to sit down at the keyboard, a whole lot of nothing happens.

A hint, Mark, that always worked for me: Just start writing. Don't worry about what to say, just start. You can always throw the first pages away. Meanwhile, you get the juices flowing.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Sorry to be intrusive, just curious. What is it you're stuck with/on, ' just ' that motivation ' thing ' you're referring to, which Ole pretty much wrapped up? If so, hate to stick an oar in ( Ha! That pun works ) have you done anything like just ' started in the middle ', i.e. , taken one of your favorite moments or anecdotes, fleshed it out and written it exactly as if you're relating it to another person out loud and just put it on paper- worry about cleaning it up later? It works, like Ole said, gets to juices flowing plus you have something to put in place at a later date.

I tend to work out ideas and form in my head while doing something else- I don't know, driving, running, whatever, because sitting and staring at the computer doesn't work for me, at ALL. ( driving while doing this is dicey-have driven past exits more than once in a creative fog... ) I'll write it out in dreadful longhand, then have something to revise ( if I can read it ) when time is blocked out for a computer re-write.. Also have a few to page through and choose from, if one doesn't make things flow, another will. I'm guessing writers like yourself have extremely high bars set for yourself, as ExNavy said- I don't have any because really do not know what I'm doing, have just been able to ascertain what on earth ' works ' for me.

Hope one of the members here ( published authors galore ) comes up with something helpful- your subject matter is certainly something which you're passionate about, so the individual key is there somewhere. I just saw that ' Regarding Henry ' had activity, always happy to come see what might be new on Henry Walke.

OH! P.s. Have you looked into the programs which turn spoken word into type? Haven't myself, not sure it would work for me- this stuff comes out better silently, don't ask me why. I do hear some folks LOVE this thing, possibly the ones who organise thought very well?

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

A hint, Mark, that always worked for me: Just start writing. Don't worry about what to say, just start. You can always throw the first pages away. Meanwhile, you get the juices flowing.

Sorry to be intrusive, just curious. What is it you're stuck with/on, ' just ' that motivation ' thing ' you're referring to, which Ole pretty much wrapped up? If so, hate to stick an oar in ( Ha! That pun works ) have you done anything like just ' started in the middle ', i.e. , taken one of your favorite moments or anecdotes, fleshed it out and written it exactly as if you're relating it to another person out loud and just put it on paper- worry about cleaning it up later? It works, like Ole said, gets to juices flowing plus you have something to put in place at a later date.

This method has worked for me in the past, but I'm having trouble getting into it this time around. (Part of the problem is that I require a span of uninterrupted time to think about it, and that's been scarce recently... for instance, this week so far has been filled with work and kid-related events such as Family Reading Night at the elementary school on Tuesday, Academic Awards "banquet" at the high school yesterday, and tonight is our oldest daughter's 17th birthday party... I've barely had a chance to read the newspaper. Before kids, I thought the biggest problem I'd have with them would be discipline, but the biggest problem is time management...)

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I've only just gotten back to the Walke thread, what blasphemy! I gather the log jam has been blasted? Where's J. Bailey when you need him? And yes, the discipline part is def the easiest, plus, I am under the impression mine are humoring me regardless, when it's applied. I'm informed I'm just not frightening. There really is just no TIME for everything! Wait until they live in all parts of the country, with grandchildren.

Couldn't decide where to put this Island 10 blurb discovered in a NY paper, guess where it should be?

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

By the way, although Pope is a popular whipping-boy for his misadventures in the East, due credit should be given him for continuing to spur on a very reluctant Foote to send gunboats past the Island No. 10 batteries. Foote reaped an undue share of the rewards for an operation he had rather staunchly opposed.

 

[Bonny Blue Flag]

Mark, I learned a method for preparing my senior term theme that works, for me.

- Start out with a general outline of the book you want to write.
- Create a more detailed outline.
(I then repeat the process for source material - general outline of what I have then a more detailed outline of where I got it - names,places, etc. This helps when I need to look up something a second time, either by subject or by source. I do the same thing with the subject matter)
- Source material - individual files for each source.
- Subject matter - each source is subdivided into subject matter. Photos have their own folder here.
- I create 3 x 5 index cards of topic sentences, one per paragraph, each listing the source, etc. (in the days before computers)
- Then I place the cards in an order that creates paragraphs. If I dont like the order, then I can rearrange them, add more, etc. This gives me the bare bones of what I am writing.
- When I think I have what I want, I take a few of the cards at a time and type up what I have to see if it reads smoothly. This becomes my first rough draft.

--BBF

 

[James N.]

... I gather the log jam has been blasted? Where's J. Bailey when you need him?

JPK H, you're "mixing metaphors", so to speak! The famous Red River logjam known as The Great Raft was "blasted" first by Henry Shreve ( who Shreveport is named for ) and finally by the U.S. Corps of Engineers; Lt. Col. Bailey BUILT his dam at Alexandria/Pineville. So Bailey wasn't a "dam buster" but a dam bulider!

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Thanks VERY much James N- you know, it felt a little wrong yesterday-and it's a big shame since I'm a huge Red River DAM fan, as in the story around it and the ships making the run over it, being saved. ' Shreve ', thank you- that's new for me, have read about the blast, had not picked up on Henry Shreve as the instrumental person.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Oh my, BBF, wish I could sit on my hands, be so organized, must save a ton of rewrite. For me, once the chapter/subsection begins taking shape, it tends to develop legs all by itself, sometimes turns into something which has to be relegated to an entirely different section, then you have to start allll over to create the intended portion.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Shreve's another person I need to know more about. (Adding him to the list.)

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Capsule bio:

Henry Walke was born in coastal Virginia near Norfolk on Christmas Eve, 1808. Early in his youth, his father moved the family to southern Ohio, settling near the new state's first capital, Chillicothe. Henry attended the Academy in Chillicothe and, failing to obtain an appointment to West Point, became a midshipman in the Navy in 1827. In his very first assignment, he was under the tutelage of Lieutenant (future Admiral) David Glasgow Farragut, and one of his early shipmates in the Caribbean was his future superior, Andrew Hull Foote. Aboard the brig Ontario in 1829, off the coast of Spain, he volunteered to lead sailors aloft in a hurricane to furl the main topsail, probably saving the ship. He served in the ship of the line North Carolina in her cruise in the southern Pacific, and was a lieutenant aboard the sloop Boston in her Far East assignment and round-the-world cruise in company with the frigate Constellation.

While assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, he met and married his first wife, Sarah Jane Aim, by whom he had a son, Henry A. Walke. (Henry's own middle name was the same, Augustus, but he himself never used either the name or initial.) In the Mexican War, he served as the executive officer aboard the 'bomb brig' Vesuvius in the expedition up the Tobasco (Grijalva) River, until an unspecified difficulty with his commanding officer led to his being transferred to the flagship Mississippi. After the war, he served aboard the Bainbridge off the Brazilian coast, returning to the U.S. as commander of the captured Dutch slaver Albert. He was assigned several times to the receiving ship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, his old ship North Carolina, and he settled his family in Brooklyn, which he was to call home for the rest of his life.

In 1855, he was moved to the Reserved List on furlough pay by the Naval Efficiency Board; he and other affected officers fought this action and he was restored to active duty in early 1859, with the restoration (and promotion to Commander) backdated to 1855. Also in 1855, he lost his wife Sarah to cancer; he married again, but his second wife, Jane, also died. A few years later he married a third time, to the widowed Julia Reed, with whom he had two sons and two daughters; all outlived Henry. In 1860, he commanded the storeship Supply, provisioning the African and Home Squadrons, and at the end of the year he put into Pensacola to load supplies for the squadron at Vera Cruz. He and the Supply were therefore present when the Pensacola Navy Yard surrendered to Florida state forces in January 1861, and he was active in reinforcing Fort Pickens. Court-martialed for bringing refugees from the Navy Yard north to New York in violation of orders, he was exiled to a post as a lighthouse inspector; but with the formation of the Western Gunboat Flotilla on the Mississippi and tributaries and the consequent need for naval officers to command the gunboats, he was sent West to assume command of the gunboat Tyler.

Walke's arrival caused a command crisis, as he outranked Commander John Rodgers, who had overseen the initial development of the flotilla, and factored in Rodgers' decision not to remain with the Western gunboats. Walke commanded the gunboats supporting Grant at the early battle of Belmont, effectively covering Grant's withdrawal under fire. Given command of the new partly-armored gunboat Carondelet, Walke served capably at Forts Henry and Donelson, and broke into the headlines with his run past Island No. 10 on the Mississippi. The Carondelet also played significant roles in the battles at Plum Point Bend and Memphis, and was one of the few Western gunboats to fight an ironclad, when the CSS Arkansas appeared above Vicksburg in July 1862. The Carondelet was disabled with heavy damage in this engagement and headed north for repairs. Promoted to Captain, and back in command near Vicksburg in December, Walke suffered a historic loss in the flotilla under his command when the gunboat Cairo was sunk by mines ("torpedoes") in the Yazoo River. Shortly thereafter, Walke was assigned to speed the completion of the new ironclad Lafayette, which he then commanded until after the fall of Vicksburg.

He was given a few months' leave and ordered to the command of the fast blockader Fort Jackson, but when the captain of the cruiser Sacramento fell ill, Walke was the most senior officer available and he took command of her instead. Assigned to chase the raider Alabama, Walke tracked her from the Western Isles to Rio and Cape Town, and returned to European waters only days after the Confederate ship had been sunk by the Kearsarge off Cherbourg. His ship then monitored events on the European coast, checking on the would-be raider Rappahannock and the former raider Georgia, and supported the Niagara in confronting the French-built ironclad CSS Stonewall.

After the war's end, he was promoted to Commodore and given the command of the naval station at Mound City, Illinois, where he directed part of the process of demobilization in the Mississippi river system. In 1871, he was promoted to Rear Admiral and then retired on his own application; he was promptly recalled to active duty by Admiral David Dixon Porter, for whom he served on several boards. Permanently retired by about 1873, he concentrated on writing his memoirs of the war on the Western waters and painting, as well as remaining active in veterans' organizations such as the G.A.R. He died in Brooklyn in March 1896 after a short but severe attack of influenza and was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery there. Three U.S. destroyers have been named for him.