"Enlisted Training During the Age of Sail and Early Steam"
Join Commander Dennis Ringle, USN (RET.), of Henry Ford Community College, on Thursday, November 17th as he presents Enlisted Training During the Age of Sail and Early Steam. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM and is free and open to the public. Today when civilians enlist in the United States Navy they receive at a minimum two months of intense training prior to reporting to their first duty station. It was not always this way during the navy’s first seventy years of existence. During this period the ship’s commanding officer was responsible for filling the warships manifest to the best of his ability. The recruitment of skilled sailors during this period was difficult and in most cases required the enlisting of large numbers of men with no nautical skills. It would be the responsibility of the handful of seasoned tars to instruct the new recruits in the “way of the seaman.” This training occurred daily while the ship proceeded to its distant duty station or in some instances, sailing immediately into harm’s way. Commander Ringle uses numerous letters, diaries and journals to describe the unique “on the job” training methods applied by a handful of skilled sailors serving in a man of war during our nation’s struggle for international respect and trade.
Commander Ringle graduated from Wayne State University before entering the Navy via Officers Candidate School, Newport, RI. He later earned master’s degrees from Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University. He retired from the U.S. Navy in 1997. Dennis is a currently a member of the faculty at Henry Ford Community College where he teaches Early and Modern American History, Civil War, WWII and Sea Power, and History of the U.S. Navy.
Commander Ringle is author of Life in Mr. Lincoln’s Navy, published by the Naval Institute Press. The book was the History Book Club’s featured book for the month in 1999.
The Lecture will be presented at Fort Meigs in the visitor center located at 29100 West River Road in Perrysburg on Thursday, November 17th at 7:30 PM. The program is sponsored by the Anderton Bentley Fund in memory of Christopher Perky, who served at Fort Meigs during the War of 1812. For more information on this event and all of the events at Fort Meigs call 800-283-8916 or visit us on-line at www.fortmeigs.org
Press Release Contact Name: Rick Finch
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: Fort Meigs