Naval Battles, Explorations on the Agenda at Maritime History Conference in Bath
Contact: Warren Riess, Darling Marine Center, 207-563-3146; Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO, Maine — Marine historians will gather at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath at the end of May to share the results of their research on military, cultural and economic use of the oceans. About 80 members of the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) will meet May 29-31 to discuss explorations in northern waters, naval battles from the American Revolution to World War II and more recent maritime activities in the Pacific.
“These are the people who write the maritime history books,” says Warren Riess, research associate professor of history at the University of Maine and program chair for the conference. NASOH was created about 30 years ago after a meeting at UMaine and has met annually since then in locations such as Honolulu, Ontario, Alabama and San Francisco. The upcoming meeting is the first time the organization has held its annual conference in Maine. UMaine will co-host the event with the Maine Maritime Museum.
The public is welcome to attend the sessions that begin at 8 a.m. May 29. The full registration fee is $135 and includes lunches, a banquet, a coastal tour and bus transportation from the Museum to the Holiday Inn and Sebasco Harbor Resort in Bath.
Speakers come from academic, military and non-profit organizations. The theme is “Seafaring in Northern Waters,” although topics will range broadly, Riess says. Among the presentations are: prehistoric and European maritime contact in Maine; Manila galleon cargoes found on the California coast; the War of 1812 in Maine and Louisiana; the life of a ship captain from Kittery, Maine and the Russian famine of 1892; and the U.S. Navy in Vietnam.
More information about NASOH is available online at www.edu.edu/nasoh. A conference agenda is available from Riess at 207-563-3146, extension 244, or riess@maine.edu.