On the morning of March 1; 1942; the WWI-era destroyer USS Edsall--under orders to deliver some forty Army Air Force fighter crews to the beleaguered island of Java--split off from the USS Whipple and the tanker Pecos and was never seen again by Allied forces. Despite the later discovery of bodies identified as Edsall crewmembers near a remote airfield on the coast of Celebes; what happened to the ship remains a matter of mystery and; perhaps; deliberate obfuscation. This book explores the many puzzling facets of the Edsall’s disappearance in order to finally tell the full story of the fate of the vessel and her crew. Based on exhaustive research of the historical record--including newly deciphered Japanese documents and previously unrevealed material from the crew’s family members--Upon a Blue Sea of Blood offers a painstaking reconstruction of the ship’s history. The book investigates not only the Edsall’s mysterious final action; but also her wide-ranging pre-war career and the curious uses to which her story was put--generally under false pretenses--first by the pre-war U.S. Navy and then by the Japanese wartime propaganda machine. And finally; military historian Donald Kehn considers the circumstances surrounding the curious obscurity of the Edsall’s heroic service and final battle in American histories. Redressing six decades of official indifference; Kehn’s account recovers a significant chapter missing from the history of World War II--and tells a long-overdue story of courage and tragic loss.
#182442 in Books Smith; Digby/ Kiley; Kevin F. 2008-07-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 12.14 x .90 x 9.50l; 3.51 #File Name: 075481761X256 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. So this is a pretty nice productBy TipSo this is a pretty nice product. The only reason I am docking a star is the shipping. The company it comes from takes a long time to get it to you. So if you are in a rush; don't expect it quickly. If you have the time to wait; then you won't be disappointed. This is full of colored illustrations and descriptions of different soldiers and uniforms worn during the American Revolution. I wish they made another book or had a section in this book; going into more detail on the specific state soldiers. It is touched on here but would like to see more for my particular state. That aside; it is still a great product and would highly recommend if you are interested in this kind of thing. Thanks.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Outstanding reference and history of the soldiers and uniforms that fought in the American Revolution!By Joe OwenThis fascinating and beautifully illustrated encyclopeida was written and edited by military historians Kevin F. Kiley and Digby Smith with consultation by Jeremy Black (MBE). The encyclopedia is the history of the uniforms used by the British; French; Americans; Spanish; Germans; and Native Americans during the American Revolution from 1775-1783. The encyclopedia begins with a brief history of the background that sets up the American Revolution and describes the hostilities and how America was devited between anti-British rebels and pro-British loyalists. Then the editors give the illustrated description of the uniforms that were worn by the soldiers. Each illustration of the uniforms is absolutley excellent and colorful. The chapters are broken into the following with a few examples from each chapter:- Introduction- The Forging Of A Nation (The Founding Of America; Colonization and Emigration; The French and Indian War; The American Army; The British Army)- Militias; Early Continental Units And State Troops (Militia And State Troops; The Minutemen; The First Continentals; The Canadian Regiments; The Philadelphia Associators; Riflemen and Stockbridge Indians)- The Continental Army (THose Ragged Contnentals; Commanders and Staff; Headquarters Troops; Uniform Regulations of 1779; Legions and Partisans)- The Soldiers Of The King (The Army of the British Empire; Infantry; Royal Regiments; Fusiliers; highland Regiments; Irish Regiments; Light Infantry; American Loyalist Infantry; Specialist Troops)- The French; Germans; and Spanish (Allies and Mercenaries; French Infantry; Rochambeau's Expeditionary Force and Colonial Troops; French Cavalry and Legions; The Gribeauval Artillery System; Hesse-Cassel Infantry and Artillery; Brunswick Infantry and Cavalry; Anspach-Bayreuth; Anhalt-Zerbst and Waldeck; German Jagers; Spain)- The Naval Forces Of The War (The War at Sea; Ships of the Line and Frigates; Gunboats; Gundalows and Galleys; Royal Navy Ofifcers and Seamen; British Marines; French Royal Navy; Continental Navy Officers and Seamen)- Glossary- Index- AcknowledgementsAs stated above; these are just a few examples of this OUTSTANDING encyclopedia of uniforms used by the soldiers of the American Revolution. It is noted that alot of the soldiers from the Continental Army didn't wear the uniforms in this encyclopedia and most wore the civilian clothes that they enlisted in throughout the Revolutionary War. Are these ALL the uniforms that were worn by both sides during the war? Of course not. Are these a great sampling of the uniforms that were worn? Absolutely. The illustrations and coloring of the uniforms are excellent. The brief history of the regiments is fascinating and contributes highly to the understanding of the uniforms that were worn. This is a MUST HAVE to any American Revolution historian; scholar; buff; and student to have in their library. This book greatly enhanced my understanding of the regimental history of the soldiers that fought in the American Revolution and the uniforms that they wore. A great encylcopedia of the uniforms and a great historical book on the American Revolution! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!62 of 64 people found the following review helpful. Lots Of Errors; But Well Worth The Wait!By Michael J. LubranoI have to say I have been waiting for this book for quite some time; having first ordered it back in May apparently there was a long delay in actually having it in stock to ship. It finally arrived today I am quite pleased; not only as an American Revolution buff reenactor but this is the first book since John Mollo's Uniforms of the American Revolution from 1976 to feature a well-illustrated guide to ALL the forces of the War for Independence. Even the Spanish forces made "the cut"!There are a number of errors which hopefully will be corrected in a future 2nd edition including the unfortunate transposing of uniform figures with the captions such as a British Legion private Newfoundland Regiment soldier on page 157(No idea why this unit was included;they never fired a shot in action nor left Canada!); the 1st Continental Light Dragoon captioned as an "officer" is actually a sergeant due to the yellow epaulette on the right shoulder the slung carbine. There's also a bit of "creative licence" with small-clothes such as substituting black for green for the private officer of Sherburne's Regiment. Also quite a few uniform captions have dates too early or late for the figure depicted.While many of the illustrations might not exactly break new ground or show too many uniforms not shown before; the book does get major points for showing the full "rainbow" of Continental Infantry uniforms including early-war Militia;the Continental Army of 1776; the Additional Continental Regiments; red-clad Patriots of Webb's Continentals the 1st Connecticut; Riflemen Light Infantry; frontier units; a wide variety of the German hired troops; French forces as well as both early late-war Continental Marine uniforms state navies. The inclusion of Native Indian substantial coverage of Loyalist troops' uniforms also contributes to the book's wide ranging value.About the only section I found to be a bit sparse was that covering the Continental Light Dragoons. For a book that covered so much it's odd not too see a green-uniformed 4th Light Dragoon in addition to the early captured red-faced blue British uniforms or a 1779-regulation-uniformed 1st/2nd Light Dragoon with blue-faced white.A somewhat unforgiveable example of sloppy scholarship/editing is a private officer of the Virginia regiments dressed according to the 1779 regulations but shown in blue-faced blue with white lace which was assigned to the North South Carolina Georgia regiments. Virginia was in the Mid-Atlantic group with Delaware; PA Maryland which was to have red facings. Also the captioning of a 1779-regulation private of the New York or New Jersey Line as belonging to the red-faced Pennsylvania Line. What also strikes me as rather odd was almost identical illustrations of gunners in the British Artillery section.The section on navies ships of the War is also very informative a nice bonus considering the book is predominantly focused on uniforms. The lengthy introduction should be quite useful for younger readers or as a nice refresher to the subject.As a former member of the recreated 2nd Light Dragoons/Tallmadge's Troop I couldn't help but notice that the uniform depicted was the blue-faced buff which may not be totally accurate. It would have been much more accurate to show a 2nd LD private in 1779-regulation white facings or the rare 1780 green-faced white uniform. I don't fault the research done way back in 1949-50 for the Company of Military Historians plate; but surviving paintings artworks which show buff facings may simply be white facings faded with age.It's often said that "too many cooks spoil the pie" in this case I am inclined to agree since it seems like if one author had written the book on his own (yes; a monumental undertaking; but John Mollo did OK 23 years ago!) the book had more efficent editing/fact-checking we would have a very definitive work. The book could definately have benefitted from the input of authors/researcher members from the Company of Military Historians in the editing process. This is still a very valuable work which I highly recommend especially for younger readers really hope a revised edition is in the future.Update 5/5/09: To "retort" to another reviewer of this book; even the "EXPERTS" do make mistakes on occasion; especially as here in the editing process. It isn't "quibbling" to dispute errors of uniform depictions/facing colors but rather getting the facts right for the period depicted even if the difference is 1777 instead of 1776. Would you not question say; Robert E. Lee being shown wearing a purple frock coat instead of grey?
