Naval Battles :: essays research papers fc

The battle on March 9, 1862, between the USS Monitor and the CSS Merrimack, officially the CSS Virginia, is one of the most revolutionary naval battles in world history. Up until that point, all battles had been waged between wooden ships. This was the first battle in maritime history that two ironclad ships waged war. The USS Merrimack was a Union frigate throughout most of its existence, up until the Union Navy abandoned the Norfolk Naval Yard. To prevent the Confederate Navy from using her against them, the Union Navy scuttled her. The Confederates, however, raised the ship from the shallow floor of the ocean and began making some major modifications. Confederate engineers cut the hull down to the water line and built a slanted top on it. Then, they bolted four layers of iron sheets, each two inches thick, to the entire structure. Also added was a huge battering ram to the bow of the ship to be used in ramming maneuvers. The ship was then fitted with ten twelve-pound cannons. Ther e were four guns placed on the starboard and port sides, and one on the bow and stern sides. Due to its massive nature the ship's draft was enormous, it stretched twenty-two feet to the bottom. The ship was so slow and long, that it required a turning radius of about one mile. Likened to a "floating barn roof (DesJardien 2)" and not predicted to float, the only individual willing to take command of the ship was Captain Franklin Buchanan. After all the modifications were complete, the ship was rechristened the CSS Virginia, but the original name the CSS Merrimack is the preferred name. The USS Monitor was the creation of Swedish-American engineer, John Ericsson. The ship was considered small for a warship, only 172 feet long and 42 feet wide. Confederate sailors were baffled by the ship. One was quoted describing her as ". . . a craft such as the eyes of a seaman never looked upon before, an immense shingle floating on the water with a giant cheese box rising from its center" (Ward 101). The "cheese box" was a nine by twenty foot revolving turret with two massive guns inside. "The USS Monitor used two of the eleven inch Dahlgran guns . . ." (Lavy 2). These Dahlgran guns were massive rifled cannons that were capable of firing a variety of shot.

Chris McCandless

McCandless wanted to live an independent and self-reliant life. As a child, he grew up in a materialistic and dysfunctional family. Although he had a close relationship with his sister, Carine, Chris preferred isolating himself. It was unimaginably difficult for Chris to have a relationship with his father after he had found out about his father's second family. Chris's mother, Billie, didn't have much of a relationship with him either.For Chris, being alone was normal and part of his very day routine. As he got older he wanted more and more to live on his own and be in the wild. Chris and his family would go to the mountains every year to visit which gave Chris this love for nature. He wanted to live in his own Utopia, in the wild. McCandless wasn't careless or delusional. He was determined, and focused on his task at hand; to, in his own words, â€Å"no longer be poisoned by civilization, and walk alone to become lost in the wild. He met many people through-out his travels owards Alaska, but didn't stay too long to become attached to them. On April 28, 1992, James Gallien gave Christopher McCandless a ride to the Stampede Trail in Alaska where Christopher set out to begin in Journey into the wild. This was the last date that anyone ever saw Christopher McCandless alive. Walking into Denali National Park with a . 22 caliber rifle and a 10 pound bag of rice isn't necessarily ridiculous, but expecting to survive an entire summer off nothing but the land and wild game certainly is.Chris read many books by his favorite, Jack London being one. Jack wrote a book about the wild and the dangers of being in it, which is where Chris got some inspiration from. Chris carved the phrase â€Å"Jack London is king† in a tree stump near his campsite.. Chris writing that phrase shows that his quest went farther than finding himself. Chris wanted a connection with nature. He did what he was striving for and although his ending was tragic, he still did it by himself and w ithout anyone or anything. Chris McCandless Mishandles was not crazy, he wasn't stupid, and he defiantly was not looking for a way to die. Although some may think of them as selfish, he had his reasons for packing up his few belongings, leaving his family and walking â€Å"Into the Wild. † The death of Chris Mishandles was an accidental tragedy. Chris and his dad never really got along (Source One. ) They were both stubborn making it impossible to agree on anything. They both always had to be right. Chris decided to be â€Å"the bigger person† though and stick to his mother and fathers plan for IM through college.He TLD complain and he even visited them occasionally throughout his college career. He loved his family, but he couldn't handle being around them anymore. He had kept all his anger and frustration built up inside of him and his only option was to leave. He never intended to hurt his family. He just needed some time away. Chris needed some time to cool off and forget about his family troubles. Once he fo und out about his father's marriage problems, forgetting about his family problems seemed impossible.In Chrism's mind getting as far away room his dad and his family as possible was the best option. The only option. So that's what he did. He didn't mean to hurt his family or himself In any way. Some believe that Chrism's family problems had gotten the best of him and that he was ready to put an end to his life. It is ignorant to think that because he went into the Alaskan wilderness completely prepared for the amount of time that he planned on staying there. Even though Source One never mentions Chris having a map, Source two says â€Å"Counter to the portrayal in the Krause book and Penn film, ChrisMishandles carried ‘Into the wild' a wallet with multiple sources of Identification and $300 In cash. As well as a map. † If Chris had Intended to die while he was out there he wouldn't have taken the money, the ID, and especially not the map. Source One says that Chris went to the local Alaska university library to research edible plants and berried that he could gather and eat. If he didn't plan on surviving then he wouldn't have been worried about eating. He took a gun and bullets with him too. He was well equipped to get food and seemed like he planned on surviving.In Chrism's Journal entries In August he wrote that hothouse he had accomplished his goal to live In the Alaskan wilderness and thought It was time to go home. He walked all the way back to the river and couldn't cross because it was too wild. He wasn't all too concerned because he had enough knowledge and supplies to survived for a while longer. If Chris had really wanted to die in Alaska he wouldn't have waited until August to do so. For living on the streets with no permanent home for so long, Mishandles was very good with people.He met lots of them before he went to Alaska and even met a ewe while he was there. Wayne Westerners, Jan Burros, Ron Franz were a few of the people he met d uring his travels (Source One. ) He was very easy to get along with and worked hard for them. They all loved him. He didn't seem like he had a problem with getting too attached to people because he always planes on coming back. He wrote to them and kept them updated and promised to come visit. He was very good forever. The Alaskan wilderness was a very dangerous place to Just wonder into as Chris did and he found that out.He caused his family terrible worry and sorrow and would have been more observant and cautious when crossing the river. Realizing that it wouldn't be as calm in August as it was when he crossed it. He made some mistakes, but then again, don't we all? Christopher Mishandles followed his dreams and not everybody gets the chance to do that. Source one says â€Å"The peculiar thing is that he went out and did the things he dreamed about, not simply for a two-weeks' vacation in the civilized and trimmed wonderlands, but for months and months in the midst of wonder.. â €  And that's exactly what Mishandles did.Yes he died, and it as dangerous, but he died successful. He followed all his dreams and accomplished all his goals before he died, which is not something everyone can claim to have done. Chris Mishandles was an independent, stubborn individual who knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to go get it. He made a few mistakes here and there (such as crossing the river and not knowing how to clean and cook the moose) but everybody makes mistakes. His Just happened to cost him his life. He didn't go â€Å"into the wild† hoping for death. He went searching for independence and that's exactly what he found. Chris McCandless To me Chris McCandless was a dedicated and adventurous young man. He was very dedicated to the thing he loved. When people told him what to do he very rarely listened to them, so to me he was very independent. When he was put to a job he was very dedicated to it, it didn’t matter what it was. Like when he moved to the town where Wayne Westerberg live he was put to work and all the people he worked with agreed that he was a very hard working person.When Chris decided to go into the wilderness to live, he wanted to start a new life; he wants to find out who he is. Then again what his sister Carine said also seem very true about Chris, â€Å"Chris knew exactly who he was. He was searching for a place in this world that he fit into, where he could be true to himself.† He didn’t just want to think about the meaning of life, he actually wanted to live it for himself. He when traveling to find true happiness and beauty. That is the reason he did all what he did. I think Christopher McCandless went â€Å"Into the Wild† to discover what is summed up in his quote â€Å"happiness is only real when shared†, something I think he found out far too late. He went all that way to discover that something is only really worth experiencing if you can share it with someone else.Before Chris died I do think he found what he was looking for. I think that he felt that there was truth out in the wild that there wasn’t in his life at home. I think that he would have stay as long as he did if he didn’t find what he was looking for. I think that he finally found a place where he belonged and place where he finally fit in. I totally agree with what Jon Krakauer statement when he says that Chris wasn’t a nutcase, sociopath, or an outcast. I think he was a very upbeat and inspirational person.I love how he was and how he thought. I think it was very unique of him to think that live on his own in Alaska would help him find out who he was . I can compare myself to Chris in many ways like when he likes to be alone to think and when he can read his favorite authors books over and over again. With a wealthy and successful family he ditch virtually everything for a new life, it think that was very brave of him. He never had anything planed he just went with it. He never knows what life had waiting for him out there but I’m pretty sure he could wait to find out. I don’t think he was scared in  anyway, I feel like he was more curious and excited then scared.Chris made a decision and many others on his two year journey to Alaska. He made these decisions with certain traits that he possesses, whether they were strengths that helped him or weaknesses that lead to his unfortunate death by starvation but I felt that they all made him out to be who he was. If only he would have brought more things with him on his journey, he could have been destine for many great things.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 897 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/08/08 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Mark Twain Essay Did you like this example? A great man once said, The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.a quote from The Art of Authorship, pp. 8788 (1890). It was a quote by a man whose birth and death dates were marked by a passing comet, the legend himself, Mark Twain. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Samuel Langhorne Clemens" essay for you Create order Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, lecturer, and a American Idol in the world of literature. He made a mark on the world with pen, paper, and a creative and brilliant imagination. His quotes are still sited to this day, inspiring those to thrive to be better individuals, and parts of civilization. Mark Twain was a legendary American author and through his childhood, adolescence, adulthood and literary contributions, has left a living legacy untouched by anyone else . Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was born on November 30th, 1835, in the tiny village of Missouri, Florida. He was the second youngest of John and Jane Clemens seven kids. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to the nearby town of Hannibal. John, Marks father, worked as an Lawyer, Storekeeper, judge, and land speculator. He always dreamed of wealth to help feed is poverned family, but never achieved it. Some people say they never saw him smile, laugh, or show any joyful emotion, though Jane, Marks mother, was a fun-loving, tender hearted homemaker. In 1847, John passed suddenly of pneumonia, and Jane had to step up as the head of the bustling household. They were forced into years of economical struggle. He halted his schooling, when he was 12 years old, due to his fathers death. He found a job as an apprentice printer, where he was paid with a meager ration of food. When he turned to the age of 17, he moved out of Hannibal, b. But while he was there, he lived a rough life and , he witnessed a lot of death and poverty, and all of this would shape Marks career as a writer. At the age of 21, Mark fulfilled a dream and began learning to pilot steamboats on the Mississippi. He was licensed to do so in 1859 where he found regular employment plying the shoals and channels of the great river. He loved his career for the high paying and high status he earned, which was close to how a jetliner pilot is viewed today. His career was halted in 1861 by the civil war, where he joined as a Confederate Army Volunteer. He only served a couple weeks when his unit was disbanded. After that he climbed aboard a stagecoach and headed west to Nevada and California. For the next five years he prospected for gold and silver, convinced he would save his family with the money made from it. He didnt find anything like he was looking for and ended up broke with a regular job. Mark knew his way around newspaper offices so he began his job as a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. This is where he adopted the name Mark Twain, which is steamboat slang for 12 ft of water. His news paper job got him his big break. He was already well known for his well told stories, so when he published the tale Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog which was printed all around the country. At the age of 34, Mark was one of the most popular and famous writers in America, and in February of 1870, he moved back to the east coast and became even more well know for marrying Olivia (Livy) Langdon, the daughter of a wealthy New York coal merchant. Then settled down in Buffalo and having 4 kids. In 1876 his published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Fenn After that, his business in writing was looking to make him very wealthy. He triumphed as a publisher by issuing the bestselling memoirs of the former President Ulysses S. Grant, who had just passed. He spent many hours on building his business but never got to the wealth he was expecting. His publishing house went bankrupt soon after. As Twain got older, he became more and more temperamental and bitter in his later years, suffering from paranoia. He told friends and loved ones that Much of the last decade of his life, he lived in hell. He started but failed to finish most of his projects. All he did was smoke cigars, read in bed, and play nearly endless hours of billiards and cards. His wife Olivia died from heart failure on June 1904. She was cremated, and her ashes are interred in Elmira. Twain, who was devastated by her death, died on April 21st of 1910, Mark Twain passed at the age of 74 of a heart attack. On the same day, Halleys Comet passed the earth again. He was buried in Elmira, New York Samuel Clemens, or Mark Twain left a legacy behind that still carries on to this day. After over 108 years since his passing, his quotes, books, and life is still studied and told around the globe. One of his more famous books, Huckleberry Finn has been translated in over 75 languages, has more than 6,500 editions, and approximately 200,000 copies are sold each year. Making him a legendary man in the eyes of historians and authors. Clemens achieved a plethora of different things, but his literary art was by far his greatist.