What do you think?
Rate this book
Captain of the Tides: Gunner Morgan
In 1882, Charles "Gunner" Morgan, 17, shipped out from New Orleans as a 3rd class apprentice seaman, Navy No. 817. Becoming a Navy team baseball player, he knew the "greats" in American baseball. In 1898, he led the dive team pulling bodies from the USS Maine disaster, reported to President Theodore Roosevelt (then assistant secretary of the Navy), and became "The Man Who Started the Spanish-American War."
Known also as "The Man Behind the Gun" for his shooting prowess, he was among the first enlisted men promoted to officer. He taught the Japanese how to fire the big guns in the Russo-Japanese War. He survived working in Thomas Edison's Navy lab at Key West.
Yet, he found time for love. He met Vivian, the sugar king of Havana's daughter, married and pregnant -- both situations temporary. She became his soul's safe harbor.
In later years, he helped build the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West. As Maritime Inspector, he surveyed and developed the South American airports creating Pan Am Airways.
An American patriot, he lived for the moment that the sunset's green fire on the sea's horizon promised the dawn to come. Always he returned to the sea.
Board the ships, climb the rigging, shoot the guns, when America came to rule the seas. Discover the 93 years that defined Gunner Morgan.
His grandson, Charles D. Morgan, discovered his grandfather's old sea chest, and hidden in its base, stacks of documents and letters, that led the author on a lifetime journey to reveal his grandfather's legacy to America.
"Captain of the Tides Gunner Morgan" is that legacy, retold as an historical novel, a riveting story of a young Navy seaman whose heroism captured the loyalty of Americans.
Known also as "The Man Behind the Gun" for his shooting prowess, he was among the first enlisted men promoted to officer. He taught the Japanese how to fire the big guns in the Russo-Japanese War. He survived working in Thomas Edison's Navy lab at Key West.
Yet, he found time for love. He met Vivian, the sugar king of Havana's daughter, married and pregnant -- both situations temporary. She became his soul's safe harbor.
In later years, he helped build the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West. As Maritime Inspector, he surveyed and developed the South American airports creating Pan Am Airways.
An American patriot, he lived for the moment that the sunset's green fire on the sea's horizon promised the dawn to come. Always he returned to the sea.
Board the ships, climb the rigging, shoot the guns, when America came to rule the seas. Discover the 93 years that defined Gunner Morgan.
His grandson, Charles D. Morgan, discovered his grandfather's old sea chest, and hidden in its base, stacks of documents and letters, that led the author on a lifetime journey to reveal his grandfather's legacy to America.
"Captain of the Tides Gunner Morgan" is that legacy, retold as an historical novel, a riveting story of a young Navy seaman whose heroism captured the loyalty of Americans.
246 pages, Hardcover
Published December 23, 2020
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Read
March 28, 2022MWSA Review
Historical Fiction is a tough category to write in, but Charles D. Morgan and his friend Jacque Hillman do a fantastic job with the cooperative work Captain of the Tides: Gunner Morgan. It’s no coincidence that one of the authors and the hero share the same name. Charles D. Morgan is the grandson of the main character.
While Morgan has a few cherished memories of his grandfather, he was far to young to absorb all that the older Morgan had accomplished. However, fate smiled on the young Morgan, and he came in possession of his grandfather’s sea chest, which contained numerous scrapbooks, personal letters, and other memorabilia that allowed him to reconstruct this account of his ancestor’s colorful life.
Gunner Morgan lived well into his nineties in an age when most people were lucky to see age 60. Enlisting at age seventeen (before even there was standardized recruit training) he climbed the ranks and became one of the first enlisted “mustangs” to become an officer. He recovered bodies from the USS Maine, also almost died at the hands of Thomas Edison, and spent many years helping grow trade between US and Cuba. He was an outstanding baseball player, and one of the first executives for Pan-Am airlines. In short, he had enough adventure to fill three or four lives, and his grandson did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the spirit of his grandfather.
The book reads like an autobiography, and if you didn’t know it was written by the grandson, you would swear the Gunner himself had written it. Morgan and Hillman had to fill in a few gaps using some creativity, but it’s impossible to tell the true historical moments from the filled-in fiction. All in all this is a terrific read for those interested in the early US Navy around the turn of the century.
Review by Rob Ballister (March 2022)
Historical Fiction is a tough category to write in, but Charles D. Morgan and his friend Jacque Hillman do a fantastic job with the cooperative work Captain of the Tides: Gunner Morgan. It’s no coincidence that one of the authors and the hero share the same name. Charles D. Morgan is the grandson of the main character.
While Morgan has a few cherished memories of his grandfather, he was far to young to absorb all that the older Morgan had accomplished. However, fate smiled on the young Morgan, and he came in possession of his grandfather’s sea chest, which contained numerous scrapbooks, personal letters, and other memorabilia that allowed him to reconstruct this account of his ancestor’s colorful life.
Gunner Morgan lived well into his nineties in an age when most people were lucky to see age 60. Enlisting at age seventeen (before even there was standardized recruit training) he climbed the ranks and became one of the first enlisted “mustangs” to become an officer. He recovered bodies from the USS Maine, also almost died at the hands of Thomas Edison, and spent many years helping grow trade between US and Cuba. He was an outstanding baseball player, and one of the first executives for Pan-Am airlines. In short, he had enough adventure to fill three or four lives, and his grandson did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the spirit of his grandfather.
The book reads like an autobiography, and if you didn’t know it was written by the grandson, you would swear the Gunner himself had written it. Morgan and Hillman had to fill in a few gaps using some creativity, but it’s impossible to tell the true historical moments from the filled-in fiction. All in all this is a terrific read for those interested in the early US Navy around the turn of the century.
Review by Rob Ballister (March 2022)
Read
March 19, 2022Read and scored as part of the Military Writers' Society of America's 2022 Award Season.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews