William S. Dudley Maritime Heritage Consultant
Welcome
Welcome to the Web site of William S. Dudley, historian and maritime heritage consultant. Long associated with the naval and maritime history of Maryland, Bill currently serves in leadership positions with the Maryland Historical Society, the Naval Historical Foundation, and Sea History magazine. He is the historian general of the Naval Order of the United States.
The Naval War of 1812: America's Second War of Independence is his most recent work. It follows Maritime Maryland, his extensive study of the Chesapeake and the growth of Maryland and its peoples.
The Naval War of 1812: America's Second War of IndependenceCollections of Wiliam I. Koch and The United States Naval Academy Museum
William S. Dudley with J. Scott Harmon
This book is both a history of the major events of the naval war and a catalog of the remarkable exhibit now on display at the Naval Academy's Mahan Hall. The exhibit combines art and artifacts from The Naval Academy's extraordinary trove from 1812 and from William I. Koch's unique personal collection pertaining to the career of Captain James Lawrence whom Koch claims as an ancestor.
Bill wrote the text with J. Scott Harmon, former Director of The Naval Academy Museum, who collaborated as curator of the exhibit on display until November 2013. The book displays beautifully reproduced images of portraits, weapons, documents, maps, track charts, and ship models from the combined collections.
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Maritime Maryland: A History"William Dudley's work makes a major contribution to the genre and deserves to be welcomed by students of both maritime and current issues in cultural resource and environmental management. And it deserves an audience far beyond the state of Maryland."
- John A. Tilley, Nautical Research Journal
"Dudley successfully weaves the personal stories and antics... into the larger context of Maryland's maritime past, providing the reader with colour and levity throughout."
- Claire P. Dappart, Illinois State Archeological Survey, University of Illinois, for The International Journal of Nautical Archeology.
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AWARDS and HONORS:
The Maryland Historical Trust awarded Maritime Maryland: A History the Heritage Book Award for 2011.
Maritime Maryland also received the annual John Lyman Book Award in U.S. Maritime History from the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) which recognizes excellence in the publication of books that make significant contributions to the study and understanding of the maritime and naval history of North America.
At the New York Book Show, the Book Industry Guild of New York awarded Maritime Maryland first place in book design for professional scholarly books.
The Washington Book Publishers 2011 Design and Effectiveness Awards competition granted second place to Maritime Maryland for illustrated text.
The Maryland Historical Trust awarded Maritime Maryland: A History the Heritage Book Award for 2011.
Maritime Maryland also received the annual John Lyman Book Award in U.S. Maritime History from the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) which recognizes excellence in the publication of books that make significant contributions to the study and understanding of the maritime and naval history of North America.
At the New York Book Show, the Book Industry Guild of New York awarded Maritime Maryland first place in book design for professional scholarly books.
The Washington Book Publishers 2011 Design and Effectiveness Awards competition granted second place to Maritime Maryland for illustrated text.
