Links

Earliest Midwatch Article

One of the earliest, if not THE earliest treatments of the midwatch in verse tradition can be found in the 1959 USNI Proceedings article by Robert McNitt entitled, “The First Watch.” Read the article here.


NHHC Podcast on Deck Log Poetry (2/21/2024)

From NHHC Facebook Page:  Did you hear that?! NHHC has launched its podcast “Anchored in History – Stories of America’s Navy.” The first episode, ‘Navy Deck Logs and Sailor Poetry,’ NHHC Archivist Alexis Van Pool and Fleet Historian Anna Holloway discuss the Navy’s use of deck logs, command operations reports (CORs), and how Sailors have had a unique opportunity to express themselves while standing the New Year’s Eve watch, writing the first watch of the year in poetic verse. Also discussed is the history of the Navy Deck Log Poetry Contest, its prizes, and deadline for submission on February 23, 2024!


From National Archives Blog

The National Archives houses the deck logs of US Navy ships back into the mid-19th century. This blog entry addresses the Archives project to digitize Vietnam War era logs and contains many example poems.


 Article from September 27, 2022 – The Washington Post Magazine

Written by Danny Freedman, Can this quirky Naval poetry tradition make a comeback?


Book Appears in Weird Universe Blog on January 20, 2023

The blog, Weird Universe highlighted Midwatch in Verse in a January 2023 post


Article from the January 1, 1960 issue of the Wilmington Morning News, Wilmington, DE

The article briefly talks about the midwatch tradition and provides a few excerpts from poems prior to 1960.


Article from the January 1, 2006 issue of the Stevens Point Journal Sun, Stevens Point, WI

Another article that refers to the tradition and includes excerpts from past years.


 Poems from USS Midway (CV 41)

The library volunteers at the USS Midway (CV 41) Museum compiled a book of midwatch poetry written aboard the ship. Rhymes of the Midway Mariners (2014) and The Complete Rhymes of the Midway Mariners (2016) contain midwatch poems, photos, and other related poetry from a variety of sources.


A Poem about the Midwatch

Written by Harry Mayer.