David M Sullivan

Samuel H. Walker, a carpenter turned soldier, fought in the Seminole War, Mier Expedition, and Mexican-American War, where he died heroically leading a charge against Santa Ana's forces. Samuel H. Walker was an apprentice carpenter in Washington, D. C., when the second Seminole War broke out in 1838. He enlisted in a Washington militia unit and went to Florida. Upon the expiration of the unit's service, he was employed in the construction of the railroad from Mobile to Pensacola. Upon the completion of his labors, he removed to Texas where he joined the ill-fated Mier Expedition in 1842, being subsequently imprisoned by the Mexican authorities for two years, during which time he developed an intense hatred for his captors. Upon his release, he returned to Texas and joined the Texas Rangers. When war broke between the United States and Mexico in 1846, Walker joined the 1st Regiment of Texas Mounted Rifle Volunteers before, at the request of General Zachary Taylor, forming his own company of scouts. He subsequently returned to the Texas Mounted Rifles and was elected lieutenant colonel of the regiment. His term of service with Texas finished, he was commissioned as a captain in the U. S. Mounted Rifles and journeyed north to recruit his company. During this time, he met Samuel Colt. His discussions with Colt resulted in the Walker Colt pistol. His company filled, Walker returned to Mexico and the scene of battle. There, in 1847 Walker led a furious charge against the remnants of the Mexican dictator Santa Ana's army in which he was mortally wounded by a Mexican sniper. Based upon archival materials including Walker's own letters--he was a well-educated man and wrote extremely descriptive accounts of his experiences--this is the first in-depth biography of Walker.

In 1864, the Prussian Navy, core element of what was to become the Imperial German Navy in future, acquired its first ironclad vessels from Great Britain and France. To that point, it had existed as a rather insignificant force for more or less 20 years, consisting mainly of a handful of gunboats, corvettes, and other small craft. Then, within the subsequent fifty years, from 1864 to 1914, the Navy would rise from a practical non-existence to a respectable force in various aspects, in some regards second to none. In this, she truly reflected the ascent of Germany as a technical power, since its unification in 1871. But this could not be accessed by technical knowledge alone - it required the strong will to achieve a pre-set goal. Until 1897, this determination was lacking on the naval and even more on the political side, aside the fulfillment of the initial 'fleet-inauguration-plan' by Albrecht von Stosch, from 1873 to 1883, while the industrial background became increasingly available. Even the expressed will of the new Emperor Wilhelm II, since his ascent to the throne in 1888, to push naval matters forward, didn't suffice in gaining substantial results; even more so as he, for himself, was undecided about the best way to proceed. The result was the parliament's increasing unwillingness to grant a constant flow of substantial funds, as long as no proper direction was recognizable. The story up to that point, with the related acquisition of ships, first from abroad, later exclusively from German shipyards, and their particular histories, is covered by the first four chapters, while the fundamental changes after the accession of Alfred (von) Tirpitz to the post of 'Staatssekret r des Reichs-Marine-Amts' ('naval minister', in fact) in 1897, and the implementation of his subsequent so-termed 'naval laws', are pointed out in detail in the remaining six. Especially, in these chapters the focus is laid on telling the history of the individual classes of ships, from their inception to the wide variety of influences during the design process, a brief overall history - extended in case of special (war) experiences - to their individual ends. Each of these chapters is introduced by a brief narrative of the political/technical environment, into the individual class would be constructed. All of this is accompanied by an abundant outfit of illustrations, photos, maps and tables, many of them never been issued before, stemming from the vast archival material held either in the Federal Archives at Freiburg, or collected within several private archives - including the authors' - within many years of research.