"The Paymaster: John Stevenson, Unlikely Civil War Hero," w/ Chuck Veit

The Paymaster" describes the daring exploits of an unlikely and unknown hero of the Civil War, John H. Stevenson. Serving as a lowly Acting Assistant Paymaster aboard a series of small gunboats, Stevenson repeatedly undertook missions along the Rappahannock, Mississippi, and James Rivers that resulted in the capture of enemy officers; the relief of a beleaguered Union garrison; the delivery of important dispatches to Flag-Officer Farragut; and information about the defenses of Richmond. 

Chuck is author of a growing number of original research books, including A Dog Before a Soldier: Almost-lost Episodes in the Navy’s Civil War; Sea Miner: Major E. B. Hunt’s Rocket Torpedo; Natural Genius: Brutus de Villeroi and the U.S. Navy’s First Submarine; and two books focusing on the salvage exploits of Massachusetts native, John E. Gowen: Raising Missouri and The Yankee Expedition to Sebastopol. 

He is a frequent speaker on 19th century naval topics at area historical societies and Civil War roundtables, as well as at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. Other venues have included the NOAA Maritime Heritage Education Conference, Mariners’ Museum Civil War Navy Conference, the Naval Order of the United States in St. Petersburg, FL, the 10th Maritime Heritage Conference, and the Portsmouth Navy Yard’s 238th Anniversary Ball. Chuck has also had numerous articles in Naval History magazine, American Historical Print Collector Society’s Newsletter, Historical Diving Times, Civil War Navy, and the Company of Military Historians’ Journal.  

Chuck is President of the Navy & Marine Living History Association, an organization dedicated to sharing America’s naval history with the modern public through the medium of in-the-field events, where he speaks with several thousand visitors annually. He is also sole proprietor of 31BY5, a small business devoted to helping independent authors publish their work. Despite his intense focus on Navy history, he remains happily married after 38 years to his best friend and editor, Lori.  
 

The CWRT of the Merrimack meets at the Hilton Senior Center. Please go to our web site for mailing address or more info.