Letters Home from Sea: The Life and Letters of Solon J. Hanson, Down East Sailor

By the age of 19, Solon Hanson of Castine, Maine, had worked as a cook, crew, and mate on sailing ships, had become a cod fisherman, survived one of New Orleans worst hurricanes, been called as witness to a murder trial, and was close to his goal of becoming a sea captain. Unlike most sailors of the time, he diligently wrote home about his adventures. His letters were rediscovered over a century later, and provide a rare glimpse into the daily life of 1850s Maine cod fishermen. These letters offer a brilliant firsthand account of life and death at sea.