Bitter Waters: America's Forgotten Naval Mission to the Dead Sea

by David Howard Bain
New York: The Overlook Press, 2011. Pp. 384

Reviewed by Dr. Susan K. Hedahl            

This work, by a Middlebury College author and historian, is a superlative analysis of one of America’s unusual and little-known mid-nineteenth century naval expeditions.  The main focus of this work is Navy Lieutenant William Francis Lynch.  Amidst the multiple forays of American expeditions to all parts of the States and the world, Lynch sends a letter on May 8, 1847 to the Secretary of the Navy with this proposal:  “…I respectfully submit a proposition to circumnavigate and explore the Lake of Asphaltites or Dead Sea, and its entire coast.” (113)
Lynch’s proposal receives approval and from late 1847 to the following spring, Lynch voyages with his comrades around the Dead Sea. They explore its lands, ruins, villages, peoples and all manner of flora and fauna.  The explorers encounter fierce weather and sometimes hostile peoples.  Illness caused by weather, parasites and other sources challenged the group constantly with the tragic loss of one of their number near the end of the trip. 

As one who recently traveled from north to south in Jordan on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, it was a joy to read these travel accounts.  What did the old fortress of Kerak look like in 1848?  At that time, Madaba, known for its church containing an ancient mosaic map of the area was “to remain undisturbed beneath the soil for another 50 years…” (275)
One chapter entitled “From Mar Saba and Jerusalem to Jordan’s Source,” (283ff) contains an excellent history of the founding of this Greek Orthodox monastery there, in use yet today.  The landscape is harsh desert land filled with dramatic cliffs and caves.  Mark Twain is quoted on his visit about those who “have not heard the laughter of a child or the blessed voice of a woman;” (285).  Then, as always, the challenge of the monastic life creates many varied responses.  It is evident from the party’s logs and later books that the convents and monasteries in that part of the world provided the necessary medical attention and resources the explorers needed periodically.

Near the end of the trip the group visits Nazareth.  Lynch, a Christian, writes:  “The feelings are inexpressible which overpower one in passing to and fro amid scenes which, for the greater portion of his mortal existence, were frequented by our Savior.” (300).

This work is well-documented and contains both old photographs and lovely drawings of the people and places of this expedition.  The author also does a splendid job of contextualizing Lynch’s writings and those of others on the trip since several travelers of the day also wrote on the Holy Land:  Herman Melville, for example, authored a long poem named “Clarel” about the area.

The Gettysburg Seminary Library has been around for over 150 years, I checked the archives. Indeed! An edition of Lynch’s journeys is there, awaiting my eager perusal.  Bain has written a superlative work.  He depicts an honorable, tenacious and highly intelligent person whose accounts of his travels still engage the reader today.