Kearny the Maleficent

Unlike an earlier example, this is an actual plagiarism piece. That is to say, TFSmith actually ripping off a real author. And the implications go wider, though not hugely wide. So even if you skipped the earlier example, I'd suggest sticking with this one.

Irene Musi-can't (still)

Fair warning: this is another plagiarism post. That means highlighting long sections of text which, in this case, have been copied and pasted from one fictional author to another. It may not be particularly edifying, though I've tried my best to put a decent bit of snark in the comments to liven things up. If you do want to skip this one, there'll be a more interesting piece along any moment. Up to you.

California Dreaming (4)

For reasons of length, what was intended to be the final part of this examination has been split into two halves. Apologies if this seems like dragging it out! I didn't originally think the whole thing would take more than two posts. However, not only did there prove to be more wrong with the TL than I'd anticipated, but showing what was wrong needed more words and sources than I'd anticipated.

This first half (part 4) will deal with the remainder of the battle at sea, and the second (part 5) will deal with the landing. Although I don't think you need to review the previous sections to understand this one, you're more than welcome to do so: check out parts 1, 2 or 3, or the section dealing with the Pacific Northwest.

This means "War".

It is often the case that a topic which appears to contain errors in Burnished Rows of Steel will, once examined a second time, turn out to have more errors than originally believed.

The declaration of war is one such. We have already examined how it is extremely delayed, and how the British ultimatum was allowed to expire. But even on the simple topic of the legal declaration itself TFSmith makes more than a few mistakes.

The Siege of Quebec Part II

Last time, we discussed the logistic absurdities of Grant's army advancing 70 miles in the dead of winter (or 160 miles in Van Renesslaer's case) to the British lines at Quebec. This miraculous feat of logistics takes place with precisely zero trouble for the Union, and every effort of the British inexplicably fails.

The Union arrives in front of Pt. Levis across the river from Quebec on January 18th however (and if you think that date is coincidental I have some swampland in Ontario for you to buy). They immediately begin siege operations:

After the unsuccessful attack January 22nd by Brown’s British division as Wright’s division crossed the Chaudière, the work of the regular siege began. Sherman’s troops occupied the right, starting from the river at Savage’s Cove, Ord the center, and Thomas Sherman’s the left on the Chaudiere, holding the road south to Saint Apollinaire. The XV Corps headquarters were at Ville-Guay, with divisions under Sheridan, Reynolds, and Crocker; those of the VIII Corps (VanRensselaer, Morris, and Totten) at St. Henry; and the X Corps (Wright, Brannan, Sturgis) at Charny. Wood’s cavalry corps, with divisions under Buford and Ruff, operated up the railroad toward Riviere du Loup and then into the backcountry; McCook’s XII Corps (Negley, Ammen, Turchin) held the south side of the river.

The Powhatan Project (1)

This is the closing paragraph of the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships’ entry on the CSS Alabama:

In her 21-month cruise to the four corners of the globe, ALABAMA wrought havoc among United States merchant shipping, taking more than 60 prizes valued at nearly $6,000,000. The most famous of the Confederate cruisers, her capture caused the Federal Navy Department to divert warships from the blockade to intercepting positions at focal points on the world's trade routes. Northern shipowners were compelled to delay sailings to pay increased maritime insurance premiums and in many cases, to transfer ships to foreign registry. ALABAMA’s exploits buoyed the morale of the South during some of its darkest days, and wrote a chapter of daring in the brief history of the Confederate States Navy.

This is TFSmith’s DANFS entry on the USS Powhatan:

In her 14-month cruise to the four corners of the globe, Powhatan wrought havoc among British merchant shipping, taking more than 30 prizes valued at nearly $3,000,000. The most famous of the American cruisers, her captures caused the Admiralty to divert warships from the blockade or convoy duty to intercepting positions at focal points on the world's trade routes, and raised many questions from members of Parliament, notably from Disraeli’s Conservatives, with ties to the City of London’s financial interests. British shipowners were compelled to delay sailings, to pay increased maritime insurance premiums, and, in many cases, to transfer ships to foreign registry. Powhatan's exploits wrote a chapter of daring in the history of the United States Navy.

Once again, a quick find-and-replace acts as a substitute for originality. However, in lazily translating the Alabama’s career to the Powhatan, TFSmith creates a vast number of flaws and errors. We will deal with some of these in a series of future articles, but one short problem may as well be pointed out here.

Powhatan’s prizes are given the same average value as Alabama’s. However, these speculative prizes include ‘a dozen fishing vessels from the Maritimes’, which amount for a third of Powhatan's total captures. These are a proxy for the sixteen whaling ships which CSS Alabama captured, which represented 25% of her overall captures. Yet even a moment's thought will show that there is almost no comparison between the two types of ship, other than in the delusions of TFSmith.

The whalers Alabama captured were often returning after several years cruising, carrying three hundred and forty, four hundred and twenty five, and even eleven hundred barrels of oil at c.33 gallons per barrel. Even if they ships carried no whalebone, and only the cheapest whale oil valued at 44.875c per gallon, their cargoes were worth between five thousand and sixteen thousand dollars. These were sums beyond even the wildest dreams of a fisherman. Moreover, the whalers themselves were much more expensive ships than fishing vessels, which were small vessels, and often built locally in the Maritimes from fast-decaying softwood. Put simply, there was considerable capital tied up in a whaling voyage, and very little in a fishing boat. Yet TFSmith deems both types of capture to be of equivalent value.

This lack of critical thought, the complete failure of the author to question whether what he is writing makes sense, permeates not just the section about the Powhatan but the entire timeline.

Irene Musi-can't

We have already seen how TFSmith didn't bother to hide his own authorial voice when providing what purports to be a text from his alternate timeline, Irene Musicant's Contested Waters: A Naval History of the Anglo-American War (HarperCollins, New York, 1995). Unfortunately, he grew too lazy to be bothered to write original text for the book. Vast sections of text are copied and pasted into chapter twenty, with the author relying on his readers to be too lazy to identify the duplication.

Unfortunately for TFSmith, as the mission statement of this blog makes clear, we do uncover this kind of cheating.

Shenandoah your working

After several months of total inactivity in the Eastern Theatre of the Civil War, the first major engagement that takes place east of the Appalachians is the Battle of Kernstown, between “Stonewall” Jackson (CSA) and Fitz John Porter (USA).



Needless to say (for anyone who has noticed the pattern) it is a flawed battle in terms of description and execution.

His truth is wiki'ing on

The first post of BROS includes two verses and two choruses of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, which you are encouraged to read. Unfortunately, the lyrics still include the hyperlinks showing that they were copied and pasted amateurishly from Wikipedia.

(hover over 'gospel', 'the serpent', and 'Christ' to reveal their origin).

Burnished Rows of Steal

Plagiarism, or the theft of the ideas of others and passing them off as one's own, is the worst offense that can be committed in the intellectual world of academia. TFSmith purports to be an academic, and claims copyright over the work at the start of each post which he makes. Yet he also paraphrases or outright quotes from other historians without crediting these historians for the work he claims as his own.