JOHN RODGAARD is a retired captain with over 41 years with the naval service of the United States, with 29 years of commissioned service as a naval intelligence officer. He co-authored A Call To The Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of The USS Constitution (2005); author of A Hard Fought Ship: The Story of HMS Venomous (2010, 2017, 2024), co-author/editor of From Across the Sea: North Americans In Nelson’s Navy (2020), and Tailships: The Hunt for Soviet Submarines in the Mediterranean, 1970-1973 (2024). In 1999 he received the Naval Institute’s History Author of the Year. He has contributed to Naval History Magazine, the Mariner’s Mirror, and the Naval Historical Foundation’s Naval History Book Reviews. As the chairman of The 1805 Club (www.1805club.orghe co-edits the Club’s annual The Trafalgar Chronicle. Captain Rodgaard holds an A.B. in History and Political Science; an M.A. in Political Science, and is a 1994 graduate of the Naval War College.
HOMEPORT: Northern Virginia/ Central Florida
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
World War 2 naval war, Cold War at Sea, Sailing navies of the 18th-19th century, Royal Navy, with emphasis in warfare at sea, navies, sea power, and joint operations, to include naval operational intelligence.
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS:
A Call To The Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution (Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press 2005)
A Hard Fought Ship: The Story of HMS Venomous (Holywell Publishing 2010, 2017) (Seaforth Publishing 2024)
From Across the Sea: North Americans in Nelson’s Navy (Helion & Company 2020)
Tailships: The Hunt for Soviet Submarines in the Mediterranean, 1970-1973 (Helion & Company 2023)
The Trafalgar Chronicle: Dedicated to Naval History in the Nelson Era: New Series 5,6,7,8,9,10 (2020-2025)
PRESENTATIONS:
The Global Anglo-French War of 1793
United States Naval Operations in the Mediterranean 1800-1860
Who Was Captain Charles Stewart USN?
From Across the Sea: North Americans in Nelson’s Navy
Tailships: The Hunt for Soviet Submarines in the Mediterranean, 1970-1973
The Cold War at Sea: A Perspective
A Hard Fought Ship: The Story of HMS Venomous
A Very Long Night For Both The Sheepdog and The Lone Wolf
A Most Fortunate Ship in the Narrow Sea
Operation INFATUATE: The Opening of the Scheldt Estuary November 1944 The Last Amphibious Operation in the ETO.
The Battle for the Atlantic Through The Writings of Nicholas Monsarrat
The Second Quasi War: The Undeclared Naval War Between The US and Nazi Germany, September 1939 — December 1941
The Battle of the North Cape: The Sinking of the Scharnhorst, 23-26 December 1943
Reassessing The Combat Performance Of The Japanese Midget Submarine Force At Pearl Harbor: A Technical Assessment