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Explore southwest Virginia's local links to maritime history. Until the growing popularity of air travel post-World War II, Americans going abroad traveled by ship. Though Southwest Virginia is not a coastal region, its residents traveled far and wide. Some were involved in the most infamous shipwrecks of the age of steamships, many of whom lost their lives. The foundering of the legendary
Titanic on her maiden voyage, the horrific fire aboard
Morro Castle and the smoke-engulfed decks of U.S.S.
Arizona at Pearl Harbor were all witnessed by Southwest Virginians.
Local author Brandon Whited grants them their long-overdue place in the history books.
About the author
Brandon Whited is a writer and historian who has spent his entire life in Southwest Virginia. Having first become fascinated with the Titanic and maritime history as a child, Brandon has served as a trustee with Titanic International Society since 2019. He has had numerous articles and book reviews published in the society's quarterly journal, Voyage, and he is the author of Gilded Tragedy: West Virginia's Titanic Widow, a full-length biography of Titanic survivor Eloise Hughes Smith. In addition to his nonfiction works, Brandon has had a number of short stories, as well as some poetry, published in various literary journals dating back to 2005.
