Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-24
TERRIBLE DISASTERS.
The Loss of the Victoria Recalls
Other Naval Tragedies.
AMERICAN NAVAL VESSELS.
England Has Suffered Before From the
Sinking Of Her Vessels - Our Own Naval
History Contains Disasters, but None to
Compare With This.

"AhO snOh0 AoV0 OCCu mduy b6IlOu6 C6budl-
ties in the United States navy there has never
been one where the loss of life has been so great
as that in the case Of the British flagship Vic
toria, and, as stated in yesterdays STAR, there
has never been in our service an accident in
any respect similar to that one. This is proba-
bly, due to the fact that the United States navy
has never engaged in extensive maneuvering of
the kind customary in the English and French
navies. The nearest approach to it was during
the existence Of the squadron Of evolution,
under command Of Admiral Walker. That
squadron never numbered more than four YES
sells, and consequently never attempted ma
neuvers on a very large SCALE The difficulty of
controlling the movements Of four or five ves-
sells In exercises on the open sea does not. of
course, compare with the difficulties attending
the handling Of fleets Of eighteen or twenty
vessels. This single fact, more than any
other, probably explains the clear record of the
United States navy in this respect
Although it is true that our navy has never
lost vessel or any lives by collision of its YES
sells during drills at sea 1t is also true that we
have been no more exempt from maritime
casualties from other causes than any other
country. Probably the most important of
these, considering the question OF fatality, are
Trenton, Vandalia and Nipsic at Samoa.
THE SAMOAN DISASTER.
In . terrific hurricane which occurred in the
harbor of Apia, Samoa, March 1e, 1889, the
Vandalia and Trenton, American naval vessels,
were sunk. The Nipsic was beached. Every
man on board the Trenton escaped. OF the
vandalia the captain, c. NJ. Shoemaker. and
forty men were lost. Seven Of the Nipsic Q
crew were drowned. Owing to the Samoa
difficulty. which occupied the attention Of the
German and American governments at this
time. the harbor was occupied by several Ger
man men-of-war. among them the Olga, the
Eber and the Adler. The Olga was beached.
None Of her crew were lost The captain Of the
Eber, all her officers except one, and seventy
six men met death by drowning. Fifteen Of
the crew Of the Adler were lost.
LOSS OF THE ONEIDA.
On the Oath Of January, 1870, the United
States steamer Oneida was sunk in the Bay of
Yedo, Japan, by collision with a British mer-
chant steamer, the Bombay of the Peninsula
and Oriental Steamship Company.
The Oneida was a wooden screw steamer, al
feet long, 1885 tons, eight guns, and when lost
had on board "a officers and 1872 men-in all l76
souls. After being employed on blockade duty
during the civil war she was, in 1867, dispatched
to the Asiatic station, where she proved most
efficient cruiser.
1t was at the close Of three years of this ardu-
Gus service when, homeward bound, their
hearts elated with the prospective joys Of home
and their ears still ringing with the farewell
cheers, that lis Of her happy crew met n sud-
den death. Among these were the captain and
all save two Of the commissioned officers.
or all the officers on board the Oneida four
were saved and twenty lost, including the cap
tain, E. p. Williams. Ninety-fve men were
lost.
Capt. Eyre, in command Of the British ship,
did not stop to see how badly he had injured
the corvette, and when the case came I'D for in
quiry before the admiralty be was severely CEN
sured for his conduct. Excitement ran very
high at the time and during the trial Capt.
Eyre was in almost constant danger Of assault
from the Infatuated relatives and friends Of
some Of the lost men. The matter weighed SO
heavily on his mind. indeed, that within q few
months after the trial he died.
FOREIGN NAVAL CASUALTIES.
The laundering of the Victoria will rank as
one Of the most fatal disasters to ships-of- war
on record. The most serious accident of the
kind that has occurred in modern times was the
wreck in 1911, off the coast Of Jutland, Of the
British frigates st. George and Defence, which
disaster involved loss altogether Of 2 900 lives
In this case. however. two shiploads Of victims
went down in the sea. The most fatal disaster
TO single vessel in the past was in the sinking
of the British frigate Royal George of Spit
head in 1882, when Admiral Kempenfeldt and
between 500 and 9O0 persons were drowned. A
ball was In progress On the ship at the time OF
the disaster and some 500 OF the lost were
women and children. who had come on board
on account of the festivities.
Among the most notable disasters at sea was
the wreck Of the French frigate Meduse in 1916.
Or Its living freight OF AGO souls l7o we're put on
the craft which Gerlcault has rendered memoir
able by his celebrated painting In the Louvre;
sixteen remained on board and 200 took to the
boats and gained the African coast nearly 800
miles from the French settlement at st. Louis
Those who took refuge on the raft we're almost
without food or water, and for two weeks they
drifted out on the tropical sea- A brig picked
up from the raft hfteen wretched creatures,
from whom nearly all resemblance to human
beings mad departed. and In whom there was
scarcely breath OF hfe- The others had per-
lshed. The most horrible instance OF cannibal-
ism occurred on the raft. Those who gained
the African coast endured almost as great hard
ship as they made their way, which was strewed
with corpses, across the burning, waterless
sands to ST. Louis.
LOSS OF THE BIRKENHEAD.
One NJ the rnost terrible disasters ON racord
a.. rh;,h hofou a.. p-;.,.I .-..:~
va, ma VIZ 'A 'ooP'n'p
birkehneao over iorv years ago. IL was
O'Clock on the morning OF the Goth Of February,
1852, that the Blrkenbead, having on board a
large number OF soldiers, with usual proportion
OF women and children, 631 souls in all. struck
on rock near Point Danger, Cape OF Good
Hope, and filled. Capt salmond was in COM
6rft hn NDl S<~P A1xA