The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-08-24
NAVAL SHIPS LOST AT SEA.

Six American Vessels That Were ''Nev-
 CT Heard From No Tidings Have Ever Come to Reveal the Fate That
 Overlook the Glorious Old Sloop- of-
 War Wasp-The Saratoga's Loss and
 the Mystery of the 1nsurgent.
 The Navy department has many i'm teresting records of it's ships that have met with sad endings, but none more so than the brief accountS of six differ ent ones summed up tersely In these words: Never heard fron1.' This la comic expression is familiar to all sea followers, and it contains a world of meaning if rightly understood. There have been ships that have gone down in battle with the flags flying def1antly at the masthead, and others that have battled bravely against the adverse el- ements until, waterlogged, they have sunk within sight of land; but to be lost at sea, with no mention of the dis aster because of lack of all detail, is to meet fate hardly deserved.
 Early in the history of our navy such mystery closed about one of the first vessels flying the new Stars and Stripes. The ill-fated Saratoga, an eighteen-gun ship, after performing a brilliant service on the high seas, sailed forth upon the great ocean and disap- peared forever from all human knowl- edge Wbat we kpow of her is briefly summed up in a few sentences. After capturing three English prizes she was intercepted on her way to Philadelphia with them by the British seventy four gun ship of the line Intrepid and after a long fight she escaped from her heav- fer adversary No further word from the Saratoga was ever received, and no signs of her wreckage were ever discov- cred. She probably foundered at sea in a gale, but she never left any one be- hind to tell the tale.
 This was in 17S0, and the next loss of a similar character occurred twenty years later. The thirty gun frigate Insurgent, commanded by Captain Patrick Fletcher, was originally under the F'ench flag. but after she was cap- tured by the Constellation off the is land of Nevis she sailed under the American flag until the end of her short career. She had sealed orders to sail from the Chesapeake capes out to sea, but after she started on her easter ly course no word from any ship brought tidings of the Insurgent. She disappeared completely No one on board of her was ever saved to give of ficial confirmation of the story of her loss
 The fourteen-gup brig Pickering met with a similar fate. She was cruising off Guadaloupe, with Master Com mandant Benjamin Hitler in charge, when a seveBe storm arose and swept the seas. It is generally supposed that the vessel, which was an unseaworthy tub, foundered with all on board Pieces Of wreckage were picked up along the coast, but as so many vessels were lost during this gale there was no certainty of identifying them. It is thought also that the same storm might have caused the loss of the In surgent, although as to this no trust worthy account can be found.
 The next vessel in our navy to disap- pear in this mysterious fashion was known as gunbeat No. [, commanded by Lieutenant Ogelvie. She sailed from New York May 14th. 1865 to in crease our naval force then engaged in the war with Tripo1i She returned to this port after being out for feY days.