The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-12-24
NAVAL SHIPS LOST AT SEA.
s1x American vessels That Were Never
Heard From.

The Navy Department has many in
teresting records Of its ships that have
met with sad endings, but none more
so than the brief accounts of six diff
ferent ones summed up tersely in these
words: Never heard from" This Ia
comic expression Is familiar to all sea
| followers, and 1t contains world OF
meaning II rightfully understood.
| There have been ships that have gone
down in battle with the flags flying
defantly at the masthead, and Others
| that have battled bravely against the
adverse elements until, waterlogged,
they have sunk within sight of land;
but to be lost at sea, with no men,
| tion OF the disaster because of lack oil
all detail, is to meet fate hardly
deserved.
Early in the history Of our navy
such a 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, sail
ed forth upon the great ocean and dis
appeared forever from all human
knowledge. What we know of her is
briefly summed up in 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 In
trepid, and after a long fight she es-
capped from her heavier adversary. No
further word from the Saratoga was
ever received, and no signs OF her
wreckage were ever discovered. She
probably foundered at sea in a gale,
but she never left any one behind to
tell the tale.
This was in 1880, and the next loss
of a similar character occurred twenty
years later. The thirty-six-gun frigate
Insurgent. commanded by Capt. Pat
rick Fletcher, was originally under the
French flag, but after she was cap
tured by the Constellation off the ISL
and 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
easterly 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
official confirmation Of the story of her
loss.
The fourteen-gun brig Pickering met
with a similar fate. She was cruising
off Guadalupe, with Master Command.
ant Benjamin Hitler in charge, when
severe storm arose and swept the seas
1t is generally supposed that the ves-
sci, 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 GER
tainty Of identifying them. 1t is
thought also that the same storm might
have caused the loss of the Insurgent,
although as to this no trustworthy ac-
count can be found.
The next vessel in our navy to dis
appear in this mysterious fashion was
known as gunboat No. 7, commanded
by Lieut.. Ogelvie. She sailed from
New York May IA, 1905, to increase our
naval force then engaged in the war
with Tripoli. She returned to this
port after being out for few days,
and then she sailed on June 20 the Sec
ond time. But she never reached her
destination. Although nine other
boats left about the same time for the
| Mediterranean service, and all reached
| their points in time, gunboat No. 7
| was lost. and no word was ever re-
ceived from any of her officers or crew.
The loss of the Wasp followed this
/ disaster The mystery about this
| handsome naval fighter is generally
J familiar to all readers OF American
! history. Her exploits on the water
after her first launching until the time
of her strange disappearance we're so
brilliant that every schoolboy knows
about them. Within period Of five
months the Wasp took fifteen English
merchantmen, valued at nearly quar-
ter Of a million dollars, and fought
several stubborn battles with naval
vessels of her own size and strength.
On October 1, 1914, the Wasp hailed
the Swedish bark Adonis and took On
board two of the surviving officers OF
the old Essex after her destruction in
| Valparaiso harbor, and then passed on
into the dark mystery which has nev-
er been solved. That was the last in
telligence ever brought to port by any
ship concerning the veteran fighter and
victor. Her fate will ever remain an
unexplained puzzle.
The last vessel of the series to be
lost at sea without leaving any sign
behind to explain matters was the brig
Epervier, commanded by Lieut. John
SnuDr1cK. Wnen Lne TERMS Ol lue
treaty between the United States and
Algiers were dictated to the Dey at
the point of the cannon by Decatur in
1915, a copy of the paper was sent
home by the EperVier. The brig pass
ed the Straits of Gibraltar on July IL
1915, and from that time all trace Of
her was lost. She sailed out upon the
ocean and was swallowed up by the
sea that has wrecked the hopes and
ambitious of so many.
In modern times the loss of nava
vessels at sea has been comparatively
limited. The United States navy ha!
been singularly fortunate in this re
spect during the past half century, bu
this may be attributed as much to I'll,
limited number of ships in commission
as to any still or safeguard. The mod
ern navy Is built upon such ditferen
lines from the old class of war YES
sells that it is difficult to compare tn
two, but it Is safe to assume thar tn
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