The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-25
WRECKED IN PORT.
Ships That Have Met Their Fate
When Mhey Seemed Perfectly Safe.

When Mhey Seemed Perfectly Safe.
From the New York Sun.
Every one admits that it Is danger
Gus to he q man-of-war's man in war
time Even in time of peace. at great
gun practice, or while salutlng, it is a
recognized fact that accidents happen,
ana such accidents do not cause so
much astonishment as they do tempor-
ary pity. But it there is one place
where a vessel is supposed popularity
TO be safe, that place is rort. 1t need
not be her home port; but, so long as a
vessel is in port. in the minds of the
public she is safe, yet, as the recent
disaster to the Maine shows, even port
is not always safe. In fact, some of
the great naval disasters i'm history Oc-
CURED in port.
Probably the greatest accident on
record, and certainly the most famous,
was the capsizing of the Royal George,
a line of battleship of the British navy.
1t was the flagship of Rear Admiral
Richard Kempenfeldt. On Aug. 20.
1882, as it lay off Spithead. at the mouth
OF the Thames, it was hceled, in order
that a pipe might be repaired. Heel
Ing was a simple process; one broad
side of guns was run from one side of
the ship to the other, so that all the
weight was on one side; this laid the
ship over far enough to lay bare the
end of the pipe. Heelng wasn't abso-
lutely safe, but the repairs were so
simple that it wasn't worth while to
dock the ship. So they heeled the
Royal George.
The ship had not been put out OF
commission. and practically all her Of
ficers and crew We're aboard. BESIDES,
the friends of many of the ships COM
pany were on board, men, women and
children, including a large number of
Jews. A land breeze sprang up, the
stays did not hold, and the great ship
capsized, nearly 500 persons being
drowned. The Royal George carried
1OS guns and was one OF the best ves-
sels in the royal navy.
On June 2. 1859, the steamship East
ern Monarch lay off Spithead, after
voyage from India, with 500 officers
and men on board, most of whom We're
invalids. That night she was burned.
but providentially only eight persons
lost their lives. On Dec. %, 1875, Just
three days before Christmas, ii. NJ, S.
Goliath, used as training ship, lay in
the Thames with about 500 officers,
men, and boys. most of the boys being
rescued from the slums of London A
lamp upset on the oil-room floor; but
again fortune was on the side of man,
and only twelve persons were burned
to death.
Sunday March "a 1878, was an un-
pleasant day in parts of England.
There was a snow-stOrm, which is al
ways unpleasant in England, and then
there came thunder and purple light
ming, and to top off, a furious squall
ragged for a short time. Just before the
squall H. NJ. S. sailing frigate Fury
dice, used as a training ship, sailed up
along the Isle of Wight She had about
800 men and boys on board, and came
in with a good breeze, most of her
sails drawing and her ports open. The
boys We're crowding the decks, happy
to see England again after long voy-
age from the Bermudas. Off Dunnose
head near Ventnor, that snow squan
struck her, and she capsized. Ventnor
is a watering place, winter as well as
summer; and right before the eyes of
hundreds of persons unable to help the
old frigate went down. Hardly any
tenant Tabor the executive officer,
and nearly every other person on board
was drowned almost within reach Of
land at the entrance of the harbor for
which they had hoped.
FOrty-fiVe years ago Captain COwper
Coles, of the British navy. invented
what he called turret ship, vessel
to carry few guns, but those of large
4. 4 . l.
Ericsson had the same idea, and car
ried 1t out in his Monitor, but Captain
Coles was not able to embody his plans
in a ship until nearly fifteen years had
passed. Finally the Lords commission
ers for executing the office of Lord
High Admiral accepted the captains
plans, and II. NJ. S. Captain was the
result. 1t was a full-rigged iron ship
armOred, with auxiliary steam power
High bulwaTks were intended to be let
down when the vessel was cleared for
action, uncovering the two turrets,
The ship was launched in 1869 and
hal trouble from the first. Finally she
seemed to ind herself" and Joined the
Channel fleet. On Sept. 7, 1870, COM
manded by Capt. Hugh Burgoyne, she
was sailing through the Bay of Biscay,
She carried company or fSS persons,
and Captain Coles and Mr.. Childers. a
son Of the first lord of the admiralty,
who were passengers, made the total
number on board 49O. At 1916 a. m.
a squall sprang up and struck the top
heavy ship. The bulwarks were down,
the ship heeled over and never righted.
OF the 400 persons on board only eigh-
teen escaped, and when the court-mar-
tial sat to try some one for negligence
in losing the vessel the only person
they could try was James May, the
gunner! Every officer was lost.
The captain was not in harbor; but
she might as well have been; she was
alone, there was no danger of collision,
her ammunition didn't explode. Seem
ingly she was as safe as ship well
could be. She and the Eurydtce and