Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-08-26
SINGULAR NAVAL MYSTERIES.
War Vessels ihns nave Disappeared
without Leaving Explanation.

(EeSne ) NeehlyD
Curious disappearances and accidents
ID our warships characterized the early
history Of our navy, ano in spite Of all
the efforts of the Navy Department to
explain the cause of the disasters, many
OF them are as absolute mysteries to-
day as when they happened.
When the government built ten new
gunboats to prosecute the war against
Tripoli. in 1865, they were sent out as
soon as they were finished, and before
they were named. Each one was given
a number and dispatched to the scene
of the war. No Z sailed from New York,
June 20. 1905, under command of Lieuten-
ant Ogelvie, and after she cleared sandy
Hook light she was never heard from
again. She went down with all on board
before she had even been named.
A most extraordinary accident happen
ed 10 the corvette Monongahela at Santa
Cruz in 1861 While at anchor in the har"
Dor tremendous tidal wave lifted her
upon its crest and carried her clean over
the town Of Friedrichstadt and back
again without injuring the town or the
boat TO any great extent. The recedlng
wave landed her on the beach instead OF
in the deep water Of the harbor, ana IL
cost our government 10000 10 float her
again Fully as strange was the fate OF
the sloop- of-war Wateree. she was an
chored in the harbor Of africa, Peru, III
1868. when a huge tidal wave swept In
land and flooded the whole city The wave
carried the sloop several miles Inland
and finally landed her in the midst OF
tropical forest. II was impossible to re-
lease her from such a peculiar position,
-
and the government sold her for a noml-
nal sum. The purchasers turned the yes
sci into a hotel. and the remains OF the
| once formidable war vessel loom up IN
/ the tropical forest to-day as monument
20 the power of tidal waves.
Among other cases OF disaster WHICH
are attributed to the violence Of the
waves or weather there is none more
| interesting than that OF the strange fate
of the Saratoga. When she sailed from
| PHILADELPHIA, in October. 1850, under the
command of Captain James Young, there
was 10 finer or handsomer war vessel
| ahoat That she was as formidable as
| she was attractive was soon demonstrated
| In a practical way. After cruising arouhu
| a short time she captured three Brltlsh
| vessels in succession, and then with her
| prizes she started TO return 10 Phlla-
| delnhia But OFF the Delaware capes snt
encountered a British ship or the line
AS the Saratoga carried only eighteen
guns and the Intrepid was seyenty-four-
! gun ship, Captain Young considered IL
safer TO run away. The enemy ala mo-
chase her far, but returned 10 protec'
ard recapture the Brush prizes. G
Saratoga sailed away in the very teetf
NJ a storm. and she was never heard
from again. Did she founder at sea IN
the gale. or was she pioNh uP " "S
| own magaZinesE
There were some peculiar accidents to
| our naval vessels in the past that are
| accounted for, but, while the mystery oil
their loss is removed and explained, the
| strangeness of their mishaps is no less
interesting. For instance, there Is the
sinking of the United States sloop-of-waT
| Oneida in 1859. She was bound home from
> Yokohama, but when short distance
from port the British steamer Bombay
ran into her and cut off her stern. The
| injury was so mortal that the Oneida I'M
| mediately fred her guns of distress but
in the darkness the Bombay crew crept
away instead OF returning TO assist her
| In a short time the slOop went TO the
! bottom. carving all her crew with her
When the news reached Yokohama tho
captain of the British steamer was mob
bed by the indignant populace. and ne
was dismissed from the service in dis
grace.
Hurricanes have been responsible FOL
| the wreckage of several of our naval YES
sells other than those at Samoa In 1889
| The bris-of-war cambridge was turned
over bv a hurricane off Cape Hatteras In
1853 and everybody on board was lost ex
cent a colored cook. who managed &c
cling TO pieces of the wreck until picked
no. Ninety-eight lives were lost by the
wrecking OF the sloop-of-war Huron In
1877. A, small hurricane blew her on the
| shore on Norfolk. and she was pounded
10 pieces by the violent surf. The Sagi-
nav was wrecked in the middle OF the
| Pacific in 1870.