The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-06-07
NAVAL DISASTERS.
SOME OF THE GREATEST IN HISTORY
OCCURRED IN PORT.

OGGOnhEO TN FORI.
Notable Instances of Vessels That Met
Their Fate When They Seemed Perfect
1y Secure From Disaster-The Capsizins
of the Royal George.
Some of the greatest naval disasters in
history, stra. 4 to say, occurred in port.
Probably the greatest accident on record,
and certainly the most famous, was the
capsizing of the Royal George, a line of
battle ship of the British navy. 1t was the
flagship of Rear Admiral Richard Kemp
enfelt. On Aug. 30, 1889, as it lay off
Spithead at the mouth of the Thames, it
was heeled, In order that pipe might be
repaired. Keeling was simple process.
One broadside 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. Keeling wasn't absolutely 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 COM
mission and practically all her officers and
crew were aboard. Besides, the friends of
many of the ships company 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 800 persons be-
ing drowned. The Royal George carried
108 guns and was one of the best vessels
in the royal navy.
On June g. 1859, the steamship Eastern
Monarch lay off Spithead, after a voyage
from India, with 500 officers and men on
board, most of whom were invalids. That
night she was burned, but providentially
only eight persons lost their lives. On
Dec. 49, 1875, just three days before
Christmas, H. 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 slulns of
London. A lamp upset on the oilroom
floor, but again fortune was on the side Of
man, and only 10 persons were burned to
death.
Sunday, March "a, 1878. was an I'M
pleasant day in parts of England. There
was a snowstorm, which is always I'M
pleasant in England, and then there came
thunder and purple lightning, and, to top
off, furious squat ragged for a short time.
just before the squall H. M. S. sailing
frigate Eurydice, 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 were crowding the decks. happy to
see England again after long voyage
from the BerInudas. Of Dunnose head,
near Ventnor, that snow squall struck her,
and she capsized Ventnor Is a watering
place. winter as well as summer, and right
before the eyes of hundreds of persons I'M
able to help the old frigate went down.
Hardly any one was saved. Captain Hare,
Lieutenant 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.
In 1858 Captain Cowper Coles Of the
British navy invented what he called a
turret ship, vessel to carry few guns, but
those of large caliber, in movable towers
on the deck. Ericsson had the same idea
and carried 1t out in his Monitor, but Cap
tain Coles was not able to embody his
plans in ship until nearly Is years had
passed. Finally the lords commissioners
for executing the Office of lord high adj
miral accepted the captains plans, and
a full rugged iron ship, armored, with aux
Hilary steam power. High bulwarks were
intended to be let down when the vessel
was cleared for action, unoovering the two
turrets.
The ship was launched in 1869 and had
trouble from the first Finally she seemed
to "1nd herself" and joined the channel
feet. On Sept z, 1870, commanded by
Captain Hugh Burgoyne, she was sailing
through the bay of Biscay. She carried a
company of 4S8 persons, and Captain Coles
and Mr.. Childers, son of the first lord of
the admiralty, who were passengers, made
the total number on board 400. At 1915
a. m. squall sprang up and struck the
top heavy ship. The bulwarks were down
and the ship heeled over and never righted.
OF the $50 persons on board only IS escap-
ed, and when the court martial sat to try
some one for negligence in losing the YES
sci the only person they could try was
James May, the gunnerI 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 am
munition didn't explode Seemingly she
was as safe as a ship well could be. She
and the Eurydice and the Royal George
were beaten down by no great storms. 1t
was as though the finger of Providence had
pointed at those three ships and at moth
ing else.
Not quite three years after the Eurydice
capsized there was a boat race on the
Thames up in Canada. The day was
Queen Viotoria's birthday, May "a, 1881.
The day was clear, 1t was a holiday, and
the race was exciting; SO the steamboats,
accompanying the racers were crowded
The Victoria had on her decks every soul
she could carry, but everybody behaved
we'll and there was no trouble and no
danger-until an exciting part of race
caused the crowd to rush to one side of the
boat. Then she oapsized. She had 700 per-
sons on board and more than 800 died
The suddenness of this disaster was ap-
palling. A traveller driving in a carriage
saw the crowded Victoria steaming after
the racing boats The road ran behind a
low HILL cutting off all view of the river
for 100 yards or so. When the driver had
passed the bluff and again saw the river,
the Victoria had oapsized.
There are countless other instances of
such strange providential happenings;
they all go to show that man is as safe
anywhere as he is anywhere else and that
when his tina 10 I'm ha rnuSt Maui