The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-22
RECORD OF..THEt BENNINGTON.
Has Been In PaCinc squadron Ten years
Accident Puzzles Warrington.

has been In the Pacific squadron LOT ten
years. Recently-he Bennington was sent to
Honolulu and she returned to San Oiego
on July TO- Her original orders were 10
proceed 70 the city OF Panama to reh We
the Petrol, which had been ordered north
In the mean time, however, the monitor
Wyoming, also on the Pacific station, lost
a propeller and was forced to put into Port
Hartford, some miles north OF San Diego
The Bennington's orders were chan ged,
and when she started to leave San Diego
to-day abe was bound for Port Hartford
to- CONVOY the Wyoming to the Mare Island
Navy Yard where the monitor Is to DO
docked and repaired.
The bennington is a sister ship OF the
Yorktown and OF the Concord. Both these
vessels are now out OF commission the
former at the Mare Island yard and the
latter at Bremerton, Nothin g is radically
wrong with either Of these vessels, and 1t
Is the intention Of the Navy Department
to put hem back into active service when
the repairs which are being made are COM :.
pleted.
The Bennington was built by n. +. Palmer,
Jr, 4 CO., at Chester, Pa, and the Concord
was built at the same yard at the same Tune
Both were begun in 1887 and completed
in 1891 but the Yorkt own, the OF her sister
and was completed in 1880. The official
descrption of the Bennington is as follows
DISPLACEMENT l70 TONS tonnage, 4os;
length, 23O feet; breadth, so feet; mean
draft. u feet built lss7-9l; material. eel;
propulsion, 2 screws; rig. schooner; indl-
Gated horIe-p 3.438; speed. 1850 knots
coal supply, 373.
Officials of the Navy Department. in the
absence Of detailed information, cannot
explain the cause of the accident and most
of the experts of the Department believe
that the true cause will never be known.
ne is usually the case when boilers explode.
The blowing UP of boiler on a vessel of
the navy is unprecedented, although boiler
tubes, cylinder heads and other parts OF
the steam apparatus of warship's engine
room have frequently succumbed to
the immense pressure of steam. In 1891.
soon after she was commissioned. . steam
pite in the engine room of the Concord blew
up, killing six men, This. however, does
not necessarily indicate that the Benning-
ton althoug Oh sister ship to the Concord,
was subject to the detection which caused
the accident on the Concord.
A leading official Of the Navy Department
said to-day that il was probable the in
vestigaton which Is to come will not prove
much concerning the actual cause OF the
accident He remarked however, that he
had received no details as to the manner OF
the explosion or the conditions which ex-
listed at the time.
Like nearly all boiler explosions. this
one will probably never he fully explained
he said when boiler blows up, it simply
blows and it is usually impossible to reach
any definite conclusion ms to the reason
for it's doing so. As far as we know the
boilers of the Bennington were in first class
condition. OF course they were old, hut
there are many boilers in the navy as old
as we're those of the Bennington. The last
report the Department had OF the Benning-
toms boilers was made in March. They
were then in apparently good condition.
and absolutely no premontion of anything
ever happening was given to those who
made the inspection of the Bennington's
engine rooms"
The Bennngton's officers were as follows:
Commander Lucen Young. commanding;
Lieut.A F. H Yates. Ensign Char les Wade.
Ensign Newman K. Perry, Ensign Leo Sahm
Ensign Lindsay H. Lacy, Passed Assistant
Surgeon Allen Z. Peck and Paynaster
Charles Morris Jr.
Lieut.. Alexander F. II. Yates was the
ranking officer at the time Of the accident.
Lieut.. Victor Blue. one of the best known
officers in the navy by virtue of his services
in Cuba during the Spanish war, was the
executive officer of the Bennington, second
In command to Commander Young. until
two days ago, when he was taken of the
vessel and sent to Il hospital on shore, suf-
ferng from appendicitis. Lieut.. Yates is
graduate of the Naval Academy. He was
orn III Maine, Jan. IL. 1879, and was ap-
pointed to the academy in 1885,
of tba Ram n ntn n
we're in charge of Ensign Charles T. Wade,
who has been on the Bennington since
a Dec 25, 1893 although he was not assigned
to engineering duty until October of last
year, Wade appointed to Annapolis
Sept s. 1896, He was made an Ensign July
!, 1852 He was due for promotion on July
of this year. but has not taken the required
examination. He was appointed to the Naval
Academy from the Fifth New Jersey district.
His father Charles H. Wade resides at
Hackettstown \. j.
Ensign Newman X. Perry, watch and
division officer on the Bennington, was
horn in South Carolina. Nov. 2s, 1890, and
was appointed to the Academy Sept, Q, 1897.
He was made an Ensign on June 7, 1903
He Joined the Remington on March o, 1903
and has been stationed on that vessel since
then. His wife livesat Stockbridge. Mass
Ensign Leo Sahm was born in Iowa in
1880 and was appointed to the Academy
from that State in 1900. He was promoted
to the rank OF Ensign March 2, 1903, His
father lives in Dubuque. la.
Ensign Lindsay H, Lacy was born in
Texas in 1852, and was appointed to the
navy from that State in 1898. He was made
an ensign in February. 1905. He jo ined
the Bennington March . 10 O5, His father,
W. NJ Lacy, lives at Palestine Tex
Passed Assistant Surgeon Allen +. Peck
was born in California in 1873. He was
appointed an assistant surgeon in the
navy from that State in 1901, and was pro-
NOTED to the rank Of passed assistant
surgeon in 1904. He joined the Benning-
ton last April. His wife lives at Palo Alto,
Gal.
Paymaster Charles Morris, Jr., was born