Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-05-29
THE NAvYs LOST SHIPS.
Cause of Naval Accidents and the Pun.
ishmants Inflicted.

Cause of Naval Accidents and the Pun
ishments Inflicted.
In 1866 the U. S. S. San Jacinto
ran aground on the Bahama Banks.
She was not seriously injured, but
her commanding officer was court
martialled and sentenced to three
years suspension; he appealed from
this decision and the president order
ed a new trial by a different court,
which resulted in the same sentence
being imposed as in the first instance.
January 4, 1866, the U. s. tug
Narcissus foundered in the Gulf Of
Mexico. A volunteer ensign was in
command and he had a reputation
as a competent officer. A violent
hurricane passed over the gulf at
the time, and as all hands were lost
It is presumed that the accident was
unavoidable.
In June, 1867, the U. s. s. Sacra-
mento was lost on an unknown reef In
the Bay of Bengal. Her captain and
navigator were tried by court-mar-
tial, were both found guilty and sem
fenced to three years suspension and
to be publicly reprimanded. In both
cases the sentence was reduced to
two years by the secretary of the
navy.
In 1857 the U. S. s. Monongahela,
while anchored in the harbor Of
Fredickstadt island of st. Croix, was
picked up by a tidal wave and landed
on a wharf. The next wave in re-
ceding carried the ship to the en-
trance of the harbor and deposited
her on a coral reef, from which she
was later removed but little damaged
and with small loss Of life.
In the same storm the U. s. s. De
Soto, anchored In a st. Thomas har-
Dor, was treated in a similar way
and, as in the case Of the Monongahe-
la, she was later fioated with but little
damage and small loss Of life. No
court martial was ordered in either
of these cases.
August 13, 1868, the U. S. S. Fre-
donia and the U. s. S. Wateree were
anchored in the harbor of africa,
Peru, where they were overwhelmed
by a tidal wave, resulting from an
earthquake, which carried the Wa
| teree half a mile inland. from which
position the ship was never moved;
the Fredonla was sunk in the same
harbor by the same wave and most
| of her officers and crew were lost.
In neither case was a court-martial
ordered:
In 1868 the U. s. s. Suwanee was
lost in Shadwell Passage. Alaska.
There are irregular and unusually
strong currents in this locality, and
while the ship had been furnished
with the only available charts, they
were imperfect and incomplete. Her
| captain was court-martialled and ex-
onerated.
January "a, 1870, the U. s. 8. Onei-
Bay was In the night run into by the
English steamer Bombay and sank
fifteen minutes after the collision,
carrying down nearly all her officers
and crew. A court Of inquiry showed
conclusiyely that the Oneida had the
right Of way and no court-martial
was ordered.
In 1870 the u. s. s. Saginaw was
carried by unknown and uncharted
currents onto a reef in the Pacific
ocean and was lost. Her command
er, Lieutenant Commander Montgom-
cry Sicard, one Of the most distin-
guished officers in the navy, was
court-martialled and exonerated.
| In 1874 the U. s. s. Brooklyn ran
aground near Key West, Fla. She
was floated and no damage was done.
Her captain was court-martialled
and acquitted.
| In 1875 the U. s. s. Saranac, while
cruising in uncharted waters in
Seymour Narrows off the Alaskan
coast was thrown by whirlpool on
sunken rock and lost. No court
martial was ordered.
| In 1877 the U. S. s. Huron was
lost during a severe storm on Cape
Hatteras. AS her captain, navigator
and deck officers, who were on duty
at the time, as we'll as nearly all the
other officers and men, went down
with the ship, there was no court
martial ordered.
In 1881 the U. s. s. Rogers, a
whaler purchased to take part in the
Greely relief expedition, while fro
zen in the ice in the Arctic ocean,
caught fire and. being saturated with
oil, was quickly destroyed. No court
martial was considered necessary.
In 1883 the U. S. S. Ashuelot was
run on a rock off the coast Of China
and lost Her captain was court
martialled and dismissed from the
officer had previously been dismissed
| for drunkenness and restored by an
act of congress.
| In 1888 the U. S. S. Enterprise ran
onto a submerged barrier in Chris
tiana BAY, which was new and did
not show on the charts furnished the
ship. The ship was not damaged and
no court-martial was ordered.
In 1889 the u. S. S. Trenton, Van
dalia and Nipsic were lying at anchor
in the harbor of Apia, Samoan Is
lands, in company with a German
squadron of three ships and H. M. S.
| Calliope, when such a terrific hurri
cane arose that the American and
| German ships, being unable to steam
against it, were wrecked; the Eng
lishmar. being a new ship, with, for
that day, powerful engines. was able
to get to sea. The Trenton and Van
| dalia were a total loss; the Nipsic,
however was later pulled off the reef