Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1907-02-08
VESSELS OF ILL LUCK
STRANGE FATE OF THE THREE SHIPS
NAMED WASP.

Two of Them Involved In One of the
Most Curious Condolences of the
Seattle Disastrous Career of the
Old Frisate Chesapeake.
DO you believe in lucky ships?"
asked the paymaster as the officers of
the wardroom prepared for their after
dinner talk.
well, do not know but do" an
swered the first lieutenant "There are
some ships in the navy now-one es-
pecially, as you all know-that do
be treason to mention them by name,
we won't But there's no harm in
speaking about old time unlucky ships.
"There was the Chesapeake. She
was such an unlucky frigate that it
was hard work to get crew for her,
and she was good ship too.
'She began her career with that dis
graceful affair with the British frigate
Leopard. Although England and the
United States were at peace, the Loop
ard held her up off the coast, pour:
ed broadside after broadside into her
can sailors, claiming that they were
British subjects. And the Chesapeake
was in such condition and her prep
aration for battle was so bad that she
offered scarcely any resistance.
AFTER that everything went wrong
will T Vrhnv, hn
ordered to go to Boston and take COM
mand of her just before her fight with
the Shannon, was SO impressed with
the fact that the ship was hoodooed
that he tried his best to get his orders
changed. When he sailed out to fight
the Shannon, so short was he of men
that lie had to impress men on the
dock Just before sailing, and the dis
astrous outcome of that battle off
Boston is a matter of history.
although the Chesapeake was in
such good condition when the British
captured her that they easily took
her into port, and, although when they
fixed her up she was one Of the finest
fr;gates ahoat, she was all the time
getting into trouble until the British
admiralty declined to send her to sea
any more and sold her to Hampshire
miller. who broke her up and made
windmill Of her. Whether he pros
pered after that or not 1 do not know,
but l should not be at all surprised if
investigation should show that he
failed the next year.
"Then there was the Wasp.
1.-THE first Wasp was an eight gun
schooner. purchased at the outbreak Of
the Revolution-a merchant schooner
made over into man-of-war. She was
not practically suited for the work and
after short career of no especial bril-
liancy was dropped from the navy list.
Somehow things had never seemed to
go right with her while she was play
ing man-of-war. But the name was
too good a one-too suggestive a one
to be lost, and when the war of 1912
broke out we find that the United
States bad another Wasp, this time an
eighteen gun sloop of war. And will
explain to my civilian friend over there
that sloop of war, paradoxical as it
may seem, is by 10 means a sl0Op. A
sloop of war is. in general terms, under
the old classified ton Of the navy, a
inan-of-war carrying all her guns on
one deck and not only could be, but
frequently was, full rugged ship. The
old sloops of war of the beginning Of
the last century used to carry every
where from eighteen to thirty guns
and We're to the old navy what the sec
ond class cruiser is to the navy of to-
day.
"Well, the sloop of war Wasp when
the second war with England broke
out was in European waters. She at
once returned to the United States, re-
fitted and started on a cruise after the
enemy's merchant fleets coming up
from the West Indies. Soon after leav-
ing port she ran into a hurricane and
lost her lib boom and two men on it.
But her bad luck let up bit, and
she captured the British corvet Frolic
after brilliant action.
But the luck of the Wasp was only
lifting her up little to cast her down
harder. Scarcely had she taken pos
session of her prize when down came
the British line Of battle ship Poictiers
and took victor and vanquished into
her possession. A prize crew Of Brit
ishers took the Wasp to England,
where they refitted her and took her
Into the British navy.
I'm the spring of 1914 the Wasp, fly
ing the red cross ensign Of st. George,
sailed out from the harbor Of Ports
mouth, England. She was sighted pass
Ing out Of the chops Of the channel,
and from that day to this there have
come no tidings Of her fate. She sailed
hway stanch, taut and trim, well found
and seaworthy as American and Brit
fsh skill could make her. No hostile
)hip sank her with it's guns, no great
storm passed over that part Of the
peean at that time, yet she never re-
turned to port. No piece Of wreckage
A~1- L. T.