Evening star., 1914-06-01
GROUNDING Of SYLVIA
BLAMED ON CHARTS
Board of Inquiry Exonerates Ensign
Crawford in Findings on
Accident.

Official charts of the Potomac river is
sued by the United States coast and
geodetic survey are blamed for the
grounding of the U. S. S. Sylvia training
ship Of the Naval Battalion of the Ma
tional Guard of the District of Columbia,
abreast of the Upper Cedar Point light
house Friday evening. The official report
of the board of inquiry appointed by
Commander Joseph A. Dempf. command
ing the Sylvia. to investigate the acci-
dent was received at National Guard
headquarters today. and will be forward
ed Immediately to the Navy Department
The report absolves Ensign Harold Craw-
ford. who was officer on the deck and in
charge Of the navigation Of the ship at
the time of the grounding. from all
blame. The vessel was not damaged, the
report says.
The board Of inquiry consisted Of Lieut.
president: Lieut.. dunior grade) Frank
w Sigourney and Ensign F. l.. Nudge,
engineer officer, and convened Immediate
1y following the accident, and the report
shows that only two officers testified,
Lieut.. Gunior grade) B. c. Getsinger and
Ensign Crawford. The report does not
show that the quartermaster at the wheel
at the time of the grounding was called
upon to give his testimony. as to whether
or not he had changed the course.
Two Witnesses Testify.
The testimony of Lieut.. Getsinger
showed that he had been relieved as
officer Of the deck at Z o'clock in the
evening. and had just gone below deck to
attend to other duties when he heard
grinding noise. He Immediately
went above, he said, and learned that
the vessel had grounded. and then
made an examination of her double bot
toms and found that she had not been
damaged.
Ensign Crawford. after telling of
having relieved Lieut. Getsinger, de-
ciared that he saw the vessel was on
her correct course and was plotting a
new course on the chart. while en-
gagged In setting a new course, he
said, II looked from under the canopy
several times and saw that the cor
rect course was being steered. I later
looked up and saw we were coming
onto the lighthouse. about 500 yards
distant 1 Immediately gave orders
Hard to right stopped my engines
and antauI gave orders to go full speed
hard aground within fifty Yards of the
lighthouse"
He declared that his chart showed
the channel line to be thirty-one feet.
WaeA IL was lounQ upon soundings,
that 1T was not this depth within 200
feet Of the lighthouse
Il made every effort to avert the
grounding, without result" he continued
blame the grounding to the markings
OF the chart and the slowness of the
helm in answering"
Reached Washington Last Night,
The vessel proceeded to Colonial Beach
after she was pulled off Saturday night
by the United States naval tug Choctaw,
and returned to Washington last night.
According to officers on the ship, there
were exciting times after the grounding
The vessel listed heavily to starboard
and her decks were awash. They lay in
this position a day and a night and In
order to make certain that the ship would
not turn over long hawsers were tied be-
tween the ship and the lighthouse. An
officer was dispatched to Pope's Creek to
wire to the commandant of the Washing
ton navy yard for assistance. While the
vessel was lying on the side Of the chan
mel the U. S. s. Sylph sighted them and
signaled, asking if they were in i'm
mediate danger. The reply was mo,
but Commander Dempf requested the
Sylph to send a wireless message to the
Washington navy yard for assistance.
While aground every effort was made
to get the ship into the channel by her
own steam, but she was SO tight in the
sand that nothing but the big naval tug
could move her