Evening star., 1921-01-23
Before the launching there was prayer by
the Rev DR. Suddards

Before the launching there was prayer by
the Rev. DIR. Suddards.
The long prayer is incorporated in
the report and the report concludes
This is the single instance found in
examined records of any religious
service at the launching Of United
States Navy ship"
The Princeton did not have a long
life. She was broken up at the
Boston Navy Yard in 1s49. With
out taking the time to go through
the service record of this ship, the
Rambler Is sure that her career was
a worthy one and that more space
than is now at the Rambler's call
would be needed to print the names
of all the gallant men who saw serv-
ice in her. In the Navy Depart
ment library is the copy of letter
sent to a Washington woman, evi-
IDENTIFY in reply to one from her ask
name of Hunt. Hunter and Johnston
who served on the Princeton in 1874.
The list sent in answer to that in
quiry follows: Lieuts. Montgomery
Hunt, n. Y; Timothy A. Hunt. Conn;
r. T.: Bushrod w Hunter. Va; Charles
G. Hunter, N. j.: Thomas Hunter. Va;
James C. Johnston. KY; Robert E.
Johnston. n. G; Stephen Johnston;
Ohio; Zachary F. Johnston. Nd: and
surgeon l<tWiS u. Oohhoeoh' ~. -
The Bushrod w. (Washington) Hunter
referred to was native of WASH
ington city.
The Princeton was built of white
oak, ship-rigged with a spread of
14.413 square feet of canvas. She
weighed 10000 pounds and the second
1870. "And with the latter she
obtained about 12 per cent. increase
in speed" She had a single teles-
cppic smokestack that cpuld be
housed below the bulwarks. so that
vessel. Her hull cost $S1,416; her
engines, $6O,400, and her boilers.
$29.400.
Many columns of space have been
given over to steamboats, and only
the barest mention has oeen maue
This seems to be unfair discrimination.
and the Rambler does not want to be
charged with playing favorites even
in the matter of boats. Certainly IN
the matter of horses it is a losing
game to play favorites. The Rambler
wants the Potomac sailing craft to
have their innings in these annals. and
the reason he has not hitherto turned
his pen. or typewriter. toward them Is
that he had no information about them.
At this writing the Rambler does
not know that the Indians of the Po-
but they must have progressed in
the sciences up to that point because
other savages lower than they IN
the scale of intelligence and achieVe-
ment called the winds to their ald IN
navigation. The Rambler does not re-
member ever having seen a picture
of a Potomac Indian sailing his canoe:
and tie Indian is always represented
as padding his frail craft. or his
stanch craft-according to the way
you handle it. The records OF the
ports or por.s r ci,v OF eneay payt rohacco oh @
Dumfries, Colchester. Alexandra, bla,
densburg and Georgetown-would reveal
long story Of ships. cargoes, masters
and owners could we but get at them,
but that is not easy to do. The rec
ernment records, and if you have ever
had any experience in this line you
know tEat it often happens that gov
ernment records are not where tney
ought to be.
tiyes the Rambler called attention to
this advertisement. which he found in
the National Intelligencer of May 10,
1901:
H. & T. Moore auctioneers. will sell at Mer-
chants wharf. on the 9th OF May. the sioop
some vessel. in good order and well found. Has
a large commOdious cabin and is particularly
well calculated for a packet to run between
Georgetown and the city of Washington. for
which purpose she was fitted out.
In the National Intelligencer in the
summer of 1901 Brohawn & Boys. who
ran a lumber yard at Motley Young's
wharf, on the Washington channel,
advertised that 1.-The schooners Dol
phin and Kitty will constantly take
freight every three weeks from this
city to Annapolis and Baltimore" In
the same year "a handsome fast-sail-
ing sloop, named the George" COM
manded by Capt. Tristan Butler. was
making trips as regularly as the
weather permitted between Alexan-
dria and Norfolk. and that sloop was
advertised as 1.-The Alexandria and
Norfolk Packet" In 1914 the Hand |
Line" of packets piled between
Washington. Georgetown and Phila-
delphia. Weekly sailings were ad-
and these were the vessels: |
Schooner Orator. Capt. B. Scott; schoon- |
er J. w. Caldwell, Capt. T. Hand; sloop |
Capt. c. NJ. Bradbury. and |
sloop Henry Read. Capt. J. Bayliss. At
that time there was also a packet |
line between Georgetown and New
York. and among the craft of that l
line were the schooner Phoebe Eliza ]