The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Loss of the Memphis (8/19/1916) - Dec 29th, 2004

www.compass.dircon.co.uk ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

.................................................................. .................... ...........................................

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The Loss of the Memphis

The USS Memphis was a large armoured cruiser of 18,000 tons, originally named the Tennessee, and launched on 3 December 1904. Her boilers were coal-fired and she had two reciprocating engines which gave her a speed of 23 knots. Her main armament consisted of four ten-inch guns in twin turrets, and when she was commissioned these guns could outrange those of any battleship in existence. Her subsidiary armament included 16 six-inch and 22 three-inch guns.

She was renamed Memphis in 1916 to release the name Tennessee for a battleship (BB43) which was then under construction. Many of the dock workers thought it bad luck to change the name and the idea spread to the crew, but few took it really seriously.

Her commanding officer was Captain Edward J. Beach, who had earlier commanded Memphis' sister ship, the cruiser Washington.

Shortly after her change of name Memphis sailed from Hampton Roads for the harbour of San Domingo. San Domingo was capital of the Caribbean Island of the same name (now the Dominican Republic). The island was in formal terms an independent state, but the government was unstable and the United States Government deemed it advisable to station Marines there to look after US interests. The Memphis was sent there to support the Marines and more generally to act as guardship. She was also flagship to the senior officer, Admiral Pond.

San Domingo harbour is a very exposed anchorage, lying open to the south and east. Neither Admiral Pond nor Captain Beach much liked the anchorage, but they had to make the best of it, as Memphis was likely to be stationed there for a long time. As it was August and the hurricane season was almost upon them Captain Beach proposed to keep four boilers alight at all times to enable the ship to get out of harbour quickly if a hurricane warning should be received. However, the US Navy was in the middle of one of its periodic bouts of economising, and there was much emphasis on saving fuel costs. The Admiral therefore told Captain Beach to keep only two boilers alight (the minimum needed to run the auxiliary machinery) but to keep four other boilers ready to be lit at a moment's notice.



This arrangement was to be put to the test on the evening of 22 August. The weather started to deteriorate and the barometer fell alarmingly. Captain Beach thought that a hurricane was approaching, so he ordered the additional four boilers to be lit and all arrangements to be made for getting underway. The Admiral was entertaining the the US Ambassador. There was to have been a film show after dinner, but this was cancelled, the boats were hoisted and the Ambassador was obliged to spend the night on board. However, the hurricane did not materialise. Nonetheless the situation had provided good practice.

Moreover, the preparations for the anticipated hurricane had demonstrated that steam could be raised in 40 minutes. This greatly reassured the Captain, as he expected to have much more than 40 minutes warning of any future hurricane.

All was peaceful for another week. On Tuesday 29 August the day dawned fine with a light northeasterly breeze. The Admiral and Captain Beach had been invited ashore for an afternoon concert in the Cathedral but the Captain felt he had too much work to do aboard the Memphis. Admiral Pond and two aides went ashore and were met by the US consul.

Memphis was as usual anchored in some 55 feet of water, with the gunboat USS Castine also anchored nearby. At 13.00 the cruiser put ahore a recreation party, consisting largely of the ship's baseball team. The party proceeded in one of the ship's boats to a point half a mile upstream in the Ozama River - near to Fort Ozama where the US Marines were billeted.



The first warning of an approaching storm was voiced by the cruiser's Executive Officer, Lt-Commander Williams. One of the ship's dinghies had capsized and he was supervising the operation of re-hoisting it when he noticed that the ship was rolling more than usual. Memphis often rolled in the afternoons when the wind got up, but he noticed that there was no wind. He therefore went below to inform the Captain.

The Executive Officer was unhappy about the rising swell and told Captain Beach that he had sent two boats ashore to pick up the recreation party. The CO of the gunboat Castine - Commander Kenneth Bennett - was visiting the Captain, having come aboard Memphis for dental treatment. The three officers went on deck to assess the situation.

They saw that the cruiser and the much smaller (1,600 ton) Castine were now rolling very heavily, and they did not like what they saw. Captain Beach arranged for Commander Bennett to return to Castine immediately in a Memphis boat. He also took a long look at the lee shore and could see clearly the surf breaking on the rocks. Turning to look to seaward he could see long waves rolling into the harbour from the east.

This was enough to worry him, and he therefore sent a message to the Chief Engineer to raise steam in the four boilers as fast as possible. He also told Williams to make all preparations for sea and to hoist all boats. One boat had alrady gone inshore for the recreation party and a second was on its way, but the swell was rising so quickly that the Captain decided to recall this boat. Before the recall could be signalled the boat had got through the breakers near the shore and was entering the mouth of the Ozama, so the recall was in fact never made. Beach then sent a signal to the officer commanding the Marine garrison to hold both boats and to keep the party ashore for the time being.

Thanks to Colorado Tanker for suggesting this Thread

[SAMWolf]

The Captain looked again to seaward and - to his horror - saw an immense wave about 70 feet high approaching the harbour fast, and obscuring the horizon. He at once ordered the ship to rig for heavy weather, but there was hardly enough time to even begin to do so. It was then 15.45 on the afternoon of 29 August.



The order to raise steam had been given at about 15.30, but the engine and boiler rooms were having great difficulties. Quite apart from the motion of the ship, which was steadily getting worse, spray had started entering the engine rooms through ventilators on the boat deck which had not been properly secured. It was the engineers' job to secure them, but by this time they could not spare anyone to go up top to do the job. The bridge was asked to do something, and a party of men therefore went on deck to try to prevent the water from entering. They had some success in closing the ventilators, covering them with canvas, but the water which had already entered the engine rooms undoubtedly had an adverse effect on attempts to raise steam. The bridge was asking repeatedly what time to expect enough team to move the engines, to which the engine room repeatedly gave the answer 16.35.

When 16.35 arrived there was only 90lb. of steam pressure. This was insufficient, but Captain Beach felt he could wait no longer, especially as the anchor cable was snubbing and would clearly part before very long. The Captain told the engine room to obey telegraphs.

Since 15.30 the swell had increased considerably and was now enormous. The Memphis was rolling very heavily and the sea was washing right over her - spray was even coming down the funnels. Commander Williams was knocked out by a roll which sent him flying into some lockers. He later recovered, but was still very shaky. Once or twice the officers on the bridge felt a bump as the keel touched the seabed which, given that the ship was supposedly in 55 feet of water, meant waves of around 40 feet in height.

The enormous wave which had blotted out the horizon was still approaching, but it had slowed, and it was carrying before it a huge area of sand and mud. The nearer the huge wave became the more the swell increased.

At around 16.00 the officers aboard Memphis saw the ship's motor launch, which had been sent to pick up the recreation party, emerging from the mouth of the river. The boat was pitching alarmingly, and it was obvious to the onlookers that she would never make it to the ship. Even if she had done so it would have been impossible to get the boat's occupants aboard. As the officers watched, the inevitable happened and the boat capsized.

Captain Beach was understandably very distressed - he had specifically asked the Marines ashore to keep both boats. It is possible though that the launch left before the message was passed down to the embarkation point, which was some way from the fort.

The men who had been in the launch were now struggling in the water and there was nothing those aboard the Memphis could do but watch.

However, the gunboat Castine had by this time weighed anchor and gallantly went into the surf in an attempt to rescue the men. She too had very low steam pressure, but she went astern into the breakers, which were now enormous. It was far too rough to lower a boat - all she could do was throw lifebelts and other objects into the water to help the men. Commander Bennett of the Castine realised that his ship was in danger of being forced onto the rocks, and he had to abandon the rescue attempt. He rang down full ahead and started out to sea, passing close by the Memphis on the way.

From Memphis the Castine now looked a very sorry sight - her scuppers were pouring out water, she had a heavy list to port, and her upperworks looked as if they had been hit by a shell. Nonetheless she got safely out to sea away from the rocky lee shore, and it was found that the swell was very much less steep once she was in deeper water.

Meanwhile the Memphis was rolling more heavily than ever, to 60 and possibly as much as 70 degrees. The main deck was continuously flooded, and even the high boat deck, some 35 feet above the waterline, was being repeatedly washed over by the waves. Also, to their astonishment, the crew witnessed green seas actually descending into the funnels.

The Captain had made arrangements to drop the second anchor should it not be possible to get steam up in time. He actually ordered it to be dropped, but just as he did so the Engine Room informed him that within five minutes there would be enough steam to turn the engines. Captain Beach therefore countermanded his order - although it would in any case have been impossible to lower the anchor, as noone could get onto the forecastle to knock off the slip.

Captain Beach could now wait no longer before attempting to manoevre, and he ordered starboard engine full astern and port engine full ahead in the attempt to turn the ship's bow into the approaching wave. In the event the available steam pressure was so low that the screws barely turned and they had no effect on the ship at all.

Thus when the enormous wave reached the Memphis the cruiser was in the worst position - beam on to the wave. Just before the wave struck a trough appeared ahead of it, with the face of the wave about a hundred yards behind the trough. The trough appeared to slow and the crest of the wave to build up just before it hit. The vertical face began to curve over towards the horrified onlookers aboard the cruiser, with the peak of the wave some 30-40 feet above those on the bridge. Some witnesses afterwards testified that the wave was in the form of three gigantic steps, each with a large plateau atop it, and the whole rushing towards the shore at colossal speed.

[SAMWolf]

(The wave was noted at the time as a "tropical disturbance," and the subsequent court martial recorded it as such. In fact it was a "tsunami" - a wave caused by underwater seismic action. In the book Heavy Weather by Kotsch and Henderson a tsunami is stated to be "ocean waves produced by a submarine earthquake, landslide or a volcanic eruption. They are also called 'seismic sea waves,' but they are popularly [and incorrectly] called 'tidal' waves . . . Tsunamis steepen and increase in height on approaching shallow water, and completely inundate low-lying areas.")

With "a roar like an express train" the wave broke upon the Memphis. The weight of the falling water left most of those on deck bruised and battered. The entire ship except for the funnels, masts and bridge had been engulfed. Those on the bridge had at first thought that the ship had disappeared and that they had been left alone on the top of the wave, but gradually the turrets, the boat deck and the main deck came into view as the water drained away, and they realised that the ship was still afloat. But they had distinctly felt a bump as the bottom of the ship touched the sea bed, and they knew that the hull was likely to be seriously damaged.

Most of the crew were below decks and many had been injured by the motion of the ship as the wave hit, and some had been burned by escaping steam as the boilers exploded. The bridge personnel survived because they were able to take refuge inside the cage foremast, but the Captain's orderly did not get inside in time, and was washed overboard and drowned.



As the third step of the wave had passed the Memphis had been grounded on the coral bottom several times, and at one time the whole of the ship's port side was aground. In fact the 18,000 ton ship had been thrown onto her beam ends, but had recovered to an upright position. Two seamen had made a gallant effort to release the second anchor, but one of them was washed overboard. The other succeeded in knocking off the slip and was then nearly washed overboard as well. Regrettably it was by now too late, as the ship was already aground on the rocks at the edge of the harbour.

The Memphis struck the first rocks at about 16.45 and as each succeeding wave pounded her she was forced a little further ashore. The rocks were coral and pierced her side repeatedly. Memphis was still rolling from side to side, although firmly aground, and the watchers on shore could see that there were large holes in the ship's hull. At about 17.00 she was given one final push by the waves and moved slightly further inshore.

As soon as Memphis had gone firmly aground Captain Beach ordered all hands on deck and told the men to get as high as possible in the ship. Ropes were rigged to help them get up from below - the injured had to be hauled up. By now the ship had a heavy list to port and her upperworks were leaning towards the low cliffs of the shore, which were about 20-30 feet in height. Hundreds of Dominicans had gathered on the cliffs, and by now the entire force of Marines had been mobilised and ordered to the cliffs. Also there were those in the recreation party who had not been able to find room in the returning boat.

The crew endeavoured to throw heaving lines to those on shore - eventually one was caught by members of the recreation party. Its inboard end was secured to a 5-inch hawser and the men on shore were instructed to haul away. The shore end of the hawser had to be kept in hand all the time to allow for its tautening with the rolling of the ship, and for two hours the Marines and the recreation party hauled on it. A breeches buoy was rigged, having been quickly constructed on board, and a snatch block was used to connect it to the hawser. Additional lines were provided to haul it to and fro.

The Captain ordered the sick and injured to be sent first, but this proved problematical because some men were so badly burnt about the hands that they could not hold on to everything. Eventually they were moved in coal sacks. More hawsers were then brought into use, and eventually there were five in use. Thus a continuous shuttle was set up, with men being transported to shore at the rate of about five a minute. In all some 850 lives were saved in this way, but the Memphis had 40 fatalities - some from the boat, some washed overboard from the ship, and some from injuries they sustained on board the Memphis.

Admiral Pond had left the concert at about 16.30, unaware of what was happening except that it was too rough for him to go back on board ship. However, he was soon told and he and his party were taken in cars to the cliffs. It was never revealed either at the two subsequent inquiries or in the eventual court martial that it was he who had not allowed Captain Beach to keep steam in four boilers as he had wished, and one cannot but wonder whether he remembered this when he watched the cruiser's last moments from the safety of the cliffs . . .



Captain Beach had sent his Executive Officer, Williams, ashore early in order to organise arrangements for the reception and accommodation of the crew. Williams was still very dizzy, but did a magnificent job, and quickly got the 800 men organised. As the rescue proceeded and it got dark almost the entire population of San Domingo assembled on the cliffs, arriving in cars and on foot. The cars were at once commandeered to provide illumination with their headlights, since there were no street lights in the area. There had previously been bad feeling between the Marines and the local population, but this was now forgotten and the townsfolk played a large part in the rescue and in comforting and assisting the injured, of which there were around 180.

There were three power boats (two from Memphis and one from Castine) left to fend for themselves, as it had not been possible to hoist them on board. All three had been told to proceed out to sea and await the arrival of their parent ships. They got outside the harbour and waited for hours, riding the reduced swell in the deeper water quite well. They had seen the Castine leave the harbour, but had then lost sight of her.

The men in the boats could not see into the harbour, and had no idea of the disaster which had befallen the Memphis. After dark they decided to make for the only shore light they could see, that of the San Domingo lighthouse, some way to the north.

It was a bad decision, as the waves were much larger inshore and breaking heavily on the rocks. The boats soon got into the surf, and it was then to late for the boats to be extricated. They had stuck together as far as possible, but one by one all three were broken up on the rocky shore, and eight men were drowned.

It did not take long to realise that Memphis was a total loss. The hull was wrecked and the engines were a write-off. Only the guns were in a fit condition for salvage - they were subsequently removed by the battleship New Hampshire, which was sent to the island for this purpose.

Memphis was finally left abandoned on the rocks to await the arrival of the ship breakers - she was to wait 21 years.

Additional Sources:

www.chinfo.navy.mil
www.navsource.org
www.grijalvo.com

[SAMWolf]

The Court Martial of Captain Beach

The loss of the Memphis was followed by the inevitable Courts of Enquiry and the court martial of Captain Beach. At the court martial the defence wished to call Admiral Pond to give evidence regarding the number of the ship's boilers which had been kept alight, and they invited the Admiral to attend. Admiral Pond refused, and Captain Beach would not let him be subpoenaed. Thus this vital evidence, which would have greatly helped the Captain, was never heard.



The court brought out the fact that conditions had deteriorated so rapidly - after the engine room had given its initial estimate (16.35) of the time when adequate steam would be available - that the engineers could not meet this deadline. It was accepted that the heavy rolling of the ship and the effect that water was coming down the funnels and dowsing the fires interfered seriously with the raising of steam.

In spite of this the court found Captain Beach guilty on two charges of not keeping up sufficient steam to get underway at short notice, and of not properly securing for heavy weather. However, they added a unanimous recommendation for clemency in execution of the prescribed punishment for the offences. The Captain was sentenced to lose 20 numbers in seniority on the lineal list of the Navy. This meant that instead of nearing the top of the list for eligibility for promotion to Rear Admiral he would have his possibility of promotion greatly delayed - in fact he would now be retired before he could reach the top of this list. This was cruel punishment for something which was palpably not his fault.

The Secretary of the Navy afterwards changed the sentence to one of the loss of five places, but even this meant that Captain Beach was unlikely ever to achieve promotion. However, the Navy now did its best for him - he was immediately appointed head of the Naval Torpedo Station, at that time one of the most important posts in the Navy.



Captain Beach stayed there for 18 months and was then appointed to command the battleship New York. Since she was the flagship of the Sixth Battle Squadron, the US force attached to the British Grand Fleet in the war against Germany, this was considered one of the best appointments for a captain in the entire Navy.

The real truth was that none of the other officers at the court martial had ever experienced a tsunami. They had no conception of the speed at which such a storm would move, or of the severity of the waves it would create in shallow water. This was soon recognised by the Department of the Navy - the first mention of a 'seismic storm' was in fact made by them. Captain Beach was treated leniently because the officers of the Court knew that, but for the grace of God, there went they.

The loss of the Memphis was a considerable disaster. Nobody was really to blame [except, arguably, Admiral Pond] and the event could have been characterised as an Act of God - it is perhaps surprising that the court did not choose this way out. Everyone in their heart of hearts knew that Captain Beach was not really to blame. Indeed, his subsequent appointments show clearly that the Department of the Navy thought so too.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[snippy_about_it]

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[Chad Fairbanks]

Thanks for posting this.

[Diver Dave]

Thanks for this timely thread. Could almost feel the rolling of the ship by the author's words.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[alfa6]

Off to work Hump Day Bump for the Foxhole

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[The Mayor]

December 29, 2004

Incompatible?

Read: 1 Peter 3:8-17

All of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. —1 Peter 3:8

Bible In One Year: Zechariah 9-12; Revelation 20

---

A quote in Sports Illustrated magazine expresses a truth that we as people of faith sometimes neglect: "What counts most in creating a successful team is not how compatible its players are, but how they deal with incompatibility." When we don't get along with others, we are tempted to ignore them and shove them aside.

God calls us to take a different approach: "All of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this" (1 Peter 3:8-9).

Oswald Chambers reminds us in My Utmost For His Highest: "In the spiritual life, beware of walking according to natural affinities. Everyone has natural affinities; some people we like and others we do not like. We must never let those likes and dislikes rule in our Christian life. If we 'walk in the light,' as God is in the light, God will give us communion with people for whom we have no natural affinity."

It is natural to have likes and dislikes. But when we seek to honor the Lord in our relationships, compassion, love, humility, and kindness are the God-ordered, supernatural steps in dealing with incompatibility. —David McCasland

We have a common enemy
Who would destroy the life
Of Jesus' precious bride, the church,
Through worldliness and strife. —Sper

The way to preserve the peace of the church is to promote the unity of it.

[GailA]

Good morning..off to Home Depot for a small floor project items. I'm going to attempt to put some tiles in front of my front door. My dog won't leave a rug there and the bad weather drags in to much depree to leave the carpet not cover in that area. So I'm going to "TRY" and put in one of those tiled areas in front of the door. As long as all I have to do is simple things I think I can do it.

I've been watching them lay tile on HGTV and it doesn't look to difficult..It's only 9..12 inch stones after all in a square block so there is no stone cutting involved.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

[shield]

Good Morning....Snippy. ;o)

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on December 29:
1709 Elisabeth Petrovna, tsarina of Russia/daughter of Peter the Great
1721 Madame De Pompadour, mistress of French King Louis XV
1776 Charles Macintosh, Scotland, patented waterproof fabric
1800 Charles Goodyear, inventor (vulcanization process for rubber)
1808 Andrew Johnson (17th U.S. President [1865-1869]
1809 William Ewart Gladstone, (Lib) British PM
1809 Albert Pike Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1891
1831 Adam Badeau, Bvt Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
1876 Pablo Casals, Vendrell Catalonia Spain, violinist/conductor/composer
1879 Billy Mitchell, aviation hero Gen (WW I)
1908 Gerben Sonderman Dutch test pilot (Fokker)
1917 Thomas Bradley (mayor of Los Angeles)
1920 Syd Dernley, hangman
1936 Ray Nitschke (Pro Football Hall of Famer: Green Bay Packers LB)
1937 Mary Tyler Moore (Emmy Award-winning actress)
1938 John Voight (actor: Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance)
1946 Marianne Faithfull (singer: As Tears Go By)
1972 Jessica Lee McMinn Miss North Carolina USA (1996)

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Deaths which occurred on December 29:
1141 Yue Fei Chinese general, executed
1170 Thomas Beckett archbishop, assassinated by 4 knights of King Henry II
1703 Mustapha II sultan (Turkey), dies at 39
1890 Big Foot, Sioux Indian chief, dies at Wounded Knee
1942 Frank D Adams Canadian geologist, dies at 83
1967 Paul Whiteman, US orchestra leader,(Bing Crosby, the Dorsey brothers) dies at 77
1980 Tim Hardin US singer (Bird on a Wire), dies of a drug overdose at 39
1986 [Maurice] Harold MacMillan, PM of Great-Britain (1957-63), dies at 92

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1964 BENNETT HAROLD G.---PERRYVILLE AR.
[06/65 DIC ON PRG LIST]
1964 CRAFTS CHARLES---NORTH JAY ME.
[02/07/67 RELEASED, ALIVE IN 98]
1965 HILL ARTHUR S. JR.---RANCHO SANTA FE CA.
1965 RAWSTHORNE EDGAR A.---MIRAMAR CA.
1967 CLAPPER GEAN P.---ALTOONA PA.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 CLAXTON CHARLES P.---CHICAGO IL.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 CRUZ CARLOS R.---ARROYO PR.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 18 OCT 95]
1967 DARCY EDWARD J.---PORTLAND ME.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 ECKLEY WAYNE A.---ENTERPRISE OR.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 FISHER DONALD E.---HALFWAY OR.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 FOSTER PAUL L.---KNOXVILLE TN.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 18 OCT 95]
1967 MC CRARY JACK---MADISON TN.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 OSBORNE EDWIN N. JR.---RAILFORD FL.
1967 PARKER FRANK C. III---BRIDGEPORT PA.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 POTTER WILLIAM J. JR.---AMBRIDGE PA.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 18 OCT 95]
1967 VAN BUREN GERALD G.---TOLEDO OH.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 WENAAS GORDON J.---MAYVILLE ND.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 WILLIAMS JAMES R.---CHARLOTTE NC.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1968 SCHERDIN ROBERT F.---SOMERVILLE NJ.
[SEVERLY WOUNDED WHEN LEFT]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
1539 St Jacobs Church burns after being hit by lightning
1541 Isabella of Poland & King Ferdinand of Austria sign Treaty of Gyalu
1558 Charles V, German emperor, buried
1607 Indian chief Powhatan spares John Smith's life after the pleas of his daughter Pocahontas.
1708 Great Alliance occupies Gent
1778 English troops occupy Savannah, Georgia
1782 1st nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston
1813 British burn Buffalo New York during the War of 1812
1837 Canadian militia destroy Caroline, a US steamboat docked at Buffalo
1837 Steam-powered threshing machine patented, Winthrop ME
1845 Texas admitted as the 28th state
1848 Gas lights 1st installed at White House (Polk's administration)
1851 1st Young Men's Christian Association chapter opened (Boston)
1852 Emma Snodgrass arrested in Boston for wearing pants
1857 Franz Liszt's "Die Hunnenschlacht" premieres in Weimar
1862 Bowling ball invented
1864 Fire Department celebrates 1st annual ball
1867 1st telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck & Company, New York
1885 Gottlieb Daimler patents 1st bike (Germany)
1890 US 7th Cavalry massacre 200+ captive Sioux at Wounded Knee SD; Indian "war" in the west
1891 Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio)
1895 Dr L S Jameson begins failed raid on Johannesburg
1900 General Viljoen surprise attack British garrison to Helvetia
1908 Patent granted for a 4-wheel automobile brake, Clintonville WI
1911 San Francisco Symphony is formed
1911 Proclamation restores "Dei Gratia" from Canada's coins
1913 1st movie serial, "Adventures of Kathlyn" premieres in Chicago IL
1920 Yugoslav government bans communist party
1921 William Lyon Mackenzie King succeeded Arthur Meighen as Canadian PM
1926 Vatican puts French fascist Charles Maurras' work on the index
1929 Police arrest Sukarno & 100s PNI-leaders
1930 Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam MN, to New Orleans LA
1931 Identification of heavy water publicly announced, HC Urey
1934 1st collegiate basketball doubleheader (Madison Square Garden)
1937 Pan Am starts San Francisco CA-to-Auckland, New Zealand service
1937 Ireland adopts constitution (Irish Free State becomes Eire)
1937 Lou Thesz beats E Marshall in St Louis, to become wrestling champion
1938 Construction on Lake Washington Floating Bridge, Seattle WA, begins
1940 Germany begins dropping incendiary bombs on London (WWII)
1940 In a radio interview, President Roosevelt proclaims the United States to be the "arsenal of democracy."
1947 Ship carrying Jewish immigrants driven away from Palestine
1948 Canada recognizes Israel (Hey, I know you)
1949 1st UHF television station operating regular basis (Bridgeport CT)
1949 Hungary nationalized its industries
1952 1st transistorized hearing aid offered for sale (Elmsford NY)
1957 Singers Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé wed in Las Vegas
1965 CBS purchases NFL TV rights for 1966-68 at $18.8 million per year
1965 Supremes release "My World is Empty Without You"
1965 "Thunderball" premieres in US
1967 Star Trek's "The Trouble With Tribbles" 1st airs
1967 Turkish-Cypriot government forms in Cyprus
1968 Baltimore Colts beat Cleveland Browns 34-0 in NFL championship game
1968 Israeli commandos destroy 13 Lebanese airplanes
1969 New York Times reports Curt Flood will sue baseball & challenge the reserve clause
1972 Eastern Tristar Jumbo Jet crashes near Everglades killing 101
1972 Life magazine ceases publication
1978 Shah of Iran, asks Shapour Bahktiar to form a civilian government
1978 Spain constitution goes into effect
1979 Red Army beats New York Islanders 3-2 at Nassau Coliseum
1981 President Ronald Reagan curtails Soviet trade in reprisal for its hash policies on Poland.
1982 Bob Marley postage stamp issued in Jamaica
1982 Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant ends his career with Alabama (323 wins)
1983 US announces withdrawal from UNESCO
1984 Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi claims victory in parliamentary elections
1984 5th United Negro College Fund
1989 Vaclav Havel becomes President of Czechoslovakia
1989 Wayne Gretzky & Martina Navratilova are named athletes of the decade by the Associated Press
1989 Jane Pauley says goodbye to NBC's "Today" show
1991 Boeing 747-200F of China Airlines crash into mountain at Taipei
1992 Governor Cuomo grants Jean Harris ("Scarsdale Diet" Murderess) clemency
1993 Courtney Love sues doctors for leaking news of her methadone treatment
1993 Todd Bridges arrested for transporting methamphetamine (speed)
1994 Last Dutch electro-magnetic telephone exchange shuts down
1997 Hong Kong begins slaughtering all its chickens to prevent bird flu
1997 Orville Lynn Majors, 36, arrested for many deaths under his care
1997 Russia signs agreement to build a $3B nuclear power plant in China

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Gabon : President's Birthday
Texas : Admission Day (1945)
World : Ante-Pen-Ultimate Day
US : Ujamaa-Cooperative Economics Day (4th Day of Kwanzaa)
International Calendar Awareness Month

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Thomas of Canterbury (Thomas à Beckett),martyr

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Religious History
1223 Pope Honorius III formally approved the Franciscan religious order. Properly called the Order of the Friars Minor, this Catholic order was founded in 1209 by St. Francis of Assisi.
1841 Howard College was chartered in Marion, Alabama, under Baptist sponsorship. The campus relocated to Birmingham in 1887.
1849 The Christmas hymn by Edmund Sears, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," was first published in "The Christian Register." Sears' carol features the American emphasis in Christian living, that is, the social message of "peace on earth, good will toward men."
1876 Popular American hymnwriter Philip P. Bliss, 38, died when the train in which he and his wife were riding plunged off a bridge into a ravine 60 feet below. Bliss had penned such enduring hymns as: "Wonderful Words of Life, "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning," "I Will Sing of My Redeemer" and "I Gave My Life for Thee."
1938 In Tambaram, South India, the second world meeting of the International Missionary Council closed at Madras Christian College (having opened Dec. 12th). It was afterward called the IMC's Tambaram Conference.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"The minute a man is convinced that he is interesting, he isn`t."

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Valin]

Safety Tip:
Always be very careful which E-mail you open.
I now have an ad for spyware on my desktop. And I can't get rid of it!!!


Back tonight

[Soaring Feather]

WOW nice Flag-o-gram today. Thank You PE.

[aomagrat]

Great thread today. I have the book "The Wreck of the Memphis", by Captain Edward L. Beach, USN. It is a great book and I recommend it anyone who anyone who wishes to learn more of the USS Memphis.

Captain Beach also wrote "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Submarine!"

[aomagrat]

In keeping with today's theme of wrecked US Navy ships...

Today's classic warship, USS Milwaukee (C-21)

St Louis class protected cruiser

Displacement: 9,700 t.
Length: 426’9”
Beam: 66’
Draft: 22’6”
Speed: 22 k.
Complement: 673
Armament: 14 6”; 18 3”; 12 3-pdrs.; 8 1-pdrs.; 4 .30 cal. MG

The USS MILWAUKEE (C-21) was laid down 30 July 1902 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif.; launched 10 September 1904; sponsored by Miss Janet Mitchell, daughter of U.S. Senator John L. Mitchell of Wisconsin; and commissioned 10 December 1906, Cmdr. Charles A. Gove in command.

After shakedown off the coast of California and Mexico, 14 March through 28 May 1907, MILWAUKEE departed San Francisco 26 June 1907 and cruised off the coasts of San Salvador and Costa Rica protecting American interests and engaging in target practice with the squadron in Magdalena Bay. On 26 March 1908, the cruiser sailed from San Francisco for Bremerton, Wash., where she was placed in reserve 25 April. Except for a cruise in the summer of 1908, which took her to Hawaii and to Honduras, the ship remained in reserve status at Puget Sound Navy Yard until decommissioned 3 May 1910.

MILWAUKEE recommissioned in ordinary 17 June 1913 and was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. In the next 2 years, the ship made several brief cruises, one to Honolulu with a detachment of Washington State Naval Militia 1 through 22 July 1914, and several along the coast of California. On 18 March 1916, MILWAUKEE was detached from the Reserve Fleet and assigned duty as tender to destroyers and submarines of the Pacific Fleet. Based at San Diego, the cruiser participated in exercises and maneuvers off the coast, patrolled Mexican waters, transported refugees, and performed survey duty.

After overhaul at Mare Island late in 1916, MILWAUKEE sailed 5 January 1917 for Eureka, Calif., to assist in salvaging U.S. submarine H-3 which had run aground in Humboldt Bay, 14 December 1916.

On 13 January, while attempting to float the submarine, the cruiser stranded in the first line of breakers at Samoa Beach off Eureka. The crew reached shore safely, but attempts to salvage the ship were unsuccessful.

MILWAUKEE decommissioned 6 March 1917 and a storm in November 1918 broke the ship in two. Her name was struck from the Navy List 23 June 1919 and her hulk was sold 5 August 1919.