Charles V. Gridley-- Part 5: Service in Europe, Rhode Island, Training Ships and Lighthouses

Charles Gridley's next duty was one of the naval service's  epitomes.  He was assigned to duty with the European Squadron aboard the USS Trenton.  Basically the duty involved  sailing from port to port, showing the U.S. flag and attending dinners and ceremonies.  Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy by then was at its lowest ebb, with its vessels considered to be antiques by most nations.

(The USS Trenton, however, was a very new ship, having been commissioned in 1877.  It was wrecked in a huge storm at Apia, Samoa, in 1889.)

After a wait of 14 years,  Charles "Steve" Gridley finally received his next promotion.  On March  10, 1882, he was appointed commander, and was immediately sent to Newport, Rhode Island, to study at the torpedo school for three months.  Torpedoes were one of the  highly-vaunted new weapons of the age, and though the United States did not yet have a torpedo boat, the advance in technology was noted.

After this stint, Gridley was assigned as navigation officer at  the Boston Navy Yard, and then to Cruising Training Squadron.  He was the commanding officer of  the USTS (United States Training Ship) Jamestown and the USTS Portsmouth.  This duty was extended from  1884 to 1886.

Beginning in 1887, Commander Gridley began serving as Inspector of the 10th Lighthouse District, which included the 114 miles of the St. Lawrence River as well as Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Niagara River.  He held this post until 1891.  This duty brought him close to his family, a luxury for a naval officer.  Luckily for him, his in-laws had  political connections that would allow him to again gain this position later in life.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 4: Stationed at Erie, Pennsylvania and Back to USNA

In 1871, Charles Gridley was posted to the USS Michigan, the only American warship on the Great Lakes and home harbored at Erie, Pennsylvania.  Being there over a period of time gave him the chance to socialize with the fairer sex.  The Michigan would be   confined to dock by the Lake Erie ice.

He soon met Ellie Vincent, the daughter of Judge John V. Vincent.  The two were married on May 10, 1872.  Thenceforth, Gridley would always consider Erie his home.  It was here that his family, which by 1880 included two daughters and a son, would continue to live.

By 1875, Lt. Cmdr. Gridley found himself with orders to report to his alma mater, the USNA, to teach seamanship, naval tactics and naval construction.  Throughout his career, Gridley was to experience an ever-growing reputation for his abilities and knowledge in sail shiphandling and navigation.  Now, he was training the officers of the future aboard the USS Monongahela and USS Constellation.

He is buried in a cemetery in Erie, Pennsylvania, which would explain how he came to be there.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 3: Promotions Then None

In October 1865, Charles Gridley was transferred to the USS Brooklyn, the flagship of the South Atlantic Squadron.  The end of the war brought a spate of promotions, as the Navy returned to peacetime footing and many officers left the service.  Gridley remained and rose through the ranks rapidly.  

He was promoted to master on November 10, 1866, to lieutenant on February  21, 1867 and lieutenant commander on March 12, 1868.  By this time, however, the Navy had entered a long period of decline.  The number of ships declined, new state-of-the-art ships were not built and the need for officers declined.

Promotions of lower rank officers depended on the retirement or demise of officers in the higher ranks.  As was common with the times, Gridley did not get his next promotion until 1882.

By 1868, Charles Gridley was serving aboard the famed  USS Kearsarge (which had defeated the CSS Alabama), cruising in the South Pacific.  Three years later, he was serving aboard the  USS Michigan in te Great Lakes.  This warship was the only  U.S. Navy vessel on the Great Lakes and it operated out of the port of Erie, Pennsylvania.

--Cooter

Five Famous Shipwrecks Waiting to Be Discovered-- Part 2: Griffon, Endurance and Bon Homme Richard

From the April 30 History Mysterious History.

3.  THE GRIFFIN

The first sailing ship on the Great Lakes.  The Griffin (or Le was a three-masted vessel built by French explorer LaSalle during his exploration of the lakes.  It disappeared in 1679.  It is considered the "Holy Grail of the Great Lakes" shipwrecks.

4.  SHACKLETON'S ENDURANCE

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton set sail for his expedition to Antarctica and the South Pole.  But the Endurance got caught in the ice and had its hull cracked.  Shackleton and the crew escaped by making an 800 mile voyage in a lifeboat, but the whereabouts of his Endurance are not known.

5.  BON HOMME RICHARD

A French donation to the American cause under command of John Paul Jones.  In 1779, it captured 16 British vessels off the coast of England.  On September 23 it fought the British frigate HMS Serapis.  Jones had not yet begun to fight and won, but the Bon Homme Richard sank and no one has been able to find it.

--Cootship

The Spanish Flu Hits Illinois in 1918-- Part 2: Horror Stories from Great Lakes Naval Hospital

Chicago ran out of hearses.  Signs were posted banning public funerals, and limiting funerals to no more than ten attendees, in addition to the pastor, undertaker and necessary drivers.  No bodies were allowed in churches.

A U.S. Public Health Service Officer named Jo Cobb working at the city's Marine Hospital wrote a friend,  "Our beds were filled as fast as emptied."

Navy nurse Josie Brown, who served at the Naval Hospital at Great Lakes (in nearby North Chicago) wrote:  "The morgues were packed almost to the ceiling with bodies stacked one on top of another.  The morticians worked day and night.  You could never turn around  without seeing a big red truck loaded with caskets for the train station so bodies could be sent home.

"We didn't have the time to treat them.  We didn't take temperatures;  we didn't even have time to take blood pressure.  We would give them a little hot whisky toddy; that's all we had time to do.  They would have terrific nose bleeds with it.  Sometimes the blood would just shoot across the room.  You had to get out of the way or someone's nose would bleed all over you."

When it comes to pandemics, there is no rational basis to believe that the early years of the 21st century will be different from the past.    If a pandemic strikes, it will come to Illinois.

As of April 13, 2020, the cases and deaths in Illinois due to the coronavirus are 22,025 cases and 794 deaths.

--Cooter

Two Canal Boats Found in Lake Ontario--- Part 2

But, then, you have to wonder what the canal boats were doing in the lake when they sank?

Two divers using deep-sea apparatus filmed the wrecks, located some 200 feet down.  The identification of the two has not happened but it is believed that the vessels were built in the mid-1800s when the Erie Canal was widened to accommodate larger boats.

Records of the more than 600 Lake Ontario shipwrecks didn't turn up a match for either one.

Jim Kennard thinks that they weer probably being towed when they sank.  Both show damage indicating their cargoes may have shifted during fast-changing weather conditions.  They were likely older boats whose owners tried to get one more voyage out of them on the lake, which is connected to the Erie Canal by the Oswego Canal.

Mystery Solved?  --Cooter

Two Canal Boats Discovered in Lake Ontario-- Part 1

From the Jan. 22, 2015, USA Today "Shipwreck hunters make unusual find" by AP.

First, there was the possible discovery of LaSalle's Griffin and now this.  But why would canal boats be in Lake Ontario?

The wrecks of two 19th-century canal boats have been found on the bottom of Lake Ontario.  This is a very unusual discovery because this type of vessel would not be good for use on open water.

A team of New York shipwreck hunters made the announcement on Jan. 21st.

The three-member team from the Rochester, NY, area discovered the boats using side-scan sonar last year while searching for shipwrecks on the east end of Lake Ontario.

The sunken canal boats-- one 65-feet long and the other 78 feet long--  were found within a few miles of each other about midway between Oswego and Sackets Harbor (a name I have come across often in connection with the War of 1812).

More to Come.  --DaShipWreckCoot

Great Lakes "Holy Grail" Shipwreck Found?

From the Dec. 24, 2014, Fox News" by Rob Quinn.

There are thousands of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, but one of the first full-size ships to sink in them had not yet been found.  The Griffin was built by French explorer Robert de la Salle, and sank in Lake Michigan in 1679.

Divers Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe say they have found the wreck of the Griffin.

They spotted it in 2011 but have waited until now to reveal their discovery.  They say that a carving on the front of the wreck resembles those of 17th century carvings of the fabled griffin creature.

The two actually weren't looking for this ship when they found it.  Instead, they were looking for $2 million in Civil War Confederate gold coins believed to have been in a box car pushed off a ferry to keep it from sinking in the late 1800s.

Another wreck hunter said earlier this year that he is 99.9% sure he has found the remains of the Griffin.

Since 1981, Steve Libert has spent more than $1 million and made more than a thousand dives searching for the Griffin according to the New York Times.

Found It?  --Cooter

Chicago's Eastland Disaster-- Part 2

Of 2,500+ passengers on the SS Eastland that July 15, 1915, morning, 844 died.  Some 7,000 Western Electric workers, their families and friends had purchased tickets for what was planned to be a great day of fun and activities, including a round trip boat trip to Michigan City, for a picnic and activities.  Everyone of these mostly 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants was primed for fun.

One of the people planning to go was a young man named George Hallas, who later became known as one of the founders of the NFL and, of course, Da Bears.

Barb Kohler's grandmother was one who survived what the Chicago Tribune called in bold headlines the next day the "Most Appalling Cathedral in the History of Inland Navigation."

Sadly, the Eastland tragedy has been lost in history.

Chicago's Eastland Disaster Largely Forgotten

From the July 25, 2008, Chicago Tribune "Eastland."

Gladys Blum, 82, aid her father had been lucky and survived when the ship rolled over in twenty feet of water and said he never would talk much about it, but did say he climbed up on the hull and saved several people.

The SS Eastland was nicknamed the Speed Queen of the Great Lakes and was just getting ready to shove off when it began to list and rolled over on its port side with an estimated 2,500 people. It was taking employees of the Western Electric Company to a picnic outing in Michigan City, Indiana.

Sad, But Mostly Forgotten.

Historic Ship Lost in 1932 Ecorse Fire

This story started with a Shorpy picture from Nov. 3, 2011, photo of the Frank E, Kirby.  "Toledo, Ohio, circa 1910.  Sidwewheeler Frank R. Kirby at steam landing."

From the Mind of James Donahue Blog.

I'm always interested in stories about less famous ships such as the Dover.

Fire swept a number of Great Lakes vessels laid up for the winter at Ecorse, Michigan, in 1932.

The Dover was one of them, originally named the Frank E. Kirby, a familiar sight on the Great Lakes for 42 years.

Launched in 1890, the steel-hulled sidewheeler was designed for passenger service and named after the 19th century ship architect Frank E. Kirby.  The 196-foot long Ashley & Dustin Steamer Line made regular trips from Detroit to Sanduskey, Ohio, with stops at Put-In-Bay, Middle Bass Island and Kelley's Island (three places I am very familiar with).

It was eventually renamed Silver Spray and later the Dover.

While it was the Dover, it was in two fires.  The first was February 2, 1929 while laid up next to the steamer Erie.  Both were damaged, but rebuilt and restored to service.

The second and final fire destroyed  the Dover and several other ships at Ecorse in 1932.

Its remains were scrapped, but engine taken to Greenfield Village for display and it was later scrapped during World War II.

I was unable to find a picture of the ship, however.

Wonder What It Looked Like? Never Mind.  Found It.   --Cooter

The Car Ferry Milwaukee

I'm still on the subject of that horrible storm season on the Great Lakes and particularly Lake Michigan back in 1929, taking place right when the economy was starting to tank thanks to the GRBs on Wall Street.

The Milwaukee was carrying 27 loaded rail cars between Milwaukee and Grand Haven. All 52 aboard died when it sank October 22, 1929.

The rail cars came loose in the storm and crashed through the sea gate.

Some life boats were launched. One with two bodies aboard was pulled in two days later. Another with bodies washed up near Holland, Michigan.

The wreck was discovered in 1972.

Think I'll Stay on Dry Land. --Cooter

The Freighter Senator and Steamer Wisconsin

The Senator was 410 feet long, 46 foot beam. Built in 1896 at the Detroit Drydock in Wynadotte, Minnesota.

The steamer Marquette plowed into its port side during a heavy fog, sinking it. Ten of 29 aboard died.

It was carrying 240 Nash automobiles.

Bound for Milwaukee, the Senator sank quickly.

It had also sank in the St. Mary's River in 1909.

Of interest, the steamer Wisconsin, which sank two days earlier, was also built at the same place as the Senator. It sank off Kenosha, Wisconsin with 18 of 76 aboard losing their lives.

The Lake Can be a Mighty Dangerous Place. --Cooter

Storms on the Great Lakes: 100 Lives Lost in 52 Days

The year 1929 was a particularly harsh one on Great Lakes shipping between September 9th and October 31st. One hundred lives were lost on four separate sinkings.


SEPTEMBER 9th-- The gravel freighter Andaste sank with 25 deaths.

OCTOBER 22nd-- The car ferry Milwaukee sank with a loss of 52.

OCTOBER 31st-- The freighter Senator sank with loss of 7.

OCTOBER 31st-- Steamer Wisconsin sank with loss of 16.

You hardly ever hear of major ships sinking in the Great Lakes anymore.

Again, Bad Time to Be Afloat. --DaCoot

Mother Nature's Wrath on Lake Michigan

Back on August 27th, I wrote about the Chicago Flashback about the October 30, 1929, Tribune front page about the great stock plunge. They had a reprint of the front page and another headline read "12 Lost, 60 Saved in Lake Wreck."

Shipwrecks have always been of interest to me, but the print was too small.

Fortunately, the Flashback page also had an article on the shipwreck along with two other front pages. The October 29, 1920 headline "Gale and Waves Bring Ruin" and Nov. 1st "Tell Horror of Ship Crash."

October and especially November, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and all, can be stormy on the Great Lakes.

As the financial tempest brewed, so did storms pounding the Great Lakes region. From Oct. 22nd to Oct. 23rd a gale lashed the shore, ripping up parts of Lake Shore Drive, demolishing concrete promenades on North Avenue and destroying lakefront parks and beaches.

Fifty-three mile an hour winds whipped monstrous waves which were even worse because Lake Michigan was at its highest water level since 1886. Oak Street Beach disappeared.

As news of the stock market collapse spread on Oct. 24th, there came reports that 52 people were feared dead when the car ferry Milwaukee sank. On Monday, Oct. 28th, the S.S. Wisconsin sank in heavy seas. Sixteen died and 60 were saved by heroic efforts by the Coast Guard.

On October 31st, a freighter heading for Chicago collided in heavy fog with the freighter Senator, sinking it with seven deaths.

Some Mighty Bad Times to Be Out on the Lake. --Cooter

35th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

On this date 35 years ago in 1975, the Great Lakes freighter Edmund Fitzgerald, once the largest ship operating, sank in a huge storm that swept across Lake Superior, taking all 29 aboard to their deaths.

It had been launched in 1958.

The wreck was located that same year by US Navy planes using detectors that usually searched out submarines. The ship was lying in two pieces. Quite a few dives have been made on the Fitzgerald since then.

In 1976, singer Gordon Lightfoot had a big hit with his account of the sinking called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

The last ten years I taught, my students had a two day unit on the sinking of the ship, partly using the song. They also had the opportunity to draw the ship.

One of the Last Great Lakes Shipping Disasters. --Cooter