Charles V. Gridley, USN-- Part 7: Back Home and Command of the USS Olympia

The year 1894 found Charles "Steve" Gridley back with his family as he served again as Inspector of the 10th Lighthouse District.  Happy times for him.  During his duties, he would have contact with the senior member of the Lighthouse Board, George Dewey, and the Board's secretary, Robley Evans.

In March  of 1897, Gridley was finally promoted to captain.  On June 10, he was ordered to take command of the USS Olympia, relieving J.J. Read in Yokohoma, Japan.  He embarked on the steamer Gaelic and arrived aboard the USS Olympia.

He didn't stay on board long, though, and returned to Yokohoma to visit friends he knew from his days on the USS Marion.  The formal transfer of command came four days later.  Captain Read's voice cracked as he read his farewell comments, and he was heartedly cheered by his men.  Gridley evidently had some "large shoes to fill."

Apparently he did well.  During his brief tenure aboard the Olympia, he appears to have been well-liked and respected by the ship's crew.  In one instance during Christmas of 1897, he raised all of the crew  one class (meaning he  reduced the length of  punishment of any man on report, and restored "liberty" privileges to many).

This had never been done on the Olympia before.  One  crewman recorded that Gridley was "one that loves his fellow men" an unusual sentiment between a crew and their captain.

--Cooter

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

The Roanoke River Lighthouse in North Carolina

From the Feb. 4, 2021, Chowan (N.C.) Herald "Week in NC history"  by the NC Department of Cultural Resources.

LONG ROUTE TO ROANOKE RIVER LIGHTHOUSE

On February 5, 1832, Elizabeth City councilman William Shepard petitioned the House of Representatives for a light station to help guide sailors to safety by the mouth of the Roanoke River.

Two years later, Congress appropriated $10,000 for a lightship to operate in the Albemarle Sound.  The ship operated through the Civil War, but was replaced by a screw-pile lighthouse that operated on whale oil in 1867.  The structure, in turn, was damaged by fire and later ice in the 1880s.

A larger lighthouse, the one that now stands, was authorized in 1886 and finished by 1887.  It was fitted with a Fresnel lens and continued to operate until 1941, when it was decommissioned by the Coast Guard.

This 1886 lighthouse changed hands twice in the 1950s, sold for $10 each time.  Edenton businessman Emmett  Wiggins moved  it to land he owned in Chowan County in 1955 and lived in it until he died .

In 2007, the Edenton Historical Commission purchased the lighthouse and restored it in cooperation with the state of North Carolina.  The restored lighthouse opened to the public as part of the Historic Edenton State Historic Site in 2012.

--Cooter

Fort Washington-- Part 5: The Site Today

The site of Fort Washington is now Bennett Park on Fort Washington Avenue between West 183rd and West 185th streets. in the neighborhood of the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.  The location of the fort's walls are marked in the park by stones, along with an inscription.

Nearby is a plaque indicating that the schist outcrop is the highest natural spot on Manhattan Island which was a big reason the fort was sited there in the first place.

Bennett Park is located a few blocks north of the George Washington Bridge.  Along the banks of the Hudson River along the Henry Hudson Parkway is Fort Washington Park and the small point of land alternately called Jeffrey's Hook or Fort Washington Point, which is the site of the Little Red Lighthouse, a famous New York City point of interest.

The Little Red Lighthouse That Could.  --CootWash

The Tuscania Monument on Islay Island; American Monument on Oa

From the Welcome to Islay site.

The American Monument sits atop a 429-foot high cliff on the Oa Peninsula and was erected in 1920 by the American Red Cross.  It was designed by architect Robert Walked and commemorates the loss of two troopships, the Tuscania and Otranto in 1918.

It overlooks the exact spot where the Tuscania was sunk and is built in the shape of a lighthouse.  You can see it from most parts of the island of Islay.

--Cooter

Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse and the Lusitania-- Part 3: U-boat Skipper Gets Captured Later in the War Near the Same Site

Interestingly enough, after the U-boat which sank the Lusitania returned to Germany, the man who had captained it, Raimund Weisbach, returned to the sea and, in 1917 off the southwest coast of Ireland near Fastnet Lighthouse, was captured by the British after one of their submarines had torpedoed his new submarine, the U-81.

Turnabout's fair Play. --Cooter

Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse and the Lusitania-- Part 2

When the German captain sent a torpedo into the unsuspecting ship, it sank and over eleven hundred people lost their lives.  This tragedy helped galvanize American opinion to enter the war against Germany.

The principal keeper of the lighthouse reported the sinking of the Lusitania to the admiral in charge at Queenstown (Cobh), who mobilized rescue boats to save as many as possible.

Today, you can see in casement square of Cobh a memorial to the Lusitania's victims, many of whom are buried at the old church cemetery in Kinsale.

The liner lies in the sea about twelve miles south of the lighthouse in 320 feet of water.

Irish Lighthouse in World War I-- Part 1: Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse and the Lusitania

From  Lighthouses of Ireland by Kevin M. McCarthy.

I have been writing about the lighthouses of Ireland and their role in World War II in my Tattooed On Your Soul World War II bloh.

The captain of the Lusitania maneuvered his Cunard liner close to Ireland's Old Head of Kinsale peninsula in order to take his bearings, although being that close to the Irish coast was not safe in May of 1915.

On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania, on her way from the United States to England, sailed nearer to the Irish coast than was safe, but the captain was determined to find out exactly where where he was by taking a bearing on the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse.

When the officers sighted the three-mile-long peninsula and reassuring lighthouse, they knew that the port of Quenstown (now Cobh) was only thirty miles away.  They felt much safer, but lurking beneath the water was a German U-boat.

--Cooter

New England Coastal Lighthouses-- Part 3

NEW LONDON HARBOR:

"New London Harbor is Connecticut's oldest and tallest lighthouse. Originally established in 1761, the tower was financed by a lottery held by the Connecticut colonial legislature. The present lighthouse, built in 1801, was the one of America's earliest ones with a flashing beacon."

BOSTON HARBOR:

Boston Harbor Light, North America's first true light station, was established in 1716. The lighthouse was the last in the United States to be automated-- in 1998-- and is the only remaining American lighthouse with a resident keeper employed by the federal government. It was designated a National Historical landmark in 1964."

So, There You Have All Five New Lighthouse Stamps. --Cooter

New England Coastal Lighthouses-- Part 2

PORTSMOUTH HARBOR:

"The first navigational aid in New Hampshire was created in 1771, in the state's only deep-water port, Portsmouth Harbor. The present lighthouse, a 48-foot tower of bolted cast-iron plates built in 1878, was constructed inside its predecessor, a wooden tower that had succumbed to deterioration."


POINT JUDITH:

"Originally established in 1810 to guard a partucularly dangerous part of the Atlantic coast of Rhode Island. Point Judith's current lighthouse was built in 1857. In 2000, the lighthouse underwent a renovation using brownstone quarried from the same area as the 1857 tower."

Punch Yer Lights Out. --DaCoot

New England Coastal Lighthouses-- Part 1: Portland Head

From the back of the U.S. Postal stamp sheet, US Postal Service.

"Solitary and mysterious, lighthouses have fascinated people for centuries. Celebrating the eternal appeal of these historic becaons, the U.S. Postal Service continues the popular series of lighthouse stamps. Sought after by collectors and beloved by the public, this latest issuance in the series celebrates New England Coastal Lighthouses."

PORTLAND HEAD:

"Maine's oldest lighthouse, Portland Head has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1873. The lighthouse tower, constructed in 1791, and the Victorian keepers' house, now the home of a museum, are among the most beautiful-- and most frequently photographed-- stations in the United States."

Keeping the Light On. --Cooter

Lighthouse Stamps Out-- Part 3: Sally Snowman and the Lights

Sally Snowman was hired as the Boston Light lighthouse keeper in 2003 after volunteering there and co-authoring Boston Light: A Historical Perspective. Her job includes cleaning and maintenance and "light housekeeping" as she likes to joke. She wears attire like the first keepers would have worn after the Revolutionary War.

She says lighthouses stand for hope, "For those immigrants who came into Boston, seeing Boston Light was the hope of a new beginning. And when people have survived shipwrecks in Boston Harbor are asked about what kept them going-- what helped them keep the faith-- many said it was this lighthouse.

Jeff Gales of the U.S. Lighthouse Society says the stamps will help raise interest in these storied pieces of American architecture. "Eash lighthouse had their own light pattern," a pattern of light movements which would distinguish one lighthouse from another." There was a book that identified these light patterns in these days before GPS. Lighthouses also often were painted with different patterns which made them distinguishable in daylight.

We'll Leave the Light On. --Cooter

Lighthouse Stamps Out-- Part 2: Boston Light-- Oldest U.S. Lighthouse

The series will also commemorate the Portland Head lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine; the Portsmouth Harbor lighthouse in New Castle, N.H.; the Point Judith lighthouse in Narragansett, R.I.; and the New London Harbor lighthouse in New London, Ct.

BOSTON LIGHT

Boston Light, on Little Brewster Island, is the only lighthouse in the United States that still has a keeper. That would be Sally Snowman, even though the lighhouse was fully automated. A 1989 congressional mandate (I hate congressional mandates) said there must be someone on site because of its historical importance. (built in 1716, it is the oldest lighthouse in the country).

In 1719, Boston Light became the first North American lighthouse to install a cannon to signal ships in the fog. It was occupied by royal forces in the Revolutionary War and burned several times.

More to Come. --Cooter

Lighthouse Stamps Out-- Part 1: Boston Light

From the July 12, 2013, USA Today "Massachusetts: Stamps shine a light on an American icon" by Molly Vorwerck.

"Lighthouse are icons of a bygone American seascape. Now the U.S. Postal Service hopes to capitalize on their appeal with its sixth series in a collection of stamps commemorating some of America's most historic lighthouses."

The 46-cent "forever" stamps were released July 12th and showcase five New England lighthouses. (I have my sheet already. Something else I don't need to collect.)

The Boston Harbor lighthouse, known as the Boston Light, was built in 1716 and is the oldest one in the country and the only one still run by a keeper. Sally Snowman does the job, even though it is fully automated.
More to Come. --DaCoot

Sand Island Lighthouse Gets Its Island Back-- Part 3

John Glenn swore that he'd return and "tumble the Light House down in their teeth."  February 23, 1863, a month after his first attack, he did just that, placing 70 pounds of gun powder under the tower and blew it up.  He reported to Daniel Leadbetter, a brigagadier general in the Confederate Army of his success.  Leadbetter had been the builder of the lighthouse.  You have to wonder how he felt about the deed?

Union forces then erected a temporary 48-foot tall tower that served until the end of the war.

The new brick tower was built and activated Sept. 1, 1873.  Constuction involved 171 pilings overlaid with 12 feet of cement.  This new 132 foot tall lighthouse was built 670 feet from the previous one.

Yet, there was erosion back then and by 1880, the previous one's foundation was under water.

We'll Leave the Light On...Maybe.  --Cooter

Sand Island Lighthouse to Get It's Island Back-- Part 2

A 1962 picture in Wikipedia shows the home still standing, but a greatlt reduced island.

The latest of four lighthouses is on the Ligthouse Doomsday List.  It has been seriously damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Katrina in 2005 and the 132-foot high structure is located 3 miles offshore.

An earlier lighthouse on the island was destroyed during the Civil War.


From Lighthouse Friends.

The very first lighthouse on Sand Island was built in 1830.  It proved inadequate and in 1839, another 55-foot one was built by Winslow Lewis for $10,000.  Then, in 1858, a new first-class tower was built with a 1st Order Fresnel Lens and operated for two years when the Civil War broke out.

Confederates removed the 9-foot lens and placed it in storage before Union forces took the island.  They reinstalled a 4th Order Lens and also used the tower to spy on Confederate activity by the harbor entrance.  A force under John W. Glenn rowed from Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island to Sand Island and burned several buildings near the lighthouse before being chased off by the USS Pembina.

More to Come.  --DaCoot

Sand Island Lighthouse to Get Its Island Back-- Part 1

From the Dec. 10, 2010, Mobile (Al) Press-Register by Ben Raines.

The island disappeared decades ago due to erosion caused by the dredging of the Mobile Ship Channel.  But now, using $6 million in federal funds, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be dumping millions of tons of sand around the lighthouse beginning in March.

Right now, the lighthouse stands alone, atop a pile of rocks.

In the 1800s, Ship Island consisted of 400+ acres.  Besides the ligthouse, there was the keeper's two-story cottage and livestock found plenty of forage.  Since then, Sand Island and Dauphin Island have suffered great erosion as the ship channel disrupts the natural flow of sand in the area.

Replenishing the sand is a major step toward saving the lighthouse. 

Saving a Lighthouse's Island, One Load at a Time.  --Cooter

America's Oldest Lighthouse

From the August 5th Parade Magazine.

Built in 1716, the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in Massachusetts is the nation's oldest.  But because it was reconstructed in 1783 after being damaged in the Revolutionary War, the oldest lighthouse as it was originally built is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey which dates from 1764.

Both landmarks are still in use, and the Boston Light is the only light station that still retains an official Coast Guard keeper. 

National Lighthouse Day was August 5th this year.

We'll Leave a Light On.  --DaCoot

North Carolina's "Old Baldy"

From the July 30, 2010, "Some Tomorrow's Morning" by Dan Hardison.

Featuring a 1940s-1950s postcard of "Old Baldy" lighthouse on Bald Head Island, also called Smith Island.  This is North Carolina's oldest standing lighthouse built in 1817, the second one built on the island using the brick from the first one.

The 110 foot high brick octagonal lighthouse is 36 feet wide at its 5-foot thick base tapering to two feet thick at its top.  A spiral staircase goes up to the offset lantern room which can be reached by a narrow ladder through a small opening in the floor.

During the Civil War, Confederates built Fort Holmes near it.

The lighthouse was used until 1935.  From World War II to 1958. a radio beacon was used for navigation.

It is open to the public and a replica 1850s keepers cottage at its base is also a museum.

We'll Leave the Light On for You.  --Cooter

Ocracoke Lighthouse Reopens

From the Dec. 27, 2009, Hampton Roads Pilot Online.

It is not the best-known North Carolina lighthouse and you can't go all the way to the top, but, it is the state's oldest continuously operating one, since 1823.  It's interior has been rehabilitated, the last time it was was 27 years ago.

It is the shortest state lighthouse at 65 feet with a light beam visible for 14 miles and is basically in good shape.

Check It Out On the Outer Banks.  --Cooter