USS Hope (1861)

USS Hope (1861) was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, built in 1861 by Henry Steers for Captain Thomas B. Ives of Providence, Rhode Island. She was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a gunboat assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. However, at times, Hope was assigned extra tasks, such as that of a dispatch boat, supply runner and salvage ship. She was a pilot boat from 1866-1891.

US dispatch boat and pilot boat
History
United States
Name: Hope
Owner: United States Navy (1861-1865), N. Y. Pilots (1865-1891), Thomas B. Ives (1861)
Operator: Captain Marshall, Thomas Morely
Builder: Henry Steers
Launched: March 11, 1861
Christened: March 11, 1861
Acquired: 29 November 1861
Commissioned: 14 December 1861
Decommissioned: 6 September 1865
Out of service: March 13, 1891
Stricken: 1865 (est.)
Fate: Wrecked on Sandy Hook Point March 13, 1891
General characteristics
Class and type: Schooner
Displacement: 134 tons
Length: 90 ft 0 in (27.43 m)
Beam: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Draught: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Depth: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Propulsion: schooner sail
Sail plan:
  • 74 ft 0 in (22.56 m) length
  • 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m) topmasts
  • 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) bowsprit
  • 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m) jib boom
  • 53 ft 0 in (16.15 m) main boom
Speed: 10 knots
Complement: can accommodate a crew of twenty-five men
Armament: one 20-pounder gun
Notes: Six berths, captain's stateroom, 400 gallon water tank, ice box.
For other ships with the same name, see USS Hope.

Construction and service

Yacht Hope was launched from the shipyard of Henry Steers at Greenpoint, Brooklyn on March 11, 1861. She was built for Captain Thomas Boynton Ives, Esq, of Providence in 1861. A large crowd of witnesses were at the scene including Henry Steers and Moses H. Grinnell.[1] She was christened "Hope," a symbol of the feeling in every pilot about their boat.[2]

Purchased in New York City in 1861

Hope, a wooden schooner, was purchased by the Navy 29 November 1861 from Thomas B. Ives, and commissioned at New York City 14 December 1861, Acting Master M. S. Chase in command.[3]

Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockade

Hope spent the war with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron based at Port Royal, South Carolina. She acted as a dispatch vessel supply boat for ships to the southward. In 1862 she took part in the blockade off Fernandina and the adjacent coast of Florida.[4]

Hope captures the blockade runner Emma Tuttle

While patrolling off Charleston, South Carolina, 27 January 1863, Hope captured schooner Emma Tuttle with a cargo of saltpeter for the Confederates. In June, the ship returned north for repairs at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in July resumed blockade station off Charleston.[4]

Hope captures blockade runner Racer

Throughout most of 1864, Hope remained off Charleston as a blockader, helping to tighten the noose which did so much to choke the rebellion. She also performed limited dispatch and supply boat duty. Hope captured sloop Racer, her second prize, off Bull's Bay 1 August.

Refitted with diving gear and assigned salvage duty

Shortly afterward the ship was fitted for diving duty and in October began salvage operations in the Savannah River, raising hulks and other obstacles. After the fall of Savannah, Georgia, in December, Hope worked on the salvage of CSS Savannah, and in the spring moved to Charleston to carry out similar duties in the Charleston harbor.

Hope returned north and decommissioned at New York City 6 September 1865. She was sold 25 October 1865 to Thomas Morley.

Pilot boat (1866-1891)

Hope No. 1, beacme a New York City Pilot Boat for the New York Pilots. Her captains were Captain Marshall and Thomas Morely.[5] The Hope was registered with the Index to Ship Registers from 1877 to 1890 to the N. Y. Pilots and Captain Thomas Morely as master.[6]

On December 19, 1866, pilot-boat Hope, No. 1, accepted a race with pilot-boat John D. Jones, No. 15, from New York across the Atlantic to Cowes for $50,000.[7] ON January 15, 1867, the Commissioners of Pilots issued an order forbidding the entrance of any pilot-boat into a contest, which was a disappointment to the pilots.[8]

On October 9, 1873, the Hope was one of the boats that participated in the Ocean Regatta, for the Bennet Cup, which was a race from Owl's Head Point around to Cape May Lighthouse in New Jersey, and back to the Sandy Hook Lightship.[9]

On July 31, 1887, Captain Thomas Morley, one of the oldest Sandy Hook pilots died suddenly. He had served as a pilot on the Moses H. Grinnell and had been on board pilot boat Hope No. 1 for twenty years.[10]

Hope was thought to be lost near Sandy Hook on April 15, 1890 off Owl's Head by an unknown steamer.[11] She was able to survive the accident and was towed into New York harbor.[12]

End of service

On March 13, 1891, Hope was wrecked ashore Sandy Hook Point. The crew of the Hope were all rescued by Captain Patterson and his Life-saving crew.[13]

Pilot boat Herman Oelrichs
Pilot Boat Hermann Orhichs.

New York pilot-boat Herman Oelrichs, No. 1, was built in 1894 in Essex, Connecticut, for the New York pilots, to replace the Hope, wrecked in 1890. The Herman Oelrichs was the "fastest of the New York pilot fleet."[11] She was 73-tons and 72 feet high.[14]

On July 15, 1904, the Hermann Oelrichs, was put up for sale.[15]

On Jun 7, 1910, Herman Oelrichs, owned by Captain Fred B. Rice, and others was sold to Captain A. F. Warren, of Pensacola, Florida. She was added to the fleet of fising schooners owned by the Warren Fishing Company in Florida.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Yachting Intelligence. Launch Of The Yacht Hope". The New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 1861-03-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  2. "Yachting Intelligence". The New York herald. New York, New York. 1861-03-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  3. Kern, Florence (1988). The United States Revenue Cutters in the Civil War. Alised Enterprises. p. 87. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  4. Naval History And Heritage Command (1 Apr 2020). "Hope I (Schooner)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  5. "The American Yacht List: Containing a Complete Register of the Yacht Clubs, List of Pilot Boats, Port of New York". 1874. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  6. "Index to Ship Registers 1877". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  7. The Evening Star (Washington D.C.)
  8. The Pilot Boat Ocean Race.
  9. Loubat, Joseph Florimond (1887). A yachtsman's scrap book: or, The ups and downs of yacht racing. New York, Brentano Brothers.
  10. New York Times, July 31, 1887
  11. Cunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat. p. 73. ISBN 9780937822692.
  12. "Pilot Boat Hope, No. 1". The New York Times. New York, New York. 1890-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  13. "Wrecked By Fog. Pilot Boat Hope, No. 1, a Total Loss on Sandy Hook Point". The Evening World. New York, New York. 1891-03-13. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  14. New Pilot Boat, Herman Oelrichs, Proves to be a Flyer.
  15. For Sale-Boat. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, 15 Jul 1904, Page 12.
  16. Pilot Boat Oelrich Sold.
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