User:Gatoclass/SB/Screw tugs/USS Speedwell

History
Name	USS Speedwell
Builder	James Tetlow (Boston, MA)
Cost	$128,000
Launched	1865
Acquired	13 Nov 1865
In service	list error: <br /> list (help); USN: 13 Nov 1865—1876 ; Fish Commission: 1877–79 ; USN: 1880–1886 ; Merchant (barge): 1895—8 May 1912
Out of service	1887—1894
Refit	Converted into barge, renamed Viola W. Tunis, mid-1890s
Stricken	19 Dec 1890
Fate	Sank off Cape Hatteras, NC, 8 May 1912
General characteristics
Type	Screw tugboat
Displacement	420 tons
Tons burthen	350
Length	137 ft (42 m) (oa)
Beam	26 ft (7.9 m)
Draft	9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Speed	10 knots (11.5 mph)
Complement	23–52
Armament	2 × 3-pdr

USS Speedwell was an armed tugboat of the Pinta class built for the U.S. Navy in the closing stages of the American Civil War.

Construction and design

Speedwell was one of nine Pinta-class tugboats ordered by the Navy in the closing stages of the American Civil War, and one of six Pintas built by James Tetlow of Boston, Massachusetts. The Pintas were large, iron-hulled, screw-propelled tugboats designed to replace the Navy's fleet of ageing wooden-hulled sidewheel tugs.

Speedwell was launched in 1865 and delivered to the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 13 November.

Service history

Speedwell was delivered to the Navy on 13 November 1865 and commissioned the same day. Speedwell remained in service at the Portsmouth Navy Yard "through the remainder of the 1860s and into the 1870s".

Farragut funeral, 1870

In August 1870, Speedwell took part in the funeral ceremonies at Portsmouth, New Hampshire of Admiral David Farragut, hero of the American Civil War and architect of the victories at the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip and the Battle of Mobile Bay. On 15 August, three days prior to the funeral, Speedwell was despatched from Portsmouth to the Charlestown Navy Yard where she embarked a contingent of 60 U.S. Marines and 25 sailors from the receiving ship Ohio, transporting them on the 16th to Portsmouth, where they were to serve as part of the honor guard for the funeral.

The ceremonies began sometime after 11 am on Wednesday 18 August, when Speedwell embarked the funeral cortegé at the residence of Commodore Pennock, commander of the Portsmouth Navy Yard, and transported it to the city of Portsmouth. The cortegé included an escort of marines from both the Portsmouth and Charlestown Navy Yards, and a detachment of U.S. troops.

Arriving at the city, the coffin, "of an elegant metal, beautifully covered with flowers", was removed from Speedwell on a bier borne by ten seaman from the receiving ship USS Vandalia, and placed in a hearse in readiness for the funeral procession. The procession, "nearly a mile long", then wound its way past "dense crowds" through streets with buildings "handsomely draped" for the occasion, to reach St. John's Episcopal Church about 1:30 pm where the funeral service was held. Dignitaries in attendance included former Navy Secretary Gideon Welles and former Assistant Secretary Gustavus Fox, numerous officers of the armed forces and a number of Congressmen.

Search-and-rescue ship, early 1870s

In January 1871, Speedwell was ordered by the Navy Department to commence work as a search-and-rescue vessel, cruising in search of ships in distress between Portsmouth and Boston. For her new role, Speedwell was recommissioned with a new captain, Lieutenant George R. Durand from the receiving ship Vandalia, and a crew of twelve to sixteen men.

During a storm on 16 November, Speedwell went to the assistance of the schooners W. H. Wellington, Rio and Nile, which had all run aground on Clark Island in Portsmouth Harbor. Speedwell's crew also assisted in the stripping of a fourth, Namashong, which had run aground and been destroyed after its cargo of lime ignited.^[1]^[2]

It is not known when Speedwell ceased to operate in the search-and-rescue role. The vessel was given an overhaul at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1874. In April of the same year, Lieut. Durand returned to the receiving ship Ohio and Lieut. Thomas M. Gardner assumed command of Speedwell, a post he would hold for the next three years.

Fisheries Commission research vessel, 1877–79

In 1871, Congress established the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries for determining the cause of, and if possible reversing, an apparent decline in US fishing stocks in the waters of southern New England and some other localities. Other government agencies were directed to assist the Commission, and the Navy in particular would provide assistance, initially loaning the Commission a small launch for research purposes, and from 1873–75, the 85-ton tugboat Blue Light. By 1877, the Commission was ready to expand its offshore operations, but for this a larger vessel was required. After some initial resistance from the incoming Hayes administration, the Commission was eventually provided with USS Speedwell—a much larger vessel than Blue Light—free of charge.

For her new role as a scientific research vessel, Speedwell was given a thorough overhaul at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, and a new captain, Lieutenant Commander A. G. Kellogg, and Navy crew appointed. On 20 July 1877, Speedwell was despatched to New London, Connecticut, where she loaded the hoisting engine and stores of the Commission's previous research vessel, Blue Light. Speedwell then departed for Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to load additional equipment, arriving 26 July, before proceeding on to her new station of Salem, Massachusetts, arriving 31 July.

Speedwell spent the following three months trawling and dredging for marine specimens along the coast, initially stationed at Salem, and from 22 August to 13 October, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Baird was also slated to give evidence to the Halifax Convention on the question of fishing rights between Canada and the United States. Speedwell then returned to Salem, concluding operations on 24 October, when she returned to the Portsmouth Yard for decommissioning.^[3]

Some notable discoveries by Speedwell, 1877-79

Wolf eelpout Lycodes verrilli (1877), an exotic deepsea species

Witch flounder Glyptocephalus cynoglossus (1877), a commercial food species not previously known to exist in U.S. waters

Great northern tilefish Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps (1879), a commercial food species

Though Speedwell was to spend the following two years with the Fish Commission, her initial 1877 season with the Commission was to provide one of the most exciting discoveries for the scientific community. As Goode was later to recount:

This took place in the Gulf of Maine, 44 miles east of Cape Ann, on the 19th of August, when from the side of the U.S. Fish Commission's steamer Speedwell the trawl net was cast in 160 fathoms of water. The writers were both standing by the mouth of the net when, as the seaman lifted the end of the bag, two strange forms fell out on the deck. A single glance was enough to tell us that they were new to our fauna, and probably unknown to science. They seemed like visitors from another world, and none of the strange forms which have since passed through our laboratory have brought half as much interest and enthusiasm. ... It seems incredible that American naturalists should not have then known that a few miles away there was a fauna as unlike that of our own coast as could be found in the Indian Ocean or the seas of China.

The two new species were named Macrurus bairdii and Lycodes verrillii, after Baird and Verrilli.^[a] Of more immediate practical importance in Speedwell's first year with the Commission, however, was the discovery of commercial quantities of the Witch flounder, Glyptocephalus cynoglossus, a well known European food fish species not previously known to inhabit U.S. waters.

For the 1878 season, Commander L. A. Beardslee, former commander of Blue Light from 1873–1875, was appointed to Speedwell's helm, and a fresh Navy crew of about 40 assigned to the vessel. Following an overhaul at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Speedwell resumed her work for the Commission on 18 July 1878, operating from Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts. Apart from an absence between 4–14 August for boiler repairs at Portsmouth, Speedwell remained in almost continuous service with the Commission until departing 30 September for winter decommissioning at the Washington Navy Yard. A highlight of the season was a visit on 25 July from Secretary of the Navy R. W. Thompson and other dignitaries, who were given a demonstration of Speedwell's dredging and trawling operations.^[4]

Speedwell's final season with the Fish Commission, now under the command of Zera L. Tanner, began with recommissioning on 1 July 1879 at the Washington Naval Yard. After loading supplies, the vessel departed for Provincetown, Massachusetts, on the 9th, arriving 12 July, after which she departed for Gloucester on the 16th to load apparatus left there the previous season, before returning to Provincetown on the 20th. Research voyages commenced the following day and continued, weather permitting, until 1 October, when rope breakages necessitated a slightly premature end to the season; nonetheless, all but one of "the most important points" within 20 miles of Provincetown were explored. Notable discoveries of the season included an extension of the range of the Witch flounder, along with the discovery of an entirely new species of commercial food fish, the Great northern tilefish, Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps.

Having completed her research work for the Fish Commission, Speedwell made a round trip from Provincetown to Gloucester between 1 and 6 October to return some apparatus; she then departed Provincetown for the Washington Naval Yard on the 6th, loaded with the remaining stores along with a natural history collection bound for the National Museum, arriving on the 12th. By this time, Speedwell's successes had excited sufficient government interest for financing the construction of a new, dedicated research vessel and "floating fish hatchery", Fish Hawk, as Speedwell's replacement. Speedwell's erstwhile commander Zera L. Tanner, was appointed to oversee construction of the new vessel and later command it; Tanner would eventually go on to longterm command of the important research vessel USS Albatross.

Return to naval service, 1880s

Spectator boat, 1880

In May 1880, two races to determine the American sculling championship were held on the Potomac River, Washington, D.C. The first was held between Canadian titleholder Ned Hanlan and American challenger Charles E. Courtney on the 17th, with Hanlan winning comfortably. The second, held on the 26th between Hanlan and New Yorker James Riley, attracted unprecedented interest, with an estimated 100,000 spectators in attendance, and the U.S. Congress suspending business for the day so that members could also attend. Hanlan again won easily. For both races, Speedwell was placed at the disposal of members of Congress as a spectator boat.

Transport and tug duties, 1880–1883

On 9 November 1880, Speedwell departed the Washington Navy Yard carrying "a large number of invited guests" bound for a naval review scheduled for Hampton Roads the following day. From April to June 1881, Speedwell appears to have been utilized as a transport, calling at a number of different ports including New York, Rhode Island, Norfolk, Washington D.C., Newport and Boston. Sometime during the 1881–82 financial year, Speedwell was fitted with a new propeller.

In October 1881, the centenary celebration of the last major battle of the American War of Independance was held at Yorktown, with the President and a large number of dignitaries present. On the 10th, Speedwell was recommissioned to transport a number of high-ranking U.S. Army officers to the celebrations, including generals William Tecumseh Sherman, Montgomery C. Meigs, Richard C. Drum, John Porter Hatch, Orlando Metcalfe Poe and general Beckett.

In late April 1882, a naval review was held at Fort Monroe, Virginia, with senior members of the government in attendance including the President, along with several Admirals or Rear-Admirals including David Dixon Porter. Speedwell was assigned to transport the various heads of the naval bureaus to the event.

From 1 August 1882 to 14 June 1884, Speedwell was employed in "towing and conveying other vessels at the Washington and Norfolk navy yards" in addition to operating as a freight and ordnance transport tug. Her then commander, Lt. David G. McRitchie, would later successfully sue the navy for unpaid sea pay accumulated during this period.

In September 1882, Speedwell accompanied the newly-recommissioned monitor USS Passaic from the Washington to the Norfolk navy yard. On 11 August 1883, Speedwell conveyed Honduran President Marco Aurelio Soto, his entourage, and acting secretary John Davis to Mount Vernon. About a month later, Speedwell escorted the monitor USS Miantonomoh from Washington, D.C. to New York, arriving 15 September.

Paint experiments, 1883–84

In June 1883, the U.S. Navy invited submissions from the private sector for an anti-corrosive, antifouling paint suitable for use on the Navy's first steel-hulled cruisers. A total of 28 companies responded, and a Naval Advisory Board was established to evaluate the paint samples submitted. The Board arranged two series of tests for the samples, the first, a static test consisting of the immersion of painted steel plates in sea water for a period of 8 months, and the second, the application to Speedwell's hull of samples of all 28 paints in order to test their performance in service conditions.

Speedwell was subsequently hauled out at the Washington Navy Yard for a thorough cleaning and scraping in preparation for the tests, followed by application of the paint samples. Relaunched on 21 December, Speedwell departed 5 January 1884 on an extended cruise to test the samples, first visiting New York before continuing on to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Norfolk, Virginia, afterward spending most of the next eight months at Norfolk or in the waters of Chesapeake Bay. Speedwell was hauled out for inspection of the samples on two occasions in this period, on 6 June and 6 September. With the conclusion of the tests, the Naval Advisory Board identified six of the paints as having a good or satisfactory performance, but declined to make an immediate recommendation in favor of further testing.

Wreck of SS City of Columbus, 1884

Later 1880s

In March 1883, the U.S. Congress appropriated $100,000 for the purchase of self-propelled torpedoes, and shortly thereafter, the Navy publicly declared its readiness to evaluate experimental torpedo designs. Three parties responded: the American Torpedo Company, an inventor by the name of Asa Weekes, and the Navy's own Lt. Cmdr John A. Howell. A newly established Naval Torpedo Board subsequently organized a series of trials for the experimental torpedoes, all of which would utilize the services of USS Speedwell.

Lay up and sale, 1887–1894

By June 1887, Speedwell was laid up in ordinary at the Norfolk Navy Yard needing new boilers at an estimated cost of $20,000, but it was considered "doubtful if the condition of the hull will warrant any great outlay." A year later, her engines had been removed to a storehouse, while a broken crankshaft had raised the estimated cost of overall repairs to $25,000. The following year, 1889, finds Speedwell still laid up at Norfolk, "need[ing] new boilers, crank-shaft and general overhauling. Engines old and not worth it." Speedwell was subsequently condemned and, after the removal of parts of her machinery, struck from the Naval Register on 19 December 1890.

On the 22nd, Speedwell and a number of other condemned Navy vessels were advertised for sale to the highest bidder, but by the close of bidding on 25 March 1891, Speedwell, with an estimated value of $5,000, had attracted no offers. Speedwell was included in a second auction of condemned Navy vessels closing 2 May 1892, but with a reserve price of $2,000, again failed to attract a bid. After this, the Navy Department requested and received Presidential authority to sell Speedwell and another condemned tug, Catalpa, with no reserve, and on 23 July 1894, Speedwell, now with an appraised value of only $600, was finally sold to Oscar F. Smith of Norfolk, Virginia, for the sum of $337.

Barge Viola W. Tunis, 1895–1912

Footnotes

^ Later renamed Nezumia bairdii and Lychencelys verrillii respectively.

References

^ "Marine Disasters" (PDF). New York Herald. New York. 1871-11-18.
^ "The Great Storm" (PDF). The World. New York. 1871-11-17. p. 1.
^ Report of the Commissioner for 1877, p. 3.
^ U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries 1880, pp. xxii–xxiv.

Bibliography

U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1879). Baird, Spencer F. (ed.). Report of the Commissioner for 1877. Vol. V. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |lay-date= (help)
U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1880). Baird, Spencer F. (ed.). Report of the Commissioner for 1878. Vol. VI. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |lay-date= (help)
U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1882). Baird, Spencer F. (ed.). Report of the Commissioner for 1879. Vol. VII. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |lay-date= (help)

refs

(Sc. Tug: dp. 420; l. 137'0"; b. 26'0")

Speedwell, a screw harbor tug, was built- by James Tetlow, Boston, Mass., and delivered to the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard on 13 November 1865. She served there through the remainder of the 1860's and into the 1870's. She was still at the Portsmouth yard in 1876, but sometime between then and 1880, she was reassigned to Washington, D.C., where she served until 1884. She then moved to the Norfolk Navy Yard, where she served until the end of her Navy career in 1890. Speedwell was struck from the Navy list on 19 December 1890 and her hulk was sold in March of 1891.

bought, turned into barge 1895 -ppv paid

ppv

[4] Later renamed Nezumia bairdii and Lychencelys verrillii respectively.

[nyherald_18nov1871-1] "Marine Disasters" (PDF). New York Herald. New York. 1871-11-18.

[theworld_17nov1871-2] "The Great Storm" (PDF). The World. New York. 1871-11-17. p. 1.

[report1877_p3-3] Report of the Commissioner for 1877, p. 3.

[report1878-5] U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries 1880, pp. xxii–xxiv.

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