Alexander M. Lawrence
{{short description|Sandy Hook Pilot boat}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Alexander M. Lawrence pilot boat.jpg |Ship caption=Alexander M. Lawrence }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship owner=
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|Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|1862}} |Ship name=Alexander M. Lawrence |Ship christened= |Ship builder = C. & R. Poillon shipyard |Ship original cost=$16,000 |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=21 May 1879 |Ship out of service= 10 September 1897 |Ship renamed= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honors= |Ship fate= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Header caption= |Ship class=schooner |Ship tonnage=87 Thames Measurement |Ship length={{convert|97|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|22|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= |Ship depth={{convert|9|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship sail plan={{convert|75|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=Sail |Ship complement= |Ship armament= |Ship notes=Stern of white oak, with live oak aprons and hooks. Floors are double Maryland oak }} |
Alexander M. Lawrence was the last of the 19th-century sailing schooners to be in the New York pilot boat service as a station boat. She was one of the largest and fastest in the Sandy Hook fleet. She was built to take the place of the New York pilot-boat Abraham Leggett, No. 4, that was hit by the steamship Naples, in 1879. Her boat model won a medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair illustrating the perils of the pilot-boat service. In the age of steam, the Lawrence was sold by the Pilots' Association to the Pacific Mining and Trading Company in 1897.
Construction and service
File:Alexander M. Lawrence (pilot boat).jpg.]]
On May 21, 1879, the new 87-ton pilot-boat Alexander M. Lawrence, was launched from the shipyard C. & R. Poillon in Brooklyn, New York at Bridge Street. She was built for Admiral Michael Murphy and his partners. The Lawrence replaced the New York pilot-boat Abraham Leggett, No. 4, that was hit by the steamship Naples, in 1879.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72993027/launch/|title=The New Pilot Boat Alexander M. Lawrence for Admiral Murphy and His Partners.|work=Times Union|place=Brooklyn, New York|date=1879-05-21|access-date=2020-09-07}}
The Alexander M. Lawrence, was registered as a pilot Schooner with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1881 to 1900. Her ship master was Michael Murphy (1881-1885) and H. B. Cogswell (1898-1900; her owners were N. Y. Pilots; built in 1879 at Brooklyn, New York; and her hailing port was the Port of New York.
{{cite web|url=
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0179721882/135/
|title=Record of American and Foreign Shipping 1884|work=Mystic Seaport Museum|place=New York|access-date=2021-03-08}}
On May 19, 1885, boatkeeper Sullivan reported that the Lawrence, No. 4, was about 20 miles east of Nantucket when a black whale ran headlong into the port bow of the vessel. None were hurt in the narrow escape of the Lawrence.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/269331082/?terms=%22boat%2BAlexander%2BM.%2BLawrence%22|title=Run Into By A Whale. The Narrow Escape of the Pilot Boat Alexander M. Lawrence|work=The Buffalo Commercial|place=Buffalo, New York|date=18 May 1885|pages=1|access-date=2020-09-07}}
The Lawrence was one of the representative pilot boats of the fleet and her pilot-boat model was exhibited by the Pilot Commission of New York at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair along with oil paintings illustrating the perils of the service. Her model won a medal at the Fair.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/274631959/?terms=%22Sandy%2BHook%2Bpilot%2Bboats%22|title=Famous Pilot Boat Sold|work=The Morning Call|place=Allentown, Pennsylvania|date=1897-08-17|access-date=2020-08-18}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/541857994/?terms=%22boat%2BAlexander%2BM.%2BLawrence%22|title=A Fortnight With Pilots.|work=The Brooklyn Citizen|place=Brooklyn, New York|date=1895-11-17|pages=20|access-date=2020-08-18}} She was one of the largest and fastest in the Sandy Hook fleet.{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Charles Edward|date=1929|title=From Sandy Hook to 62°|url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3804485|location=New York|publisher= Century Co.|oclc=3804485}}
In 1895, the pilot-boat Alexander M. Lawrence, Number 4 was on duty as a station boat when the first steam pilot-boat New York went into service near the Lightship Ambrose off Sandy Hook.{{cite book |last= Cunliffe|first= Tom|date= 2001|title= Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNsGi3nmuaQC&q=Alexander+M.+Lawrence
|location= Brooklin, Maine|publisher= WoodenBoat|page= 73|isbn= 9780937822692}}
On July 15, 1897, during a bad storm, the Alexander M. Lawrence, rescued the crew of the sinking Virginia sloop Fawn off the Sandy Hook lightvessel.
{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Edward L.|date=1922|title=Pilot Lore From sail to Steam|url=https://archive.org/details/pilotlorefromsai00unit/page/n2/mode/2up|location=New York|publisher=The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations}}
Out of service
On September 10, 1897, the Alexander M. Lawrence was sold by the Pilots' Association to the Pacific Mining and Trading Company.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/86532213/?terms=%22Sandy%2BHook%2Bpilot%2Bboats%22|title=Wharf And Wave|work=The Hawaiian Gazette|place=Honolulu, Hawaii|date=1897-09-10|access-date=2020-08-18}} From 1898-1900, her pilot was H. B. Cogswell.
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{commons category}}
{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Individual sailing vessels
Category:Service vessels of the United States