USLHT Jessamine
{{short description|US lighthouse service ship}}
{{distinguish|text=USS Jessamine, later USCGC Javelin}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = USLHT Jessamine in 1885.png | Ship caption = USLHT Jessamine in 1885 }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = Image:Pennant of the United States Lighthouse Service.png {{USN flag|1881}} | Ship name = Jessamine | Ship namesake = | Ship operator = *US Lighthouse Service (1881–1917)
| Ship builder = Malster & Reaney | Ship original cost = *$41,911
| Ship laid down = | Ship launched = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 1 October 1881 | Ship identification = Signal letters G.V.M.J. | Ship decommissioned = 20 May 1921 | Ship fate = Sold, 1 March 1922 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = title | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United States}} | Ship name = Queenstown | Ship namesake = | Ship operator = Peninsula Ferry Company | Ship acquired = 1922 | Ship original cost = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = | Ship commissioned = | Ship identification = Official number 222103 | Ship decommissioned = | Ship fate = Sold in bankruptcy auction, 1923 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = title | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{Shipboxflag|United States}} | Ship name = Victor Lynn | Ship namesake = | Ship operator = *Victor Lynn Transportation Company (1924–1930)
| Ship acquired = | Ship original cost = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = | Ship commissioned = | Ship identification = Official number 222103 | Ship decommissioned = | Ship fate = Sold in 1957 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = title | Ship country = Honduras | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Honduras}} | Ship name = Victor Lynn | Ship namesake = | Ship operator = Kent Fruit Importing Company | Ship acquired = | Ship original cost = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = | Ship commissioned = | Ship identification = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship fate = sunk, October 1959 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = | Ship type = Lighthouse tender | Ship tonnage = | Ship length = {{convert|156|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|39|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | Ship displacement = {{convert|427|LT|t|0|abbr=on|lk=on}} full load | Ship draught = | Ship draft = {{convert|8|ft|1|in|m|1|abbr=on}} full load | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = 350 BHP | Ship propulsion = Marine condensing beam steam engine; return flue "lobster back" coal-fired boiler; side paddle wheels | Ship sail plan = | Ship speed = | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship test depth = | Ship boats = | Ship capacity = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = 21 | Ship crew = | Ship time to activate = | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = | Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
In 1922 the ship was sold to private interests. She spent most of the rest of her career carrying freight between Salisbury, Maryland and Baltimore. When competition from trucks on improved roads and bridges rendered her service uneconomic in 1957, she was repurposed to carry bananas from Mexico to Brownsville, Texas. She sank on this route in October 1959.
Construction and characteristics
During the 2nd session of the 46th Congress, Congress appropriated $90,000 for the construction of two "steam-tenders for general service on the Atlantic Coast."{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1KwQ0MN-ixQC&q=%22steam-tenders%22 |title=Statements Showing Appropriations Made During The Second Session Of The Forty-Sixth Congress |date=16 June 1880 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=40 |language=en}} The Baltimore ship-building firm of Malster & Reaney secured the contract and began work on Jessamine and her sistership USLHT Holly in 1880.{{Cite news |date=2 August 1880 |title=Baltimore Ship-Building Revival |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373002606/?terms=%22malster%20%26%20Reaney%22%20&match=1}} Jessamine's original cost was $41,911.
The ship had a composite hull with wood frames and iron sheathing. She was {{Convert|156|ft|m}} long, with a beam of {{Convert|24|ft|2|in|m}}, which extended to {{Convert|39|ft|m}} including her paddlewheel guards.{{Cite web |title=Jessamine, 1881 |url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/2492684/jessamine-1881/ |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=United States Coast Guard |language=en-US}} Her draft was {{Convert|7|ft|3|in|m}} when light and {{Convert|8|ft|1|in|m}} when fully loaded. Jessamine displaced 369 tons when light and 427 tons when fully loaded.{{Cite web |date=1915 |title=Annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouse to the Secretary of Commerce |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=74 |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=HathiTrust |hdl=2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=74 |language=en}}
She had a walking-beam steam engine with a cylinder that was 36 inches in diameter with a stroke of 7 feet.{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=Emory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gdc8AAAAMAAJ&dq=uss+jessamine&pg=RA1-PA144 |title=Modern American Marine Engines, Boilers and Screw Propellers: Their Design and Construction, Showing the Present Practice of the Most Eminent Engineers and Marine Engine Builders in the United States ... |date=1881 |publisher=H.C. Baird & Company |location=Philadelphia |pages=114–126 |language=en}} Its indicated horsepower was 350. Her initial boiler was 26 feet 6 inches in length and 7 feet 10 inches in diameter.{{Cite news |date=2 August 1880 |title=Local Matters |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373002606/?terms=Malster%20%26%20Reaney&match=1}} Her original boiler was coal-fired. Her boiler was replaced in March 1884, in May 1889, and again in 1902.{{Cite news |date=12 November 1888 |title=Office of the US Lighthouse Engineer |pages=5 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/370673864/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}{{Cite news |date=3 October 1902 |title=The Jessamine Again in Commission |pages=16 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145409536/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Her engine drove two side-mounted paddlewheels. One of the paddlewheel shafts was replaced in 1911.{{Cite news |date=25 June 1911 |title=Bids To Install Shaft |pages=10 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373393788/?terms=jessamine&match=1}}
Jessamine had one mast forward which served both as a derrick to enable her construction work, and to fly a foresail and staysail.
The ship had a regular complement of 4 officers and 16 enlisted men.
Jessamine sailed on a sea trial on 22 September 1881.{{Cite news |date=22 September 1881 |title=Lighthouse Steamer |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372412101/?terms=jessamine%20&match=1}} Evidently, the trial went well, as General Orville E. Babcock, Engineer for the 5th Lighthouse District,{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E5hIAQAAIAAJ&q=Babcock |title=Annual Report of the Light-House Board of the United States to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1879 |date=1878 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}} accepted her from her builders within the week.{{Cite news |date=28 September 1881 |title=Lighthouse Matters |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372412818/?terms=%22malster%20%26%20Reaney%22%20&match=1}}
Jessamine replaced USLHT Tulip, while USLHT Holly, her sistership, replaced USLHT Heliotrope.{{Cite news |date=8 June 1881 |title=Lighthouse Steamer |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372078157/?terms=jessamine%20&match=1}} Jessamine's namesake was the twining vine Jessamine, native to the Southeast United States and the state flower of South Carolina.
After she entered commercial service as part of the Victor Lynn Transportation Company in 1924, the ship's steam engine, boiler, and sidewheels were replaced with two Diesel engines driving two propellers. The refit was done at the shipyard of Smith and Williams in Salisbury. With her new propulsion machinery, she achieved a speed of {{Convert|13|mph|kph}}.{{Cite news |date=11 March 1925 |title=Local Port News And Ship Activity |pages=18 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373410741/?terms=Steamer%20%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} In this new configuration, Victor Lynn had a gross register tonnage of 372, and a net register tonnage of 240.
United States government service
Jessamine was commissioned on 1 October 1881. During her forty years of government service, her primary responsibility was building and maintaining lighthouses and other aids to navigation in Chesapeake Bay, the rivers that flowed into it, and the northern coast and sounds of North Carolina. During her government career she was part of several different organizations.
Jessamine first sailed when the U.S Lighthouse Service was controlled by the U.S. Lighthouse Board, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In this quasi-military organization, each Lighthouse District had an Inspector, typically a Naval officer, and an Engineer, typically an Army officer. Jessamine supported the Engineer, whose responsibility was constructing and maintaining lighthouses and other aids to navigation. In 1903, the Lighthouse Board was transferred to the newly created U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor.{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Douglas |title=United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840–1939 |publisher=Eastwind Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=1-885457-12-X |location=Annapolis}} Since the Lighthouse Board still had operational control of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, little changed in Jessamine's operations. In 1910, Congress abolished the Lighthouse Board and replaced it with an all-civilian bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor.{{Cite web |date=17 June 1910 |title=36 Stat. 534 |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llsl//llsl-c61/llsl-c61.pdf}} Jessamine became part of this new organization. This change did impact the ship's work in that District Inspectors and Engineers were replaced by a single District Supervisor. All ships did any work they were assigned. On 11 April 1917 President Wilson issued Executive Order 2588{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_2588 |title=Executive Order 2588 |year=1917}} transferring a number of lighthouse tenders to support the American effort in World War I. Jessamine was transferred from the administrative control of the Commerce Department to the War Department and she came under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpbfAAAAMAAJ&dq=lighthouse+tender+jessamine&pg=PA517 |title=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |date=1968 |publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy |isbn=978-0-16-002055-1 |pages=517 |language=en}} Little changed in her day-to-day responsibilities, however, and at the conclusion of the war, Jessamine and the rest of the Lighthouse Service was returned to the Commerce Department on 1 July 1919.{{Cite journal |last=Henry |first=Ellen |date=Winter 2014 |title=Lighthouses in World War I: Transition into War |url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Aug/07/2001789112/-1/-1/0/2017-HENRYELLENUSLHS-WWI-ARTICLE.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622160927/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Aug/07/2001789112/-1/-1/0/2017-HENRYELLENUSLHS-WWI-ARTICLE.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 22, 2019 |journal=American Lighthouses}}
Regardless of her organization, Jessamine was busy. Her activities in 1907, reported by the Lighthouse Board, were typical:
Jessamine- The vessel was employed during the year in making repairs and improvements on 69 light-stations and two light-house depots and in the inspection of 60 light-stations and two light-house depots. She made borings at the site of Ragged Point and Pungoteague Creek light-station, Virginia, to determine the character of the foundation. She rendered assistance to a schooner in distress off Pamlico Point, North Carolina. She sounded around four light-houses to ascertain the extent of erosion of the shoal. She was used in the investigation of damage done to two light-stations by colliding vessels. She was engaged in loading and unloading materials for light stations 16 days, in cleaning and painting tender 63 days, in cleaning boiler 7 days, and was undergoing repairs 29 days. She steamed about 7,086 miles during the year, consuming some 675 tons of soft coal.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfBQAQAAMAAJ&q=jessamine |title=Annual Report of the Light-House Board of the United States to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1907 |date=1907 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}While the Engineers of the 5th Lighthouse District changed with the regularity of Army careers, Jessamine's captain from her launch in 1881 through his death in April 1901 was John E. Wyatt.{{Cite news |date=23 April 1901 |title=Obituary |pages=4 |work=Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80013283/?article=e007b31f-a0ea-4d8c-9e1e-18499e632c23&terms=%22John%20E.%20Wyatt%22}} John David Brown served even longer as the ship's engineer, from her launch through his retirement in 1906.{{Cite news |date=18 March 1910 |title=John David Brown |pages=5 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371275792/?terms=%22steamer%20Jessamine%22&match=1}}
= Lighthouse support =
File:Sharps Island Light 2009.jpg
Jessamine's principal work in the 1880's was building new lights in Chesapeake Bay. In November and December 1881, shortly after her commissioning, Jessamine hauled a new tower to replace the Sharp's Island Light which had been destroyed by ice in the previous winter.{{Cite news |date=23 November 1881 |title=Sharp's Island Lighthouse |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372433636/?terms=jessamine%20&match=1}}{{Cite news |date=16 December 1881 |title=Sharp's Island Light |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372439823/?terms=jessamine%20&match=1}} This structure is still in place today, but leaning noticeably due to pressure from winter ice. In 1894 Jessamine, along with USLHT Thistle participated in the erection of the Pages Rock Light in the York River. Jessamine hauled material and men for the construction of the Boush's Bluff,{{Cite news |date=29 November 1887 |title=The Navy Yard |pages=4 |work=Virginian-Pilot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/604990540/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Gull Shoal,{{Cite news |date=4 March 1891 |title=North Carolina Notes |pages=2 |work=Norfolk Weekly Landmark |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/604955820/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Kent Point,{{Cite news |date=7 July 1882 |title=More Lighthouses Needed |pages=1 |work=Norfolk Virginian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/605004585/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Lower Cedar Point,{{Cite news |date=1 August 1896 |title=Lighthouse Service |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371058929/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Maryland Point,{{Cite news |date=19 October 1892 |title=Maryland Point Light-House |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371593078/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} Cape Charles, Hog Island, North River Bar, Sharkfin Shoal, and Wolf Trap Lights, making five separate trips to the Cape Charles during construction.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhYDAAAAYAAJ&dq=lighthouse+tender+jessamine&pg=RA1-PA92 |title=Annual Report of the Light-House Board of the United States to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1894 |date=1894 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhYDAAAAYAAJ&q=jessamine |title=Annual Report of the Light-House Board of the United States to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1893 |date=1893 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}
File:USCGwolftraplight1960.jpg
As the aids to navigation environment evolved, there were also lighthouses which were dismantled. Jessamine salvaged useful equipment from these sites for use elsewhere. Lighthouses which she dismantled include Wade Point,{{Cite news |date=6 May 1899 |title=Lighthouse Steamer Jessamine |pages=9 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365270858/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Lambert's Point, and Clay Island Lights.{{Cite news |date=6 January 1893 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=7 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372377449/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}}
Exposed to corrosive saltwater, and buffeted by wind, wave, and ice, lighthouses required periodic maintenance. Jessamine made maintenance visits to the Bloody Point,{{Cite news |date=8 April 1919 |title=Lighthouse Tenders Busy |pages=13 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/378236175/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} Cape Henry,{{Cite news |date=18 May 1897 |title=Lighthouse Matters |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371173768/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Cove Point,{{Cite news |date=20 December 1912 |title=Building A Strong Sea Wall |pages=7 |work=The Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/859814036/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} Great Wicomico,{{Cite news |date=1 February 1911 |title=News Of Shipping |pages=12 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372769664/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} Holland Bar,{{Cite news |date=22 November 1898 |title=News of the Shipping |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365285473/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Hooper Strait,{{Cite news |date=30 May 1902 |title=The Lighthouse Service |pages=3 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145352445/?terms=%22steamer%20Jessamine%22&match=1}} Jones' Point,{{Cite news |date=16 August 1900 |title=Local Brevities |pages=3 |work=Alexandria Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/46190925/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} Love Point,{{Cite news |date=20 June 1890 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=5 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371563320/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} New Point Comfort,{{Cite news |date=6 September 1895 |title=News of the Port |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374556298/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} Thimble Shoal,{{Cite news |date=18 January 1910 |title=Temporary Lighthouse Plans |pages=22 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/330864318/?terms=%22steamer%20Jessamine%22&match=1}} Thomas' Point,{{Cite news |date=1 January 1894 |title=News of the Port |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371242885/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} Turkey Point,{{Cite news |date=27 October 1894 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=10 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374497462/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} Windmill Point,{{Cite news |date=7 August 1896 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374550889/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} York Spit,{{Cite news |date=10 December 1895 |title=News of the Port |pages=6 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374493166/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} Blaistone Island, Back River, Cape Charles City, Cape Hatteras, Choptank River, Cobb Point Bar, Craighill Channel, Craney Island, Croatan, Cutoff Channel, Deep-Water Shoals, James Island, Jordan Point, Laurel Point, Lower Cedar Point, Mathias Point, Neuse River, Northwest Point Royal Shoal, Ocracoke, Old Plantation Flats, Pamlico Point, Piney Point, Point Lookout, Point of Shoals, Pooles Island Lights, Roanoke Marshes, Seven-Foot Knoll, Solomons Lump, Smith Point, Stingray Point, Upper Cedar Point, Wade Point, Watts Island, and White Shoal lights .{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLgQAQAAMAAJ&dq=lighthouse+tender+jessamine&pg=PA107 |title=Annual Report of the Light-House Board for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1900 |date=1900 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=107 |language=en}}
Lighthouses were operated by lighthouse keepers, who kept the lanterns fueled, their wicks trimmed, and their lenses clean. Many lighthouses were inaccessible from land, so lighthouse keepers depended on lighthouse tenders for supplies. Jessamine was used to deliver food, water, coal, lantern fuel, and other supplies to lighthouses.{{Cite news |date=28 November 1911 |title=Assistant Light Keeper |pages=5 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/331738316/?terms=%22steamer%20Jessamine%22&match=1}}
= Public Safety =
Jessamine assisted ships and people in danger when she came upon them during her cruises.
The passenger steamer Wakefield suffered an explosion in her steam plant on 30 October 1892 while ascending the Potomac River. Jessamine took off the wounded and a dozen passengers and landed them at Quantico, Virginia.{{Cite news |date=31 October 1892 |title=Accident to a Steamer |pages=3 |work=Alexandria Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/100194791/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}}
In 1901 Charles Davis was saved from drowning when he was lassoed by Captain Wyatt and pulled aboard Jessamine.{{Cite news |date=24 June 1891 |title=City and State |pages=1 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373072172/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
In 1905 a stevedore who was wheeling coal aboard Jessamine fell overboard. He hit his head during the fall, and was rescued by one of the tender's crew just as he was about to sink.{{Cite news |date=23 May 1905 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=10 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371297536/?terms=%22tender%20Jessamine%22&match=1}}
In 1910 the ship assisted the steamer Hampton Roads, which was aground in Mobjack Bay, Virginia.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A05ODF3DdKIC&q=jessamine |title=Annual Report of the Light-House Board of the United States to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1910 |date=1910 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=15 |language=en}}
In 1913 Jessamine assisted the schooner Alonzo Toulane, which was sinking.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMRAAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22tender+Jessamine%22&pg=PA379 |title=Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses For The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1913 |date=1914 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=379 |language=en}}
in 1915 Jessamine towed the disabled gasoline tanker Margaret Atkinson to safety in Annapolis. Separately, she rescued two men whose boat had capsized.
In 1916 she towed the derelict schooner James H. Hargraves to port.{{Cite web |date=1916 |title=Annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=141 |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=HathiTrust |hdl=2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=141 |language=en}} In a separate event, she rescued a drowning man near the Love Point Light.{{Cite journal |date=14 December 1916 |title=Employees Of Lighthouse Service Commended |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqBuAcjUSaAC&dq=%22tender+Jessamine%22&pg=RA8-PA12 |journal=The Nautical Gazette |pages=12}}
In 1917 she floated the schooner Jessie Irving ashore and in a separate incident saved a drowning man. She received a letter of commendation for her assistance to the schooner Otis Hubbard, which was caught in ice off Fort Carroll, Maryland on 16 December 1917.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ej8lAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22tender+Jessamine%22&pg=PA111 |title=Commerce Reports |date=1918 |publisher=Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce |pages=111 |language=en}}
In 1918 Jessamine assisted the gasoline tanker Speedway to refloat after grounding.{{Cite web |date=1918 |title=Annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=374 |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=HathiTrust |hdl=2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=374 |language=en}}
In 1920 she found the schooner Richmond frozen in ice and towed her to Annapolis.{{Cite web |date=1920 |title=Annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=564 |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=HathiTrust |hdl=2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=564 |language=en}}
In 1921 refloated the powerboat Maggie C. which had grounded on Bodkin Point Shoal, Maryland.{{Cite web |date=1921 |title=Annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=676 |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=HathiTrust |hdl=2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=676 |language=en}}
= Accidents =
Jessamine sailed in an age when the best navigation instruments were a sextant and lead-line. There were no electric lights aboard when she was launched, to say nothing of radar and GPS. Fog, rain, and darkness brought many ships of the day into collision with each other, and aground on unseen shores. While Jessamine frequently assisted others in these situations, she had her own accidents.
On 3 May 1883 the steam tug Samson lost steering control and ran into Jessamine's port bow, penetrating 15 feet into the tender. Jessamine was run up on shore to prevent her sinking, and temporary repairs were made. She sailed from Washington, D.C., where the accident took place, to Baltimore for permanent repairs at W. E. Woodall & Co.'s shipyard.{{Cite news |date=8 May 1883 |title=Damages to the Jessamine |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371037022/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} Samson's captain had his license temporarily revoked{{Cite news |date=13 July 1883 |title=License Revoked |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373235602/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} and the U.S government sued Samson's owner for $1,800 in damages.{{Cite news |date=8 October 1883 |title=Libel for Collision |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373250681/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
The British steamship Thornhill collided with Jessamine off Fort Norfolk on 10 July 1885. Damage was slight.{{Cite news |date=11 July 1885 |title=Local News Paragraphed |pages=4 |work=Norfolk Virginian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/605091703/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
Jessamine was dredging for oysters near the mouth of the West River in March 1885, and since there were a dozen open barrels on deck it appeared she was catching them for sale. Regrettably, the ship had no license for such a harvest, and her captain was ordered to appear before the Maryland State Fishery Force in Annapolis.{{Cite news |date=1 April 1885 |title=Oyster Law Violations |pages=1 |work=Evening Capital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/857479488/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
Jessamine was aground on Green Island for a week in March 1866 with a load of lumber on board for lights on the Roanoke River.{{Cite news |date=7 March 1886 |title=The Navy Yard |pages=4 |work=Virginian-Pilot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/604940731/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
The wires which mechanically connected the telegraph from the bridge to the engine room aboard Jessamine stuck in position on 23 December 1898 as the ship was approaching a coal dock in Baltimore. In consequence, she did not slow, and ran into the stern of the schooner Harriet C. Kerlin which was already tied to the dock. The schooner was towed off for repairs, while Jessamine, with her iron hull intact, continued with her work.{{Cite news |date=24 December 1898 |title=Collision At A Coal Pier |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365288368/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
The ship was moored at Baltimore on 28 March 1921 when the steamship West Lashaway was being moved in the harbor by tugs. The steamer's bow struck Jessamine on her starboard side, aft of the wheelhouse, and badly damaged the tender.{{Cite news |date=29 March 1921 |title=News Along The Waterfront |pages=18 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373352849/?terms=jessamine&match=1}}
= Use by Federal officials =
Jessamine's proximity to Washington, D.C. led to frequent connections with the nation's leaders. Indeed, one newspaper account reported, "The Jessamine was used by presidents Harrison and McKinley as their yacht."{{Cite news |date=8 January 1902 |title=Distinguished Sportsmen Visit Rappahannock in the Jessamine |pages=6 |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80915571/?terms=%22President%20Mckinley%22%20Jessamine&match=1}} While her heavy schedule of work and maintenance suggests that this was an exaggeration, there were indeed a number of events during her government service when she was used for what seemed the pleasure of high officials.
File:President Harrison and his cabinet LCCN2001702372.jpg
Jessamine carried Secretary of the Treasury William Windom, and Secretary of Agriculture Jeremiah Rusk from Fort Monroe to Washington, D.C. on 6 July 1890.{{Cite news |date=7 July 1890 |title=The Jessamine Off for Washington |pages=1 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371570154/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline left Washington, D.C. for a cruise aboard Jessamine on 14 May 1892. They were accompanied by Mary Dimmick, who Harrison married after Caroline's death, and Lt. Parker and his wife, one of Caroline's nieces.{{Cite news |date=15 May 1892 |title=President Harrison off on a Private Excursion |pages=4 |work=Wilmington Morning Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/54457998/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} The ship arrived at Hampton Roads on 15 May.{{Cite news |date=18 May 1892 |title=The President Catches Four Fish |pages=1 |work=Virginian-Pilot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/604945375/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}} Mrs. Harison's health was in decline at the time and the trip was thought to be salutary. The President and his party arrived back in Washington, D.C. on Jessamine on 19 May 1892 with the First Lady's health no better.{{Cite news |date=20 May 1892 |title=Washington and South |pages=1 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372946221/?terms=Jessamine%20Harrison&match=1}}
US Secretary of the Treasury Charles Foster and a party of friends took passage on Jessamine from Annapolis to Washington, D.C. in July 1893{{Cite news |date=31 July 1892 |title=News of the State |pages=3 |work=The News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/16182010/?terms=%22jessamine%22&match=1}}
In March 1899, Jessamine hosted Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long on an inspection of naval facilities and ships at Newport News.{{Cite news |date=1 April 1899 |title=Secretary Long |pages=8 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365276091/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}} The Secretary was accompanied by his wife, daughter, and doctor.{{Cite news |date=31 March 1899 |title=Secretary Long Here |pages=8 |work=Virginian-Pilot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/68094001/?terms=Jessamine%20%22secretary%20long%22&match=1}}
Abner McKinley, brother of President McKinley, was aboard Jessamine for a cruise in February 1900. The announced purpose of this trip was to observe industrial and economic conditions in the South. McKinley was accompanied by his wife, daughter, and two friends.{{Cite news |date=13 February 1900 |title=Distinguished Visitors |pages=5 |work=Virginian-Pilot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/605125231/?terms=McKinley%20jessamine&match=1}}
On 9 August 1900, Jessamine was the setting for a dinner cruise on the Potomac for Secretary of War Elihu Root, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, Attorney General John W. Griggs, and Adjutant General Henry C. Corbin.{{Cite news |date=9 August 1900 |title=General and Personal |pages=10 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/214930949/?terms=jessamine&match=1}}
In January 1902 the ship hosted a duck and quail hunting party. The guests aboard included Dr. Henry S. Prichett, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the Lighthouse Board, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Jones, Engineer of the 5th Lighthouse District, Congressman Charles F. Joy of Missouri, and Dr. Samuel J. Mixter, a Boston surgeon.
= Notable events =
Spencer Fullerton Baird, who at the time was Secretary of The Smithsonian Institution, authorized General Babcock to spend $100 to recover a sperm whale specimen from a carcass that washed ashore near Jupiter Inlet, Florida. Jessamine returned with the skeleton in April 1883.{{Cite news |date=21 April 1883 |title=Gen. Babcock Gets A Whale's Skeleton |pages=4 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371035001/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
The channels approaching Baltimore were mined with nitroglycerine mines during the Spanish-American War. Jessamine participated in both laying and later removing these mines after the defeat of the Spanish Navy in Cuba made invasion unlikely.{{Cite news |date=16 July 1898 |title=Removing The Mines |pages=12 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371189608/?terms=Jessamine&match=1}}
= Obsolescence and retirement =
In March 1911, Jessamine's engine broke down near Wolf Trap Light. She was towed back to Baltimore for repairs by her sistership USLHT Holly.{{Cite news |date=5 March 1911 |title=Disabled Steamer Jessamine Towed Into Baltimore |pages=26 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/331518482/?terms=%22steamer%20Jessamine%22&match=1}} A new crosshead was fabricated and installed to correct the problem.{{Cite news |date=10 March 1911 |title=Lighthouse District Notes |pages=14 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373279125/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} Her aged engine broke down again in June 1913, this time with a broken cylinder. She was towed back to Baltimore by USLHT Maple.{{Cite news |date=18 June 1913 |title=Disabled Jessamine Arrives |pages=5 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365324642/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} On 30 March 1917 Jessamine's boiler exploded. Remarkably, none of the 23 crew aboard were injured because they were working on a buoy at the time.{{Cite news |date=30 March 1917 |title=23 Lives In Danger |pages=20 |work=Evening Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/368042745/?terms=jessamine&match=1}} It was the end of August 1917 before her boiler was repaired and she was ready for sea.{{Cite news |date=22 August 1917 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=7 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373448316/?terms=jessamine&match=1}}
With mechanical problems growing more frequent and costly, the Commissioner of Lighthouses began taking bids to replace Jessamine, which he described as, "worn out in service," as early as 1916. He asked for $180,000 to fund her replacement in 1916, and not having received an appropriation, asked again in 1917 for $200,000.{{Cite web |date=1917 |title=Annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=274 |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=HathiTrust |hdl=2027/nyp.33433087568980?urlappend=%3Bseq=274 |language=en}} In 1918 Congress authorized the construction of a replacement for Jessamine but failed to appropriate any money to fund the project. In 1919 the Commissioner increased the estimated cost of her replacement to $400,000.{{Cite book |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433087568980&seq=470&q1=jessamine |title=Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce |year=1919}} Finally on 5 June 1920, Congress acted to fund Jessamine's replacement. Jessamine was decommissioned on 20 May 1921. She was replaced by USLHT Hawthorne.
Jessamine was sold at auction to Charles A. Jording{{Cite news |date=23 April 1922 |title=Local Port News And Ship Activity |pages=28 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373409903/?terms=jessamine%20&match=1}} for $765 in on 1 March 1922.
Commercial service
Jording sold the ship to the Peninsula Ferry Company, which changed her name to Queenstown. She was refit for her new service at the Rohde Shipyard, and began sailing as a passenger ferry between Baltimore, Love Point, and Queenstown on 7 May 1922.{{Cite news |date=7 May 1922 |title=Jessamine Renamed Queenstown |pages=39 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373250087/?terms=jessamine%20&match=1}} By August, Queenstown was sailing between Baltimore and Cambridge. The fare was $1.{{Cite news |date=18 August 1922 |title=Passenger Service Between Baltimore And Cambridge |pages=2 |work=Daily Banner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/605616007/?terms=Queenstown%20steamer&match=1}} The Peninsula Ferry Company went bankrupt before the end of 1922.{{Cite news |date=9 December 1922 |title=Suggests Transfer of Peninsula Ferry |pages=5 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373398616/?terms=Queenstown%20ferry&match=1}}
Queenstown was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and sold at auction as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. She was sold to Robert T. Ford, who sold her to James H. Townsend on 3 November 1923.{{Cite news |date=10 November 1923 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=15 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373309489/?terms=%22Steamer%20Queenstown%22&match=1}}{{Cite news |date=4 November 1923 |title=Local Port News And Ship Activity |pages=40 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373305879/?terms=jessamine&match=1}}
= Victor Lynn Transportation Company (1924{{En dash}}1930) =
File:Freighter Victor Lynn, ex-USLHT Jessamine.png
In March 1924 the motor vessel Victor Lynn burned at Whitehaven on the Wicomico River.{{Cite news |date=13 March 1924 |title=Port Paragraphs |pages=15 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373085433/?terms=Steamer%20%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} She had been the only vessel of the Victor Lynn Transportation Company, which had a regular freight line between Baltimore and Salisbury. In 1924 Queenstown was sold to the company's owner, Alphonso ("Al") Wootten, to replace the lost vessel and her name was changed to Victor Lynn.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNzKfgKSVZEC&q=queenstown |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States: 1924–1925 |date=1926 |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard |language=en}} The ownership of the ship was transferred from Wootten to the Victor Lynn Transportation Company in October 1925.{{Cite news |date=3 October 1925 |title=Transfers of Vessel Property |pages=18 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373298584/?terms=Steamer%20%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
Victor Lynn carried a variety of cargos in her new role as a freighter, including fresh strawberries,{{Cite news |date=14 May 1925 |title=Freight Service to Baltimore Increased |pages=1 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/278269604/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} canned goods,{{Cite news |date=12 October 1925 |title=Ship And Men Thought Lost Arrive Safe |pages=1 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/278254586/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} sweet potatoes, and drums of oil.{{Cite news |date=18 December 1954 |title=Last Of Riverboats Ends Career |pages=1 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/280885696/}} She had a cargo capacity of 450 tons.{{Cite news |date=12 March 1925 |title=Production At Shipyards Here At Highest Peak |pages=6 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/278245856/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
The freighter collided with a tanker in dense fog on 17 January 1929. The tanker's anchor scraped Victor Lynn's port side. Damage was minimal and there were no injuries. The ship continued on to Salisbury under her own power.{{Cite news |date=18 January 1929 |title=Victor Lynn Service Not Interrupted |pages=8 |work=Dail Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/278232581/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
Twenty-eight boys from a summer camp sailed in a 26-foot launch on a day trip to Annapolis on 1 August 1929. On the return trip to camp, the launch began to take on water, and bailing proved ineffective. Victor Lynn was able to rescue the boys from the launch, which sank shortly thereafter.{{Cite news |date=2 August 1929 |title=Twenty-Eight Boys Rescued As Boat Sinks |pages=1 |work=Evening Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/367998195/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
= Red Star Lines (1930{{En dash}}1938) =
In 1930 the Victor Lynn Transportation Company was purchased by Red Star Lines, Inc., an early transportation conglomerate of passenger bus, freight truck, and water shipping lines. In the immediate aftermath of the sale, Victor Lynn continued her Salisbury to Baltimore sailings.{{Cite news |date=13 June 1930 |title=Ship the "Victor Lynn Way" |pages=4 |work=Daily Times |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Jordanroderick/sandbox&veaction=edit}} While on her way to Salisbury on 24 March 1934, about a mile south of the harbor, Victor Lynn ran hard aground on the east side of the river. Her cargo was loaded onto scows to lighten the ship so that she could be refloated.{{Cite news |date=24 March 1934 |title=Victor Lynn Runs Aground Near Harbor |pages=8 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/286631322/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} In December 1935, she faced another hazard in Salisbury when she was frozen in by ice on the Wicomico River.{{Cite news |date=28 December 1935 |title=Bay Boats Icebound |pages=18 |work=Evening Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/369644572/?terms=%22Victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} In June 1937, Victor Lynn sprang a leak, perhaps after hitting an obstruction, as she approached Mt. Vernon on the Wicomico River. Her pumps were unable to keep up with the flooding, so her captain drove her into shallow water to prevent her from sinking. Her deck was almost awash when she came to rest.{{Cite news |date=18 June 1937 |title="Victor Lynn" Beached In Sinking Condition |pages=3 |work=Worcester Democrat |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/889953604/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} After emergency repairs, she was towed to Baltimore for repairs in drydock.{{Cite news |date=10 June 1937 |title=Beached Steamer To Be Towed Here |pages=9 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373555135/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} A new wooden hull was built around her old steel hull plates in a job that was expected to take two and a half months.{{Cite news |date=2 February 1938 |title=Shipyard Is Operating At Capacity On Present Jobs, Carter's Yacht Lengthened |pages=8 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/282780584/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
Red Star Lines went bankrupt in 1938.{{Cite news |date=1 September 1938 |title=Shore Freight, Bus Lines In Receivership |pages=1 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/283218979/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} Victor Lynn continued her sailings between Salisbury and Baltimore under receivership until the Red Star Lines' assets were taken over by a newly formed corporation, Victor Lynn Lines, Inc. in March 1939.{{Cite news |date=25 March 1939 |title=Local Firm Takes Over Monday |pages=1 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/282786261/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
= Victor Lynn Lines (1939{{Endash}}1957) =
New management initially continued to sail Victor Lynn on her Salisbury to Baltimore route.{{Cite news |date=10 October 1939 |title=Local Port News And Ship Activity |pages=23 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374273732/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}} World War II brought about a shipping shortage in the Caribbean and freight rates rose significantly. To take advantage of these higher rates, in the summer of 1943 Victor Lynn was assigned to the Miami – Haiti route, and operated as the "Miami Line". She carried bananas, up to 1,000 bunches per trip, on this route. She returned to Maryland to avoid the hurricane season in September 1944. She was placed, once again, on the Baltimore-Salisbury route.{{Cite news |date=8 September 1944 |title=Salisbury Boat Home After 14 Months On Banana Run |pages=6 |work=Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/291554377/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22&match=1}}
On 17 December 1954, Victor Lynn sailed for the last time from Baltimore to Salisbury. This was not only the last trip for the ship, but the last water service trip of Victor Lynn Lines, and the last regularly scheduled water trip of any shipping line between Baltimore and Maryland's Eastern Shore. The development of highways and bridges had made such transport uneconomical.
= Loss of ''Victor Lynn'' (1959) =
In 1957 the ship left U.S. registry. She was sold to Harold Kent of Tampa, Florida who reflagged her as a Honduran ship.{{Cite web |title=Merchant vessels of the United States ... (including yachts) 1957. |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31822009619115?urlappend=%3Bseq=771 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=HathiTrust | hdl=2027/uc1.31822009619115?urlappend=%3Bseq=771 |language=en}} Victor Lynn was under contract with Kent Fruit Importing Co. to haul bananas, this time between Coatzacoalcos, Mexico and Brownsville, Texas. Returning empty from Brownsville on 18 October 1959, she sank roughly 20 miles from Coatzacoalcos. Her captain reported that she developed a leak in her No. 1 hold that could not be controlled, and he ordered the ship abandoned.{{Cite news |date=20 October 1959 |title=Tampa Ship Founders; One Lost |pages=6 |work=Tampa Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/331052559/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22%20honduras&match=1}} She sank about 20 minutes afterward.{{Cite news |date=20 October 1959 |title=Crewman Missing As Banana Boat Sinks off Mexico |pages=1 |work=News-Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/220502189/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22%20honduras&match=1}} All but one of her 11-man crew was saved.{{Cite news |date=20 October 1959 |title=Boat Crewman Still Lost In Gulf |pages=16 |work=Tampa Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/326877814/?terms=%22victor%20Lynn%22%20honduras&match=1}}
References
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Category:Lighthouse tenders of the United States