| Show S 1 1 r OLD FIGHTING SHIP t A j GALLANT CRAFT ST. ST MARYS MARY'S A 1 RETIRES AT LAST Vessel Fought In Mexican and Civil i Wars and Was Renown Renowned d as Has Has Sailed Around World Fifteen Times 1 New No York York No more will hurrying feet leet rush along the decks or climb the tho rigging of that old daughter of the tho 1 s sea a the St St. Marys Mary's which for 34 years has been used sed b by the tho New York city 1 department of education as a n school school- ship where tho the youth of the city have havo been trained to tho the merchant marine service Could the old ship talk there is oj many an interesting tale she could tell since she first slipped into the sea from her ways at the Washington i navy in 1844 the Mexican 1 She Sho took active part in and civil wars and did blockade service servo sere ice in the Pacific during the troublesome troublesome troublesome trouble trouble- some days of 1849 and it was during this period In her career that two men of her crew were at different 0 times hung from Irom her fore starboard yardarm An act of congress passed In 1874 established training schools for tho the merchant marine whereby the St. St Marys Mary's was turned over to the state of New York and in turn to the city of New York for Cor use as a n She has been employed in this capacity capacity ca ca- ca from 1874 to 1908 a period of 34 years During this time she has made a cruise almost every year to foreign ports giving her crew of cadets practical practical experience in seamanship In her career of 64 years she has been around the tho world 15 16 times Moro More than a thousand boys have been graduated grad after a two years years years' course on her and it was an Interesting point that J 5 4 The St St. Marys Mary's from a Drawing by byOne byOne One of the Crew at the the- alumni meeting held on her herfor herfor herfor for the last time the other night there thero were present a graduate from Crom the tho first years year's class and his son lion who was a graduate of the last j years year's ears ear's class Seventy e per cent of the boys who have havo been graduated from Crom the St. St Ma Mary's Marys s 's have followed the sea either in the navy o or oi- oiin in the merchant marine Soon aft after r- r she was built the St St. Marys Mary's was sent to the Pacific It was In 1849 at Honolulu that the well veil known Incident Inv Involving the St. St Marys Mary's and a French Trench warship took place The Frenchman and and the Yankee were on the point of having trouble but the Yankee was in a a bad badway wa way a great many of her men were ill III of China fever and on shore There were not enough In the crew to toman toman toman man the guns At an opportune moment two Amer- Amer icah scab whale ships entered the harbor and the tho St St. Marys Mary's complement was made up from their men So formidable formidable dable a crew did they make that tho the Frenchman cooled off and there was no fight In the civil war war the St. St Marys Mary's was on the Pacific station and did not see active fighting She is a vessel of tons displacement and originally her armament consisted of 23 guns long nines and smaller pieces She was called the St St. Marys Mary's from the county of ot that name In Maryland Mary land Although taken out of the 1 jester lOster lOs jes os oster ter of navy ships temporarily practically practically cally the same discipline and routine of work has bas been maintained on board the tho St St. Marys Mary's as exists In all aU American Amer scan lean war vessels The Tho cadets were drilled continually by graduates of tho the naval academy cruising in the summer summer sum mer mer and in the winter quartering during dur duro ing tog the cold months The Tho daily dally routine rou tine Une at sea began at a a. m m. when the watch was called Inspection find and prayers were at 9 30 and instruction In to seamanship and navigation after that At 1130 o'clock all In the first class took an observation for Cor lati lati- tude L Leaving the cadet ranks did not mean that tho the graduate lost touch with friends and associations ot of- the ship The nautical school was an alumni association of several hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred members which has haa its social reunions each year Through the efforts ef et forts of at this organization recently the uniform of the cadet was wa changed from Crom the regulation blues blue of the naval academy pattern At the reunions anecdotes and remembrances are b brought up And now the St St. Marys Mary's as aa a school ship has like all aU things of this earth outlived her usefulness and has been d returned to the navy department And Ancl what will be her end Nothing better bet ter probably than to be broken up and sold as a. Junk |
