Francis H. Leggett
History | |
---|---|
Name | Francis H. Leggett |
Namesake | A business partner of A. B. Hammond |
Owner | Hicks-Hauptman Transportation Co. |
Operator | San Francisco , California |
Port of registry | United States |
Builder |
|
Launched | January 31, 1903 |
Completed | 1903 |
In service | 1903 |
Identification |
|
Fate | Sank September 18, 1914 |
General characteristics | |
Type | steam-powered schooner |
Tonnage | 1,606 GRT |
Length | 241.5 feet (73.6 m) |
Beam | 41.2 feet (12.6 m) |
Depth | 14.8 feet (4.5 m) |
Installed power | 1,000 hp |
Crew | 29 |
Francis H. Leggett was an American-flagged
Construction
In 1903, with his timber operations in full bloom in the
Later, Francis H. Leggett was one of the pioneering ships behind the technique of ocean rafting (also called Benson rafting), whereby large rafts of logs were chained together and towed. These rafts could be up to 700 feet (210 m) long and contain up to 11 million board feet of timber.[3] After some years of success, the practice was banned by the United States Congress in 1912 after several rafts broke up in storms, spreading large logs up and down the coast and creating a hazard to shipping.[4]
Sinking
On September 17, 1914, Francis H. Leggett departed
The distress signal was detected by the Imperial Japanese Navy armored cruiser Izumo, but Izumo did not respond to Francis H. Leggett out of fear that she would encounter the Imperial German Navy light cruiser SMS Leipzig, which was nearby; World War I had begun, Japan was at war with Germany, and Izumo feared being attacked by the more modern German ship. Izumo relayed the distress signal to other ships, including the oil tanker Buck and the steamer Beaver. Both ships responded to the call for help, but by the time they arrived on the scene, Francis H. Leggett had sunk, leaving only its cargo of railroad ties still afloat. Two passengers aboard Francis H. Leggett were rescued. One of the survivors, Alexander Farrell, explained that the storm swamped both of the ship's lifeboats as soon as they were lowered. Both survivors lived by clinging to railroad ties.[7] The death toll of 60 people makes it Oregon's worst maritime disaster on record.
References
- Forty-Fifth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1913. p. 176
- Gordon, Greg. When Money Grew on Trees: A.B. Hammond and the Age of the Timber Baron. University of Oklahoma Press, 2014. ISBN 978-0806144474
Notes
- ^ a b Gordon, p. 267
- ^ "The Francis H. Leggett Launched". The New York Times. Newport News, Virginia. February 1, 1903. p. 10. Retrieved May 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Largest Lumber Raft". The New York Times. San Francisco. August 24, 1906. p. 1. Retrieved May 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gordon, p. 269
- ^ Lienhard, John H. "The Francis H. Leggett," Engines of Our Ingenuity. January 31, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "Only 2 of 70 on Leggett Escape," The Spokesman-Review. September 19, 1914. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "Only Wwo Saved in Pacific Wreck". The New York Times. Astoria, Oregon. September 20, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved May 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Belyk, Robert. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. Wiley, 2001.
External links
- Location of the wreck (www.wrecksite.eu)