 Republic | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | Liverpool |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number | 345 |
| Launched | 26 February 1903 |
| Completed | 12 September 1903 |
| Home port | Liverpool |
| Fate | Sunk after collision withSSFlorida on 24 January 1909 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 15,400gross register tons |
| Length | 585.0 ft (178.3 m)overall |
| Beam | 67.8 ft (20.7 m) |
| Draught | 34 ft 1 in (10.39 m) |
| Depth of hold | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin propeller |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Capacity | 2,830 passengers |
| Crew | 300 |
RMSRepublic was a steam-poweredocean liner built in 1903 byHarland and Wolff inBelfast, and lost at sea in a collision in 1909 while sailing for theWhite Star Line. The ship was equipped with a new Marconiwireless telegraphytransmitter, and issued aCQD distress call, resulting in the saving of around 1,500 lives. Known as the "Millionaires' Ship" because of the number of wealthy Americans who traveled by her, she was described as a "palatial liner" and was the flagship of White Star Line's Boston service.[1] This was the first important marine rescue made possible byradio, and brought worldwide attention to this new technology.
The ship was originally built byHarland & Wolff in Belfast, Ireland, for theDominion Line for theirLiverpool toBoston service and was namedColumbus. She waslaunched on 26 February 1903, and made her maiden voyage in October 1903 from Liverpool to Boston. Shortly after she entered service, the Dominion Line andWhite Star Line were taken over by theInternational Mercantile Marine Company (IMMCo) and thus became sister companies. After two voyages with the Dominion Line,Columbus, along with three other Dominion liners:New England,Commonwealth, andMayflower, were sold to the White Star Line for use on their new service between Liverpool and Boston.Columbus was renamedRepublic, the second ship under White Star livery to hold the name (White Star's originalRepublic of 1872 had been sold to theHolland America Line in 1889 and renamedMaasdam), while her three fellow former Dominion liners were renamedRomanic,Canopic, andCretic, respectively.[2][3]
In January 1904,Republic was switched to White Star's Mediterranean service between Boston,Naples andGenoa in order to tap into the lucrative market for immigrants from Italy to the United States. From then on her route alternated between the Italian service during Autumn and Winter, and the Boston and Liverpool service during the Spring and Summer.[2]
Republic was involved in several minor collisions with other ships; in June 1904 she collided with the steamerHalifax at Boston, which forced the latter ship ashore. Three years later, in February 1907 she was involved with another collision with theCentro America in Naples harbour, causing some damage to both ships.[2]
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In the early morning of 23 January 1909, while sailing from New York City toGibraltar andMediterranean ports with 742 passengers and crew and Captain Inman Sealby (1862–1942) in command,Republic entered a thick fog off the island ofNantucket, Massachusetts.[4] Amongst the passengers were some illustrious people, such as James Ross Mellon, his wife Rachel Hughey Larimer Mellon, their daughter Sarah of theMellon banking family and family maid, Mrs. Sophie Mansfield Curtis, wife of George Munson Curtis (treasurer of theInternational Silver Company), Mrs. Mary Harriman Severance, wife ofCordenio A. Severance, ProfessorJohn M. Coulter with wife and children, GeneralBrayton Ives, St. Louis millionaireSamuel Cupples, historianAlice Morse Earle, and Mildred Montague, Countess Pasolini.[4][5] Travelling in first class were also Mr. Leonard L. McMurray, who, in 1915, would survive the sinking of theCunard linerLusitania, and Mrs. Bessie Armstead Davis, daughter-in-law of senatorHenry G. Davis ofWest Virginia with two children.[4]
Taking standard precautions and maintaining her speed, the steamer regularly signaled her presence in the outbound shipping traffic lane by whistle. At 5:47 a.m., another whistle was heard andRepublic's engines were ordered to full reverse, and the helm put "hard-a-port". Out of the fog, the Lloyd Italiano linerSSFlorida appeared and hitRepublic amidships on her portside, at about a right angle. Two passengers asleep in their cabins onRepublic were killed whenFlorida's bow sliced into her, liquor wholesale manager Eugene Lynch's wife Mary and banker William J. Mooney. Eugene Lynch was critically injured and died as a result of his injuries at Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, 26 January. OnFlorida, three crewmen were also killed when the bow was crushed back to a collision bulkhead.[7] Six people died in total.[4]
The engine and boiler rooms onRepublic began to flood, and the ship listed. Captain Sealby led the crew in calmly organizing the passengers on deck for evacuation.Republic was equipped with the new Marconiwirelesstelegraph system, and became the first ship in history to issue aCQD distress signal, sent byJohn R. Binns.[8]Florida came about to rescueRepublic's complement, and theU.S. Revenue Cutter ServicecutterGresham[9] responded to the distress signal as well. Passengers were distributed between the two ships, withFlorida taking the bulk of them, but with 900 Italian immigrants already on board, this left the ship dangerously overloaded.
The White Star linerBaltic, commanded by CaptainJ. B. Ranson, also responded to the CQD call, but due to the persistent fog,Baltic was not able to locate the driftingRepublic until that evening. Once on-scene, the rescued passengers were transferred fromGresham andFlorida toBaltic. Because of the damage toFlorida, that ship's immigrant passengers were also transferred toBaltic, but a riot nearly broke out when they had to wait until first-classRepublic passengers were transferred. Once everyone was on board,Baltic sailed for New York.
At the time ofRepublic's sinking, ocean liners were not required to have a full capacity of lifeboats for their passengers, officers, and crew. On the busy North Atlantic route, assistance from at least one ship was believed to be ever-present and that lifeboats would be needed only to ferry all aboard to their rescue vessels and back until everyone was safely evacuated. That scenario, unlike during theRMS Titanic sinking, played out flawlessly during the ship's sinking, and the six people who died were lost in the collision, not the sinking itself.
Captain Sealby and a skeleton crew remained on boardRepublic to make an effort to save her. Crewmen from theGresham tried using collision mats to stem the flooding, but to no avail.[10] By this time, the steamersNew York andLucania (fromCunard) had also arrived and waited while a futile attempt was made byGresham to takeRepublic under tow. On 24 January,Republic sank stern first; at 15,378 tons, she was the largest ship to have sunk until then.[11][12] All the remaining crew were evacuated before she sank.
Some reports indicate thatRepublic was carrying gold and other valuables when she sank. One report is that she was carrying gold worth $250,000[13] in American gold coins to be used as payroll for the US Navy'sGreat White Fleet.In addition to the US Navy coin-monies shipment, various sources reported[14][better source needed] on a much larger cargo, $3,000,000 in US gold double eagles ($20). Among these,The Washington Post reported, "Three million dollars in gold coins lie in the rotting hulk of the White Star liner Republic, lost off Nantucket in January, 1909. TheRepublic, damaged in a collision, was being towed toward New York by the Coast Guard cutter Gresham, when she sank in 240 feet of water. A salvage attempt in 1919 was unsuccessful."[15] And again one year later, "In 1909, the [White] Star Liner Republic was damaged in a collision. While being towed to safety, she sank in over 200 feet of water. At the present, all attempts to salvage the $3,000,000 in her holds have been unsuccessful."[16] The New York Times reported, "The White Star Liner Republic, lost off Nantucket Shoals in 1909, carried $3,000,000 in gold eagles. However, the Republic rests in 185 [270] feet of water."[17]
The wreck ofRepublic was found by CaptainMartin Bayerle in 1981. It lies upright roughly 50 miles (80 km) south ofNantucket Island[11][12] at40°26′0″N69°46′0″W / 40.43333°N 69.76667°W /40.43333; -69.76667 in a depth of around 270 feet (82 m) of water.[needs update]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1909 | |
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40°26′0″N69°46′0″W / 40.43333°N 69.76667°W /40.43333; -69.76667
