.jpg) USSLeyden | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSLeyden |
| Namesake | Original merchant ship name retained after acquisition byU.S. Navy |
| Builder | James Tetlow,Chelsea,Massachusetts |
| Launched | 1865 |
| Fate | Foundered nearBlock Island on 21 January 1903 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Armedtug |
| Displacement | 35 tons |
| Armament | 2 guns |
The firstUSSLeyden was a screwsteamer that operated as atug in theU.S. Navy from 1866 to 1903 and saw combat service in theSpanish–American War in 1898.
Leyden was launched in 1865 byJames Tetlow,Chelsea,Massachusetts. From 1866 to 1879 she operated as a yard tug at theBoston Navy Yard, performing various harbor duties out ofBoston,Massachusetts, until reassigned toPortsmouth,New Hampshire, in 1879. Leyden served there until 1897, when she was assigned toNewport,Rhode Island.[1] While the ship was near Boston on 26 August 1881, SeamanMichael Thornton jumped overboard and rescued a fellow sailor from drowning, for which he was awarded theMedal of Honor.[2]
In 1898,Leyden performed towing operations offCuba during the Spanish–American War.[1] On 21 July 1898, her captain, EnsignWalter S. Crosley, using her one-pound guns, joined armed yachtUSS Wasp, and gunboatsUSS Annapolis andUSS Topeka in firing on and sinking theSpanishsloopJorge Juan inNipe Bay, Cuba, in theBattle of Nipe Bay. She also fought at theBattle of Fajardo the night of 8–9 August, bombarding enemy positions to supportbluejackets fromUSS Amphitrite holding theCape San Juan Light against a Spanish ground attack. The next morning,Leyden transported 60 women and children from the town of Fajardo that had been quartered at the lighthouse toPonce, Puerto Rico.[3]
From 1898 to 1903,Leyden alternated her services between theCaribbean and Newport, Rhode Island. While on a return passage fromPuerto Rico on 21 January 1903, the tug foundered in heavy fog offBlock Island, ending her lengthy career.[1] Ordinary SeamanErnest H. Bjorkman, Fireman First ClassLoddie Stupka, Quartermaster Third ClassAugust P. Teytand, and Chief MachinistMichael Walsh received the Medal of Honor "for heroism at the time of the wreck of that vessel".[4]
Online sources
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1903 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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