| Wyoming From Wyoming Tales and Trails This Page: Hudson River Sidewheel Steamer Wyoming, the Screw Steamer Wyoming, the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Wyoming, The Schooner Wyoming. |
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| Wyoming From Wyoming Tales and Trails This Page: Hudson River Sidewheel Steamer Wyoming, the Screw Steamer Wyoming, the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Wyoming, The Schooner Wyoming. |
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About This Site |
The Hudson River sidewheel steamer Wyoming As indicated on the previous page, there have been a number of civilian ships named Wyoming. The above image is that of a Hudson River sidewheel steamer Wyoming owned by Joseph Cornell, brother of Thomas Cornell of the famed Cornell Steamboat Company, owner of the Mary Powell. The vessel was named after a county in Northern New York, east of Buffalo.
The British flag, brig-rigged screw steamer Wyoming The S.S. Wyoming was constructed in 1870 by Palmer's Shipbuilding & Iron Co., Ltd, for the Liverpool & Great Western Steamship Company, popularly known as the "Guion Line" after its founder Stephen Guion. The Company's ships were named after American western states and territories and included in addition to the Wyoming, the Colorado, the Nebraska, the Nevada, the Idaho, the Wisconsin, the Montana and the Dakota. Later, the Company became famous for its "greyhounds of the sea," the Alaska, Arizona and the Oregon. The latter two held the "Blue Ribbon." The Wyoming was 3729 tons and 600 horsepower. Its fastest time westbound, Liverpool to New York was nine days seven hours, and eastbound eight days six hours. Fares were advertised as $80.00 gold for a cabin and $30.00 currency for steerage. Although, British flagged, the Company was primarily owned by Americans. Following Guion's death in 1885, the Company began to lose money. The fleet was ultimately liquidated and by 1894 the line had ceased operations. The Wyoming was sold for scrap in 1893.
The French Line Wyoming. The French Line Wyoming, owned by Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, the French Line, went into service in 1930. With the French surrender to Germany during World War II, the Wyoming fell into British hands and was operated by Thos. & Jas. Harrison, Ltd. It was torpedoed by U-524 on March 15, 1943. All hands and passengers were rescued. The U-524, on its first sortie into the Atlantic, was in turn sunk by depth charges dropped by a Liberator aircraft seven days later.
The sinking of the Wyoming, 15 March 1943. The most famous of the civilian ships named Wyoming was the six-masted schooner Wyoming constructed at the Percy & Small boatyard, Bath, Maine, in 1909. The ship was the longest wooden ship ever constructed, 329 feet long.
The Six-Masted Wyoming under construction, Bath, Maine, 1909. At the ship's christening, she was sponsored by Lena Natrona Brooks (McCleary), the daughter of Wyoming Governor Bryant Butler Brooks. The schooner represented the highest development in the construction of wooden sailing vessels. She cost $175,000 (in 1909 dollars) to construct and measured 3,730 tons. "Tons" when used with regard to a vessel refers to the volume of the ship not its weight. One ton equals 100 cubic feet of volume using a formula originally created in 1773. The total internal volume of a ship is its gross tonnage. Subtraction of that portion of the ship not used for cargo will produce the net tonnage. The total weight of the vessel laden is the displacement measured in long tons of 2240 lbs. The weight of the vessel is determined by subtracting from the displacement the difference in displacement when the ship is fully unloaded. The Wyoming had 3730 gross tons, 3036 net tons, and 6004 tons deadweight. The purpose of the measurement of tonnage was to determine port dues.
The Schooner Wyoming With the ship's great length, a problem developed. In heavy seas, the ship's frame tended to twist or buckle, loosening the planking. Thus, the ship generally required the use of pumps. In March, 1924, the Wyoming was bound from Norfolk, Virginia for St. John, New Brunswick under the command of Captain Charles Gaesel of Boston and a crew of 13. On March 10, a nor'easter hit the coast of New England. The Wyoming was seen at dusk that day by the Cora F. Cressey off the Pollock Rip Lightship. The Wyoming was apparently anchored in an effort to ride out the storm. The area was the same in which the fishing schooner Washakie had been lost eleven years before. The Wyoming was never seen again. The lightship, itself, in 36 hours of gale force winds was thrown on its beam ends and shipped heavy seas notwithstanding that it was running its engine. The lightship was lost with all hands on September 14, 1944.
The Schooner Wyoming Additionally, on the Great Lakes were a number of vessels named Wyoming, There was a steam barge constructed in East Saginaw in 1871. She was, however, short lived, sinking in July 1871. Another was a steam paddle wheeler whose home port was Detroit. Others included a sail schooner constructed in 1870 and converted to steam in 1891 and another owned by the Port Huron & Duluth Steamship Co. A propeller steamer constructed in 1887 and sailing between Port Huron and the head of Lake Superior was owned by the Lake Michigan & Lake Superior Transportation Co. of Chicago. A 241 foot long wooden hulled bulk grain steamer was owned by P & H. Ltd. of Mississaugua, Ontario. Its name was changed to the Mapleglen and was ultimately scuttled near Kingston, Ont., in 1925. One of those Great Lake steamers is remembered in a snippet of a Great Lakes song, in apparent structure a capstan or heaving shanty, the melody of which has been lost in time. Thus, the background music for the page is another heaving shanty, "Blow the Man Down." The present USS Wyoming, on the previous page, may not, however, be the last. The television program Star Trek has predicted the existence of a USS Wyoming in space, just as Capt. Cook's HMS Endeavour finds its counterpart in the space shuttle program. Pictured below is the Mediterranean Class Starship of which the Starship USS Wyoming mentioned in the episode Flashback, will be a part in the 24th Century.  Music this page:
...the Queen of the Colonies was a notorious hell-ship of those days of man-killing captains and bucko mates. Some 17 crew off the Queen of the Colonies were imprisoned aboard the floating jail house, the Julia Percy in 1863 for playing up while at sea...and crews were paid-off on arrival at Moreton Bay and fresh crews were engaged to take the ship home...The Queensland Immigration Society, 'Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland', Vol. 7, No. 2, 1914.The ship had two encounters with the pride of the Confederate Navy, the CSS Alabama. In one instance the Queen of the Colonies was able to escape to the protection of the Thames estuary. In the other, Captain Raphael Semmes, Confederate States Navy, apparently declined to sink or board her in light of the vessel hoisting the Union Jack. Many American vessels transferred to British registry at the time of the Civil War in order to escape capture or sinking by the Confederate Navy. The Queen of the Colonies was lost near Brest in January 1875 when in a storm she was blown into some rocks. "Kicking Jack" Williams was master of the Clipper Ship Andrew Jackson which sailed from New York to the mouth of San Francisco Harbor in 89 days 4 hours and was, thus, advertised as the "fastest ship in the World."
This chapter suggested by Brother Elk, Mike L.,father of a former member of the Boat's Company, USS Wyoming. Bro. Mike for some unknown reason always wears green. |
