Oak with iron and copper fastenings, and sheathed with yellow metal.
The Phantom was a 19th-century Sandy Hookpilot boat built in 1867 from the designs by Dennison J. Lawlor. The schooner was considered a model for her type with a reputation for being very fast. She helped rescue the passengers on the steamship SS Oregon when it sank in 1886. She was one of the pilot-boats that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Phantom was replaced by the pilot-boat William H. Bateman.
The Phantom was built in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867. On May 7, 1867, she was purchased in Boston by the Portsmouth Association of Pilots located in New Hampshire. On arrival in New Hampshire, the pilots provided entertainment on board with prominent businessmen.[2]
She was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1881 to 1885, to R. Yates as the owner, and from 1886 to 1888, to John Handran as the owner. Her hailing port was New York and Captain Hundeahn was registered as her master from 1885 to 1888. Records indicate that she was 75 feet long and weighed 51-tons.[1][3]
The sister pilot-boats, Pet and Phantom, were built on a model by the noted Boston builder and designer of pilot-boats, fishermen and yachts, Dennison J. Lawlor, at the Lawlor shipyard of East Boston, Massachusetts for the New York pilots. The schooners were considered models for their type with a reputation for being very fast.[4][5] The Phantom was later sold to the Sandy Hook pilots and operated out of the port of New York for several years.[6]
On April 28, 1874, the pilot-boat Phantom sent Captain Samuel C. Martin on board the barqueDie Helmath from Germany.[7]
Rescue of SS Oregon
Pilot-Boat Phantom rescuing the SS Oregon in 1886.
On March 14, 1886, the SS Oregon of the Cunard Line was hit by a coal schooner off Fire Island with 845 people on board. Pilot Charles Samson of the New York pilot-boat Phantom No. 11 rescued 400 passengers and crew by placing some of them in the deck room on the small pilot-boat and transporting them safely to the North German Lloyd liner Fulda.[8] The Phantom also towed into Sandy Hook eight life boats belonging to the Oregon. A lumber boat, Fannie H. Gorham, also helped in the rescue of the remaining passengers. The Oregon sank shortly after the passengers were taken off the ship. William Parker and E. E. Mitchell were also pilots on board the Phantom.[9][10][11]
The State Department received from the British Government four gold and six silver medals awarded to the pilot and seamen of the Phantom for service rendered to the Oregon. Three of the recipients included E. E. Mitchell, Charles Samson, and William Parker.[12]
On August 7, 1887, Sandy Hook pilot boat Centennial, No. 7, was on a cruise when it picked up a yawl that was from the pilot boat Phantom, No. 11, two years ago. It was washed overboard during a storm and had been drifting at the ocean bottom. The pilots were able to refurbish the yawl and place it back on the Phantom.[13]
End of service
During the Great Blizzard of March 1888, the Phantom, No. 11, was lost with all hands outside Sandy Hook, New Jersey. There were no reports of finding the boat, which had not been seen since March 12, 1888. Secretary Nash of the Board of Pilot Commissioners, said that the boat was sunk. The Phantom had two pilots, the boatkeeper, four seamen, and a cook. She was one of fifteen vessels lost or missing in the storm. Boatkeeper Pilot James Handran, the son of Pilot John Handran, was lost on the Phantom.[14][11]
Pilot boats Williams, Bateman, and Blunt
The pilot-boat William H. Bateman, No. 11, took the place of the ill-fated pilot-boat Phantom. She was launched on July 18, 1888, at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in south Brooklyn. Captain John Phelan was her commander, with pilots John Haurahan, Thomas Murphy, Ralph Turnure, James Brady and Thomas Sampson. Her sponsor was Commadore William H. Bateman.[15]
Earlier Phantom pilot-boats
There are several earlier dates of a Phantom pilot-boat, before the above 1867 date.
On 14 December 1840, James H. Smith and John Thompson, of the pilot boat Phantom, along with other pilots from the port of New York, stated that they had never been employed by J. D. Stevenson and no compensation has been offered or demanded.[17]
The Hampton, Virginia Association purchased an older Boston schooner, Phantom.[8]:p35
Erastus B. Badger, a Boston businessman, mentions the pilot-boat Phantom in his 1843 memoirs about being an apprentice aboard the Phantom and learning the piloting business in the Boston Harbor. In 1846, Warren Simpson under Captain J. K. Lunt entered the pilot service as an apprentice on the Phantom. He served for four years before going off to the California gold rush.[18]
In 1853, a three-masted schooner Phantom of 210-tons was built in New York by George Steers.[19]
On January 15, 1856, it was reported that the pilot-boat Phantom, No. 11, was owned by James Berger, George Berger, and J. J. Bennet. She was built in Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York.[20]
On January 21, 1856, the pilot-boat Phantom, went ashore near the south end of the Woodlands, New Jersey. She was badly damaged. She had been in service for fourteen years.[21]
On January 18, 1857, the Phantom, during a snowstorm, was dragged ashore on the south side of Georges Island, Massachusetts, but was able to safely return to the Boston Harbor.[18] On February 7, 1857, James Bradley was the boatkeeper of the pilot-boat Phantom in East Boston. It was moored in Deer Island in Massachusetts.[22]
Artist Alfred Waud did a marine pencil drawing of the Boston Pilot Boat Fleet in 1859, which appeared in the Ballou's Pictorial of 1859. The drawing lists the Phantom, No. 5; Syren, No. 1; William Starkey, No 6; the Coquette and the Friend.[18]:p33 The story in the Ballou's Pictorial said "These boats are all well-built, of exquisite model and crack sailors, and manned by as fine a set of men as ever trod a deck or handled a sheet. They ride the waves like sea-ducks, and with their hardy crews are constantly exposed to the roughest weather."[23]
Pet No. 9 was a pilot boat used by the New York Sandy Hook Pilots in the 19th century. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey.
George W. Blunt, completed in 1856, was a schooner built in New York that operated as a New York Sandy Hook pilot boat designated Pilot Boat No. 11. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey. That schooner was sold to the United States Navy in 1861, renamed and commissioned as the USS G. W. Blunt(1856), serving in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in the South. A second schooner, also named George W. Blunt, was built in East Boston in 1861 and purchased to replace the first schooner as a pilot boat.
The Richard K. Fox, first named Lillie, was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1876 for Boston Pilots. She was designed by model by Dennison J. Lawlor. She was one of the most graceful and attractive of the Boston pilot-boats and represented a trend toward deep-bodied boats. She was later sold to the New York pilots and renamed Richard K. Fox in honor of the famous sportsman and publisher of the Police Gazette. In the age of steam, she was sold in 1896 to the Marine Hospital Service.
The Sylph was a 19th-century pilot boat first built in 1834, by Whitmore & Holbrook for John Perkins Cushing as a Boston yacht and pilot-boat for merchant and ship owner Robert Bennet Forbes. She won the first recorded American yacht race in 1835. She was a pilot boat in the Boston Harbor in 1836 and 1837 and sold to the New York and Sandy Hook Pilots in October 1837. She was lost in winter of 1857 with all hands during a blizzard off Barnegat, New Jersey. The second Sylph was built in 1865 from a half-model by Dennison J. Lawlor. The third Sylph was built in 1878 at North Weymouth, Massachusetts for Boston Pilots. She was sold out of service in 1901, after 23 years of Boston pilot service.
The Thomas S. Negus was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn in 1873 for the New Jersey maritime pilots. She was built to replace the pilot boat Jane, No. 1, which sank in early 1873. She was the winner of a $1,000 prize at the Cape May Regatta in 1873. She was named for Thomas S. Negus, president of the N. J. Pilots' Commissioners. In 1897, she left the pilot service to prospect for gold during the Klondike Gold Rush.
The Eben D. Jordan was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1883 by Ambrose A. Martin in East Boston for Captain Thomas Cooper. Her namesake was Eben Dyer Jordan, the founder of the Jordan Marsh department stores. In 1892, she was sold to the New York Sandy Hook pilots. She was one of the last of the pilot-boats that were discarded in an age of steam and electricity in 1896.
The Widgeon was a 19th-century yacht and Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1855 by James R. & George Steers for Daniel Edgar of the New York Yacht Club and designed by George Steers. She came in 17th in an unsuccessful America’s Cup defense in 1870. Widgeon was sold in 1871 to a group of New York pilots to replace the John D. Jones, which sank in a collision with the steamer City of Washington. New York pilots condemned the Widgeon as unseaworthy in 1879, which sparked a fight for steam pilot-boat service. In 1883 a decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court and the Board of Commissioners of Pilots that pilot boats could be "propelled" by steam.
The Edwin Forrest was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1855 by Jacob A. Westervelt's Sons & Co., for a group of New York pilots. She was designed by Dennison J. Lawlor, for Pilot Captain John Low. The Edwin Forrest was named in honor of the American actor Edwin Forrest. A second Edwin Forrest was built for Boston pilots in 1865 to replace the New York Edwin Forrest, No. 14, that was lost in 1862. She attained celebrity for her speed and stability. The Edwin Forrest was sold to Pensacola, Florida parties in 1882 and replaced by the George H. Warren.
The Mary A. Williams was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1861 by the shipbuilder Edward F. Williams in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for a group of New York pilots. She was named Mary Ann Williams after the wife of the builder. The boat was considered one of the finest connected with the pilot service. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Mary A. Williams was sold in 1896.
The Centennial was a 19th-century wood pilot boat built in 1876 by Robert Crosbie and designed by Boston designer Dennison J. Lawlor for New York and New Jersey pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. By 1898, in the age of steam, she was the last pilot boat left in the fleet; then sold in 1898 to a group in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The David Carll was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1885 at the David Carll shipyard in City Island, New York. She was named in honor of David Carll, a well-known City Island shipbuilder. The David Carll was considered to be among the fastest schooners in the fleet. She was built to replace the Mary E. Fish that was run down and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The David Carll was lost at sea in 1893.
The Friend was a 19th-century pilot boat built by Daniel D. Kelley & Holmes East Boston shipyard in 1848 for Boston pilots. She helped transport Boston maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Boston Harbor. The Friend was one of the last of the low sided, straight sheared schooners built in the 1840s for Boston pilots. The second Boston pilot boat Friend was built in 1887. Her name came from the older Friend that was in the service in the late 1840s. Captain Thomas Cooper sold the Friend to New York pilots in 1893. Cooper replaced the Friend with the pilot-boat Columbia in 1894.
Charlotte Webb was a 19th-century New York City pilot boat built in 1865 at the Webb & Bell shipyard to take the place of the James Funk, that was destroyed by the rebel Tallahassee during the Civil War. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888, but was run down by the French steamship La Normandie in 1889. She was replaced by the pilot boat George H. Warren.
Dennison J. Lawlor, was a 19th-century Canadian-Irish shipbuilder and yacht designer. He apprenticed under shipbuilder Whitmore & Holbrook. Lawlor had his own shipyard, building and designing for 40 years some of the finest yachts, pilot boats, and 150 merchant vessels built from his designs. The most notable were the Hesper, Florence, and D. J. Lawlor. Lawlor died in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1892.
The William H. Bateman, a.k.a. Commodore Bateman, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1888 at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in south Brooklyn. She was replaced the pilot-boat Phantom that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. She was run down and sank by the Hamburg steamship Suevia in 1889.
The Enchantress was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1851 by John Maginn who named her after one of the cast in the opera The Enchantress. She was launched from the Westervelt & McKay shipyard. The Enchantress was one of the oldest pilot-boats in the service. She was Cornelius Vanderbilt's favorite pilot boat. The Enchantress went down with all hands in the Great Blizzard of 1888. The pilot boat James Stafford was built to replace her.
The Yankee was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built by Holbrook & Adams of Boston in 1848. The schooner was sold to New York pilots and used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York. In 1852 the crew of the Yankee received silver medals from the Massachusetts Humane Society for rescuing the captain and mate of the schooner Reaper. The Yankee struck an old wreck and sank 35 miles east of Sandy Hook in 1852. The Ellwood Walter was built to replace her in 1853.
The Coquette was a 19th-century yacht and pilot boat, built in 1845 by Louis Winde, at the Winde & Clinkard shipyard in Chelsea, Massachusetts for yachtsmen James A. Perkins. Her design was based on a model by shipbuilder Dennison J. Lawlor. The Coquette was a good example of an early American yacht with a clipper bow. As a yacht, she won the attention for outsailing the larger New York yacht Maria at the second New York Yacht Club regatta in 1846. Perkins sold the Coquette to the Boston Pilots' Association for pilot service in 1848. She continued as a pilot boat until 1867 when she was sold as a Blackbirder to be used on the African coast.
Moses Adams, was a 19th-century prominent Essex shipbuilder. He had his own shipyard and built eighty-five schooners and pilot boats. Adams died in Essex, Massachusetts in 1894.
↑ Chapelle, Howard I. (1960). "The National Watercraft Collection". United States National Museum, Bulletin 219. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p.90.
↑ Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. New York: The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations. p.35.
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