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USS Rodgers (1879)
Encyclopedia
USS Rodgers was a steamship in the United States Navy
acquired to search for Jeannette
in 1881.
On 3 March 1881, Congress, besieged by constituents as well as government agencies, appropriated $175,000 "to enable the Secretary of the Navy
to charter, or purchase, equip, and supply a vessel for the prosecution of a search for the steamer 'Jeanette' and such other vessels as might be found to need assistance during said cruise; provided that the vessel be wholly manned by volunteers from the Navy." The "other vessels" of most immediate concern were two whaler
s, Vigilant and Mount Wollaston missing in the Arctic Ocean since 1879.
The vessel purchased was the whaler Mary and Helen, specifically built for Arctic navigation by Goss, Sawyer, and Packard of Bath, Maine
. Launched on 17 July 1879, she was the first steam whaler built as such for American registry and during her first, and only, season not only justified the faith of her owner, Capt. William Lewis of New Bedford, Massachusetts
, but revolutionized the American whaling industry.
Acquired by the Navy at San Francisco, California
, the whaler Mary and Helen was renamed Rodgers and commissioned on 30 May 1881, Lieutenant Robert M. Berry in command. She sailed north on 16 June. She arrived at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
, Russia
, 33 days later, where the captain of the Russian corvette
Streloch offered "any needed assistance" on behalf of his government.
Continuing on, Rodgers took on two Chukchi
s as hunters and dog drivers at St. Lawrence Bay and on 20 August entered the Arctic Ocean
. At Herald Island
, Lt. Berry found that the crew of Corwin
on her second search for Jeanette, had already covered the island, unsuccessfully. Wrangell Land
was next. As they looked for clues of the missing ship, the crew of Rodgers surveyed the area and proved that Wrangell Land was an island and not the southern edge of a polar land mass.
Rodgers departed the island 13 September and moved north and west until stopped by pack ice on the 18th. Returning to Wrangell, she continued the search on another course until the 27th. Again blocked by ice, she turned south for winter quarters. The first week in October she left a party, under Master Charles F. Putnam
, on Tiapka Island off Cape Serdze
with provisions, supplies, and fuel for a year; and a boat, dogs, and sleds to explore the coast westward in search of the crews of Jeanette and the missing whalers.
On 8 October, Rodgers steamed for St. Lawrence Bay, where bad weather prevented the transfer of a large part of her provisions and supplies to the shore. On 30 November fire broke out in the still tightly-packed hold. Through the day, stores were removed to ease the firefighting efforts, but at midnight, the fires still raged and the former whaler was abandoned.
Rodgers then drifted up the bay, her rigging and sails ablaze. Early the next day her magazine exploded.
A temporary shore camp sheltered the crew until the next day when they moved to the village of Noomamoo, 7 mile away. Later divided into four parties, most of the crew wintered there and in three nearby villages.
As the crew adjusted to life ashore, Lieutenant Berry set out to inform Putnam's camp of the fire. Meanwhile, Master Putnam had learned of the disaster and had started for the Bay with supplies for the relief of survivors. Putnam reached St. Lawrence Bay, but on returning to his camp lost his way in a blizzard and drifted out to sea on an ice floe. An unsuccessful, month-long search for him was conducted along the coast.
On 8 February 1882 a party under Lieutenant Berry, who had not yet learned of Putnam's loss, set out on another search along the coast for Jeanette crew. On 24 March they arrived at the Russian post at Nishne (presumably Nizhnekolymsk) and learned of the landing of part of Jeanette crew at the mouth of the Lena River
the previous September. Berry and his party returned home from Nishne. The remaining members of the crew departed St. Lawrence Bay in May on board the New Bedford whaler North Star and were subsequently transferred to the revenue cutter Corwin
. They returned to San Francisco by way of Sitka, Alaska. During the stop at Sitka, the two surgeons of the Rodgers were kept busy dealing with local epidemics of measles and scarlet fever.
On 12 March 1883, Congress
appropriated $3,000 to "suitably reward the natives at and about St. Lawrence Bay who housed, fed, and extended other kindness to the officers and men of USS Rodgers."
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
acquired to search for Jeannette
USS Jeannette (1878)
The first USS Jeannette was originally HMS Pandora, a Philomel-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy, and was purchased in 1875 by Sir Allen Young for his arctic voyages in 1875-1876. The ship was purchased in 1878 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., owner of the New York Herald; and renamed Jeannette...
in 1881.
On 3 March 1881, Congress, besieged by constituents as well as government agencies, appropriated $175,000 "to enable the Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
to charter, or purchase, equip, and supply a vessel for the prosecution of a search for the steamer 'Jeanette' and such other vessels as might be found to need assistance during said cruise; provided that the vessel be wholly manned by volunteers from the Navy." The "other vessels" of most immediate concern were two whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s, Vigilant and Mount Wollaston missing in the Arctic Ocean since 1879.
The vessel purchased was the whaler Mary and Helen, specifically built for Arctic navigation by Goss, Sawyer, and Packard of Bath, Maine
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
. Launched on 17 July 1879, she was the first steam whaler built as such for American registry and during her first, and only, season not only justified the faith of her owner, Capt. William Lewis of New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, but revolutionized the American whaling industry.
Acquired by the Navy at San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, the whaler Mary and Helen was renamed Rodgers and commissioned on 30 May 1881, Lieutenant Robert M. Berry in command. She sailed north on 16 June. She arrived at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the main city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Population: .-History:It was founded by Danish navigator Vitus Bering, in the service of the Russian Navy...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 33 days later, where the captain of the Russian corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Streloch offered "any needed assistance" on behalf of his government.
Continuing on, Rodgers took on two Chukchi
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
s as hunters and dog drivers at St. Lawrence Bay and on 20 August entered the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
. At Herald Island
Herald Island (Arctic)
Herald Island or Gerald Island is a small, isolated Russian island in the Chukchi Sea, to the east of Wrangel Island. It rises in sheer cliffs, making it quite inaccessible, either by ship or by plane. The only sliver of shoreline is at its northwestern point, where the cliffs have crumbled into...
, Lt. Berry found that the crew of Corwin
USRC Thomas Corwin (1876)
The Thomas Corwin was a United States Revenue Cutter and subsequently a merchant vessel. These two very different roles both centered on Alaska and the Bering Sea...
on her second search for Jeanette, had already covered the island, unsuccessfully. Wrangell Land
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island is an island in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea. Wrangel Island lies astride the 180° meridian. The International Date Line is displaced eastwards at this latitude to avoid the island as well as the Chukchi Peninsula on the Russian mainland...
was next. As they looked for clues of the missing ship, the crew of Rodgers surveyed the area and proved that Wrangell Land was an island and not the southern edge of a polar land mass.
Rodgers departed the island 13 September and moved north and west until stopped by pack ice on the 18th. Returning to Wrangell, she continued the search on another course until the 27th. Again blocked by ice, she turned south for winter quarters. The first week in October she left a party, under Master Charles F. Putnam
Charles Putnam
Charles Flint Putnam was an officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:Born in Freeport, Illinois, Putnam entered the Naval Academy at the age of 14. Upon his request at graduation in 1873, he was ordered to the Far East in , serving in that vessel with the Asiatic Squadron until 1875...
, on Tiapka Island off Cape Serdze
Cape Serdtse-Kamen
Cape Serdtse-Kamen is a headland on the northeastern coast of Chukotka, Russian Federation. It is about 140 Km west of Cape Dezhnev, 120 Km east of Kolyuchinskaya Bay and about 30 km to the east of the Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon...
with provisions, supplies, and fuel for a year; and a boat, dogs, and sleds to explore the coast westward in search of the crews of Jeanette and the missing whalers.
On 8 October, Rodgers steamed for St. Lawrence Bay, where bad weather prevented the transfer of a large part of her provisions and supplies to the shore. On 30 November fire broke out in the still tightly-packed hold. Through the day, stores were removed to ease the firefighting efforts, but at midnight, the fires still raged and the former whaler was abandoned.
Rodgers then drifted up the bay, her rigging and sails ablaze. Early the next day her magazine exploded.
A temporary shore camp sheltered the crew until the next day when they moved to the village of Noomamoo, 7 mile away. Later divided into four parties, most of the crew wintered there and in three nearby villages.
As the crew adjusted to life ashore, Lieutenant Berry set out to inform Putnam's camp of the fire. Meanwhile, Master Putnam had learned of the disaster and had started for the Bay with supplies for the relief of survivors. Putnam reached St. Lawrence Bay, but on returning to his camp lost his way in a blizzard and drifted out to sea on an ice floe. An unsuccessful, month-long search for him was conducted along the coast.
On 8 February 1882 a party under Lieutenant Berry, who had not yet learned of Putnam's loss, set out on another search along the coast for Jeanette crew. On 24 March they arrived at the Russian post at Nishne (presumably Nizhnekolymsk) and learned of the landing of part of Jeanette crew at the mouth of the Lena River
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
the previous September. Berry and his party returned home from Nishne. The remaining members of the crew departed St. Lawrence Bay in May on board the New Bedford whaler North Star and were subsequently transferred to the revenue cutter Corwin
USRC Thomas Corwin (1876)
The Thomas Corwin was a United States Revenue Cutter and subsequently a merchant vessel. These two very different roles both centered on Alaska and the Bering Sea...
. They returned to San Francisco by way of Sitka, Alaska. During the stop at Sitka, the two surgeons of the Rodgers were kept busy dealing with local epidemics of measles and scarlet fever.
On 12 March 1883, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
appropriated $3,000 to "suitably reward the natives at and about St. Lawrence Bay who housed, fed, and extended other kindness to the officers and men of USS Rodgers."
External links
- New York Times June 22, 1882, Page 2. "The loss of the Rodgers; A thrilling story of disaster from the Arctic sea"
- William Henry Gilder (1883) Ice-pack and tundra: an account of the search for the Jeannette and a sledge journey through Siberia Charles Scribners Sons, NY
- The Papers of William Henry Gilder in the Dartmouth College Library Journalist aboard the Rodgers.