The U-Boat Raid in American Waters

Twenty Vessels, Mostly in the Coastwise Trade, Sunk Off the New Jersey and Virginia Coasts

One or more German submarines—the number was not definitely established—appeared off the coast of the United States on May 25, 1918, and began sinking merchant ships on a large scale. Up to June 20 more than twenty steamers and sailing vessels, mostly of American register, had been sent to the bottom.

This was the second visit of an armed German submarine to the American side of the Atlantic for hostile action. In October, 1916, before the United States entered the war, the U-53 held up coastwise traffic off Nantucket and sank four British, one Dutch, and one Norwegian ship. The U-53 had been preceded by the merchant submarine Deutschland, which arrived at Baltimore on July 9, 1916, from Bremen and returned with a cargo of nickel and rubber. The Deutschland made a second trip, arriving at New London, Conn., in October.

The appearance off the American coast of the unidentified submarine, or submarines, which made the raid on American and neutral shipping in May and June, 1918, was not altogether unexpected. For several weeks the American naval authorities had been searching for U-boats in home waters in consequence of a dispatch from the British Admiralty stating that two German submarines of the latest type, with a cruising capacity of 10,000 miles, had left the North Sea and were observed proceeding westward, probably in an attempt to cross the Atlantic.

The first information that German U-boats were conducting a transatlantic campaign was brought to New York City on June 4 by Captain Humphrey G. Newcombe and the ten members of the crew of the American four-masted schooner Edward H. Cole, which was sunk with bombs on the afternoon of June 2, fifty miles southeast of Barnegat, N. J. All were agreed that the U-boat was about 200 feet long, of more than 20 feet beam, and with 5 feet freeboard, that it carried a three-inch gun fore and aft, and a one-pounder quick-firer amidships, and that it had a speed of 17 knots. The mate of the Edward H. Cole told how he had noticed a submarine moving around the vessel at a high speed and believed that it was an American craft with Naval Reserve cadets on board, who were trying to have some fun with the sailors of the merchant ship.

"I thought," the mate continued, "that it would be a good idea to have a little fun with our skipper, who had turned in for a nap in his cabin, and I yelled down the skylight, 'Tumble up on deck lively, Cap! There's a big German submarine close astern, getting ready to attack us.' Then I took the marine glasses and looked through them at the stern of the U-boat, where her ensign was flapping limply against the short flagstaff. For a moment or two I could not make out her nationality, and then a gust of wind came and blew the ensign straight so that I could see that it was the German flag, and then I shouted in earnest to Captain Newcombe, 'It's no joke this time. By gosh, she is a German submarine!'"

The schooners Hattie Dunn and Edna were the first vessels sunk—on May 25. Their crews, as well as that of the schooner Hauppauge, which was sunk three days later, numbering twenty-three men, were taken on board the submarine and kept prisoner there for eight days. When the tank steamer Isabel Wiley was sunk, on June 2, the twenty-three prisoners were placed, with the crew of the Isabel Wiley, in the tanker's four boats and left to find their way to the shore. They were picked up by a coastwise steamer and brought safely back to land.

Captain Charles E. Holbrook of the Hattie Dunn, the first skipper to encounter the U-boat, thus described his experience:

We left New York for Charleston in ballast on May 23, and when, two days later, we were about fifteen miles south of Winter Quarter Lightship bowling along under an eight-knot breeze, I heard a shell pass near the vessel. Then another shell, which fell perhaps a quarter of a mile away. I was not taking much notice, because I believed the vessel which I saw about two miles away was an American submarine at target practice.

A third shell exploded close by us on the weather quarter, and I knew that, whoever it was, wanted us to stop. I brought the vessel up into the wind. The submarine, with her superstructure and conning tower showing plainly above the water, came within two hundred yards, and I saw that she was flying the two code letters "A B," meaning "stop immediately."

From a small staff at the rear end of the superstructure fluttered a small flag of the Imperial German Navy. An officer and three men came over in a small boat, not over twelve feet long. In perfect English the officer told us to get into our boats and that we had but ten minutes allotted to us to get clear of our vessel. They placed bombs along the sides of our vessel and blew her up immediately, in the meantime putting an armed German sailor on board the small boat in which were seven men and myself. This did not give me time to rescue my personal effects and nautical instruments. My men only saved what they stood in.

Perhaps I would have been given more time if the commander of the submarine had not seen the Hauppauge under full sail about four or five miles away. Like us the Hauppauge was light, and, I understand, was bound from Portland to Newport News. He destroyed Captain Sweeney's fine new schooner after ordering him and his crew to take to their boats, and within a half hour both crews were on board the submarine and both the small boats had been placed on the submarine's deck and lashed down.

ON BOARD THE U-BOAT

Captain C. M. Gilmore of the Edna said that when he was stopped by the U-boat an officer came aboard and told him he had ten minutes to abandon ship. During the week he was on board the submarine, Captain Gilmore said the Americans were treated with such extreme courtesy by the Germans that it was evident that the whole matter was being done under orders with the hope of having an effect on American public opinion. Captain Gilmore added:

The officers of the submarine included a spare Captain who was apparently on hand to take charge of any prize that might be worth while turning into a raider, the commander of the U-boat itself, and two others. These gave up their berths to me and the master of the Hattie Dunn, and the Germans of the crew gave up their bunks to the sailors and slept in hammocks themselves. The officers gave us wines, cordials, and fine cigars, and in general treated us with such marked hospitality that it seemed apparent that they were carrying out a course that had been laid upon them. The commander said that he had fuel and supplies for a month in American waters and intended to stay here for that time before going back.

The Carolina, a 5,000-ton passenger steamship belonging to the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Line, which was sunk at 6 P. M. on June 2, had on board the largest number of persons of any of the ships destroyed. Passengers and crew numbered 331. All escaped except seven out of the twenty-six who were put on board on a motor launch. The launch encountered a heavy storm and overturned. Christian Nelson, Chief Engineer of the Carolina, who was in charge of the launch, after a great effort managed to right it, but in the meanwhile seven persons had disappeared in the sea. With the aid principally of a young Porto Rican girl, who did not understand English, but who behaved very intelligently and bravely, Nelson kept the launch afloat, although it was waterlogged and the engine would not work. The launch was finally picked up by a British freighter, which took the survivors into Lewes, Del. The rest of the passengers and crew of the Carolina were picked up by other vessels and safely landed. Some of the survivors were more than twenty hours at sea in open boats.

LIST OF VESSELS SUNK

The complete list of ships attacked up to June 20 is as follows: The complete list of ships attacked up to June 20 is as follows:

H. Haskell, schooner, 1,362 tons.

Isabel B. Wiley, schooner, 611 tons.

Hattie Dunn, schooner, 365 tons.

Edward H. Cole, schooner, 1,791 tons, subsequently raised and saved.

Herbert L. Pratt, tank steamer, 7,200 tons.

Carolina, passenger steamer, 5,093 tons.

Winneconne, freighter, 1,869 tons.

Hauppauge, auxiliary schooner, 1,500 tons.

Edna, schooner, 325 tons, subsequently towed in.

Texel, steamship, 3,210 tons.

Samuel M. Hathaway, schooner, 1,038 tons.

Samuel C. Mengel, schooner, 700 tons, unconfirmed.

Edward Baird, schooner, 279 tons.

Eidsvold, Norwegian steamship, 1,570 tons.

Harpathean, British steamship, 4,588 tons.

Vinland, Norwegian steamship, 1,143 tons.

Desauss, schooner, 500 tons.

Pinar del Rio, steamship, 2,504 tons.

Vindeggen, Norwegian steamship, 2,632 tons.

Henrik Lund, Norwegian steamship, 4,322 tons.

One seagoing and two coal barges, which struck mines.

All the ships mentioned were sunk except the Herbert L. Pratt and the Edna. Most of them were destroyed by bombs placed alongside after the crews had left. In some cases gunfire was used. The submarine also laid mines, which caused some damage. The commander of the submarine was reported as saying that he was saving his torpedoes for bigger ships. With the exception of the British and Norwegian vessels all were American. The raid extended along the coast from within a couple of hundred miles of New York southward as far as the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.

HUNTING THE RAIDER

As soon as the first news was received that a submarine campaign was being conducted off the American coast, prompt action was taken by the Navy Department. Destroyers, submarine chasers, and airplanes were sent out in large numbers to patrol the coast and search the neighboring waters, but the U-boat eluded detection. New York Harbor was temporarily closed, and, though there was no indication of the presence of hostile airplanes, the lighting of the city was for several nights diminished by darkening the main thoroughfares. There were rumors that the submarine either had a "mother ship" or was using a base on the Mexican coast. Marine insurance rates were not raised, but the officers of vessels in the coastwise trade were granted a bonus by the Shipping Board.