Editing USS Essex (1874)

{{Short description|1876 steamship of the United States Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Essex}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Essex underway.jpg
|Ship caption= USS ''Essex''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United States|1912}}
|Ship registry= {{flagicon|United States|1912}}
|Ship identification=IX-10
|Ship name= USS ''Essex''
|Ship namesake=[[Essex]]
|Ship ordered=  10 February 1873
|Ship builder= [[Donald McKay]]; [[Boston Navy Yard|Kitter Naval Yard]]
|Ship laid down= 1874
|Ship launched= 1874
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship commissioned= 3 October 1876
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service= 23 December 1930
|Ship struck=27 October 1930
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname= 
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= Burned to the waterline
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Steam sloop]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|1375|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|185|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="BGSU">{{cite web |url=http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/001876 |title=Essex |work=[[Bowling Green State University]] |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="BGSU"/>
|Ship draft= {{convert|14|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="BGSU"/>
|Ship hold depth= 
|Ship propulsion=*[[Compound steam engine|Fore and aft compound steam engine]] 1874-1910
*[[Triple expansion steam engine]] 1910-early 1920s
|Ship sail plan= [[Barque|Barque-rigged]]
|Ship speed= {{convert|10|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= 
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=*(1876)• 1 × {{convert|11|in|mm|abbr=on}} smoothbore cannon
*4 × {{convert|9|in|mm|abbr=on}} Dalhgrens cannons
*1 × 60-pounder cannon
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes= Partial surviving hulk is only known remnant of the work of [[Donald McKay]]
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|embed=yes
| name = USS ''Essex'' Shipwreck Site
| nrhp_type = 
| locmapin = USA Minnesota Duluth#Minnesota#USA
| location = [[Minnesota Point]], [[Duluth, Minnesota]]
| coordinates = {{coord|46|42|46|N|92|1|43|W|display=inline,title}}
| area = 
| mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=92000845|title=Minnesota's Lake Superior Shipwrecks MPS}}
| refnum = 94000342<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2010a}}</ref>
| added = 14 April 1994
}}
|}

'''USS ''Essex''''' was an [[USS Enterprise (1874)|''Enterprise''-class]] wooden-hulled armed naval [[steam sloop]] of war.<ref name="Essex2">{{cite web |url=http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/essex/esshd.php |title=U.S.S. Essex-Historic Description |work=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="Wrecksite">{{cite web |url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?27588 |title=USS Essex (+1931) |work=Wrecksite |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> She was built between 1874 and 1876 by [[Donald McKay]] at the [[Boston Navy Yard|Kitter Naval Yard]] of [[Boston|East Boston, Massachusetts]]. She was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 3 October 1876 by the [[United States Navy]].<ref name="Essex1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/essex/essex.php |title=Lake Superior Shipwrecks-U.S.S. Essex |work=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> On 23 December 1930 ''Essex'' was sold for [[Ship breaking|scrap]], and on 14 October 1931 she was taken to the beach just outside [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth Harbor]] where they set fire to her; she eventually burned to the [[waterline]]. On 14 April 1994 the remains of ''Essex'' were listed on the [[List of Great Lakes shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places|National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris"/><ref name="Essex1"/> Her partially surviving hulk is significant because she is the only known remnant of the work of master shipbuilder McKay.<ref name="McKay">{{cite web |url=http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/essex/esssig.php |title=U.S.S. Essex-Statement of Significance |work=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>

==History==
===Construction===
Shortly before his assassination, U.S. President [[Abraham Lincoln]] authorized the construction of ''Essex'', but her construction was delayed for several years. On 10 February 1873 a Congressional act was approved.<ref name="Essex3">{{cite web |url=http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/essex/esscac.php |title=U.S.S. Essex-Construction and Career |work=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> This act gave authority to the Secretary of the Navy to construct eight war vessels. The act stated that the four vessels should be built by the lowest responsible bidders for the contract in public competition. Donald McKay won the contract to build two of the four vessels, these were {{USS|Adams|1874|6}} and USS ''Essex''.<ref name="Essex3"/> ''Adams'' and ''Essex'' were [[sister ship]]s, and both of them were built by the Kitter Naval Yard.<ref name="Essex3"/>

''Essex''{{'s}} [[keel]] was [[Keel laying|laid]] in 1874,<ref name="Essex3"/> and she was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] in 1876.<ref name="Essex2"/> ''Essex'' had a length of {{convert|185|ft|m}}, her [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] was {{convert|35|ft|m}} and her [[Draft (hull)|draft]] was {{convert|14.3|ft|m}}.<ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/essex-iii.html Essex (wooden steamer)], [[DANFS]]</ref><ref name="BGSU"/><ref name="Wrecksite"/> Her [[gross register tonnage]] was 615 tons.<ref name="MHGL">{{cite web |url=http://greatlakeships.org/details.asp?ID=2900863&n=11 |title=Essex, USS (1874, Naval Vessel) | work = [[Maritime History of the Great Lakes]] |access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> She [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|1375|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} of water.<ref name="Essex2"/> USS ''Essex''{{'s}} engine was a {{convert|505|hp|lk=in|0}} [[Compound steam engine|fore and aft compound steam engine]] that was built by the Atlantic Engine Works of Boston, Massachusetts, and she had a single [[water tube boiler]] built by [[Babcock & Wilcox]].<ref name="MHGL"/> ''Essex'' was originally equipped with one {{convert|11|in|mm|adj=on}} cannon, four {{convert|9|in|mm|spell=in|adj=on}} [[Dahlgren gun]]s and a 60-pounder (127mm) cannon.<ref name="Essex2"/> ''Essex'' had a very bluff appearance; she had a figurehead, a moderate tumble home and a shapely rounded stern.<ref name="Essex2"/> She also had a [[bowsprit]], a [[jib boom]] and also a [[flying jib boom]].<ref name="Essex2"/> USS ''Essex'' was also believed to have [[copper sheathing]] on her bottom.<ref name="Essex2"/> She had two iron folding stock anchors at her bow. She carried six [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] that were chained to [[davit]]s that were pointing outward from the main deck. Her retractable smokestack was positioned directly in front of the central [[mainmast]]. ''Essex'' was propelled by both steam and sail.<ref name="Essex2"/>

===Ocean service===
After being [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]], she was placed in the command of [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Winfield Scott Schley]]; and she later reported to the [[North Atlantic Squadron]]. During the year of 1877 ''Essex'' cruised to [[Liberia]] and along the west coast of Africa and in 1878–79 joined the [[South Atlantic Squadron]]. While at [[Monrovia]], Liberia, on 31 October 1877, Ordinary Seaman [[John Millmore]] and First Class Fireman [[Henry Lakin Simpson]] rescued a shipmate from drowning, for which they were later awarded the [[Medal of Honor]].<ref name="moh">{{Cite web
  | title       = Medal of Honor Recipients - Interim Awards, 1871–1898
  | work        = Medal of Honor Citations
  | publisher   = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]
  | date        = 5 August 2010
  | url         = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/int1871-98.html
  | access-date  = 20 August 2010 }}</ref> ''Essex'' sailed on the Pacific Station from November 1881 to December 1882 and thence on the Asiatic Station for two years during which she took on board Captain S. H. Morrison and crew members of the shipwrecked ''Ranier''. Following repairs she returned to the Asiatic Station under command of [[Theodore Frelinghuysen Jewell|Commander T.F. Jewell]] in June 1886 and in October anchored at [[Pohnpei|Ponape]], [[Caroline Islands]], to afford protection to American missionaries during a native uprising. She returned to [[New York City|New York]] via the [[Suez Canal]] and was placed out of commission in May 1889.

Regarded as one of the finest ships of the fleet, ''Essex'' was designated next as a training ship. A three-month cruise with cadets at the [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]] at [[Annapolis]] in 1893 was followed by two lengthy tours to train naval apprentices (January 1894–April 1898, and September 1898 to December 1903.)

===Great Lakes service===
From 1904 to 1916 the [[United States Department of the Navy|Navy Department]] loaned ''Essex'' to the [[Ohio Naval Militia]]. [[Lieutenant]] Anthony E. Nicklett of the [[Ohio Naval Militia|Toledo Naval Militia]] decided to transfer ''Essex'' to the Toledo reserves. She was accepted, and plans were made to transfer her to the Toledo reserves. During her service on the [[Great Lakes]] ''Essex'' mostly used her sails because her engines were badly deteriorated.<ref name="Essex3"/> On one of her voyages she nearly collided with an ocean liner in dense fog. On another of her trips ''Essex'' [[Ship grounding|ran aground]] in the mouth of the [[Saguenay River]] about {{convert|100|mi|km|sigfig=2}} from [[Quebec City|Quebec]]. A 15 August 1904, issue of the ''[[Toledo Blade]]'' described the event:
<blockquote>The pilot had gone aboard the tow tug when suddenly the ''Essex'' struck bottom in a spot where there are a large number of boulders, dangerous at all times. The tide commenced to lower soon after the ship struck and she gradually careened as the water commenced to fall, until her lights were under.<ref name="Essex3"/> Excitement reigned supreme but the best of order was maintained throughout. At noon that day the tide again rose until, when at its height, the vessel floated free. She did not get free, however, without assistance from the tug....<ref name="Essex3"/></blockquote>

After being brought to into the Great Lakes from the [[Atlantic Ocean]], General Critchfield ordered the Toledo reserves to cruise in ''Essex'' on [[Lake Erie]] if they wanted to.<ref name="Essex3"/> On 22 July 1904, while in [[Montreal, Quebec]], ''Essex'' was joined by Captain Edward McNelly, who became her first captain on the Lakes.  She was handed over to him by Lieutenant Anthony Nicklett.<ref name="Essex3"/> In 1910 her fore and aft compound engine was replaced with a [[triple expansion steam engine]] and her sail rig was reduced to two pole masts. In 1927 ''Essex'' was transferred to the Naval Reserve of the State of Minnesota. In 1928 ''Essex''{{'s}} engine and her boilers were removed, she also had her deck housed over. After this conversion she was used as a [[Hulk (ship type)#Receiving hulk|receiving ship]] for the [[Minnesota Naval Militia]] and the [[U.S. Naval Reserve]].<ref name="Essex3"/>

==End of service==
''Essex'' served the Minnesota Naval Militia for three years after which she was stricken from the Navy list on 27 October 1930. ''Essex'' was sold for [[Ship breaking|scrap]] on 23 December 1930.<ref name="Essex5">{{cite web |url=http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/essex/essdwe.php |title=U.S.S. Essex-Description of the Wreck Event |work=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] |access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> The navy sold her for $400 ({{Inflation|US|400|1930|fmt=eq}}) to A.J. Klatzky who was the president of the Klatzky Iron and Metal Company. At the time she was sold ''Essex'' was the oldest steamer on the Navy's list.<ref name="Essex5"/> On 22 November 1930, the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' wrote a lament to the old vessel:

<blockquote>On December 17 initial steps to divorce her from the navy will be instituted when she is offered to the highest bidder adjudged capable of treating her kindly in her old age.<ref name="Essex5"/></blockquote>

The Klatzky Brothers stripped ''Essex'' and sold some of her pieces to former officers and enlisted men throughout the country. On 13 October 1931, ''Essex'' was towed to the lake side of [[Minnesota Point]] where she was set on fire with 200 gallons of [[kerosene]], and by the morning of 14 October 1931, ''Essex'' had burned to the [[waterline]]. Two heavy steel cables held her so that the wind could not blow her out into Lake Superior. The remains of ''Essex'' were pulled up onto the beach so that her hull could continue to burn; any metals (such as spikes, nails, or drift pins) were also recovered for scrap. The Klatzky Brothers intended to burn away enough of ''Essex''{{'s}} hull to pull it onto the shoreline.<ref name="Essex5"/>

===Hulk===
The partial wreck of ''Essex'', intentionally burned to the waterline, lies on the shoreline of Lake Superior on Minnesota Point about one-third of a mile northwest of the Superior Harbor entrance. {{convert|50|ft|m}} of ''Essex''{{'s}} hull bottom lies partially submerged in {{convert|4|ft|m|spell=in}} of water, with a very small piece of the wreck buried in sand.<ref name="Essex5"/> Her wreck consists of her hull bottom, her [[keelson]], sister keelson, rider keelson, bits of her frame and some hull and ceiling planks. Remains of her engine mount are also present on the site.<ref name="Essex5"/> The partial surviving hulk is the only known remnant of the work of [[Donald McKay]].<ref name="McKay"/>

The '''USS ''Essex'' Shipwreck Site''' was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for its state-level significance in the themes of engineering, historic archaeology, and maritime history.<ref>{{cite web |title=USS Essex Shipwreck |url=http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/NRDetails.cfm-NPSNum=94000342.html |work=Minnesota National Register Properties Database |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |year=2009 |access-date=2018-08-04}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
Image: USS Essex at Annapolis.jpg|USS ''Essex'' training midshipmen at [[Annapolis]], ca. 1893-1896
Image:S-A war Essex.jpg| USS ''Essex'' circa 1898
Image:USS Essex (1876) in 1913.jpg|USS ''Essex'' (IX-10) in 1913, showing the changes made to her in 1910
Image:Brig Niagara 1913 edit.jpg|USS ''Essex'' (on right) at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, for the Perry Centennial in 1913
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/essex-iii.html}}

==External links==
{{commons category|USS Essex (ship, 1876)}}
*[https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/man-findingaids/MS_129.EAD.xml Log of the U.S.S. ''Essex'', 1881-1882, MS 129] held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
*[https://archive.org/details/LogBookOfTheUssEssexOctober31876-March311877  Logbook 1 (October 3, 1876-March 31, 1877)] on Internet Archive; The other 61 surviving logbooks can also be found there.

{{Adams class gunboat}}
{{1931 shipwrecks}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota}}
{{NRHP Lake Superior shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essex}}
[[Category:1874 ships]]
[[Category:Duluth–Superior metropolitan area]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Ships designed by Donald McKay]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Superior]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Minnesota coast]]