George W. Blunt, No. 11

George W. Blunt, No. 11 was a New York Sandy Hook pilot boat. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey. The boat was named after George W. Blunt, Secretary of the Board of Pilot Commissioners for the New York harbor from 1845-1877).[1]

George W. Blunt, No. 11
History
United States
Name: George W. Blunt
Owner: New York Pilots
Operator: Joseph Henderson, James Callahan
Builder: Daniel Westervelt, Charlestown, Mass.
In service: circa 1876 – 1875
Out of service: sank at sea
General characteristics
Displacement: 122 ton
Length: 85 feet
Beam: 21 feet
Propulsion: sails
Sail plan: Schooner-rigged

Construction and service

The George W. Blunt was a two-masted, 85-foot long, 122-ton schooner, fully 20 tons larger than any other boat in the Sandy Hook fleet. She was built by Daniel Westervelt son of Jacob Aaron Westervelt of the shipyard Westervelt & Co.[2] Her cabin had highly finished Bird's eye maple, with mirrors to match, and cushions covered with velvet brocade. She had lockers for coal and wood and tanks for water. Her stern was ornamented with a scroll and shield, on which were displayed the national flags of England, France, and America.[3]

On December 17, 1856, Captain Joseph Henderson was listed as being one of the captains for the pilot boat George W. Blunt, No. 11. It was said that on this ship, he had fallen from the masthead. Apparently, "he sighted an unusually large vessel, and in his joyful excitement, raised both hands to his mouth to trumpet the good new below, when he fell, adding notably to his record of fractures."[4]

On January 21, 1857, Joseph Henderson was listed as being on the George W. Blunt, No. 11, anchored at Coney Island, but hemmed in by ice. A snowstorm was reported in Brooklyn, and there were reports of shipwrecks on the coast and loss of life due to a winter storm.[5]

According to American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping, the Geo. W. Blunt was built in 1856 for the Sandy Hook New York Pilots. James Callahan was master of the boat.[6]

Civil War

On November 23, 1861, during the Civil War, the George W. Blunt was acquired by the Union Navy as a gunboat as well as a dispatch boat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways. She was renamed the USS G. W. Blunt.[7]

Out of service (1875)

On 1875, the Pilot boat George W. Blunt, No. 11, sprang a leak off Gay Head and was run ashore at Jones Inlet, twenty-eight miles of Sandy Hook. She was bilged and proved a total loss.[8]

References
  1. NY Pilot Boat 11, the George W. Blunt
  2. Clark, Arthur Hamilton (1911). The clipper ship era: an epitome of famous American and British clipper ships, their owners, builders, commanders, and crews, 1843–1869. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0548095812.
  3. "Marine News, New Pilot Boat". New York Daily Times. New York. December 17, 1856. Retrieved January 29, 2020. The pilot boat George W. Blunt, No. 11, which... in with the Swedish bark Spcs in a dsabled..., and towed her safely into this port, deserves a... notice.
  4. Charles Edward Russell, From Sandy Hook to 62, The Century Co., New York, 1929, page 150. OCLC 640130103
  5. New York Herald, January 21, 1957
  6. "American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping". Mysticseaport.org. 1859. Retrieved January 20, 2020. In 1859, the American Lloyd’s Register of American and Foreign Shipping listed the schooner George W. Blunt.
  7. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  8. Hudson New York Daily Star, 1875
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