March 1, 1932 – the Coast Guard patrol boats Harriet Lane and Jackson were dispatched to Nantucket Sound to assist the cutter Acushnet in moving a fishing schooner sunk the night before after colliding with the Acushnet.
The accident occurred on the same day as a dramatic rescue of 22 men from a stricken freighter Aggersund 600 miles off Cape Race, Newfoundland, by the crew of the steamer Blankahelm. “The unfortunate schooner was the five msted 28 year-old George W. Elzey Jr., which was in collision with coast guard cutter Acushnet off Cross Rip lightship last night as the cutter was proceeding to sea and the schooner returned to port,” according to an Associated Press account. “No lives were lost in either mishap, and as far as could be learned, no injuries were suffered.”
The Elzey sank within 20 minutes of the crash, according to Coast Guard reports, and its four fishermen were rescued by the Acushnet. The cutter remained on the scene to warn other vessels of the sunken schooner by flashing her searchlights, with the stern of the Elzey “slightly above” water.
The Acushnet was unable to pull the Elzey out of the shipping lane and the patrol boats Harriet Lane and Jackson were called to assist. The Elzey suffered another mishap in July 1916 when it caught fire while tied to an amunition pier in New York Harbor. The vessel was towed from harms way and the fire extinguished by a NYC fireboat crew.
Sources
ThreeHarbors.Com – Harwich Port, Massachusetts – Website
* Noteworthy
1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States.
1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
1781 – The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
1845 – United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park
1893 – Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
1932 – Charles Lindbergh’s son is reportedly kidnapped.
1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.