"A Medium in Which I Seek Relief": Manuscripts of American Sailors 1919-1940Main MenuIntroductionPublication IntroductionTranscriptionsThe SailorsBeginning of PathThe ShipsBeginning of PathContext & AnalysisBeginning of PathSources / CitationsBeginning of PathAnnie Tummino3ab49bb2dc491ebce8f162f5757538b6789c8434
Ponta Delgada
12020-03-10T18:12:46-07:00Annie Tummino3ab49bb2dc491ebce8f162f5757538b6789c8434331954Noteplain2020-03-10T18:22:24-07:00Annie Tummino3ab49bb2dc491ebce8f162f5757538b6789c8434Ponta Delgada, on São Miguel Island, is the capital of the Azores archipelago of Portugal (map). Visited by both Cecil Northrop and Van Horne Morris as cadets.
Training Ship for the Massachusetts Nautical School 1909 - 1940
Van Horne Morris trained as a cadet on the Nantucket from 1936-1938
The Nantucket (pictured above in Ponta Delgada in 1937) was first known as the USS Ranger. The decommissioned ship was turned over to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on April 26, 1909, becoming Massachusetts Nautical School's second training ship. It was renamed Nantucket in 1918, when a new battle cruiser in the U.S. Navy fleet was given the name Ranger.
Fun Facts
On January 15, 1919, cadets on the Nantucket were first responders on the scene when a molasses storage tank exploded in what would be known as "The Great Molasses Flood" in Boston.
In 1937 a photograph taken from the ship showed the Hindenburg passing over head just hours before it exploded.
Specifications
Dimensions: 1,020 tons (1905 - 1,261 tons); 177' 4" length (1914 - 199' 9"); 32' beam; 12'9" draft (1905 - 13') Complement: 138 Propulsion: Four single-ended cylindrical boilers, one 500ihp horizontal compound steam engine and full rig auxiliary sail, one shaft. Speed: 10 knots Armament: One 11" smooth bore, two 9" smooth bores and one 60-pounder (1905 - six 4" rapid fire guns, four 6-pounders and one Colt machine gun; 1921 - four 4"/50 mounts) Laid Down: 1873 Launched: 1876 Commissioned: 1876 Scrapped: 1958
[Information compiled from 125 Years of Excellence: Massachusetts Maritime Academy and NavSource Online.]
This page references:
1media/VHM015_thumb.jpg2019-10-31T04:17:28-07:00Van Horne Morris in Ponta Delgada, Portugal3As a cadet in 1937media/VHM015.jpgplain2021-08-26T15:15:38-07:00Van Horne and Marion Morris Papers1937