Loss of the USS Milwaukee (C-21): An Archaeological Study of a World War I-era U.S. Navy Disaster in Northern California
Author(s): Jeffrey R Delsescaux
Year: 2020
Summary
This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
On December 15, 1916 the USS H-3 (SS-30) went aground on Samoa Beach near Eureka, California while trying to find the entrance to Humboldt Bay in dense fog. Roughly a month later during the early morning hours of January 13, 1917, the USS Milwaukee (C-21), a St. Louis class semi-armored cruiser, attempted to pull the submarine off the beach, despite multiple warnings from locals of the danger. Shortly after beginning the attempt she was forced aground and pushed broadside to the shoreline. The Navy declared her a loss and salvage began shortly thereafter. A railroad trestle was built to the wreck and she was salvaged by the Navy before the hulk was sold and salvaged periodically. This paper will discuss the Milwaukee and findings from a survey conducted by archaeologists in June 2019 of the exposed wreckage and associated salvage camp site.
Cite this Record
Loss of the USS Milwaukee (C-21): An Archaeological Study of a World War I-era U.S. Navy Disaster in Northern California. Jeffrey R Delsescaux. 2020 ( tDAR id: 457333)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
California
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Navy
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Salvage
Geographic Keywords
United States of America
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 471