USS Worden (DD-352)

PLEASE NOTE:  Due to a prior commitment, the ship that was to be posted on Tuesday, August 28, will be posted today, August 27. Thank You.

Figure 1:  USS Worden (DD-352) at anchor, circa the later 1930s. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2:  USS Dobbin (AD-3) photographed circa 1937, with several destroyers alongside. They include (from left to right): USS Phelps (DD-360), USS Worden (DD-352), USS MacDonough (DD-351), USS Dewey (DD-349), and USS Hull (DD-350). Note that some of these ships' hull numbers are painted close to the waterline, while others are about midway between the waterline and the weather deck. Courtesy of BMGC Ralph E. Turpin, USN (Retired), 1963. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.  

Figure 3:  USS Worden (DD-352) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 21 November 1942. Note barrage balloons aloft in the distance. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

 

Figure 4:  USS Worden (DD-352) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 21 November 1942. USS St. Louis (CL-49) is in the background. Circles mark recent shipyard alterations to Worden. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

 

Figure 5:  USS Worden (DD-352) aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. USS Dewey (DD-349), which unsuccessfully tried to tow Worden off, is standing by in the left center. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

 

 

Figure 6:  USS Worden (DD-352) aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. USS Dewey (DD-349) is standing by at right to assist Worden. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

 

Figure 7:  USS Worden (DD-352) sinking after she went aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. Note oil spreading around the ship. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

 

Figure 8:  Boats removing USS Worden's (DD-352) crew after she went aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. USS Dewey (DD-349) is standing by in the foreground. The ship in the distance, in the upper right, is USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55). Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

 

Figure 9: USS Worden (DD-352) being abandoned after going aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. Note men in the water near the landing craft in the foreground and steam pouring from Worden's stacks and midships area. Fourteen of her crewmen were lost in the icy waters in this incident. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.   

Figure 10:  Loss of USS Worden (DD-352). Worden lies capsized and broken in two after she went aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.  

 

Named after Rear Admiral John L. Worden (1818-1897), who was the commander on board USS Monitor during her historic battle with CSS Virginia on 9 March 1862, the 1,726-ton USS Worden (DD-352) was a Farragut class destroyer that was built by the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, and was commissioned on 15 January 1935. The ship was approximately 341 feet long and 34 feet wide, had a top speed of 36 knots, and had a crew of 186 officers and men. Worden was armed with five 5-inch guns, four .50-caliber machine guns, eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

After being commissioned, Worden completed her shakedown cruise off the coast of Central America. After that, she steamed to the Atlantic for several months before returning to the Pacific in August 1935. Worden was based at San Diego, California, from 1935 to 1939 and sailed at various times as far north as Alaska and as far south as Peru. The ship also participated in naval exercises in the Caribbean, in the waters around Hawaii, and off America’s west coast. In October 1939, after war began in Europe, Worden was transferred to and based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941, Worden was at anchor there next to the destroyer tender USS Dobbin (AD-3). No bombs hit Worden, but a machine gunner on board the destroyer managed to shoot down a low-flying Japanese aircraft. Within two hours after the start of the attack, Worden was able to make steam and head out into the open sea. Worden made numerous anti-submarine sweeps outside of Pearl Harbor, making contact with at least one Japanese submarine later that same day. After dropping roughly seven depth charges, contact was lost with the target. Worden then joined a task force built around the light cruiser USS Detroit (CL-8), which searched the seas southwest of Oahu for Japanese warships. Worden eventually rendezvoused with the fleet oiler USS Neosho (AO-23) and escorted her to a fueling rendezvous with Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch’s Task Force TF-11, which was built around the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2).

In the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Worden participated in the abortive Wake Island relief expedition. The relief of Wake Island was seen by Washington as not being worth the risk to the few remaining American warships in the Pacific, so it was allowed to fall, condemning more than 1,000 American sailors, Marines, and civilian construction workers to an unimaginable hell as prisoners of war for the rest of the conflict. It was a shameful example of the lack of will that paralyzed the American government during those first few days of the war and what made it even more painful was that the Americans on Wake were actually holding their own against the Japanese onslaught, inflicting much damage on the invading enemy task force. But the American forces couldn’t hold out forever and were forced to surrender when it became clear that no help was coming.

Worden was employed on patrol and escort duties during the first half of 1942, making two round-trip voyages to the south Pacific between February and May. In early June, Worden escorted US aircraft carriers during the pivotal Battle of Midway. In July 1942, Worden returned to the south Pacific and in August she escorted the carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) during the American invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. Worden continued escorting Saratoga during the Battle for the Eastern Solomon Islands later in that month. But less than a week after the battle, a Japanese submarine torpedoed Saratoga and put her out of action, forcing the carrier to return to the mainland United States for repairs.

Worden was ordered to return to the United States for an overhaul, arriving at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 14 October 1942. After the overhaul was completed, Worden steamed south to San Francisco and on December 27 joined the invasion force for the occupation of Amchitka Island in the Aleutians. Worden reached Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on 1 January 1943 and on 12 January was guarding the transport Arthur Middleton (AP-55) as she landed preliminary Army units on the shores of Constantine Harbor at Amchitka Island. Worden carefully maneuvered into the rock-strewn harbor and stayed there until the last Army troops left the transport and arrived on shore. The destroyer then faced the difficult prospect of leaving the small harbor.

Suddenly, a strong current pushed Worden onto a large pinnacle or rock that tore up the ship’s hull beneath the engine room. This caused massive flooding and an immediate loss of power. Worden’s sister ship, USS Dewey (DD-349), passed a towline to Worden and attempted to tow her off the rock, but the tow line parted and the heavy seas began moving Worden towards the rocky coastline. Since Worden had no power, she was unable to move away from the shore. The sinking ship was battered mercilessly by large waves and soon Worden buckled and began breaking apart. Commander William G. Pogue, Worden’s commanding officer, gave the order to abandon ship. Small boats from other ships in the area arrived on the scene and began removing Worden’s crew. But before this work could be completed, large waves swept some men overboard and tossed them into the icy sea. One of the men swept overboard was Commander Pogue. Pogue, though, was one of the lucky ones because he was hauled, unconscious, out of the water. Sadly, fourteen of Worden’s crewmembers drowned during the rescue effort. Worden gradually capsized to starboard, broke in two, and sank.

USS Worden’s plight certainly confirmed the old adage that “The sea is a demanding mistress.”  In many cases during World War II, the sea was as deadly an enemy as the Japanese or the Germans. That the men on board these ships had to endure both harsh seas as well as enemy attacks demonstrates the amount of courage and stamina that was required of them throughout the war.

USS Sentry (AM-299)

Figure 1:  USS Sentry (AM-299) shortly after being commissioned on 30 May 1944. Courtesy Vic Barnaby. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2:  USS Sentry (AM-299), date and place unknown. Courtesy Vic Barnaby. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 3:  USS Sentry (AM-299) after she was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam’s Navy in 1962. The ship was renamed Ky Hoa (HQ-09). Courtesy Robert Hurst. Click on photograph for larger image.    

Figure 4:  USS Sentry (AM-299) after she was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam’s Navy in 1962. The ship was renamed Ky Hoa (HQ-09). Courtesy Robert Hurst. Click on photograph for larger image.


The 945-ton USS Sentry was an Admirable class minesweeper that was built by the Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company at Seattle, Washington, and was commissioned on 30 May 1944. The ship was approximately 184 feet long and 33 feet wide, had a top speed of 15 knots, and had a crew of 104 officers and men. Sentry carried one 3-inch gun, two 40-mm guns, six 20-mm guns, one “Hedgehog” depth-charge thrower, four depth-charge projectiles (known as “K-guns”), and two depth-charge tracks, which made her heavily armed for a ship that size.

After completing her shakedown cruise, Sentry left San Francisco, California, on 28 August 1944 and steamed to Manus Island, New Guinea, arriving there on 6 October. She joined the American invasion fleet that was headed for Leyte in the Philippine Islands. Sentry arrived off the coast of Leyte on 17 October and swept for sea mines for the next three days. Sentry continued sweeping during and after the initial landings on Leyte on 20 October and then was ordered to escort transports on 24 October. Although there were few Japanese submarines in the area, the threat from Japanese aircraft, especially the dreaded kamikaze suicide planes, was almost constant. Sentry’s anti-aircraft guns were useful in protecting vulnerable transports from this airborne menace.

Sentry continued steaming off the coast of Leyte for the next six weeks and participated in many of the subsequent amphibious landings in the Philippines. The group she was attached to, Mine Division 34, carried out pre-invasion sweeps at Ormoc Bay on 6 December 1944, Mindoro Island on 14 December, Lingayen Gulf on 6 January 1945, and Zambales and Subic Bay from 29 to 31 January. For every landing except the one made at Ormoc Bay, Sentry remained near the beaches until after the initial troop landings, helping to extend the mine-swept areas and providing antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection for merchant ships and transports. Sentry located few mines, but the kamikaze attacks were intense, so her antiaircraft guns were on constant alert and were often used to protect other ships.

On 13 February 1945, Sentry and the other minesweepers in her division began pre-invasion sweeps in Manila Bay in preparation for the landings at Mariveles and Corregidor. While sweeping for mines off Corregidor on 14 February, Sentry came within 5,000 yards of the island and was repeatedly straddled by Japanese artillery shells before supporting American warships arrived on the scene and silenced the enemy’s guns with their own gunfire. Sentry continued sweeping in Manila Bay until 19 February and Mine Division 34 received the Navy Unit Commendation for their brave conduct during the operations off Corregidor.

For approximately the next ten weeks, Sentry completed various minesweeping operations in support of smaller amphibious assaults in the Philippines, with the most notable one being the pre-assault sweep for the landings at Legaspi, Luzon, on 1 April, and an eight-day sweep in the Sulu Sea off Palawan beginning on 22 April. On 9 May, Sentry arrived at Morotai Island (located in present-day Indonesia) in preparation for amphibious landings in the Netherlands East Indies.

From 7 to 18 June 1945, Sentry participated in the landings at Brunei Bay, Borneo. From 22 June and 15 July, Sentry swept for mines in preparation for the amphibious assault on Balikpapan, Borneo. During both operations, Sentry and her sister ships came under intense fire from shore batteries. One ship, USS Salute (AM-294), was sunk by a mine on 8 June. Sentry’s minesweeping division received a Presidential Unit Citation for its service off Borneo.

After an overhaul at Subic Bay in the Philippines, Sentry left on 8 September and arrived after the end of the war at Sasebo, Japan, on 20 October. Throughout the following weeks, Sentry swept Japanese minefields off the Ryukyus Islands, in the Tsushima Strait, and in the Van Diemen Strait. Sentry left Sasebo on 9 December 1945 and headed back to the United States. She arrived at Orange, Texas, on 2 April 1946 and was decommissioned there on 19 June. The ship was placed in reserve and her classification was changed to fleet minesweeper (steel hull) MSF-299 on 7 February 1955. Sentry was struck from the Navy List on 1 February 1962 and was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam on 31 August of that same year. She was renamed Ky Hoa (HQ-09) and her final fate is unknown. USS Sentry was awarded six battle stars for her service during World War II, an impressive number for such a small ship.  

Minesweeping is incredibly dangerous even under the best of circumstances. But with shore batteries firing at you or with kamikaze aircraft trying to destroy you, the job became that much harder. USS Sentry was a fine example of a ship doing a difficult job under extremely dangerous conditions. No wonder the ship and her crew received so many awards during World War II.

Picket Boat Number One

Figure 1:  Picket Boat No. 1 (1864). Engraved reproduction of a wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1900. This craft, armed as a spar-torpedo launch, was used by Lieutenant William B. Cushing to sink the Confederate ironclad Albemarle on the night of 27-28 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2:  "Cushing's Torpedo Boat." Photograph of a general arrangement drawing of the boat and its spar torpedo. The original plan appears to be of 19th century vintage and is drawn on cloth. Lieutenant William B. Cushing used US Navy Picket Boat No. 1 to sink the Confederate ironclad Albemarle on the night of 27-28 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 3:  "Screw Picket Boat, Constructed for the Navy Department." General arrangement diagram published in Submarine Warfare, Offensive and Defensive, by Lieutenant Commander J.S. Barnes, USN, 1869. The drawing also includes detail drawings of the spar torpedo carried by this boat. This craft is similar to Picket Boat No. 1, which was used by Lieutenant William B. Cushing to sink the Confederate ironclad Albemarle on the night of 27-28 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 4:  Sepia wash drawing of  CSS Albemarle by R.G. Skerrett, 1899. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 5:  Nineteenth century engraving of  CSS Albemarle as she appeared "ready for action.” US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 6:  Lieutenant William B. Cushing, USN. Photograph taken circa 1864. The original photograph is in the collections of the US National Archives. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.





Figure 7:   Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing, USN. Halftone reproduction of a photograph taken circa 1864-1865. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 8:  "The Rebel Ram Attacking Federal Gun-Boats at Plymouth, North Carolina." Engraving published in Harper's Weekly, May 1864, depicting CSS Albemarle driving off USS Miami, after ramming and sinking USS Southfield (foreground), 19 April 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 9:  "Wood versus Iron." Nineteenth century photograph of an artwork by Acting Second Engineer Alexander C. Stuart, USN, 1864. It shows CSS Albemarle engaging several Federal gunboats on Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on 5 May 1864. USS Sassacus is in left center, ramming the Confederate ironclad. Other US Navy ships seen are (from left): Commodore Hull, Wyalusing and Mattabesett. The Confederate transport Bombshell, captured during the action, is in the right background. Albemarle was not significantly damaged during this action, which left Sassacus disabled by a hit in one of her boilers. Collection of Surgeon H.P. Babcock, presented by George R. Babcock, 1938. US Naval Historical Center Photograph.  Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10:  "Cushing’s Daring and Successful Exploit." Artwork by Bacon, published in Deeds of Valor, Volume II, page 74, by the Perrien-Keydel Company, Detroit, 1907. It depicts the attack on CSS Albemarle by a torpedo launch commanded by Lieutenant William B. Cushing, USN, at Plymouth, North Carolina, 27 October 1864. The torpedo boat is shown crashing over Albemarle's protective log boom to deliver its torpedo against the ironclad's hull. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.  

Figure 11:  CSS Albemarle is torpedoed and sunk by Lieutenant William B. Cushing's torpedo launch at Plymouth, North Carolina, 27 October 1864. Phototype published by F. Gutekunst, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa the later 19th century. Print from the Skerrett Collection, Bethlehem Steel Company Archives. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.    

Figure 12:  “Lieutenant Cushing's Torpedo Boat sinking the Albemarle on Roanoke River, N.C." Engraving by A. Stachic, published in Naval Battles of America, by E. Shippen. It depicts the successful spar torpedo attack by Lieutenant William B. Cushing and his crew on the Confederate ironclad Albemarle, at Plymouth, North Carolina, 27 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph.  Click on photograph for larger image. 

Figure 13:  CSS Albemarle at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, after she was salvaged, circa 1865. Two ladies are standing on her deck, near a section of displaced casemate armor. Courtesy of Mr. J.C. Hanscom. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 14:  Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing, USN. Photograph taken circa 1870, when he married Katherine Louise Forbes. Courtesy of Rear Admiral T.T. Craven, USN, 1935. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 15:  Katherine Louise Forbes Cushing, married to Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing. Photograph taken circa 1870, when she married Lieutenant Commander Cushing. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a town and a sound in North Carolina, and a county in Virginia, the 376-ton CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy and was built in a cornfield on the banks of the Roanoke River in North Carolina. The ship was commissioned in 1864 and was approximately 158 feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 4 knots, and had a crew of 150 officers and men. Albemarle was armed with two 6.4-inch Brooke cannons, each able to pivot and shoot out of three gun ports.

Albemarle had a very low silhouette and thick iron plating along her sloped sides, making her a difficult ship to sink. Almost as soon as she was commissioned, Albemarle was sent into action. On 19 April 1864, Albemarle attacked Union warships off Plymouth, North Carolina, sinking USS Southfield and driving away USS Miami and two other gunboats. With their waterborne communications severed, the Union Army was forced to surrender Plymouth to the Confederates.

Just over two weeks later, on 5 May 1864, Albemarle, accompanied by the steamers Cotton Plant and Bombshell, steamed into the North Carolina Sounds and attacked another US Navy task force, consisting of the “double-ender” gunboats USS Sassacus, USS Wyalusing, USS Mattabesett, the converted ferryboat Commodore Hull, and the small gunboat Ceres. Sassacus made a courageous effort to sink Albemarle by ramming, but she was badly damaged in the process. Albemarle, though, was only damaged lightly during the battle and managed to escape. With Albemarle seemingly impervious to both cannon fire and ramming, all Union warships along the coast of North Carolina were now in danger of being sunk by this ironclad. Something had to be done, and quickly, before the Union’s entire position along North Carolina’s inland waters and coastline was placed in jeopardy.

William Barker Cushing was an amazing man. Born in Delafield, Wisconsin, on 4 November 1842, Cushing spent most of his childhood in Fredonia, New York. He attended the US Naval Academy from 1857 to March 1861, when his high-spirited behavior led to his resignation. But the start of the Civil War brought Cushing back into the Navy, and he soon distinguished himself as an officer of great initiative and courage. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in mid-1862, Cushing served as executive officer of the gunboat Commodore Perry and then was given command of the tug Ellis, which was lost under heroic circumstances on 25 November 1862. He subsequently commanded the gunboats Commodore Barney, Shokokon, and Monticello. During this time, he led several daring reconnaissance and raiding excursions into areas controlled by the Confederates.

With the ironclad Albemarle menacing the inland waterways and coast of North Carolina, a daring plan was needed to sink that ship. Cushing came up with a plan. Cushing proposed to take a spar torpedo boat, known as Picket Boat Number 1, and ram Albemarle under the cover of darkness. A spar torpedo was basically a large bomb that was attached to the end of a long pole, or spar. That spar was in turn attached to a small steamboat. The steamboat was aimed at the target and, as soon as it was close enough, the bomb (or torpedo, as it was known back then) at the end of the long spar would be driven into the side of the enemy ship. The bomb was often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so that it would stick to a wooden hull. The picket boat would then back off, at which point the bomb was detonated by a spring-loaded trigger that was activated by a long cord attached to the picket boat. When the limit of the trigger cord was reached, the cord activated the trigger and the bomb (or torpedo) exploded. The only problem with this plan was that nobody really considered what would happen to the men inside of the picket boat once the torpedo exploded. Considering the fact that the bomb would detonate right next to and underneath the picket boat, the chances of surviving such an attack were virtually nil.

None of these problems, though, seemed to discourage Cushing. He was given command of Picket Boat Number 1, along with its crew of 14 men. The steamboat was approximately 45 feet long and nine feet wide and was armed with one 12-pounder howitzer along with the spar torpedo. Picket Boat Number 1 had a top speed of roughly 7 knots and was sent on its deadly (some would say suicidal) mission on the night of 27 October 1864. Cushing took Picket Boat Number 1 up the Roanoke River near Plymouth, North Carolina, and spotted Albemarle. The ironclad was moored to the shore just below the town dock and was protected in the river by a log boom several feet out from her hull. As Cushing approached Albemarle in his little steamboat, he was hailed by some men on board the Confederate warship. Cushing ignored the call to stop and steamed directly toward the ironclad at full speed. At the same time, his boat came under heavy rifle fire. Picket Boat Number 1 hit the log boom but slid right over it, allowing Cushing to drive the spar torpedo into Albemarle below the waterline. There was a huge explosion and the heavy ironclad sank quickly. Miraculously, Cushing and his crew were still alive after the bomb went off. Cushing told his men to jump overboard and try to make it to safety. He and a seaman swam away and succeeded in getting back to some nearby Union gunboats but, except for two men killed, Picket Boat Number 1 and the rest of the boat’s crew were captured.

The sinking of CSS Albemarle represented a big setback for the Confederacy and soon after the attack the Union Army captured Plymouth. The town and the area around it remained in Federal hands for the rest of the war. The Union warships on the Roanoke River and along the coast of North Carolina were also free to attack Confederate forces with impunity now that the dreaded enemy ironclad was gone.

The attack on Albemarle made Cushing a national hero and he was quickly promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In January 1865, Cushing again distinguished himself in battle by helping to lead the US Navy landing force that captured Fort Fisher from the Confederates in North Carolina. Following the Civil War, Lieutenant Commander Cushing was executive officer of USS Lancaster and commanding officer of USS Maumee. On 12 February 1870, Cushing married Katherine Louise Forbes of Fredonia, New York, and the couple had two daughters, Marie Louise Cushing (born in December 1871) and Katherine Abell Cushing (born in October 1873). Cushing was promoted to Commander in 1872 and was captain of USS Wyoming from 1873 to 1874. In November 1873, Cushing boldly confronted Spanish authorities in Cuba to save the lives of many passengers and crew of the steamer Virginius, which had been captured bringing men and supplies to Cuban revolutionaries. But while serving as executive officer of the Washington Navy Yard at Washington, DC, Commander Cushing’s health declined and he died on 17 December 1874, cutting short a brilliant naval career.

After Plymouth, North Carolina, was captured by Union forces, Albemarle was salvaged and refloated. She was brought to the Norfolk Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia, in April 1865 and remained there until she was sold in October 1867, probably for scrap.

The remarkable saga of Lieutenant Cushing and Picket Boat Number 1 will live in the annals of US Naval history. It showed that small ships had the potential to sink much larger opponents and it also demonstrated the value of this new invention called the “torpedo.” Less than 80 years later, American motor torpedo boats (or “PT” boats), armed with far heavier weapons and modern-day torpedoes, would also attack warships far bigger than themselves, carrying on a tradition that was begun by Lieutenant Cushing in 1864 with the attack on the CSS Albemarle.