USS ''Freehold'' (SP-347) was a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

and tug that served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1917 to 1919. ''Freehold'' was built as a commercial tug of the same name in 1903 by Neafie and Levy at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. On 17 September 1917, the U.S. Navy chartered her for use as a minesweeper and tug during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She was commissioned on 22 September 1917 as USS ''Freehold'' (SP-347). Assigned to the

3rd Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

, ''Freehold'' performed

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

duties in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

area for the remainder of World War I, sweeping and buoying channels daily for

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s entering and leaving New York Harbor. She also performed general tug duties through the end of the war and into 1919. On 17 April 1919, ''Freehold'' was assisting in the docking of the

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Cunard Line passenger ship RMS ''Saxonia'' when one of ''Saxonia''s propellers struck her. ''Freehold'' sank, with the loss of one of her crew members. ''Freehold'' was refloated, overhauled, and returned to her owner on 27 May 1919.

References

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NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Freehold (SP 347)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freehold (SP-347) Minesweepers of the United States Navy Tugs of the United States Navy World War I minesweepers of the United States World War I auxiliary ships of the United States 1903 ships Ships built by Neafie and Levy Ships sunk in collisions Maritime incidents in 1919