USS ''Stringham'' (Torpedo Boat No. 19/TB-19) was a steel

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. ''Stringham'' was named for Silas H. Stringham, who served in the

from the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

through the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. ''Stringham'' was launched on 10 June 1899 by Harlan & Hollingsworth,

Wilmington, DE Wilmington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near w ...

; sponsored by Miss Edwina Stringham Creighton; and was placed in reduced commission on 7 November 1905. Assigned to the

Reserve Torpedo Flotilla Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

Annapolis, MD Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, upon completion, ''Stringham'' was placed in full commission on 30 October 1906 and assigned to the 3d Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet. ''Stringham'' operated on the eastern seaboard between

Key West, FL Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it const ...

and Cape Cod, MA, into 1907. Detached on 11 October 1907 from the Atlantic Fleet, ''Stringham'' was placed in reserve, in reduced commission, on 31 January 1908 at the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

. Placed in full commission again on 1 July 1908, ''Stringham'' rejoined the 3d Torpedo Flotilla. She operated primarily out of

Newport, RI Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New York City. It ...

, through October; then proceeded to

Charleston, SC Charleston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of th ...

, where she was placed in reserve on 19 November 1908. Recommissioned on 14 August 1909, ''Stringham'' was assigned duty as flagship of the 3d Division, Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla, on 9 September. During October, she participated with units of the Atlantic Fleet in the

Hudson–Fulton Celebration The Hudson–Fulton Celebration from September 25 to October 9, 1909 in New York and New Jersey was an elaborate commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River and the 100th anniversary of Robert Fulton's ...

, steaming up the

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

as far as

Albany, NY Albany ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldest city in New York, and the county seat of and most popu ...

, on 8 October. Returning south to Charleston, ''Stringham'' was again placed in reserve on 30 November. Assigned to temporary duty with the 1st Torpedo Division on 1 April 1910, ''Stringham'' was transferred to the Engineering Experimental Station at Annapolis, MD, on 14 September. She served as a practice ship and training vessel for midshipmen at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

from 1911 to 1913. On 26 July 1912, near

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, ''Stringham'' successfully received the first radio signal transmitted from an aircraft to a surface ship. Ensign Charles H. Maddox, USN, transmitted "We are off the water, going ahead full speed on a course for the Naval Academy" from an altitude of 300 feet to the ''Stringham'', distant three nautical miles. Later test messages from Maddox's "Wright flyer style" aircraft were received by ''Stringham'' at distances of up to 15 miles. Maddox later wrote, "These were the first radio messages ever received from an airplane radio transmitting set in the United States and probably in the world." ''Stringham'' was placed out of commission on 21 November 1913 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 26 November 1913, and designated for use as a target on 17 December 1913. Never actually used as a target, ''Stringham'' remained at Norfolk until sold on 18 May 1923 to E. L. Hurst of Roanoke Dock for scrapping. While being towed to a scrapyard, the ship broke loose and ended up beached on the tip of Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. In October 2021, the wreck is still there but is deteriorating quickly. wreck a
36°58'00.2"N 76°17'53.3"W
.

References

Bibliography

* * * *''History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy'' by Captain L.S. Howeth. *''Additional technical data from''

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stringham (TB-19) Torpedo boats of the United States Navy Ships built by Harlan and Hollingsworth 1899 ships