J. R. KEEN
Gunners of the Mongolia hit a submarine.
April 19 has long been celebrated in Massachusetts because of the battle of Lexington, but henceforth the Bay State can keep with added pride a day which has acquired national interest in this war, for on that date the S. S. Mongolia, bound from New York to London, under command of Captain Emery Rice, while proceeding up the English Channel, fired on an attacking submarine at 5.24 in the morning, smashing its periscope and causing the U-boat to disappear.
Officers from Massachusetts.
The gun crew who made this clean hit at 1,000 yards were under command of Lieutenant Bruce R. Ware, United States Navy, and the fact of special interest in Massachusetts is that both Rice and Ware were born in that State, the Captain receiving his training for the sea in the Massachusetts Nautical School and the Lieutenant being a graduate of Annapolis.
Dangerous voyages and cargoes.
The Mongolia, a merchantman of 13,638 tons, had been carrying munitions to Great Britain since January, 1916, when she reached New York Harbor from San Francisco, coming by way of Cape Horn, and she had already made nine voyages to England. In those voyages her officers and men had faced many of the greatest perils of the war. Her cargoes had consisted of TNT, of ammunition, of powder, of fuses, and of shells. At one time while carrying this dangerous freight Captain Rice saw, as he stood on the bridge during a storm, a lightning bolt strike the ship forward just where a great quantity of powder was stored, and held his breath as he waited to see "whether he was going up or going down."
Warnings of U-boats.
Captain Rice has since died, and among his papers now in my possession are many of the warnings of the presence of U-boats sent to his ship by the British Admiralty during 1916, when every vessel approaching the British coast was in danger from those assassins of the sea.
Mongolia sails in spite of German edict.
After February 1, 1917, when the Huns made their "war zone" declaration, the question with us at home whether the Mongolia would continue to sail in defiance of that edict of ruthless warfare became a matter of acute anxiety. The ship completed her eighth voyage on February 7, when she reached New York and found the whole country discussing the burning question, "Would the United States allow the Imperial German Government to dictate how and where our ships should go?" There was never but one answer in the mind of Captain Rice. At home he simply said, "I shall sail on schedule, armed or unarmed. Does any one suppose I would let those damned Prussians drive me off the ocean?"
In the office of the International Mercantile Marine he expressed himself more politely, but with equal determination, to the President of the company, P. A. S. Franklin, to whom he said, "I am prepared, so are my officers, to sail with or without arms, but of course I would rather have arms."
Arms slow to get.
But the arms were slow to get, and the Mongolia, loaded with her super-dangerous cargo, cleared from New York on February 20, the first one of our boats to reach England after the "war zone" declaration, I believe. Captain Rice arrived in London about the time when Captain Tucker of the S. S. Orleans reached Bordeaux, the latter being the first American to reach France in safety after the same declaration.
Spies try to learn sailing dates.
Early in February of 1917 we became aware that German spies were making a persistent attempt to get into our home to find out when the Mongolia was sailing, and if the ship was to be armed. The first spy came up the back stairs in the guise of an employe engaged in delivering household supplies. He accomplished nothing, and the incident was dismissed from our minds, but the second spy came up the front stairs and effected an entrance, and this event roused us to the dangers around Captain Rice even in his own country and showed the intense determination of the Germans to prevent, if they could, any more big cargoes of munitions reaching England on the Mongolia. Our second visitor was a man who had been an officer in the German Army years before. After leaving Germany he came to the United States and became a citizen.
A German-American turns German spy.
In August, 1914, when the Huns invaded Belgium, he became all German again and returned to Europe to serve with the German Army on the French front, from which region he was ordered by the German Government back to the United States, where his command of English and knowledge of the country made him valuable to the propaganda and spy groups here. All this and much more I found out shortly after his visit, but the afternoon he called I (I was alone at the time) received him without suspicion, since he said he came to pay his respects to Captain Rice, whom he had known in China.
Deceiving the spy.
It was not until his apparently casual questions about the time of the Mongolia's sailing and whether she was to be armed became annoying that "I woke up," and looking attentively at this over-curious visitor, I encountered a look of such cold hostility that with a shock I realized I was dealing with a spy, one who was probably armed, and who appeared determined to get the information he sought. In a few seconds of swift thinking I decided the best thing to do was to make him believe that Captain Rice himself did not know whether his ship was going out again, and that no one could tell what course of action the ship owners would take. After forty minutes of probing for information he departed, convinced there was no information to be had from me.
How signals could be sent by German agents.
It was ascertained that his New York home was in an apartment house on the highest point of land in Manhattan. In this same house there lived another German, who received many young men, all Teutons, as visitors, some of whom spent much time with him on the roof. The possibility of their signaling out to sea from this elevation is too obvious to be dwelt on, and it is beyond doubt that some of the submarines' most effective work at this time and later was due to the activities of these German agents allowed at large by our too-trustful laws of citizenship. So exact and timely was much of the information these spies secured that the Mongolia on one of her voyages to England picked up a wireless message sent in the Mongolia's own secret code, saying that the Montana was sinking, giving her position, and asking the Mongolia to come to her rescue, but it had happened that when the Mongolia left New York Harbor at the beginning of this very voyage one of her officers had noticed the Montana lying in the harbor.
Mongolia is armed with three 6-inch guns.
When the Mongolia returned on March 30, 1917, from this unarmed voyage she was given three six-inch guns, two forward and one aft, and a gun crew from the U. S. S. Texas, under Lieutenant Bruce R. Ware, who had already made his mark in gunnery.
The Mongolia left New York on her tenth voyage April 7 with the following officers:
The officers on the voyage.
Commander, Emery Rice; in command of armed guard, Lieutenant Bruce R. Ware; Chief officer, Thomas Blau; First Officer, W. E. Wollaston; Second Officer, Charles W. Krieg; Third Officer, Joseph C. Lutz; Fourth Officer, Carroll D. Riley; Cadets, Fred Earl Wilcox and Theodore Forsell; Doctor, Charles Rendell; Assistant Purser, J. T. Wylie; Chief Steward, W. T. Heath; Chief Engineer, James W. Condon; First Assistant Engineer, Clarence Irwin; Second Assistant Engineer, William Hodgkiss; Third Assistant Engineer, L. R. Tinto. Six junior engineers—William Hasenfus, E. Larkin, Perry McComb, Sidney Murray, J. R. Fletcher, Lawrence Paterson, Refrigerator Engineer, H. Johnson, Electrician, E. Powers; Dock Engineer, V. Hansen.
Entries from the ship's log.
The log of the ship for that voyage contains these entries:
| Sailed from New York April 7, 1917. |
| Arrived Falmouth, England, April 18, 1917. |
| Left Falmouth, England, April 18, 1917, p. m. |
| On April 19, 5.24 a. m., fired on submarine. |
| Arrived Tilbury, London, April 21. |
| Left Tilbury, London, May 2. |
| Arrived New York, May 13. |
The Captain's report to the London office of the International Mercantile Marine is dated April 21, 1917, and says:
"I beg to report that the S. S. Mongolia under my command, while proceeding up Channel on April 19 at 5.24 a. m. encountered a submarine, presumably German, in Latitude 50·30 degrees North, Longitude 32 degrees West; 9 miles South 37 degrees East true from the Overs Light vessel.
"The weather at the time: calm to light airs, sea smooth, hazy with visibility about 3 miles; speed of the ship fifteen knots, course North 74 degrees East true, to pass close to the Royal Sovereign Light vessel.
A periscope sighted.
"The periscope was first sighted broad on the port bow, distant about one-half mile, by Chief Officer Blau in charge of the bridge watch at the time. His shout of 'submarine on the port bow' brought Lieutenant Ware and myself quickly out of the chart room on to the bridge, where we immediately saw the swirling wake left by the submarine as it submerged.
Lieutenant Ware gives the range.
"The armed guard under Lieutenant Ware, United States Navy, were standing by all guns at the time, which were fully loaded, and while Lieutenant Ware gave the range to the guns I ordered the helm put hard-a-starboard with the object of lessening the broadside angle of the ship to an approaching torpedo.
The shot goes home.
Efficiency of the gunners.
"Lieutenant Ware's order of 'train on the starboard quarter and report when you bear on a submarine's periscope' was answered almost immediately by the after gun's crew, who were then ordered to commence firing. One shot was fired from the after gun which struck in the centre of the swirl created by the submarine, causing a quantity of light blue smoke to hang over the spot where the submarine disappeared for some time. This was the only shot fired, and the submarine was not seen again, and after zigzagging until the weather became very thick the ship was again put on her course. Passed through the Gateway off Folkestone at 10.45 a. m. and anchored at 11.01 a. m., as I considered the weather too thick to proceed. I feel that the Mongolia's safe arrival at London is due to a large extent to the zeal and ability in the execution of his duties displayed by Lieutenant B. R. Ware, United States Navy, who has been untiring in his efforts to bring the men under his command to a high state of efficiency, and who has kept a continuous watch for the past five days. His co-operation with the ship's officers has been of the closest, and his men and guns were always ready. Also to Mr. Blau, the chief officer, a large measure of credit is due, for had he not seen the periscope at the exact moment of its appearance it is possible that all our precautions would have been useless.
Signed. Emery Rice,
"Commander S. S. Mongolia."
Mongolia's officers marked men.
The fame of the first engagement made the Mongolia's officers marked men. When Captain Rice returned home he reported that Consul General Skinner in London had told him that the Germans had set a price of 50,000 marks on his head, and letters expressing hatred and revenge reached us in New York from points as far away as Kansas City. On the other hand, the pride felt in the great ship's exploit brought scores of letters from officers and men who applied for service on her.
Copyright, New York Times, April 27, 1919.
German agents were industrious throughout the United States, long before the American Government broke with Germany. Her activities were carried on in the form of propaganda and by more violent deeds. A complete account of these activities as revealed in a congressional investigation follows.