The interesting picture of enlisted ratings shown above prompted me to do a little research work of identification. The half-dollar size, round cap device and petty officer rating badges were in conformity with the uniform regulations of 1886, which by the way are some of the most colorful Navy regulations ever issued. Ribbons on the flat caps indicated that the wearers were from USS Thetis. It was known that Thetis arrived at San Diego near the middle of October 1887, after sailing from Hampton Roads in May for duty in the far North Pacific.
A search of the files of the San Diego Union disclosed that Thetis, then commanded by Commander W. H. Emory, arrived on 10 October 1887. The newspaper accounts are descriptive of Navy life from the point of view of the landsman of that now distant day.
From the Union, 11 October 1887, we learn that, “The USS Thetis, Commander W. H. Emory, arrived in port about noon yesterday. The Thetis left New York in the early part of May, making the trip around the Horn in about five months. The vessel has a history. In company with the Bear, the Thetis was fitted out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard about three and one-half years ago for the Greely Relief Expedition.”
“She had a very rough and dangerous trip, but was successful in her mission, and returned with Lieutenant Greely and survivors of his party in a badly demoralized condition. Since her return, the vessel has been out of service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Last spring she was repaired for a cruise in the North Pacific. The ship put in here for coal, and in a day or two will proceed to the Mare Island Navy Yard for fuel and provisions before going to Alaska.”
The 12 October 1887 edition of the Union described the armament of Thetis. “She carries a very light, but effective close range armament. She is armed with the celebrated Gatling gun and Hotchkiss rifle, having two of the former and one of the latter rapid-firing guns. The Gatling gun can fire from 400 to 600 rounds per minute, and the Hotchkiss from 20 to 30 ten pound shots per minute.”
“The Thetis is not designated as a fighting vessel, but has been sent to cruise along the Alaskan coast to assist distressed whalers and other craft. She is built very strong having been steel-plated for the Arctic trip. The ship is rather slow, making usually about eight knots an hour. She is supplied with one of the old fashioned two-blade propellers, and has a register of 723 tons.”
“The sailors were busily engaged yesterday in scraping and painting the side.”
Before sailing, Captain Emory and some of his officers were given a complimentary banquet at the Florence Hotel by J. D. Hanbury. The population of San Diego at this time was barely 20,000 and the city was without paved streets and fundamental port facilities. At the banquet Captain Emory said that the vessels of the Navy could no longer engage pilots on entering port, because it was a part of the training program to make better navigators out of naval officers. He also invited attention to the danger of possible infection from vessels arriving from foreign ports due to the lack of a boarding officer available for medical inspection at San Diego.
While in Alaskan waters, the Thetis brought back to Vancouver the remains of Roman Catholic Archbishop Seghers after their recovery from St. Michael, Alaska. The murder of Archbishop Seghers near Nulato on the Yukon River in 1886 attracted a great deal of attention at the time.
The experiences of the Thetis in Alaska are described in the biography of Rear Admiral W. H. Emory by Rear Admiral A. Gleaves, 1922. The 1884 exploits of the Thetis are described by the commander of the Greely Rescue Squadron, W. S. Schley, in his book, “The Rescue of Greely” published in London in 1885.
In 1911 I was serving on the Maryland on the day when Admiral Uriel Sebree brought his flagship California and the Pacific Fleet to anchor in San Diego harbor. This achievement really opened San Diego to the Navy, which more than any other factor has served to make the area prosperous. It is particularly interesting to note that in addition to his many honors, Sebree was commended for his service as a lieutenant on the Thetis under Commodore Schley in the Greely Expedition of 1884.
“To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.”
George Washington