1890 PENNSYLVANIA PA NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIP USS SARATOGA

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Up for auction are log/diary pages that were written by Garrison McCaskey while aboard the USS Saratoga and he and his fellow student sailors were on a training voyage from the East Coast of the United States to England and back in 1890. This voyage was part of the training that he was receiving as a student in the Pennsylvania Nautical School. The USS Saratoga was their training vessel.This matieral comes from the estate of Major General William S. McCaskey. Garrison McCaskey was one of William McCaskey's sons. William McCaskey was a Captain with the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Assinniboine, Montana at the time these log/diary pages were written.In 1899 their son, Garrison McCaskey, had decided to apply for enrollment in the Pennsylvania Nautical School in Philadelphia. He was seventeen years old at the time he applied. This was a two year course of study. "The main object of the school is to educate American boys, to become good seamen for the Merchant service. In order to give intelligent and industrious youth ample opportunity to advance to the highest position offered by our Mercantile Marine, and to familiarize all(looking to the possible contingency of war) with the general duties of "men of war's men," the discipline and routine of the Navy will be observed as far as applicable." The USS Saratoga was used as the training ship for this school.William McCaskey was against this course of action by his son. But he reluctantly signed the papers allowing his son to join the Pennsylvania Nautical School. The schooling started at the end of 1889 and finished up at the end of 1891. During their training the USS Saratoga went on number of cruises, the longest being this trip to England in 1890. T are two groupings of log/diary writing. The writing that Garrison did at the beginning of the voyage, as the USS Saratoga headed out toward England, was written on long sheets of paper. Page size is 8" by 12". T are twenty pages of log writing on the long sheets of paper. The first log entry is for Sunday June 1, 1890, when they set sail for England. The final log entry is dated July 16, 1890 when they arrived in England and are docked.The next grouping of log entries were written by Garrison in a small black softcover booklet. The booklet is 4" by 6 1/4" in size. The first date of entry in this booklet is for Wednesday Aug. 6th, 1890. This is the day that the USS Saratoga set sail from Southampton, England. The final entry is for Sept. 29th, the ship had arrived in Philadelphia on Sept 27, 1890 and on Sept. 29 he writes about trying to catch a train to Lancaster, Pa. T are 50 pages of writing in the black booklet.T is lots of interesting content in these 70 pages of writing. He provides a detailed picture of the ship, the crew, his fellow student sailors, his daily conditions aboard the ship, the conflicts, what he is was learning, etc. Below are a few quotes from the log to give you a feeling for the content in these diary/log pages.Sunday June 1, 1890: "All hands called at 5:30 and then washed down decks. Breakfast at 7 O'Clock and then got ship ready for making sail. Weighed anchor at 10:30, and got the fore and aft sails ready for hoisting. Passed out from the bay int the ocean past Cape H......? at 10:56, the stars and stripes flying from the spanker gaft and the permanent from the main truck. The Reveneule? utter Hamilton toward us out and we cast off the line and set all sail at 11:20. At 11:25 the Hamilton hoisted the signal Bon Voyage and then Capt. Lawarnce and the board of directors who were on board gave us three cheers and turned her bows back to Phila. Then all hands layed aloft in the lower part rigging and gave three cheers for the Hamilton and then a .......? and we hoisted the signal thanks and she with a long whistle left us. "June 2, 1890: "Starboard watch called at 7 o'clock-had breakfast at 7:30, on deck from 8 to 12. Ackley and Reuter of #4 mess had a fight over a pickle just before dinner and Ackley stabbed Reuter w... read more

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