SS ''Minnehaha'' was a 13,443-ton ocean liner built by

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

and launched on 31 March 1900. Operated by the American-owned

Atlantic Transport Line The Atlantic Transport Line was an American passenger shipping line based in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1901 the company was folded into the International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM). History The line developed with railroad support as an offs ...

, she was the sister ship of , , and ''Minnewaska''. In her first year of operations, the ''Minnehaha'' collided with and sank a tug in New York Harbor on 18 September 1900. The tug suffered two fatalities. On 18 April 1910, the liner grounded on rocks on

Bryher Bryher ( kw, Breyer "place of hills") is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across . History The name of the island is recorded as ''Brayer'' in 1336 and ''Brear'' in 1500. Ge ...

in the Isles of Scilly while en route from

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 ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

, near

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; she remained stranded until 13 May when two tugs managed to pull her off the rocks. The cattle on board were saved by swimming them onto the island of

Samson, Isles of Scilly Samson ( kw, (Enys) Sampson) is the largest uninhabited island of the Isles of Scilly, off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is in size. The island consists of two hills, North Hill and South Hill, which are co ...

where there was temporary pasture; there were no deaths. The ship was being used to ferry munitions to Britain from the U.S. during the early years of

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 ...

. During a multi-state crime spree, German sympathizer

Eric Muenter Eric Muenter (March 25, 1871 – July 6, 1915), also known as Erich Münter, Erich Muenter, Erich Holt or Frank Holt, was a German-American activist and would-be assassin. Although employed as a German professor at elite American universitie ...

planted a timed bomb on the ''Minnehaha'' after bombing the U.S. Capitol and before shooting financier

J. P. Morgan, Jr. John Pierpont Morgan Jr. (September 7, 1867 – March 13, 1943) was an American banker, finance executive, and philanthropist. He inherited the family fortune and took over the business interests including J.P. Morgan & Co. after his father J. ...

Days after his jail-cell suicide, Muenter's bomb exploded, setting off a fire, though the explosion did not reach the munitions and caused minimal damage to the ship itself. On 7 September 1917, ''Minnehaha'' sank within four minutes with 43 fatalities, after being torpedoed by German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

''U-48'', off the Fastnet. Her sister ships ''Minneapolis'' and ''Minnetonka'' were sunk while in use as troop transports during

References

External links

SS ''Minnehaha'', Irish Wrecks Online

nbsp;— ''S. S. Minnehaha, Oil On Canvas'' by Antonio Jacobson Circa 1903 (page from

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

)
The Salvage of the ''Minnehaha''
(1910 description) {{DEFAULTSORT:Minnehaha 1900 ships Ships built in Belfast Merchant ships of the United States Maritime incidents in 1900 Maritime incidents in 1910 Shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly Maritime incidents in 1917 World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Shipwrecks of Ireland Ships built by Harland and Wolff

See also

References

External links