USS ''Louise No. 2'' (SP-1230), sometimes written ''Louise # 2'' and also referred to during her naval career as ''Louise'' and as ''Pilot Boat No. 2'', was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The ''Louise,'' was a pilot boat from 1900 to 1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat ''Columbia,'' that was washed ashore in 1898. After the

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 ...

the ''Louise'' returned to pilot service until 1924 when she was purchased as a yacht. In 1924, the Boston pilot boat ''Pilot,'' took the place of the ''Louise''.

Construction and service

Pilot boat

''Louise No. 2'' was built as a

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

-rigged

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

of the same name in 1900 by Ambrose A. Martin at East Boston,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. She was a replacement for the ill-fated ''Columbia No. 8,'' that washed ashore at Sand Hills in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...

in the great 1898

Portland Gale The Portland Gale was a storm that struck the coast of New England on November 26 and 27, 1898. The storm formed when two low pressure areas merged off the coast of Virginia and travelled up the coast; at its peak, it produced a storm surge of abo ...

. She was launched on 30 April 1900 at the Ambrose Martin

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

Jeffries Point East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and do ...

, with around 1,000 in attendance. The boat is owned by Joseph Fawcett, John C. Fawcett, William V. Abbott, Bruce B. McLean, and Watson S. Dolliver. The ''Louise,'' No. 2, went on her maiden trip on Jun 25, 1900, from Lewis Wharf down the bay with 100 guests on board. She was a fast boat that made 12 knots on her trial trip. The Louise was named for John C. Fawcett's daughter. Her portrait was on the wall of the pilot's cabin. Congratulatory speeches were made by Mayor James Gould of Chelsea and others. On October 17, 1900, Dolliver was on the ''Louise'' when he boarded the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

steamship ''Saxonia,'' with two pilots. On return to the pilot boat, Erick Ahlquist and William Weaver almost drowned when a wave filled the

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

with water and overturned it. The steamer was able to rescue the men and take them aboard the ''Saxonia''. Pilots Joseph Fawcett, William V. Abbott, John C. Fawcett and Watson S. Dolliver sent a letter, that was posted in the ''Boston Globe,'' thanking Captain Pritchard and his officers and crew of the ''Saxonia'' for their heroic and successful efforts. Dolliver was on the ''Louise'' when he picked up two escaped prisoners from

Deer Island Prison The Deer Island Prison (–1991) in Suffolk County, Massachusetts was located on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. Once known as the Deer Island House of Industry and later, House of Correction, it held people convicted of drunkenness, illegal posse ...

, during a storm, in a raft near Graves Lightship on October 8, 1906. On March 1, 1911, the ''Louise,'' No. 2, crashed into the British tramp steamship ''Pinar del Rio,'' in bad weather near the lighthouse channel. The Louise was trying to take off a pilot from the steamer when the crash occurred. The crew was transferred to the pilot boat ''Adams,'' No. 5.

Acquired by U.S. Navy

On 10 September 1917 the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, the Boston Pilots Relief Society, for use as a section patrol boat during

. She was enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve on 15 September 1917, delivered to the Navy on 19 September 1917, and commissioned on 20 September 1917 as USS ''Louise No. 2'' (SP-1230). Assigned to the

1st Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

in northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and based at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, ''Liberty III'' served for the rest of World War I as a pilot boat in Boston Harbor as she had in civilian use, guiding inbound and outbound ships through the defensive sea area of the Port of Boston. The Navy decommissioned ''Louise No. 2'' on 14 January 1919 and returned her to the Boston Pilots Relief Society the same day.

End of service

On December 9, 1924, the pilot boat ''Louise, No. 2'', was withdrawn from pilot service and replaced with the pilot boat ''Pilot''. The ''Pilot'' was in service for over fifty years before she was sold in 1976. She became the longest-serving pilot boat in American history. On July 15, 1925, the pilot boat Louise was sold to W. R. Farrell of Long Wharf and converted into a yacht.

External links

Louise, No. 2
Naval History and Heritage Command website

References