General Pershing (motor ship)

General Pershing before launching at Portland
History
United States
Name	General Pershing
Namesake	John J. Pershing
Builder	Olympia Ship Building Company, Olympia Washington
Completed	1918
Homeport	Portland Oregon
Identification	216063 Signal Letters: LJTC
Fate	Wrecked 11 July 1921
General characteristics
Type	Freighter
Tonnage	2,450 long tons (2,489 t) Gross
Length	266.2 ft (81.1 m)
Beam	48 ft (15 m)
Depth of hold	24.1 ft (7.3 m)
Propulsion	Motor & Sail
Complement	14

General Pershing was a 266.2 ft (81.1 m) wooden auxiliary vessel, a five masted bald-headed schooner. Built in 1918, Olympia Washington,^[1] General Pershing was powered with two 350 hp Sumner surface ignition engines.^[2]

Operational history

General Pershing was originally built for use in the Atlantic trade by Norwegian interests and in 1921 was sold to the P.E. Harris Company of Seattle Washington for transporting salmon from Alaska canneries to the Atlantic and Gulf Coast markets via the Panama Canal.

On July 11, 1921, General Pershing struck the Endymion Rock, Turks Islands and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.^[3]

References

1. Annual Fifty-First Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States (Report). Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. 1919.
2. "Motorship Bought for Salmon Trade". Pacific Fisherman. Seattle, Washington. January 1921. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
3. "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 42773. London. 15 July 1921. col F, p. 18.