Category Archives: Lusitania

Sunday morning coffee

10 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by in George Washington, Lusitania, Museums, Society of the Cincinnati

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Here is something one does not see every day. It is a circa 1790s medal of The Society of the Cincinnati. The Cincinnati was an organization founded by American officers of the Revolutionary War in the 1780s just as the conflict was winding down. The first owner of this would thus himself have fought in the war. The “original” Cincinnati, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, was a Roman statesman and military leader who gave up power so as not to become a martial dictator. It was in this same spirit that George Washington resigned his own commission in December 1783.

I took this image yesterday at the Yale Art Gallery. Francis Patrick Garvan and his wife Mabel gave the medal and 10,000 other objects from the Colonial and Early American periods to Yale in 1930 in celebration of their twentieth wedding anniversary. It was the Garvan’s hope that these items be seen by as many people as possible, both via display in the Yale University Art Gallery itself and through loan to such institutions as Mount Vernon and elsewhere so that the items might, in the Garvan’s own words according to a 1938 Yale arts bulletin I discovered in JSTOR, “become a moving part in a great panorama of American Arts and Crafts.”

Sunday morning coffee

09 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in John Purroy Mitchel, Leonard Wood (General), Lusitania, Preparedness (WW1), Theodore Roosevelt Jr (President), Woodrow Wilson

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I am having my coffee and a bite to eat before heading off to the Tomb. I see it is raining. It is too early to tell how it might effect the event at Sakura Park that runs from 12:00 – 8:00. I am watching the progress of Hurricane Florence as well. In addition to the terrible havoc it might unleash on many lives and communities, it may effect next week’s Camp Doughboy weekend on Governors Island. We will keep our fingers crossed that the Florence, and the storm building behind it, do not turn into major tragedies.

You Can’t Raise Two Flags at Once, Brooklyn Daily Eagle August 9, 1915

I was gathering my notes yesterday for next week’s talk about John Purroy Mitchel and came across this political cartoon which I thought I would quickly share. It is from the August 9, 1915 Brooklyn Daily Eagle and, coincidentally or not, is positioned next to an article about Mitchel’s participation in the Plattsburg training camp that summer. The cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt explaining the dangers of what he and his supporters called hyphenated-Americanism during the Great War. The United States was not yet in the war when this cartoon was published. This was, however, just three months after the sinking of the Lusitania. The tension between Roosevelt, General Leonard Wood, Mayor Mitchel and other Preparedness advocates against President Wilson was building.

Just a few weeks after this cartoon appeared Roosevelt gave a controversial speech at Plattsburg taking the Wilson Administration to task for what he saw as its poor response to the war. General Wood was in attendance in Plattsburg with Roosevelt and later reprimanded by Secretary of War Lindley Garrison.

Oyster Bay’s Kaiser Wilhelm II

28 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in Libraries, Lusitania, Quentin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr (President)

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Back in December I wrote about a portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art that was saved from destruction during the anti-German hysteria of the First World War. Six months later in July and August 1918 the fate of another portrait of the Kaiser ended differently. This event took place in Oyster Bay, Long Island not far from Brooklyn.

Carl Henry Pollitz’s WW1 draft card. Mr. Pollitz remained in Oyster Bay after the incident and lived until 1966.

The destruction of the painting was covered in the German diaspora press. This article appeared in the Drumheller (Alberta) Mail on 19 September 1918.

Apparently during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency (the exact date is unclear), the German ruler gave the American president an autographed portrait of himself. Colonel Roosevelt eventually donated the painting to the Oyster Bay Public Library, which had the likeness on display until the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Old newspaper accounts vary slightly in the details, but the painting eventually came into the possession of one Carl Henry Pollitz and his wife Matilda. Mr. and Mrs. Pollitz were both naturalized Americans born in Germany. They owned the painting for three years until early on the morning of Sunday 28 July 1918 an angry mob gathered outside their home demanding the portrait. The couple had escaped to the roof with the painting and eventually handed it down. A sailor quickly put his foot through the Kaiser’s face. Similar events had taken place around the country but apparently the immediate cause of this one was the recent death of Quentin Roosevelt and the anger it caused.

Secret servicemen were dispatched to look into the matter and Mr. Pollitz, who said he knew some of the perpetrators, demanded action. That is where things stood for a few tense days until on Thursday 1 August an angry gathering of 1500 turned out in the public square. The painting was displayed on the tip of an old Revolutionary War musket bayonet for the angry crowd to see. They also sang the “Star Spangled Banner” and various anti-German songs. Eventually they doused the painting in gasoline and burned it.

 

John Purroy Mitchel, 1879-1918

06 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in John Purroy Mitchel, Leonard Wood (General), Lusitania, Memory, New York City, Preparedness (WW1), Theodore Roosevelt Jr (President), Those we remember, Woodrow Wilson

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Major John Purroy Mitchel in pilot gear, 1918

The have my article up and running over at Roads to the Great War about the life, times, and death of John Purroy Mitchel. New York City’s Boy Mayor was all of thirty-four when he became mayor in 1914. Initially he was an ally of Woodrow Wilson, who in 1913 had appointed him Collector of the Port of New York. Men like Chester Arthur had previously held the collectorship. Mitchel and Wilson soon had a falling out over what the mayor saw as the president’s poor leadership during the war. Soon, Mitchel was very publicly allying with friends like Theodore Roosevelt and Leonard Wood advocating for Preparedness. When he lost his re-election bid, Mitchel became a military aviator. He died in a flight exercise in Louisiana on July 6, 1918, one hundred years ago today.

(image/courtesy of Margaret Maloney via Wikimedia Commons)

 

9/11 plus fifteen years

11 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by in Governors Island, Lusitania, Memory, Monuments and Statuary, New York City

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Freedom Tower at 8:30 this morning

Freedom Tower from Manhattan’s Lower Battery at 8:30 this morning

There were definitely more people on the Battery this morning than on a usual Sunday morning. As you might guess most of them were headed for the ceremony at Ground Zero. I had never thought about it this way before, but I found the many other war/conflict monuments in the Battery comforting on this anniversary of the Trade Center attacks. This is where we had the commemoration of the sinking of the Lusitania a year ago this past May.

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The flag–the Star Spangled Banner, if I noted correctly–was flying at half staff atop Fort Jay. On my way to Castle William for the 11:30 am tour I had to stop and take this picture (below) of these two apartment buildings. Coast Guard personnel who lived on the island in the late 1960s and early 70s have told me that from their living room and bed room windows they saw the Twin Towers go up incrementally over the years. I could not help but think of that this morning.

From these apartment building on the northern tip of Governors Island Coast Guard residents watched the Twin Towers rise nearly five decades ago.

From these apartment buildings on the northern tip of Governors Island Coast Guard residents watched the Twin Towers rise nearly five decades ago. The Freedom Tower is plainly visible.

The Cunard Building

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Beatles, Lusitania, New York City

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IMG_2185I was down on Lower Broadway the other day and took a few minutes to take these photographs of the Cunard Building. As the plaque indicates this edifice was IMG_2180constructed after the First World War and thus obviously after the sinking of the Lusitania. It’s strange how such events, tragic as they are, don’t prevent the world from continuing; officials announced this construction project in February 1918 while the war was still going on and very much hanging in the balance.

It is important to remember how long the transatlantic passenger shipping industry existed. It lasted well into the 1950s and even early 60s until the arrival of wide-scale and economical airline passenger travel. John Lennon’s father, Alfred Lennon, was a so-called Cunard Yank, a man who saw the world working shipboard. For years he was a waiter on different ships, entertaining passengers with his humor and singing voice. When the Beatles came to America in 1964 they flew in to JFK. The rotting piers were a fixture of the NYC waterline until just 10-15 years ago when city officials and urban planners figured out how to re-purpose them.

IMG_2181Investors purchased this site at 25 Broadway across the street from Bowling Green for $5 million in July 1919 currency and spent the same amount on the 48,000 square foot building. The construction went quickly; Cunard and other tenants took occupancy in July 1921. Investors purchased the building in 1962. Cunard remained as a tenant for a few more years and left around 1970, not that long ago in the grand scheme of things.

index.php(bottom image/The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. “The Cunard Building, New York” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1860 – 1920. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-aecd-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Sunday morning coffee

10 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Great War centennial, Jazz, Lusitania

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index.php (1)Happy Mother’s Day, everyone.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of James Reese Europe, the bandleader of the 369th Harlem Hellfighters. His death is an unpleasant story: after surviving the horrors of the Great War he was stabbed backstage in the dressing room at a show in Boston by the drummer in his band. I have always suspected that post traumatic stress disorder played a role in the incident. I am involved in a project regarding Europe and the 369th which, if it comes to fruition, I will discuss here on the blog. Until then, I won’t say too much. Europe’s premature death in May 1919 meant that he was not to be a fixture in the Twenties jazz scene. He very much would have been the equal of Sidney Bechet, King Oliver and even Louis Armstrong.

Reese grandson, great-grandson and other descendants were on hand at the Lusitania commemoration last Thursday here in New York. I spoke to them during the reception and can attest that they inherited the charisma and magnetism for which James Europe himself was known. Great grandson Rob is today a bluesman and provided the entertainment at the reception.

Rob Europe playing at Pier A

Rob Europe playing at Pier A

Enjoy your Sunday.

(top image/Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “On patrol in no man’s land” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1919. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7f1c4fdc-9934-b830-e040-e00a180619d8)

Remembering VE Day

08 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Lusitania, WW1, WW2

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Danes in Copenhagen read of the end of the Second World War, 8 May 1945

Danes in Copenhagen read of the end of the Second World War, 8 May 1945

At the reception after the Lusitania ceremony yesterday a few of us got to talking about the anniversary that would take place the following day. Today, 8 May 2015, is the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe: VE Day. After more than thirty years of war and bitter peace, the fighting was finally over.

There were many excellent speakers at yesterday’s program. One of the most poignant was Bernd Reindl, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mr. Reindl’s eloquent words, even his very presence, were a reminder of how far things have come over the past seven decades. He reminded the audience of the current strength of the Atlantic alliances and how much Europe and the United States share in common. These are lessons and words of comfort that can get lost when one looks at all the strife and crises facing our world today.

Consul Mr. Bernd Reindl speaks at the ceremony in New York remembering the Lusitania, 7 May 2015

Consul Mr. Bernd Reindl speaks at the ceremony in New York remembering the Lusitania, 7 May 2015

(top image/National Museum of Denmark, uploaded by palnatoke; via Wikimedia Commons)

Remembering the Lusitania

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Great War centennial, Lusitania, Memory, Monuments and Statuary

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This morning I had the good fortune of attending the World War 1 Centennial Commission’s commemoration for the Lusitania. Here are a few pics.

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The event was at Pier A on the Battery. This space was refurbished about six months ago and is beautiful. I learned today the the clock tower dates to 1919 is reputedly the first permanent Great War monument constructed in the United States.

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Wreaths from different nations. It is important to remember the international aspects of the Lusitania tragedy. Commemorations were taking place all around the world today, often at the same time as this event here in Manhattan at 10:00 am.

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Consul General Ms. Barbara Jones of Ireland was one of the speakers. One must remember that the Lusitania was about twelve miles off the coast–easily within sight distance–of Ireland when she was struck. Many local fisherman and others were first responders.

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Deputy Consul General Mr. Nick Astbury of Great Britain was another speaker.

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Here are the various diplomats, descendants of Lusitania survivors, Cunard representatives, and others at the time to throw the wreaths.

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Attendees were welcomed to throw individual flowers.

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When it was over forty-five minutes later, there was a reception inside Pier A. The Fire Department marked the event by sailing past.

RMS Lusitania sails

03 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Lusitania

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a 1913 menu from the luxury liner, one year prior to the outbreak of the war

a 1913 menu from the luxury liner, one year prior to the outbreak of the war

The RMS Lusitania was crossing the Atlantic one hundred years ago right now. It had left Manhattan’s West Side docks on May 1. The Lusitania, and her sister ship the RMS Mauretania, had been built several years earlier with the financial support of the British government. The idea was that Downing Street would help Cunard regain the lead in the competitive transatlantic shipping industry. The British had been falling behind for several years, to the Germans in particular. The government helped build the ships with the proviso that they could be used for military purposes in the case of war. When war indeed came, the Mauretania was converted for military human transport. The Lusitania remained a passenger liner.

The ship made several voyages after the outbreak of war. Woodrow Willson’s top aid, Colonel Edward M. House, sailed for Europe on the Lusitania on 31 January 1915. Halfway through that voyage, on February 4, the German government declared unrestricted submarine warfare on all shipping. The Lusitania made several crossings over the winter and spring of 1915. Public concern was growing and in March Cunard began offering discounts to second class passengers, many of whom had begun taking American liners believing they would be safer. In late April much of that concern seemed to have dissipated. There were over 1300 passengers on the Lusitania, plus a crew of several hundred more, when she left Pier 54 on the first day of May.

(image/The New York Public Library. “R.M.S. “Lusitania”” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1913. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/c4f608d0-517d-0132-781b-58d385a7bbd0)