William P. Frye (1901)

William P. Frye was a four-masted steel barque named after a US Republican politician of the same name, from the state of Maine. Built by Arthur Sewall & Co of Bath, Maine[3] she was sunk by the Imperial German Navy raider SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich in 1915. She was the first U.S. vessel sunk during World War I.[4]

For the American politician, see William P. Frye. For other uses, see William Frye (disambiguation).
William P. Frye (1901)
William P. Frye
History
United States
NameWilliam P. Frye
NamesakeUS politician William P. Frye
BuilderArthur Sewall & Co
Launched1901
FateScuttled by Imperial German raider SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich January 28, 1915
General characteristics
Tonnage3,374 grt[1]
Length332 feet (101 m)[2]
three ships being sunk
3 ships sunk by Imperial German Naval raider SMS Prinz Eitel: French Friedrich Jacobsen (Top) - British Mary Ada Scott (Middle) - American William P Frye (Bottom)

Sinking

The ship sailed from Seattle, Washington, on November 4, 1914, with a cargo of 189,950 US bushels (1,768,300 US gal) of wheat, bound for Queenstown, Falmouth, or Plymouth in the United Kingdom.[1][5] In 1915 the UK was at war with Imperial Germany; the United States was not yet involved in the war and was officially neutral. Off the coast of Brazil, William P. Frye encountered the Imperial German Navy raider SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich on January 27, 1915.[4] The Germans stopped and boarded the ship. While William P. Frye was U.S.-owned and thus a neutral ship, her cargo was deemed a legitimate target because the Germans believed it was bound for Britain’s armed forces. The captain of Prinz Eitel Friedrich, Max Thierichens, ordered that William P. Frye's cargo of wheat be thrown overboard. When his orders were not followed fast enough, he took the ship's crew and passengers prisoner and scuttled her on January 28, 1915.[5] William P. Frye was the first American vessel sunk during World War I.[4]

Aftermath

The crew and passengers of William P. Frye, including some women and children, were part of some 350 people taken prisoner from eleven different ships Prinz Eitel Friedrich had searched and destroyed. All 350 were released on March 10, 1915, when the German raider docked in the American port of Newport News, Virginia, due to engine trouble.[6] An outraged American government forced the Germans to apologize for the sinking.[4] The owners of the ship, Arthur Sewall & Co., wanted damages for the sinking of the ship and presented a claim for $228,059.54 ($6,597,200 in 2023).[1]

Claim Cost in 1915[1] Cost in 2023
Value of the ship $150,000 $4,339,100
Value of freight $39,759.54 [A 1] $1,150,100
Travel expenses of Captain Kiehne and Arthur Sewall & Co $500 $14,500
Personal effects of Captain H. H. Kiehne $300 $8,700
Damages due to loss of use of the ship $37,500 $1,084,800
Total $228,059.54 $6,597,200

See also

Annotations
  1. "Actual freight as per freight list, 5034 1000/2240 tons at 32-6-£8180-19-6 at $4.86"

Bibliography

Notes

  1. Department of State 1915, p. 1
  2. Burlin 2008, p. 234
  3. Bruzelius 1997
  4. History.com 2017
  5. Skinner, Inc. 2017
  6. Bisher 2016, p. 38

References

  • Bisher, Jamie (2016). The Intelligence War in Latin America, 1914–1922. McFarland. ISBN 9781476620268. - Total pages: 448
  • Bruzelius, Lars (March 2, 1997). "William P. Frye". bruzelius.info. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  • Burlin, Paul T. (2008). Imperial Maine and Hawai'i: Interpretative Essays in the History of Nineteenth Century American Expansion. Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739127186. - Total pages: 297
  • Department of State (June 1915). "Case of the William P. Frye". The American Journal of International Law. 9 (3): 180–193. doi:10.2307/2212245. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2212245.
  • History.com (2017). "Germans sink American merchant ship". History.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  • Skinner, Inc. (2017). "Diorama of the Ship WILLIAM P. FRYE". Skinner, Inc. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
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