The Last Cruise of the USS Saginaw [Illustrated]

The amazing story of a shipwrecked crew and their grim struggle to survival on desolate Pacific island. Food and Water were scarce and the chances of rescue remote, but somehow the crew of the USS Saginaw overcame their predicament in the finest traditions of the US Navy.

The USS Saginaw was a steam powered sidewheel sloop-of-war commissioned on 5 January 1860. After an uneventful career during the American Civil War, the Saginaw served in the East India Squadron, for the most part cruising along the Chinese coast to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates. 1870 found the USS Saginaw serving around Hawaii. Saginaw's last assignment took her to Midway Island to support dredging operations to deepen the entrance to the harbor. She reached Midway on 24 March 1870 and completed her task on 21 October. A week later, she sailed for San Francisco, intending to touch at Kure Atoll en route home to rescue any shipwrecked sailors who might be stranded there. The next day, 29 October, as she neared this rarely visited island, Saginaw struck an outlying reef and grounded. Before the surf battered the ship to pieces, her crew managed to transfer much of her gear and provisions to the island.