{"id":1270,"date":"2020-01-28T13:32:43","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T19:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iseeancestors.com\/comm\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2024-11-20T14:28:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T20:28:29","slug":"zeelandia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/2020\/01\/28\/zeelandia\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeelandia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Zeelandia\"
USS Zelandia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Zeelandia<\/em> was a passenger ship converted for use as a troop transport by the United States Navy during World War I. My granduncle Russell T. Stewart sailed on the USS Zeelandia<\/em> on her first voyage to France in 1918. While researching his experiences, I discovered some interesting facts about this ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shown\nhere at New York harbor on May 10, 1918, the ship had been newly\noutfitted. She sports a new coat of paint known as dazzle\ncamouflage, also called razzle dazzle. Rather than conceal the ship,\nit was intended to make it difficult for enemy submarines to\ndetermine the ship\u2019s range and speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nZeelandia<\/em>\nwas a Dutch commercial\npassenger ship named\nafter Zeeland, the westernmost province of the Netherlands. She\nwas built in 1910 in Scotland, and owned and operated by Koninklijke\nHollandsche Lloyd (Royal Holland Lloyd) based in Amsterdam. How she\nbecame a US Navy transport is interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Her Detainment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nSeptember 1917 she sailed from Buenos Aires bound for the\nNetherlands. But, she carried a US naval officer, and\nother passengers and\nmail bound for\nNew York along\nthe way. Although she had enough fuel and provisions to continue her\nvoyage to the Netherlands, the captain was assured\nhe could\nenter the port of New\nYork, as long as he didn\u2019t take on any additional cargo. During\nthe war, the Espionage\nAct<\/em> and the Trading\nwith the Enemy Act<\/em>\nrequired approval\nof all\nUS goods\nshipped to Europe, to\nkeep them from\nfalling into enemy\nhands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However the captain wanted to take on some stranded Dutch citizens and therefore some additional stores just for their travel on the remaining leg of the voyage. This caused a delay waiting for approval. Frustrated after several days waiting, the captain canceled his request. He wanted to set sail with just his original cargo, which should have required no approval. However US officials refused to grant the ship clearance. And, they continued to do so for several months, all the way until March 21, 1918. <\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nwas about then the Navy chartered the Zeelandia<\/em>\nto commission her as a naval transport. Presumably Royal Holland\nLloyd or the Dutch government was compensated for that charter.\n The Zeelandia<\/em>\nhad been\ndetained without cause\nfor several months, ostensibly to prevent her from falling into enemy\nhands, or perhaps\nwith secret intention\nfor her eventual use\nas a US transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well after the war, in 1932 Royal Holland Lloyd won judgment against the United States for damages from those months being detained at New York harbor. Losses included the market value for use of the ship, and the cost of fuel, wages, repairs, port expenses, water, and insurance, all with interest. The Dutch were awarded over a half million dollars. The litigation continued though. In 1936, the Dutch sued the Internal Revenue Service, which tried to tax the money awarded in the previous case. That case also found for plaintiff, that the money was not taxable. <\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the Zeelandia<\/em> at New York, probably during her detainment in early 1918. A large colorful Dutch flag is painted on her bow as a symbol of neutrality while sailing to and from Europe. <\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On May 6, 1918, Rear Admiral David W. Taylor reported that arrangements for conversion of the Zeelandia<\/em> were already made. <\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Clearly, several photographs of the Zeelandia<\/em> taken May 10, 1918 show she had been, or was nearly, complete. <\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The following photos were taken only eight days prior to her first voyage as a US Navy transport. During that time, she must have sailed from Pier 97 at New York to Newport News, Virginia, where my granduncle Russell Stewart boarded at midnight May 17, 1918. <\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her First Voyage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire 80th<\/sup> Division, all 26,851 men, sailed on 12 different ships over 5 different days mainly from May 17 through May 26. As part of the 80th<\/sup> Division, the 319th<\/sup> Infantry required three ships, the Madawaska<\/em>, the Duca d\u2019Abruzzi<\/em>, and the Zeelandia<\/em>. <\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Russell Stewart, in Company M, was assigned to the Zeelandia<\/em>. There were altogether 255 men in Company M. He is listed in this excerpt from the ship\u2019s manifest. <\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Manifest\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Navy Commander Robert Henderson commanded the Zeelandia<\/em>, which sailed May 18, 1918 from Newport News, Virginia on her first voyage as a converted troop transport. There were fifteen ships and one cruiser in the convoy. <\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
USS Little<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There was also at least one destroyer. Commander Joseph K. Taussig commanded the Navy destroyer USS Little<\/em> (DD-79\/APD-4). He noted in his diary that his ship shoved off May 18, 1918 at 11:00 am. <\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Just before reaching the rendezvous point, a thick fog set it, and word was received the President Grant<\/em> had run aground in the channel. It was expected to come off at high tide, but all ships in the convoy had to wait for her. Because of continued fog, the Little<\/em> set anchor at 7:00 pm. By 11:00 pm the fog lifted and the convoy got underway. The fog returned, but since they were underway, they continued onward using fog horns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the fog lifted after daylight, Commander Taussig found he was with the Madawaska<\/em>, Duc d\u2019Abruzzi<\/em> and Bridge<\/em> on one side and the Pocohontas<\/em> and Zeelandia<\/em> on the other. Other ships were not in sight, but they soon caught up with them before dark, except, the Re d\u2019Italia<\/em> was apparently further ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
USS Huntington<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The convoy maintained 12-1\/2 knots since that was the maximum speed of the President Grant.<\/em> She was the largest ship, with 4,600 troops aboard. They immediately began sailing a zig-zag pattern due to reports of German U-boats in the area. They sailed in a double line of transports behind a Navy cruiser, the USS Huntington<\/em> (ACR-5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On some days a destroyer would steam past the transports at about a half mile distance towing a target that looked like a submarine periscope. The sailors on each transport would in turn practice firing the ship\u2019s guns at this target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abandon\nship drills were conducted daily. On\nMay 22nd<\/sup>\nthe Zeelandia\u2019s<\/em>\nwhistle let out several deep blasts signaling\n\u201cman overboard.\u201d During\na drill, one of the\nsailors fell into the\nsea because\nthe lifeboat release\nmechanism broke on one side. A cruiser\nwas able to turn around to rescue him, which took two hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally a commercial passenger ship, the Zeelandia<\/em> was outfitted with four 6-inch guns, two 1-pounders, and two machine guns. <\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Two aft 6-inch guns are shown in this view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On May 26th<\/sup> a destroyer fired its guns and dropped depth charges at the sight of a submarine. All ships then went full-steam ahead with guns blazing for several minutes. However it turned out to be an overturned boat, not a submarine. Or, maybe, it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncruiser\nUSS\nHuntington<\/em>\nsailed\nonly part of the way and\nturned back on\nMay 28th<\/sup>\nas they neared France. \nAt the\nsame time\nten\ndestroyers joined the convoy to guide it through the enemy U-boat\nzone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two\ndays later on May 30th<\/sup>\nas the convoy neared France, three French airplanes flew out to\nescort the convoy to port. Just then the general quarters alarm\nsounded. The destroyers steamed back and forth dropping\ndepth-charges. A\nsubmarine was spotted from the Zeelandia<\/em>\nand the ship\u2019s gunners fired at it as rapidly as they could. After\nseveral minutes it was gone and firing ceased. Recall\nsounded and everyone relaxed and started going back below deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly\nall four of Zeelandia\u2019s<\/em>\nsix-inch guns were firing. There were several U-boats this\ntime, and one was\ntrailing the Zeelandia<\/em>,\nwhich immediately began a zig-zag course. The\nforward guns then had to fire almost parallel down the length of the\nship. The troops\nstill on\ndeck were forced to lay flat and hug the deck. The concussion of the\npassing\nshells broke windows and upset chairs on deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports indicated there were up to seven enemy U-boats that attacked. The enemy fired several torpedoes, but no ships in the convoy were hit. <\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\ntwelve days at sea the Zeelandia<\/em>\narrived safely outside\nSaint-Nazaire, France on May 30, 1918 at 9:30 pm and\nset anchor. The next\nmorning she\ncame into port, to berth 15, at 11:00 am and immediately began\nunloading.\n It took a few hours\nfor the 1,755 troops to disembark, but two\ndays to unload\nall their\nbelongings and cargo,\nuntil June 2 at 11:30 am. Company M alone had 20,800 pounds of\nbarrack bags and crates. Troops\nreported to Rest Camp 1 near\nSaint-Nazaire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zeelandia<\/em> was delayed seven more days for unspecified repairs to machinery. She sailed June 8, 1918 for her return trip to the United States. She had several sick patients, that included six officers, two nurses, and forty-two soldiers. She also had three civilian passengers and two prisoners. <\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile on June 4th<\/sup> Russell Stewart was promoted from Private to Private First Class. That was also the day the 319th<\/sup> Infantry started their move inland. They entrained at 6:30 pm aboard cramped \u201c40 hommes\/8 chevaux\u201d rail cars. These light \u201c40 and 8\u201d cars could carry 40 men or 8 horses. After more than a month of traveling by different trains and frequently marching, they arrived on July 22, 1918 in the British sector for further training with the British 2nd<\/sup> Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Cargo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zeelandia<\/em> continued her voyages carrying troops and cargo. Here she is at the port of Brest, France unloading cargo on October 27, 1918. <\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The ship had lost its original luster from months of heavy use. This was at the height of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Russell Stewart was camped near Lachalade that day preparing for the final phase of battle, only six days before he was killed in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The above photo was taken simultaneously with a video. <\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Here is an excerpt showing just the Zeelandia<\/em>. The original video shows the labor-intensive process of unloading cargo onto lighters (non-powered barges), then unloading those barges at the wharf, then again loading trains for eventual delivery inland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zeelandia<\/em> reportedly made five round-trip voyages during the war, and then seven voyages afterwards. She transported 8,349 troops to France and later returned 15,737 troops back home. <\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Pictured here are the officers of the USS Zeelandia<\/em> in 1919. <\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Crew\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here the Zeelandia<\/em> returns home with troops standing on deck, sometime in 1919. <\/span>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span> By then the dazzle camouflage had faded almost completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here she is docked at Charleston, filled with troops anxiously waiting to see their families after a year at war. <\/span>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span> One of the six-inch guns is seen here on the port bow. By the way I don\u2019t think they had enough lifeboats for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zeelandia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Zeelandia<\/em> was removed from Navy service by August 1919 and decommissioned by October 1919. She was returned to her previous owner at that time. <\/span>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span> She was scrapped seventeen years later, in April 1936. The Zeelandia<\/em> played a vital part in our war effort even though she was obtained by dubious means. I can appreciate the experience of my granduncle, Russell T. Stewart, who sailed to France on her first voyage as a troop transport. Sadly, he did not return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monument<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

American\ntroops\narrived for the first time in\nFrance at Saint-Nazaire\non June 26,\n1917. Thereafter\nnearly\n200,000 troops came through the port. There\nis a special monument there\ndedicated\nto the American\nDoughboy.\n It was a gift of\nthe American people to the\npeople of France.\n The original statue was dedicated in 1926, but the\nNazis destroyed it during\nWorld War II. A replica replacement\nwas made and dedicated\nin 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Monument\"
Original and Replacement Statue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Affectionately known as the Saint-Nazaire \u201cSammy,\u201d as in Uncle Sam, it\u2019s what the French called American Doughboys during World War I. The Eagle, symbolizing America, gently lands on French soil and spreads her wings for protection. On top is an American Doughboy, knees slightly bent as if landing from a jump across the ocean. He holds a downward pointing sword, a symbol of peace. <\/span>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The USS Zeelandia was a Dutch commercial passenger ship converted for use by the United States Navy as a troop transport during World War I. She carried my granduncle, Russell T. Stewart, to France in 1918.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":309,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,13,77],"tags":[138,113,114],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-france","category-history","category-surname-stewart","tag-france","tag-stewart","tag-wwi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1533,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions\/1533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}