Joshua James (lifesaver)
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Captain Joshua James, USLSS (22 November 1826 - 19 March 1902) was a famous commander of civilian life-saving crews in the 19th Century. He was probably the most celebrated lifesaver in the world, credited with saving hundreds of lives from the age of 15 when he first joined the Massachusetts Humane Society until his death at the age of 75 while on duty with the U.S. Life-Saving Service. He was honored with the highest medals of the Humane Society, the United States, and many other organizations. His father, mother, brother, wife, and son were also heroic lifesavers. [1]
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[edit] Early life
Joshua James was the ninth of twelve children, and was raised by older sister Catherine who took over the family when their mother and baby sister drowned in the sinking of the schooner Hepzibah, belonging to Reinier, her son and one of Joshua's older brothers.[2]
[edit] Maritime Career
Joshua's lifesaving activities began when he was 15 years of age, when he participated in a rescue in one of the Massachusetts Humane Society lifeboats at Hull. The wreck at Harding's Ledge was in early 1842. He was awarded a bronze medal on 1 April 1850 for the rescue of the crew of the Delaware on Toddy Rocks. In 1864 he helped rescue the crew of the Swordfish. In 1871 he helped in the rescue of a schooner. In 1873 he helped with the rescue of the crew of the Helene. In 1876 he was appointed keeper of four Massachusetts Humane Society life-boats at Stony Beach, Point Allerton, and Nantasket Beach.
On 1 February 1882, Joshua and his crew of volunteers launched a boat in a very heavy gale and thick snowstorm to rescue the crew of the Bucephalus, and also on the same day they rescued the crews of the Nellie Walker. He was involved in a number other rescues over the years, so much so that a special silver medal was struck for Joshua by the Humane Society in 1886, for "brave and faithful service of more than 40 years." The report said "During this time he assisted in saving over 100 lives." [3]
[edit] Hurricane of 1888
During the hurricane of 1888, Joshua James was a volunteer life-saving station keeper for the Massachusetts Humane Society. On the afternoon of November 25, 1888, he saw several vessels dragging anchor in an area southeast of Boston called Nantasket. He called together his crew of volunteers and they prepared to launch the station’s surfboat. Before this could be down, the schooner Cox and Green stranded not far away, and James and his men rescued the entire crew by firing out a line and rigging a breeches buoy to the stricken schooner.
At the same time, the schooner Gertrude Abbott had struck some rocks about one-eighth mile to the east, and was too far out to reach with the line and breeches buoy. Because night was approaching, and the sea was very high, James decided the best course was to wait until low tide the next day. Conditions got worse as night went on, so the surf crew choose to go out during the night. James knew the conditions were highly dangerous, and told the men only volunteers would be taken. Even so, all the men volunteered. They launched the surfboat, and although it nearly capsized, and a surfman was washed overboard, they were able to reach the wreck of the Gertrude Abbott, rescue the eight sailors on board, and return to the shore by 9 p.m., although the surfboat was wrecked in the landing.
Because the storm continued, James ordered the surfmen to maintain a patrol along the beach to watch for more wrecks. At 3:00 a.m., word came of a third wreck, of the schooner Bertha F. Walker. This time, the vessel had sunk, and seven crewmen were stranded in her rigging. As the first surfboat had been wrecked, volunteers, with the help of horses, had to drag a second surfboat four miles overland to the site of the wreck. At dawn, James and the rescuers were able to launch the second boat, reach the Bertha F. Walker, and save the seven men in her rigging.
Just as they landed, word came of two more shipwrecks, those of the H.C. Higginson and the Mattie E. Eaton. In addition to keeper James and his volunteers of the Massachusetts Humane Society, the crew of U.S. Life-saving Service station at North Scituate had also gone to the rescue of the Higginson, and they had had to pull their beach cart with rescue equipmentt nine miles across the land through snow and slush to get to the wreck site. Efforts to fire lines out to the Higginson failed, and it was necessary to launch the surfboat, although a rescue in the water seemed extremely dangerous because the waves were breaking around the wreck. James took the surfboat out twice, the first attempt failed after forty-five minutes of rowing when the boat hit rocks which knocked two holes in it, making it necessary to return to shore to repair the boat. James succeeded in the second attempt, taking off the five survivors of the Higginson.
By the time they were able to reach the Mattie E. Eaton, the wreck had come so far up on the shore that her crew was able to get off on their own. By this time a sixth vessel had come ashore, the brigantine Alice. Two people, apparently untrained, had gone aboard to attempt a rescue, and turned out themselves needing to be rescued. James and his crew took them off the wreck. For going to the scene of six wrecks and rescuing 29 people, Captain James was awarded gold medals by both the Massachusetts Humane Society and the U.S. Life-Saving Service.[4]
[edit] Appointment as U.S. Life-Saving Service Keeper
In 1889, the U.S. Life-Saving Service established a Point Allerton Station at Hull, Massachusetts. Although James was then 62 years old, and past the mandatory retirement age, a special provision was made to allow him to be appointed as keeper of the new station.[5] Under the blank in the form calling for past experience qualifying him for the position, James wrote simply "fisherman." [6]
[edit] Hurricane of 1898
The “Great Storm of November 1898" hit the Masschusetts coast hard, striking worst between Gay’s Head on Martha’s Vineyard and Point Allerton. As with the storm of 1888, a number of vessels were wrecked within a day or so, and Joshua James and his crew went to the rescue of five of them. They were able to save the crews of the Henry R. Tilton and Coal Barge No. 4 by fire lines out to the vessels and rigging the breeches buoy. The wreck of the schooner Baker was more difficult, and could not be reached except by surfboat the next day, when a tow could be arranged from a steam tug to the general vicinity of the wreck. By then there had been three crewmen lost, and the survivors were in bad condition. James and his crew were able to get them off however, and carried out a number of other rescues during the storm.[7]
[edit] Loss of the crew of the Monomoy Life-Saving Station
On March 17, 1902, the coal barge Wadena went aground on Cape Cod and keeper Marshall N. Eldridge and seven of his crew of the Monomoy Life-Saving Station went to the rescue of the five sailors on board. Although the sea conditions were very bad, keeper Eldridge told his men “we must go, there is a distress flag in the rigging.” They were able to reach the wreck and take the sailors on board, but on the return to the shore, the surfboat capsized twice, was righted each time, and then capsized again. Eventually keeper Eldridge, the rescued crewmen, and all the surfmen were all drowned except for Seth Ellis, the number one surfman, who himself was rescued by Captain Elmer Mayo of Chatham.[8]
[edit] Death
The dramatic death of Joshua James occurred on March 19th, 1902. Two days earlier the entire crew save one of the Monomoy Point Life-Saving Station perished in a rescue attempt. This tragedy affected Joshua deeply, and convinced him of the need for even more rigid training of his own crew. At seven o'clock in the morning of March 19th , with a northeast gale blowing, he called his crew for a drill. For more than an hour, the 75-year-old man maneuvered the boat through the boisterous sea. He was pleased with the boat and with the crew. Upon grounding the boat he sprang onto the wet sand, glanced at the sea and stated, "The tide is ebbing," and then fell dead on the beach from a heart attack
Joshua was buried with a lifeboat for a coffin a second lifeboat made of flowers was placed on his grave. His tombstone shows the Massachusetts Humane Society seal and bears the inscription "Greater love hath no man than this -- that a man lay down his life for his friends." The superintendent of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, Spencer Kimball, said of him:
| “ | Here and there may be found men in all walks of life who neither wonder or care how much or how little the world thinks of them. They pursue life's pathway, doing their appointed tasks without ostentation, loving their work for the work's sake, content to live and do in the present rather than look for the uncertain rewards of the future. To them notoriety, distinction, or even fame, acts neither as a spur nor a check to endeavor, yet they are really among the foremost of those who do the world's work. Joshua James was one of these.[9] | ” |
Despite his frugal habits Joshua James was practically destitute at the time of his death, his family was left with insufficient support. His widow Louisa a famous lifesaver in her own right was suffering the effects of pneumonia contracted in rescue while her husband was away on another case. The public did not forget her; a contribution of $3,733 was given to Mrs. James.
[edit] Remembered today
Joshua James is honored every year at his gravesite on May 23rd (Joshua James Day) by the Hull Lifesaving Museum and Station Point Allerton. The captain's house, built in 1650, still stands in Hull, Massachusetts, and is marked as having been his home.[10] Point Allerton station still stands, but is no longer in use. It now houses the Hull Life-Saving Museum. In 2003, the Coast Guard created the Joshua James award to honor the Coast Guard personnel with the most seniority in rescue work and the highest record of achievement. The first recipient in 2003 was boat officer John E. Downey.[11]
[edit] Known Rescues
- 1842, assisted in a rescue in one of the Massachusetts Humane Society lifeboats.
- Date lost, assisted in the rescue the crew of the Delaware.
- 1864, assisted in the rescue the crew of the Swordfish.
- 1871, assisted in the rescue of an unnamed schooner.
- 1873, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Helene.
- February 1st, 1882, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Bucephalus.
- February 1st, 1882, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Nellie Walker.
- December 1st, 1885, assisted in the rescue of the crew of Anita Owen
- January 9th, 1886, assisted in the rescue of the captain of the Millie Trim, but was unable to save the rest of the crew.
- December 16th 1896, assisted in the rescue of the crew from the schooner Ulrica.
- 25th 1886, assisted in the rescue of nine men from the schooner Gertrude Abbott men via breeches buoy.
- January 25th 1886, assisted in the rescue of the crew from the schooner Cox and Green.[12]
- 26th, 1886, assisted in the rescue of the crew from the schooner Bertha F. Walker.[13]
- January 26th, 1886, assisted in the rescue of five men in the rigging the H.C. Higginson
- November 27th, 1898, assisted in the rescue of two survivors from two vessels dashed upon Toddy Rocks.
- November 27th, 1898, assisted in the rescue of seven men via breeches buoy from a three-masted schooner.
- November 27th, 1898 opened the station to a family whose home was threatened by the storm.
- November 27th, 1898, assisted in the rescue of five men from a beached barge.
- November 28th, 1898, assisted in the rescue of three men from an unnamed schooner.
- November 28th, 1898, assisted in the rescue of three men from Black Rock.
[edit] Awards
- Bronze Life-Saving Medal: April 1st, 1850 for the rescue of the crew of the Delaware on Toddy Rocks.
- Special Silver Life-Saving Medal: 1886 the Humane Society struck a special silver medal, for "brave and faithful service of more than 40 years". During this time he assisted in saving over 100 lives.
- Gold Life-Saving Medal from the United States Government and Humane Society's Gold Life-Saving Medal: For the rescue of 29 persons from five different vessels during the period of November 25th and 26th 1888.
[edit] Offices
- 1876, appointed keeper of 4 Massachusetts Humane Society life-boats at Stony Beach, Point Allerton, and Nantasket Beach.
- October 22nd, 1889, Joshua James took the oath of office as keeper of the U.S. Life-Saving Station at Point Allerton.
Under past experience qualifying him for the position, Joshua wrote "fisherman." on the record. He was 62 years of age, which was seventeen years past the maximum age limit for a federal appointment with the new U.S. Life-Saving Service, but an extraordinary exception was made in his case by an act of congress and the requirement was waived.
At 62 Joshua passed all of the physical examinations with no difficulty and eleven years later at 73, he repeated the act. During the thirteen years he was keeper of the Point Allerton station, he and his crew saved 540 lives and $1,203,435.00 worth of estimated value of ships and cargo.
[edit] Children
Joshua James and Louisa Luchie had ten children, three of the girls and one boy died in infancy. Their surviving son, Osceola James, born in 1865, became a sailor, and master of the Myles Standish. As captain of the Hull volunteer life-savers, Osceola received a gold lifesaving medal winner and a record approaching his father's.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Captain Joshua James, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office (Accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ Captain Joshua James, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office (Accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ Captain Joshua James, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office (Accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ Shanks, Ralph, and York, Wick, The U.S. Life-Saving Service, Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard, at 47-49, Costaño Books, Petaluma, CA 1996 ISBN 0-930268-16-4
- ^ Shanks and York, at 49
- ^ Captain Joshua James, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office (Accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ Shanks and York, at 49-50
- ^ Shanks and York, at 55
- ^ Captain Joshua James, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office (Accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ U.S. Coast Guard site, with photographs of house (accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ USCG Hull official site on Joshua James Keeper Award (accessed January 13, 2008)
- ^ The stations' surfboat was destroyed by a huge wave during the rescue. Joshua James was in the boats on all five trips, Osceola James, Alonzo L. Mitchell, John L. Mitchell, and Louis F. Galiano were in four of the five boat crews, and the eighteen others in trips of lesser number. It is also noteworthy that four members of the James family, four members of the Galianos family, and ten of the Mitchell family were members of the crew.
- ^ The crew had to walk four miles to the next station for a boat to replace the one lost. This new boat was a new untested boat designed by Joshua's brother Samuel.
[edit] References
- A. E. Carlson, "Joshua James - - Lifesaver." Coast Guard Public Information Division pamphlet, 1959.
- Sumner Kimball. Joshua James, Life-Saver. Boston: American Unitarian Association, 1909.
- Joshua James File, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office.
