Annie E. Gallup (S. P. 694)
Annie E. Gallup, a wooden-hulled "Menhaden fisherman" built at Fall River, Mass., in 1878, was acquired by the Navy from the Delaware Fish and Oil Co., of Lewes, Del., and assigned the classification S. P. 694. She was commissioned at Philadelphia on 15 August 1917 "for duty as a minesweeper in the 4th Naval District," Lt. Bailey A. West, USNRF, in command.
Her name shortened to Gallup as the result of General Order No. 314 of 28 July 1917 which specified that all "scout patrol" (SP) vessels bearing compound names would be referred to by last name only, the ship operated within the waters of the 4th Naval District into 1918. Assigned guardship duties, Gallup, Ens. C. P. Berlin, USNRF, in command, anchored in the Harbor of Refuge at Lewes at noon on 20 February 1918. A moderate northwest gale, however, caused her to drag her anchor, and the following morning, despite the fact that her engines were working full, Gallup ran aground, stern first, on the point of Cape Henlopen, swinging around broadside to the beach. In response to her distress signals, Coast Guard crews from nearby lifesaving stations brought her complement ashore without loss.
Since the ship had broken in two forward of her engine room, Gallup was deemed a total loss, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 20 May 1918.
