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Wahneta I (Harbor Tug No. 1)

1892-1922

A variant spelling of Waneta, a Yanktonai Sioux Native American. Born about 1795 in what is now Brown County, South Dakota, he joined his father in siding with the British during the War of 1812. He fought at Fort Meigs and Sandusky and was wounded in the latter battle. After hostilities, the British rewarded Waneta for his loyalty by presenting him with a captain's commission. He subsequently visited England and remained sympathetic to the British until 1820, when an abortive expedition against Fort Snelling resulted in his change of heart. Thereafter, he gave wholehearted support to U.S. interests.

A dominant chief of the Sioux tribe, Waneta signed a trade treaty with the Americans on 25 July 1825; and, on 17 August of that year, he signed the Treaty of Prairie du Chien which fixed the boundaries of Sioux territory. He died in 1848 at the mouth of the Warreconne, the present Beaver Creek, in Emmons County, North  Dak.

I

(Harbor Tug No.1: displacement 192; length between perpendiculars 92'6"; beam 20'11"; draft 8'; speed 11.5 knots)

Wahneta (Harbor Tug No. 1) was laid down in April 1891 at Boston, Mass., by the City Point Iron Works; launched on 3 March 1892 and subsequently was placed in service and assigned to the Fifth Naval District.

Stationed at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., the tug engaged in the unglamorous but vital tug, tow, and general harbor duties. In February 1893, she served as a seagoing observation platform off Port Royal, S.C. From her deck, observers watched test firings of "dynamite gun cruiser" Vesuvius'  15-inch pneumatic rifles. Returning to her routine work soon thereafter, the tug remained based at Norfolk from 1893 to 1922, through both the Spanish-American War and the Great War [World War I]. On 17 July 1920, the ship was designated YT-1.

Subsequently placed out of service at Norfolk on 4 August 1922, the venerable yard craft was sold on 6 December 1922 to the Norfolk Lighterage Company.

Robert J. Cressman

Updated 1 April 2022

Published: Fri Apr 01 15:00:37 EDT 2022