1917
(Trawler: tonnage 295 (gross register); length 150'0"; beam 24'0"; draft 13'6" (aft); speed 11.0 knots)
In June 1917, shortly after the United States entered the Great War [World War I], the Navy inspected A. Brook Taylor, a wooden-hulled trawler built in 1913 and owned in 1917 by the Virginia Fishing Co., of Ditchly, Va. She was found to be suitable for service as a minesweeper and, according to a Navy Department letter dated 16 November 1917, was to be fitted out as such "preparatory to . . . [being called] into service in case of emergency." The anticipated "emergency" undoubtedly referred to extensive mining of American waters. However, even though German submarines did lay some mines off the east coast of the United States, A. Brook Taylor was never taken over by the Navy.
Robert J. Cressman
21 June 2022
