Buck I (S.P. 1355)
1917-1918
The first Buck (S.P. 1355) retained the name she carried at the time of her acquisition. The second Buck honored James Buck -- born at Baltimore, Md., in 1808 and enlisted in the Navy in 1852 -- who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic service during the Civil War on board the steamer Brooklyn where, though severely wounded, he stood at the wheel for eight hours and steered the vessel during the engagement with Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi River. Buck died in Baltimore on 1 November 1865.
I
(S.P. 1355: length 33'6"; beam 7'6"; draft 1'6" (aft); speed 15 miles per hour; complement 2)
Buck -- a motorboat built in 1911 -- was acquired by the Navy on 24 August 1917 under free lease from the Conservation Commission of Maryland and was placed in commission on 13 September 1917. Given the identification number S.P. 1355, she served as a tender in the Fifth Naval District at Norfolk, Va., until late in 1918. Conflicting information suggests that she was returned to her owner on one of two dates, either 24 September 1918 or 27 November 1918.
Raymond A. Mann
10 November 2021
