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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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Standish
(ScTug: t. 350; l. 137'0"; b. 26'; dr. 9'6"; s. 10 k.; a. 2 guns)

Capt. Miles Standish was a soldier of fortune in Holland who was hired by the Pilgrims to accompany them to America in Mayflower. He was in the party which landed at Plymouth in 1620, and was a leader in establishing the colony in its early years. In 1631, he was a co-founder of Duxbury, Mass., and he lived in that settlement until he died there in 1656.

Standish, an iron-hulled screw tug built at Boston in 1864 and 1865, was completed too late to serve in the Civil War. After completing her trials in January 1866, the ship was laid up at Norfolk until 1871 when she was placed in service at the Norfolk Navy Yard. After repairs at Philadelphia in late 1878 and 1879, the tug served briefly at Newport, R.I., before moving to Annapolis for service as a practice ship at the United States Naval Academy. Except for occasional visits to navy yards for repairs, she remained at the Naval Academy serving as a station tug when not on duty as a practice ship-through World War I. She was sold on 5 August 1921 to B. Wever & Sons, Baltimore, Md.

Published: Thu Sep 24 11:47:09 EDT 2015