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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Diary of Commander Joseph K. Taussig

Oct 14 [1917]

[At sea]

     Sunday morning I decided to send the Siddon ahead with the Allen and Tucker as the Aquarius was holding her back.1 Wadsworth and Cummings remained with Aquarius which ship in present state of sea is making good only 5 knots. The Siddon, Allen and Tucker soon left us out of sight behind them. Later in the day received a wireless message from the C-in-C Queenstown2 to send one destroyer to scout ahead as far as 53-31 north.3 So I went ahead with the Wadsworth and passed the Siddon and escort.

Source Note: D, RNW, Joseph K. Taussig Papers, Mss. Coll. 97, Naval Historical Collection.

Footnote 1: On 8 October, seven U.S. destroyers and one British sloop left Queenstown intending to link up with a convoy of ten merchantmen from Dakar escorted by the armed merchant cruiser Moldovia. As ships of this convoy were heading to ports on both the east and west coast of England and, as seen here, because these merchantmen were travelling at much different speeds, Taussig, the escort commander, was forced to divide his escort force. According to a memorandum sent by the British Admiralty, S.S. Siddons was bound for Liverpool. Ibid., entries of 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 October and “Extract from the Admiralty Letter M.012647/17, 2 October 1017,” a copy of which Taussig affixed in his diary.

Footnote 2: VAdm. Lewis Bayly, R.N.

Footnote 3: Roughly as far as the middle of the Connemara peninsula on the coast of western Ireland.