Chesapeake 6/1/1813 Broadside with HMS Shannon  On June 1st, Captain James Lawrence engaged HMS Shannon with an inexperienced crew. Early in the battle, Chesapeake's rigging was cut away which caused the ship to lose maneuverability. Meanwhile, Lawrence was mortally wounded. As he was being carried below, he shouted, "Don't give up the ship!" to his crew. Although the crew attempted to hold the ship, they were unable to do so, and ultimately surrendered to the British. Chesapeake was towed to Halifax and later served in the Royal Navy. The ship was finally sold at Portsmouth, England and broken up. Some of the timbers were used in the construction of a flour mill.
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Wasp 6/28/1814 Engagement with brig Reindeer  On June 28, the Wasp came upon the 21-gun sloop-of war Reindeer some 226 miles west of Plymouth and brought her to battle. The fight lasted only 19 minutes - but, during that brief span of time, the two ships traded a murderous fire of grape and solid shot. Several times Reindeer's crew tried to board Wasp but the American crew repulsed them on each occasion. In the end, Wasp's own ship's company boarded Reindeer and carried the day. Wasp suffered six hits in her hull, and some of her rigging was shot away, but she remained sailable.
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Mound City 6/17/1862 CSA Cannon fire on White River  On the morning of June 17, USS Mound City, St. louis, Lexington, Conestonga, and transports proceeded up White River towards Saint Charles attempting to resupply Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis's army near Jacksonport. A single shot fired into the port hole at her stern drum exploded scalding most of the men to death. More than 125 sailors from the Mound City were killed, several jumped into the water, but were fired upon by the Confederate Troops entrenched on the bluff banks. Only 26 Crewmen escaped injury.
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Clifton 6/28/1862 Gunfire at Vicksburg  Clifton operated with Rear Admiral Farragut's squadron during its drive up the river to Vicksburg, Mississippi. On June 28, 1862, during the attack on the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, the Clifton took a shot through her boiler which killed seven men. Clifton was captured in 1863
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Cyclops 6/14/1918 Lost in the Bermuda Triangle  Except for a voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Cyclops served along the east coast until January 9, 1918 when she was assigned to Naval Overseas Transportation Service. She then sailed to Brazilian waters to fuel British ships in the south Atlantic, receiving the thanks of the State Department and Commander-in-Chief, Pacific. She put to sea from Rio de Janiero February 16, 1918 and after touching at Barbados on 3 and 4 March, was never heard from again. Her loss with all 306 crew and passengers, without a trace, is one of the sea's unsolved mysteries.
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City of Alma 6/2/1942 Torpedoed in the Caribbean  SS City of Alma, struck by a torpedo shortly before midnight, sank immediately with the loss of all but ten hands. Third Mate Hugh Parks Brown, having been thrown into the sea, swam through the thick debris and remained afloat on an improvised raft until daybreak. After locating and assisting to the raft five widely separated shipmates, some of whom were injured, a capsized lifeboat was recovered. Brown succeeded in righting the lifeboat after diving beneath it and puncturing one of its tanks with a hatchet he had salvaged. Aboard the lifeboat he gave orders to cruise the area and came upon four other crew members in the water. Brown unhesitatingly swam to and assisted each safely aboard the craft. A makeshift sail was rigged, course set, and port reached four days later. Brown received the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions.
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Illinois 6/2/1942 Torpedoed NE of Puerto Rico  On June 2, 1942 while 400 miles Northeast of Puerto Rico, the Freighter SS Illinois was torpedoed by the U-17
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M.F. Elliott 6/3/1942 Torpedoed near Trinidad  SS M. F. Elliott was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-502, 150 miles northwest of Trinidad on June 3rd, 1942. On June 4, The destroyer USS Tarbell DD-142 sighted 10 survivors of and brought them aboard.
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Enterprise (CV-6) 6/4/1942 The Battle of Midway  The morning of June 4, 1942, dive bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown, found the Japanese carrier force northwest of Midway Island and attacked the carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu, inflicting mortal damage on all three carriers. Though only four of fourteen torpedo plane crews would return from this strike, VB-6 and VS-6 would destroy three Japanese carriers. The men and officers in VT-3, VT-6 and VT-8 knew they were flying obsolete planes, knew about the deadly Zero, knew the powerful force they were taking on and, probably to a man, knew that death was a likely outcome. But they were also professionals, and when they found the Japanese, they pressed their attack with skill and determination. They pressed in to within a few ship-lengths of their targets before dropping their torpedoes. They pressed in close enough to strafe the enemy ships and kill, close enough to force the enemy carriers to make sharp evasive maneuvers, close enough to clearly see the warplanes spotted on the flight decks, preparing to strike at their own carriers. Perhaps only a few planes survived, but the ones that did presented a credible threat.
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Hornet (CV-8) 6/4/1942 The Battle of Midway  Hornet dive bombers missed contact, but 15 planes comprising her Torpedo Squadron 8 found the enemy and pressed home their attacks. They were met by overwhelming fighter opposition about eight miles from three enemy carriers and followed all the way in to be shot down one by one. Ens. George H. Gay, USNR, the only surviving pilot, reached the surface as his plane sunk. He hid under a rubber seat cushion to avoid strafing and witness the greatest carrier battle in history. Of 41 torpedo planes launched by the American carriers, only six returned. Their sacrifices drew enemy fighters away from dive bombers of Enterprise and Yorktown who sank three Japanese carriers with an assist from submarine USS Nautilus. The fourth Japanese carrier, Hiryu, was sunk the following day.
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