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USS NICHOLSON (Torpedo Boat # 29, TB-29)

CLASS - Blakely As Built.
Displacement 218 Tons.
Dimensions 175' (oa) x 17' 8" x 6' 5".
Armament 3 x 1 pdr., 3 x 18" tt.
Speed 25 Knots, Crew 28.

Operational and Building Data
Builder Lewis Nixon Shipyard, Elizabethtown, N.J.
Laid down 6 December 1898.
Launched 23 September 1901.
Commissioned 10 January 1905.
Stricken 3 March 1909.
Fate used as a target.

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Nicholson
James Nicholson
1737-1804

Nicholson
Samuel Nicholson
1743-1811

Nicholson
James William Augustus Nicholson
1821-1887
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The Nicholson family is renowned in American naval history, five of whose members gave especially distinguished service in the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. The first three, all sons of Joseph and Hannah Scott Nicholson, were born in Chestertown, Md.: James in 1737, Samuel in 1743, and John in 1756.

James Nicholson served in the colonial Navy with the British in the assault on Havana in 1762, and was commissioned Captain in the Continental Navy 10 October 1776. He commanded Defense, Trumbull, and Virginia, and when blockaded at Baltimore, took his men to join Washington at Trenton to aid in that key victory. He died 2 September 1804 at his home in New York City.

Samuel Nicholson was a Lieutenant in Bon Homme Richard under John Paul Jones; then, in command of Deane, captured three British sloops-of-war. Appointed Captain upon the reorganization of the Navy in 1794, he superintended the construction of frigate Constitution and commanded her during her first commission. He died at Charlestown, Mass., 29 December 1811.

John Nicholson entered the Continental Navy as Lieutenant in October 1776 and the next month was promoted to Captain to command sloop Hornet. After the war he was active in public affairs in Maryland, where he died in the summer of 1844.

In the next generation, John’s son William Carmichael Nicholson, born 1800 in Maryland, entered as a midshipman in 1812 and served in President under Stephen Decatur during the War of 1812. Commissioned Captain in 1855, he commanded steam frigate Roanoake from May 1861. Appointed Commodore on the Retired List in July 1862, he served a year on the Retiring Board. He died 25 July 1872 at the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia.

In the third generation, Samuel’s grandson James William Augustus Nicholson, born 10 March 1821 in Dedham, Mass., carried on the family tradition, entering the Navy as a midshipman in February 1838. As a Lieutenant, he served in Vandalia in Commodore Matthew G. Perry’s Japanese Expedition (1853–55). During the Civil War he served in Pocahontas and Pensacola, and commanded Isaac Smith, Shamrock, Manhattan, and Mohongo. Commodore from August 1873 and Rear Admiral from October 1881, he commanded the European Station 16 September 1881 to February 1883. When the British bombarded Alexandria, Egypt, in 1882, he rescued the records of the American Consulate and took American and other refugees aboard his flagship, Lancaster. Commendation from the Navy Department and awards of gratitude from European governments followed. He retired 10 March 1883 and died at his home in New York 28 October 1887.
NHC
Nicholson 120kNewspaper clipping from the New York Tribune of the USS Nicholson (TB-29) and USS O'Brien (TB-30) under construction at Lewis Nixon Shipyard, Elizabethtown, N.J. circa 1898-1899.Mike Mohl
Nicholson 109k18-N-13924. Circa 1902, location unknown.Terry Miller, Executive Director, Tin Can Sailors Inc.
Nicholson 189kUSS Rodgers (TB-4), USS Porter (TB-6), USS DuPont (TB-7), USS Blakely (TB-27), USS Nicholson (TB-29) and USS O'Brien (TB-30) in Norfolk circa 1905.Bill Gonyo

USS Nicholson TB-29 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

LT William Siebel Miller    Jan 10 1905 - Jon 20 1906
CDR Walter Newhall Vernou    Jun 20 1906 = Jun 24 1906

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website


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