By James D. “Keeper James” Charlet © 2024 Sitting majestically, solitarily, invitingly – but alone – as millions of travelers land upon the famous Hatteras Island by crossing the new Marc Basnight Bridge, is a beautiful but mysteriously abandoned building. It is, (it was), the Oregon Inlet United States Life-Saving Service Station. It is in […]
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This is a follow-up to the Island History article on the SS Central America, published on September 10, 2023. The Herndon Monument stands on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The monument is also known by its alternative long name of “Commander William L. Herndon, USN 1813-1857.” It is a 21-foot-tall […]
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Virtually all Americans know of the connection between slavery and the Civil War, but many have never even heard of one of the other connections: the sinking of the S.S. Central America on September 12, 1857, with the upcoming 166th anniversary on the horizon. It was by no means an ordinary shipwreck. How could have […]
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Learn more about the Titanic’s connection to Hatteras Island in a special program hosted by Keeper James at the Hatteras Weather Bureau in Hatteras Village on Friday, April 14, at 1:00 p.m. Click here for more information. April 14, 2023, marks the day that the world’s largest manmade, moving object began its titanic futile struggle […]
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It was the Maker of Mottos and Heroes 138 Years Ago, and Became a Christmas Miracle “On 22 December 1884 the crew of the Cape Hatteras (NC) Station (Sixth District), performed one of the most heroic feats in the annals of the Life-Saving Service. Under the leadership of Keeper Benjamin B. Dailey, assisted by Keeper […]
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The story of a wrecked barge 115 years ago, at first glance, may not seem too exciting. This story, however, is not only engagingly interesting, but is also a somewhat complicated saga. On the negative side, it is of maritime lessons unlearned. On the positive side, it demonstrates, once again, the amazing tenacity of the […]
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The wreck of the schooner Ada F. Whitney, which occurred on September 22, 1885, was a very difficult but somewhat routine event for the life-savers during a somewhat difficult time in America. In the year of this wreck, 1885, America had 38 states – yet to become would be the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, […]
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Today’s United States Coast Guard is revered for its consistency, uniformity, and teamwork, but perhaps most of all, for its excellence and rapidity of response. The origin of all that goes back to one man and one time. The man was Sumner Kimball; the time was 1878. Yet, one could even argue that the time […]
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The United States Coast Guard is best known by its motto “So others may live.” But it has gone through a lot of development through the years. “Coast Guard Day” is celebrated nationally every year on August 4, and 2022 will mark its 232nd anniversary, but the origin of that date can be somewhat confusing. […]
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On August 16, 1918, Surfman Number Eight of the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station, Leroy Stockton Midgett, took the watch in the tower of the still-new 1911 station. Although this was three years after the Life-Saving Service had been recreated as the Coast Guard, these folks had been used to the old terminology for many years and […]
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