The HMS Otranto
The H.M.S. Otranto was an armed merchant cruiser built by Workman, Clark and Company in Belfast, Ireland in March 1909. The cruiser could carry 1300 passengers. The length of the cruiser was 555 feet and six inches. It is named after the Strait of Otranto, Italy. After the outbreak of war, the Otranto was used as a troop transport. The Otranto set sail on September 25, 1918, from New York filled with troops headed to fight the Great War in Europe. On board, there were 372 British officers and sailors and 701 American soldiers. Many of the soldiers trained at Fort Screven on Tybee Island, GA. Fort Screven was built to protect Savannah, GA from the Spanish fleet during the Spanish-American War in 1898.
On October 6, 1918, the Otranto was sailing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Irish Sea. Due to a storm that caused high waves the H.M.S. Kashmir rammed into the Otranto. The collision gashed a hole in the ship and caused a loss of power. The damaged Otranto was directed to the Island of Islay in Scotland and sank before it reached shore around eleven in the morning. The Otranto’s sinking led to the loss of 470 soldiers including 130 from Georgia. Four of those men were from Bulloch County, GA: Carswell Deal, John M. Sheffield, James Warren Williams, and Brooks Beasley. The British vessel H.M.S. Mounsey came to the rescue of the sinking Otranto and was able to save 600 soldiers from drowning in the Atlantic, and half of the men saved were Americans.
The survivors were taken to Belfast, Ireland. When they arrived in Ireland there was a funeral for all the soldiers that perished. Most of the bodies retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean were buried at Brookwood American Cemetery in Surrey, England. In December 1918, the American Red Cross created a memorial to honor all the American soldiers who died on the Otranto at Mull of Oar in Scotland. Lieutenant Francis Craven, the captain of the Mounsey, gave the order to get close enough to the Otranto so the men were able to climb aboard and not drown. For his leadership, Lieutenant Francis Craven was given the award of the Distinguished Service Order and the Navy Cross.
Newspapers around Bulloch County and the nation covered the sinking of the Otranto. Some of the articles related to the accident showed how painful the inability to bury fallen soldiers lost at sea remained for family members. The front page of the November 21, 1918 edition of the Bulloch Times and Statesboro News from Statesboro, GA contained an ad titled, “Waynesboro Mother Seeks Information of her Son.” Private Edwin A. Smith went missing after the sinking of the Otranto. His mother placed the advertisement asking if any mothers of men who survived the sinking of the ship could ask their sons if they had seen or had any information about him.
A Bulloch County soldier who survived the sinking painted a vivid picture of what the soldiers aboard the Otranto experienced. Harville Marsh of Portal Georgia was drafted on July 16th, 1918, and was assigned to train at Fort Screven. He headed to New Jersey on September 22, 1918, and boarded the Otranto several days later. In a letter about the sinking, Marsh described how the Otranto filled up with water as it headed toward the shore following the collision with the Kashmir. After the Otranto was hit, Captain Davison of the Otranto, told Lieutenant Francis Craven, the captain of the Mounsey not to come near his ship because he was afraid it would sink both ships. Lieutenant Craven ignored the warning, and Marsh jumped fifteen feet onto the Mounsey. He said it was a miserable experience, but it was better than facing death. He saw many men drown. Marsh thanked the officers and crew of the Mounsey for saving them from peril and reported they were devoted to saving everyone they could. After everybody was on the Mounsey, Marsh and the survivors of the Otranto headed to Dublin, Ireland. Harville Marsh was discharged from the military on March 15th, 1919. He was fortunate to have survived a naval disaster that brought the reality of war home to Bulloch County.
Otranto Victims from Bulloch County: Carswell Deal, John M. Sheffield, James Warren Williams, and Brooks Beasley.
Works Cited
“H.M.S. Otranto.” Wikipedia, October 27, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Otranto.
Gahistory. “Marker Monday: Sinking of the H.M.S. Otranto.” Georgia Historical Society,
January 12, 2024. https://www.georgiahistory.com/marker-monday-sinking-of-the-h-m-s-
otranto/.
HACKLE, AL. “Sinking of H.M.S. Otranto Hit Georgia Hard 105 Years Ago.” Statesboro
Herald (white), September 29, 2023. https://www.statesboroherald.com/local/sinking-hms-
otranto-hit-georgia-hard-105-years-ago/.
“5592 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 17 MARCH 1919. .” The London
Gazette. March 17, 1919.
Smith, E A. “Waynesboro Mother Seeks Information of Her Son.” Bulloch Times and
Statesboro News. November 21, 1918.