Ghosts of the USS Yorktown

by Bruce Orr

  In the nineteenth century, it was accepted that illness and disease was caused by poisoned blood. The impurities had to be removed, so the medical professionals of that time did so by extracting the contaminated blood. This was accomplished in various manners. The simplest would be cutting the person and letting the blood flow. A more ingenious method was to attach leeches and have the disgusting vermin suck the blood out of you. Being an outdoorsman, fisherman and scuba diver, I can assure you these are not cute, pleasant and cuddly little creatures to encounter. Quite frankly, I consider them to be slimy little vampires from the fiery pits of hell.

  In 1799, the father of our country, George Washington, developed pneumonia after suffering a bout of laryngitis. As he lay ill, the finest doctors were brought in to help him. Their solution was to purge the former first president of his poisoned blood. In fact, up to a pint of the man’s blood would be removed several times daily. Despite their best efforts, the former president died.

  In the mid-nineteenth century, one scientist challenged everything that medical science believed in. The chemist stated that illness and disease were not caused be poisoned blood. He stated that they were caused by organisms that were invisible to the naked eye. He called these organisms “germs.” He also went on to say that the process of bleeding a sick patient was actually detrimental to the person’s health and did far more harm than good. He said that by removing the blood, the physicians were actually weakening the patient and depleting the body’s natural ability in fighting off the disease. He further went on to say that many of the doctors’ procedures were inadvertently killing their patients. As you might imagine, that did not go over extremely well in the medical community. As a general rule, physicians are not particularly overjoyed to be accused of harming—much less killing—patients they are trying to cure.

  He was labeled a heretic. The man saw his hypothesis rejected as lunacy and nonsense by the established medical community. His invisible “germs” were labeled as ghosts and discounted. If one cannot see these creatures, then how can one possibly prove they exist? Still he persevered and eventually created a number of experiments to prove he was correct on all accounts. Eventually, an instrument was created that was able to magnify the chemist’s “ghosts” to the point where the human eye could see them. That man, Louis Pasteur, was eventually vindicated by those experiments.

  Today, Louis Pasteur’s contributions, such as immunization and pasteurization, are taken for granted. The fact that this man, considered to be one of the founders of microbiology, has saved millions is readily accepted. The idea of bleeding someone with leeches causes one to shake their head and laugh at the sheer ignorance and lunacy of nineteenth-century science.

  With the invention of the microscope, Pasteur’s little “ghosts” were actually proven to exist. Perhaps those who laugh at and ridicule those who crawl around in haunted places will be proven wrong in the next century. Perhaps there is a Pasteur among them who will prove the existence of another type of ghost, one that is the remnant of a once living human being.

  Many people laugh at the paranormal researcher chasing ghosts with instruments designed for other purposes. As one such investigator put it, in early days people used stones tied to sticks to chop notches in logs to build houses. Nowadays, builders use power saws and pneumatic nail guns specifically designed for that purpose. Paranormal investigators simply use what they have at hand until something better is created for the sole purpose of proving the existence of ghosts.

  Having said all of that, I still remain skeptical yet open to the possibility of the existence of ghosts. The reason is that I was trained and have always been an investigator dealing with absolutes and not possibilities; after all, a person is convicted beyond a shadow of a doubt. Ghosts leave a lot of room for interpretation.

  As a detective, I was responsible for undertaking an investigation and presenting the best case that I had. I did that by researching the incident, reviewing the scene, interviewing the witnesses and documenting the facts. On the other hand, Rick Presnell was a crime scene technician, and he was responsible for the collection, preservation, analysis and interpretation of all evidence at a scene. We then take those two investigative approaches and combine them to make the best case possible for presentation to a judge and jury. It is a system that all investigations should adhere to, be it a homicide investigation or a paranormal investigation. When you step outside your level of training and expertise, then you invite trouble. That is how many investigators lose cases. That is how all paranormal investigators lose credibility. They play both judge and jury.

  As the author of this book, I will present you with the history, the hauntings and the heritage behind the USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. It is my intention to do so in a manner that treats her dead with respect and to honor them and their ultimate sacrifice, not exploit them.

  I.

  THE HISTORY

  YORKTOWN A NAME OF HONOR

  The USS Yorktown (CV-10) is the second United States aircraft carrier to bear the name. She is the fourth of five United States ships to bear the name, a name that was taken from the Revolutionary War battle, the Battle of Yorktown. In order for one to appreciate the “Fighting Lady,” one must first understand the lineage of which she descends and the history that precedes her.

  THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN: 1781

  The Battle of Yorktown was a decisive victory in the American Revolutionary War. It was a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by Comte de Rochambeau against the British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis. It proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America. The surrender of Cornwallis’s troops prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.

  In 1780, 5,500 French soldiers landed in Rhode Island to assist the American forces. Washington, after having received communications from France, learned of the possibility of support from the French West Indies fleet of Comte de Grasse. Rochambeau and Washington decided to ask de Grasse for assistance in surrounding and capturing British occupied New York or, as another alternative, assistance in military operations against the Redcoats in Virginia. De Grasse informed them of his intent to sail to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, where Cornwallis had taken command. Cornwallis’s movements in Virginia had been covertly monitored by a Continental army reconnaissance force led by the Marquis de Lafayette.

  USS Yorktown (CV-10) is one of several ships to bear the name taken from the site of the famous Revolutionary battle. Courtesy of KOP.

  The French and American armies united north of New York City and began moving south toward Virginia. While en route, the Continental armies knew that they also were being monitored by British forces. Having this knowledge, they utilized it to their advantage to lead the British to believe a siege of New York was planned. Compte de Grasse sailed from the West Indies and arrived at the Chesapeake Bay at the end of August, bringing additional troops and providing a naval blockade of Yorktown.

  Prior to his arrival and while in Santo Domingo, de Grasse had met with Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis of Spain. De Grasse had planned to divide his fleet before traveling to the Chesapeake Bay and leave several of his warships in Santo Domingo in case they were needed to protect the French merchant fleet. Upon hearing this, Saavedra promised the assistance of the Spanish navy to protect the French merchant fleet. This allowed de Grasse to sail on with all of his warships.

  In early September, Compte de Grasse defeated a British fleet that was en route to relieve Cornwallis at the Battle of the Chesapeake. As a result of this victory, de Grasse blocked any escape by sea for Cornwallis. By late September, Washington and Rochambeau arrived, and the army and naval forces completely surrounded Cornwallis.

  The Americans and French soon mounted their first assault and began bombardment of the enemy. On October 14, 1781, with the British defense weakened, Washington sent two columns
, one French and the other American, to attack the last of the remaining British outer defenses. With these defenses taken, the allies were able to finish their second assault. With American artillery moving closer, the bombardment of the British became more intense than ever. Just three days later, on October 17, 1781, Cornwallis asked to capitulate terms to surrender. After two days of negotiation, the surrender ceremony took place at the Moore House and farm, a place chosen by Cornwallis.

  During the intense battle, civilian casualties were commonplace. In fact, a stray bullet had struck and killed Augustine Moore Jr. while he was working the family fields.

  Also in the vicinity of the Moore House, a local merchant named John Turner came to watch the Continental forces shelling the British Army in Yorktown just days before they surrendered. He was grievously wounded by shrapnel as a result of the shelling and, according to legend, died in his wife’s arms. There was nothing she could do to save him. John Turner’s remains were buried in the Moore House family graveyard.

  The little farmhouse that had inadvertently become engulfed in the battle had now become the site of the surrender of the forces that had brought death to its doorstep.

  Cornwallis refused to meet with Washington and also refused to come to the ceremony of surrender. He claimed to be ill, but more than likely, his pride and arrogance would not allow him to attend. Instead, he sent Brigadier General Charles O’Hara. O’Hara was to present the sword of surrender to Rochambeau, but Rochambeau refused it. He shook his head indicating no and then pointed to Washington. O’Hara offered it to Washington, but he also refused to accept it and motioned to his second in command, Benjamin Lincoln.

  Benjamin Lincoln had been humiliated by the British at Charleston, and it was an opportunity for some payback to the British for that action. At Yorktown, the arrogant British had asked for the traditional honors of war. This consisted of marching out with their dignity, their British flags waving, their weapons shouldered and playing an American tune as a tribute to the victors. Washington reminded them that when the British had seized Charleston earlier in the war, they had refused the Americans, under Benjamin Lincoln, the same privilege. With that, Washington adamantly denied their request. Consequently, the British troops marched forward before Benjamin Lincoln with flags furled and muskets reversed in shame. They laid down their arms in between the French and American armies.

  Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull.

  According to record, the French casualties were 60 killed and 194 wounded, and the American casualties were 28 killed and 107 wounded. The British suffered a far greater loss, with 156 killed, 326 wounded and 70 missing. Cornwallis surrendered 7,087 officers and enlisted men in Yorktown and 840 sailors from the British fleet in the York River. Another 84 prisoners had been taken during the assault on the British defenses on October 16. Since only 70 men were reported as missing, this would suggest that 14 of the men officially marked down as “killed” had, in fact, been captured. This gives a total of 142 killed, 326 wounded prisoners and 7,685 others taken as prisoners by the combined Continental armies. An additional 214 artillery pieces, thousands of muskets, twenty-four transport ships and numerous wagons and horses were captured. With this decisive victory, Great Britain began negotiations with the United States, which resulted in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

  Ironically, the USS Yorktown (CV-10) is not the only haunted Yorktown Museum. Apparently her namesake’s museum is also. Paranormal manifestations of what are believed to be the spirits of Augustine Moore Jr., John Turner and John Turner’s wife started making their appearances after the Park Service fully restored the Moore House Museum to its eighteenth-century decor.

  In the parlor, there has been a depression in a red velvet chair, as if someone was sitting there. Sheets on the bed in the master bedroom have been found with indentations, as if someone had been sleeping in the bed, and sheets on the beds in the bedrooms on the second floor also look as if someone had slept in them.

  Tour guides showing groups around the home have felt that they were being accompanied by an unseen, friendly presence overseeing their tour, much like the Patriots Point staff experience.

  THE FIRST USS YORKTOWN: 1839

  The first ship to carry the name Yorktown for the United States Navy was a sixteen-gun sloop-of war. Her primary duty was patrolling the Pacific and also confronting the slave trade industry in Africa’s waters. She was first launched in 1839, and as she patrolled the Pacific, her mission was to protect the United States’ interests in ocean commerce and also in the whaling industry.

  In 1844, she patrolled the west coast of Africa in an effort to enforce the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807. This law was enacted by Congress on March 2, 1807. The new United States federal law banned new slaves from being collected and imported into the United States. It took effect in 1808, the earliest date permitted by the Constitution of the United States, adopted twenty years earlier in 1787. The United States Constitution had prevented Congress from interfering or regulating the importation of slaves until that date.

  As the date for enacting the law approached, many states increased their efforts in the slave trade. When the date finally arrived, the act made illegal the U.S.-based transatlantic slave trade, even though smuggling continued long afterward. Slavery, unfortunately, continued in the United States until the end of the Civil War. Once the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, the act of slavery was abolished, but that was many, many years away. Until then, it was the duty of the original USS Yorktown to enforce the 1807 act prohibiting collection and importation.

  USS Yorktown ranged up and down the west coast of Africa. Her patrols went as far south as Cape Town and Cape Colony, as she attempted to curtail the slave trade. In the course of her patrols, the sloop captured three slave ships—the Pons, Panther and Patuxen.

  On September 6, 1850, she struck an uncharted reef about a mile off the northern coast of Maio Island in the Cape Verde Islands. Once stranded, the ship broke up in a very short amount of time, but not a single life was lost in the wreck.

  The crew of USS Yorktown evacuated to Maio Island and lived there for a little over a month. The crew did little more than relax. The most energy they expended was racing donkeys. The donkeys ran wild on Maio Island, and the crew would entertain themselves by capturing them and holding the races. In fact, this activity continues on the island even today.

  On October 8, 1850, the USS Dale arrived to pick up the crew, and they were transferred to the USS Portsmouth, which sailed for Norfolk, arriving in December 1850.

  USS YORKTOWN (PG-1)

  The second ship to bear the name Yorktown was a steel-hulled gunboat. She was the lead ship of her class and helped usher in the new era of steel-hulled ships within the United States. She was launched in 1888.

  In 1899, she took part in the Philippine–American War, and in the following year, she was involved in the Boxer Rebellion. After three years out of commission from 1903 to 1906, USS Yorktown (PG-1) hosted the secretary of the navy on board when he greeted the Great White Fleet on its arrival in San Francisco in May 1907. The Great White Fleet was a nickname given to the U.S. fleet at this time, due to its hulls being painted white. Over the next five years, most of USS Yorktown (PG-1)’s time was spent in patrols in Alaska and duty in Latin American ports.

  Through World War I, USS Yorktown (PG-1) continued in the same role, until she departed for the East Coast of the United States in April 1918. She served as an escort for one convoy headed to Halifax in August 1918 and remained in coastal escort duties in the east until January 1919. After arrival at San Diego, California, a month later, she never left. She was decommissioned in June 1919, and she was sold in 1921 and broken up in Oakland sometime later that year.

  USS YORKTOWN (CV-5)

  The first United States aircraft carrier to bear the name Yorktown was commissioned in 1937. She quickly proved her worth in military maneuvers and also in neutrality patrols prior to the United St
ates formally entering World War II.

  On April 20, 1941, she departed Pearl Harbor in the company of the destroyers USS Warrington (DD-383), USS Somers (DD-381) and USS Jouett (DD-396). From that moment until the United States entered World War II, she conducted four Atlantic patrols and logged some 17,642 miles while enforcing America’s neutrality.

  At this point, America had remained neutral in the conflict, and Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, had forbidden his submarines, known as U-boats, to attack American ships. American naval vessels patrolling the Atlantic, unaware of this policy, still remained alert and cautious.

  USS Yorktown (CV-5).

  On October 28, 1941, while the USS Yorktown (CV-5), the battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) and other American warships were performing screening maneuvers for a convoy, an American destroyer picked up a submarine contact. Depth charges were dropped in an effort to destroy the U-boat while the convoy made an emergency turn. For the moment, the convoy seemed to have avoided danger, but that afternoon, engine repairs to one of the ships, the Empire Pintail, greatly reduced the convoy’s speed.

  That night, the ships again intercepted strong and clear radio signals indicating that German U-boats were in the vicinity. The commander of the escort force, Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, sent a destroyer to sweep behind the convoy to locate, depth charge and destroy the U-boat.