American Old Time Song Lyrics: 39 Wreck Of The Trenton And Vandalia

Theater, Music-Hall, Nostalgic, Irish & Historic Old Songs, Volume 39

Wreck of the Trenton and Vandalia.
By George Robertson of the C. S. S. Ranger.

Oh, shipmates, come gather and join in my ditty,
A terrible disaster to you I'll relate;
When you hear the sad news you will say 'tis a pity
About the good Trenton and Vandalia's sad fate.
On the 16th of March, the morning being cloudy,
In the harbor of Apia our good ships did lay,
When a hurricane came up, our yards we did lower-
Come, lads, man the pumps, our captain did say.

The storm doesn't relax and the day still advances,
Tons of water run down our fire-room hatch;
It put out our fires, our pumps it did choke up,
It broke our anchor chains just like a match;
The captain gave orders to take to the rigging;
For four hours there the brave sailors did stay;
The billows were rolling and the wind it was tearing,
When the good ship Trenton to our relief came at last.

Some dead and some dying, others shouting and crying,
Captain Schoonmaker, a brave man, was washed over the side.
The Nipsic she stranded, our ship we abandoned.
And the Trenton boys helped us get over her side.
Our admiral stood on the bridge full of sorrow
To see our noble ship sink 'neath the waves;
He had been in battles most fierce and most bloody,
But never before did hit heart so grieve.

Bright morning once more dawns down on Apia's harbor,
What a terrible scene of destruction it shows,
The beach it was strewn with dead bodies and wreckage-
Many hearts in America and the fatherland will mourn.
On the beach we did camp for six long weeks together,
Watching for our shipmates that we never saw more,
For the ocean had claimed them and also retained them
Until their dead bodies were drifted ashore.

So kind friends always have a kind word for a sailor,
Whose life is a hard one on the raging sea;
Were it not for them, with the aid of Columbus,
We would never be here in the land of the free.
So let us pray for the souls of the drowned sailors,
And hope that the Lord will give them their due,
And when you return to your home, you just tell them
About the brave Trenton And Vandalia's crew.