“The Kate from Branch”
Description
Kate out of Branch, at anchor five miles out, is run down at night by Royalist, "an English man-o'-war that's bound for St John's town" The crew is lost and one body is found drifting, and the news and body taken to his parents at Salmonier
Notes
The outports named, Branch, St Mary's, and Salmonier, are around St Mary's Bay on the south shore of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. I cannot find any record of the sinking.
The following information is quoted by permission from Michael Phillips (see the Maritime History site by Michael Phillips and Jane Phillips): "I include the career and list of captains for the first three Royalists in my sailing ship history and none of them visited Canada. The most likely candidate is number four which was a wooden, single screw, steam sloop, with sails, which was launched in December 1861 and broken up in 1875. She spent 1863-67 and 1868-72 on the North American and West Indies station with Cdr. Nelson '65-'66 and Cdr. Jones '68-'69.... [According to the Navy Lists] no officer named Butler ever served in Royalist, the only name that could sound vaguely similar is Cdr. Bateman who commanded her in the 1870s after Jones.... The fifth Royalist, 1883-1923, served in Africa and Australia." - BS
References
- Lehr/Best 64, "The Kate from Branch" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, LeBe064