USS James Harrod

Photo by Carly Morris, storyteller from Kingsdown, Kent

            With the upcoming 250^th anniversary of the founding of Harrodsburg fast approaching in 2024, history has been a major topic of conversation in town. Everyone is excited about the upcoming celebration, but did you know Harrodsburg recently, by six degrees of separation, had a 75^th anniversary celebration?

            The SS James Harrod was a Liberty cargo ship named for the founder of Harrodsburg and was built in 1943. This war craft was constructed of steel and was a steam-powered vessel. The Harrod was operated by Sudden and Christenson, Inc., a West Coast shipping firm. Its call sign was KKRQ.

            Liberty ships carried a crew of about 44 and 12 to 25 Naval Armed Guards. The SS James Harrod was 441 feet long and 56 feet wide. She had a three-cylinder, reciprocating steam engine, fed by two oil-burning boilers produced 2,500 hp and a speed of 11 knots. She had five holds and could carry over 9,000 tons of cargo, plus airplanes, tanks, and locomotives lashed to its deck. A Liberty ship could carry 2,840 jeeps, 440 tanks, or 230 million rounds of rifle ammunition. A Liberty ship cost just under $2 million and was built in four and a half days using parts prefabricated throughout the country in 250-ton sections.

The Harrod was launched March 2, 1943 at Portland, Oregon by the Oregon Shipbuilding Company, its 144^th Liberty Ship completed during World War II. At the launching program, a telegram was read from Mayor pro-tem Tom Squifflet, acting while Mayor Maurice Watts was serving in the Navy. The telegram carried the appreciation of the citizens of Harrodsburg for the ship’s name and expressed good wishes for the crew and the hope of a useful future for the gallant ship.

Photo by Carly Morris, storyteller from Kingsdown, Kent

            Returning from its maiden voyage, the commander of the ship; wrote that the “James Harrod” had made a splendid record, and the entire crew was proud of the ship’s action. No further news of the ship was received until Harrodsburg Herald Editor D. M. Hutton received a business letter from Adolph A. Hoehling, head of an aviation news service in Washington, D. C., and author of The Fighting Liberty Ships:

“Incidentally, you may be interested in the fate of the SS James Harrod, named after the founder of Harrodsburg. I was in command of the gun crew on the ships last voyage. We collided and burned in the North Sea, January 16, 1945. We lost four men.”

The naval liberty ship, SS James Harrod, had collided with the SS Raymond B. Stevens on January 16, 1945 and burned in the North Sea. The Harrod exploded, burnt, and grounded near Deal Castle, after colliding with the Stevens. Upon collision, the Harrod was beached off Kingsdown by tugs. After the crew were removed, she blew off northward until she stranded on Malm Rocks and broke in two.

The SS James Harrod was carrying a cargo of 80-octane gasoline in GI tins – five gallons each – for a total of 9,200 tons. Much of her cargo was salvaged despite the fire. Some of the damaged ship can still be found on site. Her stern lies at 51 12.59N, 01 24.38E. Her fore section was abandoned on Blythe Sands and was later refloated and laid up in the River Blackwater. In 1946 the bow was removed and scuttled with German gas weapons on board.

Photo by Carly Morris, storyteller from Kingsdown, Kent

As Armed Guard Officer, Hoehling was assigned to lead the gun crew on merchant ships. Beginning in December 1943 he began a series of voyages that took him to India, Singapore, Mozambique, Italy, and Algeria, as well as various ports of the United Kingdom and the United States. After a time on this first ship, he was transferred to a T-2 tanker, in which he made several voyages (including one through a powerful hurricane in which she nearly foundered) before being transferred to the SS James Harrod. This was his last ship before retirement.

Hoehling’s account of his adventures in his book, The Fighting Liberty Ships, include the relationships between gun crews and merchant crews (the former was usually viewed as hindrances by the latter), and between himself as officer and the typical cross-section of American soldier under his command. The chapters dealing with the destruction of the Harrod are moving and at times disquieting. The personal narrative is well-framed by frequent brief segments summarizing events in the land and sea conflicts and supported by an impressive bibliography.

“About 0100 on 16 January the vessel passed Dover and proceeded into the Downs toward the Southern Anchorage, Ransgate. Weather had cleared then and visibility was 3 miles or better. Wind was negligible. A strong current of about 4 knots, was setting from the Southwest”

Suddenly at 0125 the Harrod collided with an anchored vessel. The bow of the second Liberty ship scraped half the length of the Harrod’s starboard, shearing off all life rafts and boats, finally crunching into an after-cargo hold. Why the current had not pushed the Harrod away from the other ship would remain a mystery - yet one more mystery surrounding James Harrod.

“Flames … quickly towered to a great height, accompanied by explosions as the tins of gasoline went up individually. Some of the cans popped out into the water on the starboard side … causing a pool of flame on the water.”

Photo from 75th anniversary memorial

Some of the shattered Harrod’s cargo (from forward holds) would be salvaged for service in the war’s final days. As a matter of fact, at the writing of this article, there is a sterling silver box from the wreckage for sell on eBay. It is engraved with the words, “Mrs. Erven F. Murphy, Sponsor of SS James Harrod, on March 3, 1943, built by Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation for the United States Maritime Commission.” This appears to have been a gift to Mrs. Murphy for being a sponsor during the building of the ship. Asking price, $895.

I am lucky enough to have a Facebook friend, Carly Morris, who lives near Deal Kent, UK. She contacted me and then the James Harrod Trust about the 75^th anniversary memorial that was held on January 16, 2020. She also sent along some photographs. The information at the memorial states:

“It was in the early hours of the 16^th of January 1935, that the SS James Harrod anchored up for an overnight stop in the waters of the English Channel. There was a very strong tide and the anchor could not hold the bottom, setting it on a collision course with the Liberty ship SS Raymond B. Stevens. Both were carrying dangerous cargo for the war effort. The Harrod was carrying thousands of containers of fuel which ignited on impact killing four navy armed guards. The ship burned for a few days before it ran aground off Deal in Kent.”

The deaths are recorded at Cambridge American cemetery in the UK are as follows:

·         Graydon Edward Taylor, Gunners mate 3^rd class, age 22 from Everett, Boston – repatriated. At rest at Greenwood Cemetery.

·         Walter T. Porter, from South Natick, Massachusetts. He is buried in the Americans Cemetery, Cambridge, UK.

·         James F. Ricketts, First class from Homer, Louisiana, son of Mary Lou. James was the third son of Mary to be lost to war. James is recorded as Missing in Action.

·         Paul R. Thompson, Seaman first class. From Greensboro, North Carolina. Recorded as Missing in Action.

Both Ricketts and Thompson are remembered on memorial tablets in Cambridge.

Photo by Carly Morris, storyteller from Kingsdown, Kent

Did James Harrod Have A Half-Sister?

          In issue number 173 of the Harrodsburg Historical Society’s Old Towne Ledger (July-August 2019), there was a retyped article from The Harrodsburg Herald, Friday, September 3, 1926, “Photo of James Harrod’s Half-Sister”. There was also a photo of Polly Brown, who was born in Fort Harrod June 17, 1783; it listed her parents as Samuel Brown and Susan Bacon Brown, and a half-sister of James Harrod. Pretty exciting, right?

            For most people who only know the basic about James Harrod’s history in Harrodsburg, they will automatically link Polly and James, which will lead to no further research on the matter. However, as a local historian, I have spent the last two years researching and reading articles, reports, books, diaries, anything with the smallest scrap of information about James Harrod. Here is my theory concerning this article.

            James Harrod, the 1774 founder of Harrodsburg, did not have a half-sister. He did, however, have two older stepbrothers, Thomas and John Jr. Harrod. His father, John, came from England about 1734, probably in search of a better life for himself, wife Caroline Downey and two sons. It was a hard life and Harrod’s father soon became a young widower, when Native Americans came, killed his wife Caroline, and burned their Pennsylvania home. Thankfully, the two young boys were rescued by neighbors.

John Harrod knew he needed to find a new wife to care for his sons, so when he moved to the Shenandoah Valley, he soon married Sarah Moore, daughter of James Moore and Frances Gay. The couple went on to have four sons - Samuel, William, James, and Levi – and six daughters – Nellie, Rachel, Mary, Sallie, Elizabeth, and Jemima.

One source states James was twelve years old when his father died in 1754, but others state he was not quite ten years old. Considering the varying range of James Harrod’s birthday, 1742 to 1746, it’s hard to know exactly how old he really was when his father died, but we do know that his mother never remarried, and she never lived at Fort Harrod.

The only way James Harrod could have a half-sister is: 1.) if his father remarried and had more children, or 2.) if his mother remarried and had more children. Historians show us that Harrod’s father and mother were still married until 1754, so this fact contradicts the first statement. Harrod’s mother never remarried, she had no children out of wedlock, and her name was Sarah not Susan.

James Harrod only lived at Fort Harrod during the worst of the Native American attacks of 1776 through late 1778. By spring of 1779, Harrod had fortified his new Harrod Station at Boiling Springs in Danville, Kentucky. Though no exact description exists, it is said Harrod’s Station was several cabins surrounded by a stockade. Also living at Harrod’s Station during this time were Samuel and Margaret Coburn (Ann Harrod’s parents) and her brother, James Coburns family; the families of Henry Prathers and Isaac Pritchards; Jacob Kelly and several of Harrod’s nephews, one his namesake, James Harrod.

So far, I have not had luck in researching the nephew, James Harrod, or Polly Brown or Samuel Brown and Susan Bacon Brown. Realistically, it is possible for the nephew to have a half-sister, but I’m not able to verify this.

James Harrod’s brother, William, had a son named James who died before 1814, but I can find no information on how old he was. This is probably the nephew James Harrod that lived at Boiling Springs.  Harrod’s older stepbrother, Thomas, had a son named James Harrod, who married a lady named Elizabeth Stewart. I have been unable to find any more information on these two people. Harrod’s nephew, Levi Jr., also had a son named James Harrod, who was born September 3, 1808, which makes this James Harrod too young. Harrod’s nephew William Jr., also had a son named James Harrod, but again, this Harrod is too young.

Susan Bacon was born when her mother, Mrs. Harrod Bacon, was 50 years old and was attended by her three half-sisters. The name of Samuel Brown appears in numerous militia lists, but I’ve been unable to find any personal information. Samuel Brown married Susan Bacon and they had several children, including a girl named Polly who was born in Harrodsburg on June 17, 1787. Polly married William Campbell, born August 1776 and died February 10, 1832.

Polly Brown Campbell moved to Switzerland, Indiana in 1813 and she died there on September 4, 1869. I have searched in all the available records I could access locally and, on the internet, but I will need to make a trip to the Switzerland County Historical Society to find more information on Polly. The back of the Polly Brown photo from the Harrodsburg Herald article states: “Polly Brown, born Fort Harrodsburg KY. June 17^th, 1783. Lived there until 1787 married Wm. Campbell June 17, 1800. Parents were Samuel Brown and Susan Bacon Brown, she was a ½ sister of Jas. Harrod. They moved to Switz. Co. Ind. In 1813. Polly Campbell died 1869.”                                                                      

To summarize, Harrodsburg founder James Harrod did not have a half-sister. He did have two nephews named James Harrod, but the trail has gone cold on any personal information about them. I have listed above the little information I found on Samuel and Susan Bacon Brown. I will keep the Harrodsburg Historical Society updated on any new information I can uncover.