THE SINKING OF THE TUSCANIA

The significance of this picture to the 148th Field Artillery Regiment is that the Tuscania was the ship immediately following the Baltic, the ship which carried the 148th FA Regiment from the New York Harbor on January 23, 1918 to Halifax for 2 days, then to Liverpool, England, arriving in the morning of February 6.

Near the Irish coast at 6:30 PM on February 5th, from the records of the 148th came these lines: “…a report was heard from the direction of the ‘Tuscania’ and almost immediately all lights were turned on in that ill-fated ship….a submarine had accomplished its mission and two hundred American soldiers had gone to their deaths….the rule was that only the destroyers might stop for rescue work.”

This had to have had an impact on the 148th for their ship just missed being sunk and the reality of war was abruptly presented to them.

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