View source for William H. Bateman

{{short description|Sandy Hook Pilot boat}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|infobox caption=}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Pilot lore; Pilot boats Williams, Bateman, and Blunt.jpg
|Ship caption=Pilot boats Williams, Bateman, and Blunt racing for the S.S. Rhein on [[May Day]].
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship owner=John Handran
|Ship operator=John Phelan
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1867}}
|Ship name= William H. Bateman
|Ship namesake=Commodore William H. Bateman
|Ship christened= July 18, 1888
|Ship builder = [[C. & R. Poillon]] shipyard
|Ship original cost=$16,000
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= July 18, 1888
|Ship out of service= April 13, 1889
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sank
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[schooner]]
|Ship tonnage=75-tons [[Thames Measurement|TM]]<!--using Custom House not tons burden-->
|Ship length={{convert|92|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|21|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=<!--distance between ship's keel & waterline (height)-->
|Ship depth={{convert|10|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}<!--top of keel to the top of deck beam -->
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship propulsion=Sail
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament= 
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''William H. Bateman''''', a.k.a. '''''Commodore Bateman''''', was a 19th-century [[Sandy Hook Pilots|Sandy Hook]] [[pilot boat]] built in 1888 at the [[C. & R. Poillon]] shipyard in south [[Brooklyn]]. She was replaced the pilot-boat ''[[Phantom (pilot boat)|Phantom]]'' that was lost in the [[Great Blizzard of 1888]]. She was run down and sank by the [[Hamburg]] steamship ''Suevia'' in 1889.

==Construction and service ==

The pilot-boat ''William H. Bateman'', No. 11 was launched on July 18, 1888, at the [[C. & R. Poillon]] shipyard at the foot of Clinton street, in south [[Brooklyn]]. She took the place of the ill-fated pilot-boat ''[[Phantom (pilot boat)|Phantom]]''. Captain John Phelan was her commander and part owner, with pilots John Haurahan, Bernard Brady, Thomas F. Murphy, E. W. Turnure, and C. L. Sampson. She was christened the Commodore William H. Bateman. The [[baptism#Boats and ships|christening]] was done by Margie Bateman, the Commodore's 7-year-old daughter, by breaking a [[sacrifice|sacrificial]] bottle of [[champagne]] over the [[bow (ship)|bows]]. Captain Ambrose Snow, of the Board of Pilot Commissioners was in attendance. The boat was decked with a new set of [[Bunting (textile)|bunting]], a red and white flag with the name "Commodore Bateman" in large red letters. She was 92 feet long, 21 feet 9 inches beam, 10 feet depth of hold, and 75 tons burden.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74254465/commodore-bateman/|title=Commodore Bateman No. 11. Launching of the New Pilot Boat to Take the Phantom's Place.|work=The Standard Union|place=Brooklyn, New York|date=19 Jul 1888|page=4|access-date=2021-01-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/20520554/?terms=Phantom%22%2B%22John%2BHandran%22|title=A Pilot Boat Sunk. The Suevia Runs Down The Bateman, Two Men Drowned.|work=The New York Times|place=New York, New York |date=15 Apr 1889|page=5|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=limited|access-date=2020-09-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/07/19/106328619.pdf |title=A New Pilot Boat|work=The New York Times|place=New York, New York|date=19 Jul 1888|access-date=2021-03-24}}</ref>

On [[May Day]], pilot boats ''[[Mary A. Williams]]'', ''William H. Bateman'', and ''[[Edmund Blunt (pilot boat)|Edmund Blunt]]'' raced and competed for honors to reach several ocean liners coming into port off Sandy Hook. The North German Lloyd steamship, ''Rhein'' was in reach. The racing pilot boats raced to her side. The Bateman won the race by less than a dozen yards.<ref name="Lore"/>{{rp|p65}}

==End of service==

On April 13, 1889, during a dense fog, the [[Hamburg]] Line steamship ''[[Suevia (ship)|Suevia]]'' ran into the pilot-boat ''Commodore Bateman'', No. 11 and sank her off [[Georges Bank]], [[Cape Cod]]. Pilot John Handran and the cook Henry Halford were drowned trying to escape the sinking boat. Others on the pilot-boat were saved and taken on board the ''Suevia''. John Handran's son James Handran was lost on the ''[[Phantom (pilot boat)|Phantom]]''. The Bateman's original cost was $16,000.<ref name="Lore">
{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Edward L.|date=1922|title=Pilot Lore From sail to Steam|url=https://archive.org/details/pilotlorefromsai00unit/page/n17/mode/2up?q=Bateman |location=New York|publisher=The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations|page=35}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74257235/sank/|title=Hit by a Falling Mast. Pilot Handran Killed On The Commodore Bateman. |work=Times Union| place=Brooklyn, New York| access-date=2020-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74252341/suevia/ |title=Cut Down By The Suevia. The Pilot-Boat Bateman Sunk Off Nantucket.|work=New-York Tribune |place=New York, New York|date=15 Apr 1889|page=1|access-date=2021-03-24}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{1889 shipwrecks}}
{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats|state=collapsed}}