Along with expedition leaders Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was the corps of discovery, a specialty established unit of the United States Army. It was a diverse group. Many had previously served in the army, and a handful had valuable experience as boatmen. But only one, perhaps the most unique of the lot, was called Seaman.
On November 26, 1914 the battleship HMS Bulwark was moored in the river Medway, part of a fleet assembled in anticipation of a possible raid against London by the Imperial German fleet when, without any warning, as one witness reported, “there was a flash, a cloud of smoke, and the ship vanished.”