Artifact of the Month
Souvenir Wall Hanging, USAT Logan c. 1910.
USAT Logan c. 1910.
This wall hanging is a souvenir purchased by a mariner to commemorate his voyage to Asia aboard the Unites States Army Transport (USAT) Logan. A photograph of the individual was usually placed in the now empty rectangle in the middle of the hanging. Sailors in the U.S. Navy today follow a similar tradition by purchasing jackets that commemorate voyages.
One of the early ships of the Army Transport Service, the Logan made regular runs with supplies and replacement troops from San Francisco to Manila. She would then sail to Hong Kong for coaling, to Japan, and then back to San Francisco.
The ship was originally launched January 28, 1892, by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland, for the Atlantic Transport Line. In June 1898 it was sold to the U.S. Government for service as a transport during the Spanish-American War and renamed the USAT Logan. The ship was sold to a private company in 1923 and scrapped the next year.