Charles Tong Sing
Charles Tong Sing | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charles Tong Sing |
| Born | Missing required parameter 1=month! Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{"., 1859 |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| Service years | 1879–1884 |
| Expeditions | |
| Awards | Silver Jeannette Medal (1890) |
Charlie Tong Sing (born 1859) was a Chinese-American Arctic explorer and recipient of the Congressional Silver Jeannette Medal.[1]
Biography
Sing was born in Guangdong around 1859. He emigrated to the United States as a young man and was working as a cook in San Francisco's Chinatown enclave when George W. De Long recruited him as a cabin steward for the Jeanette expedition in June 1879.[2]
Jeannette Expedition
Sing was one of three Chinese-Americans initially aboard the Jeannette.[3] One of the Chinese-American crew, a cabin boy, was discharged from the expedition in St. Michael, Alaska, before it entered the Arctic.[4] Sing also took on the cabin boy's duties. Sing and the other Chinese-American sailor, Ah Sam, lived in segregated quarters from the rest of the crew. In June 1881, Sing and several other members of the crew suffered from lead poisoning from the tin food containers used on the Jeannette. Despite the difficult conditions aboard the Jeannette, De Long described the cheerfulness of the Chinese-American sailors in his diary:
"Our Chinese cook and steward are as impassible and impenetrable in this cold weather as if we were enjoying a tropical spring. Seemingly emotionless, all weather, all circumstances, are alike to them. Living by themselves in the cook-house, they hold no communion with their fellow-men, but are nevertheless cheerful and contented with each other's society, singing songs or playing cards in the evening, day after day, with no concern for the future and no care for the past."
Sing was one of the thirteen survivors of the Jeannette expedition. Ah Sam died in the delta of the Lena River in autumn of 1881. Sing and the other survivors reached Yakutsk in December 1881. After traveling overland to St. Petersburg, Sing and a group of other survivors returned to the United States via steamship, arriving in New York City in May 1882. Sing travelled to Washington DC in June 1882 with other survivors to report to the US Navy on the expedition. In 1890, Sing was awarded a Congressional Silver Medal for his actions during the Jeannette expedition
Lady Franklin Bay Rescue Expedition
In 1884, Sing and fellow Jeannette survivor George W. Melville served aboard the USS Thetis as members of a relief party for the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. The rescue party succeeded in rescuing Adolphus Greely and six other members of the expedition.
Later Life
Sing served aboard the USS Tennessee. In 1914 he operated a restaurant in Davenport, Iowa.
References
- ↑ "Medals for the Jeannette Expedition". The Army and Navy Journal. 30 (8): 117. October 15, 1892.
- ↑ Hoffman, Abraham (June 1988). "Charles Tong Sing - Arctic Explorer". Gum Saan Journal. XI (1).
- ↑ Sides, Hampton (2014). In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385535373. Search this book on
- ↑ United States Navy Department (2 March 1883). Loss of the Steamer Jeannette: Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, Relative to the Loss of the Steamer Jeannette. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1883. Retrieved 2 March 2023. Search this book on
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