At 0530 on 8 October 1916, wireless reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the Lightship Nantucket, off the eastern end of Long Island. After an SOS from the British steamer was received at about 1230, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves ordered "Winslow" and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors. The American destroyers arrived on the scene about 1700 when the U-boat, under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Hans Rose, was in the process of stopping the Holland-America Line cargo ship . Shortly after, "U-53" stopped the British passenger ship . As Rose had done with three other ships "U-53" had sunk earlier in the day, he gave passengers and crew aboard "Blommersdijk" and "Stephano" adequate time to abandon the ships before sinking the pair. In total, 226 survivors from "U-53"s five victims were rescued by the destroyer flotilla.