54:
28:
295:, being a smaller ship, was able to move about the wreckage and pull survivors off the rigging and masts. Two of the survivors were unconscious; Second Lieutenant John U. Rhodes saved them by tying himself to a rope and swimming to the wreck. Even after being hit with a piece of wreckage, he continued, climbing the rigging to bring the men back to safety. The
268:
smacked against the reef. Wright attempted in vain to free the ship. Attempts to use the sails only pushed the boat further into the reef. After these attempts he decided to go over the “obstruction”. This just made things worse. The captain gathered the 87 passengers from below and was in the midst
281:
Native
Americans braved the waves in two lifeboats to save passengers that had held on. The sea was so rough that the Wampanoags' feared approaching the steamer would cause their own boat to get smashed, so they called to the men to dive off the rigging and come to the lifeboats. Most of those who
276:
only to have the ocean waves smash them against the iron sides of the ship. One actually made it to land with four survivors; the other was later found awash, with one survivor, a sea captain who was revived. Passengers and crew attempted to stay afloat in the rough seas by holding onto the rigging
263:
s bridge in the hands of his Second Mate Edward
Harding and went below to sleep. While off Martha's Vineyard at 3:45 am on January 18, the lookout yelled to the second mate that the Devil’s Bridge buoy was off the port bow rather than where it should have appeared off the starboard bow just before
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of explaining their situation when a rush of water into the cabin forced all to the top deck, where a giant wave struck the boat and swept all women and children, and many of the men, into the frozen waters.
299:
had left Boston with 45 officers and crew and 87 passengers, only 17 crew members and 12 passengers survived the ordeal. This incident was reported as one of the worst ocean disasters of its time.
264:
the ship struck a double ledge of submerged rocks. Harding ordered the
Quartermaster, Roderick A. McDonald, to go port followed by Captain Wright's order to "hard port" and once again the
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left Boston with a crew of 45 under the command of
Captain Schuler E. Wright. Wright was very familiar with the area as he had made numerous trips through the reefs and sound of
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402:"History of Gay Head Light, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts", New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide, newenglandlighthouses.net website
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223:, in the early hours of January 18, 1884. She was owned by Boston & Savannah Steamship Company and was built in 1878 by
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The shipwreck was later purchased by the Boston
Towboat Company in 1886, and some parts were salvaged.
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384:"Chronicle of the week – Abroad", The Week, 24 Jan 1884, volume 1, issue 8, p 126
27:
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of the ship. Lighthouse keeper
Horiatio N. Pease and a complement of Gay Head
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876:
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375:"City of Columbus", Hunting New England Shipwrecks, Wreckhunter.net website
411:
434:
The Week: A Canadian
Journal of Politics, Literature, Science and Arts
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Ships built by the
Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works
16:"City of Columbus" redirects here. For cities of the same name, see
520:
291:, skippered by Captain Eric Gabrielson, came to their aid. The
474:"History of Gay Head Light, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts"
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The rescue effort was then continued when the revenue cutter
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The Coast Guard
Expands, 1865–1915: New Roles, New Frontiers
796:
556:
115:Ran aground January 18, 1884 on Devil's Bridge off
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225:Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works
87:Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works
323:King cites 3:15 am as the time of the grounding
501:. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland.
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282:attempted this were saved by the Natives.
179:auxiliary sails on two masts, fore and aft
549:Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1884
478:New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide
336:
316:
215:ran aground on Devil's Bridge off the
203:45 officers and men (January 18, 1884)
22:
939:Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast
272:Two lifeboats were launched from the
50:
7:
924:Passenger ships of the United States
480:. Newenglandlighthouses.net website
77:Boston & Savannah Steamship Co.
949:Maritime incidents in January 1884
14:
251:On January 17, 1884, the steamer
430:"Chronicle of the week – Abroad"
52:
26:
914:Steamships of the United States
195:200 passengers, 2500 tons cargo
458:Hunting New England Shipwrecks
1:
171:1500 hp compound steam engine
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15:
847:
460:. Wreckhunter.net website
122:
45:
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493:King, Irving H. (1996).
412:City of Columbus (+1884)
919:Aquinnah, Massachusetts
690:Washington (pilot boat)
259:. The captain left the
235:made regular runs from
221:Aquinnah, Massachusetts
163:26 ft (7.9 m)
147:275 ft (84 m)
123:General characteristics
100:June 19, 1878
209:The passenger steamer
155:38 ft (12 m)
40:Schell and Hogan, 1884
890:41.36000°N 70.84861°W
440:(8): 126. 24 Jan 1884
237:Boston, Massachusetts
229:Chester, Pennsylvania
91:Chester, Pennsylvania
895:41.36000; -70.84861
886: /
35:and Revenue Cutter
454:"City of Columbus"
944:Martha's Vineyard
869:
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763:Christina Nilsson
508:978-1-55750-458-6
261:City of Columbus'
257:Martha's Vineyard
241:Savannah, Georgia
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117:Martha's Vineyard
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217:Gay Head Cliffs
168:Installed power
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18:Columbus#Places
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482:. Retrieved
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462:. Retrieved
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442:. Retrieved
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136:Tons burthen
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893: /
929:1878 ships
908:Categories
881:70°50′55″W
878:41°21′36″N
727:Tallapoosa
557:Shipwrecks
484:4 November
464:4 November
393:King, p 65
139:2,200 tons
104:1878-06-19
834:SMS
823:Lancaster
821:USS
725:USS
654:Rochester
414:Wrecksite
331:Citations
311:Footnotes
279:Wampanoag
176:Sail plan
810:Goefredo
606:Goefredo
570:Clarence
444:25 April
192:Capacity
131:2250 grt
97:Launched
806:27 Jan:
759:24 Oct:
747:22 Sep:
739:Fenella
722:24 Aug:
710:23 Aug:
698:23 Aug:
674:27 Jul:
666:Gravina
662:10 Jul:
650:25 Jun:
638:18 May:
626:10 May:
602:26 Feb:
594:Advance
590:11 Feb:
578:18 Jan:
566:17 Jan:
187:12.5 kt
128:Tonnage
102: (
83:Builder
46:History
860:1885 →
853:← 1883
836:Sophie
831:3 Sep:
818:2 Aug:
735:9 Sep:
714:Yangwu
702:Fuxing
686:2 Aug:
618:Herald
614:1 Apr:
505:
293:Dexter
288:Dexter
144:Length
37:Dexter
783:Unkn:
771:Unkn:
642:Syria
306:Notes
227:, at
184:Speed
160:Draft
73:Owner
775:Ohio
751:Wasp
503:ISBN
486:2013
466:2013
446:2013
200:Crew
152:Beam
112:Fate
62:Name
239:to
219:in
65:SS
910::
476:.
456:.
436:.
432:.
339:^
243:.
231:.
89:,
540:e
533:t
526:v
511:.
488:.
468:.
448:.
438:1
106:)
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
