As a hazard adjacent to a major shipping route, it is likely that hundreds of catastrophic maritime events have occurred within the vicinity of Wimble Shoals over the past 400 years. Within the survey area, around 24 well-documented shipwrecking events have been identified to have occurred within or near the area. The identified vessels wrecked predominantly during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Below are brief histories of some of these vessels.
Annie E. Blackman: 28 October 1889
A coal and lumber schooner, Annie E. Blackman, was built in 1883 in Goshen, New Jersey. The schooner transported goods throughout the eastern seaboard from Jacksonville, Florida, all the way to Portsmouth, Maine. After six years, the schooner began experiencing marine accidents. In September, the schooner grounded off Massachusetts. The vessel was refloated and continued its voyage. Only a month later, tragedy struck. While transporting coal between Philadelphia and Jacksonville, the vessel became stuck in a storm. The vessel, unable to escape the threatening weather, was driven towards shore and cast sideways. All the crew, except the captain, drowned in the stormy seas. The captain, wearing a cork life-belt, floated through New Inlet and attached himself to a telephone pole and kept moving through the night to maintain circulation. At dawn, the captain spotted the life station and made his way to safety. 1
Sue Williams: 17 March 1890
Crafted of oak, chestnut, and pine, the three-masted schooner Sue Williams was constructed in 1883 in New York. The schooner was based in New York before moving to Richmond, Virginia, at the end of its seven-year career. Sue Williams hauled cargo consisting of phosphate rock, ice, and coal along the eastern seaboard. Avoiding any major incidents throughout its career, the schooner succumbed to the seas in March 1890. While transporting phosphate rock from Charleston to Richmond, the schooner was driven ashore at Chicamacomico, North Carolina. The crew of the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station rescued the schooner’s crew. A wrecking steamer, J.D. Jones, was dispatched from Norfolk to strip the vessel, but were unable to as the hull had already completely broken up. 2
Nathaniel Lank: 23 January 1891
Built in Delaware in 1883, the schooner Nathaniel Lank had an eight-year career based out of Wilmington, Delaware. The schooner participated in the trade of stone, phosphate rock, pilings, brick, cement, and lumber. It made stops along the U.S. East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. Nathaniel Lank suffered various collisions over its career, including a collision with USS Constellation in New Hampshire. In January 1891, the schooner departed Guyana on its finally voyage loaded with sugar from St. Thomas. Six days after departure, the vessel was stranded off North Carolina. Nathaniel Lank ran aground within 200 yards of shore at the midpoint between the Chicamacomico and Gull Shoals Life Saving Stations. Both crews arrived and, after a few attempts, successfully deployed the shot line to the vessel with a breeches buoy attached. All the crew, except the captain, were successfully rescued from the sinking schooner. The captain, who chose to climb into the rigging of the mizzenmast, was unable to reach the jibboom. He was swept overboard as the vessel sank. 3
Henry Norwell: 8 July 1896
Built initially as a schooner in 1873 in Maine, Henry Norwell was converted into a barkentine in 1877 following damaged sustained in an accident in Liverpool. The schooner/bark had an illustrious 23-year career, sailing between Europe and the Americas. These voyages created a varied cargo throughout its career including sugar, molasses, lumber, and cotton. In July 1896, the bark met its end. While sailing in ballast from New York to Brunswick, Georgia, the vessel encountered a heavy squall and stranded along Hatteras Island within proximity to shore. As the wreck occurred during the off season for the Life Saving Service, a crew was quickly assembled for rescue. They sent a line to the vessel. A chair was attached to the line, and the crew pulled themselves to shore. The vessel was deemed a total loss, as it broke in two almost immediately following the rescue of the crew. 4
George L. Fessenden: 26 April 1898
Constructed in Maine in 1874, the schooner George L. Fessenden had a 24-year career. It transported a variety of cargo around the eastern seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. The cargo varied from crushed stone and coal to ice and molasses. The schooner experienced several misfortunate events including the loss of a cargo of molasses during a storm in 1877. The loss of George L. Fessenden was peculiar. Transporting a cargo of crushed stone from Philadelphia to Southport, the schooner immediately put into Hampton Roads for unknown reasons. It left and continued its voyage. It was soon spotted by a passing steamer, which noted it was anchored in the Wimble Shoals area and was missing its foremast head and was flying a distress signal. The schooner requested a tow but refused to leave the vessel. Without taking help, the schooner with crew aboard remained on the shoal with a storm raging. Four of seven crew members drowned as the schooner grounded, while the life-saving crews tried to rescue the stranded crew. The three rescued crew men did not know anything about their fellow seamen, even their names. 5
Alfred Brabrook: 7 March 1899
A Maine-built centerboard schooner, Alfred Brabrook was completed in 1873 from oak and yellow pine and ported in Tauton, Massachusetts. For 26 years, the schooner transported cargo such as coal, ice, and lumber predominantly between New England and the Chesapeake Bay area. The schooner occasionally ventured further including to Mexico and ports along the Gulf of Mexico and southeast portion of the United States. The schooner’s career came to an end in March 1899. While transporting ice from Maine to Charleston, South Carolina, the vessel went ashore in a heavy gale along Hatteras Island. The crew of Alfred Brabrook was rescued from the sinking vessel using the breeches buoy. 6
Governor Ames. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress. Download larger version (jpg, 7.7 MB).
Governor Ames: 13 December 1909
The first five-masted schooner on the eastern seaboard, Governor Ames was completed in Maine in 1888. The schooner, crafted with a coal-carrying capacity of 3,000 tons, was designed for transport between Baltimore and Philadelphia. The schooner’s maiden voyage was a disaster, during which the schooner lost its masts and grounded on Georges Bank. To assist in paying off the vessel, the schooner traveled first to Argentina, then to the west coast, spending five years transporting lumber along the western seaboard, and even taking a trip to Australia and Hawai’i. Upon return to the east coast, the schooner sailed to England prior to returning to New York. Governor Ames spent the rest of its career transporting lumber and coal along the eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coast. 7
Although having experienced many marine incidents throughout its career, Governor Ames scraped by until 1909. During a routine voyage between Brunswick, Georgia, and New York with a load of railroad ties, the schooner ran into rough weather and struck Wimble Shoals. The railroad ties, upon striking the shoal, broke free, crushed the lifeboat, and soon struck and killed some of the crews. The captain’s wife, who was aboard the vessel, was lashed to the mast, which immediately broke, killing her and another sailor. The seas washed across the deck, throwing the remaining sailors into the ocean. One sailor was able to latch on to a piece of wreckage and survived to tell the story of the wreck of Governor Ames. 8
Maurice R. Shaw: 15 February 1916
Maurice R. Shaw, a schooner-barge, was built in 1912 in Maryland by the Henry Deibert Building Company. It was fitted with three masts, two steam pumps, a steam engine, five hatches, a forecastle, and a deckhouse containing the pilot house and living quarters. The vessel predominantly hauled lumber throughout its career, under tow of tugs along the eastern coast. In February 1916, the schooner-barge was loaded with $95,000 of cypress lumber in Jacksonville, Florida, for Portland, Maine. Under tow of Eastern and accompanied by the barge Harry F. Hooper, the tow made it to North Carolina where it encountered a north-northeast gale with blinding snow. Harry F. Hooper was cast off, and the tug and remaining barge anchored for the night. The next morning the deck of Maurice R. Shaw had been swept clean by the seas of both cargo and crew. The tug cut loose the barge near Wimble Shoals, where it foundered near the Wimble Shoals gas buoy. The derelict vessel was spotted four days after abandonment by a passing vessel. 9
Mirlo: 16 August 1918
The steel screw steamer, Mirlo, was completed in 1917 with its sister ships in Sunderland, England, for the Norwegian shipping company Wilh. Wilhelmsen. The vessel never made it to Norway, as it was claimed by the British government for World War I. The steamer was placed under the control of H.E. Moss & Co and command handed to Captain W.R. Williams. The steamer had a bulkheads for storing its cargo petroleum and was equipped with a four-inch breech-loading gun, an accompanying British Naval gun crew, and a paravane system for antimine protection. 10
In July 1918, the steamer departed England for New Orleans to retrieve its cargo. Arriving safely, the steamer was loaded with benzol in the forward 12 cargo tanks and paraffin in the 2 aft-most cargo tanks. The tanker departed on 10 August with stops planned in Norfolk and New York before returning to London. Simultaneously, the German U-boat, U-117, was operating off the Atlantic coast laying strategic mine fields on major shipping routes and sinking ships when possible. While Mirlo was heading north along Hatteras Island, U-117 was deploying a minefield off the Wimble Shoals light buoy. 11
The afternoon of 16 August, Mirlo was sailing north when an explosion occurred in the No. 2 tank blowing up the deck. This was followed immediately by a second explosion farther aft, which set the vessel on fire at the aft end. The lifeboats were made ready and the crew departed the vessel. One lifeboat, with the captain, successfully navigated away from the burning vessel; the second also navigated away from the burning vessel, but overloaded, was unable to row and started drifting south of the vessel; the third lifeboat fouled while being deployed and sat amongst the burning waters with the crew hanging on to the overturned lifeboat. Ashore, the life-saving crew from Chicamacomico Life Saving Station launched their surfboat. After numerous attempts to navigate the surf, the surf boat made it out. They rowed directly for the now in two burning vessel and rescued six of the seamen from the flipped lifeboat, before rowing down the drifting boat and safely off-loading all 42 survivors on shore. 12
Elizabeth: 7 March 1919
Elizabeth, a screw-steamer constructed in 1904 in Wilmington, Delaware, sailed throughout the eastern seaboard. With a registered tonnage of 814, the vessel carried various cargo throughout its 44-year career. In March 1919, Elizabeth was transporting a cargo of sugar from the West Indies to New York. While off North Carolina, the steamer grounder on Wimble Shoals and began taking on water. The Wilmington Morning Star from 8 March 1919 states the steamer was “aground three miles of Whimble [sic] Shoals, North Carolina. At 8 o’clock tonight the crew was still aboard and the cargo was undamaged.” The U.S. Life Saving Service employed breeches buoys to assist the sailors. Tugs from Norfolk were also sent to assist the grounded vessel. Though never discussed, the steamer was refloated and continued its career until 1948. 13
1 U.S. Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation
1884-1890 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. U.S. Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
U.S. Life Saving Service
1892 Annual Report on the Operation of the US Life Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 189-190.
2 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1884-1889 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
New York Herald
1890 Shipping News. New York Herald 25 March: 10. New York, NY.
1890 Shipping News. New York Herald 29 March: 10. New York, NY.
3 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1884-1890 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
U.S. Life Saving Service
1893 Annual Report on the Operation of the US Life Saving Service for fiscal year ending June 30, 1891. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 37-39.
4 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1874-1896 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
U.S. Life Saving Service
1899 Annual Report on the Operation of the US Life Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 67-68.
5 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1887-1897 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
New York Tribune
1877 Home News. New York Tribune 17 March:10. New York, NY.
U.S. Life Saving Service
1899 Annual Report on the Operation of the US Life Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 36-39.
6 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1873-1898 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
U.S. Life Saving Service
1900 Annual Report on the Operation of the US Life Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 166.
7 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1889-1909 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
New York Times
1888 The Biggest Five-Masted Vessel. New York Times 16 December:13. New York, NY.
San Francisco Call
1891 Items from Sea and Shore: Return of the Governor Ames from a Trip on the Coast. San Francisco Call 10 May:3. San Francisco, CA.
South Australian Register
1892 The Governor Ames. South Australian Register 13 July:7. Adelaide, South Australia.
The Standard
1894 Mercantile Shipping News. The Standard 5 June:7. London, England.
8 The Philadelphia Inquirer
1909 Only One Survives when Angry Waves Wreck Schooner. The Philadelphia Inquirer 26 December:1-2. Philadelphia, PA.
9 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1913-1916 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
Secretary of Commerce
1918 US Congressional Series Set, Issue 7240, 64th Congress, 2nd Session, Dec 4 1916-March 4 1917, House Documents, Vol. 114, Document 1743: Accidents caused by barges in tow. Letter from the Secretary of Commerce transmitting a summary of reports transmitted by collectors of customs and a brief statement of the action of the department in respect of accidents sustained or caused by barges while in tow through the open sea from Nov. 4 1915, the date when the act took effect, to the end of the fiscal year, June 30 1916. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
10 Lloyd’s of London
1919 Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, Vol. 1-Steamers and Motorships. Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, London.
Sir Isherwood, Joseph William
1921 Register of Vessels Built on the Isherwood System. C. Birchall, LTD, 127.
Bright, John
2017 Loss of British Tanker Mirlo Revisited: New Considerations Regarding the Vessel's Loss off the North Carolina Coast during the First World War, ACUA Underwater Archaeology Proceedings 2017, John Albertson and Frederick Hanselmann, editors. Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, Rockville, MD. 89-91.
11 Bright, John
2017 Loss of British Tanker Mirlo Revisited: New Considerations Regarding the Vessel's Loss off the North Carolina Coast during the First World War, ACUA Underwater Archaeology Proceedings 2017, John Albertson and Frederick Hanselmann, editors. Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, Rockville, MD. 2017:92.
Bearss, Edwin C.
1968 The “Mirlo” Rescue. The North Carolina Historical Review 45(4):384-398.
12 Bright, John
2017 Loss of British Tanker Mirlo Revisited: New Considerations Regarding the Vessel's Loss off the North Carolina Coast during the First World War, ACUA Underwater Archaeology Proceedings 2017, John Albertson and Frederick Hanselmann, editors. Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, Rockville, MD. 92-93.
Bearss, Edwin C.
1968 The “Mirlo” Rescue. The North Carolina Historical Review 45(4):384-398.
13 U.S. Bureau of Marine Insurance and Navigation
1905-1948 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. US Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Washington, DC.
The Wilmington Morning Star
1919 Steamer Elizabeth Leaking badly off Carolina Coast. The Wilmington Morning Star 9 March:1. Wilmington, NC.
