Steamer Alfred Thomas ~ 10 March 1867

Alfred Thomas

Schooner Benjamin M. Wallace ~ 26 March 1904

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904:

At 10.20 p.m. the N. patrol from Chicamacomico discovered this vessel ashore, fired two Coston signals to inform her that assistance was at hand, and then reported the facts to the station. The keeper telephoned the adjoining stations, New Inlet and Gull Shoal, then proceeded to the scene of the wreck with the crew, transporting the surfboat by wagon. The vessel had struck the beach in the vicinity of the N. Patrol house, but was now driving along the shore to the northward. She was followed by the Chicamacomico and New Inlet crews until about midnight, when she sank, about 1-1/2 miles S. of New Inlet and 300 yards off the beach. The three crews working together launched the surfboat, which proceeded to the wrecked vessel and it was found that the hull was under water and abandoned. The surfmen then pulled seaward, and made signals to notify the crew of the abandoned vessel that search was being made for them; these were soon answered by blasts of a fog horn, and about ½ mile distant 16 men, in four dories, were found. The dories were anchored, and the men with their clothing were taken into the surfboat and landed through the breakers. They were then taken to the New Inlet station and sheltered for three days. The next morning the crews of the New Inlet and Chicamacomico stations landed the dories which were left at anchor the previous night.

Newspaper Article:
New York Times, March 28, 1904

Schooner Florence ~ 5 January 1884

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884:

During the severe northeasterly gale and snow storm of January 5, the patrol of the Chicamicomico Station (6th District), North Carolina, discovered at half past 3 in the afternoon the schooner Florence, of Baltimore, MD, from Beaufort, NC, bound to Norfolk, VA, with a cargo of guano, stranded near the beach. He immediately notified the station crew, and the beach apparatus was run down opposite the vessel. The hawser was sent on board and the gear rigged. One of the surf men was sent on board to direct the operations, and the four persons comprising the vessel’s crew were soon handed and conducted to the station. Part of the crews of the New Inlet and Gull Shoal Stations (all the same district) assisted the Chicamicomico crew in working the gear. The vessel became a complete wreck. The following testimonial was received by the keeper of the station:

I was 8 miles north of Whale’s Head on January 5th, when at 8 a.m. the gale came, with a heavy snow; the wind being north by east, I had to send down the shore, and stranded at Chicamicomico. We had all the assistance any station could give, and were taken to the station, where we were treated with all the respect due any one and well cared for by all. John E. Ireland, Master of Schooner Florence

Steamer James Woodall ~ 12 January 1896

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896:

Stranded in hazy weather, about 8 p.m., on New Inlet outer bar. Patrolman burned his Coston signal, which was answered by the vessel’s whistle, and promptly informed the station. Keeper notified the Pea Island and Chicamicomico stations, requesting the latter to send crew and mules to his aid. The New Inlet crew proceeded to the scene with their beach apparatus, but vessel was found to be out of range of the Lyle gun. They returned to the station for the lifeboat, and then the keepers sent up two rockets to reassure the shipwrecked men and hurry the other life saving crew. Having started with their boat they were met by the Chicamicomico crew and mules and together proceeded to a point abreast the vessel. Here another rocket was displayed, and at low water, about 10 p.m., in a heavy surf and very dark night, the lifeboat was launched, her own crew being strengthened by two of the Chicamicomico crew. Found the vessel lying broadside to the sea, rolling deeply and with the breakers sweeping her for and aft, requiring the whole strength and most skillful efforts of the crew to prevent their boat from being dashed to pieces against her. After a hard struggle got the entire crew of 10 into the lifeboat and landed them safely. The Pea Island crew were now on the beach and assisted to get lifeboat and beach apparatus to the station. On the following day brought ashore the personal effects of the shipwrecked crew. Sheltered and fed the distressed seamen for 5 days, and the mate one day longer. A small portion of perishable cargo was saved and disposed of by the captain on the beach, the keeper notifying the residents near by of the sale. The vessel proved a loss. (See letter of acknowledgement.)

NEW INLET LIFE-SAVING STATION, January 14, 1896

DEAR SIR: I take this opportunity—and it is with pleasure I do so—to express through you the gratitude and very high appreciation which I and my shipwrecked crew of the steamer James Woodall have for Captain J.H. Westcott and his brave crew of the New Inlet Life-Saving Station, assisted by the crews of the Chicamicomico and Pea Island stations, for the skill and daring which they displayed on Sunday night, the 12th instant, in rescuing us with their lifeboat from a watery grave, at the peril of their own lives, on a dark night, through heavy breakers and seas, which swept all over my steamer. Their kind and humane treatment of us while with them bespeaks for them and the Service which they represent the loudest praise and commendation. Very truly, yours, C. H. LANGE, Master Steamer James Woodall ; W.L. MESSICK, Mate ; ARCHIE KING, Chief Engineer ; ERNEST E. LANGWORTH, Assistant Engineer

Newspaper Article:
New York Times, January 14, 1896

Schooner J.W. Gaskill ~ 16 February 1891

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891:

PEA ISLAND LIFE-SAVING STATION, NORTH CAROLINA, February 18, 1891

"SIR: I desire to express through you, to the General Superintendent of the United States Life-Saving Service at Washington, D.C., my sincere thanks for the prompt assistance rendered to and the rescuing of myself and crew from the wrecked schooner J.W. Gaskill, on the 16th of February, 1891, one-quarter of a mile north of New Inlet, coast of North Carolina, by the keepers and crews of the Pea Island, Oregon Inlet, and New Inlet life saving stations. JOHN DOUGLASS, Late Master of Schooner J.W. Gaskill."

Schooner John Maxwell ~ 2 November 1912

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913:

The wreck of the schooner John Maxwell in the early morning of November 2, 1912, three-fourths of a mile southeast of the New Inlet Life Saving Station, coast of North Carolina, furnished the most serious casualty of any that occurred upon our eastern seaboard during the year within the scope of operations of the service.

     When overtaken by disaster the Maxwell, a 532-ton vessel, carrying a crew of 7 men, was on her way from Norfolk, VA, to Savannah, GA, with a cargo of coal. Capt. Fred Godfrey, her master and the only survivor, states in his testimony, given at the official investigation of the wreck, that the weather previous to the time of the stranding had been thick and rainy, and that when the vessel struck the wind was blowing about 20 miles an hour and rapidly increasing, with a rising sea. Asked as to the cause of the disaster, he declared it to have been the fault of the mate in not obeying his orders to get a cast of the lead. As all hands except the master perished his charge of disobedience made against his first officer must stand unsupported and unchallenged.

     According to Capt. Godfrey’s story of events aboard ship the above-mentioned dereliction of the mate was not the only shortcoming on the part of the latter that brought disaster upon his shipmates. The schooner had scarcely grounded before he and four of the crew, in defiance of Capt. Godfrey, abandoned her in the ship’s boat, leaving only the cook to keep the captain company. What befell the 5 men after the boat struck the water and the darkness that swallowed them up will never be known, for none of them was afterwards seen alive. Had the mate obeyed his superior officer in the second instance he might in a measure have made amends for his fatal disregard of instructions given earlier, as the master expresses the belief that, with all ands assisting, the line that was finally laid across the schooner from the beach could have been hauled out and the breeches buoy apparatus set up, thereby making possible the rescue of the entire company.

     Following the desertion of the 5 sailors, Capt. Godfrey and the cook (named Alexander Tillman) climbed into the mizzen rigging. A few moments later, namely at 3.10 a.m., the vessel was discovered by surfman P.L. O’Neal making the patrol south of the New Inlet Life Saving Station. Half an hour later the crew of the New Inlet Station (P.H. Etheridge, keeper) was abreast of the schooner with their beach apparatus. The Chicamacomico and Gull Shoal crews were soon also upon the scene, each with a surfboat, news of the stranding having been communicated to them by telephone from the station first named.

     When the New Inlet crew appeared the Maxwell lay approximately 350 yards off the beach, wind, sea, and current having worked her some distance farther in from the spot where she first struck. Keeper Etheridge at once began operations looking to a rescue by firing a No. 7 line across the forward part of the vessel. The shot proved ineffective, however. The line fouled at the shore end and broke, and the projectile carried it away. The second shot, carrying a No. 9 line, was equally well aimed, but the life savers hauled it back to the shore without feeling any answering pull from the schooner. Still a third line (a No. 9) was sent off with no better result. As it was apparent from the efforts made that nothing could be accomplished with the beach apparatus, owing to the distance to the schooner, the strong set of current southward, and the lack of cooperation aboard ship, the three station keepers decided that it would be best to discontinue operations until daylight, when it was hoped a rescue might be effected by boat.

     The wind, blowing strong when the schooner stranded, had become a full gale by dawn. The sea, also, which had risen during the latter part of the night, had become very rough. Giant waves were leaping clear over the schooner, while between her and the shore the water was a turmoil of furiously racing whitecaps. When it was sufficiently light to get a good view of the vessel, the two men on board were for the first time observed in the mizzen rigging. A shot now fired from the shore put a line within reach of them. They got hold of it and endeavored to haul off the whip, but, exhausted as they were by their long vigil, and their movements being circumscribed, moreover, by their position, their combined strength was not sufficient to overcome the united force of sea and current tugging at the line between the schooner and the shore. When it appeared that they could do nothing with the line, the life savers hauled it taut and bent on two cork lifebelts, it being plainly seen that they were without such protection. The line was cut on the beach and a signal made to the imperiled men to haul away. But the current again defeated their efforts—they could not drag even the belts through the water.

     As the work so far performed held no promise of ultimate success the life savers now turned to their boat. Eight oarsmen, picked from the three crews, were chosen for the venture, with keepers Etheridge and J.A. Midgett (the latter of the Gull Shoal Station) to handle the steering oar. It required the efforts of every keeper and surfman on the beach, supplemented by the assistance of a number of spectators, to get the boat into the water and stated on its way.

     Recourse to the surfboat, however, like the efforts previously made with the line, was doomed to fail. The craft safely passed the inshore breakers with fair speed, but 100 yards from the wreck it encountered the powerful current previously referred to, and its progress was precipitately stopped. So far as getting ahead was concerned the strength of the seasoned men at the oars might as well have been exerted against a stone wall. Referring to the efforts of the boat’s crew to proceed, keeper Etheridge testifies that in all his experience as a life saver, covering a period of 26 years, he never saw the tide running stronger. Perceiving, after a determined attempt to get on, the utter impossibility of reaching the ship, keeper Etheridge, who was in command of the crew, passed the word to the oarsman to run for the shore. A landing was made 500 yards leeward of the place where they had launched.

     On getting back to the beach keeper Etheridge shot another line over the wreck. The sailors secured it and fastened it to the mast. In a few moments Tillman grasped it and swung from his position with the evident intention of trying to make shore. He succeeded in working his way along the line a distance of perhaps 20 feet when he lost his hold and fell into the water. After making a desperate effort to regain the vessel he sank.

     During the forenoon of the 2d, with the force of the gale rapidly increasing and the sea steadily growing rougher, the schooner began to break up. The service crews had reached the end of their resources, however, ad could do nothing but look helplessly on in momentary expectation of seeing the single remaining survivor go down with the swaying mast. They stood thus impotently by watching the closing scenes of the tragedy throughout the afternoon of the 2d and a part of the night. The end came shortly after midnight. By the aid of two searchlights that played upon the wreck from a revenue cutter and a warship standing by offshore they saw the schooner riven apart and were able to follow the movements of the man up aloft as he lowered himself to the deck and made his last stand at the vessel’s stern. They were soon to learn, however, that the good fortune which had permitted the master to live long enough to witness the death throes of his ship was destined to attend him throughout the still darker moments to come, in the fight for his life amidst wreckage and overwhelming seas, and finally to see him safely ashore.

     When the dismemberment of the vessel took place the master found himself on a fragment of the schooner’s stern. He still had enough strength left to cling to his unstable support and enough voice to halloo. His shouts, faintly carrying to the wearied men on the beach, gave them renewed energy and put them on the alert. The part of the broken hull that supported him was providentially borne by the swift tidal current in toward the land. When it came within throwing distance one of the watchers waded down into the surf and cast a line to the man, shouting to him to tie it around his body. He did as directed and was soon hauled ashore.

     Capt. Godfrey was cared for at the New Inlet Station, until fully recovered from his terrible experience. A letter from him expressing his appreciation of the services of his rescuers may be found under “Letters of acknowledgment.” In said letter he expresses the opinion that his crew also would have been saved had they remained by the ship and assisted in the work of hauling off the lines dent out by the life saving crews.

     As previously indicated, a revenue cutter (the Onandaga) and a naval vessel, standing by the wreck outside during the night of November 2, threw their searchlights on the schooner. Capt. Godfrey was of the opinion that the illumination thus afforded actually saved his life, as it enabled him to change position in time to keep him from going overboard with the mast.

NEW INLET LIFE-SAVING STATION, N.C., November 4, 1912

MY DEAR SIR: I wish to express my appreciation of the efforts of the crews of the New Inlet, Chicamacomico and Gull Shoal Life-Saving Stations in saving me from the wreck of the schooner John Maxwell on the 2d instant. If my crew had not deserted me in the yawl boat, I think we would all have been saved. I got the line the life-savers shot out to me, but on account of the strong current I could not haul it off alone. I wish also to express my thanks for the kind treatment I received from the captain of the New Inlet Station during the time I remained. J.D. LLOYD, Captain, Schooner John Maxwell

HOTEL ST. GEORGE, Brooklyn, N.Y., November 8,1912

DEAR SIR: Although I was not present while the John Maxwell, wrecked on he 2d instant, was breaking up and while Capt. Godfrey was on the wreck, I arrived there so soon afterward that I am very well acquainted with the conditions you faced and overcame. I have seen quite a number of wrecks on the Cape Cod coast, and I could see that you faced practically the same difficulties and dangers that are so often encountered there. It is true that you and Captains L.B. and John A. Midgett, of the Chicamacomico and Gull Shoal Stations, were able to save but one an from the wreck, but I know that no set of men without powerful power boats could have done more than you and your associates did. Please give my compliments to the two other captains and their men. If any of you are ever in New York I would be glad to have you look me up so that I may tell you in person how much I admire your conduct. Sincerely yours, J.D. LLOYD

Newspaper Article:
New York Times, November 3, 1912

Schooner Montana ~ 11 December 1904

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905:

Shortly before midnight, during a heavy NNW. Gale with thick snowstorm and rough sea, the Schooner Montana, a three-masted schooner laden with salt and carrying a crew of 7, all told, struck the beach ¼ mile N. of station and 300 yards from shore. Heavy seas swept over her, and the crew, after burning a torch for help, took refuge in the fore rigging. The N. patrol promptly reported the disaster, and keeper and crew, provided with beach apparatus, reached the shore abreast of the wreck at 12.10 a.m., the keeper having telephoned for assistance to Oregon Inlet and New Inlet stations, the former crew arriving at 1 a.m. and the later some time later. It was impossible to launch a boat through the heavy surf, and after lighting a bonfire the lifesavers placed the wreck gun and fired several lines, some of them going adrift and some to the wreck, but none in such position that the shipwrecked crew could reach it. At daylight the surfmen laid a line over the spring stay, which the crew succeeded in reaching, and after several hours of difficult work 6 men were landed. The seventh man, the ship’s cook, being of advanced years, was washed overboard during the night and lost. Four of the rescued men were sheltered at the station for 11 days, and two for 16 days. The Montana became a total wreck, and was sold by the master for a small sum. (For detailed account see caption “Loss of Life.”)

Wreck of the Schooner Montana

The total wreck of the three-masted schooner Montana, of Somers Point, NJ, near the Pea Island Station, a few miles above New Inlet, NC, on December 11, 1904, resulted in the loss of one man, Harry Edwards, the cook of the vessel. It is not definitely known, even by his shipmates, at what time he met his death, as he either fell or was washed from the rigging during the night unseen by anyone, and when no aid could possibly reach him. The rest of the crew, 6 in all, were rescued by the crews of the Pea Island, Oregon Inlet, and New Inlet stations. The Montana was a vessel of about 377 tons register, built and owned in Somers Point, and carried a crew of 7 men. She was commanded by Captain Japhat Booye, and was from New York, NY, with a cargo of salt, bound to Charleston, SC. Soon after leaving port she encountered bad weather, which continued all the way down the coast and eventually wrought her destruction. At the time of her stranding, about 11 o’clock in the night, a fresh gale was blowing from the NNW., with a thick snowstorm, and unusually rough sea. The schooner was running before the wind under double-reefed mainsail and fore staysail. Soundings of 17 fathoms had been obtained, and it seems but a short time elapsed after that when she struck in the outer breakers, one-fourth of a mile NE. of the station, and filled in 20 minutes. Signals of distress were displayed, the crew seeking refuge in the fore rigging from the heavy seas which swept her decks fore and aft. The signal of distress from the stranded schooner was discovered through the gloom by the north patrol, who, after replying with a Coston light to assure her crew that their helpless situation was observed, ran to the station and immediately gave the alarm. Fifteen minutes later the Pea Island crew were on the scene with the beach apparatus. The surfboat was also brought down to be used if required. Owing to the darkness ad thick, blinding snow, those on board could not see the shore nor the life-savers see the wreck. A bonfire was built on the beach, by which the dim outlines of the hull became faintly discernible. No signals of any kind on board could be distinguished nor cries for help be heard above the constant thunder of the surf.

     The Lyle gun having been placed in position, a shot was fired with 6 ounces of powder and a No. 9 line, which latter being hauled upon from the shore without any response, was allowed to remain out, with the hope that it might have fallen aboard and be discovered by the sailors as the day approached. By 1 a.m. the crew from the Oregon Inlet Station, having previously been advised of the disaster by telephone, arrived upon the scene, reinforced a little later on by the men from the New Inlet Station. At intervals the dark shadow of the hull, at which they had vaguely fired, would disappear, lost amidst sleet and snow, which now fell wit unabated severity. Still there was no strain on the line to indicate that it had been found. At daylight the vessel could again be seen, and a second shot was fired, which landed over the headstay. By this time some of the crew could be made out in the fore rigging and on the crosstrees, but apparently were unable to reach the line from their position. A number of shots followed, whenever circumstances seemed most favorable, but owing to the great distance of the vessel from the shore all of them fell short and were swept to leeward by the sea and current. Just before midday a No. 9 line was sent out with an 8-ounce charge, which went over the main topmast stay and slid down almost into the hands of the men in the crosstrees, great care and judgment, however, being exercised to avoid hitting them. Benumbed by the cold, it was some time before they succeeded in hauling off the whip and securing the tailblock to the foremast head. The hawser was then sent aboard and made fast, and, the gear having been set up on shore, it was the work of only a few minutes to heave the hawser taut and establish communications with the breeches buoy.

     The first man was landed at 1.30 p.m., and the last—there were 6 in all—nearly an hour later. The rescued men, all of whom were more or less exhausted and frost-bitten from long exposure in freezing weather, were speedily removed to the station, where everything was done to alleviate their condition. They were sheltered and comfortably cared for by the surfmen for 11 days, having recovered sufficiently by that time to start for their homes. All had been rescued save one. It appears, from what could be learned from the survivors, that Edwards, being a man of advanced years and a cripple, was only able to reach the sidelight screen when the vessel filled and the others took refuge aloft to save themselves. Here he had lashed himself to the lower shroud, and when last seen by those above him seemed to be secure, but at dawn he was missing. Torn from his lashings and swept away by the sea, he was never again seen. The Montana became a total wreck, and was sold by the master for a small sum.

Schooner Montana

Newspaper Article:

New York Times, December 12, 1904

Schooner M. & E. Henderson ~ 30 November 1879

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880:

At 5 a.m. the schooner M. & E. Henderson of Philadelphia, bound from Bull River, SC for Baltimore, laden with phosphate rock, and having a crew of seven men, struck on the bar at the north point of New Inlet, NC and went to pieces within an hour. Three of her crew were saved.
     Four lives were lost at the wreck of the three-masted schooner, M. and E. Henderson, on the coast of North Carolina, about a mile and a half south of Station No. 17 (6th District). The circumstances attending this disaster were singular. It appears from the evidence taken, that on the 30th of November, 1879, patrolman Tillett, who had the morning watch on the beat south, returned to the house a few minutes after five o’clock in the morning, lit a fire in the stove and called the cook, then went upstairs, and looking with the marine glass from the south window, perceived, at some distance in the clear moonlight which lay upon the beach, a man whom he at first thought was a fisherman. Presently noticing that the man was without a hat, it at once occurred to him that he might have been washed ashore from a wreck. He immediately aroused the keeper and crew, and starting out in advance, soon came up to a haggard and dripping figure, a sailor, tottering along very much exhausted, and only able to feebly articulate, “captain drowned—masts gone.” The patrolman’s surmise had proved correct, and this man was one of the three survivors from the crew, 7 in number, of the schooner M. and E. Henderson, which, as was subsequently ascertained to be probable, had struck and gone almost immediately to pieces within an hour before.

The survivor come upon by patrolman Tillett was at once conducted to the station and put in charge of the cook, and the keeper and crew started for the beach. They had gone about a mile and a quarter south of the station when they came upon a great strew of debris from the wreck, and saw, at the same time, some part of the vessel rising and falling upon the sea in the moonlight, about 300 yards from shore. Continuing on three-quarters of a mile further, searching for bodies among the fragments of wreck stuff with which the beach was strewn, they arrived at New Inlet, where they met some fishermen who reported having found one of the sailors floating in the channel, whom they had rescued and taken to their camp on Jack's Shoal, a small island back in the inlet. They were now looking for others, and were joined in the search by the life saving crew, except the keeper and two of his men who boated over to the camp on Jack's Shoal where they found the sailor rescued by the fishermen. In crossing the inlet to the camp they saw what appeared to be a sitting figure upon the beach behind them, and the keeper upon reaching the island sent back the two men to discover what this object was. They found it to be another sailor, the third survivor. He was quite insensible, but although far gone, still breathing, and no time was lost in conveying him to the camp, where restoratives from the station medicine chest gradually revived him. The man first found, nearly dead when taken from the water by the fishermen, having been given hot coffee and rubbed and wrapped in bedclothes by them, was already so far restored as to be out of danger.
     Of the four men lost from this vessel, the bodies of two only were recovered. The first came ashore on the 16th of December, and was that of the master, Silas Swain. The hair and face were gone from the skull. The body was identified by certain marks upon it, and also by articles found in the clothing. On the 29th of December following, another body, much decomposed, came ashore and was buried, like the other, by one of the station keepers. This body could not be identified.
     The names of the four men drowned, as reported to this office, are Silas Swain (the captain), Hess and Prentice (probably the two mates), and William (which would seem to be the first name of the cook). The names of the ship's company, excepting the captains, were unknown to the owners, and were obtained from the survivors in the imperfect form given, these three men being Spanish negroes or mulattoes, crudely speaking English. Their names are reported respectively as Abram Annight, Samuel Manilla, and Sanders Manilla. They constituted the crew, and this circumstance combined with their survival as a body when their officers all perished, and considered in connection with their race or breed, gave rise to the belief, held particularly by some of the owners, that they had murdered the officers and run the vessel ashore. This suspicion of foul play subsequently caused their arrest and imprisonment in Baltimore, but after a long detention they were released, no evidence of criminality having appeared.
     The cause of the loss of the vessel remains mysterious. She had been seen at sunset working along the coast in a northerly direction, and had attracted attention by her nearness to the shore. As the disaster involved loss of life, it was made, as is usual in such cases, the subject of special investigation, in the course of which the fact was established that the patrolman had left New Inlet on his return beat a little before four and reached the station a little after five o'clock, encountering no wreck upon his way. It is certain, therefore, that the vessel must have grounded on the bar where she went to pieces about the time when the patrolman reached the station, a mile and a half distant, and it is equally certain that she must have been almost immediately demolished by the surf, since a short time after the patrolman's return to the station she was found in pieces on the beach, the rottenness of her fragments also showing that a vessel in such a condition of unsoundness, heavily laden beside with phosphate rock and pinioned on a bar, could not have held together under the blows of the breakers. Although the surf was heavy and a stiff breeze blew, it was a clear, moonlight night, and how a vessel could have stranded when the atmosphere was lit to the horizon is unaccountable, except upon the supposition that she was navigated with the grossest carelessness or purposely run ashore. The unintelligible English spoken by the three survivors made it impossible for the life saving crew to obtain from them any explanation of the disaster.

"The cause of the loss of the vessel remains mysterious."

Barkentine Ravenswood ~ 13 October 1893

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal ear ending June 30, 1894:

Driven ashore in severe gale and sea; assistance by boat impossible. Took apparatus cart along beach, opposite point where she was about to fetch up, and, when she struck, landed her crew of 10 men with breeches buoy, assisted by crews of New Inlet and Gull Shoal stations. Sheltered and cared for ship’s company at station, giving proper medical assistance to master, who was ill. Succored portion of crew 16 days. (See letter of acknowledgement.)

CHICAMICOMICO LIFE SAVING STATION, NORTH CAROLINA, October 31, 1893

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The (British) barkentine Ravenswood, while on a voyage from Boston for Satilla River, Georgia, on Friday, October 13, 1893, encountered a terrific storm and was stranded on the North Carolina beach about noon. We can not speak too highly of the promptness shown by Captain J.H. Westcott and noble crew in rescuing us from a perilous position. Although the sail was lashing furiously over the wreck, the first shot line was carried successfully over us, the distance being about three hundred yards, and, after hauling the whip line and hawser on board, in about thirty minutes afterwards we were all safely landed on the beach and conveyed to the station, where we were cared for and treated with the greatest kindness. A few days later our captain, Edward Kennedy, was taken sick and confined to his bed. I cannot express our gratitude for the generosity shown by Captain Wescott in supplying the wants of the sick, in sending for doctors and securing extra food, and lots of other home comforts. Keeper L.B. Midgett and crew of New Inlet has our gratitude and thanks, and also keeper D.M. Pugh and crew of Gull Shoal, in rendering us their assistance in time of need. FREEMAN SLAWENWHITE, mate ; NATHAN S. GERARD, Second mate, Barkentine Ravenswood

Schooner York ~ 9 August 1861

The Schooner York was a Confederate privateer schooner of 72 tons. She was fitted out at Norfolk, VA and commissioned 9 July 1861. 

She was chased ashore near New Inlet by the USS Union, (commanded by Commander J.R. Goldsborough). To prevent capture the vessel's guns were thrown overboard by her crew before she was set on fire.

The Confederate privateers were privately owned ships that were authorized by the government of the Confederate States of America to attack the shipping of the United States. Although the appeal was to profit by capturing merchant vessels and seizing their cargoes, the government was most interested in diverting the efforts of the Union Navy away from the blockade of Southern ports, and perhaps to encourage European intervention in the conflict.

Learn more HERE.