THE HALIFAX GALE ~ December 1796

NORTH CAROLINA JOURNAL

Halifax, North CarolinA

5 December 1796

   We have to lament the loss of some lives on this melancholy occasion: amongst them two valuable, useful, worthy men, Capt. Wm. Gillespie, of the brig Glory and Capt. James Burnside, of the sloop Anna, -- four of the French prisoners are missing, and are supposed to have been washed overboard when the prison ships went adrift. A Negro man belonging to Capt. Artfill, one belonging to the estate of Mr. Tarrnal, and a Negro boy belonging to Capt. Elliot were drowned.

   The following is the best information we can procure of the fate of the vessels that were in the harbor – His Majesty’s sloop Swallow, Capt. Fowke rode out the gale; sustained little or no injury. Ship Nancy, Davidion, grounded, but got off little damaged. Ship Union, Borrowdale, rode out the gale; lost her mizzen mast. Ship Lively, Moultrie, dismasted and grounded, but got off. Schooner Alice, Stowell, driven ashore, but got off without much injury, Brig George, Henderson, Ashore on Hog Island, not materially injured. Brig Glory, Gillespie, ashore and bilged. Brig Brothers, Wallace, Ashore, loft her bow sprit, and otherwise much injured. Brig Africa gone to pieces. Brig Sophia, Crothers, lost. American brig Mary Anne Johnston, ashore. Snow Charlotte, Tucker, ashore, dismasted. Schooner True Blue, ashore. Schooner Lovely Lass, lost. Schooner George and Ophelia, do. Schooner Sailor’s Delight, ashore. Schooner Polly, dismasted. Sloop Maxwell, ashore, Sloop Henrietta, drove against Forbes, Munto, and Roe’s Warf, injured in her upper works. Sloop William and Mary, ashore, lost her bowsprit and keel. American sloops Planter, Fancy, Catherine, and Harriet, lost. Sloops Anna, Burnside, Conrade, Newton, Rambler, Elliot, and St. Andrew, lost. Schooner Little Flying Fish, lost. Sloops Sally and Dolphin, upset. Schooner Little Negro lost, Sloop Betsy, ashore, dismasted. Schooner Packet, do. Thunder and Rattlesnake galleys, do. Two person vessels, do. One ditto ashore. Two pilot boats lost. A Spanish Schooner and Sloop, do. Two schooners and two sloops whose names we have not learnt, do. A great many boats were lost, and some driven ashore to the westward.

   The Narcissus and Porcupine frigates were lying moored under Sandy Kay, about 7 miles E. of this town, when the gale came on. The Narcissus, we are truly concerned to state, is stranded on Long Key; happily not a life was lost, and it is expected that great part of the stores will be saved. The Porcupine after the gale, was seen at anchor under Sandy Key dismasted. We have only learned that they drove over a reef, and that it is expected she will be got round later to this harbor.

   The injury sustained ashore on this island is trivial when compared to the devastation among the shipping. The belfry of Christ Church, trees, fences, Negro huts, and some old buildings were blown down; and two dwelling houses in the suburb of this town unroofed.

   By the reports given by masters of several vessels arrived from the Northward and westward since Tuesday, it would appear that they had not the gale nearly too violent as it was here.

TWIN HURRICANES OF AUGUST 1795

During the month of August 1795, two parallel track hurricanes passed through North Carolina. The first on August 2 & 3 ... the second 10 days later on August 12 & 13.

The first storm passed through North Carolina to the south of Norfolk bringing rain throughout the mid-Atlantic, disrupting mail service and damaging crops in Annapolis where trees were leveled and the tide was so high that "one could not get to the Market House without a Boat." 

"Vessels were driven ashore by the tempest." (From the Diary of William Faris: The Daily Life of an Annapolis Silversmith). Six unidentified ships were wrecked at the Ocracoke Inlet bar, among them the brig Esther with most of her cargo from Jamaica. 18 Spanish ships, sailing from Havana to Spain were driven ashore at Cape Hatteras ... an undisclosed number of them were lost.

A major hurricane, the second storm struck North Carolina and produced high winds as far inland as Winston-Salem and caused additional flooding. At Monticello, near Charlottesville, Thomas Jefferson noted that the loss of soil from the heavy rain thus far that month could be "modestly estimated at a year's rent" (Ludlum). A "powerful torrent of rain" deluged Petersburg; creeks were at their highest point of the past 70 years (North Carolina Journal). 

Winds were gusty at Farmville, where a "great fresh" was reported. Annapolis reported strong winds and rains on August 13 as well. Thomas Jefferson recorded this hurricane in his journal as his plantation at Monticello suffered heavy crop losses. The two storms caused the Appomattox river to crest more than 12 feet above flood stage. gust 1795,

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S HURRICANE ~ 23 JULY 1788

On July 23 & 24, 1788 a hurricane brushed the coast of North Carolina with the eye passing to the east of Cape Hatteras. A report from Ocracoke after the storm indicated six vessels destroyed, eleven driven ashore and two dismasted. Strong northwesterly winds blew the water out of Pamlico Sound and left many vessels stranded in low water.

Not only did the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army end up with a snowstorm named after him, this hurricane was awarded his namesake also. The name stems from the path of the storm’s destruction as well as the fact that most of what we know about it came from Washington’s journals. The center of the hurricane passed right over his Mount Vernon estate where he’d returned after winning the War of Independence. He wrote of the storm, “In aword it was violent and severe—more so than has happened for many years.” Washington also wrote about extensive crop damage and several ships that ran aground including a small ship that had been gifted to him. The Federalist which he’d owned for only six weeks sank during the chaos.

Even before the hurricane made its way up the Potomac, it wreaked havoc on those living along the Chesapeake Bay. According to a Philadelphia newspaper account, when the storm hit the tidewater area, it “continued for 9 hours—wind at start from NE—at 0030 [hours] it suddenly shifted to S and blew a perfect hurricane—tearing up large trees by the roots, removing houses, throwing down chimneys, fences, etc., and laying the greatest part of the corn level… Only two ships in Hampton Roads survived the gale.”

THE INDEPENDENCE HURRICANE ~ 2 SEPTEMBER 1775

On September 2, 1775, the Independence Hurricane hit the American colonies during the American Revolution. 

This storm would become the 8th deadliest Atlantic hurricane of all time and would portend victory in the battle against Great Britain to the patriots. After dumping rain for a week, the hurricane landed in North Carolina and continued up the coast through Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The storm was particularly devastating to the region's economy because it was harvest season. Many crops were still in the field and were completely destroyed.

In addition, the Continental Congress had enacted a ban on trade with Britain to take effect on September 10th. This meant a flurry of activity was taking place in every east coast port, as merchants and farmers tried to get out one last shipment before the trade ban went into effect. Ships and warehouses were overflowing with tobacco, corn, salt, sugar and other goods.

North Carolina suffered the worst effects of the Independence Hurricane, so named because it took place at the dawn of the War of Independence. The Outer Banks were destroyed and entire settlements swept away. It is believed that over 200 people died in North Carolina alone. Coastal cities were flooded, crops destroyed and many ships and their crews were lost ... among them:

• The English merchantman Hector, Captain Quince, arriving from London, lost on Frying Pan Shoals.
• The Royal Exchange, Captain Daverson, bound for London, at Cape Lookout, all of her crew saved. 
• The Clementine, Captain Weir, arriving from London, at Cape Hatteras.
• The Elizabeth & Mary, arriving from England, lost entering Cape Fear Inlet.
• The Austin, Captain Sarrat, sailing from Tobago to Liverpool, lost off Cape Hatteras.

As the storm continued to rage across the Chesapeake, towns such as Norfolk, Hampton and Yorktown had their ports destroyed. Warehouses full of goods were blown away. Ships were deposited on shore. The roof of the State House in Annapolis was blown away.

The hurricane sparked one of the first confrontations with the British in Virginia when the HMS Liberty was grounded at Hampton. Citizens boarded the ship, took its cargo, arrested the sailors and burned the ship. The HMS Mercury was grounded near Norfolk, but its captain had aimed its guns at the city and threatened to fire upon the town if the citizens boarded her. That ship survived and was refloated a week later.

The storm began to die out over Pennsylvania as it dumped loads of rain on Philadelphia and went back out to sea. One week later, the re-energized hurricane hit Newfoundland with a ferocity previously unknown to the colonists. Historians and meteorologists are not in agreement over whether this was the same storm as the Independence Hurricane, or if it was a second and distinct hurricane.

Nonetheless, this hurricane wreaked havoc on the fishing industry of Newfoundland. It is estimated that over 700 ships went down, carrying nearly 4,000 sailors. The entire Newfoundland fishing industry and fleet was destroyed in a single day. Coastal cities were flooded with a 30 foot surge of water, destroying all of the warehouses and facilities for preparing the fish. For weeks and months after the storm, fishing nets brought in bodies with their catch.

The destruction of the Newfoundland fishing fleet was, ironically, viewed as a good omen in the lower 13 colonies. In a day where storms and other acts of nature were viewed as the vengeance of God, many colonists viewed the destruction at Newfoundland as verification that their condemnation of Great Britain was just. The fishing industry was very lucrative to Great Britain and the storm had caused a devastating blow to the British economy.

The Independence Hurricane was the 8th most devastating Atlantic hurricane on record and wreaked havoc across the eastern seaboard. Ironically, it may have played a unique role in the American victory during the Revolution, by encouraging the patriots that their cause was just! 

As a matter of interest, J.L. Bell's blog offers a quite different perspective on this hurricane's affect on the American Revolution. Click HERE if you're curiosity is peaked!

The South Carolina and American General Gazette
October 6, 1775

"We learn from North Carolina that the damage done by [a recent, devastating] hurricane is incredible; the whole shore being lined with wrecks; upwards to 100 dead bodies have drifted ashore on Occacok Island."

GALE OF 1 SEPTEMBER 1772

During a gale on 1 September 1772, the sloop Jenny was one of 14 large merchantmen totally lost near the Ocracoke Bar. The Virginia Gazette, dated October 8 (below), lists the captains of some of the vessels as: Captains Clarke, Pearce and Carter from Edenton, Captain Hill from Virginia, Captain Dove from Connecticut, Captain Pender from New Bern and Captains Conway and Thomas from New York. The South Carolina and American General Gazette of September 28 reported "... that seven vessels out of eight who were lying at Ocracoke were entirely lost in the late gale of wind." Other reports say that nearly 50 people perished.

HURRICANE OF SEPTEMBER 7, 1769

Ships Mentioned: Sloops Diamond, Sydney, John Oliver, Deborah, John Pindar, Charming Sally, Obadiah Yarbrough, Sally, Polly & Fitzherbert  and Tryal; Brig Sally and Betsey; Schooner Lucitania; Snow Cumberland.

Philadelphia Gazette, Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 1769

GREAT STORM OF 18 AUGUST 1750

Referred to in Colonial accounts as the "Great Storm of August 18, 1750", this terrible tempest, among other damage, wrecked or drove five ships of the Spanish Flota onto the North Carolina Coast. 

     A letter from Governor Dobbs to the Earl of Loudoun, July 10th, 1756, states, "Last summer...I found a violent storm about five years ago had carried away Beacon Island, which was near two miles long, and all the banks here in time may be liable to the like fate..." Possibly this was the storm of August 18th, 1750, or one of the September 1752 storms.

Documenting the American South

Colonial and State Records of North Carolina

Letter from Gabriel Johnston to James Abercromby, including report concerning Spanish ships wrecked in North Carolina [Extract]

Johnston, Gabriel, ca. 1698-1752

September 18, 1750

Volume 04, Pages 1304-1305

Paragraph of Governour Johnstons letter of Sepbr 18th to Mr. Abercromby Agent for North Carolina relating to the Spanish Flota cast away on the Coast of North Carolina. (1750)

I send you by this Conveyance a Duplicate of the Account I have sent to the Duke of Bedford of the loss of the Spanish ships on this Coast last August you may further inform his Grace that the Captain of the Ship at Ocacock has purchased a new ship built in this Province of 150 Tons Burthen of one Captain Darling for 1000 Pistoles. But whether he intends to put his Cargo on Board this new ship or to reship it on the old one which has only lost her masts and rudder or whether he will divide his Cargo between them I have not yet learned. The old ship is at anchor within the Bar and the Cargo safely housed on the Island of Ocacock under a guard of their own People. I have had some of our Custom House Officers with me who desired leave to seize the ship and cargo because she had most openly infringed the Laws of Trade because she has not only brought ashore her Cargo without a permit from any Officer but has likewise trafficked with a good deal of it and for Things that are not necessarys. All this I knew to be certainly true as well as they but as I knew the cargo of the Spanish Flota belongs in a great part to his Majesty's Trading subjects and the French and Dutch I told them not to presume to meddle with it but to suffer them to take their own Way to save and carry home their Cargo. That if they (the Spaniards) applyed to me either for Protection or assistance I should be ready to grant it to them, but until they did I should take no manner of Notice of them. They have been now on shore a whole month without making any application I dont know how my Behaviour may be judged of at home But I believe I may safely affirm that every Governor who is £12000 in arrear in his Salary would not have behaved so abstemiously when the Laws of Trade would have justified his seizure

Sepbr 20. P. S. I have just now received advice that your old friend Tom Wright of Charlestown is among the Spaniards at Ocacock incognito That he is their great Oracle and that it is he who advises them not to take any notice of this Government But has advised them to carry their cargo on different Bottoms to Charlestown where I dont doubt you will hear of a fine scene.

An Account of five Ships of the Spanish Flota put on Shore on the Coast of North Carolina by the great storm August 18th 1750.

One at Currituck Inlett stove to pieces the Crew and passengers saved, went to Norfolk in Virginia without stopping in Carolina.

One at Cape Hatteras sunk in 14 foot water the name of the Ship its Dimensions and Loading unknown.

A Dutch built Ship at Ocacock lost its Rudder and had its Mast broke short, all its Crew safe, her Cargo 400:000 pieces of Eight, besides a great Quantity of Cochineal and Hides.

At Drum Inlett a Ship which lost its Riggin and Masts, Neustra Signora Desoledad, the Cargo reckoned worth 32.000 pieces of Eight besides the Ship. The Officers and Men who came ashore, have taken a passage for themselves and cargo to New England from whence they design to proceed to Cadiz.

Near Topsail Inlet a Vessel named El Salvador or El Henrico was stove to pieces and is now covered with 7 or 8 feet sand, four of her Crew only saved her Loading 240:000 pieces of Eight Registered besides what is on private Account, besides a large Quantity of Cocoa Cochineal and some Balsom.

This is the Account given to the Governor of North Carolina by Don Joseph De Respral Deza, part owner and Super Cargoe of the Neustra Signiora de Solidad who at the same time complained to the Governor of the Master and Crew of a Bermudas Sloop who had taken possession of the sails and part of the rigging which had come on shore from the Wreck of the El Salvador and the said Super Cargo verily believes has got possession of some Chests of Money, upon which the Governor Immediately Issued his Order for the apprehending the said Master & Crew and Securing their Sloop.

The Ship at Ocacock has unloaded her Treasure & Cargo on Ocacock Island, several little Vessels have gone down to Barter with them for provisions. They have not as yet met with any Molestation, nor made any application to the Governor.

GAB JOHNSTON

Septr 18 1750.