Another tale of emigrant suffering from GGGPa's scrapbook, dated May 19th, 1855. Details of the shipowner would be appreciated, if possible.

JOHN

Owner unknown, barquentine, Captain Rawle.

On May 3rd, 1855, the ship sailed from Plymouth, for Quebec, with 149 adults, 98 children and 16 infants, emigrants to Canada, principally from the north of Devon.

She sailed at 16:00 on the ebb tide and with a favourable wind. At 21:30 they made the Falmouth Light. At the same time, the 2nd Mate was searching for the Lizard Light and he asked some passengers if they could see it. They said they couldn’t and the Captain remarked that he couldn’t either, but that they would see it fast enough when they got there. The Captain shortly afterwards went below, leaving the 2nd Mate on watch.

About 22:00 the 1st Mate came onto the poop and asked the passengers if they had seen the Captain because he, the Mate, was concerned they were too close
to the land. The Captain came on deck and scorned the Mate’s remark. Soon afterwards, someone forward shouted out that there were rocks ahead and, almost immediately, the vessel struck with great violence so that she bumped over the obstacle and then struck with even greater force upon the rocks further in. The Captain was then distinctly heard to call out, “Run her aground.”

The vessel then had all sail on her, making strong headway at about 9 knots, and though she had been run aground, the sea washed her off again and she ran down the coast for some distance.An attempt was then made to bring her up by letting-go her anchor but she grounded heavily, broadside-on. Attention was then directed to the boats, of which she had four, three on deck and one over the side. The Captain, four seamen and one passenger jumped into the latter boat and called-out for it to be lowered. No-one answered the call. The Captain then returned to the deck, when the boat was lowered. Once afloat, it was discovered the boat had no plug and there were no thowle pins for the oars.  Whilst they were waiting for these items to be found, her tackle became unhooked and the boat drifted away without the
Captain. The four seamen in the boat used their knives for thowle pins  and a passenger utilised his pipe as a plug. They then pulled out to sea to get around a point of rocks over which there were heavy breakers. When they had weathered this point they pulled for the land on which they saw a light. Not being able to find alanding-place, they called for help and were heard by the son of Lt. McLean. HM Coastguard, who pointed-out a landing place to them.

In the meantime, the alarm was raised that a vessel had struck on the Manacles. An attempt was then made to launch some of the Coastguard boats, without success. The passenger who had gained the shore in the ship’s boat was taken aboard one of the Coastguard boats  in order to act as a guide to the ship. The four crew who had landed positively refused such a request.

Efforts were postponed until the morning of 4th May when, going further up the coast, a favourable spot was found where they launched and reached the ‘John’ which was 200 yards from the shore.During the whole period from the ship first grounding, no attempt was made by either the Captain or the crew to save the passengers. For the most part, the crew were roaring drunk.

Some of the passengers had attempted to launch the ship’s cutter but, in doing so thy stove her bottom and lost the boat. When the ship struck, the tide was two-thirds on the ebb and, although she filled with water, the decks were dry : if assistance had been made available at this time, it is likely all would have been saved. The Captain would not allow the two largest boats to be hoisted, telling the passengers to calm down because they were perfectly safe. He told them that the tide would not flood before daylight and boats from the shore would arrive and rescue them. This statement highlighted his ignorance of the facts for the tide commenced to flood at 01:00 and, before 02:00, the sea broke heavily over the ship, smashing the remaining boats and washing passengers over the side.

196 men, women and children were drowned. The crew, excepting the steward, exhibited complete apathy and made no attempt whatever to offer assistance
to the passengers. When the shore-boats arrived, the crew were the first to try to get into them, with all their bags, showing a greater anxiety to secure these than to save the lives of the emigrants. Not a seaman perished.

At the inquest held on the bodies of the drowned, the jury, in recording their verdict, observed that they considered the conduct of the whole crew, with the exception of the steward, as reprehensible. They also expressed their concern that the ‘John’ did not carry a signal gun or distress flares. Against Captain Rawle they returned a verdict of manslaughter and a coroner’s warrant was issued for his arrest, the Captain being apprehended and lodged in the Cornwall County Gaol at Bodmin.

This cutting was dated April 12th, 1856.

JOHN RUTLEDGE  (1856)

Captain Kelly. This narrative is by Thomas W. Nye, a young seaman of New Bedford, the sole survivor. The ship left Liverpool for New York on January 16th, 1856, with 120 passengers and a crew of 16 officers and men. During the passage she encountered heavy weather. One of her crew was washed off the bowsprit and a male passenger was carried through the bulwarks by a heavy sea and drowned. On February 20th, the ship struck an iceberg and abandoned the same evening. There were 5 boats onboard and 134 persons. Of the 13 persons in the last of the 5 boats there were 4 women, 1 little girl, 5 male passengers, Mr Nye, a Scottish sailor and the boatswain, an Irishman. For these people there was one gallon of water and eight pounds of bread. Atkinson, the Mate, had placed a compass in the boat but his wife, in leaping from the ship, had broken it. Nye’s boat soon broke adrift from the others and became separated to drift alone. As soon as Mrs Atkinson entered the boat, she seized the vessel containing the water and, being a powerful woman, fought off all who attempted to gain a drink from it. Nye got only two or three mouthfuls, the rest being drunk by herself and the boatswain.  There was no organisation to share what provisions they had and everyone looked out for themselves. The sailors were warmly clothed, as was Mrs Atkinson, but the others were for the most part scantily clad and suffered keenly from the cold. On the third day adrift, a male passenger died from exposure followed by a woman who died in the arms of her husband and daughter. Their bodies were committed to the sea.  On the fourth day a brigantine was sighted, not very far off, but failed to respond to their signals. A burning thirst then consumed the boat’s occupants and, heedless of Nye’s appeals, they fell to drinking the sea water which brought-on delirium. One by one they went mad and, one by one, they died. Nye threw their bodies into the sea as long as his strength lasted.  The boatswain, in his delirium, was the most violent. He attempted to throw the oars overboard and succeeded in throwing over the bucket with which the boat was bailed. Mrs Atkinson was also very violent. By the sixth day, Nye’s recollections became dimmed but he recalled that there was only himself, a small woman wrapped-up in two blankets and a little girl alive in the boat. Before sunset on the sixth day, the child had died and on the following day the woman, too, expired. He had strength enough to throw the body of the child overboard but the body of the woman, together with the bodies of three others, were so coiled-up underneath the thwarts that he could not extricate them. Feeling drowsiness sweeping over him, he tied a red shirt and a white shirt to an oar and hoisted it to attract any passing vessel before dozing in the stern sheets. On February 28th a ship bore in sight, the ‘Germania’ from Le Havre to New York, which lowered a boat and picked him up. The bodies in the lifeboat were cast into the sea. As his rescuers approached, Nye was heard to groan : “For Jesus Christ’s sake, take me out of this boat!”
 
 

Would the 'Melbourne', in these two clippings from GGGPa's scrapbook, be the 'Melbourne' of P & O ? The first one is dated November 20th, 1852. The
second one is just dated '1852'. Anyone know the actual date of the second occurrence ?

MELBOURNE (1)

‘The Australian Company’. On October 9th,1852,  the crew broke into mutiny and compelled the Captain and officers to take to the boats and seek protection onboard HMS ‘Inflexible’. The passengers had previously gone ashore. One man, a Scotsman, was fatally stabbed. Captain Woolridge, of the ‘Inflexible’ immediately sent his boats, manned and armed, and removed 5 of the ringleaders who were placed in irons on the warship.

MELBOURNE (2)

Put into Lisbon “on the 24th ult.” leaking and dismasted. Several officers refused to proceed any further in her. She had left Plymouth on “the 15th ult.”.

On the night of the 19th, in a high sea and a fresh breeze, the ship began to roll heavily and all the topmasts were suddenly lost. The jib booms were then carried away and nothing was left standing except the three lower masts and yards. About midday the deck was cleared of debris but, unfortunately, the mess of rigging became entangled in the propeller and the engines stopped. The situation became critical as the pieces of topmast and rigging beat against the stern post and rudder and rendered it impossible to steer. Twelve hours elapsed before the propeller could be raised and disentangled from the floating wreck of the topmast and rigging. The engines were then started and the voyage proceeded.

The following day a leak was discovered in the mail room and, at the insistence of the mail-agent, a course was made for Lisbon. After some stay in Tagus, the mail-agent required the ship to proceed to sea again, for Australia, without being docked as he affirmed the leak had stopped. The Captain refused and a survey was held by Lloyd’s agent, the result of which was that the ship would be docked. The Portuguese Government placed their naval facilities at the vessel’s disposal. The ‘Melbourne’ was declared totally unfit for the voyage to Australia and devoid of healthy accommodation for the 253 passengers and crew.
 
 

MAURITIUS - see Abyssinian Hospital Ships
 

This cutting is dated May 7th, 1859.
 

POMONA   (1859)

Clipper, owner unknown, 1500 tons, sailed from Liverpool for America on Wednesday, April 27th,1859. There were onboard Captain Charles Merrihew, 33 sailors, 2 Mates, a doctor, 2 Stewards and a carpenter. There were also 372 emigrants to give a total of 412 souls. That night, a freshening gale blew up and the Captain lost his bearings in the darkness. The ship went aground on a sandbank about seven miles off Ballyconigar on the Irish coast. During the night, and into the next morning, the wind increased to hurricane force and a desperate attempt was made to launch the ship’s boats but they were stove-in and their crews drowned. The ship had remained firmly embedded on the sandbank until the afternoon of April 28th when she suddenly slipped off and slid, stern-first, into deeper water and
began to rapidly fill. The whaler was then launched and a number of the crew rushed into her, of which several were washed out and drowned with 23
reaching the shore. The Captain let go the bower anchor and kept 40 men working at the pumps but she gradually settled down and gradually submerged. Over the next 48 hours, scores of bodies began to be washed-up on the coast and it was reported that local inhabitants stripped these of their clothing and valuables until the Coastguard arrived and took control of the situation. The 3rd Mate was the only survivor from the officers and his testimony offered no explanation for the disaster. Philip Mulcahey, the passengers cook from Waterford, survived the disaster and deposed that the ship’s crew gave no thought to saving the lives of the passengers. At a Coroner’s inquest the report was made that there was no proof of the Captain’s drunkenness but the members heartily condemned that portion of the
crew which deserted their passengers, occupying the boats to the exclusion of the women and children. They called for a further inquiry by the Lords of Admiralty and recommended that, in future, seamen surviving the loss of a ship should be detained until due inquiry was made into the particulars of the case. In all, more than 380 persons were drowned.

March 13th, 1852
.
QUEEN OF THE WEST

Captain : Mors, a German.  Emigrant ship.

“On Saturday last”, at 11:00, hauled out of Wellington Dock, Liverpool, for a voyage to New York. Whilst anchored in the river, awaiting the turn of the
tide, one of the officers was engaged in calling the role of emigrants whilst the Captain and 1st Mate were mustering the crew. 20 had answered to their names, 28 being the ship’s complement, when one of the crew, George Freeman, stepped forward and said to the Captain that, in his opinion, they were short-handed and that a proper complement for a ship that size would have been 30 hands. Freeman swore that he would not sail in a vessel that was thus defective in crew.

The Captain replied that he had previously gone to sea with less men and asked Freeman if he could do more than the work of one man ? He said he could and the Captain observed that, in that case, he would have to do so. Freeman was told to go forward, which he did, but then joined three other seamen named Alexander, Jack and Henry Downes and they began muttering together. The Captain followed the men to the fore-rigging to see if they would go to work. When he had arrived forward, Freeman said it was time to go for breakfast and told the Captain to go to hell.

The Captain then grabbed hold of Freeman by the collar but, before he could do anything more, he was attacked by Freeman, Jack, Downes and a sailor named Fowler who began to beat him with handspikes and belaying-pins, knocking him down. When he was down, they struck him about the head. The Captain managed to struggle to his feet and ran to the wheelhouse where he armed himself with a revolver. He then went forward again, took hold of Freeman, told him he was his prisoner and ordered the others to stand well back or he would shoot them. Upon this, two of them closed in upon him and he fired at Jack. The pistol mis-fired and, before he could do anything else, he was viciously attacked and severely wounded.

With that, the 1st Mate arrived with a cutlass and began to strike at the crew. The 2nd and 3rd Mates also came up and defended the Captain with knives and belaying-pins, enabling him to regain his feet. As soon as he was on his feet, the Captain shouted for the 1st Mate to hand over his cutlass and go and get another one, which he did, and together they slashed-away at the crew who rapidly cleared the decks. One seaman, Thomas Ryan, managed to reach the forecastle with an arm hanging-off.

The Government Surveyor, Lieutenant Fryer, was aboard at the time and he hurried ashore in a steam-tug to summon the police. When they arrived, eight of the crew including seamen named Brown, Drouer, Thompson and Penny were put into custody and conveyed ashore. The ringleaders were still on the ship and the Captain ordered them to be secured. Downes became so violent, though,  that on being brought aft, the three Mates could not handle him. The Captain was in the wheelhouse getting his head-wounds attended to, at the time, but he leaped out and assisted in securing the berserk sailor before having him tied to the rigging and personally flogging him. Soon after, Lieutenant Fryer arrived back onboard and took Downes and some others into custody.

In a cross-examination at the Magistrate’s Court, Captain Mors admitted that he had twice before been before the Magistrates, in New York, for ill-treating emigrants. He had also appeared, on a prior occasion, in a Court in England for ill-treatment of his crew but had been cleared of any charges. The Captain’s evidence was corroborated by the Mates and two passengers.

Notwithstanding the seriousness of the affair, the Magistrates disposed of the charges against the crew so that the ship could proceed on its voyage. Freeman was sentenced to pay a fine of 5-pounds or be imprisoned for two months; Jack, Trainer & Fowler were fined 3-pounds each  or six weeks custody in default; Brown, Alexander, Drouer, Thompson, Penny and Downes were ordered to pay costs, only, or be imprisoned for fourteen days in default. A charge against the Captain for attempting to shoot one of the crew was dropped. Thomas Ryan was taken to hospital with a severe wound, one arm being almost severed below the elbow by a blow from the cutlass-wielding Captain. All the other prisoners, although more or less injured, made a good recovery.
 
 
 

13 March fell on a Saturday in 1852, so the above event took place on 6 March.

Contemporary New York newspapers report that the packet ship QUEEN OF THE WEST, Capt. Hallet, arrived at New York on 31 March 1852, from Liverpool9 March, with merchandise and 479 passengers, to Grinnell, Minturn & Co. Note the name of the master:  Benjamin Franklin Hallet was master of the QUEEN OF THE WEST from late 1847 until shortly before she ran aground on the coast of Wales in December 1854 (see below).  No man named "Mors" ever commanded the QUEEN OF THE WEST;  indeed, contemporary U.S. maritime law would not have permitted a German to command an American vessel.  Perhaps the newspaper reporter was working on several stories at once, and inadvertently confused the master of the QUEEN OF THE WEST with the master of another vessel.

The ship QUEEN OF THE WEST was built at New York by the noted shipwrights Brown & Bell, and launched in 1843.  1160 tons;  179 ft 4 in x 37 ft 6 in
x 22 ft (length x beam x depth of hold).  Upon her completion, the vessel was proclaimed "the noblest work of man, and her commander [Philip
Woodhouse] ... the noblest work of God."

The QUEEN OF THE WEST originally sailed in Woodhull & Minturn's New Line of packets between New York and Liverpool, which in 1849 was absorbed into Grinnell, Minturn & Co.'s Blue Swallowtail Line of packets between the same two ports.  In the 11 years the QUEEN OF THE WEST sailed between New York and Liverpool under the U.S. flag her westbound passages averaged 33 days, her shortest passage being 22 days, her longest 43 days.

On the night of 14/15 December 1854, the QUEEN OF THE WEST, Capt. Pennell, bound from New York for Liverpool, came ashore on Langharne Sands, at the west end of Carmarthen Bay.  The passengers and crew were safely landed, and some of the cargo was saved, but the owners considered the vessel (along with the cargo insured on Wall St. for $98,000) a total loss.  However, the wreck was purchased by Lockraft & Co., who got her off the sands, towed her to Llanelly, and expended some 3,000 pounds to repair her.  She was then purchased by Johnson & Major, of Liverpool, who registered her at Liverpool, and placed her in service in late 1855/early 1856.  The annual volumes of _Lloyd's Register of Shipping_ for 1856/57 through 1878/79 contain the following information on the QUEEN OF THE WEST under the British flag:

     Tonnage:
          1856/57-1874/75 - 1433
          1875/76-1878/79 - 1360

     Measurements (from 1863/64):  181.7 x 38 x 21.7 ft (length x beam
                                   x depth of hold)

     Master:
          1856/57-1863/64 - G. Barry
          1863/64-1878/79 - H. Wilson

     Owner:
          1856/57-1859/60 - Johnson [& Major]
          1860/61-1878/79 - Corry & Co.

     Port of Registry:
          1856/57-1857/58 - Liverpool
          1858/59-1859/60 - [not given]
          1860/61-1878/79 - Belfast

     Port of Survey:
          1856/57-1857/58 - Llanelly
          1858/59-1859/60 - [not given]
          1860/61-1861/62 - Liverpool
          1861/62-1863/64 - Clydeside
          1863/64-1878/79 - Belfast

     Destined Voyage (through 1873/74):
          1856/57-1859/60 - [not given]
          1860/61-1861/62 - North America
          1862/63         - [not given]
          1863/64-1878/79 - Quebec

The entry for the QUEEN OF THE WEST in the 1878/79 volume of _Lloyd's Register_ is posted "dismantled".  In fact, she was most probably dismantled many years previously, since she was last surveyed in April 1866.

Sources:  Robert Greenhalgh Albion, _Square-riggers on Schedule;  The New York Sailing Packets to England, France, and the Cotton Ports_ (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1938), pp. 45, 96, 280, 314, 330336, 344;  Carl C. Cutler, _Queens of the Western Ocean;  The Story of America's Mail and Passenger Sailing Lines_ (Annapolis:  United States Naval Institute, c1961), pp. 254, 255, 257, 326, 378-380;  _Lloyd's Register of Shipping_, annual volumes for 1856/57-1878/79;  _New York Tribune_, 5 January 1855, p. 8c, 6 January 1855, p. 8c;  _Times_ (London), 14 December 1855, p. 10b.

Michael Palmer
Claremont, California
mpalmer@panix.com

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH - see Abyssinian Hospital Ships

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