The ''Charles H. Marshall'' was a 19th-century

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

built by

Henry Steers Henry Steers (1779 in Dartmouth, England – 1850 in New York, USA) was a prominent nineteenth-century American shipbuilder of English descent, and the ancestor of a line of important businessmen in various boatbuilding and maritime construction ...

in 1860 for a group of New York pilots. She was in the

Great Blizzard of 1888 The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane (March 11–14, 1888), was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. The storm paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Ba ...

, the same year the National Geographic came out with an article about the successful struggle made by the crew of the ''Marshall''. The boat was named in honor of the American businessman Charles Henry Marshall. In the age of steam she was sold in 1896.

Construction and service

The new pilot-boat ''Charles H. Marshall'' was built by

for Captain Josiah Johnson Sr., Frederick Nelson, Jonathan Wright and other New York and Sandy Hook pilots. On June 20, 1860, she was launched from the foot of Twelfth street,

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

. On 9 July 1860, the ''Charles H. Marshall'' made a trail trip to the

Sandy Hook Light __NOTOC__ The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built on June 11, 1764 by Isa ...

ship and back. Charles Henry Marshall of the Black Ball line,

Moses H. Grinnell Moses Hicks Grinnell (March 3, 1803 – November 24, 1877) was a United States Congressman representing New York, and a Commissioner of New York City's Central Park. Early life Grinnell was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on March 3, ...

, Joseph Hoxle, George W. Blunt a Pilot Commissioner and others were on board as friends of Captain Johnson. A dinner was served on board with toasts and speeches made by the quests. The boat was named in honor of Charles Henry Marshall, an American businessman, art collector and philanthropist, who presented a silver pitcher, inscribed "Josiah Johnson, from his friend C. H. Marshall," as a testimonial to his long and faithful service. The ''Charles H. Marshall, No. 3'' was one of twenty-one New York pilot boats in 1860 that was in regular service. On 17 June 1863, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Captain Frederick Nelson, of the pilot-boat ''Charles H. Marshall, No. 3'' spoke to the captain on the fishing schooner ''Rose'', who reported that a three-masted, three gun, schooner

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

''Nantucket'' took two barrels of mackerel and all their pork, but did not hurt anyone. He was looking for rich men and

square-rigged Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...

vessels. The ''Charles H. Marshall'' was listed in the ''Record of American and Foreign Shipping'' from 1876 to 1900. From 1876 through 1898, she was listed as owned by the New York Pilots and her Master was Jonathan Wright. From 1899 to 1900, G. Amsinck was the owner and Jonathan Wright was still master of the boat. She was listed as 45-tons, built in 1860, 78 feet in length, 20 feet in breadth, and 7 feet in depth. On 9 October 1873, the ''C. H. Marshall'' was one of the boats that registered in the Ocean

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

, which was a race from Owl's Head Point around to

Cape May Lighthouse The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army engineer William F. Raynolds, was autom ...

in New Jersey, and back to the Sandy hook Lightship, but did not appear. William Canvin, son of John Joseph Canvin, died in 1878 by falling from the masthead of the ''Charles H. Marshall.'' Canvin Sr., was a pilot and one of the owners of the pilot-boat ''Charles H. Marshall.'' He was a pilot on the ''Marshall'' from 1860 to 1890.

Blizzard of 1888

There was an article about the

, by

Edward Everett Hayden Edward Everett Hayden (April 14, 1858 – November 17, 1932) was an American naval officer, inventor and meteorologist. He was born in Boston, and was a lifelong naval officer. Early on he was associated with the Smithsonian and the US Geolo ...

, that appeared in the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

's first magazine issue on 1 October 1888. In the Great Blizzard of 1888, boat-keeper Robert Robinson, of the ''Charles H. Marshall, No. 3'', provided a day-by-day report. On March 10, 1888, the ''Marshall'', left Staten Island on a cruise. When she was 18 miles from the Sandy Hook Lightship, she ran into a dense fog with snow and rain. The captain placed three oil bags hung over the side, which saved her because the oil prevented the seas from breaking. Iron bolts were put in the oil bags to keep them in the water. By March 15, the storm had passed and she was able to return to port. On 28 January 1890, John J. Canvin Sr., boarded the

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...

''Edward Cushing'' of

Camden, Maine Camden is a resort town in Knox County, Maine. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a summer colony in the Mid-Coas ...

, from the pilot-boat ''Charles H. Marshall'', No. 3. He drowned when he was trying to steer the barkentine off

Highland Light The Highland Light (previously known as Cape Cod Light) is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 18 ...

into port. He slipped over the railing into the sea. Efforts to find him showed that he had drowned. He was 68 years old and one of the oldest pilots in the service.

End of service

On 1 February 1896, the New York Pilots discarded sixteen sailboats and moved them to the Erie Basin in Brooklyn. They were replaced with steam pilot boats. The ''Charles H. Marshall'' was sold for $4,000. From 1899 to 1900, she was listed with owner G. Amsinck & Co. as owner and Jonathan Wright as Master.

External links

The National geographic magazine

References

{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats, state=collapsed Individual sailing vessels Schooners of the United States Service vessels of the United States 1860 ships Pilot boats Ships built in New York City

Construction and service

Blizzard of 1888

End of service

See also

External links

References