The Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769 was a major hurricane to hit the mid-Atlantic coast from North Carolina north to New England on September 7–8, 1769. It is believed to have been one of the worst storms of the century.Roth, David and Hugh Cobb

Virginia Hurricane history, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Retrieved 8 February 2019

Meteorological History

Virginia Gazette Sept 14 1769 excerpt of hurricane report

The storm likely made landfall near Brunswick Town in the southern part of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, where it destroyed the courthouse.Hawwood, Marshall DeLancey
Governor William Tryon, and His Administration in the Province of North Carolina 1765-1771
p. 60 (1903) The storm caused significant damage in New Bern, North Carolina as tides rose 12 feet above normal.Hand, Bill (31 July 2016)
Awash in a hurricane’s wrath in 1769
'' New Bern Sun Journal''Powell, William S., ed
The correspondence of William Tryon and other selected papers, Volume II, 1768-1818
pp. 362-63 (1981) Governor

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

of North Carolina speculated that a "a blazing Planet or star" that passed through the sky in August may have been the cause of the storm. Though not the cause, of course, this may have been the Great Comet of 1769.

Impact

The damage in New Bern was significant and generated a number of reports detailing the value of lost goods. A report in the ''Pennsylvania Gazette'' estimated New Bern's losses at 40-50,000 pounds. Buildings that were destroyed included the destruction of the printing office of the '' North-Carolina Gazette'', where the paper's type was buried in sand and had to be dug up.Powell, William S., ed
The correspondence of William Tryon and other selected papers, Volume II, 1768-1818
pp. 362-63 (1981) The September 14 issue of ''

The Virginia Gazette ''The Virginia Gazette'' is the local newspaper of Williamsburg, Virginia. Established in 1930, it is named for the historical ''Virginia Gazette'' published between 1736 and 1780. It is published twice a week in the broadsheet format. Historical ...

'' ran an early account of the storm which was republished in other colonies.(28 September 1769)
Williamsburg, September 14
''

Pennsylvania Gazette ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the several years leading up to the American Revolution the paper served as a voice for colonial opposition to British colonial rule, ...

''(14 September 1769)
Williamsburg, September 14
''

''(19 October 1769)
Extract of a Letter from Newbern, in North-Carolina, September 24
''

'' Parramore, Tom
The Day Colonial New Bern Washed Away
''The State'', January 1979, Vol. 46, No. 8, p. 14-15, 23 (digital pages 16-17, 25) The eye of the hurricane passed close to

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. Many old houses in eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia were destroyed, particularly around Williamsburg, York, Hampton, and Norfolk due to 13 hours of high winds from the northeast to northwest. It caused widespread damage to the Stratford Hall plantation which belonged to the family of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee.Ludlum, David M
Early American hurricanes 1492-1870
pp. 24-25, 48-49 (1963).A Late Summer "Gust"
Statford Hall website, Retrieved 8 February 2019 The storm continued northeast along the Atlantic coast, gaining speed as it reached New England and Canada. At Harvard,

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

measured the barometer at 29.57" at 10:15pm on September 8, which suggests that the storm traveled from just east of Williamsburg to Boston in 12 hours, at an average speed of about 40 mph. In Maryland, writer David Healey has suggested that this hurricane was largely responsible for silting in the port at Charlestown, Maryland, which helped its competitor

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

become the premier regional port in the area.Healey, David
Great Storms of the Chesapeake
pp. 25-26 (2012)Price, Imania (4 August 2015)
Hurricane Preparedness for Maryland’s Historic Properties
Our History, Our Heritage: The Maryland Historical Trust Blog, Retrieved 12 February 2019"

Storm title

The title "Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769" is only one name for the storm, and perhaps one of recent origin.Schwartz, Rick
Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States
pp. 41-43 (2007)Beaman, Thomas E., Jr. and Jim McKee
To Describe the Horrors of this Hurricane Is Beyond the Art of My Pen: Archaeological Evidence of the September 1769 Hurricane That Blew North Carolinians Off Their Tar Heels
''North Carolina Archaeology'' (October 2011), Vol. 60, pp. 90-115Hudgins James E. tp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NWS/NWS_ER/TM_NWS_ER_100.pdf Tropical Cyclones Affecting North Carolina Since 1586 - An Historical Perspective National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (October 2007), p. 5. Historian and meteorologist David M. Ludlum discusses the storm twice in his 1963 work ''Early American Hurricanes 1492-1970''. In the section addressing 18th century storms from Hatteras to the north, he refers to "The September Hurricane of 1769"; in the section discussing more southernly storms he titles the entry "The Eastern Carolina Hurricane of September 1769," but it is plain he is addressing the same storm in his treatment and only detailing the effects in different regions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1769 Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane 1769 disasters 1760s Atlantic hurricane seasons Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes Hurricanes in North Carolina Hurricanes in Virginia Hurricanes in Maryland Hurricanes in Delaware Hurricanes in New Jersey Hurricanes in New York (state)