The 1775 Newfoundland hurricane, also known as the Independence Hurricane, was a
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
that struck the
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...
and the
Colony of Newfoundland in August and September, 1775, at the outset of the
American War of Independence.
It is believed to have killed at least 4,000 people,
[ making it one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes of all time. There is disagreement among historians and meteorologists whether the events were one storm or two distinct storms.
]
Impact
North Carolina and Virginia
On August 27, 1775, a hurricane hit the Outer Banks 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 ...
. It turned northeastward and left the state on September 2, bringing heavy wind and rain to southeastern Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. A letter from New Bern
New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...
, 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 ...
, recounted, ''"We had a violent hurricane...which has done a vast deal of damage here, at the Bar, and at Matamuskeet, near 150 lives being lost at the Bar, and 15 in one neighborhood at Matamuskeet."''
The September 9, 1775, edition 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 ...
reported: ''"The shocking accounts of damage done by the rains last week are numerous: Most of the mill-dams are broke, the corn laid almost level with the ground, and fodder destroyed; many ships and other vessels drove ashore and damaged, at Norfolk, Hampton, and York. In the heavy storm of wind and rain, which came on last Saturday, and continued most part of the night, the Mercury man of war as drove from her station abreast of the town of Norfolk, and stuck flat aground in shoal water."''
At least 163 people were killed.
Newfoundland
A storm struck the eastern coast of Newfoundland on September 9, 1775. It is uncertain if this storm was the remnants of the hurricane that had crossed the Outer Banks over a week earlier.
Newfoundland's fisheries ''"received a very severe stroke from the violence of a storm of wind, which almost swept everything before it,"'' Commodore Governor Robert Duff wrote shortly after it struck. ''"A considerable number of boats, with their crews, have been totally lost, several vessels wrecked on the shores,"'' he said. Ocean levels rose to heights ''"scarcely ever known before"'' and caused great devastation, Duff reported.
A total of 4,000 sailors, mostly from England and Ireland, were reported to have been drowned. A localized storm surge is reported to have reached heights of between 20 and 30 feet. Losses from the hurricane include two armed schooners of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, which were on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...
to enforce Britain's fishing rights.
The hurricane is Atlantic Canada's first recorded hurricane and Canada's deadliest natural disaster (and by far the deadliest hurricane to ever hit territory of present-day Canada), as well as the eighth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history.
See also
*List of tropical cyclones
This is a list of tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin. See the list of tropical cyclone records for individual records set by individual tropical cyclones.
* Lists of Atlantic hurricanes – directory for Atlantic hurricanes north of the eq ...
*List of Atlantic hurricanes
Lists of Atlantic hurricanes, or tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, are organized by the properties of the hurricane or by the location most affected.
By property
* List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
*List of Atlantic hurricane records
*Li ...
*List of Newfoundland hurricanes
There have been 25 recorded Newfoundland hurricanes, or Atlantic Ocean hurricanes that have made a direct landfall as a tropical or subtropical cyclone on the island of Newfoundland since official records began in 1851. Significant hurricanes s ...
* List of Canadian hurricanes
References
Further reading
*
*{{cite book , title=Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution , first=Tony , last=Williams , year=1999 , publisher=Sourcebooks , isbn=1402247494 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qr56CAAAQBAJ
1770s Atlantic hurricane seasons
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775
1775 in Newfoundland
1775 in North Carolina
1775 in Virginia