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 ...

, 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.

Impact

North Carolina and Virginia

Newfoundland

See also

References

Further reading