''New Era'' was a ship that wrecked on November 13, 1854, with the reported loss of about 150 lives, off of present-day

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188

, coincidentally at almost the identical location the SS ''Morro Castle'' ran aground in 1934 after a devastating fire that had killed 137 crew and passengers.

The journey

''New Era'' was built in Bath, Maine as an emigrant ship of 1328 tons in 1854 and set sail on this its first voyage on September 28. The ship was carrying nearly all German emigrants having sailed from Bremen, Germany with a final destination of New York. The crossing was difficult with 40 passengers being lost to

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

during the journey. It was later reported that ''New Era'' was a leaky ship with both crew and passengers required to man pumps during the voyage.

Grounding

''New Era'' grounded in a dense fog in the morning hours of the 13 November with the reported loss of about 150 lives.

Memorial marker

Asbury Park founder James A. Bradley placed a memorial marker for the wreck in 1893; it was lost to sea shortly after. On September 15, 2012 an archeological search performed with ground penetrating radar failed to find the monument.

References

* WRECK OF THE SHIP NEW ERA 1854 - By Julius Friedrich Sachse Published by The Pennsylvania German Society 1907 Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast Maritime incidents in November 1854 1854 ships {{ship-stub