The ''Powhattan'' or ''Powhatan'' was an American ship that is best remembered as one of the
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
shipwrecks with the greatest loss of life. The number of victims varies, according to sources, between 200 and 365.
The ''Powhattan'' was an emigrant
ship transport
Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...
of 598 tons gross. It was registered as a new vessel on February 2, 1837, with W. Graham as owner and D. Griffith as master (captain). The ship was built in
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 ...
, Maryland, in 1836–1837 and made several trips across the Atlantic from England, France and the Netherlands to the ports of Baltimore and New York.
About the first of March 1854, the ''Powhattan'' sailed from the port of
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
, France, destined for New York City. It was carrying more than 200 German emigrants. After encountering a storm off the New Jersey coast it went aground about 5:00 p.m. on April 15, 1854, on the shoals near
Harvey Cedars, New Jersey
Harvey Cedars is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 337, (latitude 39 33 00 North −74 13 00 West ), about six miles south of the Harvey Cedars Lifesaving Station. The ship remained afloat until the following day, April 16, 1854, whereupon it broke apart resulting in the deaths of the entire crew and passengers. At the time of the accident, the ship was commanded by Captain James Meyers (or Myers) of Baltimore. The victims washed onto the beach as far south as Atlantic City, where they were buried in three cemeteries. Fifty-four were interred in a mass grave at Smithville Methodist Church and 45 were buried in Absecon. The majority of the bodies, about 140, washed ashore at Peahala on Long Beach Island. These victims were buried in pauper's graves in the Baptist cemetery in nearby
Manahawkin
Manahawkin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States.
. The cemetery now includes "The Unknown from the Sea" monument erected by the State of New Jersey in 1904 honoring all the victims of the ''Powhattan'' shipwreck. The ''Powhattan'' disaster served as an impetus for the purchase of the site for the
Absecon Light
The Absecon Lighthouse is a coastal lighthouse located in the north end of Atlantic City, New Jersey, overlooking Absecon Inlet. At it is the tallest lighthouse in the state of New Jersey and the third-tallest masonry lighthouse in the United S ...
house later in 1854.
Voyages from 1837 to 1854
Sources
* ''Great Storms of the Jersey Shore'', by Larry Savadove and Margaret Thomas Buchholz, published by Down the Shore, 1993
* ''The New York Times'' April 21, 1854
* ''The Baltimore Sun'', April 21, 1854, Friday morning edition
* ''The Daily Alta California'', May 19, 1854
* A Heavy Sea Running: The Formation of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1846–1878 By Dennis R. Means, Winter 1987, Vol. 19, No. 4
* Brigantine Beach, New Jersey website
*New Jersey Museum of Boating, Inc., Bay Head, New Jersey
*Maritime Heritage Project www.MaritimeHeritage.org, Post Office Box 2878, Sausalito, California, 94966
*Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
* ''Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society'', 1884, published January 17, 1884, page 82–83