SS ''Anglo Saxon'' was an iron screw steam ship belonging to the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company which was wrecked with great loss of life on the

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

coast on 27 April 1863.

Ship history

''Anglo Saxon'' was built by

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being built ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, in 1856, and operated on the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

-Canada route. On her final voyage she was commanded by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

William Burgess. She sailed from

for

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

on 16 April 1863, with a total of 445 aboard; 360 passengers and 85 crew. On 27 April, in dense

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

, she ran aground in Clam Cove about four miles north of

Cape Race Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mea ...

. The ship broke up within an hour of hitting the rocks, and sank. Of those on board 237 people died, making this one of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's worst

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

s. Among those saved was Anne Bertram, sister of

John Bertram John Bertram (16 October 1837 – 28 November 1904) was a businessman and a Member of Parliament in Canada. Bertram was born at Fenton Barns, near Dirleton, Scotland, to Hugh Bertram and Isabella Mack. Bertram emigrated to Canada in 1860 ...

and

George Hope Bertram George Hope Bertram (March 12, 1847 – 20 March 1900) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Born in Fenton Barns, Scotland to Hugh Bertram and Isabella Mack, Bertram emigrated to join his brother John in Canada in 1865. After opening ...

, both later

Canadian Members of Parliament The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on Octobe ...

, who was travelling with Charlotte Hope, daughter of Scots agriculturalist, George Hope.

References

Wreck of the ''Anglo Saxon'' at theshipslist.com
1856 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast Steamships of Canada Maritime incidents in April 1863 {{ship-stub