General Grant (ship)
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''General Grant'' was a 1,005-ton three-masted bark built in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1864 and registered in Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
and owned by Messers Boyes, Richardson & Co. She had a timber hull with a length of 179.5 ft, beam of 34.5 ft and depth of 21.5 ft. While on her way from Melbourne to London, ''General Grant'' crashed into a cliff on the west coast of main island of the
Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands (Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, ...
of
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and subsequently sank as a result. Sixty-eight people drowned and only 15 people survived.


Wreck

The ship departed
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
on 4 May 1866 bound for
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
via
Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
, under the command of Captain William H. Loughlin. It was carrying 58 passengers and 25 crew, along with a cargo of wool, skins, 2,576 ounces of gold, and 9 tons of zinc spelter ballast. Included in the passenger list were a number of successful miners from the Australian gold fields. At 11pm on 13 May 1866, the
Auckland Island Auckland Island ( mi, Mauka Huka) is the main island of the eponymous uninhabited archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the New Zealand subantarctic area. It is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other New ...
s were sighted dead ahead. With only light winds, the crew were unable to change course, and eventually collided against the cliffs and drifted into a large cave on
Auckland Island Auckland Island ( mi, Mauka Huka) is the main island of the eponymous uninhabited archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the New Zealand subantarctic area. It is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other New ...
's western shore. The rising tide and increasing swell caused the main mast to hit the cave roof repeatedly until the mast forced a hole through the hull; the ship sank on 14 May 1866. Although the weather remained calm, the boats were not launched immediately on the ship entering the cave as it was very dark, there was no obvious landing place, and pieces of spars and rock were falling down continually. Once daylight arrived the three boats on board were prepared for launch. The boats consisted of two quarter boats (each 22 feet long) and a long boat of 30 feet. One of the quarter boats was launched first and sent outside to see if landing could be made. The boat was expected to return for more people but instead waited outside the cave as no landing could be found. By this time the swell was increasing. The second quarter boat took a number of passengers and crew, including Mrs Jewell, to the first boat for transfer. The long boat was lying on the
quarter deck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...
and was filled with passengers. The ship was sinking fast and the long boat floated off ''General Grant''s decks. Unfortunately, the long boat was swamped with water just after getting clear of the ship. The second quarter boat stayed out of the danger area, but three people (David Ashworth, Aaron Hayman, and William Sanguily) were able to swim through the surf to the quarter boat. A total of fifteen people, including 9 crew and 6 passengers, survived the wreck. The captain did not leave the ship.


Passengers and crew

The list of those on ''General Grant'' includes: *William H. Loughlin of New York - Captain - Drowned at time of wreck *Bartholmew Brown of Boston - First officer - Lost at sea attempting to reach New Zealand *B. F. Jones of Massachusetts - Second officer - Drowned at time of wreck *Magnes Anderson of Sweden - Carpenter - Drowned at time of wreck *Keding - Steward - Drowned at time of wreck *William Newton Scott of Shields (also reported as W Newton Smith) - Able bodied seaman - Lost at sea attempting to reach New Zealand *William Ferguson - Able bodied seaman - Survived *Cornelius Drew - Able bodied seaman - Survived *Peter McNevin of Islay - Able bodied seaman - Lost at sea attempting to reach New Zealand *Andrew Morison of Glasgow - Able bodied seaman - Lost at sea attempting to reach New Zealand *David McLelland of Ayr, Scotland - Able bodied seaman - Died on the Island *Joseph Harvey Jewell - Able bodied seaman - Survived *William Murdoch Sanguilly - Able bodied seaman - Survived *Aaron Hayman (also reported as A. Harpman)- Ordinary seaman - Survived *Corn - Drowned at time of wreck *Purser - Drowned at time of wreck *Cook - Drowned at time of wreck *Assistant Cook - Drowned at time of wreck *Mrs Brown - Passenger (wife of First Officer, Bartholmew Brown)- Drowned at time of wreck *Mrs Mary Ann Jewell - Passenger (wife of Able bodied Seaman Joseph Jewell) - Survived. She is often reported as a stewardess but this is disputed. She did pay for her passage but had to sign articles of employment as a stewardess to accompany her husband - a member of the crew - but she did not act as stewardess. * James Teer - Passenger - Survived *Frederick Patrick Caughey - Passenger - Survived *David Ashworth - Passenger - Survived *Nicholas Allen - Passenger - Survived *Mrs Oat and four children - Passengers - Drowned at time of wreck *Mrs Allen and three children - Passengers - Drowned at time of wreck *Mr & Mrs Oldfield and two children - Passengers - Drowned at time of wreck *Mr Laing - Passenger - Drowned at time of wreck *Mr Mitchell - Passenger - Drowned at time of wreck


Castaway

After the sinking of the ship and the capsizing of the long boat, the remaining two quarter boats pulled up outside the cave and decided to row for
Disappointment Island Disappointment Island is one of seven uninhabited islands in the Auckland Islands archipelago, in New Zealand. It is south of the country's main South Island and from the northwest end of Auckland Island. It is home to a large colony of white ...
. They reached there at dark and then the next day made for the
Auckland Island Auckland Island ( mi, Mauka Huka) is the main island of the eponymous uninhabited archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the New Zealand subantarctic area. It is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other New ...
and
Port Ross Port Ross is a natural harbour on Auckland Island in the Auckland Islands Group, a subantarctic chain that forms part of the New Zealand Outlying Islands. Guarding the mouth of Port Ross are Rose Island, Enderby Island, Ewing Island, and th ...
. They arrived there after three days and two nights. After exploring, the group found two huts at Port Ross and, on 13 July 1866 Musgrave's hut. The group split in two in order to keep watch for passing ships. After nine months ashore, four of the crew decided to attempt to sail to
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in one of the quarter boats. They set sail on 22 January 1867 without a
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
, chart, or nautical instrument of any kind and were never seen again. Another survivor, David McLelland, died of illness on 3 September 1867. He was 62. The ten remaining survivors moved to
Enderby Island Enderby Island is part of New Zealand's uninhabited Auckland Islands archipelago, south of mainland New Zealand. It is situated just off the northern tip of Auckland Island, the largest island in the archipelago. Geography and geology Enderby ...
, where they lived on seals and pigs. On 19 November, they sighted the cutter ''Fanny'', but she did not see their signals. The brig ''Amherst'' noticed their signals on 21 November 1867 and rescued the group. As a result of this shipwreck and two previous wrecks ( ''Grafton'' and ''Invercauld''), the New Zealand government established a network of
castaway depot A castaway depot is a store or hut placed on an isolated island to provide emergency supplies and relief for castaways and victims of shipwrecks. A string of depots were built by the New Zealand government on their subantarctic islands in the ...
s and regular visits by government vessels to the subantarctic islands to relieve further
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 ...
victims. From as soon as 1868, ''General Grant''s cargo of gold attracted numerous recovery attempts, several of which proved deadly for the wreck seekers, but the exact location of the wreck has yet to be confirmed.


References


Further reading

* *


External links


''An Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966: General Grant''
at Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

at Maritime Archaeology Association of New Zealand
Images and objects relating to the ''General Grant'' shipwreck in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
{{Authority control Barques Shipwrecks of the Auckland Islands 1866 in New Zealand 1866 in Antarctica 1864 ships Ships built in Maine Ulysses S. Grant Maritime incidents in May 1866 Clippers