Mary Celeste
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Mary Celeste'' (; often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) was an American-registered merchant
brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...
, best known for being discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
Islands on December 4, 1872. The Canadian brigantine found her in a dishevelled but seaworthy condition under partial sail and with her lifeboat missing. The last entry in her log was dated ten days earlier. She had left New York City for
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
on November 7 and was still amply provisioned when found. Her cargo of alcohol was intact, and the captain's and crew's personal belongings were undisturbed. None of those who had been on board were ever seen or heard from again. ''Mary Celeste'' was built in Spencer's Island,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
, and launched under British registration as ''Amazon'' in 1861. She was transferred to American ownership and registration in 1868, when she acquired her new name. Thereafter she sailed uneventfully until her 1872 voyage. At the salvage hearings in
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
following her recovery, the court's officers considered various possibilities of foul play, including mutiny by ''Mary Celeste''s crew, piracy by the ''Dei Gratia'' crew or others, and conspiracy to carry out insurance or salvage fraud. No convincing evidence supported these theories, but unresolved suspicions led to a relatively low salvage award. The inconclusive nature of the hearings fostered continued speculation as to the nature of the mystery, and the story has repeatedly been complicated by false detail and fantasy. Hypotheses that have been advanced include the effects on the crew of alcohol fumes rising from the cargo,
submarine earthquake A submarine, undersea, or underwater earthquake is an earthquake that occurs underwater at the bottom of a body of water, especially an ocean. They are the leading cause of tsunamis. The magnitude can be measured scientifically by the use of the ...
s,
waterspout A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel cloud, funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water. Some are connected to a cumulus congestus cloud, some to a cumuliform cloud and some to a cumulonimbus clou ...
s, attack by a
giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Trace ...
, and paranormal intervention. After the Gibraltar hearings, ''Mary Celeste'' continued in service under new owners. In 1885, her captain deliberately wrecked her off the coast of
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
as part of an attempted
insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the ...
. The story of her 1872 abandonment has been recounted and dramatized many times in documentaries, novels, plays, and films, and the name of the ship has become a byword for unexplained desertion. In 1884,
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
wrote " J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement", a short story based on the mystery, but spelled the vessel's name as ''Marie Celeste''. The story's popularity led to the spelling becoming more common than the original in everyday use.


Early history

The
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
of the future ''Mary Celeste'' was laid in late 1860 at the shipyard of Joshua Dewis in the village of Spencer's Island, on the shores of the
Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...
in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. The ship was constructed of locally felled timber, with two masts, and was rigged as a
brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...
; she was carvel-built, the hull planking flush rather than overlapping. She was launched on May 18, 1861, given the name ''Amazon'', and registered at nearby
Parrsboro Parrsboro is a community located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. A regional service centre for southern Cumberland County, the community is also known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions, and t ...
on June 10, 1861. Her registration documents described her as in length, broad, with a depth of , and of 198.42 gross tonnage.Begg, pp. 14–16 She was owned by a local consortium of nine people, headed by Dewis; among the co-owners was Robert McLellan, the ship's first captain.Fay, p. 46 For her maiden voyage in June 1861, ''Amazon'' sailed to
Five Islands, Nova Scotia Five Islands is a rural community in Colchester County Nova Scotia with a population of 316 located on the north shore of Minas Basin, home of the highest tides in the world. It is named after five small islands – Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg, an ...
to take on a cargo of timber for passage across the Atlantic to London. After supervising the ship's loading, Captain McLellan fell ill; his condition worsened. The ''Amazon'' returned to Spencer's Island where McLellan died on June 19.Begg, pp. 17–18 John Nutting Parker took over as captain, and resumed the voyage to London, in the course of which ''Amazon'' encountered further misadventures. She collided with fishing equipment in the narrows off
Eastport, Maine Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainlan ...
, and after leaving London ran into and sank a
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
in the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. Parker remained in command for two years, during which ''Amazon'' worked mainly in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
trade. She crossed the Atlantic to France in November 1861,Fay, pp. 49–50 and in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
was the subject of a painting, possibly by Honoré de Pellegrin, a well-known maritime artist of the Marseilles School. In 1863, Parker was succeeded by William Thompson, who remained in command until 1867. These were quiet years; ''Amazon''s mate later recalled that, "We went to the West Indies, England and the Mediterranean—what we call the foreign trade. Not a thing unusual happened." In October 1867, at
Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...
, ''Amazon'' was driven ashore in a storm, and was so badly damaged that her owners abandoned her as a wreck. On October 15, she was acquired as a derelict by Alexander McBean, of
Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated ...
, Nova Scotia.


New owners, new name

Within a month, McBean sold the wreck to a local businessman, who in November 1868, sold it to Richard W. Haines, an American mariner from New York.Fay, pp. 53–55 Haines paid US$1,750 for the wreck, and then spent $8,825 restoring it. He made himself her captain, and, in December 1868, registered her with the
Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...
as an American vessel, under a new name, ''Mary Celeste''. In October 1869, the ship was seized by Haines's creditors, and sold to a New York consortium headed by James H. Winchester. During the next three years, the composition of this consortium changed several times, although Winchester retained at least a half-share throughout. No record of ''Mary Celeste''s trading activities during this period have been found. Early in 1872, the ship underwent a major refit, costing $10,000, which enlarged her considerably. Her length was increased to , her breadth to and her depth to . Among the structural changes, a second deck was added; an inspector's report refers to extensions to the
poop deck In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, ''la poupe'', from Latin ''puppis''. Thus ...
, new transoms and the replacement of many timbers. The work increased the ship's tonnage to 282.28. On October 29, 1872, the consortium was made up of Winchester with six shares and two minor investors with one share apiece, the remaining four of twelve shares being held by the ship's new captain, Benjamin Spooner Briggs.


Captain Briggs and crew

Benjamin Briggs was born in
Wareham, Massachusetts Wareham ( ) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 23,303. History Wareham was first settled in 1678 by Europeans as part of the towns of Plymouth and Rochester. It was ...
, on April 24, 1835, one of five sons of sea captain Nathan Briggs. All but one of the sons went to sea, two becoming captains. Benjamin was an observant Christian who read the Bible regularly and often bore witness to his faith at prayer meetings. In 1862, he married his cousin Sarah Elizabeth Cobb, and enjoyed a Mediterranean honeymoon on board his
schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''Forest King''. Two children were born: Arthur in September 1865, and Sophia Matilda in October 1870.Begg, pp. 26–28 By the time of Sophia's birth, Briggs had achieved a high standing within his profession. He considered retiring from the sea to go into business with his seafaring brother Oliver, who had also grown tired of the wandering life. They did not proceed with this project, but each invested his savings in a share of a ship: Oliver invested in ''Julia A. Hallock'', and Benjamin in ''Mary Celeste''. In October 1872, Benjamin took command of ''Mary Celeste'' for her first voyage following her extensive New York refit, which was to take her to
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
in Italy. He arranged for his wife and infant daughter to accompany him, while his school-aged son was left at home in the care of his grandmother. Briggs chose the crew for this voyage with care.Begg, pp. 33–37 First mate Albert G. Richardson was married to a niece of Winchester and had sailed under Briggs before. Second mate Andrew Gilling, aged about 25, was born in New York, and was of Danish extraction. The steward, newly married Edward William Head, was signed on with a personal recommendation from Winchester. The four general seamen were Germans from the
Frisian Islands The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or the Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the northwest of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denma ...
: the brothers Volkert and Boz Lorenzen, Arian Martens, and Gottlieb Goudschaal. A later testimonial described them as "peaceable and first-class sailors." In a letter to his mother shortly before the voyage, Briggs declared himself eminently satisfied with ship and crew. Sarah Briggs informed her mother that the crew appeared to be quietly capable "... if they continue as they have begun".


Abandonment


New York

On October 20, 1872, Briggs arrived at Pier 50 on the
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
in New York City to supervise the loading of the ship's cargo of 1,701 barrels of alcohol;Hastings, pp. 44–45 his wife and infant daughter joined him a week later. On Sunday, November 3, Briggs wrote to his mother to say that he intended to leave on Tuesday, adding that "our vessel is in beautiful trim and I hope we shall have a fine passage." On Tuesday morning (November 5), ''Mary Celeste'' left Pier 50 with Briggs, his wife and daughter, and seven crew members, and moved into New York Harbor. The weather was uncertain, and Briggs decided to wait for better conditions. He anchored the ship just off
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
,Begg, pp. 30–31 where Sarah used the delay to send a final letter to her mother-in-law. "Tell Arthur," she wrote, "I make great dependence on the letters I shall get from him, and will try to remember anything that happens on the voyage which he would be pleased to hear." The weather eased two days later, and ''Mary Celeste'' left the harbor and entered the Atlantic. While ''Mary Celeste'' prepared to sail, the Canadian brigantine lay nearby in
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
, awaiting a cargo of petroleum destined for Genoa via
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
. Captain David Morehouse and first mate Oliver Deveau were Nova Scotians, both highly experienced and respected seamen.Begg, pp. 38–39 Captains Briggs and Morehouse shared common interests, and some writers think it likely that they knew each other, if only casually. Some accounts assert that they were close friends who dined together on the evening before ''Mary Celeste''s departure, but the evidence for this is limited to a recollection by Morehouse's widow 50 years after the event. ''Dei Gratia'' departed for Gibraltar on November 15, following the same general route eight days after ''Mary Celeste''.


Derelict

''Dei Gratia'' had reached a position of , midway between the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and the coast of Portugal at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4, 1872, land time (Thursday, December 5, sea time). Captain Morehouse came on deck and the helmsman reported a vessel about distant, heading unsteadily towards ''Dei Gratia''. The ship's erratic movements and the odd set of her sails led Morehouse to suspect that something was wrong.Begg, pp. 40–41 As the vessel drew close, he could see nobody on deck, and he received no reply to his signals, so he sent Deveau and second mate John Wright in a ship's boat to investigate. The pair established that this was the ''Mary Celeste'' by the name on her stern; they then climbed aboard and found the ship deserted. The sails were partly set and in a poor condition, some missing altogether, and much of the rigging was damaged, with ropes hanging loosely over the sides. The main hatch cover was secure, but the fore and
lazarette The lazarette (also spelled lazaret) of a boat is an area near or aft of the cockpit. The word is similar to and probably derived from lazaretto. A lazarette is usually a storage locker used for gear or equipment a sailor or boatswain would us ...
hatches were open, their covers beside them on the deck. The ship's single lifeboat was a small
yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...
that had apparently been stowed across the main hatch, but it was missing, while the
binnacle A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional p ...
housing the ship's compass had shifted from its place and its glass cover was broken.Fay, pp. 38–41 There was about of water in the hold, a significant but not alarming amount for a ship of this size. A makeshift sounding rod (a device for measuring the amount of water in the hold) was found abandoned on the deck. They found the ship's daily log in the mate's cabin, and its final entry was dated at 8 a.m. on November 25, nine days earlier. It recorded ''Mary Celeste''s position then as off
Santa Maria Island Santa Maria () is an island in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is known for its white sand beaches, distinctive chimneys, and dry warm weath ...
in the Azores, nearly from the point where ''Dei Gratia'' encountered her. Deveau saw that the cabin interiors were wet and untidy from water that had entered through doorways and skylights, but were otherwise in reasonable order. He found personal items scattered about Briggs' cabin, including a sheathed sword under the bed, but most of the ship's papers were missing along with the captain's navigational instruments. Galley equipment was neatly stowed away; there was no food prepared or under preparation, but there were ample provisions in the stores. There were no obvious signs of fire or violence; the evidence indicated an orderly departure from the ship by means of the missing lifeboat. Deveau returned to report these findings to Morehouse, who decided to bring the derelict into Gibraltar away. Under maritime law, a
salvor Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from ...
could expect a substantial share of the combined value of rescued vessel and cargo, the exact award depending on the degree of danger inherent in the salvaging. Morehouse divided ''Dei Gratia''s crew of eight between the two vessels, sending Deveau and two experienced seamen to ''Mary Celeste'' while he and four others remained on ''Dei Gratia''. The weather was relatively calm for most of the way to Gibraltar, but each ship was seriously undercrewed and progress was slow. ''Dei Gratia'' reached Gibraltar on December 12; ''Mary Celeste'' had encountered fog and arrived on the following morning. She was immediately impounded by the vice admiralty court to prepare for salvage hearings. Deveau wrote to his wife that the ordeal of bringing the ship in was such that "I can hardly tell what I am made of, but I do not care so long as I got in safe. I shall be well paid for the ''Mary Celeste''."


Gibraltar salvage hearings

The salvage court hearings began in Gibraltar on December 17, 1872, under Sir James Cochrane, the chief justice of Gibraltar. The hearing was conducted by Frederick Solly-Flood, Attorney General of Gibraltar who was also Advocate-General and Proctor for the Queen in Her Office of Admiralty. Flood was described by a historian of the ''Mary Celeste'' affair as a man "whose arrogance and pomposity were inversely proportional to his IQ", and as "... the sort of man who, once he had made up his mind about something, couldn't be shifted." The testimonies of Deveau and Wright convinced Flood unalterably that a crime had been committed, a belief picked up by the New York ''Shipping and Commercial List'' on December 21: "The inference is that there has been foul play somewhere, and that alcohol is at the bottom of it." On December 23, Flood ordered an examination of ''Mary Celeste'', which was carried out by John Austin, Surveyor of Shipping, with the assistance of a diver, Ricardo Portunato. Austin noted cuts on each side of the bow, caused, he thought, by a sharp instrument, and found possible traces of blood on the captain's sword. His report emphasized that the ship did not appear to have been struck by heavy weather, citing a
vial A vial (also known as a phial or flacon) is a small glass or plastic vessel or bottle, often used to store medication as liquids, powders or capsules. They can also be used as scientific sample vessels; for instance, in autosampler devices i ...
of sewing machine oil found upright in its place. Austin did not acknowledge that the vial might have been replaced since the abandonment, nor did the court raise this point.Begg, pp. 73–74 Portunato's report on the hull concluded that the ship had not been involved in a collision or run aground. A further inspection by a group of Royal Naval captains endorsed Austin's opinion that the cuts on the bow had been caused deliberately. They also discovered stains on one of the ship's rails that might have been blood, together with a deep mark possibly caused by an axe. These findings strengthened Flood's suspicions that human wrongdoing rather than natural disaster lay behind the mystery. On January 22, 1873, he sent the reports to the Board of Trade in London, adding his own conclusion that the crew had got at the alcohol and murdered the Briggs family and the ship's officers in a drunken frenzy. They had cut the bows to simulate a collision, then fled in the yawl to suffer an unknown fate.Begg, pp. 68–69 Flood thought that Morehouse and his men were hiding something, specifically that ''Mary Celeste'' had been abandoned in a more easterly location, and that the log had been doctored. He could not accept that ''Mary Celeste'' could have traveled so far while uncrewed. James Winchester arrived in Gibraltar on January 15, to enquire when ''Mary Celeste'' might be released to deliver her cargo. Flood demanded a surety of $15,000, money Winchester did not have.Hastings, p. 53 Winchester became aware that Flood thought Winchester might have deliberately engaged a crew that would kill Briggs and his officers as part of some conspiracy.Begg, p. 78 On January 29, during a series of sharp exchanges with Flood, Winchester testified to Briggs's high character, and insisted that Briggs would not have abandoned the ship except in extremity. Flood's theories of mutiny and murder received significant setbacks when scientific analysis of the stains found on the sword and elsewhere on the ship showed that they were not blood. A second blow to Flood followed in a report commissioned by Horatio Sprague, the American consul in Gibraltar, from Captain Shufeldt of the US Navy. In Shufeldt's view, the marks on the bow were not man-made, but came from the natural actions of the sea on the ship's timbers. With nothing concrete to support his suspicions, Flood reluctantly released ''Mary Celeste'' from the court's jurisdiction on February 25. Two weeks later, with a locally raised crew headed by Captain George Blatchford from Massachusetts, she left Gibraltar for Genoa.Begg, p. 79 The question of the salvage payment was decided on April 8, when Cochrane announced the award: £1,700, or about one-fifth of the total value of ship and cargo. This was far lower than the general expectation—one authority thought that the award should have been twice or even three times that amount, given the level of hazard in bringing the derelict into port. Cochrane's final words were harshly critical of Morehouse for his decision, earlier in the hearing, to send ''Dei Gratia'' under Deveau to deliver her cargo of petroleum—although Morehouse had remained in Gibraltar at the disposal of the court. Cochrane's tone carried an implication of wrongdoing, which, says Hicks, ensured that Morehouse and his crew "...would be under suspicion in the court of public opinion forever."


Proposed explanations


Foul play

The evidence in Gibraltar failed to support Flood's theories of murder and conspiracy, yet suspicion lingered of foul play. Flood, and some newspaper reports, briefly suspected insurance fraud on the part of Winchester on the basis that ''Mary Celeste'' had been heavily over-insured. Winchester was able to refute these allegations and no inquiry was instituted by the insurance companies that issued the policies.Hicks, pp. 150–152 In 1931, an article in the ''
Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...
'' suggested that Morehouse could have lain in wait for ''Mary Celeste'', then lured Briggs and his crew aboard ''Dei Gratia'' and killed them there. Paul Begg argues that this theory ignores the fact that ''Dei Gratia'' was the slower ship; she left New York eight days after ''Mary Celeste'' and would not have caught ''Mary Celeste'' before she reached Gibraltar.Begg, pp. 100–101 Another theory posits that Briggs and Morehouse were partners in a conspiracy to share the salvage proceedings. The unsubstantiated friendship between the two captains has been cited by commentators as making such a plan a plausible explanation.Hastings, pp. 133–134 Hicks comments that, "if Morehouse and Briggs had been planning such a scam, they would not have devised such an attention-drawing mystery". He also asks why Briggs left his son Arthur behind if he intended to disappear permanently. Another suggested event was an attack by Riffian pirates who were active off the coast of Morocco in the 1870s. However, Charles Edey Fay observes that pirates would have looted the ship, yet the personal possessions of captain and crew were left undisturbed, some of significant value.Fay, pp. 127–129 In 1925, historian John Gilbert Lockhart surmised that Briggs slaughtered all on board and then killed himself in a fit of religious mania. Lockhart later spoke to Briggs's descendants, and he apologized and withdrew this theory in a later edition of his book.


Lifeboat

In Cobb's view, the transfer of personnel to the yawl may have been intended as a temporary safety measure. He speculated from Deveau's report on the state of the rigging and ropes that the ship's main halliard may have been used to attach the yawl to the ship, enabling the company to return on board when the danger had passed. However, ''Mary Celeste'' would have sailed away empty if the line had parted, leaving the yawl adrift with its occupants. Begg notes how illogical it would be to attach the yawl to a vessel that the crew thought was about to explode or sink. Macdonald Hastings points out that Briggs was an experienced captain and asks whether he would have effected a panicked abandonment. "If the ''Mary Celeste'' had blown her timbers, she would still have been a better bet for survival than the ship's boat." If this is what happened, says Hastings, Briggs "behaved like a fool; worse, a frightened one." Arthur N. Putman, a New York insurance appraiser, was a leading investigator in sea mysteries in the early 20th century and wrote a similar lifeboat theory. Putman laid special stress on the fact that only a single lifeboat was missing from the vessel. He discovered that the rope of the boat was cut, not untied, which indicated when the ''Mary Celeste'' was abandoned it was done quickly. Several times in the ship's log there is mention of ominous rumbling and small explosions from the hold. Cargos of alcohol naturally give off explosive gas and these sounds described are quite common. He supposes that one day there was a more intense explosion and a sailor ventured below deck with a light or lit cigar which set off the accumulated fumes causing an explosion violent enough to blow off the top covering on the hatch, which had been found in an unusual position. Putnam ends his theory, that in a panicked terror the captain, family, and crew piled into the lone lifeboat, cut the rope and set out to sea, abandoning the vessel.


Natural phenomena

Commentators generally agree that some extraordinary and alarming circumstance must have arisen, to cause the entire crew to abandon a sound and seaworthy ship with ample provisions. Deveau ventured an explanation based on the sounding rod found on deck. He suggested that Briggs abandoned ship after a false sounding, because of a malfunction of the pumps or other mishap, which gave a false impression that the vessel was taking on water rapidly. A severe
waterspout A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel cloud, funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water. Some are connected to a cumulus congestus cloud, some to a cumuliform cloud and some to a cumulonimbus clou ...
strike before the abandonment could explain the amount of water in the ship and the ragged state of her rigging and sails. The low barometric pressure generated by the spout could have driven water from the bilges up into the pumps, leading the crew to assume that the ship had taken on more water than she had and was in danger of sinking. Other proffered explanations are: the possible appearance of a displaced iceberg, the fear of running aground while becalmed, and a sudden
submarine earthquake A submarine, undersea, or underwater earthquake is an earthquake that occurs underwater at the bottom of a body of water, especially an ocean. They are the leading cause of tsunamis. The magnitude can be measured scientifically by the use of the ...
. Hydrographical evidence suggests that an iceberg drifting so far south was improbable, and other ships would have seen it had there been one. Begg gives more consideration to a theory that ''Mary Celeste'' began drifting towards the
Dollabarat The Dollabarat Reef is a shoal situated 5 km (3 nautical miles) south-southeast of the Formigas Islets on the Formigas Bank in the Azores archipelago. History The reef is named after Pierre Dollabarats, Basque captain of the ship ''Mari ...
reef off Santa Maria Island when she was becalmed. The theory supposes that Briggs feared that his ship would run aground and launched the yawl in the hope of reaching land. The wind could then have picked up and blown ''Mary Celeste'' away from the reef, while the rising seas swamped and sank the yawl. The weakness of this theory is that, if the ship had been becalmed, all sails would have been set to catch any available breeze, yet it was found with many of its sails furled. An earthquake on the sea bed could have caused sufficient turbulence on the surface to damage parts of ''Mary Celeste''s cargo, thus releasing noxious fumes. Rising fears of an imminent explosion could plausibly have led Briggs to order the ship's abandonment; the displaced hatches suggest that an inspection, or an attempted airing, had taken place.Begg, pp. 136–139 The ''
New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...
'' of January 24, 1886, drew attention to a case where a vessel carrying alcohol had exploded. The same journal's issue of February 9, 1913, cited a seepage of alcohol through a few porous barrels as the source of gases that may have caused or threatened an explosion in ''Mary Celeste''s hold. Briggs's cousin Oliver Cobb was a strong proponent of this theory as providing a sufficiently alarming scenario—rumblings from the hold, the smell of escaping fumes and possibly an explosion—for Briggs to have ordered the evacuation of the ship.Begg, pp. 132–134 In his haste to leave the ship before it exploded, Briggs may have failed to properly secure the yawl to the tow line. A sudden breeze could have blown the ship away from the occupants of the yawl, leaving them to succumb to the elements. The lack of damage from an explosion and the generally sound state of the cargo upon discovery tend to weaken this case. In 2006, an experiment was carried out for Channel Five television by chemist Andrea Sella of
University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
, the results of which helped to revive the "explosion" theory. Sella built a model of the hold, with paper cartons representing the barrels. Using butane gas, he created an explosion that caused a considerable blast and ball of flame—but contrary to expectation, no fire damage within the replica hold. "What we created was a pressure-wave type of explosion. There was a spectacular wave of flame but, behind it, was relatively cool air. No soot was left behind and there was no burning or scorching."


Myths and false histories

Fact and fiction became intertwined in the decades that followed. The ''Los Angeles Times'' retold the ''Mary Celeste'' story in June 1883 with invented detail. "Every sail was set, the tiller was lashed fast, not a rope was out of place. ... The fire was burning in the galley. The dinner was standing untasted and scarcely cold … the log written up to the hour of her discovery." The November 1906 ''Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine'' reported that ''Mary Celeste'' drifted off the
Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
, some south of the actual location. Among many inaccuracies, the first mate was "a man named Briggs," and there were live chickens on board. The most influential retelling, according to many commentators, was a story in the January 1884 issue of the ''
Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill in London.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ''Dictiona ...
'' which ensured that the ''Mary Celeste'' affair would never be forgotten.Begg, pp. 88–91 This was an early work of
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, a 25 year-old ship's surgeon at the time. Conan Doyle's story " J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" did not adhere to the facts. He renamed the ship ''Marie Celeste'', the captain's name was J. W. Tibbs, the fatal voyage took place in 1873, and it was from Boston to Lisbon. The vessel carried passengers, among them the titular Jephson. In the story, a fanatic named Septimius Goring with a hatred of the white race has suborned members of the crew to murder Tibbs and take the vessel to the shores of Western Africa. The rest of the ship's company is killed, save for Jephson who is spared because he possesses a magical charm that is venerated by Goring and his accomplices. Conan Doyle had not expected his story to be taken seriously, but Sprague was still serving as the U.S. consul in Gibraltar and was sufficiently intrigued to inquire if any part of the story might be true. In 1913, ''
The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'' provided an alleged survivor's account from one Abel Fosdyk, supposedly ''Mary Celeste''s steward. In this version, the crew had gathered on a temporary swimming platform to watch a swimming contest, when the platform suddenly collapsed. All except Fosdyk were drowned or eaten by sharks. Unlike Conan Doyle's story, the magazine proposed this as a serious solution to the enigma, but it contained many simple mistakes, including "Griggs" for Briggs, "Boyce" for Morehouse, Briggs's daughter as a seven-year-old child rather than a two-year-old, a crew of 13, and an ignorance of nautical language. Many more people were convinced by a plausible literary hoax of the 1920s perpetrated by Irish writer Laurence J. Keating, again presented as a survivor's story of one John Pemberton. This one told a complex tale of murder, madness, and collusion with the ''Dei Gratia''. It included basic errors, such as using Conan Doyle's name ("Marie Celeste") and misnaming key personnel. Nevertheless, the story was so convincingly told that the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' of July 26, 1926, thought its truth beyond dispute. Hastings describes Keating's hoax as "an impudent trick by a man not without imaginative ability." In 1924, the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'' published a story by Captain R. Lucy, whose alleged informant was ''Mary Celeste''s former bosun,Hastings, pp. 88–93 although no such person is recorded in the registered crew list. In this tale, Briggs and his crew are cast in the role of predators; they sight a derelict steamer, which they board and find deserted with £3,500 of gold and silver in its safe. They decide to split the money, abandon ''Mary Celeste'', and seek new lives in Spain, which they reach by using the steamer's lifeboats. Hastings finds it astonishing that such an unlikely story was widely believed for a time; readers, he says, "were fooled by the magic of print." ''Chambers's Journal'' of September 17, 1904, suggests that the entire complement of ''Mary Celeste'' was plucked off one by one by a giant octopus or squid. According to the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
, giant squid ('' Architeuthis dux'') can reach in length and have been known to attack ships. Begg remarks that such a creature could conceivably have picked off a crew member, but it could hardly have taken the yawl and the captain's navigation instruments. Other explanations have suggested paranormal intervention; an undated edition of the ''British Journal of Astrology'' describes the ''Mary Celeste'' story as "a mystical experience", connecting it "with the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, the lost continent of
Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
, and the British Israel Movement".Hastings, pp. 122–123 The
Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterio ...
has been invoked, even though ''Mary Celeste'' was abandoned in a completely different part of the Atlantic. Similar fantasies have considered theories of abduction by aliens in flying saucers.


Later career and final voyage

''Mary Celeste'' left Genoa on June 26, 1873, and arrived in New York on September 19. The Gibraltar hearings, with newspaper stories of bloodshed and murder, had made her an unpopular ship; Hastings records that she "... rotted on wharves where nobody wanted her." In February 1874, the consortium sold the ship, at a considerable loss, to a partnership of New York businessmen.Hicks, pp. 158–159 Under this new ownership, ''Mary Celeste'' sailed mainly in the West Indian and Indian Ocean routes, regularly losing money. Details of her movements occasionally appeared in the shipping news; in February 1879, she was reported at the island of
St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
, where she had called to seek medical assistance for her captain, Edgar Tuthill, who had fallen ill. Tuthill died on the island, encouraging the idea that the ship was cursed—he was her third captain to die prematurely. In February 1880, the owners sold ''Mary Celeste'' to a partnership of Bostonians headed by Wesley Gove. A new captain, Thomas L. Fleming, remained in the post until August 1884, when he was replaced by Gilman C. Parker. During these years, the ship's port of registration changed several times, before reverting to Boston. There are no records of her voyages during this time, although Brian Hicks, in his study of the affair, asserts that Gove tried hard to make a success of her. In November 1884, Parker conspired with a group of Boston shippers, who filled ''Mary Celeste'' with a largely worthless cargo, misrepresented on the ship's manifest as valuable goods and insured for US$30,000 ($ today). On December 16, Parker set out for
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
, the capital and chief port of Haiti. On January 3, 1885, ''Mary Celeste'' approached the port via the channel between
Gonâve Island Gonâve Island or Zile Lagonav (french: Île de la Gonâve, ; also ''La Gonâve'') is an island of Haiti located west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve. It is the largest of the Hispaniolan satellite islands. The island is an a ...
and the mainland, in which lay a large and well-charted coral reef, the Rochelois Bank. Parker deliberately ran the ship on to this reef, ripping out her bottom and wrecking her beyond repair. He and the crew then rowed themselves ashore, where Parker sold the salvageable cargo for $500 to the American consul, and instituted insurance claims for the alleged value.Hicks, pp. 178–179 When the consul reported that what he had bought was almost worthless, the ship's insurers began a thorough investigation, which soon revealed the truth of the over-insured cargo. In July 1885, Parker and the shippers were tried in Boston for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Parker was additionally charged with "wilfully cast ngaway the ship," a crime known as barratry and at the time carrying the death penalty. The conspiracy case was heard first, but on August 15, the jury announced that they could not agree on a verdict. Some jurors were unwilling to risk prejudicing Parker's forthcoming capital trial by finding him guilty on the conspiracy charge. Rather than ordering an expensive retrial, the judge negotiated an arrangement whereby the defendants withdrew their insurance claims and repaid all they had received. The barratry charge against Parker was deferred, and he was allowed to go free. Nevertheless, his professional reputation was ruined, and he died in poverty three months later. One of his co-defendants went mad, and another killed himself. Begg observes that "if the court of man could not punish these men ... the curse that had devilled the ship since her first skipper Robert McLellan had died on her maiden voyage could reach beyond the vessel's watery grave and exact its own terrible retribution." In August 2001, an expedition headed by the marine archaeologist and author
Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list m ...
announced that they had found the remains of a ship embedded in the Rochelois reef. Only a few pieces of timber and some metal artifacts could be salvaged, the remainder of the wreckage being lost within the coral. Initial tests on the wood indicated that it was the type extensively used in New York shipyards at the time of ''Mary Celeste''s 1872 refit, and it seemed the remains of ''Mary Celeste'' had been found. However,
dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
tests carried out by Scott St George of the
Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...
showed that the wood came from trees, most probably from the US state of Georgia, that would still have been growing in 1894, about ten years after ''Mary Celeste'' demise.


Legacy and commemorations

''Mary Celeste'' was not the first reported case of a ship being found strangely deserted on the high seas.
Rupert Gould Rupert Thomas Gould (16 November 1890 – 5 October 1948) was a lieutenant-commander in the British Royal Navy noted for his contributions to horology (the science and study of timekeeping devices). He was also an author and radio personality. ...
, a naval officer and investigator of maritime mysteries, lists other such occurrences between 1840 and 1855. Whatever the truth of these stories, it is the ''Mary Celeste'' that is remembered; the ship's name, or the misspelled ''Marie Celeste'', has become fixed in people's minds as synonymous with inexplicable desertion. In October 1955, , a 70-ton motor vessel, disappeared in the South Pacific while traveling between
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and
Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...
, with 25 people on board. The vessel was found a month later, deserted and drifting north of
Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically ...
, from its route. None of those aboard were seen again, and a commission of inquiry failed to establish an explanation. David Wright, the affair's principal historian, has described the case as "... a classic marine mystery of ''Mary Celeste'' proportions." The ''Mary Celeste'' story inspired two well-received radio plays in the 1930s, by L. Du Garde Peach and Tim Healey respectively, and a stage version of Peach's play in 1949. Several novels have been published, generally offering natural rather than fantastic explanations.Among recent fact-based novels are: Richard Rees
''The Shadow of the Mary Celeste''
Published by Robert Hale, London 1995. .; Brian Freemantle
''The Mary Celeste''
Published by Severn House Publishers, Sutton, Surrey 1999. (first published as ''The "Mary Celeste"'' under the pseudonym John Maxwell at Cape, 1979, ). Valerie Martin
''The Ghost of the Mary Celeste''
Published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, New York 2014. .
In 1935, the British film company
Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...
issued '' The Mystery of the Mary Celeste'' (retitled ''Phantom Ship'' for American audiences), starring
Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
as a deranged sailor. It was not a commercial success, although Begg considers it "a period piece well worth watching." A 1938 short film titled ''
The Ship That Died ''The Ship That Died'' is a 1938 American short film directed by Jacques Tourneur for MGM. Written by George Sayer and featuring John Nesbitt, Leonard Penn, and Rhea Mitchell, it presents dramatisations of a range of theories (mutiny, fear of ex ...
'' presents dramatizations of a range of theories to explain the abandonment: mutiny, fear of explosion due to alcohol fumes, and the supernatural. In November 2007, the
Smithsonian Channel The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facili ...
screened a documentary, ''The True Story of the Mary Celeste'', which investigated many aspects of the case without offering any definite solution. One theory proposed pump congestion and instrument malfunction. The ''Mary Celeste'' had been used for transporting coal, which is known for its dust, before it was loaded with alcohol. The pump was found disassembled on deck, so the crew may have been attempting to repair it. The hull was packed full, and the captain would have no way of judging how much water had been taken on while navigating rough seas. The filmmakers postulated that the chronometer was faulty, meaning that Briggs could have ordered abandonment thinking that they were close to Santa Maria, when they were farther west. At Spencer's Island, ''Mary Celeste'' and her lost crew are commemorated by a monument at the site of the brigantine's construction and by a memorial outdoor cinema built in the shape of the vessel's hull. Postage stamps commemorating the incident have been issued by Gibraltar (twice) and by the Maldives (twice, once with the name of the ship misspelt as ''Marie Celeste'').Begg, pp. 115–116


See also

*
Ghost ship A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a ship, vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the ''Flying Dutchman'', or a physical Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict, derelict found adrift with its cre ...
*
List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea Throughout history, people have mysteriously disappeared at sea, many on voyages aboard floating vessels or traveling via aircraft. The following is a list of known individuals who have mysteriously vanished in open waters, and whose whereabouts r ...
* Abel Fosdyk papers * J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement


Notes


References


Sources

* * * Revised edition of book originally published by Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts in 1942. * * * * *


External links


''Mary Celeste''
photos and video at
Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list m ...
's
National Underwater and Marine Agency The National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) is a private non-profit organization in the United States founded in 1979. Originally it was a fictional US government organization in the novels of author Clive Cussler. Cussler later created and, ...

The ''Mary Celeste'' – fact not fiction

''Phantom Ship'' (1936)
– film on the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
* {{authority control 1861 establishments in Nova Scotia 1861 ships 1870s missing person cases 1885 disestablishments in North America Brigantines Ghost ships Individual sailing vessels Maritime incidents in December 1872 Maritime incidents in January 1885 Maritime incidents in October 1867 Mass disappearances Merchant ships of the United States Missing person cases in the United States Ships built in Nova Scotia Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Shipwrecks of Haiti Unexplained disappearances Victorian-era merchant ships of Canada