1873 — Aug 14-27, esp. Aug 24, maritime “Nova Scotia” Hurricane, off N. East Coast–>600
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard January 6, 2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— >600 Greely A.W. (Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army). American Weather. 1888, p. 198.
Massachusetts
— 128 Gloucester, MA Fishing Fleet. Procter. The Fisheries of Gloucester. 1876, p. 72.
— 128 “ Snow 1952, p. 182.
— 116 Gloucester, MA Fishing Fleet. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 10 Schooner A. H, Wonson. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 13 Schooner Angie S. Friend. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 11 Schooner Centre Point. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 18 Schooner Charles C. Dame. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 7 Schooner El Dorado. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 10 Schooner Henry Clay. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 18 Schooner James G. Tarr. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 14 Schooner Royal Arch. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
— 15 Schooner Samuel Crowell. Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing…
Narrative Information
Greely: “The hurricane of August 14th-27th, 1873, known as the Nova Scotia cyclone, was the most destructive storm which has ever visited the Atlantic coast, It recurved between the island of Bermuda and Cape Hatteras, N. C., and its centre at no time touched the coast line. Its ravages were such that the storm has well been termed terrible. Twelve hundred and twenty-three vessels were known to have been destroyed by it, and 223 human lives were definitely reported as lost.* It was estimated that, including crews of missing vessels and lives lost on land, at least six hundred persons perished from this hurricane.
“The storm seriously crippled the fishing industries of both Canada and the United States, and besides bringing sorrow and death to hundreds of homes, entailed a pecuniary loss estimated at over three and one half millions of dollars.” (Greely A.W. American Weather. 1888, p. 198.)
Procter: “Like a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky came the rumor into town, on Tuesday, August 26th, that there had been a terrible gale to the eastward, extending all along the Canadian shores, carrying destruction in its pathway by sea and land, sweeping, with sad havoc, among the fishing-fleet in the Bay of St. Lawrence and around Prince Edward’s Island. Gloucester had one hundred and thirty-eight of her vessels in those waters, and the anxiety to hear from them was most intense. It was also feared, and it has proved too true, that, the gale had extended to Georges Banks, where there was quite a fleet….
The newspapers were full of the disasters which the storm had occasioned, the reading of which was most appalling. Houses were blown down, trees torn up from their roots, and the tidal wave which accompanied the storm, carried the wrecked vessels far above high-water mark, and left them stranded on the shore. “Wharves were destroyed, and desolation and ruin followed in the track of the storm. Day by day the sad news came, and there is mourning throughout the town as we pen this article. “Wives are weeping for their husbands, who will never again bless them with their earthly presence; sisters are mourning for brothers, and little children ask, in plaintive voices, “Why does not father come home?” It is, indeed, terrible, this news from the fishing-fleet; and the loss of life, before which all other losses sink into utter insignificance, is greater than by any other one gale since the fishing business commenced. The nearest approximation to it was the gale of Feb. 24th, 1862, when, fifteen vessels were lost with all hands, on Georges, numbering one hundred and twenty men. In this gale there were nine vessels lost, with all hands, which, together with those swept overboard from other vessels, number one hundred and twenty-eight men. Many of these were among the very best skippers and smartest fishermen of the port, whose loss will be felt for a long time by the entire community. Here is the record:
“Schooner CHARLES C. DAME, wrecked off North Cape. Had a crew of eighteen men…
“Schooner ANGLE S. FRIEND, probably foundered at her anchors, as portions of the wreck were washed ashore at Port Hood. She had a crew of fourteen men when she left port, two of whom left the vessel in the Bay and returned home, and their places were probably supplied by others from the Provinces….
“Schooner JAMES G. TARR had a crew of eighteen men…
“Schooner ROYAL ARCH, lost at White Head, N. S., on her passage home. Her crew numbered fourteen men…
“Schooner SAMUEL CROWELL left the Bay the day before the gale for home, and probably foundered at sea. She had a crew of fifteen men…
“Schooner EL DORADO was probably lost upon White Head. She had a crew of seven men, all belonging in Kittery, Maine….
“Lost on Georges.
“Schooner CENTRE POINT was probably lost in the gale of August 24th, as she was last seen adrift on the Bank that day. Her crew comprised eleven persons…
“Schooner A. H. WONSON was probably lost in the same gale. She had a crew of ten men…
“In the Bank Fishery.
“Schooner HENRY CLAY left the Grand Banks three days before the gale, and was lost on the passage home. She had a crew of ten men….
“Lost Overboard.
Charles Rose and William Wilson, from schooner Fannie R., in the Bay.
Antonk Lewis, from schooner Helen M. Crosby, on passage to the Bay.
Joseph Christen, from schooner Dictator, on Georges. Henry Johnson, from schooner Sultana, on Grand Bank. Frederic Carman, from schooner Abigail, on passage from the Bay.” (Procter. Fishermen’s Memorial and Record Book. 1873, p. 167-171)
Procter: “In a single story, “The Lord’s Day Gale” of August 24 of [1873]…nine Gloucester vessels went down before the dreadful blast, and 128 Gloucester mariners met their doom.” (Procter. The Fisheries of Gloucester. 1876, p. 72.)
Snow: “On Sunday, August 24, 1873, there were 138 Gloucester fishing vessels at sea. A terrific storm swept the entire area from the Bay of Saint Lawrence, around Prince Edward’s Island, across Nova Scotia and far out into the ocean. At the height of the storm, which came in from the eastward, a tidal wave washed many vessels high on shore. In the Maritime Provinces, houses were destroyed, trees uprooted, wharves demolished and scores of Canadian ships were either totally destroyed or badly damaged. Although only nine Gloucester schooners were lost, as compared with fifteen in the 1862 Blow, those nine vessels carried no less than 128 men to their watery graves, a larger number than in the previous record disaster.
“Besides the nine craft lost at sea, thirty-two Gloucester fishing vessels were blown ashore in the hurricane along the coast of Canada. Luckily, only five of this number proved unsalvable.” (Snow 1952, p. 182)
Sources
Greely A.W. (Chief Signal Officer, United States Army). American Weather: A Popular Exposition of the Phenomena of the Weather, Including Chapters on Hot and Cold Waves, Blizzards, Hail-Storms and Tornadoes. NY: Dodd, Meade & Co., 1888. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=nKMMAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Procter Brothers. The Fisheries of Gloucester From 1623 to 1876. Gloucester: Procter Brothers, Publishers, 1876. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=ICdAAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Sheedy, R. Out of Gloucester. “Men Lost Fishing from Gloucester in the 1800’s.” Accessed 10-29-2016 at: http://www.downtosea.com/list.htm
Sheedy, R. “The A. H. Wonson,” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/ahwonson.htm
Sheedy, R. “The Angie S. Friend.” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/angiesfr.htm
Sheedy, R. “The Center Point,” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/cntrpnt.htm
Sheedy, R. “The Charles C. Dame.” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/chascd.htm
Sheedy, R. “The Eldorado.” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/eldorado.htm
Sheedy, R. “The Henry Clay,” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-3-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/hclay.htm
Sheedy, R. “The James G. Tarr.” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/jgtarr.htm
Sheedy, R. “The Royal Arch,” Out of Gloucester. Accessed 10-5-2010 at: http://www.downtosea.com/1851-1875/roylarch.htm
Snow, Edward Rowe Great Gales and Dire Disasters. NY: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1952.