1783 — Nov 25, Dutch frigate Erfprins sinks from leaks ~24M off Cape Cod, MA       —   303

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 7-14-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–303  Snow, E.R. Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Boston Printing Co., 1943, p. 75.

Narrative Information

Snow: “The worst disaster in New England’s maritime history is also almost its least known. But few have heard of the Dutch frigate Erfprins, yet when that ship went down off Cape Cod in 1783, she carried with her 303 members of the crew.

“The Erfprins was one of a convoy of three Dutch men-of-war which the Netherlands government provided to escort their newly appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. The new minister, Pieter Johan van Berckel, the brother of the Pensionaris of Amsterdam, sailed from Texel on either the ship-of-the-line Overijssel, carrying 68 guns, or the frigate de Briel of 36 guns. The Erfprins, with 54 guns, was the third ship-of-war. The brigantine de Windhond completed the convoy, which, according to plan, was to stay as a unit during the voyage.

“The minister reached his destination, and of his voyage the standard history of the Netherlands Navy says that nothing unusual happened except the loss of the Erfprins. This is a masterpiece of understatement in view of the magnitude of the disaster. What happened makes a most unusual story.

“The Erfprins was not the most seaworthy of vessels. It had been one of eight battleships of the Dutch navy which on July 20, 1781, against heavy odds, furiously fought an English fleet off the Dogger Bank,[1] giving shot for shot, and giving and receiving damage which forced both fleets to retire without victory. The Erfprins, the special target of the British, suffered serious injury. In the two years after the Dogger Bank engagement, other ships in the Dutch navy were coppered but not the Erfprins….

“When the convoy reached the English Channel, the Erfprins sprang a leak which necessitated the operation of five pumps. In spite of this overwhelming handicap Commander Louis Aberson began the long sail across the ocean. The water began to come in faster, so the captain signaled to the squadron commander, Captain Riemersma of the Overijssel, for advice. The squadron commander told Aberson that the orders left no alternative; they must all continue across the sea until they reached Philadelphia. The only concession Riemersma made was that each vessel could now choose its own route.

“One by one the other ships left the Erfprins. It must have been a trying period to the officers and crew members as they watched the brigantine Windhond slide over the horizon and out of sight. Soon the other vessels followed, until the leaking battleship was left alone on the wide expanse of ocean.

“The Erfprins, left to her fate, sailed along in clear weather for several weeks, but on September 19 in latitude thirty-seven a violent storm hit the ship, causing terrific damage and much suffering aboard the vessel. The fore topmast crashed down on the deck, the mizzenmast went by the board, and the mainmast followed shortly afterwards. Wallowing in the trough of the sea, the Erfprins sustained a terrific battering from the waves, which swept headlong against the sides of the stricken vessel. The men on deck pumped furiously, barely holding their own against he water pouring in through the leaking seams.

“When the storm died down the discouraged and disheartened commander ordered the rigging of a jury mast and had the ship made as seaworthy as possible. The sailors pumped on night and day in their efforts to keep the Erfprins afloat, but it was a hopeless task. The ship was still out of sight of land, drifting almost at the wind’s will, the water now began to gain slowly in the hold of the warship, and there was no help from any other vessels. In this manner the Erfprins approached America.

“Nine long weeks this voyage of hopeless terror continued. Supplies grew low, water became unfit for drinking, and the sea slowly, steadily gained inch by inch. Storm after storm hit the Erfprins, each battering leaving the man-of-war in a more hopeless condition. Finally, by November 25, 1783, the ship had drifted and sailed to a point only twenty-four miles from Cape Cod. That afternoon the vessel reached a position so low in the water that she was making no headway at all. Captain Aberson, knowing that the Erfprins would not stay afloat many hours more, decided to try to reach land. Choosing thirty-nine picked men to form his longboat crew, he pushed away from the ship. Three minutes after they left the vessel, the Erfprins sank beneath the waves, carrying to their death 303 members of the ship’s company.

“Rowing strenuously for several hours, the captain and the longboat crew finally sighted a brig outward bound, hailed it, and were soon rescued. Shortly afterwards they were transferred to a Gloucester-bound sloop, which landed them at Cape Ann a short time later.

“Just what happened after the Cape Ann landing is not clearly known. The Gloucester records speak of the forty men who brought the news of New England’s worst shipwreck, the Boston Gazette and Country Journal also reports the incident, but from then on their whereabouts are in doubt. Captain Aberson wrote a long letter to Van Kinsbergen, which is printed in the Nedelandsche Jaard, 1784, but other than brief mention of honors bestowed upon him for saving the forty men, nothing is certain. Whether he ever tried to find others aboard the Erfprins who might have escaped, how he returned to Holland, what parts of the coast he traversed on his journey, we can only surmise. No other members of his crew aboard the ill-fated man-of-war ever reached shore.”

TreasureNet.com. “List of all 653 Dutch VOC[2] Shipwrecks (?1595-1800).”

“The Dutch frigate Erfprinz sank off Cape Cod in 1783.”

Sources

Snow, Edward Rowe. “The Frigate Erfprins,” pp. 74-76 in Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Boston Printing Co., 1943.

Snow, Edward Rowe (updated by Jeremy D’Entremont). Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Carlisle, MA: Commonwealth Editions, 2003. Accessed 7-13-2024 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Storms_and_Shipwrecks_of_New_England/GdEDSnredWgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Storms+and+Shipwrecks+of+New+England&printsec=frontcover

TreasureNet.com. “List of all 653 Dutch VOC[3] Shipwrecks (?1595-1800).” 2-10-2006. Accessed 7-14-2024 at:

https://www.treasurenet.com/threads/list-of-all-653-dutch-voc-shipwrecks-1595-1800.17237/

Wikipedia. “Dogger Bank.” 7-14-2024 edit. Accessed 7-14-2023 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogger_Bank

[1] The Dogger Bank “is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about 100 kilometers (62 mi) off the east coast of England.” (Wikipedia. “Dogger Bank.” 7-14-2024 edit.) Further east is Denmark.

[2] Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compatgnie, or Dutch East India Company.

[3] Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compatgnie, or Dutch East India Company.