1828 – Dec 3, brig Packet grounds/breaks ~Miacomet Pond, south Nantucket Isl., MA– 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 9-7-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 Delaware Journal, Wilmington. “Items.” 12-16-1828, p. 3, col. 2.
–10 Snow, Edward. Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, pp. 218-219.
Narrative Information
Snow, Edward. Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, pp. 218-219:
“On December 14,[1] 1828 the brig Packet from Saint Petersburg was carrying hemp and iron when she crashed against the south side of the island near Miacomet Pond. The brig began to break up at once. The crew took to the masts, all except the second mate, who left the vessel in a small boat. As he rowed away, the masts went by the board, carrying the other ten members of the crew to their death. Teaching the shore, the mate hunted for shelter from the bitter night, finally noticing a light far in the distance. It was a house in Newton, where a woman had just passed away was being prepared for burial. As there were no men in the bereaved household, the frightened women would not admit him. When the door shut in his face he started out again, soon finding shelter in another residence a short distance away.
“Eight years later a bolt of cloth from the wreck of the Packet was found imbedded in the sand, and one of the Nantucket residents folded a fragment of the cloth into a napkin, writing the account of the shipwreck and placing it inside the cloth. The shipwreck expert of Nantucket, Arthur H. Gardner, read the account of this wreck from the paper preserved for many years in the folds of the cloth from the Packet.”
Newspapers
Daily National Intelligencer, Washington, DC. “Shipwreck.” 12-22-1828, p. 2, col. 3:
“Shipwreck. – The Journal du Havre of 3d November, gives the following account of a shipwreck. The brig American Packet, of Providence, R. I. bound from St. Petersburg for Providence, with a cargo of hemp and iron, was lost on the coast of Norway. One man alone succeeded in saving himself; he was picked up by a vessel which arrived at Dunkirk, 29th Oct. This man was 24 hours upon the wreck, when he fortunately was discovered by Captain Mingers.”
Delaware Journal, Wilmington. “Items.” 12-16-1828, p. 3, col. 2:
“The brig Packet of Providence, Capt. Tyler, with a valuable cargo from St. Petersburgh struck on the south side of Nantucket, on the morning of the 3d inst. and all on board except the mate, ten in number, perished. Very little of the cargo, it was supposed, would be saved.”
The Virginia Statesman, Wheeling VA [WV]. “Melancholy Shipwreck.” 12-24-1828, p. 2:
“The Brig Packet, of Providence, belonging to Brown and Ivers, from St. Petersburg, with a cargo of 3 or 400 bales of Manufactures, 98 tons hemp, and 80 tons of iron, struck on the South side of the island of Nantucket, at half past 3 o’clock on the morning of the 3d inst. The vessel immediately went to pieces, and the mate alone succeeded in gaining the shore to tell the sad tale!”
Sources
Daily National Intelligencer, Washington, DC. “Shipwreck.” 12-22-1828, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 9-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-national-intelligencer-dec-22-1828-p-2/
Delaware Journal, Wilmington. “Items.” 12-16-1828, p. 3, col. 2. Accessed 9-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wilmington-delaware-journal-dec-16-1828-p-3/
Snow, Edward Rowe. Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Boston: Yankee Publishing Company, 1943.
The Virginia Statesman, Wheeling VA [WV]. “Melancholy Shipwreck.” 12-24-1828, p. 2. Accessed 9-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-virginia-statesman-dec-24-1828-p-2/
[1] As one can read in this account, it was not committed to writing until eight years afterwards, thus, it is understandable that the date of the month would be off. We choose to follow two of the newspaper accounts herein which place the date at December 3. We cannot fathom the Daily National Inquirer account which notes that the shipwreck was reported November 3 in the Journal du Havre (France) placing the wreck on the coast of Norway.