Ships & Shipwrecks
September 20, 1781
Battle of the Chesapeake
On September 20, 1781, Royal Navy Admiral Graves' fleet sailed back to Sandy Hook after sustaining sufficient damage and loss at the hands of the French navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake, such that the British chose not to...
May 31, 1799
Early Legislative History of New Jersey State Laws Concerning Wrecks
Overview In 1799, the New Jersey House of Assembly passed a new law entitled “An act concerning wrecks,” which would be revised and amended a number of times over subsequent years. The intent of the law was to establish that...
January 6, 1832
Wreckers! The Land Pirates of Monmouth County
Either the Barnegat Pirates are the most infamous scoundrels upon the face of the earth, or they are a much injured set of men. New Jersey State Senator Alexander Wurts of Hunterdon County, in a resolution adopted by the...
October 7, 1841
Monmouth County’s First Steamboat Enters Service
On October 7, 1841, the steamboat Rainbow departed from New York City headed for Albany, "and the intermediate places." The Rainbow was the first steamship to be built in Monmouth County; she was said to have been built in the...
February 15, 1846
The Wreck of the John Minturn: A Horrible Tragedy Implicates, but then Vindicates the Wreckers of Monmouth County and Inspires the First Federal Funding for Life-Saving Services
On February 15, 1846, a severe storm caused a number of horrifying shipwrecks along the northeast coast that were a shock even to a nation long accustomed to maritime disasters. One of these was the John Minturn, a three-masted packet...
January 1, 1850
Monmouth County’s Wreck-Master Comes to the Rescue of the Doomed Ayrshire
The early life-saving stations from Sandy Hook to Egg Harbor were for the use of paid officers called "commissioners of wrecks," or "wreck-master," who were responsible for leading and coordinating marine rescue and salvage efforts. These men received about $200...
August 22, 1851
The Courage, Skill, and Sacrifice of the Sandy Hook Ship Pilots
Editor’s note: This article would not have happened were it not for the diligence and professionalism of a dedicated librarian, Caitlyn Cook, at the New Jersey State Library in Trenton. Ms. Cook was helping with my research on the wreckers...
November 13, 1854
240 Drown as The New Era Sinks off Deal Beach
On November 13, 1854, the New Era, a three-masted square-rigged commercial ship, was blown onto the shoals of Deal Beach in heavy weather. Efforts from nearby boats as well as wreck-masters from life-saving stations proved futile, with crew members saving...
March 31, 1864
SS River Queen, Revered Presidential Vessel of the Civil War
On March 31, 1864, the steamship SS River Queen, one of numerous side paddlewheel steam-powered vessels built in Monmouth County in the years prior to the Civil War, was launched by Benjamin C. Terry in Keyport. When launched, the River...
May 5, 1864
USS Ceres – The Little Tugboat That Became A War Hero
The Ceres was a 144-ton side-wheel steam-powered tugboat built at the Keyport shipyard of Benjamin C. Terry in 1856, one of nine vessels built by Terry that served in the Civil War. Originally a commercial tugboat working New York Harbor, the...
June 18, 1878
The Evolution of the U.S. Life-Saving Service
On June 18, 1878, Congress passed a new law that created the U.S. Life-Saving Service as a part of the Treasury Department. Prior to then, it was included within a long-gone bureau of the federal government known as the...
August 17, 1901
New Jersey Sandy Hook Ship’s Pilot Boat James Gordon Bennett Cut in Half and Sunk by SS Alene off Sandy Hook
On August 17, 1901, a clear day, the steamship SS Alene ran down and sank the New Jersey Sandy Hook Ship's Pilot boat James Gordon Bennett, No.7, and three pilots and the cook drowned. Pilot Fred Hopkins and Alexander Dexter...
November 27, 1908
Panamanian Steamer Finance is Rammed and Sunk off Sandy Hook
On November 27, 1908, in a thick fog off Sandy Hook, the lightly laden Panama line steamer Finance, outward bound with 85 passengers, was rammed by the stout steel freighter Georgic, of the White Star line, and went down within...
January 28, 1915
The Legacy of the U.S. Life-Saving Service: The United States Coast Guard
Despite proving successful in being able to rescue people from wrecked ships, the U.S. Life-Saving Service struggled to fulfill its mandate, with inadequate manpower, equipment, and a lack of central management. These conditions continued until a major storm struck the...
August 19, 1917
The Incredible Story of the USS Sachem, Thomas Edison’s Floating Laboratory, Later the Circle Line V, and Now a Ghost Ship in Ohio
Editor’s note: For a full and very detailed illustrated history of the Sachem, and to support its preservation and restoration, visit the-sachem-project.org. The Sachem is a storied vessel. Launched in 1901 as a luxury steam yacht named Celt, built in...
August 13, 1918
Timeline Mystery: Did a World War I U-Boat Engage in an Artillery Battle with Fort Hancock?
The famous Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz is credited with first articulating the phrase, “the fog of war.” He had observed that during a clash of armies it is often impossible for leaders to know precisely what is going on...
September 8, 1934
SS Morro Castle: An Inferno at Sea, a Burning Hulk on the Beach, and Many Unanswered Questions
On September 8, 1934, the luxury passenger liner SS Morro Castle caught fire and burned during a raging storm off the coast of New Jersey, killing 137 passengers and crew members. The ship, en route from Havana to New York...
September 8, 1934
The First Separate Battalion to the Rescue
Editor’s note: On September 8, 1934, one of the worst maritime disasters in Monmouth County history occurred when the S.S. Morro Castle, a luxury passenger liner, caught fire during a raging storm that turned the ship into an inferno. Award-winning...
September 11, 1934
Two Doofuses from Long Island Go Souvenir Hunting on the Wreck of the SS Morro Castle
Editor’s note: On September 11, 1934, the S.S. Morro Castle was a blackened hulk resting just off the beach at Asbury Park, three days after coming to a rest there after a horrific fire at sea. The site of numerous...
January 24, 1935
45 Lives Lost after SS Mohawk Collision with SS Talisman off Sea Girt
On January 24, 1935, the SS Mohawk left New York City en route to Charlestown, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. The steel-hulled passenger ship, launched in October 1925, was 387' long, 54' in breadth, and listed at 5897 gross tons. About...
February 27, 1942
The Oil Tanker R.P. Resor is Torpedoed and Sunk by U-578
Editor’s note: The following story is reprinted with the permission of the authors of A History of Submarine Warfare along the Jersey Shore (The History Press, ©2016, available from retail booksellers everywhere). By Joseph G. Bilby & Harry Ziegler It...
June 9, 1944
The USS Monmouth County: “Ever Ready – War and Peace”
On June 9, 1944, the USS Monmouth County (LST-1032) was launched, the only U.S. Naval vessel ever to bear that name. She was an LST-542-class tank landing ship that measured 328 feet in length with a 50-foot beam and 1625-ton...
February 11, 1945
The Tragic Mystery of U-869, a.k.a. “U-Who?”
Editor’s note: On February 11, 1945, two U.S. destroyer escorts, the USS Howard D. Crow and USS Koiner, attacked what they believed to be a German submarine off the coast of New Jersey. The two ships were accompanying a convoy...
April 30, 1946
Explosion Aboard the USS Solar Kills Seven Sailors, Injures 125 More
On April 30, 1946, the USS Solar, a U.S. Navy Buckley-class destroyer escort (DE 221), exploded at the Navy Pier in Leonardo, killing seven sailors and injuring 125 others. The Solar was refitted in 1946 to serve as a sonar...
November 8, 1977
Venerable Steamship Alexander Hamilton Sinks after 50 Years of Service
On November 8, 1977, the steamship Alexander Hamilton was battered by a storm and sank at her berth next to the Navy pier in Middletown Township, where her remains are still visible (but off-limits to the public, due to being...