2 years ago
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Today marks the 132nd day of the commencement of the Steamship Portland's last voyage - which ended with its sinking and the decease of each onboard successful a nor'easter that exploded implicit the water not agelong aft it near Boston Harbor's India Wharf for what was expected to beryllium a regular nighttime voyage to its location larboard successful Maine.
All 192 oregon 193 radical aboard the Portland died, successful the worst 19th-century maritime catastrophe disconnected New England, the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary recounts. Numerous bodies washed up soon aft connected Cape beaches, from Truro to Chatham, on with assorted pieces of vessel wreckage including trunks marked "Portand." But nary beingness boats ever made it to the beaches.
Although the nationalist Weather Office had telegraphed a nor'easter informing up the seashore earlier connected Nov. 26, the Portland's captain, Hollis Blanchard set sail promptly astatine 7 p.m., perchance due to the fact that helium had truthful galore Mainers anxious to get backmost location aft celebrating the vacation successful Boston, perchance due to the fact that helium had precocious been dressed down by his bosses astatine the Portland Steam Packet Co. astir being excessively cautious successful the look of perchance adverse upwind ahead. After the vessel disappeared and bodies washed up onshore, the Globe reported that different captains had decided to enactment moored successful Boston, oregon turned backmost aft leaving the harbor, alternatively than hazard the impending storm.
Blanchard had crushed to beryllium wary of unsmooth seas - the Portland was a shallow-hulled paddle wheeler, successful work since 1889, and arsenic a seasoned skipper connected the Boston-to-Portland route, helium knew that paddle wheelers did not bash good successful unsmooth seas - a question that deed the vessel the incorrect mode would assistance the paddles connected 1 broadside retired of the water, making them useless, past slam the vessel backmost down into the sea, perchance destroying the paddles connected impact.
But the time dawned sunny and though clouds gradually built up implicit the day, by 7 p.m., lone a airy snowfall was falling implicit Boston Harbor, and the Portland near India Wharf connected time.
Not agelong aft leaving the sanctuary of Boston Harbor,, the vessel ran caput connected into 1 of the fiercest November nor'easters ever recorded - dozens of different ships were either forced into harbor oregon themselves sank successful winds that reached upwards of 70 m.p.h.
An hr aft leaving India Wharf, the Portland was nearing Gloucester - a fisherman disconnected Thacher Island, adjacent Rockport, reported spotting the vessel astir 8 p.m., the Globe reported.
What happened adjacent is strictly a substance of conjecture.
One account conjectures that Blanchard knew helium could spell nary further, but decided not to effort for Gloucester Harbor, due to the fact that the vessel mightiness beryllium ripped to shreds connected rocks determination and truthful turned south, where, successful the worst case, helium could formation connected Cape sands, giving his passengers and unit a acold amended accidental astatine survival.
Or possibly, the tempest disabled the Portland and the powerless vessel was simply carried acold distant from Gloucester and further retired into unfastened waters, wherever waves smashed holes successful the ship, dooming it.
At 7:45 a.m. the adjacent morning, the life-saving unit astatine Race Point successful Provincetown reported hearing "four crisp whistles from a steamer, which were recognized arsenic a information signal."
But the Portland ne'er made the Cape: It sank determination disconnected enactment and near nary survivors.
It took decades to find the determination of the wreck.
In 1944, a Maine scallop dragger moving astir 9 miles disconnected Truro found pieces of the vessel successful his resistance lines, and immoderate thought the determination could beryllium announced - but the existent determination wasn't recovered until 1998, and past confirmed by divers successful 2002, determination successful Stellwagen Bank, present a nationalist sanctuary that stretches betwixt Cape Ann and Cape Cod. The sanctuary has kept the nonstop determination a concealed to defender against looting.
In 2019 and 2020, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducted expeditions to the site.
In 2006, the National Archives and Records Administration compiled an article astir the 64 unit members who died connected the ship, including John C. Whitten, whose widow, Lettie, filed a assertion for his past month's wages of $35, which was not capable to support her and her 4 children retired of the Portland Invalids Home, wherever she soon had to nonstop her children away, 2 to unrecorded with her brothers and 1 to go a "ward" of different household (the records bash not amusement what happened to her 4th child).
Book: The Wreck of the Portland (Amazon affiliate link).
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