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The Loss of the Ship "Manchester," of Nantucket, off Cape Horn by Edouard A. Stackpole
LATE IN MARCH, 1854, the ship Manchester of Nantucket, command ed by Captain Alexander H. Coffin, sailed from this port to New York, where she was to complete loading a cargo for Valparaiso, Chile. Ac companying Captain Coffin were his wife, Eliza Ann Coffin, and 16-year-old son, Thomas E. Coffin. The 1st Mate was Charles H. Pit man, of Nantucket, and the 2nd Mate was David R. Evans, of Wales. The steward was Joseph Francis, and the cook, John Alexander, both of Nantucket. The crew numbered ten seamen, and were from various seaports as well as from New England. The ship reached New York without incident, and loaded a full cargo of coal and lumber, consigned by the firm of Cartwright and Har rison. Sailing from New York on April 7, she made a good passage across the equator, and arrived at Montevideo, Uruguay, on July 24, 1854. Four extra hands at this time were shipped, one to replace a sailor who had died on the voyage. Sailing on July 28, the Manchester had an uneventful passage until she entered the Straits of LeMaire, when she encountered a series of westerly gales. It was typical Cape Horn weather, and for two weeks Captain Coffin tried desperately to make headway to the westward, only to find himself continuously baffled by the gales. In an effort to gain an offing by hugging the rugged shores of the islands off the coast, Captain Coffin risked the dangers inherent in this region. While still some distance from the nearest land, the Man chester struck on a sunken reef. It was the morning of August 28,1854, and they were just a month from Montevideo, in a position just south of Cape Horn. The pumps were sounded and they found the nish of water through the stricken hull betrayed the fact that the vessel was doomed. To add to the danger, one of the boats, promptly lowered, was stove and useless. Captain Coffin ordered the mainmast cut away, and the ship now helpless drifted toward the ugly rocks off Cape Horn itself. At 5 o'clock on the morning of August 29 the ship struck and began im mediately to break up. The ship broke up with such rapidity that all hands had little oppor tunity to launch a boat or an improvised raft. The turbulant sea racked the hull perched on the reef and tore the ship apart. Captain Coffin, with his wife and son and the steward were in the main cabin. Shortly after the ship struck, the stern began to break apart, and the occupants of the cabin found themselves straggling in the sea as it surged into the after quarters. With his terrified wife clinging to him, the master of the
