Military Wiki
in: All articles with dead external links, Articles with dead external links from May 2017, Pages containing bot parameter,
and 3 more

List of shipwrecks in 1878

Sign in to edit

The list of shipwrecks in 1878 includes some ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1878.

table of contents
1878
Jan Feb Mar Apr
May Jun Jul Aug
Sep Oct Nov Dec

January[]

3 January[]

List of shipwrecks: 3 January 1878
Ship Country Description
Tocapilla  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The barque was driven ashore at Rhosilli, Glamorgan. She was later refloated.[1]

14 January[]

List of shipwrecks: 14 January 1878
Ship Country Description
Intibakh  Ottoman Navy Russo-Turkish War: The dispatch boat was sunk at Batumi by two torpedoes fired by the torpedo launches Chesme and Sinope (both  Imperial Russian Navy) in the first successful use of self-propelled torpedoes in combat.

25 January[]

List of shipwrecks: 25 January 1878
Ship Country Description
King Philip  United States
The wreck of King Philip on 28 March 2011.

The wreck of King Philip on 28 March 2011.

The three-masted sailing clipper was wrecked at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California after her anchor dragged and she ran aground in heavy surf.

28 January[]

List of shipwrecks: 28 January 1878
Ship Country Description
Wennington  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Liverpool Ironship went aground and re-floated in the Bali Strait, Java. She left Samarang for Falmouth on 9 January, and as of September has not been heard of.[2]

February[]

20 February[]

List of shipwrecks: 20 February 1878
Ship Country Description
Celestial Empire  United States The clipper ship was abandoned during a voyage from Hamburg to New York City.

March[]

24 March[]

List of shipwrecks: 24 March 1878
Ship Country Description
HMS Eurydice  Royal Navy
HMS Eurydice sinking.

HMS Eurydice sinking.

The frigate capsized and sank off the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, with the loss of 376 lives.

May[]

9 May[]

List of shipwrecks: 9 May 1878
Ship Country Description
Confidence  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Bristol ship sank after being hit by a tidal wave off the coast of Peru.[3]

10 May[]

List of shipwrecks: 10 May 1878
Ship Country Description
Alarm  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The pilot cutter was run down and sunk in the Bristol Channel by the steamship Foyle ( United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). Her crew were rescued by Foyle.[1]

12 May[]

List of shipwrecks: 12 May 1878
Ship Country Description
Gipsy  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The schooner struck rocks and sank in the River Avon at Bristol, Gloucestershire She broke in two during salvage efforts, blocking the river until 17 May. Her remains were later blown up to clear the river.[1]

15 May[]

List of shipwrecks: 15 May 1878
Ship Country Description
Dolphin  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Hull ship sprung a leak at latitude 49, longitude 70.10. A bottle containing the ships position was found in Padstow harbour, Cornwall, along with the following message: Water gaining. Crew taking to boats.[4]

31 May[]

List of shipwrecks: 31 May 1878
Ship Country Description
SMS Großer Kurfürst  Kaiserliche Marine
Großer Kurfürst sinking.

Großer Kurfürst sinking.

The armoured frigate was accidentally rammed by the armoured frigate SMS König Wilhelm ( Kaiserliche Marine) and sank off Folkestone, United Kingdom, with the loss of 284 lives.[5]

June[]

1 June[]

List of shipwrecks: 1 June 1878
Ship Country Description
SS Idaho  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Guion Line passenger ship, on a voyage from New York to Liverpool via Queenstown, after delivering mails to Queenstown, ran aground on Connigmore rocks near the Saltee Islands. The Idaho carried 151 passengers and a mixed cargo of fifty-one horses, some cattle and a 1000 tons of beef. She drifted off the rock and sank within twenty minutes, passengers and crew saved.[6]
Loch Ard  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Loch Line owned clipper ran onto rocks in fog and sank at Muttonbird Island, Australia. There were fifty-two dead and two survivors.[7]

24 June[]

List of shipwrecks: 24 June 1878
Ship Country Description
Hydrabad  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Stephens and Sons owned iron cargo/passenger sailing ship caught in a storm and beached at Waitarere Beach, New Zealand. There was no loss of life.

30 June[]

List of shipwrecks: 30 June 1878
Ship Country Description
Lady Elizabeth  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Wilson & Co owned barque ran aground and sank at Bickley Bay, Australia.

July[]

2 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 2 July 1878
Ship Country Description
Capital City  United States The steamer caught alight while loading cottonseed oil at Memphis, Tennessee. Several lives were lost, and the river was alight 100 ft (30 m) from the shore and a ¼ mile downstream.[8]

4 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 4 July 1878
Ship Country Description
Cosmopollis New Brunswick Went ashore during a snow storm and gale on Satten Islands, Cape Horn. The crew was stranded on the island for twenty-two days and were taken off by the French barque, Bacalan.[9]

12 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 12 July 1878
Ship Country Description
Unnamed vessel  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The pilot boat belonging to Messrs Scott and Co of Queenstown foundered off Toe Head, Ireland with the loss of ten pilots.[10]
Unnamed vessel  Russian Empire The overcrowded passenger vessel foundered on Lake Onega, Russia with the loss of forty people.[11]

17 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 17 July 1878
Ship Country Description
Europa  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Anchor Line steamer collided with Staffa ( United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) and sank near Ferrol, Spain.[12]

23 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 23 July 1878
Ship Country Description
Ranneys  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Out of Seville, she ran aground off St Mary's, Isles of Scilly while awaiting orders. After twenty-four hours she refloated with the loss of her kedge anchor and hawser.[13]

24 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 24 July 1878
Ship Country Description
James Service Stranded on reefs approximately 7 miles (11 km) off the Murray River, Western Australia with the loss of all on board. She was bound from Calcutta to Melbourne carrying sacks, castor oil and jute.[14]

28 July[]

List of shipwrecks: 28 July 1878
Ship Country Description
Dispatch  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The sloop capsized in Cardigan Bay, Wales. Her three crew were rescued.[15]
Lena Thurlow  United States The Portland ship sank after a collision off the Banks of Newfoundland with the Harvest Hastings which was bound for Liverpool. All the crew were rescued and landed at Liverpool.[16]
Mercury  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Newcastle steamer may have foundered when she sprung a leak near the island of Zembra, Tunisia. One crew member drowned and the fate of the rest is unknown. She was en route for Sligo from Ismail with maize.[17]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
Scottish Admiral  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The barque grounded on the Maplin Sands near the Admiralty beacon, on her maiden voyage to Brisbane, with three hundred emigrants on board. (She left London on 11 July and a telegram reporting the grounding was sent on 20 July).[18]

August[]

7 August[]

List of shipwrecks: 7 August 1878
Ship Country Description
Margaret  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The 77 ton Newquay, Cornwall owned ship foundered off Wigton, Cumberland with a cargo of coal from Ayr, Scotland for Waterford, Ireland. The crew of three was lost.[19]

15 August[]

List of shipwrecks: 15 August 1878
Ship Country Description
Albert  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Falmouth steamer ran aground at Bishop's Quay, Helford River, Cornwall. She re-floated two days later.[20]

23 August[]

List of shipwrecks: 23 August 1878
Ship Country Description
Southport  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The barque was wrecked on Back Beach, Durban, South Africa. during a storm. The remains of the ship and the salvaged cargo was sold for £1,460.[21][22]

28 August[]

List of shipwrecks: 28 August 1878
Ship Country Description
Pizarro Flag of Spain (1785–1873, 1875–1931) Spain The man-of-war was driven ashore during a hurricane at Bermuda.[23]

30 August[]

List of shipwrecks: 30 August 1878
Ship Country Description
Unnamed fishing boat  France The fishing smack sank off the pier at Folkestone, England with the loss of her twelve crew.[24]
Unnamed fishing boat  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Berwick herring boat collided with a schooner and sank.[24]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
Eos  German Empire The brig grounded on a sandbank in the mouth of the River Thames and went to pieces. The seven crew were landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer from the fishing boat Catherine.[25]
Hendrika  Netherlands The galliot sank after a collision with an American barque off Dover. All the crew were lost bar one crew member who jumped overboard and made it to Dover.[26]
Irene  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Liverpool ship broke her moorings during a severe north-east gale and became a total wreck at Llandudno, north Wales. Three New Brighton registered vessels were also wrecked.[27]
Juliet  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The barque ran aground (in August or early September) on Staten Island while bound for San Francisco from London. One crew member died and the barque was a total loss.[28]
Norfolk The schooner was thought to be wrecked on Corton Sands, Suffolk, with all hands lost.[29]
Unnamed boat The pleasure craft was cut in two after a collision with the Prince of Wales steamer near Pimlico pier. Two youths lost their lives.[30]
Unnamed ships Five ships lost in Table Bay, Cape Colony in the week prior to 22 August.[30]

September[]

3 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 3 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Princess Alice  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Part of Princess Alice beached after the collision.

Part of Princess Alice beached after the collision.

The London Steamboat Company owned paddle steamer was hit on the port side and cut in two by the collier Bywell Castle off the City of London gasworks, Beckton, in the Thames Estuary. At least six hundred lives lost.[31]

4 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 4 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Sully  France The steamship ran aground at Port Eynon, Glamorgan, United Kingdom. She was later refloated.[1]

6 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 6 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Beaumanoir  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Liverpool brig was bound from Havana to New York City with sugar when she struck the Florida Reef. The crew of ten took to a raft and five survived to be rescued by the Norwegian barque Esteraa ten days later.[32]

12 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 12 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Bijon  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The yacht sank four miles from Dungeness in the English Channel during a squall. Her owner Count Metaxa]and his brother-in-law Claude White were picked up by the yacht Colon. The captain and mate (father and son) are missing.[33]

13 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 13 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Democrat  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The steamer ran aground in dense fog on the rocks of Langness Beg, near Douglas on the Isle of Man. She was in ballast between Lisbon and Glasgow. No lives lost.[34] There was no trace of Democrat after she was washed away during a storm on 21 September.[35]

19 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 19 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Wasp  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The crew of the foundered Lowestoft fishing smack and her crew were picked up Mary Ann.[14]

30 September[]

List of shipwrecks: 30 September 1878
Ship Country Description
Ocean Belle The cargo was saved when she went ashore at Chittagong, Bay of Bengal.[36]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
Argyra  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Salcombe brig was wrecked on the coast of Holland with the loss of the captain's wife and his two sons and a daughter. The rest of the crew were saved.[14][37]
Bengal The Indian troopship went ashore at Zaxarana while towing the transport Citadel. The two vessels left Lanaren, Cyprus on 2 September via the Red Sea and were the last to carry Indian troops from Cyprus.[38]
Charlie H Down  United States The barque was one of five ships reported to be wrecked at Tonala or Santa Anna, Mexico via news from Vera Cruz to the Lloyd's agent at New York.[39]
Crimea  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The barque was one of five ships reported to be wrecked at Tonala or Santa Anna, Mexico, via news from Vera Cruz to the Lloyd's agent at New York.[39]
Jenny Lind  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Went ashore near the west pier at Whitby in the North Sea, and was refloated by steam-tug.[40]
Lightcliffe 1873 - 1889 Nicaragua The barque was one of five ships reported to be wrecked at Tonala or Santa Anna, Mexico via news from Vera Cruz to the Lloyd's agent at New York.[39]
Maria Becker  German Empire The barque was one of five ships reported to be wrecked at Tonala or Santa Anna, Mexico, via news from Vera Cruz to the Lloyd's agent at New York.[39]
Santa Roas  United States The barque was one of five ships reported to be wrecked at Tonala or Santa Anna, Mexico, via news from Vera Cruz to the Lloyd's agent at New York.[39]

October[]

3 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 3 October 1878
Ship Country Description
British Seaman  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Preston brigantine collided with the Greek barque Anthippe and immediately sank in the English Channel, 15 miles south-east by east of Portland Bill. Only the ship's boat was saved.[41]

5 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 5 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Earl of Devon  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The schooner was scuttled after breaking free of her moorings and drifting through the harbour at Penzance, Cornwall.[42]
Volunteer  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Padstow schooner capsized in a squall outside of the harbour at Holyhead, Anglesey.[43]

6 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 6 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Alexandre  France The lugger struck the east side of Penberth Cove, Cornwall and broke up. The ships boat was washed ashore at Perranuthnoe, in Mount's Bay.[44]

7 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 7 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Diana  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Waterford steamship foundered off Portland Bill and was a total loss.[41]

10 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 10 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Integrity  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The schooner lost her foremast and longboat in heavy seas off the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly. Carrying lime phosphates from Lisbon to Wicklow she found it impossible to manoeuvre in Smith Sound and drifted around Annet before being beached in Perconger, St Agnes. One of the four crew jumped overboard and drowned. Two days later she was refloated and taken to St Mary's.[45]

17 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 17 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Ambrosia  Norway The barque lost three masts and shipped water during an hurricane two days previous, and was abandoned in latitude 40 and longitude 45. The crew was taken off by the brigantine Ria, and landed on the Isles of Scilly on 20 November. Ambrosia was en route from Philadelphia for Bremen with naptha.[46]

15 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 15 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Herman Ludwig Belgium Belgium The Steinmann, Ludwig & Co owned ocean liner foundered in the Atlantic Ocean. She had departed New York on 28 September bound for Antwerp, Belgium and believed to have foundered on or about 15 October with the loss of all fifty passengers and crew.[47][48]

18 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 18 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Daniel Lyons  United States The schooner was in collision with the schooner Kate Gillett off Algoma, Wisconsin, and sank. There was no loss of life.

20 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 20 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Ferdinand  German Empire The barque lost her foremast during a hurricane on 6 October and took on water during a gale on 15 October. She was abandoned on 20 October, in latitude 40.40 North and longitude 45.39 west, and picked up by brigantine Nelson. Ferdinland was bound for Swansea from Porto Cabello with copper-ore.[49]

22 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 22 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Livadia  Imperial Russian Navy
Fragment of the painting Wreck of Livadia by .

Fragment of the painting Wreck of Livadia by Alexey Bogolyubov.

The Imperial yacht foundered in dense fog during a southeast gale and was wrecked during the night of 21–22 October on rocks on the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea. The Grand Duke Sergius, his officers and crew survived.[50]

23 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 23 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Ely Rise  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The screw steamer in ballast from Cardiff to Savannah grounded on the Hats in the Isles of Scilly. There was no loss of life.[51]
Express  United States The steamboat capsized in Chesapeake Bay with the loss of sixteen of the thirty-one people on board.[52][53]
Nora  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Isles of Scilly vessel grounded on the Horsebank, off Southport while carrying pig iron from Ardrossan for Newport.[54]

27 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 27 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Seventeen ships Sank in the river at Philadelphia during a hurricane.[55]

28 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 28 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Tokushima Maru The steamer sank after gunpowder exploded, or a boiler burst, while the ship was off Tonda (reports vary). Eighty-three passengers and twelve crew or, fifty-six passengers and fourteen crew were killed on the ferry which carried passengers and cargo between Osaka and Awa.[56]

31 October[]

List of shipwrecks: 31 October 1878
Ship Country Description
HMS Fanny  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The revenue cutter sank after colliding with the National Line steamer Helvetia off the Tuscar Light. Seventeen crew lost their lives.[57][58]
Providénce  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Penzance brigantine went ashore on the edge of the Middle Cross Sand, Great Yarmouth and got off within ten minutes. The following morning, while being towed she struck the bar at the entrance to Great Yarmouth harbour.[59][60]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
City of Auckland The emigrant ship was wrecked at the entrance to the Cook Strait, near the village of Otaki, New Zealand. She was bound for Napier and Auckland from London.[61]
Morton The schooner was abandoned in latitude 36 s, longitude 50 w, and all the crew were landed at Buenos Ayres.[62]
Vorobey Russian Empire The transport ship foundered off Soukoum while carrying shot and powder from Nicolaiff to Poti. Of the sixteen crew only the captain and one sailor was saved.[63]

November[]

4 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 4 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Hercules The Inman Line steam barge sank while leaving Morpeth Dock, Birkenhead following a collision with the City of Baltimore.[64][65]

6 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 6 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Fear Not  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland During a storm the schooner went ashore on the bar at Hayle while being towed by the steam-tug North Star' and became a total wreck on Hayle Bar, St Ives Bay.[66][67]
Heligan  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The schooner sprung a leak and sank near Lundy while on a voyage from Cardiff to Gweek. Two crew drowned and two were picked up by a passing steamer.[68]

12 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 12 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Jabez  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The St Ives fishing boat drifted onto rocks at Clodgy Point in a gale. Three members of one family, the Bassets, drowned and two fishermen survived.[69]

13 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 13 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Carcand The schooner ran aground off Isle Madame, Nova Scotia while out of Cape Canso for Saint Pierre and Miquelon.[70]

14 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 14 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Bessie  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Liverpool steam collier hit the western side of the Hayle Estuary and fortunately floated off and was carried by the wind and tide to the eastern side of the river.[71] Bessie later became high and dry on Hayle Bar and her cargo and rigging were removed in an attempt to refloat her.[72]

16 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 16 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Star  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The schooner struck Carn Morval, while leaving the Isles of Scilly for Cardiff. The Lady of the Isles towed her off and brought her into Hugh Town.[73]

24 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 24 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Richmond  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The coal-carrying steamer was wrecked off Cape Finisterre.[74]
Royal Standard  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Penzance schooner collided with the Austrian barque Ezio approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Lundy. The crew, bar the ship's boy, were picked up by Ezio, and the Royal Standard was considerably damaged and towed to Ilfracombe.[75]

25 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 25 November 1878
Ship Country Description
Pommerania  German Empire The passenger steamer was in collision with Moel Elain ( United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) and sank in the English Channel off Folkestone, with the loss of fifty to sixty lives.[76]

29 November[]

List of shipwrecks: 29 November 1878
Ship Country Description
San Juan  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The brig (or barque) was hit by an unnamed steamer near The Lizard. Fifteen of the crew perished with only one saved when he was picked up by the steamer and transferred to a Falmouth fishing boat.[77]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
Fifeshire  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Thomas, Law and Co, Glasgow ship was lost off India. Only five of the twenty-two crew were saved.[78]

December[]

1 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 1 December 1878
Ship Country Description
General Caulfield The barque became a total wreck after running on to a sandbank during a heavy sea.[79]

2 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 2 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Gypsy Queen  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Glasgow brigantine stranded on St Alban's Head at Kimmeridge Ledges, Dorset while en route from Navassa, West Indies to Newcastle. Part of her stores was saved and landed at Poole.[41]

8 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 8 October 1878
Ship Country Description
Livadia  Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial yacht, aground on rocks on the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea since the night of 21–22 October, was destroyed by a violent storm.[50]

9 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 9 December 1878
Ship Country Description
James Aiken  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Grounded on a sandbank off the coast of India approximately 50 miles from Madras. Sherefloated and reached Madras a few days later.[80]

12 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 12 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Lady Hulse  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Southampton barque, carrying coal from Cardiff, grounded off Callao, Peru.[81]

15 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 15 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Leader  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Swansea schooner was involved in a collision with the North Shields steamer Ben Ledi about 20 miles (32 km) north of St Ives, Cornwall. Four of the five crew of Leader survived and were landed at Falmouth, Cornwall when Ben Ledi put in for repairs.[82]
Unnamed ship First National Flag of Greece Greece The barque grounded, during and easterly gale, outside the bar at Sulina, Romania with the loss of seven crew.[83]

18 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 18 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Byzantin  France The steamer foundered during a gale, after a collision with the Rinaldo in the Dardanelles. Only fourteen of the crew were save, all the rest including 150 passengers were drowned.[84][85]

19 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 19 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Bride  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Hayle steamer bound from her home port to Cardiff hit Breaksea Point, Wales while a pilot was on board. She refloated the next day with little damage.[86]

21 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 21 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Iserbrook  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The brig caught fire at her berth in Darling Harbour, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, when members of her crew accidentally dropped a lit match into rum spilling from a cask the ship′s captain mistakenly had unplugged in the ship′s store room. The fire went out of control almost immediately and she was scuttled to prevent it from spreading. Her captain died in the fire.
Northam  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sank after catching fire off the coast of Brazil. All the crew and twenty passengers were picked up by the Albion and an Italian ship.[87][88]

24 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 24 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Penair  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Portreath owned brigantine, broke her tow, and was driven onto the east bank of the River Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom during a gale.[89] She was towed off on 30 December and it was found there was little damage to her hull.[90]

25 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 25 December 1878
Ship Country Description
County de Pictou  Nova Scotia While in ballast and en route for Sandy Hook from Barrow she foundered in a storm. The surviving crew were rescued by the City of London and set down in Havre.[91]

31 December[]

List of shipwrecks: 31 December 1878
Ship Country Description
Minerve  France The coal-laden schooner was wrecked on Morning Point Neck on the Garrison, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. The crew were saved by the rocket apparatus and the vessel is a total wreck.[92]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
Conflict  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The barque was last reported on 6 December 1878 by the Carlisle at latitude, 4 south and longitude, 86 east. Conflict showed damage possibly from a collision.[93]
Cornwall  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The steam-ship ran into rocks at Land's End. The keel was replaced at Falmouth by Messrs Harvey and Co.[94]
Emily Souder  United States The passenger steamer was wrecked with only two surviving.[95]
Guisappenaaccame  Kingdom of Italy The brigantine out of Baltimore with wheat foundered in the Atlantic Ocean. Eleven of the crew were picked up by the Albatross.[96]
Unnamed steamer Sank under the weight of snow on Lake Zurich, Switzerland.[97]
Unnamed steamer Sank under the weight of snow on the lake at Zug, Switzerland.[97]

Unknown date[]

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1878
Ship Country Description
Alabama  United States The paddle steamer caught fire and sank.
Ana The steamer was wrecked in Pendeen Cove, on the north Cornish coast, UK.[98]
Antonia Cane Gibraltar Three pieces of board collected by the Custom House Officer, Mr Huxtable, at Newquay, Cornwall on 28 October contained the words Antonia Cane and Gibraltar.[99]
Cambria The quarter board of Cambria was washed up on the beach at Sennen.[14]
Dove  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The crew abandoned ship when they sighted Launcelot ( United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) and were taken to Yokohama. Dove had been attacked at Threshold Bay and when the crew abandoned they were within 40 miles of Ambino, New Guinea, and the ship had 2 feet of water in the hold.[100]
Eliza Walker Unknown The ship collided with the clipper ship Red Jacket ( United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) and sank. Her crew was rescued.[101]
Esther Smeed  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Off course, the Esther Smeed ran ashore on the Swedish island of Gotska Sandön in calm weather. While trying to refloat, a storm brewed and the ship went ashore a second time, filling with water and was abandoned.[102]
Kathline  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The body of the captain of the missing ship, Kathline was identified at Campbeltown, Scotland by three captains from the town of Newquay, Cornwall.[103]
Mary  United States The schooner went ashore approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Detroit following a storm, during which she became waterlogged losing four of the six crew. She was carrying cordwood from Chicago.[104]
Onward Wrecked on the Australian coast. One able-seaman and four Kanakas survived.[105]
St Enoch  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Dundee clipper sailed in March with coal for Bombay and has not been heard of since. The crew of thirty-five plus the captain and his wife are lost.[25]
Southminster  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Wrecked and a total loss on Cape Campbell. The passengers, crew and mail was saved.[106]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Tovey, Ron. "A Chronology of Bristol Channel Shipwrecks". Swansea Docks. http://www.swanseadocks.co.uk/Gower%20wrecks%20Rons%20write-up%20site.pdf. Retrieved 20 December 2014. 
  2. ↑ "A Loyd's telegram states:–". The Cornishman. 19 September 1878. p. 6. 
  3. ↑ Anon (1 August 1878). "Miscellaneous". The Cornishman. p. 7. 
  4. ↑ "Disasters at Sea". The Cornishman. 15 August 1878. p. 3. 
  5. ↑ Groner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6. 
  6. ↑ "SS Idaho [+1878"]. wrecksite.eu. http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?13110. Retrieved 10 October 2013. 
  7. ↑ "Disaster at Sea". The Cornishman. 8 August 1878. p. 7. 
  8. ↑ "A Ship Burst in Harbour". The Cornishman. 1 August 1878. p. 3. 
  9. ↑ "Shipwrecked on Cape Horn". The Cornishman. 17 October 1878. p. 8. 
  10. ↑ Anon (18 July 1878). "Ten Pilots Drowned". The Cornishman. p. 8. 
  11. ↑ "Untitled". The Cornishman. 25 July 1878. p. 8. 
  12. ↑ "Untitled". The Cornishman. 1 August 1878. p. 3. 
  13. ↑ "Our Ships and our Sailors". The Cornishman. 8 August 1878. p. 8. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "Casualties". The Cornishman. 26 September 1878. p. 8. 
  15. ↑ "CARDIGAN & DISTRICT SHIPWRECKS AND LIFEBOAT SERVICE". Glen Johnson. http://www.glen-johnson.co.uk/cardigan-district-shipwrecks-and-lifeboat-service/. Retrieved 1 February 2015. 
  16. ↑ "Disasters at Sea". The Cornishman. 22 August 1878. p. 3. 
  17. ↑ Atlas (1 August 1878). "What the "World" says". The Cornishman. 
  18. ↑ "Miscellaneous". The Cornishman. 25 July 1878. p. 7. 
  19. ↑ "Disaster at Sea". The Cornishman. 3 October 1878. p. 3. 
  20. ↑ "Helston". The Cornishman. 22 August 1878. p. 5. 
  21. ↑ "The Cape of Good Hope". The Cornishman. 17 October 1878. p. 7. 
  22. ↑ Vieggeert, Nico. "SV Southport (+1878)". http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?224646. Retrieved 13 November 2015. 
  23. ↑ "Loss of the Spanish Man of War Pizaro". The Cornishman. 26 September 1878. p. 6. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "An Autumnal Gale". The Cornishman. 5 September 1878. p. 7. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Mercantile Marine". The Cornishman. 15 August 1878. p. 7. 
  26. ↑ Anon (8 August 1878). "Miscellaneous". The Cornishman. p. 1. 
  27. ↑ "Heavy storms and loss of life". The Cornishman. 8 August 1878. 
  28. ↑ "Disasters at sea". The Cornishman. 5 September 1878. p. 7. 
  29. ↑ "Untitled". The Cornishman. 29 August 1878. p. 7. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Untitled". The Cornishman. 22 August 1878. p. 2. 
  31. ↑ "Appalling Catastrophe on the Thames. Loss of more than 500 lives". The Cornishman. 5 September 1878. p. 5. 
  32. ↑ "Wreck of a Liverpool Vessel". The Cornishman. 17 October 1878. p. 6. 
  33. ↑ "Capsizing of a yacht. Two men drowned". The Cornishman. 19 September 1878. p. 7. 
  34. ↑ "Total loss of the Democrat.". The Cornishman. 19 September 1878. p. 3. 
  35. ↑ "The Recent Gales". The Cornishman. 26 September 1878. p. 3. 
  36. ↑ "Our Ships and Our Sailors". The Cornishman. 10 October 1878. p. 8. 
  37. ↑ "Intelligence has been received ....". The Cornishman. 26 September 1878. p. 7. 
  38. ↑ "An Indian Troopship Ashore". The Cornishman. 19 September 1878. p. 7. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.4 "Five Barques Wrecked". The Cornishman. 3 October 1878. p. 5. 
  40. ↑ "Our ships and our sailors". The Cornishman. 19 September 1878. p. 8. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Larn, Richard; Larn, Bridget (1997). "Volume 1, Section 6". Shipwreck Index of the British Isles – Dorset. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 
  42. ↑ "A Gale for the Southward". The Cornishman. 10 October 1878. p. 4. 
  43. ↑ "Three Padstow Men Drowned". The Cornishman. 10 October 1878. p. 5. 
  44. ↑ "A Wreck at Penberth Cove". The Cornishman. 10 October 1878. p. 4. 
  45. ↑ "Further Particulars". The Cornishman. 17 October 1878. p. 2. 
  46. ↑ "Islands of Scilly". The Cornishman. 28 November 1878. p. 7. 
  47. ↑ "Belgian Merchant H-O". Belgische Koopvaardij. http://www.belgischekoopvaardij.net/belgian%20merchant%20H-O%2024.5.04.pdf. Retrieved 31 October 2010. [dead link]
  48. ↑ "SS Hermann Ludwig (+1878)". http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?153056. Retrieved 13 November 2015. 
  49. ↑ "Vessel Abandoned". The Cornishman. 5 December 1878. p. 5. 
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 "Loss of the Russian Imperial Yacht". The Cornishman. 7 November 1878. p. 8. 
  51. ↑ "Islands of Scilly. Shipping Accidents". The Cornishman. 31 October 1878. p. 7. 
  52. ↑ "Shipwrecks". Chesapeake Bay Program. http://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/bayhistory/shipwrecks. Retrieved 3 January 2015. 
  53. ↑ Roth, David M. and Cobb, Hugh D. (May 27, 2000). "Re-analysis of the Gale of '78 – Storm 9 of the 1878 Hurricane Season". Weather Prediction Center. http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/roth/galeof78.htm. Retrieved May 30, 2017. 
  54. ↑ "On and Off, the Banks". The Cornishman. 7 November 1878. p. 7. 
  55. ↑ "Destructive Storm in Pennsylvania". The Cornishman. 31 October 1878. p. 7. 
  56. ↑ "Explosion on board a steamer". The Cornishman. 9 January 1879. p. 7. 
  57. ↑ "A Revemie Cutter Sunk. 17 Hands Drowned". The Cornishman. 7 November 1878. 
  58. ↑ "Tuskar". http://www.irishwrecksonline.net/Lists/WexfordListE.htm. Retrieved 8 September 2015. 
  59. ↑ "Penzance Vessel Disabled". The Cornishman. 7 November 1878. p. 4. 
  60. ↑ "The Running Aground of "The Providence"". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 6. 
  61. ↑ "Loss of an Emigrant Ship". The Cornishman. 31 October 1878. p. 7. 
  62. ↑ "Our Ships and our Sailors". The Cornishman. 24 October 1878. p. 8. 
  63. ↑ "Loss of a Russian Transport and Fourteen Lives". The Cornishman. 21 November 1878. p. 8. 
  64. ↑ "The City of Baltimore". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 7. 
  65. ↑ Lettens, Jan. "Hercules [+1878"]. http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?67305. Retrieved 13 November 2015. 
  66. ↑ "Hayle". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 5. 
  67. ↑ "Hayle". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 7. 
  68. ↑ "Truro". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 5. 
  69. ↑ "Three Lives Lost". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 5. 
  70. ↑ Lettens, Jan. "Carcand (+1878)". http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?32288. Retrieved 13 November 2015. 
  71. ↑ "Steam-Collier Bessie". The Cornishman. 21 November 1878. p. 4. 
  72. ↑ "Steam-Collier Bessie". The Cornishman. 21 November 1878. p. 7. 
  73. ↑ "Islands of Scilly". The Cornishman. 21 November 1878. p. 7. 
  74. ↑ "A Board of Trade enquiry". The Cornishman. 26 December 1878. p. 8. 
  75. ↑ "Collision". The Cornishman. 28 November 1878. p. 4. 
  76. ↑ "Terrible Collision in the English Channel". The Cornishman. 28 November 1878. p. 5. 
  77. ↑ "Reported Sinking of a Vessel, and Loss of Fifteen Lives". The Cornishman. 12 December 1878. p. 6. 
  78. ↑ "Loss of a Glasgow Vessel and 17 hands". The Cornishman. 14 November 1878. p. 7. 
  79. ↑ "General Caulfield". The Cornishman. 23 January 1879. p. 8. 
  80. ↑ "In a Fearful Gale off the Cape (Letter)". The Cornishman. 16 January 1879. p. 6. 
  81. ↑ "Our Ships and Our Sailors". The Cornishman. 19 December 1878. p. 8. 
  82. ↑ "Serious collision at sea". The Cornishman. 19 December 1878. p. 6. 
  83. ↑ "Seven Men Drowned At Sulina". The Cornishman. 19 December 1878. p. 8. 
  84. ↑ "The Collision in the Dardanelles". The Cornishman. 2 January 1878. p. 7. 
  85. ↑ Allen, Tony. "SS Byzantin (+1878)". http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?135811. Retrieved 5 November 2015. 
  86. ↑ "The Steamship Bride". The Cornishman. 26 December 1878. p. 6. 
  87. ↑ "News has been received at Lloyd's". The Cornishman. 2 January 1879. p. 7. 
  88. ↑ Lettens, Jan. "SV Northam (+1878)". http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?231727. Retrieved 5 November 2015. 
  89. ↑ "Vessel Ashore". The Cornishman. 2 January 1879. p. 5. 
  90. ↑ "The brigatine Penair". The Cornishman. 9 January 1879. p. 5. 
  91. ↑ "A Disastrous Voyage". The Cornishman. 16 January 1879. p. 7. 
  92. ↑ "Wreck of a coal-laden French steamer". The Cornishman. 2 January 1879. p. 5. 
  93. ↑ "The Last (We Fear) Of The Missing Vessel Conflict". The Cornishman. 25 September 1879. p. 4. 
  94. ↑ "Hayle". The Cornishman. 5 December 1878. p. 5. 
  95. ↑ "Disastrous Shipwreck". The Cornishman. 2 January 1879. p. 7. 
  96. ↑ "Gallant Conduct of a British Shipmaster". The Cornishman. 16 January 1879. p. 7. 
  97. ↑ 97.0 97.1 "A telegram from Berne". The Cornishman. 2 January 1879. p. 7. 
  98. ↑ Anon. "St Just". The Cornishman. p. 5. 
  99. ↑ "Another Apparent Shipwreck". The Cornishman. 31 October 1878. p. 5. 
  100. ↑ "Murder of Europeans in New Guinea". The Cornishman. 20 March 1879. p. 3. 
  101. ↑ Bruzelius, Lars (2001-02-23). "Sailing Ships: Red Jacket (1853)". Red Jacket. The Maritime History Virtual Archives. http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Red_Jacket%281853%29.html. Retrieved April 19, 2010. 
  102. ↑ "Remarkable Shipwreck. Serious Blame Thrown on a St Ives Mate". The Cornishman. 17 October 1878. p. 2. 
  103. ↑ "The Missing Ship "Kathline"". The Cornishman. 31 October 1878. p. 5. 
  104. ↑ "Shipwreck and Loss of Four Lives". The Cornishman. 10 October 1878. p. 6. 
  105. ↑ "Terrible Sufferings in an Open Boat". The Cornishman. 26 December 1878. p. 3. 
  106. ↑ "Loss of a British Ship". The Cornishman. 5 December 1878. p. 5. 


Ship events in 1878
Ship launches: 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883
Ship commissionings: 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883
Ship decommissionings: 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883
Shipwrecks: 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at List of shipwrecks in 1878 and the edit history here.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.