The list of shipwrecks in 1894 includes ship sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during the year 1894.
According to the American newspapers of 1894, the winter and spring storms of December 1893 to April 1894 proved to be one of the most disastrous for the United States of America, particularly the Cape Cod area, since 1860.[1] The eastern seaboard of the continent had already faced a fierce hurricane season in 1893 when over 2,000 lives were lost.
The barque capsized and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) south west of The Lizard, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by Castle Rock (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). Else was on a voyage from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Hamburg, Germany.[2]
Unknown date[]
List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Firth of Cromarty
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Full rigged ship grounded in St Margaret's Bay with the loss of two lives.[3][4]
The Mohican-class sloop-of-war ran aground at Roncador Cay, Colombia, and was wrecked.
12 February[]
List of shipwrecks: 12 February 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Huntcliff
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The tramp steamer was beached at Blackpool, Lancashire. All crew safe. She was refloated on 23 February.
Maurice & Marguerite
Belgium
The schooner foundered on a voyage between Antwerp and Buenos Aires, Argentina.[5]
24 February[]
List of shipwrecks: 24 February 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Aarhus
German Empire
The barque sank off Cape Moreton, Australia.
March[]
13 March[]
List of shipwrecks: 13 March 1894
Ship
Country
Description
De Ruyter
Belgium
Passed Lizard Point bound for Boston, United States. No further trace.[6]
22 March[]
List of shipwrecks: 22 March 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Glenravil Miner
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The schooner was driven ashore and wrecked at Overton, Glamorgan. Her three crew were rescued.[7]
April[]
12 April[]
List of shipwrecks: 12 April 1894
Ship
Country
Description
S A Rudolph
United States
Three masted schooner loaded with ice blocks bound for Ocean City, Maryland from Boothbay, Maine. Captained by John P Burns of Camden, New Jersey. The ship was caught in a sudden gale on the night of Thursday, April 12 and floundered on the shoals of Cape Cod. The fractured hull of the ship washed up north of Nauset Beach.[8] All six crew members perished including Captain Burns and his brothers on board the vessel.
Jennie M Carter
United States
Three masted schooner carrying paving stones bound for New York Bay. The ship was first damaged on April 10, 1894, ship owner and captain Wesley T Ober decided that he could pilot the crippled ship and dock safely, denying aid. However, they were overtaken by the storm of April 12. The survivors attempted to abandon the schooner in a lifeboat but did not reach land. The ship, meanwhile, had been driven by the storm onto Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts.[9]
By April 15th, the crew was declared deceased after thorough searching. It is thought that the crew may have survived had they kept to the interior of the ship with the cargo. Three bodies and an overcoat belonging to the first mate were recovered; the lifeboat was recovered near Plum Island. Folklore dictates that the ship’s cat was the only survivor.
The story of the shipwrecks from April 12th and the previous weeks sparked national interest and thousands gathered to see the wreck of the Jennie M Carter.[10] The paving stones were removed and sold at auction; some were used in Salisbury. The ship remains were considered unsalvageable and left to disintegrate on the beach where it became a well-known site. Some of the wooden frame could still be seen in 2013.
July[]
5 July[]
List of shipwrecks: 5 July 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Valkyrie II
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Collided with yacht Santanita (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) and sank.
First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Pungdo: The gunboat ran aground on rocks in the Yellow Sea off Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, during combat with Imperial Japanese Navycruisers and was destroyed when her ammunition magazine exploded.
28 July[]
List of shipwrecks: 28 July 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Castor
Netherlands
The passenger ship was in collision with the barque Ernst (German Empire) and sank in the English Channel 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south south west of Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom. All 28 people on board were rescued.[11]
30 July[]
List of shipwrecks: 30 July 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Nicosia
Canada
The barque ran aground and was wrecked on the south coast of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Her eighteen crew survived. She was on a voyage from Dublin, United Kingdom to Saint John, New Brunswick.[12]
Unknown date[]
List of shipwrecks: Unknown date in July 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Tarapaca
Chile
The cargo ship was wrecked on the Chilean coast.[13]
August[]
26 August[]
List of shipwrecks: 26 August 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Gertrude
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The ship was driven ashore and wrecked at Chesil Beach, Dorset.[14]
Unknown date[]
List of shipwrecks: Unknown date August 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Hibernia
flag unknown
The steamer sank with the loss of two crew members after colliding with the paddle steamer Prince of Wales (Isle of Man). Prince of Wales rescued one survivor.
September[]
3 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 3 September 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Matchless
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The pleasure yacht capsized in Morecambe Bay off northwestern England with the loss of 25 lives.
9 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 9 September 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Colonist
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The coastal cargo steamer was wrecked on the Oyster Bank off Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of the Yalu River: The protected cruiser exploded and sank in the Yellow Sea off the mouth of the Yalu River with the loss of 245 lives during combat with Imperial Japanese Navy warships. Seven of her crew survived.
First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of the Yalu River: The armored cruiser exploded, capsized, and sank in the Yellow Sea off the mouth of the Yalu River with the loss of 263 lives during combat with Imperial Japanese Navy warships. Seven of her crew survived.
First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of the Yalu River: The dispatch vessel was badly damaged during combat with Imperial Japanese Navy warships in the Yellow Sea off the mouth of the Yalu River and was beached near Port Arthur, becoming a total loss.
First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of the Yalu River: The cruiser suffered heavy damage in combat with the protected cruisers Akitsushima, Naniwa, Takachiho, and Yoshino (all Imperial Japanese Navy) in the Yellow Sea off the mouth of the Yalu River, then sank after colliding with the armored cruiser King Yuen (Imperial Chinese Navy).
18 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 18 September 1894
Ship
Country
Description
George N Wilcox
German Empire
The barque was wrecked near Ilio Point, Molokai, Hawaii after being caught by strong currents. Her crew survived. She was on a voyage from Middlesbrough, United Kingdom to Honolulu with coal, liquor and general cargo.[15]
27 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 27 September 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Dorunda
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The steamer struck rocks off the Burlings Lighthouse, Portugal and was beached.[16]
October[]
1 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 1 October 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Allegheny
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The steamer collided with the tanker Caucase (Belgium) in the Delaware River and sank. She later was raised, repaired, and returned to service.[6]
24 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 24 October 1894
Ship
Country
Description
Vennerne
Norway
The barque was driven ashore at Worms Head, Glamorgan, United Kingdom and was wrecked. All ten people on booard survived.[7]
The passenger steamer was on a voyage from Auckland, New Zealand, to Australia when she hit a reef at the northern edge of Great Barrier Island, about 100 kilometres (54 nmi) from Auckland, and sank with the loss of about 140 lives. It remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in New Zealand's history.
The passenger steamer grounded for two tides near the Eddystone Lighthouse south of Rame Head, England. She refloated, repaired, and returned to service.
References[]
↑"50 Human Lives Swallowed Up in Angry Seas Outside of Cape Cod, Storm-Beaten Coast a Graveyard Since Dec 5th". 14 April 1894.