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The British frigate
Roebuck of 44 guns was wrecked off the south end of the island in 1780.
Many of the most tragic Brigantine wrecks were in the 1800's and were
highly responsible for pressure on the federal government for lighthouse
and life saving services. The first federal grant for life saving devices
was made in August of 1848 through the work of William Newell, at that
time Congressional representative of the district. Long an advocate of
such a service for coastwise shipping Newell succeeded in gaining an appropriation
of $10,000 to provide lifeboats from Sandy Hook to Little Egg Harbor.
This was the first such appropriation to any state for this work. The
following year another appropriation was made for six stations between
Little Egg Harbor and Cape May. Lighthouses had already
come into being. In 1823, one was built at Cape May by the federal government.
This was actually the second on the Jersey shore, the first being at Sandy
Hook. The lighthouse at the Hook was erected in 1761 by New York merchants
who considered it insurance against cargo losses on the Brigantine shoals
and other treacherous spots along the Jersey coast. Barnegat light was
erected in 1839 on the north end of Long Beach. The first Little Egg Harbor
Light, near the south end of Long Beach, was built in 1848. Dr. Jonathon Pitney,
"Father of Atlantic City," was responsible for the erection
of the Absecon light after many years of battling; it was turned on January
15, 1857. Originally on the beach, the 167 foot high lighthouse is now
several blocks inland as new land built up in front of it. One of the tragedies
laid to the Brigantine shoals was the wreck of the Scottish barque "Ayeshire"
with 200 passengers during the night of December 29, 1849. This particular
wreck is important in that it marked a milestone in the early history
of life saving techniques.The rescue involved the employment of a breeches
buoy with a special apparatus perfected by William Newell. A yoke of oxen
was brought to the strand. A ball fired from a mortar threw the line over
the vessel. Then a closed life car invented by Joseph Francis of Toms
River, was attached and within three minutes the first survivors were
brought safely ashore. John Maxen actually threw the line and was later
given a gold medal for his part in the affair. There were 201 persons
taken ashore by that method in a two-day period. The story of the incident
would not be closed without mentioning that Newell went on to become governor
of New Jersey and continued a strong advocate of life saving stations. A far different tale
is that of the packet ship Powhatan which on April 15, 1854, at 5 p.m.
went aground on the shoals during a fierce Northeast storm. The vessel
broke in two and all on board perished. Forty bodies washed ashore on
the beach and were buried at Rum Point. Other bodies were found floating
in the inlet waters, bays and thoroughfares. Isaac and Robert Smith of
Smithville put many of the bodies on two boats and took them to Smithville
on the mainland for burial. The bodies were placed in Isaac's storehouse
until the women of the neighborhood could make burial garments. The men
made rough coffins and the bodies were placed in a long trench in the
old Quaker cemetery at Smithville where a historic marker today calls
attention to the tragedy. Also on April 15,
1854, during the storm, a schooner Manhattan struck upon the shoals about
half a mile south of the Powhatan. Nine persons including Captain Fields
of Bangor, Maine, were lost. A George Griffiths was the only listed survivor. Another tragedy of
that year was the wreck of the "New Era" with 374 German immigrants
in the steerage and eleven passengers in cabins. It ran aground on November
13 on the bar off Deal Beach. Personnel from three life saving stations
gathered to help, but because of the extremely rough seas were unable
to launch a boat. A lifeline was finally made fast and some of the crew
were rescued by this method. However, 240 persons lost their lives in
the wreck. An unusual Brigantine
shipwreck occurred in 1847 when the "Florida" hit the shoals.
Part of the cargo consisted of 15 bales of ostrich plumes. These plumes
became so plentiful that several residents used them to insulate their
homes. When the John Turner house was torn down in 1924 many plumes were
found in the walls. Many shipwrecks have
occurred since the Settlement of the Country of which no record survives,
based upon figures furnished by the Research Division of the United States
Coast Guard; and information obtained from all available sources the total
would exceed four hundred. It is recorded that during the decade from 1846-1856, sixty-four vessels were wrecked within a radius of 10 miles of Brigantine.
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The
Brigantine shoals, feared by every ship captain who sailed the Atlantic
coast in the days of canvas, were from two to three miles off the beach.
Well over 300 vessels of all types have been wrecked on the shoals since
the early 1700's. Records of these disasters were not well kept. One of
the earliest wrecks of which there is a detailed account was that of the
British Troop Transport Hastings which stuck on the shoals in the early
part of October, 1775. In an effort to free the ship its master Captain
Campbell ordered the cannon, muskets and powder thrown overboard. The
effort failed and the British seamen and marines abandoned the craft and
made their way to Brigantine beach. They were quickly rounded up by the
militia – hastily summoned from inland – and taken prisoner
to Philadelphia.