The Forgotten and Found

The burials of two ships captains and the New York Pilots Association's tribute to Thomas Freeborn.

Investigation:

The New Jersey "whitewash" of the events concerning the John Minturn disaster.

Unprincipled Wretches:

The U.S. press stigmatizes the "barbarians" of the New Jersey coast. 

Aftermath:

Once the storm headed north, it left behind a trail of destruction along the eastern seaboard. The most destruction was reserved for the New Jersey coast and the John Minturn.

Accounts of the Minturn's final moments are accounted for as well as the victims of the disaster. In particular the New York pilot, Thomas Freeborn body is recovered and morned by the pilot's association. 

The beginnings of criticisms reach the press.

The John Minturn departs New Orleans and approaches New York Harbor on Saturday, February 14th. As New York pilot, Thomas Freeborn motions to come aboard, Captain Stark rejects the offer and awaits a Sandy Hook pilot. Stark abhors the New York pilots and considers them unqualified for the job.

After an eight hour wait off the New Jersey coast and no sign of a Sandy Hook pilot, Stark reluctantly signals for Freeborn to come aboard the John Minturn. By now the storm is starting to gather strength and sharpening its destructive focus on the John Minturn.  

Mounting Casualties-Continued

The loss of the Lotty and the Alabama in the John Minturn Storm of 1846

Mounting Casualties:

The first list of maritime casualties is discussed:

The Mary Ellen

The Pioneer

The Register

The Arkansas

The Antares

The New Jersey

Undiminished Violence-Reports along the eastern seaboard of the coming nor'easter of February 1846.

Reports from South Carolina,Virginia,Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts document the storm's ferocity.

In Episode 4 we learn of the pilots and their boats who assist vessels navigating into New York Harbor. The hazards (then and now) are many: shifting sands, submerged shipwrecks, frequent fogs, etc. 

We discover the losse regulation of pilots during the early 19th century and the confusion it caused incoming ships.

Part 2 of Episode 4 introduces us to the ship the John Minturn;  its dimensions, construction and "enrollment" and a history of its voyages prior to its fateful trip in February 1846. 

The year 1845 was disturbingly quiet on the east coast of the United States; neither a hurricane nor a tropical storm had made an appearance. However, the residents along the coast knew that there would be 'hell to pay" when ’46 arrived. 

It didn't take long before a wicked nor'easter battered the entire coastline in February. The storm reached inland from Savannah, Georgia to Syracuse, New York where snow was "piled in heaps of all imaginable shapes and dimensions" while barometer readings plunged in just a few short hours. 

But the storm reserved its wrath for those who happened to be at sea. The storm rose quickly from gale to hurricane force in a matter of hours and kept the intensity for days. When it reached the New Jersey shore it claimed nine ships, including the John Minturn, which bears the storm’s name to this day. 

In the words of one witness…  “the wind continued blowing with Undiminished Violence”.