SS Persian Monarch

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Persian Monarch abeam (cropped).jpg
Persian Monarch sometime between 1883 and 1889
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NamePersian Monarch
Owner
  • 1880-1887: Monarch Line
  • 1887-1894: Wilson Line
  • 1894-1889: Charles R. Flint and Company
  • 1899: Several
  • 1890-1900: California Shipping Company
Route
  • 1880-1894: New York to London
  • 1895-1900: Tramp
BuilderArchibald McMillan & Son, Dumbarton
Cost$150,000
Laid down1880
Launched8 September 1880
CompletedNovember 1880
Renamed1895: May Flint
General characteristics
Displacement
  • NRT of 2,568 tons
  • GT of 3,725 tons
Length360 feet (110 m)
Beam48 feet (15 m)

SS Persian Monarch was an iron-hulled trans-Atlantic ocean liner built for Monarch Line's London to New York route in 1880. She carried immigrants to New York and cattle to London and was involved in several accidents before the company was liquidated in 1887 following fiscal ruin. The ship was then sold to Wilson Line, who operated her on the same route before she ran aground off Long Island in 1894. The damage was severe, and she was auctioned off to Charles R. Flint and Company. Her new owners rebuilt her into the nation's largest sailing ship and operated her as a bark named May Flint for the next four years. The arrangement did not last long, and she was sold in 1900. Later that year, she sailed into San Francisco before losing control and colliding with USS Iowa and another bark. Damaged in several locations, May Flint rapidly capsized and the entire crew evacuated.

Contents

Development and design

The Royal Exchange Shipping Company, better known as Monarch Line, was a small British shipping company in the 1870s that focused on sailing ships that carried cargo to the Mediterranean and Far East. In 1879, the company decided to launch a new venture: passenger service between New York and London. For the new route, it ordered the large steamships Assyrian Monarch, Persian Monarch, EgyptianMonarch, and LydianMonarch. [1] : 368  The four ships were similar in design, [2] : 220  with Persian Monarch having a length of 360 feet (110 m), a beam of 48 feet (15 m), a net register tonnage of 2,568 tons, and a gross tonnage of 3,725 tons. She was fitted with one funnel, four masts, a coal-powered two-cylinder steam engine and a single propeller that could produce 500 horsepower (370 kW) and a top speed of 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph). [3] : 147  [4] : 712  The hull was made of iron and had a capacity for 1,000 steerage passengers and 40-60 passengers in the saloon. [5] : 220-221  The hull was subdivided by six concrete bulkheads. Two decks were made of iron, in addition to another deck and the shelter deck. [4] : 712  She was built by Archibald McMillan & Son at Dumbarton and was laid down in 1880, launched on 8 September, and completed in November. [6]

Service history

Monarch Line

Persian Monarch soon joined the company, and was the first Monarch Line ship to reach New York City. In late December 1880, the steamship sailed from New York to London, but encountered poor weather. The ship was thrown around by the waves, and a leak sprung in the aft. The amount of water rapidly overwhelmed the pumps and began to flood a cargo hold before the captain abandoned the voyage and returned to New York. The steamship rendezvoused with a tugboat that helped get the flooding under control, which allowed her to reach a drydock in the city. [7] The ship was regularly involved in similar mishaps, such as an incident in 1881 when she lost her propeller [8] or when she ran aground in 1886. [9] While in nominal service, Persian Monarch and her sister ships carried cattle to London and immigrants to New York despite Monarch Line's fiscal instability. [10] By 1884, the company struggled to find passengers and increased competition from the Twin Screw Line forced it to liquidate in 1887. The ships were sold off, with Persian Monarch being sold to Wilson Line. [1] : 368-369 

Wilson Line

Alongside Egyptian Monarch, Lydian Monarch, and several ships from Twin Screw Line, Persian Monarch continued to operate on a New York-London route as part of the Wilson-Hill Line. The Wilson-Hill Line was not an independent company, but a joint-passenger service between Wilson and Twin Screw Line. [1] : 405  One one such voyage, Persian Monarch carried the members [a] of Buffalo Bill's Wild West back from an exhibition season in Europe. While at sea, Old Charlie, Buffalo Bill's favorite horse, died. The animal was brought onto the deck, covered with an American flag, and given a burial at sea. After reaching Staten Island, the ship and her passengers were greeted with immense fanfare. [11] [12]

Grounding off Long Island

At 9:30 pm on 2 May 1894, the ship struck a sandbar off Eastport on Long Island, and ran aground. The weather was clear and calm when the incident occurred, and crew from a nearby lifesaving station quickly responded. As the ship was not in any danger, they were dismissed by the captain. The steamship laid in 22 feet (6.7 m) of water, parallel to the beach and rested at an angle a quarter mile off shore. The next day, salvage work began with an attempt to free the ship's propeller, which failed. Locals gathered to see the stranded steamship as passengers remained onboard without concern. The ship began to settle into the sandbar, which was counteracted by pumping out water ballast. On the 4th, the low tide left the ship heeled over at a sharp angle, and high winds complicated efforts. Several tugboats arrived, one pulling a barge. Cargo from Persian Monarch was loaded onto the barge to lighten the load and passengers were swung over the side and lowered into another tugboat by a bosun's chair that night. At high tide, the tugboats I. J. Merritt and C. H. Winslow succeeded in pulling the steamship free. [13] [14]

There was no clear cause for the accident. The sternpost and rudder were missing, which the captain blamed on a storm they had just sailed though. However, a crewmember stated that the parts had been ripped off when the ship ran aground. [13] [14] A naval court of inquiry investigated, and suspended the captain's license for six months. The first and second mates were censured, as well as the pilot. While a pilot was onboard, he was not at the helm but failed to warn the captain about the potential danger. [15] The salvaging work cost about $25,000, so the wrecking company put her up for auction. Persian Monarch was severely damaged by the accident and was sold off for only $19,500, compared to her initial construction cost of $150,000. [16]

May Flint at an unknown date while docked in Australia. Her sharp bow reveals her origin as a steamship. StateLibQld 1 143115 May Flint (ship).jpg
May Flint at an unknown date while docked in Australia. Her sharp bow reveals her origin as a steamship.

Charles R. Flint and Company

Her new owners were Charles R. Flint and Company, an American shipping firm. The crippled Persian Monarch was towed to Norfolk, Virginia, for conversion into a sailing ship. Her superstructure, upper deck, engines, and funnel were removed and replaced with a new deck, captain's quarters, quality hotel-style cabins, and 12,000 yards (11,000 m) of sail rigged like a barque. Work took about six months at a cost of $92,000. [17] : 124-127  The ship was gutted, and the only part which remained was the outer hull. The choice to keep the same hull form meant that the steamship's straight stem bow was also kept, instead of modifying the shape similar to other sailing ships. Compared to similar modifications, the bowsprit was not appended to the tip of the bow, but partially up the prow. The resulting aesthetics was described as "ghastly", comparable to a "malignant growth", [18] : 248  and according to Basil Lubbock, "the ugliest square rigger that ever sailed the seas”. [19]

The newly rebuild ship, renamed May Flint, was the largest American and forth [b] largest sailing ship in the world. She was operated as a tramp ship, and was towed to Baltimore in 1895 and loaded with coal. She then sailed to San Francisco, but a severe storm off Cape Horn caused parts of the masts to crash onto the deck. For the next several years, the ship carried various unrefined goods between the US East Coast and the Pacific, and was damaged by storms another two times. [17] : 124-127  While the large ship was able to carry twice the cargo of complementary vessels, rising costs due to constant storm damage and trans-continental shipping forced her to be sold off. [20] Her ownership changed several times in 1899 and 1890, eventually ending with the California Shipping Company based out of San Francisco. [17] : 126 

Sinking

On 8 September 1900, May Flint arrived off San Francisco carrying a full load of 5,000 tons of coal. The city was celebrating the 50th anniversary of California's admission into the United States, and a naval parade and fireworks were underway. A tugboat was unable to be found, so she sailed into the crowded port under sail. The wind was irregular and was strong as she entered approached, but the wind rapidly subsided. The shift temporarily left May Flint uncontrollable, and she smashed into USS Iowa's ram. The sailing ship's bow began to sink as she drifted and collided with the bark Vidette, damaging both vessels. May Flint's crew used the opportunity to board Vidette as their ship capsized and sank within 15 minutes. Illuminated by a searchlight, boats from Iowa were able to rescue everyone in the water. No one was killed in the accident, and many onlookers mistook the sight as being part of celebrations due to how well light the area was. [21] [17] : 127 May Flint's captain was blamed for the accident. The company president stated that a tug would have been needed, and that there were other opportunities to anchor without sailing further into the harbor. A local pilot stated that the event was solely due to poor judgment and the maneuver was always risky. [22] : 190 

She sank in shallow water, and the portions of the wreck were demolished with explosives to increase the distance to the water's surface. [17] : 127  The wreck currently lies between Alcatraz and Market Street. [23] In 2015, a local artist created a wood-panel painting titled May Flint (portrait of a hell ship). The painting, which depicts May Flint as a "nightmarish ship", is intended to visualize how dangerous San Francisco's harbor was to sailors. As of 2015, the artwork was displayed at the Aquatic Park Bathhouse which overlooks the shipwreck. [19]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Excluding Black Elk, who got separated and left in Europe
  2. ↑ The others being the five-masted barques France, Maria Rickmers , and Potosi

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bonsor, N. R. P. (1955). North Atlantic Seaway: An Illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World with the New (1st ed.). Lancashire: T Stephenson & Sons.
  2. ↑ Gibbs, Charles Robert Vernon (1952). Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: a Record of the North Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels From 1838 to the Present Day. Rochester: Staples Press.
  3. ↑ Smith, Eugene Waldo (1947). Trans-Atlantic Passenger Ships, Past and Present. Boston, Massachusetts: G. H. Dean.
  4. 1 2 Lloyd's Register Foundation (1881). Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1881.
  5. ↑ Gibbs, Charles Robert Vernon (1952). Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: a Record of the North Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels From 1838 to the Present Day. Rochester: Staples Press.
  6. ↑ "1082815" . Miranmar Ship Index. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Return of the Persian Monarch". The New York Times. 29 December 1880. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  8. ↑ "The Persian Monarch Disabled". The New York Times. 23 August 1881. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  9. ↑ "Mishap to the Persian Monarch". The New York Times. 21 March 1886. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  10. ↑ "The Monarch's Line Trouble". The New York Times. 6 September 1884. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  11. ↑ McClure, Nancy (2014-02-21). "Buffalo Bill and His Horses - Points West Online". Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  12. ↑ "Found Staten Island Stories 3: Buffalo Bill's Wild West, Mariners' Harbor, 1886 and 1888". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  13. 1 2 "Stranded in Clear Weather". The New York Times. 4 May 1894. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  14. 1 2 "Persian Monarch Floated". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  15. ↑ "For Wreck of the Persian Monarch". The New York Times. 18 May 1894. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  16. ↑ "Persian Monarch Sold at Auction". The New York Times. 30 May 1894. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Burgess, Robert H. (1965). Chesapeake Circle. Cambridge, Maryland: Cornell Maritime Press.
  18. ↑ Harold A. Underhill (1955). Deep-Water Sail: With Illustrations and Plans. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson.
  19. 1 2 Tedford, Matthew Harrison (2015-05-11). "Contemporary Takes on Maritime History at Aquatic Park Exhibition | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  20. ↑ "May Flint". Texas Tech University Libraries. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  21. ↑ "The Old Navy: The Old Iowa's Ram". U.S. Naval Institute. 1974-12-01. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  22. ↑ Williams, Greg H. (2002). Civil and Merchant Vessel Encounters with United States Navy Ships, 1800-2000. Internet Archive. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7864-1155-9.
  23. ↑ Bindman, Ariana. "Sunken ship found hidden under San Francisco Bay waters". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2025-03-20. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
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