SS Winfield Scott was a sidewheel steamer that transported passengers and cargo between San Francisco, California and Panama in the early 1850s, during the California Gold Rush. After entering a heavy fog off the coast of Southern California on the evening of December 1, 1853, the ship crashed into Middle Anacapa Island. All 450 passengers and crew survived, but the ship was lost.
The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 brought thousands of people to California in search of fortune until the late 1850s. Since neither the Panama Canal nor the First transcontinental railroad had been constructed, people emigrating to California from the Eastern United States had three main routes of passage. They could travel over land, which was expensive and dangerous, or they could sail the roughly 14,000-mile (23,000km) route around South America. This was more attractive to some but no less dangerous, due in part to the rough waters of the Drake Passage. In addition to the inherent dangers of either route, the journey often took as long as six months to complete.
The third route involved traversing the jungles of the Isthmus of Panama, then departing via the southern coast of Panama. While this cut the length of the sea journey in half, ships to ferry passengers from Panama to San Francisco were not commonplace. As a result, many had to wait months to complete the second half of their journey.[2] To fill this growing need for swift passage from Panama to California, shipbuilding activities increased dramatically.
Construction and service
Winfield Scott (originally to be named Placer) was constructed by the shipbuilding company Westervelt and MacKay of New York, and was completed in March 1850. The ship was named for the celebrated United States Army general Winfield Scott (the stern was built with a bust in his likeness), and she was launched on 27 October 1850.[3] An announcement in the October 20 edition of the New York Herald stated that "We understand that no expense has been spared to secure strength, safety and speed..."[4] Her hull was wooden with double iron bracing and was made from White oak, Live oak, Locust, Redcedar and Georgiayellow pine.
The steamer, owned by Davis, Brooks and Company, initially transported passengers on the New York-New Orleans route. In 1852, the ship's ownership was transferred to the New York and San Francisco Steamship Company Line, and she arrived in San Francisco on April 28, 1852. Once there, she began taking gold seekers, nicknamed argonauts, on the Panama Route (between San Francisco and Panama). After the demise of the New York and San Francisco Steamship Company Line (which had been renamed as the New York and California Steamship Company in May 1853), the ship's ownership was again transferred on July 8, 1853, this time to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.[4]
Last voyage
Winfield Scott, bound for Panama, departed from San Francisco on the morning of 1 December 1853. In addition to her complement of passengers and crew, the ship was transporting a shipment of gold bullion worth an estimated US$2 million.[5] The ship's progress was slowed in the afternoon when repairs had to be made to a leaking boiler, but she had resumed course at full speed. Later that evening, Captain Simon F. Blunt navigated the ship into the Santa Barbara Channel in an effort to save time. Captain Blunt knew the channel well, having helped survey the area a few years previously.[6]
At approximately 11 PM, the ship encountered a heavy fog, and ran aground into Middle Anacapa Island (approximately 400 miles from port). Her speed at the time of the wreck was estimated at 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph). She struck the island bow first, and when Capt. Blunt attempted to back away the stern was struck, removing the ship's rudder. With the ship taking on massive amounts of water and unable to steer, all aboard, perhaps as many as 500 people, began scrambling for land.[6][7] The ship was completely evacuated in approximately two hours, and the survivors spent the first night camped on a pinnacle of rock that measured 50 by 25 yards (46 by 23m). The next day they moved to a larger piece of land on the island.[8]
One of the passengers, Asa Cyrus Call, recalled "a terrible jar and crashing of timbers...I hurried out on deck, where my attention was fixed on a wall of towering cliffs, the tops of which were hidden by the fog and darkness and appeared about to fall and crush us. All round was the loud booming of angry breakers surging about invisible rocks."[4]
On 2 December, the steamship SS California, returning to San Francisco from Panama, was alerted to the presence of the wreck survivors by the smoke of a gun they had fired.[9]California rescued the women and children, as well as Winfield Scott's complement of gold bullion. On 9 December California returned to rescue the remaining passengers.[4] The crew stayed behind to recover as much of the mail and passenger luggage as possible. Winfield Scott, however, had sustained too much damage and was left in the waters of the channel.
Wreckage and salvage
Scatter map of the wreckage site
The remains of Winfield Scott are located under 25–30 feet (7.6–9.1m) of water in the Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary. The wreckage site was verified in 1981[10] and was registered with the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The site is protected by California and United States law, which prohibits divers from removing any part of the wreckage.
A salvage operation was undertaken in 1894, utilizing San Pedro. Much of the iron machinery, as well as hundreds of copper bolts, were recovered. An additional salvage operation during World War II recovered additional iron and brass for the war effort.[11]
The remaining wreckage is considered important from an historical perspective, as it represents a tangible example of mid-19th century shipbuilding. Although much of the wooden hull has long since disintegrated, some of the machinery is still relatively intact.[12]
Between 1853 and 1980, more than 140 shipwrecks were documented in the Channel Islands National Park Marine Sanctuary. As of December 2000, twenty sites had been located. The prevailing currents and weather conditions of the area make it a dangerous place for navigation.[13]
In 1987, the California Wreck Divers Club was the subject of a sting operation to discourage salvage divers from bringing up artifacts from the Winfeld Scott and other ships in the Santa Barbara Channel. A coin was brought up from the Winfield Scott that was the major target of the subsequent legal case.[14]
Legacy
Light beacon
Shortly after the wreck, the United States Coast Survey recommended that a permanent lighthouse facility be built on Anacapa Island. Due to a lack of funding, the installation (an unmanned acetylene beacon on a fifty-foot tower) was not constructed until 1912. The tower was replaced by a lighthouse in 1932.[15]
Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island located about 11 miles off Port Hueneme in Ventura County, California. The island is composed of a series of narrow islets 6 mi (10 km) long, oriented generally east–west and 5 mi (8 km) east of Santa Cruz Island. The three main islets, East, Middle and West Anacapa, are collectively known as The Anacapas by some authors. All three islets have precipitous cliffs, dropping off steeply into the sea.
The Cuba was a steamship owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Originally launched in 1897 as the German SS Coblenz, she was seized by the United States in 1917, and named SS Sachem, until Pacific Mail purchased her from the Shipping Board on February 6, 1920, for US$400,000 and renamed SS Cuba.
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland.
Brother Jonathan was a paddle steamer that struck an uncharted rock near Point St. George, off the coast of Crescent City, California, on July 30, 1865. The ship was carrying 244 passengers and crew, with a large shipment of gold. Only 19 people survived, making it the deadliest shipwreck up to that time on the Pacific Coast of the United States. Based on the passenger and crew list, 225 people are believed to have died. Its location was not discovered until 1993 and a portion of the gold was recovered in 1996. The ship was also instrumental in setting off the 1862 smallpox epidemic in the Pacific Northwest, which killed thousands of Indigenous people in the region.
SS Republic was a sidewheel steamship, originally named SS Tennessee, lost in a hurricane off the coast of Georgia in October 1865, en route to New Orleans.
The maritime history of California can be divided into several periods: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1847; and United States statehood period, which continues to the present day. In the history of the California coast, the use of ships and the Pacific Ocean has historically included water craft, fisheries, shipbuilding, Gold Rush shipping, ports, shipwrecks, naval ships and installations, and lighthouses.
The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was an iron-hulled steam-powered passenger ship, launched in 1878, which sailed between San Francisco and various Asian Pacific ports. On 22 February 1901, the vessel sank after striking a submerged reef at the entry to San Francisco Bay while inward bound from Hong Kong. Of the approximately 220 passengers and crew on board, fewer than 85 people survived the sinking, while 135 others were killed in the catastrophe. The wreck lies in 287 feet (87 m) of water just off the Golden Gate and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as nationally significant.
SS Pacific was a wooden sidewheel steamer built in 1850 most notable for its sinking in 1875 as a result of a collision southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington. Pacific had an estimated 275 passengers and crew aboard when she sank. Only two survived. Among the casualties were several notable figures, including the vessel's captain at the time of the disaster, Jefferson Davis Howell (1846–1875), the brother-in-law of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The sinking of Pacific killed more people than any other marine disaster on the West Coast at the time.
Active was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast Survey, a predecessor of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, from 1852 to 1861. Active served on the U.S. West Coast. She conducted the Coast Survey's first reconnaissance from San Francisco, California, to San Diego, California, in 1852. Active sometimes stepped outside her normal Coast Survey duties to support U.S. military operations, serving as a troop transport and dispatch boat during various wars with Native Americans and during the San Juan Islands "Pig War" with the United Kingdom in 1859. She also rushed Union troops to Los Angeles, California, in 1861 during the early stages of the American Civil War.
Carrier Pigeon was an American clipper ship that was launched in the fall of 1852 from Bath, Maine. Her value was estimated at US$54,000. She was wrecked on her maiden voyage off the north coast of what was then Santa Cruz County in the state of California.
SS Northerner was the first paddle steamer lost in operations by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.
Many ships have wrecked in and around San Francisco Bay. For centuries San Francisco Bay, with its strong currents, rocky reefs, and low fog conditions has experienced more than a hundred shipwrecks. Ever since San Francisco Bay was discovered during the land expedition of Gaspar de Portolà in 1769, it has been one of the most popular harbors.
SS Aleutian was a passenger ship in North American coastal service. Built in 1899 for the Ward Line as SS Havana, she would later serve the building of the Panama Canal as SS Panama and ultimately enter Alaskan service as SS Aleutian.
SS Egypt was a P&O ocean liner. She sank after a collision with Seine on 20 May 1922 in the Celtic Sea. 252 people were rescued from the 338 passengers and crew aboard at the time. A subsequent salvage operation recovered most of the cargo of gold and silver.
The SS Yankee Blade was a three-masted side-wheel steamship belonging to the Independent Line. The Yankee Blade was one of the first steamships built to transport gold, passengers, and cargo between Panama and San Francisco, California, during the California Gold Rush. The ship wrecked in fog off of Point Arguello in Southern California on October 1, 1854. The shipwreck cost an estimated 30 to 40 lives.
The SS City of Chester was a steamship built in 1875 that sank after a collision in a dense fog with SS Oceanic at the Golden Gate in San Francisco Bay on August 22, 1888. She was owned by the Oregon Railroad Co. and leased by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.
Simon Fraser Blunt was a member of the Wilkes Expedition, Cartographer of San Francisco Bay and was Captain of the SS Winfield Scott when it shipwrecked off Anacapa Island in 1853. Two geographic features, Blunt Cove and Point Blunt are named for him.
The SS Atlanta was a wooden hulled Great Lakes steamer that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, United States, after a failed attempt of her being towed to shore ultimately killing 5 out of her 7 crew members on board. Her wreckage still remains at the bottom of the lake, and on November 6, 2017, the wreck of the Atlanta was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The S.S. Golden Gate was a mail and passenger steamer that operated between San Francisco and Panama City from 1851 to 1862. On its last voyage from San Francisco it caught fire and was destroyed with the loss of 204 lives off Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico. The ship was carrying $1,400,000 in gold coins for Wells Fargo, as well as large amounts of gold and coins for the passengers. Much of this was retrieved, but amateurs continue to search for gold with metal detectors on what is now called the Playa de Oro.
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