Last Updated: 3 August 2014

Hurricane Aboard the Coast Survey Brig Washington

In the mid-1840s, Roger Nelson Stembel, then a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, was attached to the United States Coast Survey (now part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA).

The Coast Survey was a scientific agency whose missions were many, but they included charting our coastline, improving navigation safety, and studying the oceans. The Coast Survey had a small fleet of vessels used for hydrographic surveys and research, and they relied on Navy officers to sail their vessels. Roger, who graduated from Miami University (Ohio) in 1832, may have volunteered for this assignment out of an interest in science.

In the summer of 1846, Lt. Stembel was serving aboard the Coast Survey brig, Washington, whose scientists were mapping and studying the Gulf Stream off the eastern seaboard. This was cutting edge science in the 1840s.

On the afternoon of September 7, the crew of the Washington had finished their last survey transect off the coast of Cape Henry, Virginia, and were heading for the Chesapeake Bay and safety when a violent storm overtook them. The storm quickly developed into a hurricane. The Washington was old and no match for heavy weather, much less a hurricane. As the hurricane raged, sails and masts came down, heavy armaments had to be dumped over the side, and wind ripped the weather boats from their davits. At the height of the storm a huge wave hit the ship and crushed the deck cabin where the captain was piloting the ship. The wave washed it and the berth deck - and all the ship's crew members in the aft - into the ocean. Many were able to climb back on board, but 11 crew members, including the ship's captain - George M. Bache - were lost. Their bodies were never found. Those who made it back on deck assumed they would eventually lose their lives as well.

When the storm finally abated, Roger Stembel was one of just six surviving officers. With the loss of the captain, Roger was now second in command.

After the storm, the badly damaged ship's anchors were set and the remaining crew began rigging temporary sails so the ship could begin limping up the coast. Eventually another brig happened along and stood by until a larger ship could take it in tow and take it into a port. Eventually the fabled U.S.S. Constitution ("Old Ironsides," launched in 1797 and still in service today), came by and provided water (and 7 gallons of much needed whiskey). It was returning from Brazil. The Constitution took the Washington in tow and towed the disabled ship up the coast until a pilot boat could come out and take over the task. The pilot boat continued towing the Washington up the coast until they reached the mouth of Delaware Bay. From there the Washington's makeshift sails would be able to take it safely the rest of the way to Philadelphia. Thus the pilot boat dropped the tow and headed for shore, taking Roger Stembel on board so he could get to shore and transmit a report about the storm and the condition of the ship to Coast Survey headquarters.

The Washington finally docked at Philadelphia's Naval Yard at 4 pm, September 24th, 16 days after the hurricane nearly destroyed the ship. Brigs like the Washington were generally used for short trips along the coast. It is not known how long the crew had been aboard the Washington, but that voyage must have been one of the toughest those seamen ever experienced.

The 11 deaths were among the first government scientists to die while on a scientific mission. Later that year the Superintendent of the Coast Survey asked for authorization for the U.S. Mint to strike a commemorative medallion made of silver to be given to each of the officers and crew members who survived the hurricane. Each medal was to have the recipient's name engraved on the face. I have no idea who has Roger's medal today, or whether it still survives (in 1980 the price of silver spiked to an all-time high of almost $50 an ounce and many silver coins and other silver objects were sold and melted).

Nine years after the silver medallions were struck, President Franklin Pierce approved the U.S. Mint's request to strike 1,000 copies of the medallion for public distribution. It was not stated but I believe these copies were made of copper. One source suggests that one of the medallions can be found in the Library of Congress's medal collection.

There are some interesting side stories about this incident. According to a letter from the Washington's captain to his brother, as the ship was taking on water for this cruise just before sailing, two of the ship's crew ran away. The captain explained that the ship was already short-handed and couldn't afford to lose them, so they had to chase them all night until they were eventually caught at a ferry terminal the next morning. The two weren't named, but one wonders if they survived the storm or if they were among those washed overboard and drowned.

A second interesting sidelight is that the brig Washington was the ship that in 1839 took possession of the famous Spanish slave ship, La Amistad. It was originally bound for Cuba, but on the voyage the slaves managed to overtake the crew and tried to sail it back to Africa. It ended up off the shore of Long Island where the Washington was able to take possession. The disposition of the slaves spawned a famous legal battle that eventually reached the Supreme Court. It's decision to free the slaves (who had been obtained illegally) was seen as one of the first blows to slavery in the United States.

Another interesting aside is that the Washington's captain, George M. Bache, was a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin. To commemorate the death of the captain and ten of his crew, a monument was created and placed in Washington, DC's famous Congressional Cemetery. It is a monument in stone in the shape of a broken ship's mast. Though it is now showing it's age, it is a striking monument in a cemetery of striking monuments.

For this I used the following sources:

1. The United States House of Representatives, 29th Congress, 2nd Session. Treasury Department Report. Document 6. Coast Survey Report, pages 46 - 68 (of Document 6). [This is the primary document.]

2. The United States Senate, 34th Congress, 1st Session. Ex. Doc. No. 51. Message of the President of the United States. Franklin Pierce. Washington. March 27, 1856.

3. Field Engineers Bulletin. No. 11. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. December 1937.

4. Theberge, Albert E., "Hurricane!" Hydro International, Surveying in All Waters. Vol. 17, No. 5. July-August 2013.

5. Martin, Tyrone G. "A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of Old Ironsides." Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. 1997.

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