. . . The wind seemed to come with a spite, an edge to it, which threatened to scrape us off the yards. The mere force of the wind was greater than I had ever seen it before; but darkness, cold, and wet are the worst parts of a storm, to a sailor . . . The gale was now at its height, “blowing like scissors and thumb-screws”; the captain was on deck; the ship, which was light, rolling and pitching . . . in every direction
. . . If the Bermudas let you pass,
You must beware of Hatteras—Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Two Years Before the Mast
After having been taken in action by the USS United States on 25 October 1812, the 38-gun British frigate Macedonian was commissioned in the U. S. Navy, and in April 1813, Captain Jacob Jones was appointed her first American commanding officer. During the remainder of the War of 1812, she was blockaded by a portion of the British Fleet off New London, Connecticut, and was unable to put to sea. During the period 1815–16, she saw service in the Mediterranean Squadron.
On 2 September 1818, Captain John Downes was ordered to the command of the Macedonian, then fitting out at the Boston Navy Yard, for an extended cruise down the coast of South America into the Pacific Ocean. She was to deliver diplomatic correspondence at the major capitals and then continue her voyage around Cape Horn into the vast reaches of the Pacific. Owing to the extended nature of the cruise, the officers were advanced five months pay by the ship’s purser to provide themselves with personal necessities. Preparations went ahead rapidly with the fitting out of the vessel. All available space was appropriated for the stowing of ship’s supplies. Even the officers’ quarters were used for the storing of shot and other articles. During the storm, this was to prove disastrous for the officers who had been forced to stow their gear on deck.
The lieutenants assigned to the Macedonian for this cruise were John M. Maury, John Percival, William K. Latimer, Joseph Smoot, Charles Gauntt, and Joseph Tatnall. Her crew was composed of 401 officers and men and a U. S. Marine guard of 45 men.
The Macedonian was to have put to sea on 12 September 1818, but owing to bad weather and contrary winds, she did not depart Boston until the 20th. After an uneventful journey of five days and approximately 1,000 miles, she encountered, on the night of the 26th, a shift in the wind and an increase in its velocity. This was the beginning of a hurricane that was to spell near-disaster for the valiant little ship. The storm was located northeast of Bermuda approximately in Latitude 35° and Longitude 53°. The first notice the officer on deck and the helmsman had of the impending trouble was a shifting of the wind to the southeast. Shortly thereafter, the storm increased to such an extent that sail had to be shortened to the storm staysails, which were necessary to maintain headway. The hurricane blew strong for the remainder of the day and well into the next day. The only fatality was William Wilkins, captain of the mizzen top. He was knocked overboard by the thrashing of the mizzen storm staysail. All attempts to rescue him were beaten back by the severity of the gale and, in a few moments, the unfortunate Wilkins sank beneath the waves.
At about 3 a.m., the starboard quarter whaleboat was torn from its moorings and tossed, upside down, against the mizzen rigging. It remained there until it was bashed to pieces by the fury of the storm. By 5 a.m., the crew was ordered to cut away the mizzen stays, braces, and lanyards, to prevent the weakened mizzenmast from endangering general safety of the ship. In a few moments, after swinging back and forth, it came crashing to the deck, staving in the whaleboat and extending over the starboard quarter. All hands immediately fell to clearing away the wreckage.
An examination of the foremast disclosed it to be in no better shape. The lower standing rigging of both fore and mainmasts had become dangerously slack. At about 6 a.m., the fore topmast was carried away, as was the jib-boom and spritsail yard. Heavy seas stove in the starboard waist carrying away the main yardarm, which had fallen to the deck. Examination of the mainmast showed that it, too, had become badly sprung between the gun and spar decks. It was determined to cut it away before it endangered the remaining masts and spars. The carpenters fell to, and had delivered but five or six strokes, when the order was countermanded. By immense effort, the mainmast was saved; the foremast was also saved by great effort on the part of the crew.
During the hurricane, an attempt was made to bring the ship into the wind by rigging a heavy hawser to a 900-pound kedge anchor. As the ship’s head was coming up, the hawser and anchor received the tremendous strain. The line held for only a few moments and then parted, sending the anchor to the bottom. Thus ended the attempt to bring the ship’s head up into the wind.
By noon, the hurricane had somewhat abated, but was still blowing strong. All day on the 28th the crew was engaged in clearing away the wreckage left by the storm. On the 29th, the mizzen topmast, the mainmast, and the remaining part of the main yard were jury-rigged for sails. The Macedonian was unable to make the necessary repairs at sea to enable her to continue her original voyage. The Captain, realizing the sorry shape his vessel was in, was obliged to put into the nearest port, which in this case was the Gosport (Norfolk) naval shipyard. She arrived at Norfolk on 15 October, having travelled approximately 1,300 miles since being dismasted. She entered Hampton Roads and sailed past Norfolk, hardly recognized by the local inhabitants, her appearance had been so radically changed.
All of the officers’ personal belongings that had been stowed on deck had been swept into the sea during the hurricane. The officers now found themselves without many of the necessities of life. Therefore, they wrote to the Secretary of the Navy on 19 October, asking for an advance to replace their lost effects. The Secretary generously authorized the Navy Agent at Norfolk to allow the officers the collective sum of $500 to replace their belongings.
The following information is taken from the official reports of the various departments aboard the Macedonian.They detail the losses sustained by the vessel.
A list of the spars and masts actually lost:
- mizzenmast
- mizzenmast and topgallant mast
- fore and main-topmast and topgallant masts
- mizzen topsail and crossjack yard
- fore and main topsail yards
- jib-boom and spritsail yard
- mizzen royal yard
- one spare main topsail yard
- two swinging studdingsail booms
- six studdingsail booms
- boat davits on both sides
- one fore topgallant sail
- one topmast studdingsail boom
- also about 8 feet of rail on the port side (bow)
The master’s department reported the following losses:
- 1 main topsail
- 1 fore topsail
- 1 mizzen topsail
- 1 standing jib
- 1 gaff topsail
The following sustained damage:
- 1 mainsail, half gone
- 1 fore storm staysail, half gone
- 1 main storm staysail, badly split
- 1 mizzen storm staysail, badly split
- 1 stern boat
- 2 quarter whaleboats
- 1 kedge anchor 6-wt.
The rigging sustained the following losses:
- complete gang of mizzen rigging
- complete gang of fore, main, and mizzen-topmast rigging
- complete gang of fore, main, and mizzen-topgallantmast rigging
- complete gang of fore, main, and mizzen-royalmast rigging
- complete gang of fore jib-boom stays and backstays staysails, etc.
- most of the running rigging fore and aft
Many commercial vessels were also severely handled by this same hurricane. The Dutch brig De Hoope lost all her topmasts and spars, and her cargo was so badly damaged that it was almost a complete loss. The brig Ann of Windsor, Nova Scotia, was abandoned during the storm, and the brig Mary of Bristol was towed into Bermuda bottom up. The ship Catherine Dawes from Philadelphia foundered in the same gale. A Baltimore schooner bound for the West Indies came into Norfolk, having lost her masts, five men, and supercargo overboard. A whaler from Nantucket bound for the Pacific Ocean reported that she had lost her fore, main, and mizzen masts, as well as three men, and her boats.
After spending a month at Norfolk in the shipyard, the Macedonian set sail on her delayed cruise for the Pacific on 10 November 1818, with a new set of masts, spars, and sails, plus replacements for other items lost during the hurricane.
After 17 additional years of service, the Macedonian was broken up at Norfolk in 1835–36.