Essex at 9.30 AM November 20th
Item
-
Identifier
-
MS106.2
-
Title
-
Essex at 9.30 AM November 20th
-
Measurements
-
Unknown
-
Date Created
-
ca. 1870
-
Description
-
A drawing of a whaleship with cut masts laying almost on her side, her deck facing away from the viewer. Within ten minutes of the second strike, the Essex’s lower decks filled with water and she capsized. However, because she sank bow-first, William Bond, the ship’s steward and one of its six Black crewmembers, was able to rescue Captain Pollard’s and first mate Chase’s trunks, the latter of which contained a jack knife, whetstone, pencil, ten sheets of writing paper, three small fish hooks, soap, and clothing, and the navigational equipment - two compasses, two quadrants, and two copies of Nathaniel Bowditch’s "New American Practical Navigator" - from their cabins at the stern of the ship. To salvage additional supplies, Captain Pollard ordered that the ship’s rigging and masts be cut so that she could turn upright, or, simply, “right.”
-
Inscriptions
-
Handwritten upper center: This Sketch is designed to Show the Ship’s one hour later \ when the Shrouds were Cut and the masts broken + falling with all Sails Set \ the Ship at an angle of 45 Degrees & water logged.
-
Handwritten lower center: Ship Essex as She appeared at 9.30 AM Nov 20th
