The Wreck of the Bristol - November 21, 1836

The Wreck of the Bristol - November 21, 1836. Bristol and Mexico Monument, MARINERS BURYING GROUND. The thee-masted, 450-ton American ship Bristol left Liverpool, England on October 15, 1836 with a cargo of 250 tons of iron bars, 50 tons of coal, 2,000 bushels of wheat, and dry goods. It had 95 passengers aboard, most of them Irish immigrants Included among them were tradesmen, merchants, and two medical doctors. After a pleasant voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the vessel arrived outside New York Habor where it waited for a pilot to guide it in to its South Street berth. Parents dressed their children in their Sunday best, ”in preparation for the disembarkation just a few hours away. But the harbor pilots never appeared. It was a warm and beautiful Sunday, and they had taken the day off. As night fell on the Bristol and the wind began to blow, Capt. Alexander McKown headed out to sea., Around 1 AM, the ship grounded on a sandbar just 400 yards off Rockaway Beach. A huge wave struck the ship broadside, blasted off the hatch covers and filled the hold with water. In just minutes dozens of passengers were drowned. When rescuers rowed out from shore the next morning, Capt. McKown acted heroically by sending women and children off first. He was the last to leave the ship. The rescuers saved 44 passengers and crew. One hundred passengers and crew drowned., Capt. McKown was a hero of the wreck - as were the rescuers from shore. But some Long Islanders acted shamefully. Thieves hid in the sand dunes just off the beach. They watched for waves to wash bodies from the ship's hold and roll them up onto the beach. These criminals rushed from their hiding places, searched the dead immigrants' pockets for gold and silver coins, and used knives to quickly remove any rings and earrings., Sadly, it would take one more devastating wreck, that of the Mexico a few weeks later, before steps were finally taken to prevent such disasters.