Antonio Jacobsen painting of the steamship Portland, 1891. Art: Courtesy of Marine Historical Society
The PORTLAND’s Last Voyage
November 26, 1898: 7:00 PM, Saturday
The PORTLAND left her wharf in Boston headed to Portland loaded with freight and passengers headed home after the Thanksgiving holiday. While the Captain was warned of impending bad weather, he was not prepared for or not aware of the severity and intensity of the gale. Perhaps he hoped to outrun the storm, which was working its way up the East Coast.
Within hours of departure, conditions at sea had become dire. Hurricane force winds gusted northwards up to 70 mph, with waves reaching 30 feet. Sidewheel steamers, with their long, shallow hulls were incredibly vulnerable in the open seas, and these waves quickly overpowered the PORTLAND, damaging her superstructure and forcing her many miles off her course.
November 27, 1898: Sunday
While the PORTLAND’s exact reason for sinking is unknown, it is believed that she finally sank after the thunderous seas washed over her decks. The average time of the watches worn by recovered bodies read 9:15. It is unclear, however, if this indicates the ship was lost at 9:15 PM Saturday, or at 9:15 AM Sunday.
About 192 passengers and crew perished that night. There were no survivors. Bodies and debris washed ashore on Cape Cod beaches for months. With no survivors, the experience of the passengers and the crew during the sinking is unknown, but it could only have been a terrifying ordeal. The sea, unforgiving and surging, would have tossed and rolled the paddlewheel steamer about violently. Roaring winds and freezing weather would have turned this terrible voyage into a living nightmare.
Source: https://capecodmaritimemuseum.org/virtual-exhibits/the-sinking-of-ss-portland
Of the 192 lost souls mentioned above were 19 African Americans mostly from the Munjoy Hill area of Portland, Maine.
The Wreck of the Portland by J. North Conway
Current exploration of the Portland by NOAA
posted: , by Raminta Moore
