AH-WR-1189

Black Warrior

Whaling Ship · United States · Lost 1858 · Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

This American whaler broke apart on the sand bars at a Baja California lagoon mouth in 1858, giving her name (in Spanish translation) to the town of Guerrero Negro.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1825 at Duxbury, Massachusetts, Black Warrior hunted whales across the Indian Ocean and later the North Pacific before working the gray whale lagoons of Baja California in the wake of Charles Scammon's discoveries. On December 20, 1858, under Captain Robert Brown, she was being towed out of a lagoon in Vizcaino Bay after taking on whale oil when strong currents drove her onto the sand bars at the entrance, breaking her keel. The wreck remained visible for decades as a hazard marker, and the lagoon and later the surrounding salt town took the Spanish translation of her name: Guerrero Negro.

Vessel

Built: 1825
Builder: Not established
Yard: Duxbury, Massachusetts
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 231
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Captain Robert Brown (purchased at Honolulu, 1854)

Loss

Date: December 20, 1858
Cause: Grounding
Location: Entrance to the lagoon later named Guerrero Negro
Water: Pacific Ocean, Vizcaino Bay, Baja California
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Whale oil
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Captain Robert Brown

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Wreckage remained visible at the lagoon entrance for decades as a hazard marker before disintegrating.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established