Falconer
Brig · United States · Lost 1847 · Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine
A coal brig from Belfast, Maine, wrecked with heavy loss of life at the treacherous Ipswich sandbar during a December 1847 northeaster.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Falconer, a 360-ton brig from Belfast, Maine, was carrying coal from Nova Scotia to Boston in December 1847 when a severe northeaster drove her onto the notoriously dangerous Ipswich bar. Seventeen of the fifty-three people aboard died. A funeral procession through the town preceded a mass burial of most of the victims at Ipswich's Old North Burying Ground, while Captain Joseph Rolerson and his family were returned to Belfast.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Belfast, Maine
- Wood
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- 360
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- December 15, 1847
- Storm
- Ipswich Bar, Ipswich, Massachusetts
- Ipswich Bay
- Cape Breton, Nova Scotia → Boston, Massachusetts
- 350 tons of coal
- 53
- 17
- Joseph Rolerson
The Wreck Today
- Not established
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- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Ipswich Bar, Ipswich, Massachusetts
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (74/100)
Detailed construction specifications for the vessel are not established in the sources reviewed.
Historic Ipswich (Gordon Harris)
Wreck narrative, casualties, and burial details
