AH-WR-1248

Miracle

Brig · United Kingdom · Lost 1847 · The Gulf of St Lawrence

An Irish Famine emigrant ship carrying 446 people was driven ashore on the Magdalen Islands in a gale in 1847.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The brig Miracle sailed from Liverpool in 1847 carrying 446 Irish emigrants fleeing the Great Famine, bound for Quebec. Caught in a violent gale, she was driven onto a reef at East Point in the Magdalen Islands. Most of those aboard were brought ashore safely by the crew, though dozens died when two boats were smashed against the wreck, and fever had already claimed lives during the crossing. The wreck is remembered as one of the archipelago's most notable shipwreck survival stories.

Vessel

Built: 1841
Builder: Not established
Yard: Saint John, New Brunswick
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 627
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: May 19, 1847
Cause: Storm
Location: East Point, Magdalen Islands, Quebec
Water: Gulf of St. Lawrence
Voyage: Liverpool, England → Quebec City, Canada
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 446
Lives lost: Contemporary reports describe roughly 70 deaths when lifeboats were destroyed against the wreck, plus about 20 deaths from shipboard fever before arrival; a precise combined total is not established.
Master: H. H. Elliott