Despatch
Brig · Lost 1828 · Newfoundland
The Irish emigrant brig Despatch ran aground near Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland, on July 10, 1828; Ann Harvey and her family rescued 163 people.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The brig Despatch, part-owned by William Lancaster of Workington, sailed from Derry for Quebec on May 29, 1828, with eleven crew and 200 passengers, almost all Irish emigrants. On July 10 she ran aground on a bare rocky islet near Isle aux Morts on Newfoundland's south coast. Over the next days seventeen-year-old Ann Harvey, her father, her twelve-year-old brother and their dog rescued 163 people, earning her fame as the Grace Darling of Newfoundland and a government medal.
Vessel
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- Wood
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- Sail
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Loss
- July 10, 1828
- Grounding
- A small bare rocky island near Isle aux Morts, south coast of Newfoundland
- Atlantic Ocean
- Derry, Ireland → Quebec
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- About 211 were aboard and 163 were rescued; the article does not state the death toll.
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The Wreck Today
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Position
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- Position not established
- Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland
No pin: no surveyed wreck position in the sources used.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (50/100)
Based on a published secondary account; original records were not independently inspected.
Article narrative of construction, voyage and loss (secondary summary of cited books and newspapers).
Town of Isle aux Morts — Our History
Confirms 1828 wreck of the brig Despatch and rescue of 163 people by the Harvey family and their dog.
