General Arnold
Privateer Brig · United States · Lost 1778 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals
A Massachusetts privateer brig driven onto a Plymouth Bay sandbar in a Christmas blizzard, with one of the deadliest tolls of the Revolutionary War at sea.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The privateer brig General Arnold, commanded by Capt. James Magee, left Boston on December 24, 1778, bound for the West Indies. A violent snowstorm forced her to seek shelter in Plymouth Bay, where she dragged anchor and grounded on White Flat. Pounded by surf for more than two days, the ship's hull filled and the crew, driven onto the exposed deck, froze in the winter cold before rescuers could reach them.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Maryland
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail, brig rig
- Not established
Loss
- December 26, 1778
- Storm
- White Flat (White Flats), Plymouth Bay
- Plymouth Bay / Cape Cod Bay
- Boston, Massachusetts → West Indies (privateering cruise)
- Not established
- 105
- 60
- James Magee
The Wreck Today
- Not established
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- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)
The exact number of lives lost is reported differently across sources and is not established precisely.
Historical Digression (Patrick Browne)
Narrative of the voyage, storm, and grounding.
Vita Brevis, American Ancestors (NEHGS)
Context on the 'Magee storm' and Plymouth history.
Barnabas Downs survivor narrative (Project Gutenberg)
Contemporary first-hand survivor account of the wreck.
