J. T. H. Coburn
Schooner · United States · Lost 1877 · Tangier Sound & the Eastern Shore
An Eastern Shore oyster schooner capsized on Terrapin Sands during an 1877 gale, drowning all seven aboard.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The schooner J. T. H. Coburn was working the Tangier Sound oyster grounds out of Onancock, Virginia, when a violent northeast gale struck on the night of February 12, 1877. She capsized on Terrapin Sands with her full crew of seven still aboard. Mate William Fox was found lashed to the rigging, his body the only one immediately recovered; the other six men, including captain Thomas Salisbury, were initially left aboard the overturned hull while a recovery party prepared to dredge for their remains. The disaster, reported alongside the capsizing of the schooner Delmy in the same storm, was among the worst single losses of life in the Tangier Sound oyster fleet of that era.
Vessel
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- Wood
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- Sail, schooner rig
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Loss
- February 12, 1877
- Storm
- Terrapin Sands, Tangier Sound
- Tangier Sound, Chesapeake Bay
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- 7
- 7
- Thomas Salisbury
The Wreck Today
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Position
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- Terrapin Sands, Tangier Sound, Maryland
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)
The vessel's dimensions, build year, and ultimate fate after the 1877 wreck are not established in the sources reviewed.
Loss date, location, gale conditions, crew names, and confirmation all hands perished.
