AH-WR-0534

John Minturn

Packet Ship · United States · Lost 1846 · The New Jersey Coast

A packet ship from New Orleans that wrecked off Mantoloking in a ferocious 1846 storm, killing 38 and helping spur the founding of the U.S. Life-Saving Service.

Captain of Record

Anthony F. Cirillo

AHR-1879

See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

John Minturn was a three-masted packet ship carrying passengers and cargo from New Orleans to New York when a violent nor'easter drove her back out to sea off Sandy Hook. Her captain tried to beach the ship near Mantoloking, New Jersey, but she struck a sandbar and began breaking apart. Thirty-eight of the fifty-one people aboard died, including the captain and his family, in a tragedy that helped spur the creation of the U.S. Life-Saving Service.

Vessel

Built: 1841
Builder: Not established
Yard: Westerly, Rhode Island
Material: Wood
Length: 119 ft
Beam: 27 ft
Tonnage: 398
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: New York Sandy Hook Pilots

Loss

Date: February 15, 1846
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Mantoloking, Ocean County, New Jersey
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: New Orleans, Louisiana → New York
Cargo: General cargo valued at approximately $80,000
Aboard: 51
Lives lost: 38
Master: Dudley Stark

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20 ft
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 40.04° N 74.05° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Mantoloking, New Jersey
Region: The New Jersey Coast

General area only: coordinate of Mantoloking from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)

Initial accusations of looting by local wreckers were investigated and found unsubstantiated by a New Jersey Senate commission.

Monmouth Timeline, Monmouth County Historical Association
Full loss narrative, casualty count, and aftermath.
Wikipedia, John Minturn
Build details and corroboration of loss narrative.
USGS Geographic Names Information System (via MyTopo) — Mantoloking
coordinate of the named place of loss (off Mantoloking)