AH-WR-0639

Mexico

Bark (or Barque) · United States · Lost 1837 · Long Island & the New York Approaches

An Irish emigrant bark driven back from New York Harbor by a nor'easter and wrecked off Long Beach, where 115 aboard froze to death overnight.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Mexico left Liverpool in October 1836 with 112 mostly Irish emigrant passengers and a crew of twelve, arriving off Sandy Hook on New Year's Eve without a pilot to guide her in. A nor'easter forced the ship back out to sea, and on January 2, 1837, she grounded on a sandbar off Long Beach. Most of those aboard froze to death clinging to the rigging as the temperature plunged. Only eight survived, rescued by local resident Raynor Smith and companions; the ship's captain saved himself but left passengers behind.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 300
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: January 2, 1837
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Long Beach, Long Island
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Liverpool, England → New York
Cargo: Crockery, railroad iron, coal, and emigrant passengers
Aboard: 124
Lives lost: 115
Master: Charles Winslow

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: 40.59° N 73.66° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Long Beach, Long Island, New York
Region: Long Island & the New York Approaches

Wikipedia and an HMdb.org historical marker (installed 2018 at Boardwalk and Lincoln Boulevard, Long Beach, NY) describe the Mexico grounding on a sandbar about 200 yards off Long Beach; the coordinate approximates the Long Beach marker/shoreline location commemorating the wreck, not a surveyed offshore fix.