AH-WR-1258

Prince Arthur

Sailing Supply Ship · United Kingdom · Lost 1864 · Hudson Bay & Hudson Strait

A Hudson's Bay Company supply ship ran aground on Mansel Island in 1864, an hour after her fleetmate wrecked nearby in one of the Company's best-documented double shipwrecks.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Prince Arthur was built in 1854 at Northfleet, Kent, for the Hudson's Bay Company's London to Moose Factory supply route. On August 13, 1864, she ran aground on Mansel Island in Hudson Bay, about an hour after her fellow company ship Prince of Wales grounded nearby. While Prince of Wales was refloated, Prince Arthur was abandoned as a total loss. Her crew transferred to Prince of Wales and both companies returned to England together. The double wreck was later reconstructed from the diary of the expedition's medical officer, Dr. Henry Brietzcke.

Vessel

Built: 1854
Builder: William Pitcher
Yard: Northfleet Dockyard, Kent, England
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 411
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Hudson's Bay Company

Loss

Date: August 13, 1864
Cause: Grounding
Location: Mansel Island
Water: Hudson Bay
Voyage: London → Moose Factory
Cargo: Trade goods for Hudson's Bay Company posts
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: John Disney Smythe

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Abandoned as a total loss on the island shore
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 61.99° N 79.83° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Mansel Island, Hudson Bay
Region: Hudson Bay & Hudson Strait

Coordinates are the general location of Mansel Island; the precise grounding site on the island's shore is not established in sources reviewed.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (72/100)

The precise site of the grounding on Mansel Island and any surviving wreck material are not established in the sources reviewed.

Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba
Build details, loss date, and location.
Polar Record (Cambridge University Press)
Account of the double grounding and rescue, based on Dr. Henry Brietzcke's diary.