SS Anglo Saxon
Ocean Liner · United Kingdom · Lost 1863 · Newfoundland
An Allan Line transatlantic steamer that broke apart in dense fog near Cape Race in 1863, killing 237 of the 445 aboard, one of the era's deadliest shipwrecks.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Anglo Saxon was a Montreal Ocean Steamship Company liner carrying passengers and mail from Liverpool to Quebec when she ran aground in thick fog near Cape Race, Newfoundland, on April 27, 1863. The iron-hulled ship broke apart within an hour of striking the rocks, and 237 of the 445 people aboard were killed, making it one of the deadliest wrecks on the Newfoundland coast in the 19th century.
Vessel
- 1856
- Official number 13528
- William Denny and Brothers
- Dumbarton, Scotland
- Iron
- 283 ft
- 35.2 ft
- 1700
- Steam, screw propulsion; barque-rigged
- Montreal Ocean Steamship Company (Allan Line)
Loss
- April 27, 1863
- Grounding
- Clam Cove, about four miles north of Cape Race, Newfoundland
- North Atlantic Ocean
- Liverpool, England → Quebec City, Canada
- Mail and passenger baggage
- 445
- 237
- William Burgess
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Reported, unconfirmed
- Cape Race, Newfoundland
Loss location is reported as Clam Cove, about four miles north of Cape Race; precise coordinates were not verified in the sources reviewed.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
The precise wreck position has not been established in the sources reviewed.
Naval Marine Archive - The Canadian Collection
Registry details and confirmation of wreck location and date.
The New York Times (contemporary report, April 29, 1863)
Contemporary casualty and survivor figures.
