AH-WR-1185

SS Independence

Side-Wheel Steamship · United States · Lost 1853 · Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

A Vanderbilt-line steamer ran aground and burned off Isla Margarita in 1853, one of the deadliest Pacific mail-steamer disasters of the California gold-rush era.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

SS Independence was a wooden side-wheel steamer carrying passengers from San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua toward San Francisco during the gold-rush traffic. On February 16, 1853, she struck a reef near Isla Margarita, off the Pacific coast of what is now Baja California Sur, and was run onto the beach, where fire consumed her. Survivors buried their dead above the tideline before being rescued. Contemporary reports of the death toll varied, but it ranked among the worst maritime disasters on the Pacific coast to that date.

Vessel

Built: 1850
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side paddle wheels
Owners: Vanderbilt's Independent Line

Loss

Date: February 16, 1853
Cause: Grounding
Location: Reef off Isla Margarita, Magdalena Bay
Water: Pacific Ocean, Magdalena Bay
Voyage: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua → San Francisco, California
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Contemporary accounts give figures ranging from about 140 to 150 dead; the exact toll was never firmly established.
Master: Captain F. Sampson (some contemporary sources list Captain Lucas as commander earlier in the voyage)

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Isla Margarita, Magdalena Bay
Region: Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)

The precise death toll, and the exact identification of wreckage later reported on Isla Margarita, are not firmly established in the sources reviewed.

Daily Alta California (archival newspaper, via The Maritime Heritage Project)
Voyage details, passenger estimates, date of loss.
Scientific American, April 30, 1853
Casualty figure and description of the grounding and fire.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts)
Contemporary lithograph title confirming date, location, and a reported casualty figure of 150.