Wake
Schooner · United States · Lost 1885 · Tangier Sound & the Eastern Shore
Owner-captain Ben Kelso's schooner drove ashore on Allen's Marsh in a January 1885 storm and became a total wreck, killing two of her ten hands.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The schooner Wake, owned and commanded by Captain Ben Kelso, went ashore on Allen's Marsh at the mouth of Nandua Creek, Virginia, during a storm on Wednesday, January 28, 1885, and became a total wreck. Nine of the ten men aboard swam to shore, but one died shortly afterward from exposure. A tenth crewman, described in the report as a Black man, refused to abandon the wreck and was lost with it. The disaster was reported in the Peninsula Enterprise, reprinting the Eastern Shore Herald.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
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- Wood
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- Sail, schooner rig
- Capt. Ben Kelso
Loss
- January 28, 1885
- Storm
- Allen's Marsh, Nandua Creek
- Nandua Creek, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
- Not established
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- 10
- 2
- Ben Kelso
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Total wreck
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- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Allen's Marsh, Nandua Creek, Accomack County, Virginia
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)
The vessel's build year, dimensions, tonnage, cargo, and the names of the two men who died are not established in the sources reviewed.
Loss date, location, owner/captain, crew count, survivors, and casualties.
