Wm. H. Roach
Schooner · United States · Lost 1878 · Tangier Sound & the Eastern Shore
A Crisfield oyster schooner lying at anchor with her lights burning was run down and sunk by the steamer Helen before dawn, sparking a federal admiralty suit.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The schooner Wm. H. Roach, a 28-ton vessel of Crisfield, Maryland, was lying at anchor in Crisfield harbor with 900 bushels of oysters aboard in the early hours of December 2, 1878. Around 5 a.m., while it was still dark, the steamer Helen, en route from Baltimore to Crisfield, struck her, holing the schooner so badly that she filled with water and sank. The schooner's owner sued the Helen's owners for the loss, and the resulting admiralty case, Green v. Steamer Helen, was decided in the U.S. District Court for Maryland in 1880.
Vessel
- Not established
- 28 tons register
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- 28
- Sail, schooner rig
- Green (libellant in subsequent admiralty suit)
Loss
- December 2, 1878
- Collision
- At anchor in Crisfield harbor
- Chesapeake Bay, near Crisfield, Maryland
- Not established
- 900 bushels of oysters
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Crisfield, Maryland
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)
The build year, dimensions beyond tonnage, captain's name, and ultimate salvage or abandonment of the wreck are not established in the sources reviewed.
Green v. Steamer Helen, 1 F. 916 (D. Md. 1880), U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Vessel name, tonnage, home port, date, cargo, and circumstances of the collision and sinking.
