The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-07 00:00:00

LOSS OF THE STEAMER MARSHALL.

The fearful catastrophe which befel the Hull and Ham-
burgh screw steamer Marshall, and the lamentable fate
of every one on board—numbering, it is supposed, no
fewer than 150 souls, without one being spared to tell
the tale of her loss—has excited a most painful amount
of interest at Lloyds. In the absence of all positive in-
formation there is little doubt that she foundered very
shortly after coming in contact with the homeward-beund
barque Woodbridge.
The subjoined declaration of Captain Gatgens, the
master of that vessel, taken on oath by the Admiralty
Receiver of Droits at Hull, and which has been for-
warded to Captain Halstead, the secretary at Lloyds,
will be found to contain all that is known of the facts
attending the destruction of the ill-fated steamer :
" Sailed from Stockholm on the 4th of November last,
for Hull, with a cargo of iron, bones, and deals, passing
Elsinore on the 15th, having very heavy weather, the
ship labouring and straining very much, and shipping a
great deal of water, the numps being constantly at-
tended to. We sighted Plamborough Head light on
the night of the 27th, distant four or five leagues, the
wind still blowing hard from S.W. We proceeded
without anything particular occurring until Monday,
the 28th. At about ten o'clock at night, when off the
Newsand floating light, at the mouth of the Humber,
we were run into by a steamer, name unknown ; the
Newsand light, as far as I can judge,, was at the mos
went W.S.W., distant about three or four miles, our ship
being on the starboard tack, lying S. and by E. half
!with the wind at the south-west blowing a
fresh breeze, and hazy at intervals. We were all upon
deck at the time, having a light at our bowsprit, and
showing two flash lights over the starboard side. The
moment we saw the steamer approaching we hailed
her, and said she would be into us, but received no an-
swer. We continued our course, with the exception of
varying half a point to the eastward, believing the
steamer's head to be to the north, and that by that
means she would have gone clear of our vessel, and it
being so excessively dark that we bad no time to heave
the ship about, as the steamer would have run into our
ports amidships, and if we had squared the mainyard to
wear she would have run into our starboard In idshiP s.
Notwithstanding the precautions we took,
and the en-
deavours of myself and crew to make those in charge
of
the steamer hear, the steamer ported her helm,anciran
into us on the starboard side, striking between the
breach hooks, thereby starting the ship's stern, breaking
several planks in the bow and forecastle floor, besides
starting the bows at both sides, and otherwise shaking
her very much. Her jibboom, jibs, foretopgallant mast,
and all the rigging relating thereto, were all carried
away, and the vessel was quite unmanageable. Imme-
diately after the accident I hailed the steamer, and
begged of them to stay by us, as I was apprehensive
the ship would go down, as she was heavily laden. I
received a reply from the steamer, stating they would do
so. The steamer, on getting clear from our wreck, got
round into toy starboard quarter, and iu a very short pe-
riod again came into collision with us by running into
the starboard side of our stern, carrying away the
rudder, starting the stern post, breaking the wheel
standard, and otherwise cutting the ship nearly down to
the water's edge. Before this second collision I hailed
the persons on board the steamer to reverse her engines,
but received no answer. It was almost immediately
a.fternards that the accident followed. I again begged
they would not leave us, as I expected nothing but that
the vessel must go down. 1 received, however, no an-
s mer, and the instant our steamer got clear she bore
away in a southerly direction. One of my apprentices,
named Robert Burns, fell through the aperture made by
the steamer's steinlin our stern, and was unfortunately
drowned, although every attempt was made to save him.
The night was extremely dark and hazy, and the wind
increasing from south-west to south to a gale. The
steamer remained in sight but a few minutes. I was
unable to get a sight of her afterwards. On both occa-
sions when she ran into us I inquired several times for
her name, but received no answer. She was a screw
steamer, with painted ports and a bust-head figure-head.
Our vessel was totally disabled. I cut away the wreck
before the bows, some hands attending to the pumps.
She was making water very fast. We afterwards
secured the wheel standard and rove fresh wheel ropes
to steer the ship. The flood tide being nearly spent,
I was enabled to get her into the Humber, when
I thought it most prudent for the safety of my men
to bear away to the northward of the Humber, and suc-
ceeded in bringing up with 85 fathoms of chain on the
small bower anchor and 45 fathoms on the first bower,
the wind blowing a heavy gale. It was then about
3 o'clock in the morning. In the interim I got three
boats overboard in order that I might lighten the ship
and have them in case of her going down, which I
full anticipated, there being a heavy sea running and
-the vessel making considerable water. In getting the
boats overboard' the skiff got stowed and went adrift ;
we attempted to get into the boats, ,for the purpose of
plugging up the hole in the stern where the water was
flowing in, but the sea prevented us. I then caused all
the spare sail to be thrust into the aperture from below,
as far as was practicable, and then under-drew a new
lower atuddingsail dotible under the quarter, as the only
chance of stopping the leak,-which we fortuimtely partl3r
succeeded in doing. I then unbattened hatches and
loosened the iron, that I might be prepared, if oecasion
required, to throw it overboard, so as to lighten her.
At 10 30 'a.m., haring a signal for a pilot hoisted, a
fishing smack named the Adventure, of London, came
to my assistance, and the master of it coming on board
I agreed with him to stop by me till the gale was over
for the sum of 401., and then to go to Grimsby for a
couple of steam tugs to tow the vessel up to Hull. As
soon as the gale decreased the smack left, and on the
steamers arriving the ship was taken in tow and we
arrived at Hull about one o'clock on the following day.
"JOHN ADOLPHUS GATGENS,
" Master of the bark Woodhouse,
belonging to Hull."
Hopes were entertained that some of the unhap
py
creatures might have been picked up by the
mutt??
which almost hourly pursue the track where the steamer
went down, but the time that has intervened since her
loss, without any such gratifying intelligence being re-
ceived, leaves little doubt but that the whole must have
perished.
On reference to Lloyd's Reg •
.9 t er tpp f sh:
2i we find
that the steamer was an iron
vessel of 260 tons,ny
and was
built at Shields in 1846,rt. and had recently undergone
some repairs at that 130