The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1956-02-03
HENRY P. SIMMONS WRECKED
OFF WASHWOODS OCT. 1889
IS YEARS BEFORE "CONfllE"


MOTE. October 1889. wos in general q
very seWpesfuoUs month, but there con be
kstIe doubt shat the most destructive storm
experienced on the middle Atomic eoost OF
the United States during the month wos thot
which reached the shores Of Virginia and
North corolino on the afternoon Of the 23rd,
ond roqed with greet violence and with but
slight intermission until the evening OF the
9th. The eusterly wind blew at times with
the violence of hurricane, and drove the
seq into mountainous pillows. which endun-
seTed all croft so unfortunate as TO- be with
IN It's influence. The low beaches of Virginia
end North corolino were literally strswn
will, wrecks, and the hardy crews OF the
Sixth District were kept exceedingly busy
sewing life and property. The storm had
come with such svddenness thot monY eooSt-
ers were vroble to reach horboT, and this
will occoVnt for the greet number OF eosuol-
Ties. Ofhsf accounts Of several vessels will
Be found from time 10 time In these columns.
In three instonees. however. there wos 10.
Nssnioble loss Of life, the particulars OF
which will follow In this newspaper: The
vessels involved were the sehoonerS Henry
?. Simmons, fruneis Z. Waters, and lizzie 5.
Haynes, oil three being wreeksd within q
few miles Of eoeh other, the first two In the
N;ehf Of Ire 23rd and the Hayss on the FOL-
lowing 6Gy. The eass Of the Simmons wOs q
peculiarly borrowing enc. as owing 10 the
long dvrotion Of the storm end the greet dis
tuNee from The shore al which she sunk. u
onythins could Be done BY the crews ct the
NeishbesiN0 stosions und then only ore mon
wus soved. The rest Of her people were lost.l
The Henry P. Simmons was a
fine, staunch three-masted schoon-
or, Of about six hundred and fifty
tons, hailing from Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and valued at $24,
600. She carried a crew of eight
men all told, and was commanded
by Robert C. Grace, who owned an
interest in her. She had sailed
from Charleston, South Carolina,
on or about October 18th, on her
way to Baltimore, Maryland, deep
ly laden with cargo of phosphate
rock valued at $500, for use in
the manufacture of fertilizers.
The place where she sunk is a mile
and a half to the northward and
eastward of the Wash Woods Sta
ton (Sixth District), and u little
north of the boundary line be-
tween the States of Virginia and
North Carolina.
The voyage was without special
incident until the afternoon of the
23rd, when the gale set in from
the northeast and with it a high
and dangerous sea, which caused
the vessel to plunge deeply and
ship a great deal of water. The
sole survivor, Robert Lee Garnet,
a colored man, says that the deck
was SO constantly deluged by the
seas that at 8 o'clock, when the
fury of the storm made it neces-
sary to take in the already close
reefed mainsail, the men were I'M
able to handle it for fear of being
washed overheard, and all hands
were driven to the rigging for
safety. The helm was dashed
amidships, and with no one to
guide her the schooner was thus
practically helpless, and drifted
completely at the mercy of the
wind and waves. Rain was also
falling in torrents, so that it was
impossible to see anything around
them, and the poor fellows were
quite ignorant of their distance
from the shore, knowing only that
they must be in the vicinity of
False Cape, Virginia.
Vessel Begins To Leak
The laboring of the vessel had
also caused her to spring a leak,
and this added to the peril of the
situation, for she was liable to
sink at any moment. In the midst
of, these dangers the men, by
watching their opportunity, would
descend to the deck and work the
pumps until again driven to the
rigging by the seas. At half-past
ten o'clock that night the schooner
struck with a crash on what is