Caleb Grimshaw
{{Short description|1848 sailing vessel, sank 1849}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2023}}
| {{Infobox ship begin|display title=ital}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Samuel Walters - Caleb Grimshaw.png | Ship caption = The Caleb Grimshaw, by Samuel Walters }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship country=United Kingdom | Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}} | Ship name = Caleb Grimshaw | Ship namesake = Caleb Grimshaw | Ship owner =*Caleb Grimshaw and Co. | Ship operator = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = William H. Webb | Ship original cost = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched =1848 | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = 1849 | Ship renamed = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship honours = | Ship honors = | Ship captured = | Ship fate = Caught fire on 11 November 1849, sank 21 November | Ship notes = Service route Liverpool to New York City }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = Full-rigged ship | Ship tons burthen= 988 | Ship length = {{Cvt|166|ft}} | Ship beam = {{Cvt|36|ft|8|in}} | Ship draught ={{Cvt|21|ft|8|in}} | Ship draft = | Ship hold depth = | Ship propulsion = | Ship sail plan = | Ship complement = | Ship armament = | Ship notes = }} |
Caleb Grimshaw was a sailing vessel built in 1848 for the Atlantic packet trade.{{Cite web |last=Day |first=William |title=The Caleb Grimshaw |url=http://grimshaworigin.org/prominent-grimshaw-individuals/the-caleb-grimshaw-immigrant-ship/ |access-date=22 September 2023 |website=grimshaworigin.org}} The ship caught fire and sank in 1849, with the death of 90-101 people.
Construction
The Caleb Grimshaw was built in early 1848 for Liverpool-based Caleb Grimshaw and Co. at William H. Webb's New York City shipyard as a full-rigged sailing ship.{{Cite news |date=29 December 1849 |title=Report of a Cabin Passenger |work=Northampton Mercury |url=https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~cmi/books/emigrant/calebG.html}}{{Cite web |last=Harskamp |first=Jaap |date=11 January 2023 |title=Massacres & Migrants at Sea: Deadly Voyages To New York |url=https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2023/01/migrants-at-sea-deadly-voyages-to-new-york/ |access-date=22 September 2023 |website=New York Almanack |language=en-US}} She was {{convert|166|ft}} by {{convert|36|ft|8|in}} by {{convert|21|ft|8|in}} with a tonnage of 988.{{Cite book |last1=Dunbaugh |first1=Edwin L. |title=William H. Webb, Shipbuilder |last2=Thomas |first2=William D. |publisher=Webb Institute of Naval Studies |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-9622631-0-1 |edition= |location=Glen Cove, N.Y |pages=170–171 |language=English}} Caleb Grimshaw and Co. specialized in the packet trade, coordinating the transportation of cargo and emigration traffic across the Atlantic.{{Cite book |last=Cutler |first=Carl C. |title=Queens of the Western Ocean – the Story of America's Mail and Passenger Sailing Lines |publisher=United States Naval Institute |year=1961 |location=Annapolis, MD |pages=262–263|isbn=0870215310 }} The ship was presumed to be named after Caleb Grimshaw posthumously as he had died unexpectedly in early 1847. Under Captain William Hoxie, she sailed from Liverpool to New York City with a maximum of 427 passengers, mostly emigrants from England and Ireland. The Caleb Grimshaw made five successful crossings of the Atlantic between May 1848 and August 1849.{{Cite web |title=Volume 21 - Caleb Grimshaw |url=https://www.immigrantships.net/v21/shipsv21/calebgrimshawv21.html |access-date=22 September 2023 |website=Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild}}
File:Sailing notice for the 'Caleb Grimshaw' to New York - Liverpool Mercury 1849.jpg, 1849]]
Fire
On her sixth voyage, while carrying 100 tons of coal as well as 427 passengers, the ship caught fire on 11 November 1849 in the Atlantic Ocean {{convert|16|nmi|lk=in}} south east of Faial Island, Azores. There were four boats on board the Caleb Grimshaw, but the first was lowered by inexperienced passengers and crashed into the water, resulting in 12 passengers being swept away. Captain Hoxie boarded the third boat to be deployed, on 12 November, leaving the remaining passengers and crew without leadership.{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=24 January 1850 |title=The Burning of the Packet-Ship Caleb Grimshaw |pages=1 |work=The New York Herald |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1850-01-24/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=23 September 2023 |issn=2474-3224}} As there was insufficient space on the boats for all 457 passengers and crew, several rafts were assembled but more than 250 passengers were still on board the burning hull when the barque Sarah (United Kingdom), arrived on scene four days later. Sarah made multiple trips to rescue the stranded but many passengers remained on board when the ship finally sank on 21 November. News sources reported 90 to 101 dead.{{Cite news |date=4 December 1849 |title=Ship News |page=8 |newspaper=The Morning Post |issue=23710 |location=London}}{{Cite news |date=28 December 1849 |title=The Wreck of the Caleb Grimshaw Emigrant Ship |newspaper=Glasgow Herald |issue=4895 |location=Glasgow}}
Aftermath
At least one news article would emphasize the lack of appropriate lifeboats and safety gear as well as the risks of carrying a flammable payload with passengers. While generally criticized by newspaper editorials for abandoning the ship, Captain Hoxie did not receive any official punishment.{{Cite book |last=Laxton |first=Edward |title=The Famine Ships: The Irish Exodus to America |date=15 March 1998 |publisher=Holt Paperbacks |isbn=978-0-8050-5844-4 |edition=1st |language=English |chapter=}} In 1851, Captain Hoxie was appointed commander of another packet ship, the Joseph Walker,{{Cite web |title=Vol 3 - Ship Joseph Walker |url=https://www.immigrantships.net/v3/1800v3/josephwalker18530613_02.html |access-date=23 September 2023 |website=Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild}} which would burn and sink in 1853 along with the Great Republic.{{Cite news |date=27 December 1853 |title=GREAT CONFLAGRATION!; SEVERAL BUILDINGS AND SHIPS ON FIRE. Ship 'Great Republic' in Flames. Over $1,000,000 worth of Property Destroyed. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1853/12/27/archives/great-conflagration-several-buildings-and-ships-on-fire-ship-great.html |access-date=23 September 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}