de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception
The hulking wreck has been a regular destination for divers but a
riddle to historians: What ship came to rest in 85 feet of water 10
miles off New Jersey's coastline?
Now, federal officials have an answer.
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday that
it has confirmed that the ship is the Robert J. Walker, an iron-hulled
steamer doing mapping work for the U.S. Coast Survey that sank 153 years
ago after a violent collision with a 250-ton schooner.
Twenty
sailors aboard the Walker died, making it the worst accident in the
history of the U.S. Coast Survey or its successor, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
The wreck was discovered by
fishermen in the 1970s but its identity was a mystery until June when a
NOAA ship conducting surveys for navigation safety in the aftermath of
Superstorm Sandy made a positive identification. Retired NOAA Capt.
Albert Theberge and Joyce Steinmetz, a Ph.D. candidate in maritime
archaeology at East Carolina University, provided impetus for the
project.
"It's
estimated there are 3 million shipwrecks in the waters of the world,"
said James Delgado, director of maritime heritage for NOAA's office of
national marine sanctuaries. "You can't go out and look for every one,
but sometimes the situation arises when you have an opportunity to do
that. This was a perfect convergence of opportunity."
Delgado said
the Walker could be one of the last remaining shipwrecks to be
identified off the New Jersey coast. According to NOAA, the ship's
unique engines and rectangular portholes were key identifying features.
It was still pointed toward Absecon lighthouse, where it likely was
trying to head before it sank.
Built in 1847, the Walker did
survey work charting the waters of the southern United States and
contributed to the opening up of many ports on the Gulf Coast to
increased commerce, according to NOAA. Its work also helped chart
harbors that would become strategically important for the Union Navy in
the looming Civil War.
On the night of June 21, 1860, the Walker
was heading north to New York when it collided with the schooner Fanny,
headed from Philadelphia to Boston. In a newspaper interview, the ship's
quartermaster described the scene as the steamer sank within about 30
minutes.
"The men stayed by the steamer until she was sinking, and
then, without confusion, such of them as could took to the boats,"
Charles Clifford told the New York Herald. "Many of the crew went down
with the steamer, however, clinging to the spars and portions of the
wreck. ... The captain stayed on board until the steamer went down, and
just before she disappeared from sight jumped into the water, and was
picked up by one of the boats."
Perhaps
due to the approaching Civil War, the U.S. Coast Survey didn't conduct
an inquiry into the cause of the collision or assign responsibility,
NOAA notes.
Delgado said the wreck won't be raised, and said he
hopes it can be used as a tool for educating the public on shipwrecks
and creating interest in diving.
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