The Wreck of the New Era

PeriodAfter 1854

MediumWatercolor and gouache on brown paper

Dimensions18 × 24 in. (45.7 × 61 cm)

InscribedInscribed lower left, "From a Sketch / by Drummond White." Inscribed lower center, "Clipper Ship, New Era -- Wrecked off Asbury Beach, NJ. / Monday Nov 11th 1854, Nearly 400 Lives Lost."

ClassificationsMarine and Seascapes

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Parker Smith, 1946

Object number1994.561

DescriptionDepiction of a three-masted clipper ship sailing from left to right in a very heavy sea. Nearly all sails are set. The decks are crowded with people, and many are climbing up the ratlines into the rigging. A lifeboat containing eight people is being launched amidship. The name of the vessel, New Era, appears on a name board at the bow.
Curatorial RemarksThis copy from an original sketch by Drummond White (1811 - 1872) is by an unknown artist. White was a lifelong resident of Ocean Township, Monmouth County. A large number of spectators who gathered on the beach while the disaster played out were able to observe events firsthand. Presumably, White was one of them. The copy artist has mistakenly dated the tragic event as happening on 11 November 1854, when actually the wreck took place on 13 November. NotesThe wreck of the clipper ship New Era on 13 November 1854 was one of the most catastrophic marine disasters to occur on the northern New Jersey coast. Over 250 people lost their lives when the vessel struck a sandbar about 300 yards off the beach between Deal and Long Branch, Monmouth County. The New Era, a packet ship launched the previous April at Bath, ME, had sailed from the port of Bremen, Germany, with a general cargo and 385 passengers plus 41 crew members on board. Most of the passengers were German immigrants heading to New York City, the voyage's destination. The Atlantic crossing had been unlucky from the start. A cholera epidemic broke out, resulting in 46 deaths. Late in October the ship met with heavy gales which damaged the New Era to such an extent that passengers and crew had to operate the pumps around the clock. On the morning of 12 November, the beleagered vessel encountered fog and gale conditions. It began to roll heavily, was thrown onto a sandbar, and sank up to deck level. Many of the survivors clung to the ship's rigging for over twenty-six hours in stormy winter weather before being rescued. Meanwhile, the crew and officers became insubordinate, taking all the lifeboats to come ashore. Lifelines and the use of a Francis car proved difficult as the Germans, who did not speak English, could not be made to understand how to operate it. Fatality statistics vary widely, ranging between 256 and 281 dead. One hundred and eighty-five bodies were buried in three trenches in a West Long Branch cemetery. Their graves are now marked by a granite monument to this tragic disaster. The New Era was heavily insured, and at the time there was speculation that the verssel had been run aground intentionally.

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