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19:
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173:. Upon landing, Snow immediately reported the previous British prize captain for piracy, preventing the authorities from knowing the ship's latest seizure was by Spain. The Algerian authorities allowed him to take possession of his ship and proceed to Leghorn. It was later reported in June 1807 that the
251:
At this point, as there were 12 men in a single boat, the waist boat was launched from the ship, which was now some six miles off. The crewmen were divided between the two boats, and it was decided to attack the whale again with the waist boat, under the first mate's command, in the advance. When the
300:, so in an attempt to keep her from sinking immediately, Deblois ordered the crew to cut away the anchors and throw all heavy metal cables overboard. The crew only succeeded in cutting away one anchor and cable, and the ship began to sink rapidly. Deblois made his way to the cabin, where he seized a
444:
may have evolved into a battering ram, used to injure an opponent in such attacks. The ability of the sperm whale to aggressively attack and destroy ships some 3–5 times its body mass in this manner is therefore hardly surprising. The 5 month period that elapsed between the sinking of the
113:
in
October 1805. This first appears in print 87 years later, in a history of New Bedford, based on an interview with a 96-year-old former crew member of the ship. According to a later account of 1912, the ship was on a voyage from New York to Leghorn with a cargo of general merchandise, and a deck
341:
anchor chain, which helped bring her onto a more even keel. Using ropes tied around their waists, the whalers then lowered themselves over the side and cut holes through the decks to get to the food stores, but obtained only five gallons of vinegar and twenty pounds of waterlogged bread. The ship
345:
They had water rations for only a few days, but
Deblois reckoned that if they headed for a northerly latitude with more rainfall they might survive. Two days later, at around 5 p.m. on August 22, they sighted and were rescued by the Nantucket whaler
137:
was registered and without the knowledge of the principal owner, but that the ship may have come across remnants of the
British fleet repairing at Gibraltar on the voyage to Leghorn in early 1806 and sold goods and timber on that occasion.
424:
incident some 30 years beforehand was the only other documented case of a whale deliberately attacking, holing, and sinking a ship. However, these two incidents are probably not as much of a freak occurrence as they appear to be.
324:
It was soon discovered that they possessed only twelve gallons of water and no food at all, and the boats, containing eleven men each, leaked and had to be bailed out throughout the night. The next day, seeing that the
271:
towards the ship, the whale seemed to disappear under the surface. At this point it was nearly sundown, so
Deblois decided to abandon the pursuit. Moments later, the whale reappeared, moving at a speed of about 15
605:
Representative men and old families of southeastern
Massachusetts, Containing historical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families ... v. 3
189:
276:(a little over 17 mph), towards the ship, which was making only five knots. The whale rammed the slower-moving ship, which was unable to outrun or avoid it, and put a hole in the
267:, a smaller boat was launched to retrieve the whaleboat oars, and Deblois decided to hunt the whale from the safety of the ship. Another harpoon was sunk into its head, and after a
449:
and the killing of the whale involved, demonstrates that long-term survival was possible after combat with a much larger ship and so, presumably, with another whale as well.
407:
Weak with infection from the two harpoons and pieces of timber from the attack embedded in its head, the whale was caught and killed five months later by the crew of the
129:, was attempting to repair the damage done to numerous ships during the naval action, Snow sold lumber, flour and apples on the spot to the British Navy. Ruth Ekstrom of
312:. A second attempt to obtain anything beyond the provisions and water that were being loaded into the remaining boats was fruitless, as the ship was almost completely
225:, she headed west to the "Offshore Ground" in August, about 2,000–3,000 miles off the South American coast where more whales are likely to be located. In the
252:
whale saw the boats returning, he attacked again, this time destroying the waist boat. Deblois rescued the crew for a second time and attempted to return to the
248:, the whale turned, opened its jaws, and attacked and destroyed it. The second boat, captained by Deblois, rowed to the site and saved all six crewmen.
1156:
765:
670:
Thrilling
Account of the Destruction of a Whale Ship by a Sperm Whale - Sinking of the Ship - Loss of the Boats and Miraculous Escape of the Crew
316:
over and flooded. The 22 crewmen had no choice but to abandon ship, with
Deblois, the last to leave, being forced to swim to the closest boat.
356:
was abandoned due to rough seas, and the crew was eventually landed in Paita on
September 15, 1851. They all returned to New York via the
126:
1151:
892:
1116:
90:, and registered at New Bedford on 29 January 1806. Her first documented voyages were with American export goods from New York to
209:
left New
Bedford on June 1, 1850, for the whaling grounds in the Pacific. After taking on about 500 barrels of oil, she rounded
399:
whale. What he has to say is short & pithy & very much to the point. I wonder if my evil art has raised this monster."
374:
Just a few months later, October 18, 1851, and
November 14, 1851, the first editions of Hermann Melville's great whaling novel
854:
337:, in the hope this would lessen the drag. The ship partially righted itself, and the crew, using spades, were able to cut the
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859:
1146:
1136:
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115:
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63:
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855:
History of the American Whale Fishery from its Earliest Inception to the Year 1876, by Alexander Starbuck
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cargo of lumber that was Snow's personal property, when they met the warships off Spain. Informed that
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87:
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Research Library considers that there was no 1805 voyage, which would have taken place before the
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83:
57:
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1029:
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169:. Just short of landfall, they were captured again by another Spanish privateer and taken to
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wooden-hulled trading vessel. She was built in 1805 by Joel Packard and Deliverance Smith at
870:
256:
in the last remaining boat. The wounded whale again rushed the boat and passed within a few
759:
245:
165:, who replaced the Spanish prize crew with one of their own, and turned their prize toward
550:"The Ann Alexander and the Battle of Trafalgar: The Stories and Some Conflicting Evidence"
8:
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464:
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110:
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While an accidental collision with a sperm whale at night accounted for sinking of the
305:
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161:, and set a course for Spain. She was immediately captured the next day by a British
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According to the same 1912 account, in February 1807, with Snow still in command, the
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behavior. Carrier, Deban, & Otterstrom (2002) suggest that the enlarged melon or
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746:(Report). Washington, DC: United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. p. 11
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under the command of Captain Gibbs. A last attempt to retrieve anything from the
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109:, in command, encountered the British fleet a few days after its victory at the
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18:
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Carrier, David R.; Deban, Stephen M. & Otterstrom, Jason (15 June 2002).
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Melville's Reflections, a page from The Life and Works of Herman Melville
492:
273:
119:
79:
56:
on August 20, 1851, some 30 years after the famous incident in which the
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723:
to which is added an account of two like occurrences: The loss of ships
518:"April 1807. ANN ALEXANDER of New Bedford LOUM SNOW - Coming in Leghorn"
240:
On August 20, the ship dropped two whaleboats; the one commanded by the
681:
484:
241:
178:
162:
158:
865:, account of the incident as told by contemporaries, Internet Archive
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95:
483:(2015 film), the above book adapted into a feature film by director
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357:
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638:. No. 13283. Edinburgh, Scotland. 23 February 1807. p. .
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became unstable, so they returned to their boats and rowed away.
334:
301:
170:
91:
27:
741:
583:. No. 283. Lancaster, England. 15 November 1806. p. .
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48:. She is notable for having been rammed and sunk by a wounded
900:
653:. No. 13327. Edinburgh, Scotland. 6 June 1807. p. .
436:, suggest that head-butting during male-male aggression is a
268:
218:
214:
788:: Potential function of the spermaceti organ in aggression"
460:
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
285:
222:
623:. Syracuse, NY, USA: D. Mason & Co. pp. 153–154.
475:
story from the point of view of both Nickerson and Chase.
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Melville commented, "Ye Gods! What a commentator is this
742:
Baird, Spencer F., Commissioner (1878). "Part IV".
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harpooned a whale. After hauling the tethered boat on a
662:
660:
554:
Coriolis, Interdisciplinary Journal of Maritime Studies
608:. Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co. 1912. pp. 1438–9.
177:, coming from Leghorn, was detained by the British at
333:, Deblois went on board to cut away the masts with a
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835:. Mystic, CT: The Marine Historical Association.
621:History of New Bedford and Its Vicinity 1602–1892
1108:
833:The ship Ann Alexander of New Bedford, 1805-1851
229:s case, she resumed the hunt at the latitude of
213:in January, 1851. After taking on provisions in
205:Under the command of Captain John Deblois, the
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775:
157:, who replaced all but Snow and a mate with a
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764:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
699:from its Earliest Inception to the Year 1876
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598:
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193:Depiction of the attack on the crew of the
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1157:Ships built in New Bedford, Massachusetts
902:Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1851
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543:
541:
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413:, and yielded 70–80 barrels of oil.
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744:Report of the Commissioner for 1875–1876
717:. New Bedford, MA: Hutchinson. pp.
672:, The New York Times, November 5, 1851 .
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260:of it, but did not directly attack it.
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66:and sunk by a whale in the same area.
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695:History of the American Whale Fishery
618:
467:-winning work of maritime history by
697:. New York, NY: Argosy-Antiquarian.
288:. Like most ships of that time, the
831:Sawtell, Clement Cleveland (1962).
793:The Journal of Experimental Biology
428:Observations of aggression in male
105:, with Capt. Loammi (Loum) Snow of
13:
824:
98:, England after her registration.
14:
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1152:Maritime incidents in August 1851
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634:"Lloyd's Marine List - Feb. 20".
263:Once the whalers were aboard the
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649:"Lloyd's Marine List - June 2".
329:had not yet sunk but was on her
69:
1117:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
735:
686:
675:
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619:Ellis, Leonard Bolles (1892).
612:
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522:The New Bedford Whaling Museum
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1:
714:Bark Kathleen sunk by a Whale
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432:, and more generally in male
1127:Whaling in the United States
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125:and that the new commander,
7:
1142:Whale collisions with ships
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233:° 50′ south, and longitude
10:
1178:
1147:Maritime incidents in 1807
1137:Individual sailing vessels
711:Jenkins, Thomas H (1902).
384:attack, were published in
292:carried a large amount of
131:New Bedford Whaling Museum
46:New Bedford, Massachusetts
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1051:
1038:November (unknown date):
908:
754:– via Google Books.
217:and dropping a sailor at
784:"The face that sank the
579:"Ship News, Liverpool".
153:to Leghorn by a Spanish
107:Rochester, Massachusetts
88:Dartmouth, Massachusetts
806:10.1242/jeb.205.12.1755
480:In the Heart of the Sea
284:some two feet from the
280:of the ship, below the
101:It is claimed that the
548:Ekstrom, Ruth (2016).
202:
84:Russells Mills Village
31:
693:Starbuck, A. (1878).
581:The Lancaster Gazette
192:
185:Sunk by a sperm whale
26:depicted coming into
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927:May (unknown date):
320:Retrieval and rescue
246:Nantucket sleighride
469:Nathaniel Philbrick
465:National Book Award
127:Admiral Collingwood
111:battle of Trafalgar
1021:City of Manchester
651:Caledonian Mercury
636:Caledonian Mercury
380:, inspired by the
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860:Loss of the ship
800:(12): 1755–1763.
151:St. Ives, England
149:on a voyage from
145:was captured off
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471:telling the
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950:Gallinipper
930:Gallinipper
760:cite report
564:31 December
493:Ben Whishaw
487:, starring
306:chronometer
116:Lord Nelson
80:ship-rigged
50:sperm whale
30:April 1807.
1111:Categories
1072:Mary White
909:Shipwrecks
560:(2): 26–33
527:2023-04-30
504:References
485:Ron Howard
463:(2000), a
361:Providence
242:first mate
179:Portsmouth
163:man-of-war
159:prize crew
44:ship from
1122:Moby-Dick
1011:St Helena
1001:Hindostan
989:USS
940:Charlotte
918:HMS
750:22 August
430:cetaceans
403:Aftermath
377:Moby-Dick
369:Moby-Dick
349:Nantucket
331:beam ends
282:waterline
237:° west.
211:Cape Horn
167:Gibraltar
155:privateer
120:HMS
96:Liverpool
1059:10 Dec:
1028:26 Nov:
1018:16 Sep:
1008:13 Sep:
998:27 Aug:
987:21 Aug:
977:20 Aug:
967:25 Jul:
957:25 Jul:
937:11 Jun:
916:31 May:
814:12042334
453:See also
358:schooner
339:foremast
294:pig iron
64:stove in
1062:Victory
947:7 Jul:
920:Reynard
841:2539393
335:hatchet
302:sextant
298:ballast
171:Algiers
122:Victory
92:Leghorn
52:in the
28:Leghorn
839:
812:
495:, and
386:London
314:heeled
258:cables
201:(1858)
78:was a
40:was a
970:Maria
960:Maria
786:Essex
729:Essex
721:–34.
473:Essex
438:basal
422:Essex
418:Union
382:Essex
310:chart
274:knots
269:feint
219:Paita
215:Chile
59:Essex
1098:1852
1085:1850
837:OCLC
810:PMID
766:link
752:2022
727:and
566:2016
388:and
308:and
286:keel
278:hull
223:Peru
74:The
62:was
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296:as
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197:in
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