Today in History—November 7: The Mary Celeste Sets Sail

On this day in 1872, a cargo ship named the Mary Celeste set sail from New York City.

On board was 37-year-old Capt. Benjamin Spooner Briggs, his wife, their two-year-old daughter, and a crew of seven. Their destination: Italy, with 1,700 barrels of crude (read: not for drinking) alcohol.

The Mary Celeste would be found floating in the Atlantic, abandoned, a month later. No trace of the crew has ever been found.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

This is the story of the ship’s final voyage, but the 11-year-old Mary Celeste already had a history. Launched in Canada as the Amazon, the ship suffered one mishap after another before it came to be owned by a group of Americans.

The ship was renovated and relaunched, with the well-regarded Captain Briggs at the helm. He handpicked a crew and brought most of his family along (his son stayed home to attend school).

The final entry in the captain’s log was November 25, just a few nautical miles off the coast of the Azores. Land was likely visible. (Note: If you’re going to abandon ship, best to do it with land in sight.)

On December 5, the British brig Dei Gratia spotted the Mary Celeste, now nearly 400 nautical miles east of the Azores. The Mary Celeste failed to respond to contact, so the crew investigated. They reported that the cargo and belongings seemed untouched. One lifeboat was missing. They sailed the ship to Gibraltar for investigation (and a salvage payout).

No evidence of foul play was discovered, though the investigation dragged on. Theories abounded. Some even accused the crew of the Dei Gratia of misdeeds.

But the most likely explanation involves a few feet of water in the hull, a sounding rod found on deck (used to measure water in the hold), and one of the ship’s two pumps being out of commission.

With the hold full, the captain wouldn’t have been able to visually assess how much water was in there. With one pump down, he may have believed the ship’s sinking was imminent and given the order to abandon it. Then, possibly, the lifeboat encountered more of the bad weather the Mary Celeste had already experienced and sank.

The Mary Celeste made it to port. But her passengers didn’t, and we still don’t know why.