Deck of shipwreck reemerges 105 years after it broke apart in ocean, NC town says
A century-old shipwreck linked to a possible mutiny and murder has once again emerged from the sand near Surf City, North Carolina, officials reported.
The town posted a photo Jan. 15 on Facebook, showing a mysterious construction of deck timbers had been found on its beach.
“It is a ship wreck from 1919. The ship was the William H. Sumner, a 165-foot three-masted schooner toting phosphate, mahogany and ironwood from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to her homeport in New York,” Surf City officials wrote.
“Several hours after passing Wrightsville Beach, the Sumner ran aground around 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, 1919, on a sandbar off Topsail Inlet. Normally only seen a couple times throughout the year but due to a recent storm its completely uncovered.”
Surf City is about 105 miles southeast of Raleigh.
News articles from 105 years ago reported much about the ship’s demise, including an alleged mutiny and shooting of the captain.
It remains unknown why the Sumner ran aground, according to 2022 article in Wrightsville Beach Magazine.
The inexperienced captain was 24-year-old Robert E. Cochrane, according to the magazine, and crew members reported he shot himself in a “fit of despondency” over the ship’s demise.
However, “foul play was suspected and the (crew of seven) was jailed,” a newspaper article from the period reports.
Three seaman later confessed the captain was shot to death by a member of the crew, but a trial found the chief suspect not guilty, the article reports.
Seven crew members were tried for murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict in federal court, according to old news articles reproduced on TreasureNet.com.
“Much scientific evidence was removed by nature. Ocean water washed away the blood and moved the captain’s body,” the Carolina Shipwrecks blog reports.
“The day after his body was moved the ship broke in half. Salvagers began to recover the cargo, and locals removed much of the rigging. Soon after that, the Coast Guard, which considered the Sumner a ‘menace to navigation,’ blew up the wreck.”
Remnants of shipwrecks in North Carolina are protected under state law, and cannot be plucked apart for souvenirs or scoured for artifacts, Surf City officials noted.
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