The Delaware coast is a graveyard for over 2,000 ships. Going back to the 17th-century, they were lost to storms, accidents, incompetence, and even acts of war. Historic Lewes, previously known as the Lewes Historic Society, is offering a new one-hour program, that allows visitors and residents a chance to walk the very beaches that were witness both to horrific disaster and incredible, life-saving heroics. These tales are brought to life by lively storytellers from Historic Lewes and Delaware State Parks.
The tour, organized in collaboration with the Cape Henlopen State Park, begins at the Point Comfort Station Parking Lot, located within the State Park at 37432 Post Road, Lewes, DE 19958. Groups will depart the starting location every fifteen minutes.
The first group of walking tours took place on Saturday, June 28, but tours also are planned on the last Saturday of July and August. The tour fee is $25 person. Tours last about an hour and cover about a mile.
Shipwrecks are common throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. National Geographic has produced a map that shows the locations of more than 2,400 shipwrecks from off the Delaware coast to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
Stories about Delaware’s shipwrecks abound. Probably, the most famous is the HMS De Braak. The DeBraak was a Dutch ship that was seized by the British during the European Wars. It sailed between England, France, and their allies in the later 18th century. The ship was escorting and protecting a convoy of British and American merchant ships enroute to the United States when it rounded Cape Henlopen on May 25, 1798. The DeBraak’s sails were fully unfurled when a fierce storm hit and ripped it apart.
It’s Captain – James Drew – and more than 45 men perished. Legend has it that the ship was loaded with silver and other treasures but other than a plethora of artifacts from the time, no such booty was found despite more than 30 salvage attempts.
The hull of the DeBraak was raised and is now on display in a hangar at Cape Henlopen State Park.
The DeBraak is just one of many shipwrecks with a story to tell.
The Faithful Steward left Londonderry, Ireland on July 9, 1785, bound for Philadelphia with 249 passengers, mostly Irish Immigrants. As the story goes, Captain Connolly McCausland hosted a party to celebrate the end of the journey. He and his first mate imbibed too much and they passed out. The ship ran aground near Indian River Inlet just 150 yards from shore. Only 68 people survived the disaster including only seven women and children.
Delaware’s Coin Beach is connected to the shipwreck. The Faithful Steward carried about 400 barrels of British halfpennies that went down with the ship.
The tale of the Merrimac and the Severn is less tragic. On April 8, 1918, the tug Eastern left New York for Norfolk, VA towing three barges. Stormy seas forced the tug to seek shelter, but it was too far south of Delaware Bay to gain breakwater. It released the barges. The Merrimac’s and Severn’s anchors could not hold and the barges barreled toward Rehoboth Beach. The Merrimac landed in front of a home for nuns on Brooklyn Street. The Severn landed nearby thus creating an instant but unwanted tourist attraction, according to an account published in Delaware Today.
To learn more about the details of the shipwreck walking tour, go to the Historic Lewes (Lewes Historical Society) Walking Tour page on the Society’s website.
By Mary Jo Tarallo, Resident Journalist
Mary Jo Tarallo spent much of her career in public relations with various non-profits and spent 40 years involved with the ski industry as a journalist, public relations director for a national trade association and as executive director of the Learn to Ski and Snowboard initiative. Prior to her ski industry involvement she worked for the Maryland International Center in Baltimore and United Way of Central Maryland. She won a Gold Award for TV programming for a United Way simulcast that starred Oprah Winfrey. She has been cited for her work by numerous organizations. Mary Jo grew up in Baltimore, attended the University of Maryland and Towson University, lived in Washington, DC for 21 years and has been a full time resident of Rehoboth Beach and Milton since May 2019.
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