Loss of the Hannibal Liverpool Mercury May 28 1824

We have just been favoured with the following additional particulars of this catastrophe, already noticed in the Naval Intelligence of the week:

“The Hannibal of Boston, commanded by John G LOW, sailed from Hampton Roads for Liverpool, on the 12^th April. Mr TAYLOR of Manchester, and Mr O’CONNOR of Ireland were passengers. On the 22^nd in lon.49, lat. 44, she experienced a severe gale of wind, with rain and hail. At midnight she was struck by lightning, which killed the second mate and two seamen. There was no appearance of the masts being injured. In about an hour it was discovered the ship was on fire in the hold. The passengers were with difficulty got out of the cabin, on account of the smoke. Mr TAYLOR, on getting on deck, broke his thighs. Holes were cut into the deck and water poured down, in hopes of xtinguishing the fire. Mr TAYLOR was lashed to the windward side of he deck; he died about twelve o’clock the next day.

Finding it impossible to put out the fire, Captain LOW closed up the cabin doors and every place through which air could be admitted below. In this situation they remained about 36 hours, when, finding the hatches burnt through, they took to the long-boat, in which fourteen people embarked, in a heavy gale of wind. The fire blazed out in several parts of the ship immediately after leaving her. About six hours after leaving the ship, they saw a vessel steering directly towards them (The Mars no doubt) but on seeing the ship on fire she hauled her wind, leaving the boat to leeward; the weather being wet and squally, there was no chance of the boat being seen by the ship. Each day the boat saw two sail, and one passed so near they could see the crew walking up and down on dek. On the 26^th after being exposed to severe gales in an open boat for 56 hours, they were seen by the brig Thetis, Captain TAYLOR, from Antigua for Whitehaven. That gentleman treated Capt LOW and his crew with every attention in his power. It is but justice to Captain LOW to state, on the information of some of his crew, that from time of discovering the ship to be on fire until they were on board the Thetis, he behaved throughout with the greatest of coolness and fortitude; he cheered their drooping spirits; and, as one of them remarked, had it not been for his animating example, they would have given themselves up to despair, and must inevitably have perished

Caryl Williams www.old-liverpool.co.uk Old Liverpool