Chicopee,
September 29, 1915.
The "schooner Chicopee,
55 tons, last reported in the Gulf of Mexico on September 29, 1915, heading
toward the Triangle," allegedly vanished there. (Quasar, p. 56.)
According to the Monthly
Weather Review, there was a hurricane over the Gulf of
Mexico on September 29. The New
Orleans Hurricane of 1915.
The sixth and final storm of the year was first seen just west of the Lesser Antilles on September 22. It tracked through the Caribbean, strengthening to its peak of 145 mph (230 km/h) on September 25. On September 29, it made landfall near Grand Isle as a strong Category 3 hurricane.
A barometric reading of 951 mbar (28.11 inHg) was at the time the lowest ever measured on land in the United States. The storm caused severe flooding and killed 275 people, a number possibly reduced to well-executed warnings. Winds tore off roofs and damaged buildings in New Orleans, where pressure was measured at down to 28.01" and a wind speed of 98 mph. Generations in south east Louisiana would refer to it as the Great Storm of 1915. Property damage in Louisiana was estimated at $13 million (1915 USD, $239 million in 2005 USD), with $5 million of that in the city of New Orleans.
Our 55-ton ocean liner was probably reduced
to toothpicks.
QED.
Posts
1 comment:
1220I was so pleased to find this on your blog. Capt. Adelbert Nickerson was my great-grandfather, Captain of the Chicopee. I am currently doing a genealogy book about his family. Information about his ship and the storm have been difficult to find. I did, however, find the article 11/16/1915 that was in the Gloucester Daily Times this morning on my second trip to Gloucester.
Once again I am so grateful for your article. Thank you.
Dianne Rossi - great-grand-daughter.
Post a Comment