Name New Era Propulsion Sails | Launched 1854 Sail plan Full rigged ship | |
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Fate Wrecked, November 13, 1854 | ||
New Era was a ship that wrecked on November 13, 1854, off of present-day Asbury Park, New Jersey, coincidentally at almost the identical location the SS Morro Castle ran aground in 1934 after a devastating fire that had killed 137 crew and passengers.
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The journey
New Era was built in Bath, Maine as an emigrant ship of 1328 tons in 1854 and set sail on this its first voyage on September 28. The ship was carrying nearly all German emigrants having sailed from Bremen, Germany with a final destination of New York. The crossing was difficult with 40 passengers being lost to cholera during the journey. It was later reported that New Era was a leaky ship with both crew and passengers required to man pumps during the voyage.
Grounding
New Era grounded in a dense fog in the morning hours of the 13th after a 46-day voyage across the Atlantic.
Today
On September 15, 2012 an archeological search was performed with ground penetrating radar in an attempt to locate a memorial marker lost to the sea shortly after it was placed in 1893 by Asbury Park founder James A. Bradley. The monument was not found.