The Voyage Of The Winfield Scott

Writen by Alton Pryor

Last Voyage of the 'Winfield Scott'

California's hide and tallow trade was augmented by a steady stream of steamers plying the Panama Route. This route was the most popular way to reach California's gold fields before the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had been operating in 1848. As the number of both its ships and its competitors grew, the emphasis for ship's captains was on speed. The Winfield Scott was one such vessel and was a part of the newly formed New York and San Francisco Steamship Line. The Winfield Scott set a record when it made the trip from New York to San Francisco, traveling via Rio de Janeiro and Cape Horn in less than 49 days. The ship was named for the commanding general of the United State Army, who was also a hero of the Mexican War.

Certainly the passengers and crew did not anticipate this trip would be its final voyage. It had departed San Francisco with a full load of passengers and a shipment of gold bullion. The date was December 1, 1853. Because "time was money" to the steamship lines, the ship's captain, Simon F. Blunt, elected to travel through the Santa Barbara Channel rather than a passage outside the islands. He had not anticipated the bank of heavy fog that shrouded the area as he entered the channel. According to author James Delgado, who did extensive research about the ship's voyage, the captain evidently intended to steam between Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands. Instead, he piled into Middle Anacapa Island at full speed, estimated at about 10 knots. The time was eleven o'clock in the evening. Confusion was high on board the Winfield Scott side-wheeler. Asa C. Call was a passenger on the Winfield Scott. In his dairies, he writes:

"I had just got to sleep, when I was awakened by a tremendous shock. I knew we had struck a rock and hurrying on a part of my clothes, I hurried up on deck where I found a general panic. The steamer was backed off and with the assurance that all was right the most of the passengers retired again to their rooms. "But I didn't believe she could have struck a rock with such force without sustaining some injury, and not knowing what the upshot of the matter might be, I went down to my stateroom and put my money and all other valuables in my trunk into my saddle bags, and went into the upper saloon (sic) intending to be ready for what was to come next. "I had hardly taken a seat when the steamer struck again, and with such force that it seemed as if the ship was breaking into a thousand fragments. I again hurried on deck and went forward to see if I could see land. It was so dark I could see nothing, but I could distinctly hear the roar of breakers ahead, and on the larboard side. The steamer was unmanageable, and the order was given to let off the steam and to extinguish the fires to prevent the ship's taking fire."

Call said that about ten minutes after the second crash, a longboat was launched, which was evidence the Winfield Scott was sinking. "I heard the captain call for the ladies to go aboard. Some men pressed towards the boat but the Captain's orders were 'knock the first man overboard that attempts to get into the boat.'" Call's dairies noted there was a great breach in the steamer and water was pouring in like a river. "Our only hope was that she might not sink entirely, as we could feel her sliding down the side of a ledge of rocks. "Pretty soon," his dairy continued, "the fog began to break away a little and we could see the light in the long boat as she was along in search of a landing. We could also see the top of a high peak just ahead of the ship and pretty near, but it seemed perpendicular and the white foam and the roar showed that we could never hope to land there. Call said, "As soon as the life preservers were distributed, the other ships boats (five) were lowered, and filled with passengers. They all held about one hundred and fifty, and there were five hundred and twenty on board. After being gone about half an hour the long boat returned, having found a landing. And in about two hours, all hands were taken off, and were landed on a rock about fifty yards long by twenty five wide."

The passengers were transferred to the island proper the next morning. The group was forced to camp there for the entire following week. Finally, the ship California arrived to carry the passengers on to Panama. The ship's company, author Delgado wrote, remained on the island for two more days, concentrating on the recovery of the mail and baggage that was carried on board. Besides mail and luggage, there were some furniture, machinery and foodstuffs aboard. Captain Horatio Gates Trussell, of Santa Barbara, salvaged wood that became incorporated into the home now preserved as the Trussell-Winchester Adobe. The home also includes two brass thresholds from the ship.

Major salvage of the ship occurred in 1894 when the ship San Pedro came to the site and removed several hundred copper bolts and much of the iron machinery. Sport divers in recent years have been attracted to the wreck by the recovery of gold coins. Park officials, however, have focused some of their efforts on prosecuting violations of antiquity laws, which now protect the wreck's contents. The only piece of the wreckage, which stands above the bottom of the sea, is the shaft of what is interpreted as the port paddlewheel.

The Winfield Scott was first launched in October, 1850, and began operations on the route between New Orleans and New York. At the beginning of 1852, it became a part of the New York and San Francisco Steamship Line.

(Alton Pryor has been a writer for magazines, newspapers, and wire services. He worked for United Press International in their Sacramento Bureau, handling both printed press as well as radio news. He traveled the state as a field editor for California Farmer Magazine for 27 years. He is now the author of 16 books, primarily on California and western history. His books can be seen at www.stagecoachpublishing.com. Readers can email him at stagecoach@surewest.net.)