In late January 1878, the Steamship Metropolis set out from Philadelphia, loaded with 500 tons of cast-iron rails, 200 tons of coal and other supplies. Heading for Brazil, the vessel also carried about 215 passengers, many of whom were slated to help build a Brazilian railroad. Making its way down the Delaware River into Delaware Bay, the steamship was greeted by heavy gusts and forceful turbulent waters. It was but a foreshadow of what was to come. Then, as it cleared Cape Henlopen into the Atlantic, the vessel was struck by a violent gale. At the mercy of the heavy seas, the overloaded, poorly maintained ship soon began to leak. With sea water rushing in, its pumps were not able to keep up with the onslaught. Massive waves tore away the smokestack, lifeboats and washed several of the crewmen off the deck. Attempting to reach safety, the captain tried to ground the ship near the Currituck Lighthouse (Corolla, North Carolina). However, as Metropolis approached the shoreline, it struck a reef where it became stranded broadside. The unrelenting waves then continued tearing away at its structure.
Well in sight of land, “only a few hundred yards away,” about 50 of the passengers and crewmen including the ship’s chief officer were able to make it to shore. But all others onboard, including the captain, perished. Those saved generally did so by clinging to floating debris.
Located some 3 miles from the lighthouse, no one had spotted the wreck until two men, walking the beach, caught sight of it through a dense morning fog. Borrowing a horse, one of them rode to the distant Life Saving Station while the other individual began to retrieve survivors and the dead from the icy Atlantic’s waters. Some four hours later, the Life-Saving crew arrived on scene with their cart. Using a line throwing Lyle Gun, they attempted several times to get a line out to the ship that would have been tied to its mast. A canvas seat breeches buoy would then have been used to haul people back to shore. However, the gun failed on each try. At that point, the surfmen joined other rescuers, wading out to aid any remaining survivor.
In the early 1800s, sandy shoals extending out from the shoreline were responsible for numerous shipwrecks. If stranded on a sandbar during storm-driven waves, a sailing vessel could be torn apart, leaving the passengers and crew to fend for themselves. Between 1838 to 1848, 158 ships were lost to New Jersey’s shoals. Sandbars along Cape Cod, coastal Long Island and North Carolina were also sites of numerous ship losses.
The first Life-Saving Station was established in 1786 by the Massachusetts Humane Society at Cohasset (MA). It served as a forerunner to the Nation’s Life-Saving Service and eventually the U.S. Coast Guard. During the early hours of August 13, 1839, physician William Newell witnessed the loss of the Austrian brig Count Perasto, off Long Beach Island (NJ). It was only 300 yards from shore. Battered by heavy surf, the brig’s captain and crew were lost as they attempted to reach the shore. Newell later stated that if they only had a rope that could have been tossed out to them, lives might have been saved. Later, as a U.S. Congressman, Newell appealed to Congress for the funds to establish lifesaving stations along New Jersey’s coast. In his $10,000 proposal, he included surfboats, rockets, cannonades and other life-saving gear. The Newell Act, enacted in mid-August 1848, marked the beginning of federal involvement in lifesaving. The act only covered coastal New Jersey. Initially, its stations consisted of eight boat houses, built 10 miles apart. They became operational during May of the following year
Most of the early Life-Saving Stations that followed were built near approaches to harbors, leaving much of the coastline without them. When a wreck was sighted, a cry went out “Ship Ashore.” Typically, nearly everyone in the vicinity responded by joining in the rescue. The early stations were solely manned by volunteers, but in 1871, the appointment of Summer L. Kimball as head of the marine agency brought important changes to the service. Following a Congressional appropriation of $200,000, professional six-man boat crews were hired for each station. They were all chosen by a set of strict standards.
Following the American Civil War, the Nation was struggling financially. Congress hoped to raise needed funds by imposing tariffs on imports. However, to avoid the charges, smuggling via the sea increased dramatically. In response, Congress in 1790, established the Revenue Marine Service, whose function was to enforce tariffs and prevent smuggling. Four years later, the service was renamed Revenue Cutter Service. On January 28, 1915, the service along with the Life-Saving Service were merged to form the United States Coast Guard. During late summer of 1939, the Coast Guard also took over operations of the Nation’s lighthouses. At the same time, legislation restated that the Coast Guard was “a part of the military forces of the United States.”
During World War l, the Coast Guard’s primary mission was port security. Later, the Guard later also joined the U.S. Navy, escorting ships through sub-infested waters, from Gibraltar to the British Isles. It was also involved in rescuing men from torpedoed vessels. During World War ll, the Guard also escorted convoys and managed to sink 11 U-boats. Its last conflict with a U-boat occurred on May 5, 1945, three days before the end of World War II in Europe. Operating off the coast of New England, U-853 torpedoed the SS Black Point, about 4 miles off Point Judith, Rhode Island. A nearby freighter sounded the alarm that was quickly picked up by the Coast Guard frigate USS Moberly. Accompanied by the USS Atherton and two other navy warships, they located the U-boat, some 7 miles east of Block Island. The sub had attempted to hide itself by lying on the sand bottom in about 125 feet of water. However, USCG Moberly and Atherton soon detected it and immediately began dropping depth charges and hedgehogs over the sub. The German U-boat was the last, during WWII, to be destroyed in US waters.
The popular SCUBA “dive into history” is located at 41°13′N 71°27′W / 41.217°N 71.450°W .