Details: This original antique document is a petition to have a sunken ship removed from a port entrance in Barnegat, New Jersey. The letter is address to the American Secretary of the Treasure which likely would have been Daniel Manning or Charles S. Fairchild at the time of the writing. It is signed by thirty ship captains, crewmen and other local individuals, including the keeper of the Barnegat Light Station and collectors of customs from Tuckerton and Somers Point. A pencil note in the margin indicates the wreck occurred in 1887 which aligns with the tenures of the lighthouse keeper and Tuckerton customs collector who signed the petition. The letter is on a long sheet of ruled paper that is folded once, measuring 7.75" by 12.5" when folded.

The text of the letter reads as follows:

To the Hon. Secy of the Treasury / Washington D. C. / Honored Sir / We the undersigned respectfully petition to have removed or caused to be removed the wreck of the steamship Guadaloop [sic] and her cargo so as to form no obstruction to navigation. Said vessel stranded on the north bar of Barnegat Shoals have since made in, leaving the wreck in an extremely dangerous position, vessels can go between the wreck and the shoals. Vessel lies in about 3 1/2 fathoms of water 1 1/2 mile to 2 miles from Barnegat Beach. Stern and stern-post shows at low tide.

This letter may resolve the mystery of what became of one of the first iron-clad ships to come into American waters in the form of two Mexican ironclad frigates - the Montezuma and the Guadalupe. Both ships were built in Britain and were sold to the Mexican Navy, possibly in retaliation for the then-current dispute between the U.S. and Britain over Oregon. The Guadalupe was active in the famous 1843 Battle of Campeche in which the Republic of Yucatan and the Republic of Texas locked naval horns with Mexico. The Texas force was commanded by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore. The battle was renowned for being a rare case of sailing warships defeating steam warships. Though Moore claimed to have sunk the Guadalupe in the battle, there is a record of the ship being sold four years later and it is speculated that the claim to have sunk all the ships was propaganda-motivated. Any later history of the Guadalupe is unknown.

This letter bears a pencil note of unknown date or origin which contradicts the suggestion that it was the Mexican warship Guadalupe that sank off Barnegat. The note reads, “Almost all of cargo been removed – registered tonnage about 3000. Vessel one year old when sunk in 1887. Built entirely of iron.†No records were found of such a ship sinking off Barnegat at that time.
Condition / Notes: This letter shows well with some edge wear and scattered light marks.

The stated shipping cost in this listing will apply only to addresses within the continental 48 states. Within those parameters, the shipping cost for this lot will be: $6.50