By Suzanne
Norquist
I’d heard of
sea captains, and I’d heard of pirates, but a visit to the HistoryMiami Museum
introduced me to a new kind of seafarer, a “wrecker.”
A line of
shallow coral reefs running parallel to the Florida Keys made them particularly
dangerous to navigate. In fact, Key West became rich in the 1850s, primarily
due to shipwrecks.
Wreckers
performed salvage operations for a share of the cargo. Less dangerous than
being a pirate—and legal. In many cases, wreckers performed repairs and helped
damaged ships limp to shore. Sometimes they saved complete ships, including cargos,
crews, and passengers. Other times they were accused of moving navigational
lights to create a wreck or conspiring with crooked ship’s captains for profit.
The following
observation by Benjamin B. Strobel in 1830, describes the reputation of a
wrecker as compared to their actual appearance. Makes me want to use one as the
hero of a story.
“From all that
I heard of wreckers, I expected to see a parcel of low, dirty, pirate-looking
crafts, officered and manned by a set of black-whiskered fellows, who carried
murder in their very looks. I was, however, very agreeably surprised to find
their vessels fine large schooners, regular clippers, kept in first-rate order,
and that the Captains were jovial, good-humored sons of Neptune, who manifested
very disposition to be polite and hospitable, and to afford every facility to
persons passing up and down the Reef. The crews were composed of hearty,
well-dressed, honest-looking men.”
After Florida
became a U.S. Territory in 1821, the federal government passed a complicated
set of laws regulating salvage operations. Wreckers were licensed and received
a percentage of the salvaged cargo as payment.
The wreckers
would usually anchor at night in protected areas and then sail out in the
morning to see if any ships had wrecked during the night. Most wreckers
performed other work as well. They were spongers, turtlers, fishermen, or
something that placed them in a good position when a wreck occurred.
It was while
waiting for wrecks that Captain Ben Baker started growing pineapples on
Plantation Key and Key Largo, possibly launching the pineapple industry. One
wrecking report stated that Captain Baker spotted a wreck while sitting on his
front porch on Key Largo.
If a ship ran
aground during the night, a dozen wreckers would arrive by the afternoon of the
next day. The first wrecking captain to reach a stranded ship became the wreck
master in charge of the salvage operation.
A judge determined
how to divide the bounty. There was a case where a beer-laden ship was salvaged,
and considerable cargo was consumed in the process. The court decreed no
additional fees.
Cargos
included coal, lumber, tobacco, sugar, and coffee, among other things. One ship
carried ice from Boston to New Orleans in May of 1846. It was brought in
damaged.
In 1858 there
were forty-seven boats and ships licensed as wreckers. The industry dominated the Florida
Keys until about 1890. As lighthouses were built and navigational systems
improved, fewer ships went aground. Wreckers became a thing of the past, but
not without leaving their mark on Florida history.
***
Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A
Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has
worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate
in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with
her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has
two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and
attends kickboxing class.
She authors a
blog entitled, Ponderings of a BBQ Ph.D.
“Mending
Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection
Four
historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.
Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne
Norquist
Rockledge, Colorado, 1884
Sarah seeks a quiet life as a
seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If
only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local
hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of
the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his
efforts only push her further away?
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Fascinating! I've never heard of wreckers. Thanks for sharing.
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DeleteThanks for the post! Very interesting!
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