Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
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The Shipwreck of the "Méduse" ...
On July 2nd, 1816, the French frigate "Méduse"...
... located in front of what is now the Moroccan coast, very close to Cap Blanc, the last important landmark in front of an infamous sandbank called Arguin (La Aguera) ...
There is nothing less than the devil going on board!
The ship left Rochefort on June 17, 1816 - as the flagship of a four-ship association, that should bring new settlers, soldiers and a new - royalist-minded! - Governor to Saint Louis ...
... to the French colony of Senegal.
The fleet is commanded by Commodore Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys ...
... whom nothing but his loyal attitude towards the king qualifies for this post!
He hadn't commanded a ship in 25 years, let alone an entire fleet!
Just a few days after leaving the port, the commander and all the (far more experienced) officers in his fleet had a terrible row - and they refused to continue working with him. They all have great seafaring experience, which they have acquired in Napoleon's navy and are therefore "not satisfactory" for the Commodore!
The only one with whom Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys is still talking at all is a "landlubber" named Antoine Richeford, who is slated for the position of harbor master at Saint Louis.
The command structures on board the "Méduse" are gradually collapsing.
First, the incompetent Commodore loses its entire fleet! The "Méduse" is hitting such a hellish pace that the other ships cannot keep up.
Next, on June 23, a 15-year-old cabin boy went overboard - Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys screwed up the rescue maneuver with false and unclear orders, the boy drowned.
Then the commander announced that the island of Madeira would be reached on the morning of June 26th to bring fresh drinking water and supplies on board. But Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, who is also a lousy navigator, misses the island by more than 90 nautical miles!
The new governor of Senegal, Julien-Désiré Schmaltz, who is also on board ...
... thereupon swings evil!
On his own initiative he has the passengers on board build a makeshift raft under the guidance of a few sailors because he noticed that in the event of a really serious accident, the space in the five boats of the "Méduse" is by no means for all 395 Enough souls that are on board.
The plans of the raft have been preserved ...
... and in the courtyard of the museum in Rochefort there is now a true-to-original replica ...:
And this feared disaster then happens promptly!
On July 2, 1816, Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, who - although close to land! - considers it unnecessary to determine the water depth by regular sounding, sets the brand new frigate (one of the most modern ships of its time, here a replica) ...
... under full gear at full speed on the Arguin sandbank.
Because of the high speed, the "Méduse" is completely stuck and could only be lightened (throwing all heavy objects overboard, such as the twenty-eight 18-pounder cannons, twelve carronades, four mortars and the keel ballast made of heavy stones) and warping ( towed away by their own dinghies).
But Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys categorically forbids throwing the cannons overboard.
The "Méduse" is now stuck hopelessly, but since it has run aground in soft sand, the hull is largely undamaged, even if it has been de-masted by the force of the run-up.
So you stay on board and hope to be found in good time by the other ships of the association, which must be somewhere in the vicinity, before food and water run out.
But that changes on July 4th, when a violent tropical storm hit the "Méduse" and the breakers triggered by this knocked the ship down ...:
Panic breaks out on board, then the crew mutinies and threatens to kill anyone who should try to save themselves with one of the dinghies.
Governor Schmaltz saves the situation with presence of mind by giving his word of honor not to leave anyone on board if the now badly damaged ship should be evacuated.
The next morning (July 5th) Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys gave the order to leave the "Méduse".
And now exactly what the sailors had feared the day before occurs.
The frigate's second largest boat, the barge, has space for more than 50 people, but Governor Schmaltz and his family (35 people) have it for themselves; he prefers to store his family's extensive luggage in the free space instead of taking in strangers.
The commander thinghi is a bit smaller, could take 40 people, but this boat is captured by Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys and 27 of his followers.
Then there are two small sloops that leave the "Méduse" when they are fully occupied.
There are also armed men sitting in the four boats - and shooting at sailors swimming towards them who had previously jumped overboard and are now hoping to find rescue in the boats.
By far the largest dinghy on the "Méduse", which could have carried almost 90 people, turns out to be unusable because it turns out that there are no oars for it.
In this chaotic situation, those desperate who stayed on board remember the makeshift raft that Governor Schmaltz had made.
It is launched and manned by nearly 200 survivors. The first, and most of them, are soldiers from an infantry battalion destined for Senegal, who use their bayonets to secure seats.
No officer is on site to direct the evacuation into order and the commander Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys has - contrary to the French naval regulations! - one of the first to leave the "Méduse".
Because someone came up with the idea of stowing supplies on the raft, it was already hopelessly overloaded when it left the "Méduse".
The people on it stand in the water from the start to their hips!
One tries in panic to relieve the raft and throws the supplies into the sea, but that doesn't help.
Ship officers who are in the boats try to throw a tow over to the raft on their own initiative, but Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys orders: "Abandonnons-les!" ("Let's leave them behind!").
At this point there are still 146 men and a woman on the raft - in the fight for survival and the safest places in the middle of the raft, there is merciless fights among each other ...:
Cannibalism also breaks out after a few days.
Only seven days later, only 15 men are still living on the float, which has drifted far south, they are rescued by the "Argus", a ship of the original fleet, and brought to Saint Louis more dead than alive ...:
On board the dinghies, 57 people are still living when they reach the coast, who reach their destination after a long walk ...:
Of the 17 people who voluntarily stayed on board the "Méduse", either because they couldn't get a place in the boats or because they shrank from the chaotic manning of the raft, one has never heard from again.
In 1817 Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys was brought before a court martial in Rochefort, which found him guilty and sentenced him to three years imprisonment.
Three years imprisonment for over 200 dead ...!
On July 2nd, 1816, the French frigate "Méduse"...
... located in front of what is now the Moroccan coast, very close to Cap Blanc, the last important landmark in front of an infamous sandbank called Arguin (La Aguera) ...
There is nothing less than the devil going on board!
The ship left Rochefort on June 17, 1816 - as the flagship of a four-ship association, that should bring new settlers, soldiers and a new - royalist-minded! - Governor to Saint Louis ...
... to the French colony of Senegal.
The fleet is commanded by Commodore Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys ...
... whom nothing but his loyal attitude towards the king qualifies for this post!
He hadn't commanded a ship in 25 years, let alone an entire fleet!
Just a few days after leaving the port, the commander and all the (far more experienced) officers in his fleet had a terrible row - and they refused to continue working with him. They all have great seafaring experience, which they have acquired in Napoleon's navy and are therefore "not satisfactory" for the Commodore!
The only one with whom Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys is still talking at all is a "landlubber" named Antoine Richeford, who is slated for the position of harbor master at Saint Louis.
The command structures on board the "Méduse" are gradually collapsing.
First, the incompetent Commodore loses its entire fleet! The "Méduse" is hitting such a hellish pace that the other ships cannot keep up.
Next, on June 23, a 15-year-old cabin boy went overboard - Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys screwed up the rescue maneuver with false and unclear orders, the boy drowned.
Then the commander announced that the island of Madeira would be reached on the morning of June 26th to bring fresh drinking water and supplies on board. But Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, who is also a lousy navigator, misses the island by more than 90 nautical miles!
The new governor of Senegal, Julien-Désiré Schmaltz, who is also on board ...
... thereupon swings evil!
On his own initiative he has the passengers on board build a makeshift raft under the guidance of a few sailors because he noticed that in the event of a really serious accident, the space in the five boats of the "Méduse" is by no means for all 395 Enough souls that are on board.
The plans of the raft have been preserved ...
... and in the courtyard of the museum in Rochefort there is now a true-to-original replica ...:
And this feared disaster then happens promptly!
On July 2, 1816, Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, who - although close to land! - considers it unnecessary to determine the water depth by regular sounding, sets the brand new frigate (one of the most modern ships of its time, here a replica) ...
... under full gear at full speed on the Arguin sandbank.
Because of the high speed, the "Méduse" is completely stuck and could only be lightened (throwing all heavy objects overboard, such as the twenty-eight 18-pounder cannons, twelve carronades, four mortars and the keel ballast made of heavy stones) and warping ( towed away by their own dinghies).
But Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys categorically forbids throwing the cannons overboard.
The "Méduse" is now stuck hopelessly, but since it has run aground in soft sand, the hull is largely undamaged, even if it has been de-masted by the force of the run-up.
So you stay on board and hope to be found in good time by the other ships of the association, which must be somewhere in the vicinity, before food and water run out.
But that changes on July 4th, when a violent tropical storm hit the "Méduse" and the breakers triggered by this knocked the ship down ...:
Panic breaks out on board, then the crew mutinies and threatens to kill anyone who should try to save themselves with one of the dinghies.
Governor Schmaltz saves the situation with presence of mind by giving his word of honor not to leave anyone on board if the now badly damaged ship should be evacuated.
The next morning (July 5th) Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys gave the order to leave the "Méduse".
And now exactly what the sailors had feared the day before occurs.
The frigate's second largest boat, the barge, has space for more than 50 people, but Governor Schmaltz and his family (35 people) have it for themselves; he prefers to store his family's extensive luggage in the free space instead of taking in strangers.
The commander thinghi is a bit smaller, could take 40 people, but this boat is captured by Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys and 27 of his followers.
Then there are two small sloops that leave the "Méduse" when they are fully occupied.
There are also armed men sitting in the four boats - and shooting at sailors swimming towards them who had previously jumped overboard and are now hoping to find rescue in the boats.
By far the largest dinghy on the "Méduse", which could have carried almost 90 people, turns out to be unusable because it turns out that there are no oars for it.
In this chaotic situation, those desperate who stayed on board remember the makeshift raft that Governor Schmaltz had made.
It is launched and manned by nearly 200 survivors. The first, and most of them, are soldiers from an infantry battalion destined for Senegal, who use their bayonets to secure seats.
No officer is on site to direct the evacuation into order and the commander Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys has - contrary to the French naval regulations! - one of the first to leave the "Méduse".
Because someone came up with the idea of stowing supplies on the raft, it was already hopelessly overloaded when it left the "Méduse".
The people on it stand in the water from the start to their hips!
One tries in panic to relieve the raft and throws the supplies into the sea, but that doesn't help.
Ship officers who are in the boats try to throw a tow over to the raft on their own initiative, but Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys orders: "Abandonnons-les!" ("Let's leave them behind!").
At this point there are still 146 men and a woman on the raft - in the fight for survival and the safest places in the middle of the raft, there is merciless fights among each other ...:
Cannibalism also breaks out after a few days.
Only seven days later, only 15 men are still living on the float, which has drifted far south, they are rescued by the "Argus", a ship of the original fleet, and brought to Saint Louis more dead than alive ...:
On board the dinghies, 57 people are still living when they reach the coast, who reach their destination after a long walk ...:
Of the 17 people who voluntarily stayed on board the "Méduse", either because they couldn't get a place in the boats or because they shrank from the chaotic manning of the raft, one has never heard from again.
In 1817 Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys was brought before a court martial in Rochefort, which found him guilty and sentenced him to three years imprisonment.
Three years imprisonment for over 200 dead ...!
