SS Hungarian - Sinking

Sinking

On February 8, 1860, Hungarian left Liverpool, England, destined for Portland, Maine, under the command of Captain Thomas Jones. She called at Queenstown, Ireland, and departed from there on February 9, 1860. On the night of February 19, she wrecked on Cape Ledge, the west side of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, with total loss of life. The wrecked ship—and the survivors that clung to it—were visible from shore, but unreachable due to high seas and gale-force winds that did not relent until six days later.

Newspaper articles were published for months after the incident. Most messages about the disaster were sent out from Barrington Telegraph and relayed to major cities. News of the wreck following so soon after that of her sister ship Indian "threw a sense of gloom over the whole of British America". It was feared that among the passengers were some well-known colonists. News traveled slowly and it was undoubtedly a very intense time for everyone who picked up a newspaper.

With 205 lives lost that night, its stands as one of the worst marine disasters in Canadian history.