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''Two Brothers'' was a
Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...
whaleship that sank on the night of February 11, 1823, off the
French Frigate Shoals The French Frigate Shoals (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: Kānemilohai) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located about northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu. Its name commemorates France, French explorer Jean-Fran ...
. The ship's captain was George Pollard, Jr., former captain of the famous whaleship ''
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
''. The wreck was discovered in 2008 (announced on February 11, 2011) by a team of marine archaeologists working on an expedition for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
in the
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage Site, World Heritage listed National monument (United States), U.S. national monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of th ...
. She is thought to have been built in 1804 by Joseph Glidden in
Hallowell, Maine Hallowell ( ) is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,570 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Hallowell is noted for its culture and old architecture. Hallowell is included in th ...
.


Whaling voyages

On her first whaling voyage, ''Two Brothers'' left Nantucket on 21 November 1818, with George B. Worth, master. On March 5, 1821, the ship encountered fellow Nantucket whaleship ''Dauphin'' which on February 23 had rescued Captain George Pollard Jr. and crewman Charles Ramsdell who were on a whaleboat from the whaleship ''
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
'' which had sunk after being rammed twice by a
sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...
. Pollard, captain of the ''Essex'', and Ramsdell were in poor mental health (
dissociative Dissociatives, colloquially dissos, are a subclass of hallucinogens that distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of ...
) after 93 days at sea in the whaleboat. They were transferred to ''Two Brothers'' which was heading to
Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. ''Two Brothers'' returned on 5 August 1821 from the Pacific with 1231 barrels of sperm oil and 158 barrels of whale oil. On her second whaling voyage, ''Two Brothers'' left Nantucket on 13 November 1821, with Captain George Pollard Jr., master, and with destination the Pacific.


Wreck

On the night of February 11, 1823—while sailing west through the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands also known as the Leeward Hawaiian Islands, are a series of islands and atolls located northwest of Kauai and Niihau, Niihau in the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian island chain. Politically, these islands are part of ...
with another whaling ship, ''
Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...
''—''Two Brothers'' found herself in a storm. The two ships became separated and Captain Pollard of ''Two Brothers'' was unclear as to his ship's position. Soon, ''Two Brothers'' grounded and sank on a
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
near
French Frigate Shoals The French Frigate Shoals (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: Kānemilohai) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located about northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu. Its name commemorates France, French explorer Jean-Fran ...
. Captain Pollard did not want to abandon ship but his crew pleaded with him and they clung to small boats through the night. The next morning, they were rescued by ''Martha''. Thomas Nickerson, who served as boatsteerer on ''Two Brothers'', wrote about the wreck. Nickerson had also served with Pollard on the ''Essex'' and survived its sinking. Nickerson's account is preserved in a
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
titled "Loss of the Ship ''Two Brothers'' of Nantucket" (MS 106 F3.5) in the collections of the Nantucket Historical Association.


Two Brothers reef Mystery

The wrecking of the ship caused the creation of an idea that there was newly discovered reef, which for decades was noted as Two Brothers reef near the French Frigate Shoals. There was some discussion about this and both Nickerson and Derrick thought this was a misidentification of the French Frigate Shoals, not a new reef. The mentioning of the Two Brothers reef was stopped in 1931 when that area was surveyed and no reef was found, and the identification of the ''Two Brothers'' wreck on the French Frigate Shoals further confirms the earlier suspicion that the French Frigate Shoals had been misidentified as a new reef due to a navigational mistake.


Discovery

The wreck of ''Two Brothers'' was discovered in 2008 by a team of marine archaeologists working on an expedition for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
(NOAA). The identity of the ship was not immediately known so it was called the "Shark Island Whaler"; the ship's identification as ''Two Brothers'' was announced by NOAA on February 11, 2011, the 188th anniversary of her sinking. The wreck is the first discovery of a wrecked Nantucket whaling ship. Although identifying it as 19th century whaler was indicated by the anchor and various whaling tools such as trypots, there were three such whalers known to have wrecked at the French Frigate Shoals. This included the ''Two Brothers'', but also the ''South Seaman'' and the ''Daniel Wood''. The ''Two Brothers'' wrecked in 1823, the ''South Seaman'' in 1859, and the ''Daniel Wood'' in 1867. Some of the first artifacts found at the wreck site include two anchors, three try pots, bricks, and the remains of the ship's
rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...
. Expeditions in 2009 and 2010 turned up more artifacts including
blubber Blubber is a thick layer of Blood vessel, vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. It was present in many marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosauria, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Description ...
hooks, five
harpoon A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...
tips, three whaling
lances The English term lance is derived, via Middle English ''wikt:launce#Noun 3, launce'' and Old French ''wikt:lance#Old French, lance'', from the Latin ''wikt:lancea#Noun, lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear or javelin employed by both infant ...
, four
cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
cooking pots and ceramics and glass. The shipwreck site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2017.


References


External links


Downloadable images from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National MonumentHistoric Hawaii Two Brothers Shipwreck
{{National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Maritime incidents in February 1823 Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Tall ships of the United States Whaling ships 1810s ships Whaling in the Hawaiian Kingdom 2008 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places French Frigate Shoals Ships built in Nantucket, Massachusetts