Cape Cod's First Shipwreck: Sparrow-Hawk

The first shipwreck off Cape Cod was the (Pinnacle)Sparrow-Hawk in 1626.The ship was smaller than the more famous Mayflower that landed in Plymouth around 6 years earlier( 30 tons verses 130). After a six week voyage and out of beer/water plus a sick captain she foundered off outer Cape Cod in Orlearn's on Nauset Beach. Survivors (all 25) were guided by friendly natives to Plymouth where they stayed until they could hitch a ride to Virginia(there original destination).

The shipwreck was discovered in 1862 after a storm. It did spend over a century at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth Massachusetts. It is now on display in Hyannis, Massachusetts at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum. It is the oldest surviving shipwreck of "New World' colonies.

Author Sarah Vowell Talks About The Wordy Shipmates, Her Latest Book

Storms and Shipwrecks of New England by Edward Rowe Snow

Storms and Shipwrecks of New England by Edward Rowe Snow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I grew up reading my Grandfather's Edward Rowe Snow books and they are just as captivating as I remember them to be. Snow in a New England maritime legendary story teller. This collection concentrates on historic storms and shipwrecks that have come ashore the New England coast over the years up until about 1945 when this addition was first published. This edition released in 2003 has updates at the end of each chapter. These are local historical tales that you don't find in your history books. Tales like these remind you that not all battles are fought on land or against people but are also waged against nature. These are worth reading if your into New England maritime history.

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Wicked Awesome History Today - 1778

On this day in 1778 the town of Foxborough was incorporated as a town in Massachusetts. It located 22 miles southwest of Boston and 18 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. It's best known as the home of the NFL New England Patriot's and MLS New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. Was once home of the worlds largest straw hat factory, it burned down, was located where current post office is on Wall Street. Named after Charles James Fox who, as a member of the British Parliament, was a strong vocal supporter of the colonies. 

Happy Birthday Foxborough!

Pirates off Cape Cod

One place I'm hoping to check out this summer is The Whydah Musuem located on the tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown. The museum displays artifacts of the Pirate ship "Whydah" that was wrecked in a fierce storm in 1717 off the Outer Cape. Captain Black Sam Bellamy was possibly try to visit a local girl, the "Witch of Wellfleet" Maria Hallet. You weren't someone unless you had a cool nickname back the early 1700's. When the ship hit a storm off the outer Cape it ran a ground off Wellfleet and only two survived.

The wreck was found again in the 1980's by underwater explorer Barry Clifford. He has since brought up many interesting artifacts from Captain Black Sam's ill fated voyage including the ship's bell. I can't wait to visit.