Georgia Major Hurricane #2: Mourning in St. Marys--1813

Rich has asked me to write up a short summary of the storms after the 1804 hurricane before 1813 that affected Georgia. Sept 11-12, 1810
A strong tropical storm/minimal hurricane made landfall in the lower South Carolina coast during the night. Landfall was south of Charleston, and north of Savannah, but the severity of the winds was greater in Savannah. Since Savannah was on the left side of the storm, landfall was undoubtedly closer to Savannah than Charleston. The British schooners Union and Pizzaro we driven ashore at Tybee Island, fortunately with no lives lost. October 4-5, 1811
A strong hurricane made landfall near or slightly south of St. Augustine during the night, moving northwestwards. It may have been a major hurricane. As tensions were rising between the United States and the United Kingdom, the U.S. Navy began assigning gunboats to the Atlantic coast to protect shipping. U. S. Gun-Boat, No. 2 set sail from Charleston SC on September 29th for its assignment off the southern Georgia coast. They arrived off the St. Mary's sound on the morning of October 4, as weather conditions were beginning to deteriorate. The local pilot was unwilling to sail out to meet the gunship to guide it through the tricky inlet, and the ship's commander, Lieutenant John J. Lippincott decided to "stand off" Cumberland Island to face the rising sea. That was a mistake.
The following is an extract from the Charleston Courier, Monday October 21, 1811:
“Loss of Gun-Boat No 2. The U. S. Gun-Boat, No. 2 (schooner rigged) under the command of Mr. Lippincott, of the Navy, sailed from this port on the 9th ult [Sept. 29] bound for St. Marys. On Friday morning, 4th inst. They made Cumberland Island, but being unable to procure a pilot, they, at night, stood off, weather very bad and a high sea. - On Saturday morning, the wind increasing to a heavy gale from the N. N. E., the vessel was hove to under a trey sail, with her head to the eastward; about 11 a.m. The gale increasing, took in the trey sail, and in about five minutes after a heavy sea broke onboard, which hove the boat on her beam ends - they immediately attempted to cut away the mast, but that part of the crew which was below, in their alarm, forced open the hatches, which had been secured in the early gales and the Gun-Boat instantly filled and went down. Several of the crew attempted to save themselves from instant death by clinging to the floating sweeps, spars &c. But one only of their numbers escaped to tell the mournful tale; all the rest, after struggling awhile in the waves, shared the fate of those who went down with the vessel. The man saved is named John Tier, and what is very remarkable, he was one of the men saved from the wreck of Gun-Boat No. 157, lost on Charleston Bar on the 17th of May last. This man was picked up the next day, after having been 29 hours upon an oar, by Capt. Gould, of the schr. Dolly, of Rhode Island, and landed at Amelia Island...” 10 Officers and Passengers and 25 seamen perished in this wreck. The shore of Cumberland Island was strewn with bodies and wreckage from the loss of the Gun Boat.
3 houses reported "blown down" in St. Marys
August 25-27, 1813
A major hurricane made landfall between Charleston and Georgetown. The hurricane apparently was moving very slowly, and there are indications that this storm may have looped offshore, bringing a period of gales to the north Georgia coast on August 25, before making a catastrophic Cat 4 landfall in South Carolina on August 27. Gale force winds did not reach far inland in Georgia. But it was enough to sink the cotton sloop Polly, which was sailing from Sunbury GA, a small port 20 miles south of Savannah to Savannah on the inner route between the barrier islands and the mainland. The ship capsized off Skidaway Island, but fortunately all the crew made it to shore and survived. Rich will post the story of the second major hurricane to make landfall in Georgia during the 19th century at Cumberland Island/St. Marys on the night of September 16-17, 1813.
The major hurricane of September 16-17 made landfall at 1:00 am on September 17 at the mouth of the St. Mary's River with the eye being noted over southern Cumberland Island and the northern half of Amelia Island. The hurricane was deadly at sea. US Gun Boat 164 was sunk at Cumberland Island with all 20 sailors aboard lost. 2 more were lost on a customs revenue cutter. 4 more ships were wrecked and driven onto Cumberland island. 28 bodies were recovered from the wreckage. From the letter by Commodore Hugh Campbell to the Secretary of the Navy, “The Saucy Jack privateer, of Charleston, lying ready to sail, is now lying high and dry on a marsh that must be at least 5 feet above the level of low tide. She draws 14 feet, seven feet being the common rise.” This would indicate a storm surge of at least 19 feet above Mean Low Water (MLW). 1:00 a.m was high tide at the time, with the moon being at last quarter.
A 19 foot storm surge requires a Cat 4 landfall for this storm. Amazing to have two Cat 4 landfalls in South Carolina and Georgia less than a month apart!
A report by Dr. William Baldwin states that all 60 houses in St. Marys, GA were leveled.
This hurricane appears to have been relatively small in size. There was severe agricultural destruction as far north as Darien, with the cotton and rice crops lost. Records do not indicate structural damage to plantations in St. Simons Island or on the mainland from Brunswick northwards. No mention of gales or bad weather in Savannah. All the deaths were at sea. I have found no deaths listed in the Cumberland Island Plantations, St. Marys, Amelia Island or Brunswick/St. Simons Island, or Darien.