Cape Elizabeth lighthouse is one of the most powerful lighthouses on the Maine coast.
Lighthouse Keeper Marcus Hanna Involved in the Most Dangerous Rescue At Cape Elizabeth Light in Maine
Marcus Hanna was transferred as head keeper to Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse in 1873 from Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. He was to become infamous in one of the most daring rescues in lighthouse history. The rescue is not famous for the number of survivors saved, but for the incredible suffering Keeper Hanna endured in his determination to save those in distress, in risking his own life at in the attempt.
The schooner Australia was carrying a cargo of 150 barrels of mackerel on deck and a load of ice on the 27th of January, 1885. She was leaving Boothbay, Maine to deliver her cargo to Boston, Massachusetts the next day. On board there were three crewmen, Captain J.W. Lewis, Seaman Irving Pierce, and Seaman William Kellar.
That night, a violent nor’easter storm came over the area with bitterly cold gale force winds and blinding snow. Keeper Hanna sounded the steam fog whistle all night despite being exhausted from having flu-like symptoms. By daybreak, the keeper trudged his way back from the tower through large snowdrifts to the keeper’s dwelling in order to get some needed rest. Mrs. Hanna extinguished the lights in both towers, while Assistant Keeper Hiram Staples took the morning shift trying to keep an eye out for distressed vessels, although visibility was very poor from the ongoing blizzard.
Keeper Marcus Hanna. Image courtesy US Coast Guard.
Around midnight that same night during the storm, the Australia had lost her sails from the high winds while attempting to reach Portland Harbor for safety. By 8:00 a.m. that morning on January 28, she ended up crashing on the rocks by Cape Elizabeth Light, near the fog signal. As the seas washed over the wreck, the crewmen had barely enough time to crawl upon the rigging. Captain Lewis lost his grip and was washed overboard, drowning in the icy waters. The two seamen, Pierce and Kellar, were trying to hang on to the rigging in the bitter cold as the temperature had tumbled to minus 10 degrees below zero. As the storm continued, they were being drenched in icy water and spray.
At around 8:40 a.m. with the blizzard still unrelenting, Hanna’s wife saw a glimpse of the masts of the vessel on the rocks and shouted to awake her husband. Keeper Hanna rushed to the signal house with Staples, who hadn’t seen the wreck through the blinding snow. Hanna and Staples hurried to the edge of the water near the schooner, where they observed the two sailors covered in ice clinging to the rigging, looking like ghoulish scarecrows. Hanna yelled that they were coming to help and for the sailors to hang on.
Keeper Hanna’s wife and Staples’ son went to get help from the neighbors as Hanna and Assistant Keeper Staples decided to try to find materials to rescue the men. The keeper realized he could not launch a boat in the stormy waters, so crawled through the snow to the fog signal house and grabbed an axe. He and Staples then had to crawl again over the snowdrifts to the boathouse 300 yards away and shovel the entrance to get into the building. There they grabbed a line to rescue the frozen crewmen.
Ice Covered Rocks by Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse.
Hanna tied a heavy iron weight he got from the fog signal house to the end of the line and crawled along the icy rocks with the winds still gusting at below zero temperatures. If he slipped on the rocks in the thunderous surf it could be a fatal mistake in such freezing waters. When he reached the edge of the surf he tried a number of times to throw the line to the vessel but failed. He tried again and again unsuccessfully with the line falling short of its target each time. After many unsuccessful attempts, Keeper Hanna had to crawl back to the shoreline to briefly try to warm himself up. He could feel the stinging pain from prolonged exposure as his fingers, hands, and feet started to go numb. Staples was also suffering from the freezing cold, and briefly had to abandon the keeper. He went back to the fog signal house to try to warm up and went to check to see if any additional help had arrived.
Suddenly a huge wave struck the wrecked schooner and smashed her further on the rocks. Hanna knew time was getting short for the men. In exhaustion from his illness, and practically frozen as hypothermia was engulfing him, he decided to risk his life and waded waist-deep into the icy ocean surf. The waves were thrashing all around him as he summoned all his strength, and again threw a line to the schooner, this time landing it near Pierce. The frozen sailor managed to barely pull his grasp away from the icy rigging and bend the line around his waist.
Cape Elizabeth lighthouse overlooks a snow covered beach after a Maine winter storm.
Hanna crawled back to the icy rocks and shouted for help with no reply. He knew time was slipping away and he had to get the men ashore. As soon as he was ready, Pierce signaled to Hanna, and jumped into the raging surf. Hanna was determined to save Pierce at any cost, and somehow managed to pull the helpless man through the waves and over the slippery rocks to safety on the shore. Hanna would later write, “Pierce’s jaws were set; he was totally blind from exposure to the cold, and the expression of his face I shall not soon forget.”
Keeper Hanna realized he couldn’t wait for help to arrive and quickly loosened the line from Pierce’s ice covered body. He again waded into the surf in sub zero temperatures and howling winds. After several tries, the line landed within Kellar’s grasp. Kellar, also frozen and badly frostbitten, was barely able to tie the rope around his waist. Keeper Hanna could feel his own strength giving out as he tried to haul Kellar over to safety. Just as Hanna was about to pass out from exhaustion and exposure, Staples and two neighbors arrived and were able to help the keeper haul Kellar to the shore.
Snow drifts around Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse after storm.
The two sailors were then carried to the fog signal building, along with Hanna, where they were given dry clothes, food, and spirits. They were badly frostbitten and could not be moved to the keeper’s dwelling until later that night due to the intensity of the storm and huge snowdrifts. The storm had removed communication within the city and most of the roads were closed for a couple of days. After spending two more days at the keeper’s dwelling, Pierce and Kellar had recovered enough, along with Hanna, to be taken to the marine hospital in Portland by sled. They gradually recovered from what could easily have been a tragedy for all if not for the determination of the keeper.
Six months later, in April of 1885, Marcus Hanna received a Gold Lifesaving Medal for his selfless heroism in rescuing the two sailors. The incident was to rank as one of the greatest lifesaving feats at an American lighthouse and was one of the highest honors given for heroic service. Hannah also received the distinguished Medal of Honor in 1895 for his bravery in another rescue incident at Port Hudson.
In August 1997, the Coast Guard launched a 175-foot Coast Guard buoy tender vessel named the Marcus Hanna. A replica of Hanna’s lifesaving medal is mounted on board. The ship’s homeport is located in South Portland, Maine, near the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse.
Exploring and Viewing Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse
Other Cape Elizabeth Range light capped, with active light in background.
You can walk from the park to the lighthouses. Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse is a private residence that you can view easily from the road in a quiet residential neighborhood. It was originally part of two lighthouses as part of range lights, and the other lighthouse which is capped, can also be viewed inside the neighborhood. By wary as these are private residences.
Two Lights State Park, sometimes referred to as Two Lights State Park, near the lighthouses offers relaxing picnic tables, hiking trails, and ocean views.
The town of Cape Elizabeth is also home to Portland Head Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in Maine, located a few miles away.
Here are some photos of Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse and its Range Light.
Enjoy!
Allan Wood
Book – Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions in Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts
My 300-page book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, provides special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore. These include whale watching excursions, lighthouse tours, windjammer sailing tours and adventures, special parks and museums, and even lighthouses you can stay overnight. You’ll also find plenty of stories of shipwrecks and rescues like the one above. Lighthouses and their nearby attractions are divided into regions for all you weekly and weekend explorers. You’ll also find plenty of stories of hauntings around lighthouses.
Book – Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions in Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont
My 300-page book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, provides special human interest stories like the rescue by Marcus Hannah mentioned above from each of the 76 lighthouses, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore, and tours. Lighthouses and their nearby attractions are divided into regions for all you weekly and weekend explorers. Attractions and tours also include whale watching tours, lighthouse tours, windjammer sailing tours and adventures, special parks and museums, and lighthouses you can stay overnight. There are also stories of haunted lighthouses in these regions.
Book- New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues, and Other Tales
You’ll find this story in more detail and many others in my book New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues, and Other Tales. The book also contains, along with my photographs, vintage images provided by the Coast Guard and various organizations, and paintings by six famous artists of the Coast Guard.
You can order these books through most any pages on this website, and I’ll be happy to personally sign them and ship them to you anywhere inside the United States. You can also order from the publisher, Schiffer Books, who will ship anywhere globally, and you’ll find them in many fine bookstores.
Copyright © Allan Wood Photography, do not reproduce without permission. All rights reserved.
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