{"id":2519,"date":"2022-03-01T12:31:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T17:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/?p=2519"},"modified":"2026-07-28T21:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T01:56:16","slug":"tragedy-of-life-savers-near-monomoy-lighthouse-on-cape-cod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/tragedy-of-life-savers-near-monomoy-lighthouse-on-cape-cod\/","title":{"rendered":"Tragedy of Lifesavers Near Monomoy Lighthouse on Cape Cod"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Monomoy<\/a>

Monomoy Lighthouse on Cape Cod in Massachusetts<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Monomoy Disaster on Cape Cod in Massachusetts<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n


\nEstablishment of Monomoy Life Saving Station<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Early<\/a>

Early Monomoy Lighthouse. Image courtesy of US Coast Guard.<\/p><\/div>\n

Monomoy Island is a large, narrow island a few miles from Chatham, considered the elbow of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The sandy shoals around Monomoy Island are some of the most dangerous in New England, claiming many ships. Two large shoals, the Shovelful Shoal and the Handkerchief Shoal, stretch out under the water along the eastern and southern shores of Monomoy Island. Historically, Pollock Rip, an area of powerful tidal currents located off the island’s southern shore, has also caused numerous shipwrecks. These natural dangers created a desperate need for a lighthouse station to mark the area. In 1823, Monomoy Point Lighthouse<\/a><\/strong> was built, then rebuilt in 1855 as a 40-foot, cast-iron tower lined in brick, helping to guide shipping traffic and mariners around the constantly shifting sandbars and shoals caused by those strong tidal currents at the end of Monomoy peninsula.<\/p>\n

As lighthouses were built as navigational aids along the shore, life-saving stations<\/a> <\/strong>were constructed in strategic locations near the lighthouses to house additional crew members, strictly for the purpose of rescuing those in distress offshore. At Monomoy, these additional men were housed at the Monomoy Life Saving Station, two miles north of the lighthouse. It was one of the original nine lifesaving stations on Cape Cod. These “surfmen,” or lifeboat men, as they were called, were hired as assistants to the keeper or captain, as he was also referred to when shipping traffic and tourism were at their peak. Some also stayed on as assistants year-round to help the lighthouse keeper.<\/p>\n

\"Surfman<\/a>

Surfman in LSS uniform. Image courtesy of US Coast Guard.<\/p><\/div>\n

At Monomoy, the lighthouse keeper was also the lifesaving station keeper. During fair weather, his surfmen would perform drills on lifesaving techniques and maintain their equipment while patrolling the shoreline, keeping a close eye out for ships in distress. If a vessel were found wrecked on nearby ledges or sandbars, these brave men would launch their heavy lifeboat, or surfboat, into the raging sea and row through the rough surf to attempt a rescue.<\/p>\n

All lifeboat men were known for their motto, \u201cYou have to go out, but you don\u2019t have to come back.\u201d These brave men would perform their trained duties, risking their lives to help stranded passengers or crew from a wrecked ship, knowing beforehand that they might perish at sea. They were often successful, but other times they paid the ultimate sacrifice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monomoy Disaster Becomes Worst In the History of the Life-Saving Service <\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Monomoy<\/a>

Monomoy Point Lighthouse Tower is behind beach dunes on Cape Cod.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometimes, mistakes occur in communication between stations and boats, or panic ensues when those who are rescued become too frightened, ending in tragic events. One of the worst disasters in the history of the Life-Saving Service occurred on March 17, 1902, off the southern end of Monomoy Island in the dangerous shoal called the Shovelful Shoal, located near the Monomoy Lighthouse. This tragic event involved the senseless drowning of 12 persons: five men from the coal barge Wadena<\/em>, and seven who were members of the lifesaving crew of Monomoy Light. The tragedy could have been avoided if proper communication had been given to the station\u2019s keeper and those rescued had not fallen into a state of alarm on rough seas.<\/p>\n

The events leading up to this tragedy began when a severe northeastern gale struck the area on March 11, 1902. Two schooner barges loaded with coal, the Wadena<\/em>\u00a0and the John C. Fitzpatrick<\/em>, were being towed by the tug Sweepstakes. <\/em>They\u00a0were heading towards Boston from Newport News, Virginia, when they ended up being lodged on Shovelful Shoal off the southern tip of Monomoy Island. They landed about a mile away as each vessel sought shelter from the storm and a place to anchor near Hyannis on Cape Cod.<\/p>\n

\"Keeper<\/a>

Keeper Marshall Eldridge (back row, third from left) and members of the Monomoy Lifesaving Crew, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Courtesy The Chatham Historical Society<\/p><\/div>\n

Captain Marshall W. Eldridge was a keeper at Monomoy Light Station and the nearby life-saving station, with a crew of seven light station assistants, called surfmen. One of them, Captain Seth Ellis, was Keeper Eldridge\u2019s number-one surfman and his primary assistant. Keeper Eldridge and crew members boarded both barges and tried briefly in vain to float the vessels off the shoal, but the weather made their efforts futile. The decision was made to bring crew members of each stranded barge ashore to the light station and assess the damage. When it appeared there were no signs of either vessel in danger of breaking apart, the tugboat Sweepstakes<\/em> ferried crew members to shore. The tug then brought hired wreckers to each barge. These men were tasked with unloading some of the cargo on each barge until the vessels could float off the shoal. The tug stayed for a couple of days and was replaced by the Peter Smith<\/em>, which continued supporting the wreckers as the Sweepstakes<\/em> made port at Hyannis for needed repairs.<\/p>\n

The wrecker crews worked tirelessly for five days until the night of March 16, when the weather became severe. Neither barge was still capable of being lifted off the shoal. The keeper had been notified that a few crew members had elected to stay aboard the Fitzpatrick<\/em> to prepare to float the wreck the next day. The tug Peter Smith<\/em> removed all but five people from the barge Wadena<\/em>, and headed towards Hyannis Harbor. Those who remained included the owner, W. S. Mack of Chicago; Captain C. D. Olsen of Boston, who was in charge of the men; and three Portuguese wreckers. The fact that these five individuals were still on board the Wadena<\/em> was not communicated to anyone at the Monomoy Light Station.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The USLSS to the Rescue. Painting courtesy of Coast Guard artist Lou Diamond and his wife Valerie.<\/p><\/div>\n

A short time later, Keeper Eldridge received a phone call from the tug captain of the Peter Smith<\/em>, in Hyannis, inquiring about the remaining five men on board the Wadena<\/em>. Upon hearing that there were still five men aboard the barge, and with the weather and winds worsening and creating dangerously high seas, the keeper decided to make the three-mile trek to Monomoy Point to see for himself if there were any signs of distress. When he arrived, he observed a distress flag displayed from the Wadena<\/em> about a half-mile away. Although there appeared to be no signs of danger, Keeper Eldridge could not walk away from the distress signal. He went over to watch-house No. 1 nearby and telephoned surfman Seth L. Ellis to collect the crew and launch the surfboat. The men put on their storm clothes and pulled the heavy boat for nearly three miles, picking up Eldridge, then headed for the barge.<\/p>\n

The Monomoy lifesavers rowed through the heaving surf and finally made it to the Wadena. <\/em>They threw a line to be tied down by the grateful men on the Wadena<\/em>, who were quite nervous with the ferocious seas and gusty winds. One of the men, Captain Olson, a very heavy man, lost his grip on the rope and crashed onto the surfboat with such force that he broke one of the boat seats (second thwart), making the rowing efforts difficult for the lifesavers. The Monomoy crew tried their best to position the survivors, who were not seasoned sailors, but as they attempted to turn the boat around to head away from the barge towards the shore, a massive wave crashed over the boat, partially filling it with water. Fearing for their lives, the Wadena<\/em> members panicked and stood up on the vessel, clinging to their rescuers. This prevented the Monomoy lifesavers from using the oars to escape the barge. The boat could not be turned away as the Monomoy crew struggled to calm the panic of the Wadena<\/em> men. As Keeper Eldridge and his crew tried calmly to restore order, another giant wave came over the boat on its broadside and capsized it, spilling everyone into the icy waters. As the boat pitched and rolled, the five rescued crew members of the Wadena<\/em> were the first to lose their grasp and perish before the Monomoy crew. Then, members of the Monomoy life-saving crew, exhausted and frozen, started to lose their hold on the capsized boat, succumbing to hyperthermia and exhaustion, and one by one, slipped away. Seth Ellis was the only one to survive and was able to position himself inside the water-filled boat.<\/p>\n

Captain Elmer Mayo of the stranded Fitzpatrick<\/em>, about a mile away, did not initially see the distress flag from the Wadena. A<\/em> thick fog had rolled in that morning while he was preparing to bring his few crew of wreckers to make ready to go ashore from the worsening weather. As the fog lifted, he witnessed the struggles of four of the remaining lifesavers in their capsized surfboat and threw over a large wooden fender in hopes the men could use it to help stay afloat until help could arrive. The floating piece drifted away as he witnessed three of the four remaining Monomoy lifesavers perish and observed Ellis get into the water-filled boat, which luckily drifted toward the Fitzpatrick<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Mayo decided to risk his own life and announced to his startled crew that he would attempt to rescue the lone lifesaver using the barge’s 12-foot dory, which was not equipped or sturdy enough for the violent seas. He dropped the little craft overboard and, miraculously, was able to maneuver it near the surfboat, rescuing the exhausted Ellis. However, the heaving surf prevented him from returning to the Fitzpatrick<\/em>, so he had to make the perilous journey back to the shore. As he was nearing the beach, a surfman, Francisco Bloomer, happened to be patrolling the shore and noticed the little dory. Mayo saw his would-be rescuer as well and drove the boat towards Bloomer as hard as he could as the lifesaver ran into the freezing surf to rescue both men.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Aftermath…\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Monomoy<\/a>

Monomoy Life-Saving Station after the tragedy. Seth Ellis in a dark uniform with the crew. Image courtesy of US Coast Guard.<\/p><\/div>\n

News of the rescue and the tragedy quickly spread across the nation. Captain Mayo and Ellis received medals for bravery, including the Gold Lifesaving Medal, the highest honor for their selfless acts of courage. With the loss of Keeper Eldridge, Ellis was promoted to Keeper of Monomoy Light Station.<\/p>\n

With such a tragic loss of life, many felt that with the Wadena<\/em> remaining safe for days afterward, Keeper Eldridge and his crew’s heroic attempts were not mandated to rescue those aboard. Seth Ellis later wrote that if those being saved had conducted themselves calmly, his fellow crew members would have landed the boat safely ashore, and all would have survived the ordeal.<\/p>\n

Before the incident, when a new life-saving station was built, the prior station was set to be removed. After the Monomoy disaster, the department continued the old station in the memorandum of Keeper Eldridge and his six men who perished.<\/p>\n

In honor of those who had perished in 1903, the Mack Memorial was built next to the current Coast Guard Station and Monomoy Lighthouse. It was erected in memory of the owner of the Wadena<\/em>, William Henry Mack, who also perished, and the crew on the barge who were lost, along with the seven men of Monomoy Life-Saving Station who were drowned trying to rescue them. All the names of those who perished are inscribed, as well as the third and fourth stanzas of the poem \u201cCrossing the Bar\u201d by Alfred Lord Tennyson.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n