Where the Land Meets the Sea: Shipwrecks of Nova Scotia

This wreck, which occurred in Penobscot Bay, Maine, in October 1836, is described by W.K. Reynolds in his article "The Loss of the Royal Tar", published in the New Brunswick Magazine, August 1898. The Royal Tar, an early steamship with sidewheels, sailed between Saint John, New Brunswick and Eastport and Portland, Maine. She was built at Carleton, NB, was launched November 1835 and named for William IV, "the Sailor King". Commanded by Captain Thomas Reed, she had a crew of twenty-one and seventy-two passengers for this voyage. "The passenger list was larger than usual as it had the members of Fuller's menagerie or 'caravan' as it was called in those days. This show had been travelling through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and gave an exhibition in Saint John before starting on its return to the United States. The wild animals included an elephant, two camels and the usual variety of captive beasts and birds, which go to make up the stock of a menagerie," as well as six horses needed to pull the carriages and waggons. The passengers and animals can be seen in the water, while the captain (in a high black hat) can be seen approaching in a small boat to take survivors to the Veto which came to their rescue. The horses and camels had been pushed overboard and started to swim for land but only two horses made it. The elephant would not leave the ship until the last minute and did not survive. A few days later, a schooner reported passing a dead elephant floating out to sea. Twenty-nine passengers and three crew perished.

Date: 1836

Medium: oil on canvas

Artist: Charles Codman

Reference: Documentary Art Nova Scotia Archives  accession no. 1979-147 #71