On December 22nd, 1884, one of the most miraculous rescues in history saved the crew of the Emphraim Williams off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In treacherous seas, during a violent storm, the members of the Unites States Life Saving Service performed a brave and daring rescue of the battered, sinking ship.
Against The Odds
The Emphraim Williams was a wooden sailing ship, carrying cargo up and down the east coast of the United States. Built in 1857, the wooden ship was well past its prime by December of 1884 when she left Savannah, Georgia headed for Providence, Rhode Island with a cargo of lumber. The 27 year old ship’s planned route would take her through the notoriously dangerous currents off the Outer Banks of North Carolina caused by the confluence of the cold Labrador current and warm Gulf Stream. In addition to dangerous currents, December is the stormy season of the Outer Banks, often producing violent winds, rough seas, and torrential rain.
The Emphraim Williams did indeed encounter a violent storm and rough seas. On December 18, the ship faced mountainous waves and began taking on water. She soon became unmanageable, and the ship was at the mercy of the sea. The crew could do nothing but drift with the helpless ship and hope for a rescue.
Rescue Is Coming
The men of the 22 life-saving stations along the Outer Banks kept diligent watch over the surrounding waters. On December 21, three days after the Emphraim Williams was crippled, the crews of the Durants, Creed’s Hill, and Cape Hatteras stations spotted the drifting ship. By this time, the Emphraim Williams was drifting toward dangerous Diamond Shoals. The ship’s captain dropped the anchors, knowing the shoals would surely break the ship apart.
At daybreak on December 22nd, the morning watch at the life-saving stations discovered the ship had significantly drifted and was grounded at Diamond Shoals about 5 miles offshore. The ship would soon be torn to shreds in the shoals, so the crews immediately sprung into action. Cape Hatteras Station Keeper Benjamin Dailey ordered a surfboat to be launched and rowed out to the ship. The crew of the surfboat managed to row against the heavy surf and rough seas for 5 miles past the breakers and over the flats.
A Monumental Effort
When the surfboat reached the Ephraim Williams it was unable to get along its side. The crew threw a line to the helpless ship, and each of the nine crew-members of the Ephraim Williams was rescued one by one. It was a dangerous rescue performed under the most difficult situations. The rescue team and the rescued all returned safely to shore. The crew of the Ephraim Williams endured 90 hours on a drifting, helpless ship, and in the cold, rain and wind.
For their bravery and daring rescue, Station Keeper Benjamin Dailey and the crew of the Cape Hatteras Station were awarded the Gold Life Saving Medal. In 1915, the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service were merged, and formed the modern United States Coast Guard. In 2017, the United States Coast Guard commissioned the Sentinel class cutter, Benjamin B. Dailey.
