The Mary Celeste: History’s Most Famous Ghost Ship

The Mary Celeste is the archetypal ghost ship, found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean on December 4, 1872, with her crew of ten completely vanished. Despite 150+ years of investigation and speculation, no one has ever definitively explained what happened to Captain Benjamin Briggs, his family, and his crew.

The Discovery

Found by Dei Gratia

On December 4, 1872:

• The brigantine Dei Gratia, commanded by Captain David Morehouse, spotted a ship behaving erratically
• The vessel was sailing with only a few sails set, moving sluggishly
• No one appeared on deck despite hailing
• Captain Morehouse sent a boarding party

What They Found

The boarding party discovered:

• The ship was the Mary Celeste, out of New York
• No one was aboard - all ten souls had vanished
• The ship was seaworthy but waterlogged
• The single lifeboat was missing
• Personal belongings were undisturbed
• The cargo (1,701 barrels of commercial alcohol) was mostly intact
• The ship’s papers were missing, except the captain’s logbook
• A sword was found with rusty stains (later shown not to be blood)

Condition of the Ship

Detailed examination revealed:

• About three feet of water in the hold
• Main hatch cover removed
• Some rigging damaged
• Ship’s clock not working
• Compass destroyed
• No signs of violence or struggle
• Navigation equipment missing with the crew

The Voyage

Departure

The Mary Celeste had:

• Left New York on November 7, 1872
• Bound for Genoa, Italy
• Carried 1,701 barrels of denatured alcohol
• Had a crew of seven plus Captain Briggs, his wife Sarah, and their two-year-old daughter Sophia

Captain Benjamin Briggs

Briggs was:

• An experienced, respected captain
• Part owner of the ship
• Known for his temperance (he didn’t drink)
• A devout Christian
• Accompanied by his wife and daughter on this voyage
• His son Arthur remained home with relatives

The Last Log Entry

The logbook showed:

• The last entry was dated November 25, 1872
• Position indicated the ship was near the Azores (St. Mary’s Island)
• Nine days passed between this entry and discovery
• No indication of any emergency or unusual situation

The Investigation

Salvage Court Hearing

In Gibraltar:

• A salvage hearing was conducted
• Dei Gratia’s crew sought salvage rights
• The court examined the ship extensively
• Foul play was suspected but not proven
• No satisfactory explanation was found
• Salvage was eventually awarded (reduced amount)

Attorney General’s Suspicions

Frederick Flood, the Attorney General, suspected:

• The crews had conspired for salvage money
• Captain Morehouse had known Briggs
• The Dei Gratia had been unusually close
• However, no evidence supported these theories

Theories

Alcohol Explosion/Fumes

The leading modern theory:

• The cargo was commercial alcohol
• Nine of the 1,701 barrels were found empty
• Fumes could have accumulated in the hold
• Fear of explosion may have prompted evacuation
• A “cold explosion” (no flames) might have occurred
• The crew may have abandoned ship prematurely

Waterspout/Seaquake

Natural phenomena theories:

• A waterspout could have terrified the crew
• A seaquake might have damaged the hull
• Fearing the ship was sinking, they abandoned
• The ship didn’t actually sink
• They were lost in the lifeboat

Piracy

Though unlikely:

• Pirates could have attacked
• But why leave valuable cargo?
• No signs of violence
• Nothing valuable was taken
• Doesn’t explain the evidence

Mutiny

This theory fails because:

• No evidence of struggle
• Captain Briggs was well-liked
• The crew was experienced and content
• Mutineers would have taken the ship

Deliberate Abandonment

Perhaps the crew:

• Feared the ship was sinking
• Left in an orderly evacuation
• Were lost at sea afterward
• This explains the missing lifeboat and papers
• But why abandon a seaworthy vessel?

The Briggs Family

Lost at Sea

Captain Briggs, wife Sarah, and daughter Sophia:

• Were never found
• Left behind son Arthur, who was seven
• Their fate remains unknown
• No bodies were ever recovered
• They simply vanished with the crew

The Human Tragedy

Beyond the mystery:

• A family was destroyed
• Seven crewmen died
• Their relatives never had closure
• The loss was mourned deeply

Later History

The Ship’s Fate

After the incident:

• The Mary Celeste was repaired and returned to service
• Changed hands multiple times
• Gained a reputation as unlucky
• Was eventually deliberately wrecked for insurance fraud in 1885
• The captain who wrecked it was caught and died awaiting trial

Cultural Impact

The Mary Celeste became:

• Synonymous with “ghost ship”
• Subject of countless books and articles
• Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about it (with fictional embellishments)
• Inspired many fictional works
• The definitive maritime mystery

Misconceptions

What Didn’t Happen

Popular myths that aren’t true:

• Food was NOT found cooking on the stove
• Coffee was NOT still warm in cups
• The ship was NOT in perfect condition
• There was NO message in a bottle found
• Many dramatic details were invented by later writers

The Conan Doyle Effect

Arthur Conan Doyle’s story:

• Fictionalized the incident
• Added many invented details
• These became “facts” in public memory
• Confused the actual evidence
• Made the mystery seem more supernatural

Modern Analysis

The Most Likely Scenario

Based on evidence, most historians believe:

• Alcohol fumes accumulated in the hold
• The crew noticed signs of potential danger
• Captain Briggs ordered abandonment as precaution
• They rigged a line to the ship (found cut)
• The line parted or the ship sailed away from them
• The lifeboat was lost at sea

Why It Remains Unsolved

We’ll never know for certain because:

• All witnesses died
• The ship was later wrecked
• Evidence degraded over time
• Records are incomplete
• Too many possibilities exist

Legacy

Maritime Safety

The case influenced:

• Discussion of evacuation procedures
• Cargo handling regulations
• Emergency protocols
• Lifeboat provisioning requirements

In Popular Culture

The Mary Celeste appears in:

• Films and television
• Novels and stories
• Songs and music
• Games and media
• Conspiracy theories

Conclusion

The Mary Celeste remains the ultimate ghost ship mystery. On a December day in 1872, a boarding party found a ship sailing empty - her crew of ten, including a captain, his wife, and their toddler, gone without a trace. The table was set. The cargo was intact. But every human being had vanished.

We will likely never know what happened aboard the Mary Celeste. The Atlantic keeps its secrets. But the questions endure:

• What terror drove experienced sailors to abandon a seaworthy ship?
• What happened in those nine days after the last log entry?
• Where is the lifeboat and the ten souls who took it?

The Mary Celeste drifts on through history, carrying her mystery into eternity. She was found, saved, and sailed again. But her people never returned. They sail still, somewhere in the realm of the unknown, as lost now as they were the day Captain Morehouse found their ship sailing empty in the Atlantic swell.