Eastern Shore of Virginia Water Trail

Presidential Yacht Sinks
The Despatch, first official presidential yacht, served Presidents Hayes, Arthur, Garfield, Cleveland and Harrison. In the early morning, of October 10, 1891 she wrecked seventy-five yards from Assateague Island.

Wreck of the Despatch off Assateague Island The Despatch was the Presidential yacht in the late 1800's serving under five different Presidents; Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland and Harrison. It was a steamship rigged with the sails of a schooner. The yacht was built in 1874 and was 174 feet long and over 25 feet wide. The Despatch has left New York on its way to Washington D.C. to pick up the President and members of his cabinet who were going to sail down the Potomac and look at military defenses along the waters. The officer on duty on the night of October 10, 1891 miscalculated their location along the coast, mistaking the Assateague Island Lighthouse for the Winter Shoals Lightship. This is when the yacht ran aground on a sand bar about 75 yards off the beach. The waters were very rough and the ship immediately started to break-up. The crew of 80 were sleeping, then had to go into survival mode; there was little panic since the U.S. Navy trained the men well. The crew dropped anchor, fired stress flares and discharged the cannon three times. The Assateague Beach Life Saving Station had seen the distress flares and reported the wreck and help was soon on the way. Historic Picture of the Wreck of the Despatch By early morning the stern of the ship was under water and the life saving crew worked six hours making ten trips back and forth from the ship to the shore. The entire ships crew was saved including three dogs and a cat. While standing on the shore all the debris were washing up, boxes of cigars, candles, foods and pieces from the ship. There was about 30,000 dollars worth of china and silver that went down with the ship, none of which has ever been recovered. The wreckage site is approximately where the present day road ends at the Assateague beach. In 1997, Sea Hunt Inc. located the wreck.	Notes: Home Official Trail Guide Web Site The Other Historic Site Guides: Historic Site Guide Central Eastern Shore - Wallop's Island to Quinby Historic Site Guide Northampton - Willis Wharf to Eastern Shore Wildlife Refuge
The Trail was developed by the Accomack - Northampton Planning District Commission in cooperation with Accomack County, Northampton County, the Town of Chincoteague, the Town of Wachapreague, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program. It is a project of Virginia's Seaside Heritage Program, a multi-year effort to restore living resources and promote sustainable ecotourism on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.