Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Introduction 9
Part I Hope, Courage and Calamity in the New World
Diamond in the Rough 13
A Path Fraught with Peril 16
Pirates and Privateers 21
The Curse of the Moon Cussers 23
Coin Beach 25
The Tragedy of the Faithful Steward 27
The Disappearance of De Braak 30
Part II Lighthouses, Lightships and Lifesavers
An Enduring Icon 37
Stalwart Sentinels 41
Floating Beacons 46
Lifesaving and Risk-Taking 48
Part III The Elements of a Disaster
The Great White Hurricane 53
The Furious Storm 60
Fire and Ice 63
Smoke Across the Water 66
Part IV Close Encounters: Collisions at Sea
The Champion and the Lady Octavia 73
The Cleopatra and the Crystal Wave 76
The Manhattan and the Agnes Manning 79
The City of Georgetown and the Prinz Oskar 81
The Elizabeth Palmer and the Washingtonian 83
The Moreno and the Enterprise 85
Part V Wrecks in Rehoboth
Double Trouble: The Merrimac and the Severn 87
Burl Ives Comes to Visit 89
Delaware's Most Spectacular Shipwreck 90
Part VI Military Casualties
Delaware Does Its Part 95
A Hero Begets a Hero 97
Caught in the Fire 100
Facing the Enemy 101
Blown to Bits 103
Tragedy or Travesty: The Plight of the Cherokee 105
The Sun Sets on the "Moon" 108
Part VII Mystery Ships
In Search of Clues 113
The Case of the Roosevelt Inlet Shipwreck 114
The China Wreck: Known and Unknown 118
Bibliography 123
About the Author 127
