Two Brothers (ship)


Two Brothers was a Nantucket whaleship that sank on the night of February 11, 1823, off the French Frigate Shoals. The ship's captain was George Pollard, Jr., former captain of the famous whaleship Essex. The wreck was discovered in 2008 by a team of marine archaeologists working on an expedition for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
She is thought to have been built in 1804 by Joseph Glidden in Hallowell, Maine.

Whaling voyages

On her first whaling voyage, Two Brothers left Nantucket on 21 November 1818, with George B. Worth, master. She returned on 5 August 1821 from the Pacific with 1231 barrels of sperm oil and 158 barrels of whale oil.
On her second whaling voyage, Two Brothers left Nantucket on 13 November 1821, with George Pollard, Jr., master, and with destination the Pacific.

Wreck

On the night of February 11, 1823—while sailing west through the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with another whaling ship, Martha—Two Brothers found herself in a storm. The two ships became separated and Captain Pollard of Two Brothers was unclear as to his ship's position. Soon, Two Brothers grounded and sank on a reef near French Frigate Shoals. Captain Pollard did not want to abandon ship but his crew pleaded with him and they clung to small boats through the night. The next morning, they were rescued by Martha.
Thomas Nickerson, who served as boatsteerer on Two Brothers, wrote about the wreck. Nickerson had also served with Pollard on the Essex and survived its sinking. Nickerson's account is preserved in a manuscript titled "Loss of the Ship Two Brothers of Nantucket" in the collections of the Nantucket Historical Association.

Discovery

The wreck of Two Brothers was discovered in 2008 by a team of marine archaeologists working on an expedition for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The identity of the ship was not immediately known so it was called the "Shark Island Whaler"; the ship's identification as Two Brothers was announced by NOAA on February 11, 2011, the 188th anniversary of her sinking. The wreck is the first discovery of a wrecked Nantucket whaling ship.
Some of the first artifacts found at the wreck site include two anchors, three try pots, bricks, and the remains of the ship's rigging. Expeditions in 2009 and 2010 turned up more artifacts including blubber hooks, five harpoon tips, three whaling lances, four cast-iron cooking pots and ceramics and glass.
The shipwreck site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.