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and mail. Twenty-four mail bags, which had been submerged, were recovered from the Winfield Scott and taken to San Francisco, where they were dried out and evenrually sent on to their final destinations. On 10 D ecember, the steam er Southerner arrived at Anacapa and landed plenty of provisions for the crew. Finally, on 12 D ecember, the Winfield Scott was abandoned. Captain Blunt and his crew boarded the Republic, which had been dispatched from San Francisco to assist, and returned to San Francisco. Upon his arrival, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company fired him, even rho ugh the crew and passengers spoke in his defense. H e later returned to his home in Baltimore, where he died of typhoid fever less than five months later.
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Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Channel Islands National Park
"Jbe Winfield Scott shipwreck is a significant historic site because ofthe role the steamship played during the California Gold Rush. Jbe 1850 paddlewheeler provided the first regular direct steamship connection between New York and New Orleans before moving to the West Coast. Jbe oldest identified shipwreck in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, it is the only site in the Sanctuary listed on the National Register ofHistoric Places. Interpretation of the wreck site serves to further our understanding of California's rich maritime history andfosters stewardship ofAmerica's maritime legacy. " - Deborah Marx, Maritime Archaeologist, NOAAs Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary In the months and years that followed, private individuals ran salvage operations on the Winfield Scott, including local Santa Barbara resident Captain H o ratio Gates Trussell. In 1854 Trussell salvaged som e of the cargo and timbers to construct a home for his wife. The floorb oards and metal threshold Trussell salvaged from the wreck are still visible at the Trussell-Winchester Adobe in Santa Barbara, and it is believed that the m ain roof beams of the house were built from the ship's masts. In 1894, the wrecking scow San Pedro began a "professional" recovery of the ship, seeking to find brass and copper fittings that were then wo rth six cents a pound. The salvage team recovered several hundred five-foot copper bolts, plus the ship's copper pots and pans. In addition, they removed the General Winfield Scott figurehead off the bow, now preserved at the Natural History Museum ofLosAngeles Coun ty. The divers working the site reported: "The oak in the ship is as dose-grained and hard as it was when it was built." They also reported that the engines were more or less intact. During the second World War, divers recovered scrap metal from the wreck and recreational divers further disturbed the sire SEA HISTORY 130, SPRING 2010
scavenging for souvenirs. Legal protections for the site fin ally came in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter designated the Channel Islands and their surrounding waters as a National Marine Sanctuary, providing federal protection for maritime heritage resources within its boundaries. In 1987 the Winfield Scott was officially put on the Na tional Register of Historic Places.
SS Winfield Scott was purpose-built for West Coast steamship service during the great rush to provide reliable and comfortab le transportation between Panama and San Francisco after the discovery of gold in California. The 1,29 1-ton steamship was launched just a month before the famo us George Raynes clipper ship Sea Serpent (1,337 tons) and six weeks before
Underwater photo of the Winfield Scott's port paddlewheel and support flanges as it looks today. The shipwreck was added to the National Register ofH istoric Places in 1987.
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