November 17 to 18 Monday – From Sam’s letter of Nov. 20 en route to Boston from Liverpool, to the Royal Humane Society:

On Sunday night a strong west wind began to blow & not long after midnight it increased to a gale. By four o’clock the sea was running very high; at half-past seven our starboard bulwarks were stove in & the water entered the main saloon; at a later hour the gangway on the port side came in with a crash & the sea followed, flooding many of the staterooms on that side. At the same time a sea crossed the roof of the vessel & carried away one of our boats, splintering it to pieces & taking one of the davits with it. At half-past nine the glass was down to 28.35, & the gale was blowing with a severity which the officers say is not experienced oftener than once in five or ten years. The storm continued during the day & all night, & also all day yesterday [19], but with moderated violence [MTL 5: 222].