Dei Gratia (brigantine)

Dei Gratia was a Canadian brigantine built in Bear River, Nova Scotia in 1871. The brigantine was named after the Latin phrase for "By the Grace of God". Dei Gratia became famous in 1872 when, under the command of David Reed Morehouse, she discovered the mystery ship Mary Celeste found sailing abandoned without any crew near the Azores. Morehouse and his crew took the derelict Mary Celeste to Gibraltar and claimed the brigantine as salvage. They were at first subjected to suspicion by Gilbraltar's Attorney General but the Vice Admiralty Court later approved their salvage and commended the crew of Dei Gratia for their resourcefulness and courage. The salvage award for recovering the mysterious brigantine of about $8,300 was diminished by the high court costs of the long inquiry.

History
Canada
Name: Dei Gratia
Owner: George F. Miller, Bear River, Nova Scotia
Port of registry: Digby, Nova Scotia, Official No. 69014
Laid down: 1871
Launched: Bear River, Nova Scotia
Fate: Wrecked at Dale, Pembrokeshire, 27 December 1907
General characteristics
Tonnage:
Length: 111 ft (34 m)
Beam: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Depth: 13 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion: Sail
Sail plan: brigantine

Dei Gratia was sold to Irish owners in 1881. She was wrecked at Black Rock, Dale, Pembrokeshire after breaking her moorings in a southeast storm on 27 December 1907. The original ship portrait of Dei Gratia is preserved at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

References
  • Stanley T. Spicer, The Saga of the Mary Celeste, (Halifax: Nimbus Press, 1993), p. 30, 42–43.
  • Daniel Cohen, "Curses, Hexes, & Spells", (J. B. Lippincoti Company, 1974)
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