View source for Libelle (barque)

{{Short description|Iron-hulled ship built in Bremen in 1864}}
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| Ship country             =[[Bremen]]
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| Ship name                = ''Libelle''
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| Ship launched            = October 24, 1864
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| Ship fate                = Wrecked on the reef at [[Wake Island]] March 4, 1866
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| Ship class               = [[Barque]]
| Ship tonnage        = 650 (net)
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'''''Libelle''''' was a 650-ton iron-hulled [[barque]], built in the Free City of [[Bremen]] in 1864. The ship was transporting [[Mercury (element)|quicksilver]] and passengers when she [[Shipwreck|wrecked]] on the eastern reef of [[Wake Island]] in 1866. After three weeks they set out in a longboat and Gig they sailed to Guam, with only 22 in the longboat making it. In the years that followed many made expeditions to search cargo of the Libelle, to make dives to recover the quicksilver flasks. The anchor remains on Peale island, and was rediscovered in the 1930s when Wake became seaplane port with a hotel.

==History== 
''Libelle'' was launched on September 24, 1864, and on October 8, the ship set sail for [[Honolulu]]. From Hawaii, ''Libelle'' sailed to the Chinese ports of [[Hong Kong]] and [[Yingkou|Niuzhuang]].

==Shipwreck==  
On the night of March 4, 1866, ''Libelle'' struck the eastern reef of [[Wake Island]] during a gale. Commanded by Captain Anton Tobias, the ship was en route from [[San Francisco]] to [[Hong Kong]]. Among its passengers were the 50-year-old English-born [[opera]] singer Madame [[Anna Bishop]] (on the first leg of a Far East tour), her second husband and [[New York City|New York]] [[Diamond (gemstone)|diamond]] merchant Martin Schultz, pianist and vocalist Charles Lascelles, Eugene Van Reed who was the first Consul General of the then independent [[Kingdom of Hawaii]] to the Court of the [[Emperor of Japan]], and Imperial Japanese military officer Yabe Kisaboro. After a night on board the vessel now stuck on the reef, the passengers and crew reached the shore with very limited supplies such as some [[bedding]], a [[barrel]] of [[beef]], several bags of [[flour]] and some [[keg]]s of [[wine]]. After three days of searching and digging on the island for water the crew was able to recover a 200-gallon water tank from the wrecked ship. Valuable cargo was also recovered and buried on the island including some of the 1,000 flasks of [[mercury (element)|mercury (quicksilver)]], as well as [[coin]]s and [[gemstone|precious stones]] valued at $93,943.08. After three weeks with a dwindling water supply and no sign of rescue, the passengers and crew decided to leave Wake and attempt to sail to [[Guam]] (the center of the then [[Kingdom of Spain|Spanish]] colony of the [[Mariana Islands]]) on the two remaining boats from ''Libelle''. The 22 passengers and some of the crew sailed in the 22 foot [[longboat]] under the command of the first mate Rudolf Kausch and the remainder of the crew sailed with Captain Tobias in the 20 foot [[Captain's gig|gig]]. On April 8, 1866, after thirteen days of frequent [[squall]]s, short rations, and tropical sun, the longboat reached Guam. The gig, commanded by the captain, was lost at sea.<ref name="ReferenceA">"The wreck of the Libelle and other early European visitors to Wake Island", ''Spennemann, D. H. R.'', Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 4:108–123, 2005</ref><ref>"Den Tod vor Augen: Die unglückliche Reise der Bremer Bark LIBELLE in den Jahren 1864 bis 1866", ''Bernd Drechsler, Thomas Begerow, Peter Michael Pawlik'', Hauschild Verlag, Bremen, 2007</ref>

==Treasure and cargo salvage==
[[File:PAA Hotel and facilities at Wake Island.jpg|thumb|The salvaged anchor of the ''Libelle'' can be seen on the right as part of the Pan American facilities]]
The Spanish Governor of the [[Mariana Islands]], Francisco Moscoso y Lara, welcomed and provided aid to ''Libelle'' shipwreck survivors on Guam. He also ordered the [[schooner]] ''Ana'', owned and commanded by his son-in-law George H. Johnston, to be dispatched with the first mate Kausch to search for the missing gig and then sail on to Wake Island to confirm the [[shipwreck]] story and recover the buried [[treasure]]. ''Ana'' departed Guam on April 10 and, after two days at Wake Island, found and salvaged the buried coins and precious stones as well as a small quantity of the quicksilver. Over the next two years other ships sailed to the shipwreck site to conduct salvage operations. In January 1867, the American schooner, ''Caroline Mills'' brought a [[Atmospheric diving suit|diving suit]], then commonly known as "submarine armour", to ''Libelle'' wreck site. Only a few flasks of quicksilver were recovered using the diving suit so Captain Nickols decided to abandon the effort. On May 9, 1867, the [[sloop]] ''Hokulele'' from [[Honolulu]], with a party headed by Thomas R. Foster, arrived at Wake and was joined by a [[brig]] from [[China]]. The Chinese captain did not reveal his ship's name. Together the two ships recovered 495 flasks of the quicksilver with 247 flasks going to ''Hokulele''. In October 1867, the Honolulu schooner ''Moi Wahine'' arrived at Wake and Captain English, Thomas R. Foster (who also sailed with ''Hokulele'') and nine Hawaiian [[underwater diving|divers]] were landed on the island with part of their supplies. Captain Zenas Bent, first mate Mr. White and seven Hawaiian [[Seaman (rank)|seamen]] remained on board the ship. In the evening on the second day, when the winds picked up and shifted, the crew of the schooner pulled anchor and put out to sea to avoid striking the reef. The next day ''Moi Wahine'' did not return having perished in a [[gale]], stranding the salvage party on Wake. Fortunately for the party, one piece of equipment that was unloaded from the ship was an apparatus for [[Distilled water|distilling water]]. With plenty of [[drinking water|potable water]], fish, birds and eggs, the men were able to survive and live without serious inconvenience. After five months, the British brig ''Cleo'' arrived at Wake, rescued the [[castaway]]s and recovered 240 flasks of quicksilver, some [[copper]], [[anchor]] and chain.<ref>"Return of the Hokulele", ''The Friend'', Honolulu, Volume 1, Number 8, August 1, 1867, Edition 1, pg. 72</ref><ref>"Libelle Wreckers", ''Hawaiian Gazette'', Honolulu, Wednesday, May 27, 1868, pg. 1</ref>

The anchor was salvaged when Pan American Hotel was built on Peale island of Wake.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spennemann |first=Dirk |date=2005-10-09 |title=The Marshall Islands - Tattooing |url=https://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Wake/WakeVisitors03.html |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Tattooing in the Marshall Islands |language=english}}</ref>

Debris from the wreck would wash up on Wake as late as 1940.<ref name=":0" />

== Anchor ==
The anchor of the ''Libelle'' was incorporated into a hydroponic garden of the Pan American hotel in the 1930s, which was part of the seaplane airport for Transpacific flights.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-21 |title=Unburied Treasure |url=https://bonitagilbert.com/unburied-treasure/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Bonita Gilbert |language=en-US}}</ref> When hotel was being constructed the anchor from the ship was salvaged and used as attraction for guests.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{1866 shipwrecks}}
{{Wake}}

[[Category:1864 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)]]
[[Category:Barques]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1866]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the Hanseatic League]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Wake Island]]