Pilots' Monument
Pilots' Monument to Thomas Freeborn at Greenwood Cemetery, New York
40°39′09″N 73°59′28″W / 40.65250°N 73.99111°W / 40.65250; -73.99111
Location500 25th Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Typesarcophagus
Materialmarble
Height40
Completion date1847
Dedicated toThomas Freeborn
WebsiteGreen-Wood Cemetery

The Pilots' Monument is a monument within the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City built to commemorate Thomas Freeborn, pilot of the pilot boat Blossom who lost his life while on board the steamship John Minturn. The monument was built by the New York pilots in 1847 and is located at the top of Battle Hill at the Green-Wood Cemetery.

History

Monument to Thomas Freeborn, Pilot, 19th-century engraving by James D. Smillie.

The Pilots' Monument is the tombstone for the pilot Thomas Freeborn (1808-1846), a New York Sandy Hook pilot. The monument was built in 1847 and is located at Battle Avenue standing upon one of the highest points, at the top of Battle Hill in the Green-Wood Cemetery. It was erected by the New York pilots.[1][2]

Thomas Freeborn

On February 14, 1846, Freeborn was on the pilot boat Blossom, cruising at sea outside Mantoloking, New Jersey, when he sighted the packet ship John Minturn from New Orleans. Freeborn went on board the John Minturn to guide her safely to port but ran into trouble when trying to guide the ship in an icy hurricane.[3] The ship was pushed toward the Jersey Shore and ran ashore on Squan Beach. Thirty-eight out of fifty-one persons died including Freeborn.[3] Freeborn's death was commemorated in two 1846 lithographs; one by James D. Smillie and another by Nathaniel Currier of Currier and Ives, which show visitors to Green-Wood paying respects at the monument.[4][5]

Design

Pilot's Monument in Greenwood Cemetery, illustrated by Nathaniel Currier of Currier and Ives.

The Pilot's Monument consists of a marble shaft 40 feet in height, set on a solid massive square sarcophagus made of marble. The front of the sarcophagus is surrounded with a representative of the actual sea storm and shipwreck. Upon this rests a ship's capstan and cable coiled about it, which is severed at the end. A pillar rises from the capstan that depicts a cutoff mast and crowned with a figure of Hope still holding on to her anchor and pointing to the heaven.[6][7] [8]

References

  1. ↑ Rider, Fremont (1916). Rider's New York City and Vicinity, Including Newark, Yonkers and Jersey City. New York. p. 446. Retrieved June 23, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ "Monument To Thomas Freeborn, Pilot Lost In The Ship John Minturn, February 15, 1846, Greenwood Cemetery". The Mariners' Museum and Park. February 17, 1846. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. pp. 64–70. OCLC 3804485.
  4. ↑ Mosca, Alexandra Kathryn (2008). Images of America, Green-Wood Cemetery. Arcadia. p. 71. ISBN 9780738556505. Retrieved June 23, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ "The Terrible Storm, On Saturday Night and Sunday Morning". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. February 17, 1846. p. 2. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Pilot's Monument". The Brooklyn Union. Brooklyn, New York. August 29, 1873. p. 2. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  7. ↑ Gleason Ballou, Maturin Murray, Frederick. Gleason's Pictorial. Boston, Mass. Retrieved June 22, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. ↑ Cleveland, Nehemiah (1867). Green-wood, a Directory for Visitors. New York. p. 100. Retrieved June 22, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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