Officially, the Marie Celeste is actually known as the Marie Celeste, before that it was named the Amazon. Marie Celeste is a fictional ship created by Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, and Marie Celeste was inspired by its real-life counterpart, Mary Celeste. very confusing!

This was an American merchant ship that was found adrift, mostly intact, but with all of its crew missing. The lifeboats were missing and many thought they had escaped in them, however, no more of the crew was ever seen or heard of.

The keel of the Mary Celeste was laid in late 1860 at the Joshua Dewis shipyard in the village of Spencer Island, Nova Scotia. The keel is the lowest longitudinal structural element on a ship and is usually the most important foundation before construction begins. It was constructed from locally cut timber alongside two masts and maneuvered into a two-masted schooner. Mary Celeste was carved and built, which meant that the hull planks were laid edge-to-edge and fixed to a rigid frame, creating an extremely smooth and watertight surface. Because the planks were flush rather than overlapping, the ship was known to be safer and more reliable than most others. The ship was launched as the Amazon on May 18, 1861, and registered in Parrsboro, a small community in Cumberland County. The Mary Celeste was a fairly large ship for her time and was owned by a consortium of nine men. The ship's first captain was Robert McClellan, one of the co-owners.

The strange events surrounding Mary Celeste began shortly after her maiden voyage. In June 1861, the Amazon sailed to Five Islands, Nova Scotia, with the purpose of loading a load of lumber for London. Captain McClellan became very ill after overseeing the ship's cargo, and his condition only worsened. Shortly afterward, the Amazon returned to Spencer Island, and Robert McClellan would go on to become the first of three captains to perish aboard the Mary Celeste.

John Nutting Parker, whose main goal was to complete the journey to London, usurped the role of captain. The Amazon only faced more adversity; colliding with fishing equipment and even hitting another two-masted ship in the English Channel before sinking completely. Parker served as captain for several years, and the Amazons traded under his command primarily in and around the West Indies.

After Parker, the role of captain was assumed by William Thomspon, who remained in charge until 1867. These four years were a quiet time for Mary Celeste until earlier storms destroyed the ship off the coast of Cape Breton Island in October and the crew was forced to abandon it.

Within a month, the vessel was purchased by Alexander McBean, a resident of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. He sold it to a local merchant, who then sold it to Richard W. Haines, a sailor from New York, who paid over $1,000 for the wreck and another $9,000 to restore it. Haines then appointed himself captain and renamed the Amazon the Mary Celeste.

Just a few years later, in October 1969, the ship was seized by Haynes' creditors. It was sold to a New York syndicate headed by a man named James Winchester. There is no historical record of Mary Celeste's trading activities between 1869 and 1872, which some conspiracy theorists consider to be something more sinister, involving so-called organized crime and "unofficial actions.

In early 1872, Mary Celeste underwent an extensive restoration that significantly enlarged her size. Another deck was added and much of the timber replaced, resulting in a heavier ship. The ship's new captain was consortium member Benjamin Spooner Briggs. He would continue as captain and was supposed to man the ship on December 4, 1872 off the coast of Portugal. Instead, this is when it was found adrift without any sign of violence, rebellion, struggle or foul play. The Mary Celeste simply drifted carelessly across the sea as if nothing was wrong.

Benjamin Briggs was a devout Christian whose father was the navigator Nathan Briggs. He married his cousin Sarah Elizabeth Cobb, which was not uncommon at the time, and went on to have two children with her. Arthur and Sophia. Briggs, a man proud of his profession, wanted to retire from the sea and start a business with his brother Oliver. However, this plan never materialized. Instead of investing in a business, they each purchased shares in a ship, Oliver in Julia A. Hallock and Benjamin in Mary Celeste.

October 1872; Briggs will assume command of Mary Celeste on her maiden voyage she undergoes a lengthy refit in New York. The destination was Genoa, Italy, and Briggs arranged for his wife and daughter to accompany him while his son Arthur stayed home with his grandmother.

The process of selecting crew for a ship is always meticulous and precise. Briggs was no exception. The first mate, Albert G. Richardson, was married to a niece from Winchester and had even sailed with Briggs before. The second mate was a young New York native, Andrew Gillen, who was described as affable. The steward was a newly married man, Edward William Head, who had been personally recommended to Briggs through Winchester. Finally, the four Admiral seamen were all Germans. Two brothers; Volkert and Boz Lorenzen, Arian Martens and Gottlieb Goudschaal. letters of recommendation describe these men as peaceful, thoroughly professional sailors. Briggs even wrote a letter to his mother shortly before the voyage announcing his happiness with the crew. Sarah told her own mother that the crew was capable and competent. When hypothesizing a mutiny or violence on this ship, this discourages many people because the internal relationships between all the crew members seem to be very positive.

- An account in Briggs' diary about the weather. It suggests that their journey so far has been normal.

On October 20, 1872, Briggs arrived at Pier 50 on the East River in New York City. Briggs was to supervise the loading of Mary Celeste's cargo, which included more than 1,700 barrels of denatured alcohol. Some theories suggest that alcohol was the root cause of the crew's disappearance because it can be toxic. It is unlikely that there would have been any signs of bloodshed or violence if the crew were intoxicated, however, this does not answer the question of their disappearance.

A little over a week later, on November 3, Briggs wrote a letter to his mother declaring his pride in the Mary Celeste. He quoted him through the script as saying, "We have a beautifully decorated ship and I hope we make it through." Once again, Briggs seems to be in good spirits. The ship was in exceptional condition. After only a month, there was no sign of their inevitable demise.

On the morning of November 5, Mary Celeste departed from Pier 50 to move into New York Harbor. Due to the uncertainty of the weather, Briggs decided to wait until the seas calmed down. His next move was to moor the ship in Staten Island. His wife, Sarah, uses the stoppage in the voyage as an opportunity to send one last letter to her mother-in-law. This was clearly ominous, and some conspiracy theorists believe that Sarah knew that foul play might occur in the coming weeks. She is said to have said, "Tell Arthur that I rely very much on the letters I receive from him, and will endeavor to remember anything that happens on the voyage that he is pleased to hear about." A few days later the weather turned and the Mary Celeste sailed into the Atlantic.

Now, Sarah's words were clear. She clearly missed her son and wanted to see him again, preferably sooner rather than later. However, her strangely specific reference to trying to remember what happened during the voyage has shocked many historians. What would cause her to possibly forget any key events? She wanted her son to know the significance of his letters to her as if she knew she would never see him again, and wanted to restore her love for him one last time.

Nearby, in Hoboken, New Jersey, a Canadian schooner named Dei Gratia is waiting. Translated from Latin as "God's grace," the boat's name is ironic, given that it will find abandoned Mary Celeste adrift off the coast of Portugal in a few weeks. She was piloted by Captain David Moorhouse and his first mate, Oliver Deveaux. They were two Nova Scotians who were highly respected in the sailing and shipping industry, and some writers have suggested that Morehouse and Briggs may well have known each other and may even have been friends. However, the lack of comprehensive evidence makes it difficult to make substantive claims or judgments. Suspiciously, reports that Morehouse and Briggs met for dinner the night before Mary Celeste's departure leave much to the imagination. Perhaps Morehouse had been planning something more sinister, but again, this is nothing more than a theory, and like the rest of Mary Celeste's story and its accompanying tales, is completely shrouded in mystery.

At noon on December 4, 1872, Dei Gratia spotted a ship coming toward them, about six miles away. The ship's course was erratic, as was the arrangement of her sails. After attempting to signal but then receiving no response, Morehouse thought it wise to approach the ship as he suspected something was amiss. When the mystery ship was within boarding distance, Morehouse noticed that no one was on deck, so he sent his first and second mates, Oliver DeVoe and John Wright, mentioned above, to investigate the ship. The two sailors quickly recognized the ship as Briggs' Mary Celeste, but they had an uneasy feeling deep in the pit of their stomachs and (as clichéd as it is) chills down their spines.

After noticing the poor condition of the sails, Wright allegedly became nauseous and uneasy, and DeVoe had similar feelings. Some of the sails were completely missing and ropes were scattered randomly over the sides. Of the three hatches, the main hatch cover was secure, while the forward and La Salette hatches remained open. The ship's only lifeboat was completely missing, so Dei Gratia's crew hoped that Mary Celeste's men had escaped and would be found later. However, neither the men nor the lifeboat were ever found.

Deveau and Wright continued their investigation of the Mary Celeste. they found the ship's compass slightly out of position, broken glass, and over a meter of water in the cargo hold. While this level is significant, a boat the size of the Mary Celeste was (apparently) able to withstand this and continue sailing. A depth sounder rod for measuring the water level was found on deck, but from the looks of it, it never reached the cargo hold.

In the first mate's cabin, both of Dei Gratia's men found Mary Celeste's log. Its final entry was dated nine days earlier, on the morning of November 25th. It noted nothing sinister, just Mary Celeste's location - 400 nautical miles from where Dei Gratia encountered her. Devo noticed that the interior of all the passenger cabins was in good order, albeit somewhat damp. Personal belongings were scattered throughout Briggs' private cabin, however, everything else seemed to be in order. There was a sheathed sword under Briggs' bed, which was not its original location, and most of the ship's documents and navigational instruments were missing. All equipment was properly stored, no food had been prepared, but it was well supplied, and there was absolutely no evidence of violence or fire. This reinforces Deveau and Wright's hypothesis that Mary Celeste's crew escaped via a single lifeboat.

Deveau returned to Dei Gratia and reported all this information to Morehouse, the captain deciding to take the abandoned Mary Celeste to Gibraltar, 600 nautical miles away. Maritime law states that salvors (those who salvage abandoned ships or wrecks) can expect a substantial share of the resources and cargo they find on board. Combining this law with Morehouse's dinner with Briggs, the Thanksgiving after the Mary Celeste, and other minor details, one surmises that Morehouse planned to abandon the Mary Celeste from the beginning so he could claim monetary value for himself and his crew .

In a letter to his wife, Oliver Deveau, first mate of Morehouse, said bluntly, "I can hardly say what I am made of, but as long as I am safe, I don't care. I shall be well paid for Mary Celeste." This led some to believe that De Vaux was questioning his morals, perhaps after carrying out Morehouse's sinister plan to claim Mary Celeste's goods as his own, but he was happy to do so because it guaranteed him wealth.

- Registration documents for Mary Celeste

A few weeks later, the salvage court hearings began. The hearing was presided over by Frederick Solly-Flood, the Attorney General of Gibraltar. In the historical record, Flood was described as a man whose "arrogance was inversely proportional to his intelligence, and who could not be changed once he had made up his mind". In other words, he was seen as extremely stubborn and conceited.

After hearing testimony from Deveau and Wright, Flood was convinced that a crime had been committed and that the presence of alcohol on board the vessel was the sole cause of any potential violence. An investigation of the ship was conducted and many ruled out the possibility of bad weather due to an upright vial of sewing machine oil. However, the vial could have simply been removed or replaced since the ship was abandoned. There could have been blood on Briggs' sword, stains on the deck, and a deep mark on the wood of the deck that looked like it had been left by an axe of some kind. All of this reinforces Floyd's belief that the abandonment of the ship was caused by human misdeeds and not some natural phenomenon.

John Austin, the head of the inspection, also noticed that there were cuts on each side of the bow. He thought this was intentional as they looked as if they had been done by some sort of sharp tool. After reporting the matter to Flood, Flood sent his report to the Board of Trade in London. His own conclusions indicated that the smaller crew had obtained alcohol and subsequently murdered Briggs, his family and the office rs in a drunken haze. They then cut off the bow for some sort of collision and fled the ship in the missing lifeboat. There are a lot of holes in the flood conclusion. The most glaring is that the alcohol wasn't potent, so if they drank it the crew wouldn't have gotten drunk. The flood also fails to explain the limited signs of violence, the absence of bodies, and the orderliness of the ship's contents.

Flood did suspect that Morehouse and his crew were hiding something, more specifically the location of Mary Celeste when they found her, as well as the original contents of the log. He simply could not accept that the ship had traveled 400 nautical miles without a crew and showed no signs of serious damage or deterioration.

January comes and James Winchester arrives in Gibraltar. He refutes the argument that Briggs could have engaged his own crew and caused his death. He proves the high character and morality of Briggs, who would only have abandoned Mary Celeste if there had been no hope. Floyd's assumptions about mutiny and murder were further hampered when science proved that the stains on the sword and deck were not blood, but iron citrate. The sword had been cleaned with lemons, some of which may have spilled onto the deck. Flood therefore released Mary Celeste from the jurisdiction of the court in late February, but she was very reluctant. However, he could do nothing. His theories had been largely proven wrong, and he knew it.

Despite the flood's failure to prove foul play at the hearing, public suspicion remained high. Some even suggested that Morehouse had ambushed the Mary Celeste, lured Briggs and his crew onto the Dei Gratia, and killed them on his own ship before claiming the Mary Celeste as his own. However, this theory does not explain the slower speed of the Dei Gratia and the fact that they were days behind in their voyage and therefore never caught up with the Mary Celeste.

Others inferred more natural events; potential slop in the ocean throwing the crew overboard, or a severe waterspout strike. In the latter case, this would explain the water in the hold, as well as the rough state of the sails and rigging. Sudden water ingress could also have led the crew to believe that Mary Celeste was sinking faster than she actually was. Some even believed that the seaquake could have damaged the cargo and subsequently released toxic fumes. Fearing an explosion, Briggs would have ordered complete abandonment. Modern scientists speculate that an explosion may have actually occurred, but if it was butane gas, there is no substantial evidence. A butane gas explosion would have produced a sizable blast and ball of flame, but not soot, charring or even burning.

Of course, there are more than a few wacky theories about Mary Celeste's fate, from seafaring ghosts to sea monsters like sirens to pirates patrolling the coast. Arthur Conan Doyle's world-famous retelling of the ship renamed Mary Celeste doesn't fit the facts, but he wrote a story of murder and rebellion that many now believe to be true.

Mary Celeste will forever be shrouded in secrets, mysteries and unanswerable questions. With its rich folklore, popular following, and conspiracy possibilities, it is one of the conspiracy theorists' favorite projects to delve into to this day, right up there with Area 51, the JFK assassination, and the moon landing. It's a ship that is synonymous with ghost stories, rebellions and sinister events, and will forever be known for its unsolvable mysteries.

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