The Lost Crew of the Commerce: A Truro Mystery
On a crisp autumn morning in Truro, Massachusetts, on September 15, 1844, the town’s residents awoke to a mystery that would forever be etched into Cape Cod’s history. The mackerel schooner Commerce was found anchored offshore, meticulously secured, yet eerily devoid of its ten-man crew. What followed was a harrowing discovery and a legend that remains unsolved to this day.
A Routine Voyage Turns Tragic
Commanded by the well-respected Captain Solomon Hopkins Lombard, Commerce was a familiar sight along the Cape’s coastline. The ship had successfully navigated the waters for years, even surviving a tense international encounter when it was detained in Cape Breton just a year prior. However, nothing could have prepared its crew for the fate that awaited them.
New-York daily tribune. (New-York [N.Y.]), November 22, 1843.
On that fateful Sunday, Truro’s townspeople attended church, unaware that their loved ones had vanished at sea. By Monday morning, as boats departed Pamet Harbor, local fishermen spotted Commerce resting unnaturally still, just a mile from shore. Assumptions were made—the crew must have gone ashore in the longboat. But as the hours passed and no one returned home, concern turned to alarm. When townspeople rowed out to investigate, they found the vessel abandoned, with no signs of distress or struggle.
The Search for the Crew
The mystery deepened when Commerce’s longboat was discovered along the Brewster shoreline, a plank missing—perhaps the cause of a catastrophic leak. Over the following weeks, the bodies of all ten crew members washed ashore along a thirty-mile stretch of Cape Cod Bay. Among the victims were Captain Lombard, his brother James, and several members of the Rich family, including young Charles Rich, just 12 years old.
A Mystery That Endures
The deaths were formally recorded in Truro’s town records, but no definitive explanation was ever found. How could ten experienced sailors, many skilled swimmers, have all perished so close to shore in seemingly calm waters? Historian Shebnah Rich later pondered the same question, noting the many unresolved aspects of the tragedy.
Truro had already suffered significant maritime losses just three years prior, during the devastating October Gale of 1841, which claimed seven vessels and 57 men. The Commerce disaster compounded the town’s grief, leaving families shattered and a community seeking answers that never came.
Pine Grove Cemetery: A Silent Memorial
Today, visitors can pay their respects to the lost crew at Pine Grove Cemetery in Truro. Seven of the men rest beneath weathered headstones, some now broken and faded with time. Captain Lombard and his brother James are buried near the Reverend Benjamin Keith, a figure instrumental in Truro’s Methodist community. The Rich family graves serve as solemn reminders of the tragedy’s far-reaching impact.
A Cape Cod Legend Lives On
The story of The Lost Crew of the Commerce remains one of Cape Cod’s greatest maritime mysteries. While theories abound, no answers have surfaced to explain the full extent of the tragedy. Perhaps it was an unfortunate accident, a sudden squall, or an overlooked flaw in the longboat. Whatever the truth may be, the echoes of that September morning still linger along the shores of Truro.
For those who walk the paths of Pine Grove Cemetery or stand along the Cape Cod Bay coastline, the lost crew of Commerce is more than just history—it’s a haunting reminder of the sea’s unpredictable nature and the enduring spirit of Cape Cod’s maritime legacy.