History
The Great Republic was launched in 1867 by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company in New York as a 376 foot sidewheeler. It was purpose to carry passengers and cargo between the US west coast and Japan and China. The ship was ultimately unprofitable for this, and was sold for use on the US West Coast.
The wreck of the Great Republic
On April 19, 1879, a clear and calm night, the vessel was loaded with over 1000 passengers and crew, after departing Portland, Oregon, for San Francisco. After crossing the Columbia Bar at high tide, the pilot failed to heed the captain's warnings and ran aground on Sand Island.
Stranded on sand in a falling tide with a storm approaching, the captain evacuated the 896 passengers to Astoria, Oregon, on local boats. Crew remained aboard to re-float the vessel, but storm-driven waves began breaking up the hull, and they abandoned ship. The last boat to leave overturned, casting 14 men into the water, resulting in the death of eleven. Waves shortly rendered the vessel a total loss, though parts of the wreckage remained visible at low tide for many years.
Discovery of the Wreck
Discovery of the wreck occurred in 1986, by a diver working to free a snagged fishing net. Following discovery the vessel was believed to be the Isabella, lost in 1830, carrying cargo to the Hudson Bay outpost at Fort Vancouver. However, later analysis of the wrecks planking wood, proven to be American Yellow Pine, as well as the size of the wreck, suggests it is instead the Great Republic.
Mauritania SG615 Penrhyn Is SG346
http://www.cdnn.info/industry/i041130/i041130.html
http://www.funbeach.com/attractions/shipwrecks.htm