The the Wreck of the Medusa

"In the moonlight's ghostly glow,

I waken in a dream.

Once more upon the raft I stand,

Upon the raging sea.

In my ears the moans and screams

Of the dying ring,

Somewhere in the darkness

The siren softly singsÐ'..."

"The architects of our doom

Around their tables sit,

And in their thrones of power,

Condemn those they've cast adrift.

Echoes down the city street,

Their Harpies laughter rings.

Waiting for the curtain call,

Oblivious in the wings."

Excerpt from the lyrics, "The Wake of the Medusa", By The Pogues

"The Raft of the Medusa", by Theodore Gericault, 1819, was inspired by the catastrophic wreck of the French frigate, The Medusa, on July 2, 1816, off the west coast of Africa, during a voyage to Senagal. The ship ran aground on the Arguin Reef, in calm seas. In an attempt to preserve the lives of 400 passengers aboard, the crew, soldiers, sailors and passengers built a raft, manned the lifeboats and the raft, and abandoned the Medusa. What followed was a most harrowing experience that would challenge the soul and condemn the government of a world power.

In 1816 the newly formed French government sent a small fleet of ships to the British port of Saint-Louis, Senegal, carrying the appointed French Governor, Colonel Julien-Desire Schmaltz and his wife, for the formal return of the colony to France. The fleet consisted of four ships, The Argus, The Loire, The Medusa and The Echo. The Medusa was to transport the governor along with 400 passengers, to re-establish the colony.

Soon after departing the Port de Rochefort on June 17, 1816, the Medusa, piloted by an inexperienced captain, Hugues Duroy De Chaumereys, sailed quickly away from the rest of the fleet, leaving The Medusa, her crew and passengers to the mercy of the Atlantic.

De Chaumereys, an incompetent sea captain, achieved his high ranking position due to political influences, and affiliation to the French Ministry of the Marine. He had prior experience as a customs officer for more than 20 years, and served against Napoleon, gaining him favor of the new Bourbon government, and disfavor among the crew. He resisted the advice of subordinate officers and the personal experiences of more seasoned sailors and caused the wreck of the Medusa on the Arguin Bank.

De Chaumereys attempted to save the Medusa by lightening her load and discarding precious cargo designated for the Senegalese colony, into the ocean. After several attempts to free the ship from the reef, De Chaumereys decided to cease the rescue efforts and abandon The Medusa.

A raft was constructed from the masts and crossbeams of The Medusa, to carry the crew, soldiers and some of the passengers. Due to there only being six lifeboats aboard, the dignitaries, their families and other higher ranking officials took possession of them, leaving approximately 150 members for the raft. Seventeen crewmen decided, for whatever reason, to remain on The Medusa.

Those in the lifeboats quickly decided that towing the raft was impractical, and Governor Schmaltz, not Captain De Chaumereys, was the first to drop the tow line to the raft, leaving it to the cruelty of the open sea.

On the raft, the situation quickly deteriorated, and panic consumed those aboard. Fighting broke out, provisions were destroyed and the Raft of the Medusa's infamous voyage commenced.

The first night 20 men were killed, or committed suicide, in a struggle to defeat terror, fear and dread. The undisciplined soldiers quickly staged a mutiny, eventually committed cannibalism and other atrocities, and 13 days later, 15 of the original 150 that went into the ocean survived to be rescued.

The following material is from eye witness accounts of two of The Medusa's survivors, the ship's Surgeon, Henri Savigny and ship's Geographer, Alexander Correard. Much of the testimony of the two survivors was released to an anti-Bourbon newspaper, resulting in a scandal and political cover-up, and the court martial of Captain De Chaumereys.

According to the accounts of Savigny and Correard, "The officers of the Marine have abandoned us, making us criminal for the accusations made against the captain and Governor Schmaltz. Those men, who are perhaps guilty, but by their rank and position, are entitled to more respect, have failed in their duties; caused the destruction of 150 miserable wretches, leaving them to the most cruel fate, and scarcely exciting a murmur of disapprobation. Are the dignities and the resources of the State, still the exclusive patrimony of the elitist, privileged class?"

There exists among the officers of the Marine, an esprit de corps, a false point of honor and arrogance, which leads them to consider as an insult to the navy as a whole, the discovery of one guilty individual.

Savigny and Correard believed that they deserved more from their government, and professed that certain individuals, by their conduct during the shipwreck, also deserved proper recognition for behavior and decisions, either good or bad.

The Captain was deceived and misinformed numerous times prior to being stranded on the reef and furthermore dismissed the vital information of experienced sailors and their declarations of impending danger.

Ensign Maudet affirmed that The Medusa was on the edge of the reef; this information was immediately dismissed with the answer of "Never mind." He ordered soundings of the depth of the ocean, noticing the changing color of the water, identifying sand in the waves and seaweed, all being facts pointing to shallow water. The Medusa ran aground, stranding 400 passengers, crew and officers at 3:15 p.m., July 2, 1816.

After several attempts to remove the ship from the reef, the loss of the vessel was certain, and it was proper to secure the escape of the crew and passengers. Governor Schmaltz drew a plan of the raft, capable of carrying 200 men, along with provisions. It was necessary to build the raft, mainly because the six lifeboats could not contain the 400 passengers and crew. The provisions were to be placed on the raft, and the raft towed by the lifeboats until reaching the Island port of Saint Louis in