On the first of September 1785, with night coming on and the weather deteriorating, the crew of the ship Faithful Steward sailed toward Delaware's notorious False Cape. In the summer of 1785, a group of Irish migrants took to the Atlantic to escape the abuse and persecution of the ruling classes at home. They sought a new life in the United States, a place "where the banner of freedom waved proudly" and "every good was possessed." Their ship was new and sturdy, and its captain had a good reputation. On this voyage, however, it was overloaded with migrant families and a massive cargo of counterfeit coins. By the first of September the ship was lost, somewhere off the mid-Atlantic coast. Michael Timothy Dougherty tells the story of the wreck and the people on board.

Libraries, archives, and museums reveal clues to the colorful characters lining the history of Delaware, from its earliest colonial days to the invention of the "beach resort" and the founding of the nation's "Summer Capital" to World War II and the present. Author Michael Morgan brings together this kaleidoscopic view of the men of the sea and the beachfront tycoons who shaped Delaware and its role in the development of America, in war, politics, and business, from the Europeans' arrival at Cape Henlopen until modern times. While the intrepid patriot Henry Fisher and the infamous serial killer Patty Cannon are not known beyond the boundaries of southern Delaware, others such as William Penn, Captain Kidd and the DuPonts enjoy more widespread reputations. Here, tales of shipwrecks and rumrunners combine with the politics of slavery and suffrage to illuminate the history of one corner of the United States, a microcosm that synthesizes light on various facets of the development of the United States in a broader context. * Michael Morgan pens a weekly column, "Delaware Diary," in the Delaware Coast Press and has authored many stories for The Baltimore Sun, Maryland Magazine, Civil War Times Illustrated, America's Civil War and other periodicals for the past 15 years. He is a frequent guest speaker at historical societies in Lewes, Georgetown, and other towns along the Delaware coast.

Ulster, in the north of the Kingdom of Ireland underwent resettlement in 1609. Defeated by the British Army in the Nine Years War, Gaelic chieftains fled, and parliament, under approval by King James implemented the Plantation of Ulster. Thousands of acres, confiscated and newly surveyed were granted to London Companies, landed gentry - people with social standing and wealth, and servitors - those favoring the king with loyalty and administrative or military service, and trade groups and churches. Scottish and English settlers migrated to Ulster, entering into land leases with the new landlords. By the mid-1700s, Ulster Scots, today known as Scots-Irish in America, and those with English and Irish ancestry, sailed from the ports of Londonderry, Newry, Portrush, Larne, and Belfast to North America. Famine, escalating lease payments, and Penal Laws designed to limit or deny political participation resulted in religious persecution, driving the descendants of the plantation settlers from their homeland. In 1785, two years following the end of the American Revolution, thousands left Ulster, lured by reports of land suitable for farming west of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. The phrase "look before you leap," derived in Ulster marketplaces, suggested one should investigate overseas prospects before selling possessions and leaving Ireland. On July 9, 1785 a captain from Limavady together with a crew of twelve set sail on his newly acquired three-mast ship, Faithful Steward, departing the quay at Londonderry destined for New Castle, Delaware then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. James McIntire, age 22, from Ardstraw Bridge, County Tyrone believed he was sailing to a land where heroes live. Simon Elliott, age 65, together with Sarah (Lee) and a family of five, anticipated meeting their son John, having left Donegal in 1784 on the Lazy Mary, migrating to Pennsylvania. James Lee, age 78, and Isabella (Boscawen) and a family with relatives numbering more than four-score, left Ardara and Killybegs in Donegal for the wilds of western Pennsylvania. Merchant Gustavus Colhoun, age 19, and his older brother Thomas, a mariner and supercargo, combined their wit and experience to deliver a mysterious cargo to one of the wealthiest men in the newly formed United States. Passengers, reported to total 249 boarded Faithful Steward. Everyone's life was destined to change and forever be altered, close to the shore at Coin Beach, north of the Indian River Inlet on September 1, 1785. It was Delaware's worst maritime tragedy.

Discover the thrilling, mysterious history of the shipwrecks found beneath the waves of Rehoboth Beach. Under the hot summer sun, vacationers stroll the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, chewing saltwater taffy and listening to the gulls' raucous cackle. Few realize that under the sparkling water rests a graveyard. Horrific nor'easters, treacherous shoals and simple human error caused the demise of countless ships, giving birth to legends of treasure and terror. There is De Braak, rumored to hold millions of dollars in gold; the Mohawk, which burned like a torch in the Delaware Bay; and the vessels that fell victim to the Great White Hurricane, which froze dead men to the mast. Journey with local author Pam George as she deftly picks her way through the history of Delaware's most intriguing and mysterious shipwrecks.

Discusses buried treasures along the Atlantic coast, describing the types of treasures and attempts to retreive them

Featuring the accounts of twenty-five ill-starred vessels -- some notorious and some forgotten until now -- this anthology provides a fascinating history of a local maritime culture and charts how the catastrophic events along the Delmarva coast significantly affected U.S. merchant shipping as a whole.

The fascinating origins of this once peaceful resort town are explored in Michael Morgan's Bethany Beach. Before a 1901 ceremony opened the peaceful resort town, the wild dunes of Bethany Beach were part of the rough-and-tumble New World and the deadly land wars between Delawareans and Marylanders. The twentieth century brought crowds eager to partake of a healthy saltwater bath and chicken-and-waffle socials. Local author Michael Morgan chronicles the history of this "quiet" resort with stories of rumrunners who concealed their illicit goods in local chicken coops, World War II residents who anxiously kept a weather eye on the Atlantic and the devastating 1962 nor'easter. Join Morgan as he deftly narrates the storied history of this beloved Delaware beach town.