1840 — Jan 13, steamship Lexington fire/sinks, Long Isl. Sound off Eatons Neck, NY–146-156
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 7-16-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
146-156 Blanchard estimated death toll range:
We cannot definitively narrow the death toll range to a single number. But, we are of the opinion that there probably were at least 146 deaths. The one book-length source we note below (Bleyer’s 2023 book on the Lexington sinking, states that there were 150 passengers and crew aboard and that only four survive. We show three other sources noting 146 deaths. Thus we do not include in our death toll range the death-tolls noting fewer than 146 deaths. While we include in our estimated range the seven sources noting 150-156 deaths, we are of the opinion that 146 is the correct toll. Nonetheless, we cannot say this with an abundance of confidence, thus include these estimates in our own best guess range.
–150-200 Richmond Enquirer. “Awful Calamity.” 1-21-1840. From N.Y. Journal of Commerce.[1]
— 156 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 56.
— 156 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 680.
— 154 National Underwater and Marine Agency (non-profit). Lexington. Accessed 7-16-2024.
— 150 Howland. Steamboat Disasters and Railroad Accidents in the United States. 1843, 167.
— >150 Sheridan. “‘Appalling Calamity’: Loss of the Steamboat Lexington…Jan. 13, 1840.”[2]
— 150 Snow, Edward Rowe. Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, p. 120.
— 150 Wiard, Norman. The Cause of Boiler Explosions, etc. 1868, p. 11.
— 146 Bleyer. “Intro.” The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound. 2023.
— 146 Ellms, Charles. The Tragedy of the Seas…, 1841, p. 423-424.
— ~146 Morrison, John Harrison. History of American Steam Navigation. 1908, p. 279.
— 146 Stinch’s Shipwrecks of New England. “Steamboat Lexington.”
— 141 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 97.
— 140 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac 1905. “Great Fires, 1904. Other Notable Fires,” p. 477.
— 140 The New-Yorker. “Events of 1840,” Jan 2, 1841, p. 249.
— 139 Wikipedia. “Lexington (steamship).” 8-5-2023. Accessed 7-16-2024.[3]
— 118 Pelletreau, William S. A History of Long Island, 1905, p. 24.
Narrative Information
Ellms: “At 4 o’clock in the afternoon of Monday, the 13th of January, 1840, the steamer Lexington left the pier in New York for Stonington, in Connecticut. After threading the intricate channels of the East River, and passing the eddying dangers of Hurl [Hell?] Gate, under the guidance of that skillful pilot, Captain Manchester, she reached the open sound before nightfall, and pursued her solitary way towards her destined haven. The weather was mild for the season, but the few vessels which were in sight betokened a wintry navigation….
“But amidst this fancied security; the cry of “Fire” resounded throughout the fatal bark….A simultaneous rush was made for the deck; upon reaching which, the fire was discovered near the smoke-pipe, and began rapidly to extend aft, increasing in height and volume every moment, fanned, as it was, by the great current of air generated by the rapid motion of the boat. The greatest consternation now prevailed; all was confusion; no systematic course of action could be adopted: it was attempted to rig the fire-engine, but in vain. And the engineer was driven from his station by the flames which encircled the steam-engine, and to stop it was impossible…The pilot endeavored to head her for the land; but the wheel-ropes gave way, and he was driven from his station almost suffocated, and she was left to plough the waters at random. Nothing could be done…And as the bags of cotton became enveloped in the flames, they would burst with an explosive force, filling the atmosphere with the burning flakes, and descending in showers upon the bosom of the dark waters; which, for a great distance to leeward, appeared an undulating plain of fire. The sea was red, the heavens were red, and the glow reddened with the rest the pallid brows of that doomed and flame-encircled company.
“A rush was now made for the quarter-boats, and they were instantly filled, as they were hanging on the davits, by the bewildered passengers. But in lowering them, owing to the quick motion of the boat, they filled, and were rapidly left behind; the loud shriek of despair, which rose from these drowning wretches, was, for a moment, louder than the roaring of the winds and flames. The life-boat was now resorted to; and to tear the covering off, and launch it, was but the work of a moment. But, being forward of the wheel, it was drawn under, and torn away from those who held the warp. The fire had now cut off all communication between the bow and stern of the boat….
“As all hopes of being saved by the boats were now cut off, the most desperate exertions were made by those on the forecastle to keep back the fire, in hopes that some vessel might come to their rescue. Everything which could hold water was eagerly seized upon; and the boxes containing specie were broken open, the dollars poured out and trodden under foot as worthless, whilst the boxes were used to throw water on the devouring flames. Thus, inch by inch, they were driven forward, fighting the fire, until driven over the bows into the icy bosom of a wintry sea. The survivors on the forecastle, at this period, were calm and collected, and making every exertion to save their lives, by throwing the baggage crates overboard, and making a raft of the flag-staff and planks.
“At 12 o’clock, Captain Manchester left, telling them that everything which man could do had been done. We thus have intelligence from the forecastle four hours later than from the quarter-deck; as what took place there, after 8 o’clock in the evening….
“It is painful to contemplate, that out of one hundred and fifty human beings who saw the sun set from that deck, but four should live to see it rise; the rest having passed off like the meteor at night, never to be seen again….” (Ellms 1841, pp. 417-424.)
Morrison: “…on January 13th, 1840, occurred the burning of the “Lexington” while on her trip from New York to Stonington, when off Eaton’s Neck, Long Island. The night was very cold, the temperature being below zero, and the ice was making very rapidly in the Sound. They had just begun to make use of coal for fuel in her boiler, and there had been trouble with her blowers on her last trip from Stonington, making it necessary to lay up for repairs. The accumulation of ice, and she being one of the strongest boats of the line, it was thought best to place her on the route instead of one of the regular boats.
“She left New York at 4 P. M., with at least 150 persons on board and a large quantity of freight, of which there was about 150 bales of cotton. About half-past seven o’clock and when off Eaton’s Neck, on the Long Island shore, and some four miles from land, there was an alarm of fire, but where it first started, none of those who were saved — of which there were but four — had any knowledge.[4]
“Stephen Manchester, who was the pilot and one of the survivors, relates his experience, in part, as given in a United States Senate document of the Twenty-sixth Congress:
“I was in the wheelhouse, at the wheel, when the alarm’ was first given; it was about half-past seven o’clock in the evening. I was first notified of the danger by someone who came to the wheel-house door and told me that the boat was on fire—do not know who that person was. My first movement was to step out of the wheel-house and look aft. I saw the upper deck on fire all around the smoke-pipe and blazing up two or three feet, perhaps, above the promenade deck. The flame seemed to be a thin sheet, and, apparently, but just commenced: the blaze seemed to follow up the smoke-pipe and was all around it. I again went into the wheel-house, caught hold of the wheel, hove it hard aport and steered the boat head to land. I thought from my first view of the fire that it was a doubtful ease whether it could be extinguished. We were, when the fire broke out, about fifty miles from New York, off Eaton’s Neck, and some four miles from the Long Island shore. As I got the wheel hove over hard aport, Captain Childs came into the wheel-house, he put his hand on a spoke of the wheel and at that moment the rope gave way, At this moment the smoke came into the wheel-house so violently that we were obliged to leave it. I don’t recollect having seen Captain Childs afterwards. I called to those on the forecastle to get out the fire engine and buckets. The engine they succeeded in getting out, but I did not see any of the buckets, except two or three which we found afterward on the forecastle. I believe that the ropes were not parted by the strain, but were burned off.”
“After he gave his experience in helping to launch a lifeboat, and the attempts to stay the progress of the flames, and the making of a raft from a spar and flagstaff with a portion of the bulwarks; also throwing overboard four baggage cars after being. emptied of their contents, with a line attached.
“Among those who remained to the last was a Mr. Van Cott, Mr. Hoyt, and Mr. Harnden, of the express: they were all confined to the forward deck. At 12 o’clock, I left the wreck and eased myself down upon the stage or raft; from that I got on a bale of cotton, on which there was already one man. After floating around on the bale until daylight, about which time my companion fell from the bale and went down without a struggle; his sufferings from the cold were intense. The wreck, I think, sunk about 3 o’clock. A short time after sunrise, I recollect seeing a sloop to the windward. I managed to put a handkerchief upon a piece of board and raised it up. I was picked up by the sloop “Merchant,” Captain Meeker. I was taken to the house of Captain Godfrey, at Southport. In my opinion, the tire originated from the heat of the smoke-pipe, which was communicated to the woodwork. I have frequently seen the smoke-pipe red hot, and saw it so on the last night. I do not know whether the red heat extended to the flange or not. The cotton was piled within perhaps a foot of the steam chimney.”
“Capt. Chester Hilliard, who was one of the survivors, says, regarding the launching of the boats:
“I left the main deck and went on the promenade deck. Soon after I got up I thought the people on board seemed to be stupidly determined to destroy themselves, and the boats also, their only means of safety. I repaired to the starboard boat, which they were lowering away. They got the boat partly over until she took the water, and then someone cut the forward tackle, when she filled and went astern. I think about twenty persons were in her then. The other boat was lowered and went down in pretty much the same way, being full of passengers. At that time the fire got going so that I made up my mind ‘it was a case.’ “
“He also relates taking to the bale of cotton and having for a companion one of the firemen named Cox, who succumbed to his exposure before daylight.
“When I saw the sloop, I waved my hat to excite their attention, and they bore down and picked me up. She was the ‘Merchant’, from Southport, Captain Meeker. I know of no other persons who have done so except the steamer “Statesman.” Captain Meeker had to take out part of his cargo in order to get the sloop over the bar. It was about 31 A. M., when I was picked up. They picked up two men alive and two dead bodies. One was Manchester, the pilot, the other was Charles Smith; he was on the wheel-house. The pilot was pretty much gone, and I thought the other seemed better. Smith was a fireman on the ‘Lexington.’ The second mate, David Crowley, took refuge on a bale of cotton also, and floated about until he struck the ice on Wednesday morning, about eighteen miles east of Old Field Point, and walked to a house of Mrs. Mary Hutchinson, who gave him good care after his exposure. The number of passengers and the crew is believed not to have exceeded one hundred and fifty. Fireman, Charles Smith, was living at Providence, R I., a few months ago.
“From the testimony given before the court of inquiry it was found that the fire was communicated to the promenade deck by the intense heat of the smoke-pipe and steam chimney. That the “Lexington” was a first-rate boat, with an excellent steam engine, and a boiler suitable for burning wood, but not coal with blowers attached, and that the carrying of cotton in any quantity on passenger boats should be condemned. David Crowley, the mate, died at Providence, R. L, two years ago.
“The “Lexington” was built in 1835, by Bishop & Simonson, for Cornelius Vanderbilt, but he had sold her some months previous to her destruction. The hull was 207’x25x11′, with paddle wheels 23 feet diameter by 9 feet face; was fitted with a beam engine built by the West Point Foundry, having a cylinder 48 inches diameter and 11 feet stroke. Charles W. Copeland was Superintending Engineer of the West Point Foundry at the time. The hull of the vessel was heavily built, frames close together and of large size for that class of vessel, and fitted with a “Towne” latticed truss on either side to strengthen the hull proper. This was the first time the truss was made use of for a similar purpose. She had a wide, square stern, and with a very high and short hog frame that, taken all in all, would not be called a handsome steamboat to-day. For the artificial draft to the furnaces of the boiler there were two fan blowers, each 30″ diameter by 26″ face, that were run by belts from a drum on the shaft of the main engine.” (Morrison 1908, pp. 278-282.)
Pelletreau: “”The Sound steamer “Lexington” took fire on the evening of January 13, 1840, when off Eaton’s Neck. In a few moments she was enveloped in flames and burned to the `water’s edge. One hundred and eighteen persons perished either by the flames or the waters, only four of all those on board surviving.”” (Pelletreau 1905, 24)
Stinch: “Daybreak found the Lexington tied up in New York on January 13, 1840. The morning air was very cold, about zero degrees. Ice was beginning to form on the surface of the water. One hundred and fifty bales of cotton were loaded under the promenade deck of the steamship. Some of these bales were placed within a few feet of the smokestack casing. A fire had occurred in the casing only a few days earlier, but no one took the problem seriously even after repairs were made….
“Passengers began arriving in the early afternoon and paid $1.00 for the trip to Stonington. The fare was 50 cents if passengers stayed on the decks, but the temperatures were too cold for anyone. For those passengers traveling beyond the Connecticut destination, a train would continue their journey to Boston….The ship took on about 115 passengers and departed her dock for the last time around three o’clock in the afternoon. The twenty-three foot diameter paddlewheels propelled the vessel down the East River and around Throgs Neck into Long Island Sound….
“At seven thirty, a fire was reported by the first mate. Looking out the wheel house, flames could be seen shooting from the aft section of the promenade deck, near the smokestack casing. Captain Child steered the vessel south toward the north shore of Long Island in an effort to beach her, but soon the steering became unresponsive. The Lexington then turned to a heading of east, on its own, as if trying to out run the flames. The lines between the rudder and the wheelhouse were burned through. With her steam engine running at full power, the Lexington was now out of control. The fire quickly engulfed the entire aft section of the ship. Crew members in the engine room were forced out by the flames before the engines could be shutdown. Launching the lifeboats while the Lexington plowed through the water was impossible. The fire-fighting equipment was not deployed properly and any chance of stopping the fire was lost. The silver coins were dumped onto the deck so the wooden box could be used in a bucket brigade. Flames were now as high as the smokestack. They could be seen from the shoreline of Connecticut and Long Island. Many boats in the shoreline marinas were blocked by low tide, ice, and rough seas in an attempt to reach the burning steamboat. Captain Child ordered the launching of the lifeboats.
“The scene on the decks were of terror and panic. As the crew were preparing a boat for launching, passengers stormed the lifeboat, filling it well beyond capacity. In the wake of a thrashing paddlewheel, the boat and everyone in it was quickly swept away and lost. The Lexington was slowing down, giving some the chance to throw cotton bales over the side as rafts. By midnight the steamship was burned from bow to stern. Its deck had collapsed into the hull. At three o’clock the next morning, the Lexington slowly sank into Long Island Sound.
“Many people who remained in the water succumbed to the freezing cold water. In the end, only four people would survive…. The Second Mate, David Crowley was able to dig into the center of a cotton bale to stay warm. He floated for forty-eight hours until he was washed ashore. He was to keep the bale in his Providence, Rhode Island home for many years until he sold it for the Civil War effort.” (Stinch’s Shipwrecks of New England, “Steamboat Lexington”)
Wiard: “The Lexington was burned on Long Island Sound, on the 13th January, 1840. One hundred and fifty persons perished. All the accounts published at the time agreed that the fire originated in the casing surrounding the steam chimney. Captain Hilliard, in his testimony, said, ‘About an hour after supper I heard the alarm of fire; I was on the point of turning in, and had my coat and boots off; I slipped them on; I then discovered the casing of the steam chimney, and I think part of the promenade deck, on fire. The after-part of the casing was burning, and the fire was making aft.’ The pilot said, ‘About half-past seven o’clock someone came to the pilot-hours and told me the boat was on fire; my first movement was to step out and look aft; I saw the promenade deck was burning around the chimney. The Rev. S.K. Lathrop, of Boston, in a sermon on the occasion, said, ‘This same boat has unquestionably been on fire once (rumor says two or three times) within the past few weeks’.” (Wiard, Norman. The Cause of Boiler Explosions, etc. 1868, p. 11.)
Sources
Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.
Bleyer, Jim. “Introduction.” The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound. History Press 2023. Amazon sample reading. Accessed 7-16-2024 at: https://www.amazon.com/Sinking-Steamboat-Lexington-Island-Disaster/dp/1467150282?
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac 1903. “General Chronology of 1902.” Jan 1902. Digitized by Google. Accessed 7-15-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=N8QWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Ellms, Charles. The Tragedy of the Seas or, Sorrow on the Ocean, Lake, and River, from Shipwreck, Plague, Fire, and Famine. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1841. Digitized by Google. Accessed 7-15-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=R6xS3DM_qVAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+tragedy+of+the+seas&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Howland, Southworth Allen. Steamboat Disasters and Railroad Accidents in the United States (Revised and Improved). Worcester: Warren Lazell. 1843
Morrison, John Harrison. History of American Steam Navigation. New York: W. F. Sametz & Co., Inc., 1908, 653 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 7-15-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Q5tDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=toc&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.
National Underwater and Marine Agency (non-profit). Lexington. Accessed 7-16-2024. Accessed 7-16-2024 at: https://numa.net/expeditions/lexington/
Pelletreau, William S. A History of Long Island From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. 2. New York: Lewis Publishing Co., 1905. Digitized by Google. Accessed 7-15-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Y4c-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Richmond Enquirer. “Awful Calamity.” 1-21-1840. From N.Y. Journal of Commerce. Accessed 7-16-2024 at: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024735/1840-01-21/ed-1/seq-3/
Sheridan, Kim. “‘Appalling Calamity’: Loss of the Steamboat Lexington – Today in History: January 13, 1840.” ConnecticutHistory.org, 1-23-2023. Accessed 7-16-2024 at: https://connecticuthistory.org/appalling-calamity-loss-of-the-steamboat-lexington-today-in-history-january-13-1840/
Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC
Snow, Edward Rowe. “The Fire on the Steamer Lexington,” pp. 108-121 in Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Boston Printing Co., 1943.
Snow, Edward Rowe (updated by Jeremy D’Entremont). Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Carlisle, MA: Commonwealth Editions, 2003. Accessed 7-13-2024 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Storms_and_Shipwrecks_of_New_England/GdEDSnredWgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Storms+and+Shipwrecks+of+New+England&printsec=frontcover
Stinch’s Shipwrecks of New England. “Steamboat Lexington.” Accessed 11-15-2008 at: http://home.att.net/~rstinchcomb/newreck/lexington.html
The New-Yorker. “Events of 1840,” Jan 2, 1841, p. 249. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=MCfnAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Wiard, Norman. The Cause of Boiler Explosions, etc. Philadelphia: Stein & Jones, 1868, p. 12. Digitized by Google. Accessed 7-15-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Xj0OAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Wikipedia. “Lexington (steamship).” 8-5-2023. Accessed 7-16-2024. Accessed 7-16-2024 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington_(steamship)
[1] Not using – early newspaper report not supported by later accounts.
[2] Cites Howland and Richmond Enquirer.
[3] Our number “Of the estimated 143 people on board, only four survived.” (No source citation.)
[4] Morrison footnote: “A marine engineer of prominence, who was in service at this date, stated to the author several years ago, that probably the want of experience in the use of the blower may have had something to do with the primary cause of the fire. Also, that a can of varnish in the freight was placed too close to the smoke chimney.” (p. 279)