1840 — Nov 07, Steamer Persian Boiler Flue Collapse, MS River, near Napoleon, AR — >25

— >25 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

— 25 Catskill Recorder, Catskill, NY. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 12-3-1840, p. 2, col. 2.
— 25 Newburyport Herald, MA. “Steam Boat Persian.” 12-1-1840, p. 3, col. 2.
— 25 US Congress, House. Hearings. “Safety of Life and Property at Sea.” 1935, p. 245.
— 24 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 185.
–23-24 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 169.
— 24 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 680.
–19-23 Chronicle and Sentinel, Augusta, GA. “From the New Orleans Picayune of the 13th.” 11-19-1840, 2.**
— 23 Fisher and McCord. “Steamboat Explosions…Fifty-Five Years.” In Scharf 1883, p1108.
— 23 Macon Georgia Telegraph. “Dreadful Catastrophe. Steamboat Explosion.” 11-24-1840, 5.
— 23 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Pass. Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 368.
— 19 Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. Nov 23, 1840, p. 3.
— 19 Wiard, Norman. The Cause of Boiler Explosions, etc. 1868, p. 12.
–12-19 Niles’ National Register (Vol. 59). “Steamboat Accident.” Nov 28, 1840, p. 208.
–11-15 Hagerstown Mail, MD. “Steamboat Accident.” Nov 27, 1840; in Kotar and Gessler.
— 14 Alton Telegraph, IL. “Steamboat Accidents.” Nov 14, 1840, p. 3.

* Blanchard estimated death toll. While we show sources noting 14-25 deaths, we show that 25 or more people eventually died from this event. As one can see from Newburyport Herald, the officers of the Persian noted after their arrival in St. Louis on Nov 16, that 25 people had died by then and that of the 11 surviving scalding victims, it was thought that two of those would die from their injuries. We have not been able to locate reporting on the fate of these injured persons. Thus it seems clear that at least twenty-five people died, and it is possible that one or two other persons died from their injuries.

** Chronicle and Sentinel. The difference in the death toll range is that the higher toll includes missing.

Blanchard on date of loss: Various dates are noted for this disaster – Nov 1, 7, 9, 10. We highlight in yellow below some of these. From these and other sources we believe the date to be Nov. 7.

Narrative Information

Berman: “Nov 1840…Exploded…Mississippi River. 24 lives lost.”

Lloyd: “On the night of November 9th, 1840, the steamboat Persian collap¬sed her flues, on the Mississippi river, three miles below Napoleon, Ark. The Captain was asleep at the time of the accident, and, ac¬cording to common rumor, the pilot was intoxicated. The boat had stopped to take in wood. Six persons were instantly killed by the ex¬plosion, seventeen died on the following day, and fifteen or sixteen others were supposed to be mortally wounded. The cabin passengers and the captain and clerk escaped uninjured.

“LIST OF THE KILLED—Daniel Green, first engineer; John Wil¬liams, second mate; Oscar Brown and Washington Marks, colored firemen; six deck passengers, all of one family, named Floyd; John Cora, second cook; John O’Brien, deck passenger; Wm. S. Limners, of Illinois; Mr. Fields, of Tennessee; and nine others, names un¬known. Thirty were scalded, with more or less severity.” (Lloyd 1856, p. 169.)

Way: “Persian. SW p wh b. [Sidewheel packet, wood hull, built] Cincinnati, Oh., 1836, 430 tons, 165x28x10. Built for New Orleans-Bends trade, Capt. Jesse Hart. Made trips to Shreveport, La. Was reported to have exploded her boilers at Napoleon, Ark., Nov. 1, 1840, with loss of 23 lives and 30 others scalded.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994…MS River System. 1994, 368.)

Wiard: “The account of the explosion of the steamer Persian, on the Mississippi River, November 7, 1840, by which about 40 persons were scalded and 19 killed, says, ‘Among the sufferers were men, women, and children of all ages; many of them were entirely stripped of skin, and from some the entire flesh was stripped from the bones!’ It should be noticed that escaped steam or hot water could not have a temperature higher than 212 [degrees], unless the steam was super-heated, and so low a temperature would not have the horrible effect noticed.” (Wiard. The Cause of Boiler Explosions, etc. 1868, p. 12.)

Monthly Chronicle: “Nov. 7. The large and beautiful steamer Persian, on her passage from New Orleans, which place she left on the 3d for St. Louis, when at Napoleon, a few miles below the mouth of the Arkansas, collapsed the flue of one of her boilers, in consequence of which nearly 40 persons were badly scalded, and eight were killed outright, or died soon after. Many of the sufferers were so severely wounded that they were not expected to recover.” (Monthly Chronicle. “Chronology,” Nov 1840, p. 516.)

Newspapers

Nov 13: “A dreadful steamboat accident occurred at Napoleon (Ark.), on the Mississippi, on the 7th inst. he steamer Persian collapsed a flue, killing 19 persons, and scalding 30 badly. The engineer and mate were among the killed.” (Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. 11-23-1840, p. 3.)

Nov 14: “The steam-boat Persian collapsed a flue in the forenoon of the 10th inst. near Napoleon, killing five persons on the spot, and scalding thirty-two others, nine of whom have since died.” (Alton Telegraph, IL. “Steamboat Accidents.” Nov 14, 1840, p. 3.)

Nov 18: “The steamboat Persian exploded her boilers on the night of the 7th instant, at about three miles from Napoleon. The first engineer, second mate, two firemen and seven deck passengers were killed; twenty four deck passengers were badly scalded, and four missing. – New Orleans Bee.” (Daily Chronicle & Sentinel, Augusta, GA, 11-18-1840, p. 2, col. 5.)

Nov 19: “From the New Orleans Picayune of the 13th. Killed and Wounded. We are indebted to our friends Messrs. Bogert & Hawthorne for the following particulars relative to the killed and unfortunate sufferers on board the steamer Persian, the explosion of which we mentioned yesterday.
List of Killed.

Daniel Green, 1st engineer.
John Williams, 2d mate.
Oscar Brown (slave), fireman.
Washington Marks do. [ditto]
Six deck passengers in one family, of the name of Olroyd.
John Cora, 2d cook.
John O. Buen, deck passenger.

Scalded.
Rev. H. K. Roach, Graves Co. Ky., badly.
James Slaughter, Tennessee do. [ditto]
George Smith do. do.
John Berry, Ireland, do.
D. Berry, do. do.
_____Berry, do. do.
Oliver Olroyd, Yorkshire Eng., do.
Jacob Bunk, Germany, do.
Monroe Hazelet, Missouri, do.
William Narcisse, Cincinnati, do.
Michael O’Neil, New Orleans, do.
Jacob Snyder, Union Co., Illinois, do.
John C. Campel, Rockey, Miss. do.
Wm. J. Evans, Graves Co., do.
B. Janel, Hickman Co., Ky., do.
Johanna Carrol, Jacksonville, Ill., do.
Ann Olroyd, Yorkshire, Eng., do.
N. C. Thompson, Carroll Co., Tenn. do.
Wm. Meggwater, Cincinnati, do.
Peter M’Donald, do.
Bartholomew M’Ilter, Ireland. do.
Wm. Bowen, Hickman co., Ky., do.
James Grammar, Union Co., Illinois, do.
Charles Near, Ireland, slightly.

Missing.

Wm. S. Hanners, Union Co., Illinois.
Mr. Fields, Tennessee.
Two, names not known.

“On the back of the letter giving the above particulars there is a memorandum saying that since it was sealed seven more of the sufferers had died.” (Chronicle and Sentinel, Augusta, GA. “From the New Orleans Picayune of the 13th.” 11-19-1840, p. 2.)

Nov. 24: “The steamboat Gen. Brown, arrived yesterday from Louisville, brings the melancholy tidings of another steamboat explosion. The General Brown passed the steamboat Persian on the 8th inst. At the town of Napoleon, to which she had been towed from three miles below, a wreck. On the night of the 7th her flues collapsed, killing and scalding from thirty to forty persons! Those who have been killed and wounded were deck passengers and some of the crew. The whole of the cabin passengers, and the captain and clerk escaped uninjured. The head engineer was killed.

“Since the above was written we have conversed with the clerk of the General Brown. He tells that except the flues, which collapsed, there is no other part of the Persian injured. They expect to proceed up by walling off a couple of boilers.

“The clerk of the General Brown informs us farther that six men died immediately at the time of the collapse – that seventeen died next day, and there were some fifteen or sixteen others whose lives were despaired of.

“The captain was asleep at the time the fatal accident occurred, and it is said by some of the surviving firemen that the pilot was intoxicated. The boat had stopped at a wood pile some short time before the collapse, but no steam was let off. To a surcharge of steam the catastrophe is attributed. New Orleans Picayune, 12th inst.” (Macon Georgia Telegraph. “Dreadful Catastrophe. – Steamboat Explosion.” 11-24-1840, p. 5.)

Nov 27: “The New Orleans Bee says the steamboat Persian exploded her boilers on the night of the 7th instant, at about three miles from Napoleon. The first engineer, second mate, two firemen and seven deck passengers were killed; twenty-four deck passengers were badly scalded, and four missing.” (Hagerstown Mail, MD. “Steamboat Accident.” 11-27-1840; in Kotar 2009, p. 169.)

Nov 28: “The steamboat Persian on her way from New Orleans to St. Louis, when a few miles below Napoleon, Arkansas, collapsed a flue, by which nineteen persons were instantly killed and thirty badly scalded, principally deck passengers. We find a partial list of the sufferers in a New Orleans paper, according to which, but 12 persons are ascertained as yet to have been killed. The Vicksburg Sentinel of the 11th instant, states that the melancholy accident occurred ‘after a well contested race between her and the Rienzi, and the United States.’ The Sentinel adds, that this ‘account may be relied upon as correct,’ as it is given upon the authority of the captain of the Meteor.” (Niles’ Weekly Register (Vol. 59). “Steamboat Accident.” Nov 28, 1840, p. 208.)

Dec 1: “This boat [Persian], which a short time since collapsed a flue, arrived at St. Louis on the 16th inst. Her officers state that twenty-five of the sufferers have already died, and there were two more who it was supposed would die soon. There were nine others scalded, who will probably recover.” (Newburyport Herald, MA. “Steam Boat Persian.” 12-1-1840, p. 3, col. 2.)

Sources

Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. [Steamboat Persian Flue Collapse]. 11-23-1840, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3091071

Alton Telegraph, IL. “Steam-Boat Accidents.” Nov 14, 1840, p. 3. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/alton-telegraph-nov-14-1840-p-3/

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Catskill Recorder, Catskill, NY. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 12-3-1840, p. 2, col. 2. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/catskill-recorder-dec-03-1840-p-2/

Chronicle and Sentinel, Augusta, GA. “From the New Orleans Picayune of the 13th.” 11-19-1840, p. 2. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/augusta-daily-chronicle-and-sentinel-nov-19-1840-p-2/

Daily Chronicle & Sentinel, Augusta, GA, 11-18-1840, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/augusta-daily-chronicle-and-sentinel-nov-18-1840-p-2/

Fisher, Captain S.L., and Captain James McCord. “Steamboat Explosions for Fifty-Five Years.” In Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Saint Louis City and County, From the Earliest Periods to the Present Day: Including Biographical Sketches of Representative Men. In Two Volumes, Illustrated. Volume II (Chapter XXVII. Navigation on the Mississippi River). Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts & Co., 1883. Digitized by Northern Illinois University, NU Libraries Digitization Projects at: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.4487:4.lincoln

Hagerstown Mail, MD. “A Distressing Case,” 12-25-1840, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=41042255

Kotar, S. L. and J. E. Gessler. The Steamboat Era: A History of Fulton’s Folly on American Rivers, 1807-1860. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., Inc., 2009. Partially digitized by Google: http://books.google.com/books?id=JVNZSTgHhdgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

Macon Georgia Telegraph. “Dreadful Catastrophe. – Steamboat Explosion.” 11-24-1840, p. 5. Accessed 10-15-2020: https://newspaperarchive.com/macon-georgia-telegraph-nov-24-1840-p-5/

Monthly Chronicle. “Chronology” [Steamer Persian] Nov 1840, p. 516. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=SiQAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#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.

Newburyport Herald, MA. “Steam Boat Persian.” 12-1-1840, p. 3, col. 2. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburyport-herald-dec-01-1840-p-3/

Niles’ National Register. “Steamboat Accident.” Vol. 59, Nov 28, 1840, p. 208. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=v7IRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Congress, House of Representatives. Hearings Before the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, United States Congress (74th Congress, 1st Session). “Safety of Life and Property at Sea.” Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1935. Accessed 8-9-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_of_Life_and_Property_at_Sea/l9xH_9sUuVAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq

Way, Frederick Jr. (Author and Compiler), Joseph W. Rutter (contributor). Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.

Wiard, Norman. The Cause of Boiler Explosions, etc. Philadelphia: Stein & Jones, 1868, p. 12. Digitized by Google: http://books.google.com/books?id=Xj0OAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false