1846 — Nov 21, Steamers Collide, Maria sinks, Mississippi River, below Natchez, MS–30-50

–30-50 Blanchard estimated death-toll.*

–60-70 Indiana Palladium, Vevay, IN. “Awful Steamboat Disaster!” 12-5-1846, p. 2, col. 4.
–48-66 Indiana Palladium, Vevay, IN. “Further.” 12-5-1846, p. 2, col. 4.
–30-50 Hunter. Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic…History. 1994, p. 276.
–30-50 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Pass. Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 307.
— ~35 Natchez Courier, Nov 24, in Port Gibson Herald, MS. “The Sultana and Maria.” 12-4-1846, 3
— 30 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, pp. 179 & 192.
— <30 Fond Du Lac Journal, WI. “Dreadful Steamboat Accident.” Dec 10, 1846, p. 2. -- ~30 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 278. -- 30 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 226. -- 30 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 681. --20-30 Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Steamboat Collision.” Dec 7, 1846, p. 1. * Blanchard estimated death toll. We show reporting above which would, if accurate, take the death toll up to seventy. However, all the reporting we have seen which notes a death toll of more than about thirty-five, incorporates the higher number (whatever it is) as part of a range. Of the non-newspaper reporting on this event most of the accounts note thirty or about thirty deaths. Two, Hunter and Way, note 30-50, and we suspect that Hunter followed Way. Our own attempt to produce a listing (found at the end of the Narrative section) shows at least thirty-three deaths (provided the sources were in all cases accurate). This is a conservative listing. While we regret reliance on such a large range of deaths (30-50), the reports of large numbers being killed at the time, large numbers of mostly crew missing (and presumed dead), and a definite number of 18 of 22 survivors dying in Natchez between Nov 21 and the publication of a Natchez newspaper on Nov 24, leads us to the opinion that the number of lives lost could indeed have been within a 30-50 range. We are skeptical of the reporting of the Indiana Palladium of Dec 5 (and other similar articles using the same death toll estimate in newspapers we have not cited), of more than fifty deaths. Narrative Information Lloyd: “Collision Of The Sultana And Maria. “These boats came in collision on the Mississippi, seven miles below Natchez, November 21, 1846. The bow of the Sultana struck the Maria opposite her boilers, throwing them out of their place, and breaking the connection pipe and much of the wood-work, causing the boat to sink within five minutes. About thirty lives were lost, and several persons were scalded with more or less severity. “Killed. – Garrett Bennis, James Slemmon, Wm. Moreland, John Ross, Dennis McArtney, John Steamlon, Wm. English, Frank Roberts, Peter Mattis, Peter Valenier, and perhaps twenty others, names unknown. “Wounded. – Wm. Leahey, Samuel Buzzy, Patrick Kenney, John B. Fleming.” (Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 278.) Way: Maria. Sidewheel wood-hull packet, in Cincinnati, OH, in 1844 at 692 tons. “265x36x9.1. Paddlewheels 32 ft. Diameter working 15 ft. buckets… Ran St. Louis-New Orleans. Was lost in collision with Sultana in Natchez Island Chute, Nov. 21, 1846, with estimated life loss between 30 and 50. The cause stemmed from a misunderstanding of passing signals. Capt. Isaah Sellers is said to have taken up the matter of adopting uniform rules for tapping the roof bell to indicate in advance such understanding following this tragedy.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Pass. Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 307.) Newspapers Nov 22: “A slip from the office of the N. Orleans Picayune, dated Sunday, Nov. 22, 11 P.M., furnishes the following particulars of a dreadful steamboat accident on the Mississippi: The Sultana, Capt. Tufts, which arrived this morning from Vicksburg, brings the particulars of a terrible steamboat accident which occurred on the 21st inst., about seven miles below Natchez, in the bend of the river, by which some twenty or thirty lives were lost and a great number of persons were severely scalded. The Sultana, bound down the river, came in contact with the steamer Maria, Capt. T. W. Dunnica, bound up, about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, striking her just forward of the wheel house, and by the violence of the shock broke the connection pipe of the Maria, by which the chief clerk, the second engineer and between twenty-five and thirty deck hands and deck passengers were scalded, many of them so severely that there was no prospect of their recovery. The Maria sunk to within about two feet of her cabin floor within five minutes after the collision, drowning between twenty-five and thirty persons who were on the lower deck. It is thought that Capt. Dunnica was drowned, but is not certainly known. The cabin passengers were all save. The steamboat Talma, Capt. Hite, came down the river soon after the accident, and took on board the wounded and conveyed them back to Natchez to be placed in the hospital. The Sultana remained by the side of the wreck till sunrise the next morning, rendering every assistance in their power….The Maria will be a total loss, it is thought. The bows of the S. were much injured. (Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Steamboat Collision.” Dec 7, 1846, p. 1.) Nov 24: “The Natchez Courier, of the 24th inst., gives the following additional particulars of the unfortunate persons injured by the collision of the steamboats Sultana and Maria, on Friday, the 20th, near Natchez: “About 35 lives were lost – 22 persons were brought to our landing on Saturday morning, early by the steamboat Talma – 18 of whom have since died, at the landing and at the Hospital. The remaining four now at the city hospital, Dr. Blackburn informs us will recover. Besides these, the clerk, the mate, and 2d engineer of the Maria, are lost – there being no trace of them since the accident. – The remaining 12 or 14 were lost abut the time of the melancholy occurrence. None of the names of the sufferers have we been able to gather. They are represented to have been almost entirely deck hands and firemen on the Maria….” (Port Gibson Herald, MS. “The Sultana and Maria. Dreadful Suffering.” 12-4-1846, p. 3, col. 6.) Nov 28: “From the St. Louis Reveille, Nov. 28. We learn from Capt. Field, who left New Orleans a passenger on the Maria, the particulars of the most afflicting disaster which has happened upon our river for a length of time. On Saturday last (21st) at 2 o’clock A.M., the Maria, being six miles below Natchez, on her way up, she was run into by the Sultana, bound down, heavily laden with cotton! The collision was awful, tearing away the bow and guards, overwhelming the chimneys, and knocking down the boilers. Forty persons, composing the crew, and including, perhaps, two or three deck passengers, were scalded or drowned. With the deepest distress we learn that the universally esteemed Mr. James Durst, chief clerk, is among the missing; also, Mr. Samuel Herring, assistant engineer. “Twenty-one of the crew were landed at Natchez nearly all of whom, it is expected, must die, so dreadful is their state. The Maria sunk instantly on the collision in twenty feet water. Had she been in the middle of the channel not a soul would have been saved. She was very light, and the Sultana had a large load of cotton. To this fact the Sultana owes her escape, principally. As it was, she leaked badly, and was much injured about the bows and guards. The Maria had on board twenty-five cabin passengers, none of whom were lost, though their fright and peril, in escaping to the Sultana, in their night clothes, was extreme. “Mr. Durst was in the office when the boats came together, but he was immediately seen in the forward cabin. He then disappeared, and nothing further has been ascertained as to his fate. The whole boat was enveloped in steam, and the supposition is, that making his way into the guard in the neighborhood of the wreck, he fell overboard.” (Janesville Gazette, WI. “Loss of Steamer Maria!” Dec 12, 1846, p. 4.) Dec 10: “The steamer Maria, the largest and finest boat on the Mississippi was run into by the Sultana, near Natchez, on the night of the 21st ult; and immediately sunk in 20 feet water. Upwards of 30 persons lost their lives by this sad catastrophe. The Maria was owned in St. Louis and fully insured.” (Fond Du Lac Journal, WI. “Dreadful Steamboat Accident.” 12-10-1846, p. 2.) Dec 12: “We copy the following from the Cincinnati Commercial: We received from the Clerk of the steamer Talma, this morning, an extended account of the loss of the steamer Maria, by the Sultana, eight miles below Natchez, on Saturday 21st inst., at 2 o'clock in the morning; by which sixty or seventy human beings were killed or wounded, principally the crew and officers of the Maria. The Maria sunk in three minutes after being struck. The Talma, which arrived in a few minutes after the accident, rendered all assistance possible, The Talma carried up twenty two of the sufferers and left them in the hospital at Natchez.. The Sultana was very much injured and appeared to be sinking when the Talma left. The Maria is sunk in 20 feet water. Of those taken to Natchez it is thought but few will live.” (Defiance Democrat, OH. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” Dec 10, 1846, 1, col. 3.) List of Those Named as Dead or Missing in Accounts Above 1. Bennis, Garrett Dead 2. Durst, James Chief Clerk Missing 3. English, William Dead 4. Herring, Samuel Asst. Engineer Missing 5. Mattis, Peter Dead 6. McArtney, Dennis Dead 7. Moreland, William Dead 8. Roberts, Frank Dead 9. Ross, John Dead 10. Slemmon, James Dead 11. Steamlon, John Dead 12. Valenier, Peter Dead 13. Unnamed Mate of the Maria Missing 14. Unidentified injured person #1 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 15. Unidentified injured person #2 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 16. Unidentified injured person #3 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 17. Unidentified injured person #4 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 18. Unidentified injured person #5 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 19. Unidentified injured person #6 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 20. Unidentified injured person #7 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 21. Unidentified injured person #8 of at least 8 dying in Natchez by Nov 24. 22. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #1 of 12-14 missing. 23. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #2 of 12-14 missing. 24. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #3 of 12-14 missing. 25. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #4 of 12-14 missing. 26. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #5 of 12-14 missing. 27. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #6 of 12-14 missing. 28. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #7 of 12-14 missing. 29. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #8 of 12-14 missing. 30. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #9 of 12-14 missing. 31. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #10 of 12-14 missing. 32. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #11 of 12-14 missing. 33. Unidentified deckhand or fireman #12 of 12-14 missing. Sources Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972. Defiance Democrat, OH. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” Dec 10, 1846, 1, col. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=4216575 Fond Du Lac Journal, WI. “Dreadful Steamboat Accident.” Dec 10, 1846, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33440539 Hunter, Louis C. and Beatrice J. Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History. NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994, 684 pages. Indiana Palladium, Vevay, IN. “Awful Steamboat Disaster! Seventy Lives Lost!!” 12-5-1846, p. 2, c.4. Accessed 9-30-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/vevay-indiana-palladium-dec-05-1846-p-2/ 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 Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=8&size=125 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. Port Gibson Herald, MS. “The Sultana and Maria.” 12-4-1846, p. 3, col. 6. Accessed 9-30-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-gibson-herald-dec-04-1846-p-3/ Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Steamboat Collision” [Maria & Sultana] 12-7-1846, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=2898846 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.