1851 — Feb 20, Sidewheel Ferry St. Louis boiler explosion, St. Louis, MO — 20

— 20 Blanchard estimated death-toll.*

–20-22. Missouri Whig, Palmyra, MO. “Steamboat Explosion.” 2-27-1851, p. 2, col. 3.
— 21 Lloyd. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 294.
— 20 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 289.
— 20 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 232.
— 20 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
— 20 Steamboat Times. “St. Louis.”
— >20 Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Another Dreadful Explosion.” 3-4-1851, p. 2, c. 5.
— 20 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]. 1994, 412.

* Blanchard estimated death-toll. While we note two sources which report 21 or possibly 22 fatalities, we choose to rely on the range of sources reporting twenty deaths. Our attempt to create a compilation of fatalities identified in the sources we cite, shows 23 deaths, this is only by the inclusion of seven unrecovered and unidentified drowning victims. We do not view this as reliable.

Narrative Information

Lloyd: “St. Louis. – The ferry boat St. Louis exploded her boilers at St. Louis, March 23 [sic], 1851, killing [we break paragraph out into separate lines]

Wm. W. Benson, first engineer;
Paul Trundley, second do. [ditto – (engineer)]
Alex. McKean, pilot;
Sebastian Smith, fireman;
John W. James, aged about sixteen years;
a daughter of Mr. Louis Jarvis, aged fifteen years;
Albert Wells,
Ernest Augustus Smidt,
Isaac Coop;
Meriwether S. Smith;
a boy, name unknown;
Dr. Truitt, Illinoistown;
an Irish boy, name unknown;
a young man named Robert Hardin or Harding, whose body was blown about one
hundred yards on the levee.
And seven others drowned –

“sixteen badly wounded.” (Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 294.)

Steamboat Times: “St. Louis. Built: 1847, New Albany, Indiana
“Type: Sidewheel, wooden hull.
“Size: 210 tons…

“The St. Louis exploded her boilers on February 20, 1851, at St. Louis, with the loss of 20 lives.”
(Steamboat Times. “St. Louis.”)

Way: “St. Louis. SW ferry wh [Sidewheel Ferry, Wooden Hull] b [built] 1847, 210 tons. Exploded boilers at St. Louis, Feb 20, 1851, with loss of 20 lives.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 412.)

Newspaper

Feb 24: “The St. Louis Intelligencer of the 24th, contains a detailed account of the recent terrible disaster at St. Louis, caused by an explosion of the larboard boiler of the ferry boat St. Louis. We extract from that paper the following (abridged) account of the occurrence: The boat, the St. Louis, was on the point of leaving the landing when the explosion took place, making a perfect wreck. Wm. W. Benson and three others were found dead near the levee. Seven persons were stretched upon the lower deck, five of whom were dead, and two expiring. Of thirty persons on board at the time, only eight or ten escaped with life. Several bodies were known to have been blown over board. The pilot house was blown high into the air, and the pilot to the height of one hundred and fifty feet, and falling on the levee, lived but a short time. Pieces of the boiler were picked up at a distance of several hundred yards. Of the several persons seen floating in the river, not one was picked up. Of the four females on board, one is missing, probably blown overboard. Of the several bodies on the boat, but one was recognized. But three or four of the dead were scalded, their injuries principally resulting from the flying fragments.

“We regret to find among the names of the killed, that of Alfred Wells, a very promising youth, and son of Mr. Claiborne Wells, of this county. His remains were brought to this place on Tuesday last for interment.” (Missouri Whig, Palmyra. “Steamboat Explosion.” 2-27-1851, p. 2, col. 3.)

Listing of Fatalities from Sources Noted Herein

1. Benson, William, W. 1st engineer. (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
2. Coop, Isaac (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
3. Hardin or Harding, Robert (young man blown onto levee) (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
4. James, John Walter. 14-16 years old. (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
5. Jarvis, daughter of Louis Jarvis, aged fifteen years (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
6. McGlaughlin (young man) New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Explosion of…St. Louis.”
7. McKean, Alexander pilot (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
8. Smidt, Ernest Augustus (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
9. Smith, Meriwether S. (Skelton; “youth”) (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
10. Smith, Sebastian fireman (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
11. Thompson, Godfrey young son of Wm. W. Thompson; afterwards from injuries.
12. Truitt, Dr. William H. Illinoistown (Lloyd / New Albany Ledger)
13. Trundley, Paul. 2nd engineer (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
14. Wells, Albert (employed by O. D. Filley) (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
15. Unidentified boy (or young man from interior of Illinois) (Lloyd)
16. Unidentified Irish boy (named William) (Lloyd)
17. Unnamed person drowned, 1 of 7 (Lloyd)
18. Unnamed person drowned, 2 of 7 (Lloyd)
19. Unnamed person drowned, 3 of 7 (Lloyd)
20. Unnamed person drowned, 4 of 7 (Lloyd)
21. Unnamed person drowned, 5 of 7 (Lloyd)
22. Unnamed person drowned, 6 of 7 (Lloyd)
23. Unnamed person drowned, 7 of 7 (Lloyd)
“Unknown boy, supposed to be one named John, who sells fish in the market.” [St. Louis]

Sources

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

Iowa State Gazette, Burlington. “Dreadful Calamity at St. Louis, February 23d [sic].” 3-5-1851, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 10-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/burlington-iowa-state-gazette-mar-05-1851-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

Missouri Whig, Palmyra, MO. “Steamboat Explosion.” 2-27-1851, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 10-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/palmyra-missouri-whig-feb-27-1851-p-2/

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.

New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Explosion of the Steam Ferry boat St. Louis.” 3-3-1851, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 10-25-2020: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-mar-03-1851-p-2/

Steamboat Times. “St. Louis.” Accessed 4-3-2011 at: http://steamboattimes.com/steamboats_1811~61_p4.html

Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Another Dreadful Explosion.” 3-4-1851, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed 10-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburgh-warrick-democrat-mar-04-1851-p-2/

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.