1857 — Feb 21, Steamer Humboldt sunk by Belfast, MS Riv., chute of Island No. 75, MS– 15

–15 Bragg. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Miss. River. “Island No. 75,” 1977, p.119.
–15 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 248.
–15 US Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District. 2-27-2015 Facebook post.
–15 US Steamboat Inspection Service. Fifth Annual Report of…1857, p. 221.
–15 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys..]… 1999, 218.

Narrative Information

Bragg: “In 1857 the pilots of the steamboats Humboldt and Belfast had a slight misunderstanding about their passing signals and attempted to occupy the same side of the channel. The Belfast was not seriously damaged, but the Humboldt was mortally wounded and sank so fast that 15 of her passengers drowned.” (Bragg. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Miss. River. “Island No. 75,” 1977, 119.)

US SIS: “On the Mississippi river, on the 21st day of February, 1857, at one o’clock in the morning, a collision took place between the steamer “Belfast,” an inspected steamer, and the “Humbolt,” an uninspected freight steamer, in the chute of island No. 75, by which accident the “Humbolt” was sunk immediately, and fifteen persons of the crew on board the ” Humbolt” lost their lives. There was no loss of life on the “Belfast”.” (US Steamboat Inspection Service. Annual Report 1857, 221.)

US Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District: “Did you know? Island No. 75 was located at mile 579 along the western bank of the Lower Mississippi River. Also known as Ozark Island, it originally lay in the middle of the river. The navigation channel that ran between the island and the west bank was filled with snags. In the 1840s the steamboat Belle Zane had a bizarre accident at Island No. 75. The boat hit a snag and for reasons that were never understood, promptly turned upside down. Of the 90 people on board, contemporary accounts estimated that about 50 made it to the safety of the island. But the cold and bitter winter night was to claim even more. When rescuers found the survivors the next morning only 16 people were still alive. In 1848 the steamboat Clarksville caught fire at Ozark Island, and again there was a heavy loss of life. About 21 people were said to have perished in the flames, or were drowned in their effort to reach the island. In 1857 the pilots of the steamboats Humboldt and Belfast had a slight misunderstanding about their passing signals and attempted to occupy the same side of the channel. The Belfast was not seriously damaged but the Humboldt was mortally wounded and sank so fast that 15 of those on board drowned. Island No. 75 belonged to the State of Mississippi, but the river eventually retired it to the Arkansas shore. River pilots who knew of its connection with so many old tragedies were glad to see the last of it.” (US Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District. 2-27-2015 Facebook post.)

Way: Humboldt: Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built in Cincinnati in 1855, at 513 tons. “….Lost in collision with the Belfast at Island 75, Miss. River, Feb 21, 1857, with loss of 15 lives.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys..]… 1999, p. 218.)

Sources

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed at: [Both links broken]
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/history/MRnames/MissRiverNames.htm > Also at:
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/Portals/52/docs/MRC/MRnames%28Intro-end_final2%29.pdf

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=9&size=125&q1=ceres

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District. 2-27-2015 Facebook post. Accessed 9-12-2020 at: https://www.facebook.com/MemphisUSACE/posts/did-you-know-island-no-75-was-located-at-mile-579-along-the-western-bank-of-the-/881879321877880/

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Fifth Annual Report of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats (October 27, 1857). In: Treasury Department. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for the Year Ending June 30, 1857. Washington: House of Representatives, 35th Congress, 1st Session, Ex. Doc. No. 3, 1857. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=GIPPAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=true

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.