1858 — Jun 13, Pennsylvania boiler explos./fire, MS River, Ship Isl., Hardin Pt., AR–60-160

–60-160 Blanchard death toll estimate.*

— 250 NYT. “The Explosion…Pennsylvania…Loss of Life Estimated…[250]” 6-16-1858.
— 250 Wikipedia. “List of Boiler Explosions.”
— 200 Alton Weekly Courier, IL. “The Great Pennsylvania Disaster.” June 17, 1858, p. 2.
— 200 NYT. “The Disaster to the Steamer Pennsylvania.” June 19, 1858, p. 5.
–199-200 Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, WI. “Terrible Steamboat Disaster.” June 15, 1858, 1.
— 160 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p, 184.
— ~160 Bragg. Historic Names…Places on the Lower Miss. River. “Hardin Cutoff,” 1977, 93.
— 160 US Congress, House. Hearings. “Safety of Life and Property at Sea.” 1935, p. 247.
— 20-154 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994… Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 367.
— 80-150 Goodman. Shifting the Blame. 1998, p. 72.
— 150 Rivergator (Lower Mississippi River Water Trail). “Tunica To Helena.”
— >100 Gould. Fifty Years on the Mississippi. 1889, p. 397.
— >100 New York Times. “News of the Day.” June 15, 1858, p. 4.
— 100 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 100
— <100 Berkshire County Eagle, Pittsfield, MA. “Terrible Disaster…Miss…” 6-18-1858, p.2. -- 60 US SIS. Appendix 12, US Treasury Dept. Report on the Finances, Oct 25, 1858, 273. -- 20 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 287. -- 20 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [US] 1807-1868. 1952, 247. * Blanchard death toll estimate. For the low-end of our estimate we rely on the Steamboat Inspection Service report of sixty deaths. For the high-end we rely on Springer’s estimate of 160 deaths found in the Congressional Hearings on “Safety of Life and Property at Sea,” in 1935. This was the death toll also used by Berman and Bragg, and is very close to the estimate by Way of 154. We do not use for the low-end of our tally the twenty deaths noted by Lytle and Holdcamper, as well as Berman, who appears to follow Lytle and Holdcamper. Note that on page 184 Berman noted 160 deaths for the same event. We are unaware of the origination of this number in that we find no such reports in the newspaper reporting of the time. Narrative Information Berman: “Pennsylvania…486 [tons]. 1854 [built]. Jun 13, 1858. Exploded. Ship Island, Helena, Ark. 20 lives lost.” (Berman 1972, 287) Bragg: “Several islands and the little town of Austin, Mississippi, were removed from the main channel of the river by the cutoff [Corps of Engineers, 1942]. One of the islands that was left lying miles inland was the one that lay near the town. It had been called Ship Island, and somewhere near its foot lay the remains of a well-known steamer called the Pennsylvania. “The Pennsylvania was lost near Austin during the great flood of 1858. The boat had been hurrying upstream in June of that year, and had passed Austin just before dawn. There was a woodyard above the town, and George C. Harrison happened to be out on the river bank stacking cordwood when the big steamer passed. Harrison stopped his work to watch the boat round the bend above him. Suddenly the Pennsylvania seemed to disintegrate before his astonished eyes. A fraction of a second later, a tremendous blast shook the earth, and Harrison knew what had happened. When the smoke cleared he could see that the Pennsylvania was already a total wreck. “Peering through the smoke and fog that still hung over the river, Harrison thought he could see people in the water, struggling to stay afloat and clutching at bits of debris. Young Harrison shouted to his father, and the two men quickly untied a wood flat and rushed to the disabled steamer as fast as they could row the awkward craft. “At the scene of the accident, there was wild confusion. Dozens of people were in the water, but many were still on board the disabled boat. To George Harrison’s dismay, some of the passengers seemed to be more concerned about their property than their lives. Not until it became obvious that the Pennsylvania was being rapidly consumed by flames were the Harrisons able to persuade some of the people to abandon their luggage and jump to the safety of the wood flat. A few hesitated long enough to grab their heavy trunks, tossing them to the wood-boat’s deck and injuring several people in the process. “The Harrisons kept their flatboat against the burning vessel until it too was about to be engulfed in the flames. Then they pulled away and drifted down to a safe place to attend to the injured and await assistance. The wreck of the burning Pennsylvania drifted past Austin and came to rest at the foot of Ship Island. “An investigation made after the accident revealed that the big boat had been carrying about 400 passengers when she exploded. About 160 of the passengers and crew were lost. Many of the dead were German immigrants. “One of the victims of the explosion died several hours after he had been taken to a hospital at Memphis. His name was Henry Clemens. Henry had been the boat’s clerk, and his brother Sam was a cub pilot on the Pennsylvania. But for a last minute change of plans at New Orleans, Sam Clemens would have been sharing Henry’s quarters at the time of the accident and might have shared his sad fate as well. If Sam Clemens had not been left behind at New Orleans when the Pennsylvania made her last ill-fated upstream voyage, the world might have been deprived of one of its favorite authors. Young Sam Clemens would later abandon his career as a steamboat pilot to become America’s most respected and beloved literary figure, Mark Twain.” (Bragg. Historic Names…Places on the Lower Miss. River. “Hardin Cutoff,” 1977, 93.) Rivergator: “Tunica to Helena. Tunica Lake cuts through the woods several miles due east of here. It was in this stretch of river, at Ship Island, some 60 miles below Memphis, that Mark Twain’s brother, Henry Clemens, and one hundred and fifty others were lost when the steamboat The Pennsylvania was destroyed by an exploding steam boiler. The boat had been hurrying upstream in June of that year, and had passed Austin just before dawn. There was a wood yard above the town, and George C. Harrison happened to be out on the river bank stacking cordwood when the big steamer passed. Harrison stopped his work to watch the boat round the bend above him. Suddenly the Pennsylvania seemed to disintegrate before his astonished eyes. A fraction of a second later, a tremendous blast shook the earth, and Harrison knew what had happened. When the smoke cleared he could see that the Pennsylvania was already a total wreck…. “Ship Island, and the old channel, are now found seven miles to the east within the confines of present day Tunica Lake, left abandoned by the shifting channels of the river and the 1942 Hardin Cut-Off.” (Rivergator (Lower Mississippi River Water Trail). “Tunica To Helena.”) Twainquotes.com: Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) served on the Pennsylvania as a cub pilot from September 27, 1857 until June 5, 1858. According to Mr. Clemens: In 1858 I was a steersman on board the swift and popular New Orleans and St. Louis packet, Pennsylvania, (Captain Kleinfelter's boat)…I had found a place on the Pennsylvania for my brother Henry. It was not a place of profit, it was only a place of promise. He was "mud" clerk. . . it was on the way down to New Orleans that I had a fight with Mr. Brown. which resulted in his requiring that I be left ashore at New Orleans. . . two or three days afterward the boat's boilers exploded at Ship Island, (on June 13, 1858) below Memphis early one morning and what happened afterward I have already told in Life on the Mississippi. His brother, Henry, died in Memphis on June 21 “his lungs and body having been scalded by steam during the disaster.” (Twainquotes.com) US Steamboat Inspection Service: “On the 13th of June last the steamboat Pennsylvania, when near Ship island, on the Mississippi river, was destroyed by fire, occasioned by the explosion of the boilers. The loss of life could not be ascertained with precision, but supposed to be about fifty passengers and ten of the crew. From the evidence in this case it was shown that the vessel had been run upon a bar during the previous trip, by which one of the boilers had been severely strained, and leaked to that degree as to render it extremely difficult to keep up steam. Notwithstanding the condition of the boiler the engineer had not caused it to be repaired; the inspectors revoked the license of the engineer.” (US SIS. Appendix 12, Treasury Dept. Report on the Finances, Oct 25, 1858, p. 273.) Way: Pennsylvania. Sidewheel packet, wood hull; built at Shousetown and Pittsburg, Pa in 1854; 486 tons. “She exploded her boilers between Helena and Commerce at Ship Island, upbound, Sunday morning, June 13, 1858. The Diana, Kate Frisbee and Imperial rendered aid….U.S. Customs set the death toll at 20, but contemporary accounts were not so sanguine. An on-the-spot check estimated 154 lost or missing.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats …MS River System. 1994, p. 367.) Newspapers June 15, NYT: “We have to record this morning another horrible steamboat slaughter on the Mississippi River. The Pennsylvania, owned in Pittsburg, exploded her boilers on Sunday morning at 6 o'clock at Ship Island, about seventy-five miles below Memphis, Tennessee, and afterwards burned to the water's edge. She had on board three hundred and fifty passengers, of which number, it is believed, that at least one hundred perished. We publish elsewhere lists of the dead, wounded, missing and saved, so far as known. No particulars as to the cause of the explosion have yet reached us. Among the passengers, we notice the names of several members of the French Opera Troupe, some of whom were more or less injured.” (New York Times. “News of the Day.” 6-15-1858, p.4.) June 16, NYT: The Pennsylvania was a side-wheel steamer; sank at Ship Island near Memphis. A group of sixty survivors were taken to Cairo, IL the next day. One estimated that the number of people aboard the Pennsylvania was 450 that about 250 died – which made it into a New York Times headline on June 16. (NYT, “The Explosion of…Pennsylvania…Loss of Life Est. Two Hundred & Fifty,” 6-16-1858.) June 19, NYT: “Further Particulars – Two Hundred Persons Killed and Missing – Names of Killed, Injured and Saved. “The St. Louis papers give fuller lists of the persons killed and wounded by the burning of the Mississippi steamer Pennsylvania on the 13th inst. … “Full particulars of this disaster are given in the St. Louis Republican of the 16th. That paper estimates the number of persons killed and missing at two hundred. Mr. W.G. Mepham, a passenger, makes the following statement: The steamer Pennsylvania left New Orleans on the 9th inst., with one hundred and twenty-five cabin passengers and one hundred and fifty-eight deckers. She afterwards took on board, at Baton Rouge, Natchez and Vicksburg, 62 passengers, and at Napoleon 10. There were 40 deck hands and firemen, 21 of the steward’s crew, and 10 officers – making in all 450 souls. Out of this number, 182 were rescued by a wood-boat, and about 70 others escaped in various ways. These numbers include the wounded and scalded. About 200 are lost and missing. At about 6 o’clock on the morning of the 13th inst., when the boat was about 70 miles below Memphis, she exploded four of her boilers, while under way. At the time of the explosion she was near 300 yards from shore. The cabin was torn to pieces forward of her wheel-houses. Very few of the passengers were out of their state-rooms at the time. The passengers in the after part of the cabin – men, women and children – rushed out, and the utmost confusion ensued among them, all supposing the boat was on fire, from the smoke and steam which came rushing through the cabin. After close examination it was ascertained that the boat was not on fire, and the excitement was in some degree quelled. After the explosion, the boat commenced drifting down with the current, and an anchor was thrown overboard for the purpose of checking the boat, for at that time we were of opinion that we could prevent the boat from taking fire. But the water being so deep, and the current so swift, the anchor dragged and the boat continued to drift down. As quickly as possible, Capt. Klinefelter and two or three of his men made an attempt to carry a line ashore by the yawl, but from the line being too short, or some other cause, they did not succeed. Without losing a moment’s time the Captain ordered the yawl turned down stream to a Mr. Harris’ wood yard, for the purpose of bringing an empty wood-boat, which was lying there, to the rescue. The boat was not supplied with oars, and it was an exceedingly difficult matter to accomplish this purpose, but by dint of skill and hard labor the Captain succeeded in getting it along-side. In from three to five minutes from the time the wood-boat touched the steamer, it was discovered that the Pennsylvania was on fire. The fire appeared to issue from about the after end of the boilers, and in one minute from the time of the alarm, the boat was wrapped in flames. Passengers and crew immediately rushed from the burning boat upon the wood-boat, and filled it as full as they could stand. Captain Klinefelter was the last man that jumped from the steamer to the wood-boat as it was being pushed off, with its living freight, from the burning boat. The most intense excitement prevailed on board the wood-boat, as we endeavored to propel if from the burning mass – as we had only a few boards in place of oars, and the crowd rendered it almost impossible to work them with success. But we finally succeeded in getting her bow turned out, so that the current struck her stern, and swung to wood-boat around, and by that means we cleared the burning boat, and she drifted by, but not until many of the passengers were severely scorched. By turning our backs, and with the aid of a few counterpanes and quilts which were saved, we screened ourselves from the heat as much as possible, and finally succeeded, after drifting one mile, in reaching an island or tow-head, called Ship Island, where the wood boat was made fast to some trees. After shoving the wood-boat from the steamer there were a good many deck passengers seen rushing out with their trunks, boxes, &c., in the hope of saving their little stock of plunder, and by trying to save their effects, they lost their lives, for it was impossible for us to render them any assistance. I remember seeing one man and woman, who, from their appearance, were German emigrants, handing to a line from the stern of the boat – the man, holding the one with one hand and his chest with the other, and as the boat swung around they disappeared from view. They, doubtless, remained in this position until they were compelled, by the heat of the flames, to loose their hold, and drown. The cabin passengers, with the exception of one or two, behaved with great coolness and decision, and rendered one another every assistance in their power, but among the deck passengers the greatest excitement prevailed. It seemed that all they cared for was to save their plunder, throwing it over the guards into the wood-boat, not heeding where it fell. A number of the passengers in the wood-boat were bruised and injured by the falling of the trunks and boxes into the boat. From this disposition to save baggage, many of the deckers were lost, who would otherwise have saved their lives. About 25 of the wounded escaped on the wood-boat, amongst them were the first mate, second engineer, two Frenchmen, late of the Theatre d’Orleans, Col. Harris, of Arkansas, badly scalded, and others very badly cut and bruised – mostly deck passengers. They suffered very much in consequence of there being no medical attendance to dress their wounds, and no means of procuring any for the space of two hours. But at length some neighboring planters, from the Arkansas shore, brought some linseed oil and liniment which, with the aid of cotton taken from the quilts, gave some relief to the wounded. The scalded victims suffered much from the heat of the sun, as the whole country was overflowed, and we could not succeed in getting the boat to the main land, and in this condition we were obliged to remain under a broiling sun for fully eight hours. The women and children who were unhurt also suffered excessively from the heat of the sun and hunger. After remaining on the island eight hours the steamer Imperial, bound down, came to our relief, and, after giving us a good dinner, put us on board of the Kate Frisbee and Diana, bound up. Too much praise cannot be given to the officers of these boats for the kindness they extended to us. The Diana being crowded with passengers, very few of us came up on her; the greater portion of our company going on the Frisbee, which the Diana left behind. It was the intention of the captain of the Frisbee when we left to try and save all he could, and pick up scattering passengers along the shore. The Diana brought up fifteen of the wounded to Memphis to be taken to the hospital. The passengers on the Diana raised a subscription of between two and three hundred dollars towards defraying the expenses of the sufferers in Memphis. They also made up several purses for destitute women who were aboard. Altogether, they acted very magnanimously in the way of supplying the women and children, who were scantily dressed with garments…. Nearly all the deck-hands were either killed or missing; first and second mates so badly injured as to render them helpless. First clerk, Mr. Black, and Mr. Brown, pilot, both missing. The Captain had to assume the whole charge of the boat under the trying circumstances. Of the firemen on watch at the time of the explosion, only one was saved, and he stated to me that they had just hauled the coals from the ash-pan, and had neglected, in some measure, to replenish the fires. At that time the engineer came around and called on them, saying, ‘Shove her up boys, for we are scarcely steaming the current;’ and he states that they had scarcely put any wood into the fire-doors before the explosion occurred. By some miracle this man escaped with a slight scald in the back. From the report of those engaged in trying to keep down the fire, barrels of turpentine or some other combustible liquid must have taken fire in the hold from the rapidity with which the flames enveloped the whole boat, so soon after the alarm of fire. If not for the timely aid of the wood-boat, or if it had been delayed five minutes, there would not have been fifty of us left to tell the tale…. The wreck floated down about two and a half miles, and landed on the point of a tow-head, where it burned to the water’s edge. All that could be seen of it, when we left, were some portions of the machinery and one of the boilers. When the river falls, the wreck will be left high and dry.” (New York Times. “The Disaster to the Steamer Pennsylvania.” June 19, 1858, p. 5.) June 23: “Father Anthony of Milwaukee had been on a visit to New Orleans and was returning by the steamer Pennsylvania when the explosion took place. He has since died from injuries received by the accident.” (Daily Milwaukee News, WI. “Death of a Milwaukeean.” June 23, 1858, p. 1.) June 23: “The cause of the explosion of the boilers of the steamer Pennsylvania on the 13th inst., by which 100 lives were lost, is found to have been the negligence of the engineer in charge, who was so busily engaged in playing cards that he permitted the boilers to become dry.” (Democratic Pharos, Logansport, IN. June 23, 1858, p. 3.) June 26, NYT: On June 26 the NYT posted an update from the Memphis Appeal to the effect that the before he died, a passenger who was a ship engineer, John H. Campbell, told a friend that he had gotten up early the morning of the explosion and went down to the engine room and “found that the engineer was not at his post… He then discovered that the engineer was aft, where he had been in company with some women.” Too late, the engineer went back to check on the boiler. (New York Times. “Cause of the Explosion of the Pennsylvania,” June 26, 1858.) Sources Alton Weekly Courier, IL. “The Great Pennsylvania Disaster.” 6-17-1858, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/alton-weekly-courier-jun-17-1858-p-2/ Berkshire County Eagle, Pittsfield, MA. “Terrible Disaster in the Lower Mississippi – Nearly 100 Lives Lost.” 6-18-1858, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=829665 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972. Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: ftp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NOAA_related_docs/US_Army/Mississippi_River_names_1977.pdf Daily Milwaukee News, WI. “Death of a Milwaukeean.” 6-23-1858, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=119983300 Democratic Pharos, Logansport, IN. [Cause of Pennsylvania Boiler Explosion.] 6-23-1858, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83088722 Goodman, Nan. Shifting the Blame. Princeton Univ. Press, 1998. Partially digitized, Google. At: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shifting_the_Blame/YFNdAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Goodman,+Nan.++Shifting+the+Blame.&printsec=frontcover Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi; or, Gould’s History of River Navigation. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1889, 750 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 2008 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=udyywXOVBvsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false 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 New York Times. “Cause of the Explosion of the Pennsylvania.” 6-26-1858. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E0DE6D91331EE34BC4E51DFB0668383649FDE New York Times. “News of the Day.” 6-15-1858, p. 4. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1858/06/15/78537230.html?pageNumber=4 New York Times. “The Disaster to the Steamer Pennsylvania.” June 19, 1858, p. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5828723 New York Times. “The Explosion of the Pennsylvania – The Loss of Life Estimated at Two Hundred and Fifty.” 6-16-1858. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E06E4D8153CEE34BC4E52DFB0668383649FDE Rivergator (Lower Mississippi River Water Trail). “Tunica To Helena.” Accessed 10-15-2020 at: https://www.rivergator.org/river-log/memphis-to-helena/tunica-to-helena.cfm/pg/11/ 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 Twainquotes.com. 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 United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. “Appendix 12,” in United States Treasury Department. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for the Year Ending June 30, 1858. Washington: William A. Harris, Printer, 1858. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=XCUSAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false 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. Wikipedia. “List of Boiler Explosions.” 8-9-2010. Accessed 10-15-2020 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_boiler_explosions