1858 — Mar 1, steamer Eliza Battle fire, Tombigbee Riv., Kemp’s Landing ~Demopolis AL–29

— 29 Blanchard*

–80-90 Calhoun, Emmet. “Recollections – Eliza Battle,” Birmingham News, August 1942.
–29-80 Riverboat Dave’s Riverboats Starting with E. “Eliza Battle.” 4/14/2008 update.
— <50 Choctaw County Genealogical Society (AL). “The Eliza Battle.” -- ~40 Wiley, Rufus R.. “Excerpt from Autobiography of a Little Man,” “Eliza Battle.” --33-40 NYT. “Burning of Steamer Eliza Battle. Forty Lives Lost!,” March 12, 1858, p. 8. -- 39 New York Times. “Another Dreadful Steamboat Disaster,” March 4, 1858. -- 39 The Friend (Religious and Lit. Journal). “Summary of Events,” Vol. 31, 1858, p. 216. --29-33 Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “The Burning of Steamer Eliza Battle,” 29Mar1858. -- 29 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 166. -- 29 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 241. -- 29 Nash. Darkest Hours, “Major Maritime Disasters,” 1977, p. 684. -- 29 News reports of March 3 out of Mobile, noted in Ward, Tombigbee River Steamboats. -- 29 US SIS. Appendix 12, US Treasury Dept. Report on the Finances, Oct 25, 1858, p. 268. -- 29 Ward. The Tombigbee River Steamboats. “Chapter 6, The Eliza Battle.” 2010.** -- 29 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994… Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 145. *Blanchard: We choose to follow Berman, Lytle and Holdcamper, Nash, the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service, Ward (see below), and Way on a loss of life of twenty-nine people. **Ward: “The story of the Eliza Battle took on a life of its own almost as soon as the word of its burning spread. Tales about it grew and changed as time passed. The number of souls lost grew from the twenty-nine to thirty-four, forty, fifty and then to almost one hundred. The New York Times gave to toll as thirty-three; the Gainesville (AL) Intelligence, thirty-four; and the Congressional report, twenty-nine….” (Ward. The Tombigbee River Steamboats. “Chapter 6, The Eliza Battle.” 2010.) Narrative Information Calhoun: “One of the greatest catastrophes ever to occur on the Tombigbee River was the burning of the steamboat Eliza Battle on the night of March 1, 1858, in which between 80 and 90 persons lost their lives…. “The Eliza Battle was the largest and most palatial steamboat that plied the Tombigbee River, running out of Mobile to Aberdeen, Miss., when the water stage of the river permitted, which was about four months in the Winter and early Spring. She was a cargo and passenger-carrying steamer, her up-river cargo consisting of plantation supplies and provisions, the latter such foodstuffs as were not grown on the plantations – sugar, coffee, rice, etc. Her downstream cargo of course, was almost exclusively cotton --- large 500-pound bales, there being no steam compressors in those days by which the farm bale could be compressed to one-third in size. There was great competition on the river for the cotton cargoes that the plantations along the river supplied most plantations being regular steamboat landings…. “The Eliza Battle’s owners at Mobile for weeks had sent word up and down the river that her first down-river trip in March was to be a gala event. The boat shortly before had installed a calliope, commonly called a steam piano and had engaged two string bands to provide dance music, day and night for the expected throngs of joy-seeking passengers. Came the great day – March 1, 1858 – and the boat left Aberdeen with a fair company of persons for the joy trip to Mobile and return. On arrival at Columbus on a cold day, with bright sunshine, the landing field was filled with carriages that had brought a gay company to board the boat. Ladies and their beaus, young married couples, who had awaited their opportunity for their bridal trip, planters and their wives and itinerant drummers (salesmen) and others. “About 50 persons boarded the boat at Columbus and shortly after noon, the Eliza Battle backed out from the dock decorated from stem to stern with flags and bunting with the calliope giving out its music. Within an hour the orchestra began playing and dancing started in the large cabin. Arriving at Pickensville [AL], 41 miles down the river from Columbus, the boat took on additional passengers and the dancing and merriment increased as nearly everyone living along the river knew each other. These landings and taking on passengers were repeated at Vienna, Gainesville, and Warsaw as they had been at the plantation landings until more than 200 passengers were aboard, through stateroom accommodations could provide for little more than half that number. “In making its way down the river the Eliza Battle was hailed for landings. With high water of the river many of these landings were hazardous, but had they not been made the planters would have harbored enmity and the Eliza Battle would lost business of these plantations in the future. At Demopolis, Ala., the last of the gay contingent of passengers was taken aboard. With 2,000 bales of cotton piled from the lower deck, and to the cabin deck, and with more than 200 passengers besides the crew aboard, the boat’s officers decided no more stops could be made. Night had fallen, the evening meal served and everything cleared for gaiety and dancing which continued without interruption. Ladies in their crinolines and gentlemen in their…colored suits --- coats, vests, and trousers being of different hues as was custom of the day—gave way to joy and merriment. “The night was gloomy and dark with a heavy sleet falling and bitter cold wind blowing. The river was many feet above normal, only the tops of the trees growing on the low banks showing above the water. Then came the alarming cry of fire. This cry was screamingly repeated when one person after another made the horrible discovery that the boat was afire. There was an immediate panic. In the brisk wind the fire spread rapidly and soon the greater part of the boat was engulfed. Men began to push bales of cotton into the river and try to get their womenfolk on them. Dozens of persons leaped into the river and tried to reach the shore. Many reached and clung to the tops of partially submerged trees. Others got ashore but could render no assistance to those in the treetops, many of whom froze to death during the night. “Captain Stone, master of the Eliza Battle, in desperation ordered the pilot into the bank, but it was found some of the tiller ropes leading to the rudders had burned in two and was almost unmanageable. However, several miles further down the river, the current veered the burning boat close to shore near Wehoeta, a near landing at this point permitting the few persons left aboard to leap off and swim ashore. Daylight coming shortly afterward, a young man, with only a skiff available sought to rescue persons in treetops up and down the river. About 50 were taken from the treetops in a half frozen condition. They were put in plantation homes and outhouses and others laid on the ground on hay and corn fodder and Negro slaves built huge fired to help them thaw out. “Those rescued, as they regained somewhat of understanding, told grim tales of hearing persons in treetops losing consciousness frozen numbness and falling into the river and drowning. At the Pettigrew plantation at Wehoeta some 80 persons were cared for who had been rescued, only one of who had succumbed from exposure survived. There were many acts of heroism in this disaster and are always in such emergencies, but it would be useless to try to enumerate them. Men died in efforts to save their loved ones and women died in their efforts to save their children, though fortunately there were few aboard the failed trip of the Eliza Battle. “Stories have been written about the origin of the fire, some that professional gamblers deliberately set fire to the boat when they were pulled off by the captain. Another said the boat’s safe was robbed by two cracksmen and that when leaving they crashed an oil burning lantern on a bale of cotton so the fire would cover their robbery. The most plausible account is that a merrymaking passenger threw a cigar sub on a bale of cotton thinking he was tossing into the river and the fire resulted. The News is thankful to Mr. Will Borden (?) of Birmingham, for consider detail relating to the burning of the Eliza Battle which were gathered by Mrs. T. C. Borden of Reform, Ala. They lost relatives in the disaster. From Aberdeen, Miss., to Demopolis, Ala., there was hardly a family along the river that was not personally bereaved by the burning of the Eliza Battle.” (Calhoun, Emmet. “Recollections – Eliza Battle,” Birmingham News, August 1942.) Calhoun: “Two weeks ago this column gave an account of the burning and sinking of the palatial passenger and freight steamboat, Eliza Battle, on the Tombigbee River more than 84 years ago. Naturally, in the recital there were some discrepancies from the actual facts, but the story was substantially accurate. Now comes additional details of the disaster that cost 80 to 90 lives from Captain Harry E. Miller, Jr., captain of the tugboat Sylph, plying between Demopolis and Mobile, and his letter is given herewith. Dear M. Calhoun --- The writer is a regular reader of your column, Recollections, and enjoy them for their simplicity and historical recollections. I personally think you have contributed much to the historical background of Alabama and Mississippi. Your column of Sunday, was especially interesting as it touched interests that are familiar to me in a way, as I have followed the profession of river boat pilot out of Mobile on the Bigbee River for nearly 30 years. So you see, I have a wealth of river lore in my system, and such being the case, I’m going to make a few corrections, which I sincerely hope you will not in any way take as criticism, but merely as a friendly gesture, for after all, you are practically correct in all details except the name and landing where the Eliza Battle burned and finally sank, and the origin of the fire; also that the Battle did not stop after leaving Demopolis. The Battle took on passengers at Demopolis. Among them was a wealthy planter, who had loaded his cotton there, and as, was the customary had received his pay was bound for Mobile with the money in a handbag. As you related there was little, if any stateroom space left. This planter, therefore, was assigned a room in the Texas (top deck crew quarters). Night had long fallen when the Battle cleared Demopolis and the planter locked his money in the stateroom and joined the crowd in the main cabin. The deck crew, or roustabouts, in those days were mostly immigrants. In this crew were two Irishmen who conspired to rob the stateroom when the opportunity presented itself, which was not long in coming. The Battle had a consignment of freight for Beckley’s Landing 32 miles south of Demopolis. While at this place the two Irishmen entered the room, took the satchel, fired the mattress and closed the door. Just as the Battle cast loose and in the confusion of departure, the two Irishmen disappeared up the bank. The fire was discovered about 50 minutes after leaving Beckley’s Landing or when the boat was at Kenebis Creek, eight miles below Beckley’s. She then burned and floated in the strong current until one-fourth mile above Naheola Landing, which was at that time on the old Pettigrew plantation. Here the Eliza Battle sank and to this day her wreck is still submerged in 28 feet of water. Naheola is 42 miles below Demopolis in Choctaw County. About 30 years ago, an old man lay desperately ill in the city of New York. Realizing he had little time left, he called for a priest and made a written confession that he and a friend had set fire to a boat by the name Eliza Battle on the Bigbee River after robbing a stateroom. This confession was sent to the authorities in Mobile, who, of course, verified it thus proving the origin of the most disastrous riverboat fire Alabama has ever known… The Battle was in command of Capt. Stone and the pilot on watch at the time of the fire was Pilot Ples D. Tindle. These two men were considered tops in their profession….His son, P.D. Tindle, resides in Mobile . . . Yours respectfully, Captain Harry E. Miller, Jr., Master Towboat Sylph.” (Calhoun, Emmet. “Recollections – Update,” Birmingham News, Aug 14, 1942.) Riverboat Dave’s: “Name: Eliza Battle “Type: Sidewheel wooden hull packet “Launched: 1852, new Albany, Ind. Size: 316 tons. “Destroyed: 1858, March 1, Kemps Landing, Tombigbee R. “Captains: 1858, When burned, Stone Comments: Way’s indicate that 29 persons lost their lives when this boat burned. Other accounts indicate as many as 80 may have died.” U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service: “On the night of March 1, 1858, the steamer Eliza Battles was destroyed by fire while on her passage down the Tombigbee River, near Kemp’s landing; the boat was loaded with fourteen hundred bales of cotton, and the fire originated at or near the stern, and spread with great rapidity; the water of the river was at a very high stage and inundated the bottom lands, rendering the landing of the boat for the safety of those on board impossible; the pilot ran the boat into the woods; the boat burned to the water’s edge; the passengers and crew jumped overboard and attempted to save themselves on bales of cotton. Of the whole number of persons, twenty-nine were lost, fifteen of the passengers and fourteen of the crew; and all perished from exposure to the severe weather during the night while hanging to trees or bales of cotton, to which that had resorted for safety. “The life-boat was upon the hurricane deck, and, there being no convenient means of lowering it in time, was not available, and was of no service whatever in saving the lives of those on board. This is another instance showing the necessity of carrying the boats in such manner that they may be of ready access in case of accident. “A very thorough investigation was had of this disaster by the local board of inspectors, which resulted in entirely exonerating the officers of the steamer, as they appeared to have exerted themselves in every possible manner for the safety of the passengers and crew.” [p. 268] “Of the loss of life resulting from fire it will be noticed, in the case of the Eliza Battles, twenty-nine were lost by exposure to severe weather during the night, after having safely escaped from the burning steamer.” [p. 280] (U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service. Appendix 12, US Treasury Dept. Report on the Finances, Oct 25, 1858, pp. 268 and 280.) Ward: “Its loss is called one of the greatest calamities in Alabama history…. “The Eliza Battle was considered one of the largest and finest steamers ever in the Upper Tombigbee trade. Built in New Albany, Indiana, in 1852, it was a 315-ton side-wheeler capable of carrying more than two thousand bales of cotton. Normally it only drew about five and a half feet of water. Its high regard as a steamer is shown by it being selected in 1854 to greet, with a band on board, former president Fillmore upon his arrival by ocean steamer in Mobile Bay and then transport him and the ‘Committee of Invitation’ to the Mobile wharf….. “Viewing the Eliza Battle at the Mobile levee just days before its fateful trip in 1858, Charles Mackay described it as an ‘elegant steam4r, a floating palace.’ The Battle had arrived in Mobile shortly before with cotton and passengers from Columbus, Mississippi, and the Upper Tombigbee. In February 1858, it was the Cox Brainard & Company’s weekly packet to the Upper Tombigbee. “Its final journey began in late February 1858….At Columbus, it unloaded the last of its cargo and boarded passengers and cotton for the Mobile market. Its captain was one of the most popular captains on the Tombigbee, S. Graham Stone, and its pilot was the highly respected Daniel Epps. It left Columbus February 28 and stopped at Pickensville, Fairfield, Warsaw, Gainesville and Demopolis for more passengers and cotton. The Eliza Battle was soon steaming south toward Mobile carrying fifty-five to sixty passengers, a crew of about forty-five and 1,400 bales of cotton…. “The balmy weather of the upstream voyage had changed. There was rain, and the quickly rising water became a flood pushing the Tombigbee out of its banks. The almost spring-like temperature became raw and bitter….about 10:00 p.m. the north wind blew even more bitter, and the temperature dropped forty degrees in just two hours. The rain showers of earli4r turned to sleet. Through these rapidly changing conditions, the Battle continued south. ‘A bitter north wind, described as ‘almost a gale,’ was blowing down the river. The cold was so biting that even the stokers who were feeding pine logs into the boiler furnaces could not stay warm. The deck passengers tried to find somewhere warm and comfortable on the open main deck…. ‘About 1:00 a.m., the steamer Warrior, announcing its approach with ‘a loud shrill whistle,’ passed the Battle ‘sparking,’ which meant that sparks were pouring out of its smokestacks. Apparently, some sparks fell on the Battle’s cotton bales, setting them on fire. Then about 2:00 a.m. on Monday morning, passengers were roused into the cold by the dreaded cry of ‘Fire!’…. “At first, the fire was contained to the rear of the boat, but the steamer was traveling south, and an almost gale-force wind was blowing from the north. Fed by the wind, the flames raced forward along the cotton and onto the boat’s superstructure. When the flames were first discovered, the pilot steered the Eliza Battle for the shore. However, at night with the river flooded, finding a suitable landing place was a difficult task. “The pilot, Daniel Eppes, attempted to steer the boat toward shore, but the best he could do was to run it into the flooded forest by the east bank. Further efforts to control the boat were for naught as the tiller rope burned and all control was lost….There was an attempt made to get the Battle’s lifeboat or yawl launched, but it was located aft on the hurricane deck, and all means of access were quickly cut off by the fire. The wind-driven fire forced away those attempting to launch it, and it was soon consumed in flames, as was the aft part of the cabin, which was the ladies’ cabin…. “As bad as the flames were, the weather and river were almost as dangerous. In the end, most of those who perished did so not from the fire but from freezing. “….Dr. Solomon Clanton, died four days later [March 5?] …. “The story of the Eliza Battle took on a life of its own almost as soon as the word of its burning spread. Tales about it grew and changed as time passed. The number of souls lost grew from the twenty-nine to thirty-four, forty, fifty and then to almost one hundred. The New York Times gave to toll as thirty-three; the Gainesville (AL) Intelligence, thirty-four; and the Congressional report, twenty-nine….” (Ward. The Tombigbee River Steamboats. “Chapter 6, The Eliza Battle.” 2010.) Way: Eliza Battle: Sternwheel packet, wood hull, build at New Albany, IN, in 1852; 316 tons. “Went to Mobile and ran there to Montgomery. Burned and lost at Kemps Landing on the Tombigbee River, Mar. 1, 1858. Twenty-nine persons lost.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 145.) Wiley: “….There was to be a grand occasion of some kind in Mobile on March 7th, and it seemed that everybody wanted to go, and that all had preference for the ever popular steamer Eliza Battle as the conveyance. ”No steamer ever steamed out from a city with a gayer crowd. The aristocracy and wealth, the chivalrous and fair were on board. Planters, some of them worth millions, with their wives and daughters were along, and the whole made up one of the most elegant gatherings of the high society that ever graced the deck of a steamer with their presence. “Four miles down the river the people could hear the flutter of the paddle-wheel and the puffing, telling them that the Eliza Battle was coming, and the banks all along were lined with eager crowds who gave back wave for wave with their handkerchiefs to the passengers. ”At Pickensville, Warsaw, Vienna and Gainesville the passenger list was augmented until people had to be turned away. At all these places great piles of cotton were taken on, until the weight sent the guard rails to level with the water. The manifest, both as regards passengers and freight, was the largest by far ever exhibited by a steamer on that river. The time of which I write marked a prosperous era in the history of the South. The crop just harvested was enormous. Everybody had plenty, everybody was liberal and the influence of these things permeated the crowd on the Eliza Battle, for people in their joys spent their money liberally, and forgot for the time their differences, if there ever were any, and devoted the while to the passing pleasures. “On the evening of the din, about 8 o'clock, Gainesville Alabama, was passed and the whole town was at the landing. The steamer looked even grander now than at any other time on the trip, because the night was extremely dark and the lights gave a more beautiful effect. The next place of note to be passed was Demopolis. Between Gainesville and Demopolis the bottoms are rich, and dense swamps line the banks on either side. Out where the lands begin to rise are plantations, and the noise made by the passengers, the music, and the puffing caused the plantation Negroes to gather on the banks along to see the sight. The steamer rounding the bends. With her great headlight, with its effect changing with the swaying, caused the huge trees to look like so many specters. The boat itself with its gloomy surroundings environing the banks "looked like the picture of some dreadful monster plowing the waters, bent upon destruction." The river was extremely high and about 10 o'clock a cold, stiff north wind arose, driving the people from the balconies and hurricane deck into the hall and parlor. “The fever of enjoyment was too high for it to be cooled so suddenly into slumber. ‘Partners for a cotillion.’ rang through the crowd, and quickly following came strains from the excellent string band. “By 12 o'clock what had been a lively scene merged into one of revelry. Men in the dazzling effulgence forgot themselves and imbibed too freely in the passing brandy and wine, while the ladies were on the animation that the gay surroundings furnished. “It was in the midst of this revelry and royal banquet when the startling words "Fire," "F-i-r-e", came like a thunderbolt to cruelly transform the scene into one of terror. Unlike Belshazzar of old they had not the warning and advantage of the handwriting on the wall. Little did they dream of the awful doom that was to come upon the heels of such entrancing enjoyment to send them so soon into eternity. The elements, fire, wind and water, it seemed had combined to do their deadly work. “Every heart quailed. Women screamed and fainted, and men who looked but a few moments ago as though nothing could give them fright, became paralyzed and as helpless as babes. Roaring of the north wind, the crackling of the flames, the rushing of the mad turbulent waters, and the screams of the frightened and doomed passengers conspired to make it one of the most appalling calamities that ever took place on Southern waters. The night was bitter cold, and to add to the awful picture, the wind was blowing a terrible gale. “Nearly every passenger was lost. Many were drowned and some froze to death, and a few were rescued from floating bales of cotton. The pilots stood nobly at the wheel until the flames began to leap up over the Texas of the boat and seeing that the hope was a forlorn one they abandoned their posts, and left the boat to drift with the tide. The night was so cold that the clothes on the bodies of those who had sought safety in the trees would freeze into sheets of ice within a half-minute from the time the water was left. There were perhaps as many as twenty-five who were lucky or unlucky enough to swim to and climb trees, and of this number not more than five lived through the night because of the intense cold. “A Mr. Frank Mauldin, who is now living at Macon, Noxubee County, Mississippi, is perhaps the only living survivor of that terrible event. He sought safety in a tree into the limbs of which three others had climbed for safety. They were on the limbs above him. Mr. Mauldin owes his life to a small bottle of brandy and a plug of tobacco he had in his pockets. After drinking all the brandy, he could feel his doom in the sheets of ice that encompassed him unless something was done quickly. His appetite called for stimulants and the plug of tobacco was to him a Godsend. Piece by piece he bit from it and swallowed the juice as he chewed. All this time he could hear the pitiful wails of those above and around him in their cries for mercy and help. He could discern the voice of those were fast sinking into death's embrace under the biting torture of their ice stiffened clothes, and occasionally he could hear the thud when some poor unfortunate's body fell to the water from the trees. More than all, he could hear the heart rending appeals of those above him for aid until one by one they dropped by him and on into the water below. “At daylight the next morning he was rescued, more dead than alive, by some negroes in a skiff. They were not a minute too early for as the skiff landed against the tree in which he was perched, his strength failed him and he fell unconscious from his hold and landed across it in the water. They rowed to bank as soon as possible and there, by wrapping him in warm blankets and rolling him over and over on the ground for an hour or more, they gradually brought him to. “Imagine the thoughts of those in the trees on that dreadful night. Many of them had brought their families along and but a few moments ago were surrounded by all that was near and dear to them. In the consternation, devoted husbands and brothers and sons had to perform the task of shoving from the guards of the boat their loved ones that they might escape the more torturing death from burning. It was death to remain and death to jump. Perhaps in taking to the water there was a chance in a hundred to escape death, but to remain was entirely hopeless. One by one the screaming children, frantic young ladies, and distracted mothers were pitched on to floating debris and left to the merciless, angry waters. The flames from the burning decks of the steamer lit up the surroundings for hundreds of yards. Down the river as far as your eyes could see and out in the timbers were to be seen here and there some poor mortal clinging to a floating something all struggling for a place of safety. Occasionally a bale of cotton or a piece of timber to which some unfortunate was clinging would revolve or strike a tree abruptly and there would come a shriek and another poor soul would go down forever. The prayers, the moaning and groaning of the burning, drowning and freezing fairly caused the earth to tremble. “Until this day Mr. Mauldin, whom the writer knows well, will give way to emotion in telling of his experience and suffering on that terrible night…. “Many were picked up by a steamer next day, some nearer dead than alive, and floating on cotton bales. A little child was found on a. bale of cotton, wrapped in a blanket safe and dry with no one left to claim it. A lady and her daughter were rescued by a Negro and safety landed on a bale of cotton and they gave him a fine gold watch and chain for his kindness….” (Wiley, Rufus R.. “Excerpt from Autobiography of a Little Man,” “Eliza Battle.”) Newspapers March 4, NYT: “New-Orleans, Wednesday, March 3. A dispatch from Mobile states the steamboat Eliza Battle, was burned at Kemp’s landing near Demopolis, Ala., on Monday morning. Thirty-nine lives were lost, and twelve hundred bales of Cotton destroyed….Many of the sufferers were frozen in the water.” (NYT. “Another Dreadful Steamboat Disaster…on the Alabama River,” 4 Mar 1858.) March 12, NYT: “From the Mobile Advertiser of March 4. We received intelligence yesterday of a terrible calamity on the Bigbee River – the destruction by fire of the steamer Eliza Battle…. As far as ascertained, thirty-three lives were lost, consisting of the crew and passengers, (about one-half each,) and all the cotton, except some 15 or 20 bales. “The fire had its origin among the cotton bales on the after deck under the cabin, and although the flames made but little progress at first, a strong North wind (almost a gale) soon spread to all parts of the boat…. “It is due to Captain Stone to say, that when assistance arrived he gave orders to save the women and children first, and was himself the last to be taken off…. “No cause for the fire is known, unless it was by sparks from the steamer Warrior, which boat was met passing to the windward about half an hour before the flames were discovered. All of the books and papers of the boat were lost, and with the exception of one or two carpet-bags, every particle of baggage also. The Battle belonged to Messrs. Cox, Brainard & Co., and was not insured….” (NYT. “Burning of Steamer Eliza Battle. Forty Lives Lost!,” 3-12-1858, p. 8.) March 29, Adams Sentinel: “Great Loss of Life - The telegraph recently reported the burning of the steamer Eliza Battle, on the Tombigbee river, and the consequent loss of a large number of lives. Mobile papers of the 4th inst., now at hand, give full particulars of the melancholy disaster. The Register says : 'On Monday morning, 1st inst., between two and three o'clock, as the Eliza Battle, Capt. S. G. Stone, was coming down the Tombigbee river on her way to Mobile, at a point about forty-five miles below Demopolis, she was discovered to be on fire in the after part. The alarm was immediately given, and every exertion made to arrest the flames. But in vain; for owing to a high wind, and the point at which the fire first caught, it communicated almost instantly with the ladies cabin, and cut off all access to the life boat, and yawl. All on board were driven to the forward part of the boat,, where they remained until the scorching flames drove them into the water. Some were fortunate to get bales of cotton, and some sustained themselves by clinging to the limbs of trees for several hours, until rescued from their perilous position after daylight. ‘It will lie remembered that Sunday night was bitterly cold, and of the twenty-nine or thirty-three who perished, it is more than probable a majority were frozen to death. The accident occurred, we learn, at a point where the river was swollen over its banks, and spread for half a mile or more into the swampy lowland, and that when an effort was made to reach the shore, the boat came into contact with a large tree, which was broken down by the violence of the concussion, and arrested her progress. There were between fifty and sixty persons on board, and of these, it is stated by some, twenty-nine, and by others thirty-three, were lost. Between twelve and thirteen hundred bales of cotton were destroyed, and the boat burned to the water’s edge. “The News states that the boat could not be driven ashore on account of the burning of the wheel ropes. By working her engines, however, which was done until the engineers were driven from their post by the fire, she was kept among the trees until the passengers were enabled to effect an escape by climbing to the limbs and branches of trees, and bales of cotton thrown overboard. After the wheels topped, the boat swayed round and was driven across the river by force of the wind. This fortunate circumstance probably saved the lives of many of the survivors, as they must otherwise have perished in the flames of the boat. The mate and pilot and some others on cotton bales floated down the river for four miles, shouting for help, before boats could be obtained. “The residents of the vicinity, as soon as they learned of the disaster, rendered what service was in their power. Most of the lost were in the water and subjected for three or four hours to the cold northern blast. A list of the names of those known to be lost is given, but none of them appear to have belonged at the North. They were with one or two exceptions, citizens of Alabama and Mississippi.” (Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “The Burning of Steamer Eliza Battle,” 3-29- 1858, p. 2.) March 30: “Several of the dead bodies of the ill-fated steamer Eliza Battle, burnt above Mobile, have been recovered, among them that of Rev. Mr. Newman, upon whose person, $5,800 were found. This is fortunate for his widow, who would otherwise have been without means.” (Weekly Hawk Eye and Telegraph, Burlington, IA. March 30, 1858, p. 3.) Sources Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “The Burning of Steamer Eliza Battle,” March 29, 1858, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=22826 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972. Calhoun, Emmet. “Recollections – Eliza Battle,” Birmingham News, August 1942. Accessed at: http://www.riverboatdaves.com/aboutboats/eliza_battle.htm Calhoun, Emmet. “Recollections – Update,” Birmingham News, 8-14-1942. Accessed at: http://www.riverboatdaves.com/aboutboats/eliza_battle.htm Choctaw County Genealogical Society, AL. “The Eliza Battle.” Accessed 8/22/2010 at: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~alccgs/history/elizabattle.html 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 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 York Times. “Another Dreadful Steamboat Disaster, Burning of the Eliza Battle on the Alabama River – Thirty-Nine Lives Lost,” March 4, 1858. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9801E7DE153CEE34BC4C53DFB5668383649FDE New York Times. “Burning of Steamer Eliza Battle. Forty Lives Lost!,” March 12, 1858, p. 8. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5777427 Riverboat Dave’s Riverboats Starting with E. “Eliza Battle.” 4-14-2008 update. Accessed at: http://www.riverboatdaves.com/riverboats/e.html#EBATT The Friend (Religious and Literary Journal). “Summary of Events” (Eliza Battle Fire), Vol. 31, 1858, 216. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=fUIrAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 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 Ward, Rufus. The Tombigbee River Steamboats: Rollodores, Dead Heads and Side-Wheelers. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2010. Google preview accessed 8-25-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tombigbee_River_Steamboats_Rollodore/RXV0CQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=eliza%20battle 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. Weekly Hawk Eye and Telegraph, Burlington, IA. 3-30-1858, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com Wiley, Dr. Rufus R. “Excerpt from Autobiography of a Little Man,” “Eliza Battle.” Accessed at: http://www.riverboatdaves.com/aboutboats/eliza_battle_2.html