1860 — May 9, Steamer R.F. Sass snags & sinks, Miss. Riv., Clark’s Bar, ~Glover, MS– 17

— 17 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 187.
— 17 GenDisasters.com. Memphis Enquirer. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 1860.
— 17 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 249.
— 17 Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, WI. “Steamboat Disaster and Loss of Life.” May 12, 1860, 4.
— 17 U.S. Treasury Dept. Report…Secretary of…Treasury on the Finances. Nov 27, 1860, 348.
— 17 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Pass. Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 384.

Narrative Information

Berman: “R.F. Sass. St. w. [Steam, stern-wheel]. 238 [tons]. 1855 [built]. May 9, 1860. Snagged. Glover, Miss. 17 lives lost.” (Berman 1972, p. 187.)

GenDisasters.com: “Following close in the wake of the terrible disaster occasioned by the burning of the steamer A. T. Lacey, a short distance above this city, a few weeks ago, we are again called upon to record another, and one of the most appalling accidents which it has ever been our province to notice, connected with the many disasters which of late have happened on the Mississippi. Thursday evening, between 11 and 12 o’clock, as the Cincinnati and New Orleans steamer R. F. Sass was passing Clark’s bar, about fifty miles below this city [Memphis], she picked up a monstrous snag, which was lying directly in the middle of the channel, its location not even making a ripple upon the surface of the water.

“The snag entered the boat at midships, careening her to the starboard side, causing her to sink in less than five minutes in over twenty-five feet of water. Of the passengers and crew of the Sass there were aboard, in all, over one hundred and thirty souls, the greater portion of whom had retired to bed at the time of the accident. No sooner had the boat struck than the alarm was given by those who were on watch to the passengers, who were speedily aroused and made sensible of the imminent danger in which they were placed. Many of the passengers, including a number of ladies and children, in almost a nude state, rushed to the hurricane deck; while others, in the frenzy of excitement, sprang into the river and were drowned. Even a portion of those who attempted to get above “so rapidly did the boat fill” were drowned, being foiled in their endeavors to escape by the encroaching waters.

Passengers Known to be Lost.

“No sooner had the passengers who were so fortunate as to clear the cabin reached the upper deck than the boat parted, the cabin floating off, carrying with it over one hundred souls, all of whom were saved, the wreck landing about three miles below. Of the passengers known to be lost we give a correct list as far as it goes, through doubtless many whose names are not given here found a watery grave: [Seventeen fatalities noted.]…” (GenDisasters.com. Memphis Enquirer. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 1860.)

U.S. Dept. of the Treasury: “The steamer “R. P. Sass” was snagged and sunk on the 9th of May last near Clark’s bar, on the Mississippi river. At the time of the accident the steamer had on board about two hundred persons, but by the energy, perseverance, and good management of the officers, and with the aid of the life-saving apparatus with which the boat was provided, nearly all, of both passengers and crew, were saved. There were drowned fifteen of the passengers and two of the crew.” (U.S. Treasury Dept. Report of…Secretary of the Treasury on the Finances. 1860, p. 348.)

Way: R. F. Sass. Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built in California, PA in 1855, at 238 tons. Measured 150 x 30.3 x 5.7. “….Ran Cincinnati-New Orleans….By February 1860, master was R. F. Sass…. she was lost 15 miles below Memphis at Clark’s bar, Glover, Miss., May 9, 1860, with loss of seventeen lives….She was upbound when she stove. The Edward Walsh brought survivors to Memphis….The Natchez later reported having met the wreck near Helena, Ark., still partly afloat.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Pass. Steamboats…MS Riv. Sys. 1994, pp. 383-384.)

Newspaper

May 11: “Memphis, May 11 [9] – 9 p.m. The steamer R. T. Sass, Capt. Phillips, with 150 passengers from New Orleans to Cincinnati, snagged and sunk fifty miles below this place last night. Boat and cargo are a total loss. Seventeen are known to be lost.” (Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, WI. “Steamboat Disaster and Loss of Life.” May 12, 1860, p. 4.)

Sources

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

GenDisasters.com. Memphis Enquirer. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 1860.

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

Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, WI. “Steamboat Disaster and Loss of Life” [Sass] May 12, 1860, 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=38220661

United States Department of the Treasury. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Finances for the Year Ending June 30, 1860. U.S. House of Representatives Exec. Document No. 2, 36th Congress, 2d Session. Washington: Thomas H. Ford, Printer, 1860. Accessed 10-20-2020 at: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/annual-report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-194/report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-year-ending-june-30-1860-5445

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.