1860 — Oct 31, Steamer H. R. W. Hill Boiler Explosion, Miss. River, Baton Rouge, LA– 39

— 39 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 171.
— 39 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 242.
— 39 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 684.
— 39 NYT. “Steamboat Explosions. Explosion on the Steamer H. R. W. Hill.” Nov 5, 1860, 5.
— 39 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 204

Narrative Information

Way: H. R. W. Hill: Sidewheel wood-hull packet, built in New Albany, IN, in 1852 at 602 tons. “Ran New Orleans-Memphis prior to the war., Capt. Thomas H. Newell….The boilers exploded at Baton Rouge in Oct. 31, 1860, with loss of 39 lives. Apparently repairs were not made, and she was towed to Memphis where she was captured by U.S. forces during the Battle of Memphis…” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 204.)

Newspaper

Nov 3, New York Times: “New-Orleans, Saturday, Nov. 3. The total number of killed by the explosion on the steamer H. R. W. Hill is 39, and the wounded reach fifteen to twenty….” (NYT. “Steamboat Explosions. Explosion on the Steamer H. R. W. Hill.” Nov 5, 1860, 5.)

Sources

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

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=262&size=125&q1=h.%20r.%20w.%20hill

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. “Steamboat Explosions. Explosion on the Steamer H. R. W. Hill.” Nov 5, 1860, 5. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=6353490

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.