1862 — Nov 12, Steamer Eugene snags and sinks, Miss. River, Plum Point Bend, TN– 15

–10-20 Dawson’s Daily Times and Union, Fort Wayne, IN. Nov 17, 1862, p. 4.
— 15 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 278.
— 15 Iowa State Register, Des Moines. Nov 19, 1862, p. 3.
— 15 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 258.
— 15 Wisconsin State Journal. November 17, 1862, p. 1.
— >12 New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “The Loss of the Eugene…” 11-20-1862, p. 2.*

*Daily Ledger: “Only two cabin passengers are missing, Chas. Kinney and a Mr. Dozier, but of ten deck passengers, names not known, and of the crew, it is probable that quite a number are lost.

Narrative Information

Berman: Eugene. Steam sidewheel packet of 298 tons, built in 1860. “Nov 1, 1862. Snagged. Plum Point, Tenn. 15 lives lost.” (Berman 1972, p. 278.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: Notes that the Eugene was snagged on 11-1-1862 at Plum Point, TN with 15 lives lost. (Table: “Losses of United States Merchant Steam Vessels, 1807-1867.” Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 258.)

Way: Sidewheel wood-hull packet built at Parkersburg, VA in 1860, measuring 183 x 32 x 5.5. “….Chartered to two pilots, she made a New Orleans trip, struck the wreck of the Eliza at Osceola, near Fort Pillow, Nov. 14, 1862 [Friday]. Life loss was placed at 15.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System… 1999, p. 155.)

Newspapers

Nov 15: “Cairo, Nov. 15. The steamer Eugene, a packet from Cairo to Memphis, struck a sunken wreck off Plum Point Bend on Wednesday evening [Nov 12] and was sunk. Fifteen lives were lost – mostly the crew. The boat was valued at eighteen thousand dollars.” (Iowa State Register, Des Moines. Nov 19, 1862, p. 3.)

Nov 15: “From the Memphis Bulletin of the 15th, kindly forwarded us by Express by Geo. O. Hart, Clerk of the steamer Commercial, we gather the following particulars of the sinking of the Eugene, furnished the Bulletin by Lieut. Col. Littlefield. In a private letter to us, Mr. Hart, who was on the boat when she sun, fully confirms the statement of Col. L.

“The Eugene left Cairo on Tuesday evening last, with a large number of passengers, including about twenty ladies, and a full cargo of freight. On Wednesday evening, about half-past seven o’clock, when near the head of Plum Point Bend, she struck upon the sunken wreck of the old steamer Neptune. The force of the blow was sufficient to throw most persons from their seats, and many who were standing up at the time were thrown to the floor.

“In an instant a terrible scene of confusion and panic took place. Passengers spring to their feet and rushed wildly about shrieking and crying. The screams of the women and the shouts of the men, the crushing of timbers and the sharp orders of the officers were all mingled in a tumult of sounds. Col. Littlefield, and a few others of the passengers, exerted themselves to restore order and calmness. Simultaneously with the first shock of striking, the boat commenced sinking. Before she could be cleared from the wreck, and headed towards the shore, her bow was sunk so deep that the stove in the cabin fell over and set on fire the carpet and floor. The flames caught the dress of a lady near by and blazed up in an instant. This added horror seemed to completely destroy the returning senses of most of the passengers. A few gentlemen exerted themselves to extinguish the burning dress of the lady and the flames in the cabin. Fortunately they succeeded without her receiving any serious injury.

“Most of the passengers had by this time reached the hurricane roof. The captain and clerk exerted themselves to the utmost to quiet the panic of the passengers and assist them to a place of safety.

“Many of the passengers continued to rush wildly about. Col. Littlefield had gone forward to see how fr the boat was from the shore, and was leaning over the railing when he was knocked overboard by a sudden rush of passengers. He fell into the water, arose and caught a dry goods box, but slipped off again, and then caught hold of a stage plank which had floated from the boat. On this he floated down the river. As he floated he distinctly heard the voices, and saw not less than seven or eight persons clinging to plank, boxes, &c., and crying for help. One by one they dropped off, and Col. Littlefield thinks that not one of these was saved. He himself, floated some twelve miles down the river, to For Pillow [TN], where he succeeded in making himself heard by the sentinel, and a party of soldiers came out in a skiff and rescued him from his perilous position. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he went to the Captain of the steamer Tigress, which was lying at Fort Pillow, and urged him to go to the rescue of the passengers of the Eugene. This the Captain declined to do until daylight, alleging that it would be dangerous. As soon as daylight appeared, the Tigress started out and reaching the wreck, found it sunk in deep water, the water reaching to the hurricane deck forward and to the guards aft. Most of the passengers had been put on shore in the yawl, others paddled ashore on planks and boxes. The Tigress took them all off and brought them to Fort Pillow where they were placed on board the Platte Valley, and arrived here Thursday evening.

“Only two cabin passengers are missing, Chas. Kinney and a Mr. Dozier, but of ten deck passengers, names not know, and of the crew, it is probable that quite a number are lost.

“The passengers of curse lost all their baggage, and a very valuable cargo, estimated to be worth a hundred thousand dollars, is probably a total loss.

“The passengers speak very highly of the conduct of the Captain and Clerk of the boat, in their efforts to quiet the terror of the passengers, and same as many lives as possible. Mr. Phillips, the agent of the Adams Express Company, also deserves special commendation for his heroic exertion in behalf of the passengers.

“The officers of the Tigress, after the Captain finally consented to go to the rescue, behaved with much kindness and consideration.

“The disgraceful part of the affair was the conduct of the crew of the Eugene after the accident. When the yawl was first lowered to convey the lady passengers to the shore, the crew crowded into it and at first refused to allow the ladies to be taken off. Afterwards, while the officers were engaged in trying to get the passengers taken ashore, the crew commenced a series of wholesale plunderings, breaking open trunks, valises and boxes of dry goods, and helping themselves to whatever they chose. They also picked the pockets of the lady passengers of all the money they had, in some cases obtaining several hundred dollars. The Captain and clerk, when their attention was called to these facts, tried to top them, but only partially succeeded. We are told, also, that the mate of the boat, after lowering the yawl, demanded five dollars from each of the passengers for conveying them to the shore. We hope this is not true.

“The goods of the Adams’ Express Co., which were in a room on the upper deck, were mostly saved, as was the U.S. mail.” (New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “The Loss of the Eugene…” 11-20-1862, p. 2.

Nov 17, Dawson’s: “A terrible accident has occurred on the Mississippi. On Wednesday evening [12th], the steamer Eugene, plying between Cairo and Memphis, struck a wreck and sunk almost instantaneously. From ten to twenty lives were sacrificed. The boat is probably an entire loss.” (Dawson’s Daily Times and Union, Fort Wayne, IN. Nov 17, 1862, p. 4.)

Nov 17, Wisc. State Journal: “The steamer Eugene, a Cairo and Memphis packet, struck a sunken wreck on Wednesday night [Nov 12] off Plum Point Bend [TN], about 75 miles above Memphis, and sunk in 15 feet of water. She had over one hundred persons on board, fifteen of whom were drowned. The passengers remained on the wreck all night, and were brought off the next morning by the steamer Tigress.” (Wisconsin State Journal. November 17, 182, p. 1.)

Sources

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

Dawson’s Daily Times and Union, Fort Wayne, IN. [Steamboat Eugene sinks]. 11-17-1862, p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=41017956

Iowa State Register, Des Moines. [Sinking of Steamer Eugene.] Nov 19, 1862, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83247625

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

New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “The Loss of the Eugene – Full Particulars – Several Lives Lost…” 11-20-1862, p. 2. Accessed 8-27-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-nov-20-1862-p-2/

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.

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. November 17, 1862, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=53793596