1862 — Oct 7, Steamboat Ceres boiler explosion, St. Joseph’s Island lighthouse, MS — 12

–12 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 161.
–12 Gaines, W. Craig. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. 2008, p. 61.
–12 Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. [Steamboat Ceres Explosion], 10-23-1862.
–12 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the U.S. 1807-1868. 1952, p. 12.
–12 New York Times. “Explosion On The Steamer Ceres.” 10-8-1862, p. 1.
–12 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats… (Revised). 1999, p. 76.

Narrative Information

Lytle: “Ceres…217 [tons]…exploded…10-9-1862…St. Joseph Island, La. … 12 [lives lost].”
(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, p. 243.)

Way: Sidewheel wood-hull packet, built in 1853 in Jeffersonville IN. “….In 1861 owned at New Orleans by New-Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western RR, Capt. T. K. Porter. Exploded and lost at St. Joseph Island, La., [sic. MS], Oct 9 [sic. Oct 7], 1862, with loss of 12 lives.” (Way 1999, p. 76.)

Newspaper

Oct 8: “From the New Orleans Delta, Oct. 1. [Cannot be correct, as it describes Oct 7 event.]

“We are indebted to the politeness of Mr. Albert Pierson for the following account of the accident to the steamer Ceres:

“The steamer Ceres left Ship Island at 3 P.M., Oct. 7, for Fort Pike and New Orleans, (Lake Pontchartrain,) with a light list of passengers and freight, working under a low head of steam, from 90 to 100 pounds, as her port boiler was leaking badly over the fires. She ran along slowly until twenty minutes to 6 o’clock, at which time we were just inside of St. Joseph’s Island light-house, when our boilers exploded, carrying everything before them forward of the pilot house, killing the majority of the passengers and crew who were forward, instantly — scalding frightfully the engineers on watch, and a portion of the crew in the deck room. We got our life boat and skiff overboard, in charge of the second mate and steersman, who succeeded in saving eight or ten of the survivors, and landed them on St. Joseph’s Island. We also got our landing stage out from under the wreck on the forecastle, on which sever persons were able to sustain themselves, until the United States gunboat Calhoun providentially came to our rescue. Two others gave out from exhaustion just previous to the boat reaching us.

“The yacht Gipsy, which was on her way to Ship Island, with Maj.-Gen. Butler on board, also put about, and came to our rescue on seeing the flames of our burning steamer, and rendered us all the assistance they were able, for which we cannot be too thankful, worn-out and nigh to perishing as the most of us were. We have lost twelve killed and drowned, and have twenty-one saved, some of whom are badly scalded and burned. Our thanks are hereby especially tendered to Capt. Buchanan, of the Calhoun, his officers and crew, who did all that men could do for our rescue and comfort.

“My own thanks are especially due to Mr. W. D. Brown, Chief-Engineer of the Calhoun, and his assistants, for their unceasing attention to myself and the survivors of the crew. Alfred Pierson, For the survivors and crew. U. S. Gunboat Calhoun, Lakeport, Oct. 8, 1862.

“Crew and Passenger List of Steamer Ceres, Oct. 7, 1862, so far as can be ascertained….Lost—
[we break narrative paragraph in the NYT, into separate lines for each victim]

Berthold Albertson, pilot, killed by explosion;
George C. Gilpatrick, second clerk, do. [ditto];
George Torry, passenger, do. [ditto];
Daniel Douse, colored steward, drowned;
Lieut. Sherborn, Thirteenth Maine, passenger, drowned;
Peter Fitzgerald, fireman, killed by explosion;
Edward Linn, deck hand, do. [ditto];
_____Kelly, deck hand, drowned;
Joe Queen, colored, cook’s helper, drowned;
two others, crew of lugger, unknown, drowned;
Antonio Malore, Captain of lugger Liberty, drowned.”

(New York Times. “Explosion On The Steamer Ceres.” 10-8-1862, p. 1.

Sources

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

Gaines, W. Craig. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2008.

Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. [Steamboat Ceres Explosion], Oct 23, 1862. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com

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 York Times. “Explosion On The Steamer Ceres.” 10-8-1862, p. 1. Accessed 8-15-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1862/10/24/issue.html

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 lighthouses in Louisiana.” 2-21-2020 edit. Accessed 8-16-2020 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lighthouses_in_Louisiana

Wikipedia. “List of lighthouses in Mississippi.” 2-21-2020 edit. Accessed 8-16-2020 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lighthouses_in_Mississippi