70-150

–>70-150 Blanchard.*

— 150 Owen. “Report of Lt. Cdr. Owen…Runyan…,” USN. Official Records…, 1914, 485.
— 70-150 Bragg. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. 1977, p. 134.
— 70-150 Gaines. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. 2008, 92.
— 70-150 Twaintimes, p. 4.
–>70-150 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994…Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 36.
— 100 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 157.
— 100 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 685.
— 50-60 Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The News,” July 26, 1864, p. 3.
— ~50 Daily Milwaukee News, WI. “Steamboat Disaster,” July 25, 1864, p. 1.
— ~50 NYT. “From the Mississippi; Sinking of the Steamer B. M. Runyon…,” July 27, 1864.

*Blanchard. We are inclined to accept the statement from a surviving US Army officer to his superiors that about 150 people died. We only make the death toll a range of from “over” seventy to 150 given the several other sources which use this range.

Narrative Information

Bragg: “In July, 1864, the steamer B. M. Runyan was northbound at the foot of Island No 84 [Walker Bend] when she hit a snag and began to sink very rapidly. The boat was a Union transport, and the Union gunboat Forest Rose rushed to the rescue. All of the cabin passengers were taken aboard the gunboat, but the deck passengers were less fortunate. Most of them were soldiers whose enlistments had expired. They were going to Cairo to be mustered out so that they could return to their homes. Also on board the boat were some Union sympathizers who had found the South uncomfortable and who were going North to live.

“In an official report of the accident, it was said that about 430 men belonging to a Missouri cavalry regiment had been on board the B. M. Runyan. The steamer was also carrying more than 100 mules and horses, 28 wagons, and all the camp and garrison equipment belonging to the regiment. About $200,000 worth of government property was lost when the boat sank.

Estimates of the casualties varied from ‘more than 70’ to ‘more than 150’. The cabin of the sunken steamer separated from the hull and drifted downstream, where it lodged on a sandbar in American Cutoff. It was burned by Union forces so that nothing in it would be of use to rebels that might be lurking in the area.” (Bragg. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. 1977, p. 134.)

Owen: “U.S.S. Louisville. Off Skipwith’s Landing, July 23, 1864.

“Sir:…The B. M. Runyan, with some 500 passengers – soldiers and citizens – ran on a snag and sunk at the foot of Island No. 84. The Prairie Bird happened to be near and succeeded in saving about 350. About 150 were drowned…” (Owen. “Report of Lt.-Cdr. Owen…Runyan…,” in USN. Official Records…, 1914, 485.)

Twaintimes: “One report says 70 lives were lost. Another says 150. In either case most of the dead were soldiers whose enlistments we up and were on their way to Cincinnati to be mustered out of the Army.” (Twaintimes)

July 25, NYT: “Cairo, July 25. – The Steamer James White from New Orleans, the 18th, has arrived here. She reports that the steamer B. M. Runyan from Natchez struck a snag off Griffith’s Landing, 15 miles below Greenville, Miss., on the 21st inst., at 10 o’clock, p.m., and sank to the hurricane roof in about five minutes. She had near 600 people on board, including 440 of the Tenth Missouri Cavalry, 50 refugees, some furloughed soldiers and quite a number of cabin passengers. About 50 lives were lost. Half of this number belonged to the cavalry regiment, and the remainder, excepting two, were refugees… But two cabin passengers…are believed to have been lost. Gunboat No. 11 came up about 20 minutes after the disaster and recovered about 40 persons. Others swam ashore. There were also on board, 11 mules, 62 horses, 15 wagons, the camp equipage of the regiment, all of which, with the boat, is a total loss. The James White brought up most of the rescued, except the cavalry, who were brought up on the marine brigade boat Lena to Memphis.” (NY Times. “From the Mississippi; Sinking of the Steamer B. M. Runyon – Fifty Lives Lost,” July 27, 1864.)

Sources

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

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed at: http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/history/MRnames/MissRiverNames.htm > Also at:
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/Portals/52/docs/MRC/MRnames%28Intro-end_final2%29.pdf

Daily Milwaukee News, WI. “Steamboat Disaster” [B.M. Runyan], July 25, 1864, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=119992387

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

Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The News” [Steamer R.B. Runyan Sinks]. July 26, 1864, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=12510261

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. “From the Mississippi; Sinking of the Steamer B. M. Runyon – Fifty Lives Lost,” July 27, 1864. At: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A17F63F5A1B7493C5AB178CD85F408684F9

Owen, E. K.. “Report of Lieutenant-Commander Owen, U.S. Navy, regarding the sinking of steamer B. M. Runyan and rescue of passengers by U.S.S. Prairie Bird…,” in United States Naval War Records Office, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, (Washington, DC: GPO, 1914). Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=sT1AAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q=runyan&f=false

Twaintimes. 1857-1867. Accessed at: http://twaintimes.net/page4.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 Edition). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1994-1999.