1864 — Oct 17, J. C. Irwin boilers explode, Cumberland River, 10m above Eddyville, KY –11-13

–13 New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion…J. C. Irwin.” 10-18-1864, p.2.
–12 Cincinnati Daily Commercial, OH. “Our Special River Correspondence.” 10-19-1864, p. 4.
–11 Gaines, W. Craig. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. 2008, pp. 54-55.
–11 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]… 1999, p230.

Narrative Information

Way: J. C. Irwin: Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built in 1864 in Wyandotte, KS at 145 tons. “Wyandotte is on the Missouri River near Kansas City. Completed at Leavenworth, Kans., in June 1864 and sold to Capt. J.D. Smith of Bunker Hill, Ill. She exploded boilers at Big Eddy Towhead, 10 miles above Eddyville, Cumberland River [KY], morning of Oct 17, 1864. Captain Smith was killed, also John Elliott Hask, pilot, the mate, three deckhands, the watchman and four passengers. Mrs. J.D. Smith was hospitalized at Eddyville. The boat had been landed to repair her doctor pump. Woodwork littered the island and the hull sank.”

Newspapers

Oct 18: “The steamer J. C. Irwin blew up, on the Cumberland river, near Eddyville, yesterday morning [17th]. Six or seven of her crew were killed.” (Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV. “From the Lower Mississippi.” 10-18-1864, p. 5.)

Oct 18: “We have learned the particulars of another of those terrible steamboat explosions which in former years so frequently shocked the public, but which of late have been of rare occurrence.

“On Sunday morning [16th] the steamer J. C. Irwin, while lying at Eddyville tow-head on Cumberland river, exploded her boilers, making a wreck of the boat and killing a large number of persons. The boat was literally blown to pieces, and is a total wreck. She had stopped at the tow-head to made some repairs to her doctor engine. The repairs were completed, and as the boat was in the act of starting the terrible explosion took place.

“Among the killed are Capt. J. D. Smith, John Elliott and Mr. Harrison, pilots, and Mr. Green, the mate.

“The wife of the mate was on board, and was injured fatally, it is thought. Mr. Furguson and sister of Ft. Donelson, were passengers on board. Furguson was killed, and his sister had her leg broken.. Two deck hands were found and buried on the island. Five passengers and a soldier were on board and they are missing. The remains of the Captain, mate, and pilot have not been found yet.” (New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion. Steamer J. C. Irwin Blown Up. Fearful Loss of Life.” 10-18-1864, p. 2, col. 1.)

Oct 19: “….The names of the lost on the towboat J. C. Irwin, as far as can be ascertained, are: [we break paragraph into separate lines]

Captain J. D. Smith, of Bunker Hill, Illinois;
Pilot, John Elliott Harrison;
Mate,_____ Green;
Watchman, name unknown;
three deckhands and
five deck passengers. [one named Ferguson]

“One of the latter was named Ferguson, and lived near Fort Donelson. His sister was also on the boat, and had her leg broken. Two of the deck hands were buried on the island where the explosion took place, and one died on the steamer Lady Pike while being conveyed to Eddyville. The mate’s wife is at Eddyville in a critical condition, from a wound in the head. The steward, named Willy, the chambermaid, both engineers, the pilot off duty, Wm. Harrison, and seven deck hands, are all saved unhurt. The boat had landed to repair her doctor, when the explosion took place.” (Cincinnati Daily Commercial, OH. “Our Special River Correspondence.” 10-19-1864, p. 4.

Sources

Cincinnati Daily Commercial, OH. “Our Special River Correspondence.” 10-19-1864, p. 4. Accessed 9-13-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-daily-commercial-oct-19-1864-p-4/

Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV. “From the Lower Mississippi.” 10-18-1864, p. 5. Accessed 9-13-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wheeling-daily-intelligencer-oct-18-1864-p-5/

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

New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion. Steamer J. C. Irwin Blown Up. Fearful Loss of Life.” 10-18-1864, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 9-13-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-oct-18-1864-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.