1865 — Dec 9, Ferry Steamer De Soto Boiler Explosion, near Pascagoula, MS — 11

— 11 Berman, Bruce. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 165. “Used as ferryboat.”
— 11 Gaines. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. 2008, p. 84.
— 11 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 256.
— 11 New Albany Daily Commercial, IN. “River News.” 12-18-1865, p. 3.
— 11 New Albany Ledger, IN. “Latest News….Explosion of the DeSoto.” 12-16-1865, p. 3.
— 11 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 126.

Narrative Information

Gaines: “U.S. Side-wheel steamer, 104 gross tons…Exploded on December 9, 1865, at Pascagoula, with eleven killed. Was probably repaired.” (Gaines. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. 2008, p. 84.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “De Soto…104 [tons]…exploded…12 9 1865…Pascagoula, Miss…11 [lives lost].”

Mistovich: “DeSoto…Steamboat, exploded 12/9.1865, Pascagoula.” (Mistovich, Clinton, and Agranat. Literature, Archival, and Historic Review, Submerged Cultural Resources, Lower Pascagoula and Escatawpa Rivers, Mississippi, “Table 7. Recorded Vessel Losses from Precious Study (1983).” 1-15-1990.)

Way: Sidewheeler, built at Wellsville, OH, in 1859, of 104 tons. “First home port, Vicksburg. Exploded and lost at Pascagoula, Miss., Dec. 9, 1865 with loss of eleven lives.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 126.)

Newspapers

Dec 16: “The steamer De Soto exploded one of her boilers near Pascagoula on the 9th inst. By this disaster eleven persons were killed and a number severely injured.” (New Albany Ledger, IN. “Latest News, By Telegraph….Explosion of the DeSoto.” 12-16-1865, p. 3.)

Dec 18: “On Saturday week the steamer De Soto exploded a boiler near Pascagoula. She was from New Orleans with lumber. Eleven persons were killed.” (New Albany Daily Commercial, IN. “River News.” 12-18-1865, p. 3.)

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.

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

Mistovich, Tim S., Catherine E. Clinton, Brina J. Agranat. Literature, Archival, and Historic Review, Submerged Cultural Resources, Lower Pascagoula and Escatawpa Rivers, Mississippi, “Table 7. Recorded Vessel Losses from Precious Study (1983).” Tuscaloosa, AL: Panamerican Consultants, Inc., for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, 1-15-1990.)

New Albany Daily Commercial, IN. “River News.” 12-18-1865, p. 3. Accessed 8-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-commercial-dec-18-1865-p-3/

New Albany Ledger, IN. “Latest News, By Telegraph….Explosion of the DeSoto.” 12-16-1865, p. 3. Accessed 8-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-dec-16-1865-p-3/

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.