1866 — Oct 3, hurricane, steamer Evening Star founders ~100M off Tybee Island, GA–247-255

–247-255 Blanchard on estimated death toll range.*

— 294 New York Times. “Dreadful Disaster…Nearly Three Hundred Persons Lost,” 10-9-1866.
— 261 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 685.
— 255 NYT. “The Evening Star, Correct List of Passengers, Officers and Crew.” 10-17-1866, 5.
— 254 New York Times. “The Evening Star Disaster,” Oct 10, 1886.
— 253 Coshocton Age, OH. “Terrible Disaster…Steamer Evening Star.” 10-12-1866, 2.
–~250 Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats. Report upon the cause… 11-8-1866, 295.
— 250 Dubuque Daily Herald, IA. “Latest News.” Oct 21, 1866, p. 1.
–~250 NY Tribune Edition Harper’s Encyclopaedia of [U.S.] History. “Wrecks.” 1905, p. 450.
— 250 Insurance Engineering. Vol. 8, July-Dec, 1904. “Marine Disasters.” Pp. 81-82
— 250 Simonds. The American Date Book, 1902, p. 100.
— 250 Springer. “Principal marine disasters since 1831.” P. 247 in U.S. Congress, House.
— 247 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 119.
— 247 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 264.

* Blanchard on estimated death toll range. While it appears to us that the most probable death toll would be a range from 247, as reflected in Lytle and Holdcamper, to approximately 250, as found in the report on the loss presented to the Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors. However, the New York Times report of Oct 17 on the number of people aboard, by category, combined with the listing of survivors, leads us to the opinion that out of a sense of conservatism we should not overlook this reporting, and thus make our range 247-255.

We do not know where Nash obtained his number of 261, but generally our experience is that his reporting reflects newspaper reports of the time. While we have not cited newspaper reports herein that note 261 deaths, we have seen such reporting, as well as reporting on many other numbers not noted above – one could fill this first page just noting the differing numbers reported as the lost or the death toll.

Narrative Information

Berman: “About 100 miles off Tybee Island, Ga., 247 lives lost.”

Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats (U.S.): “Report Upon The Cause of The Loss of The Evening Star.

“Treasury Department, November 8, 1866.

“Sir: By virtue of the instructions contained in your letter of the 5th ultimo, I now have the honor to report the result of the examinations (referred to in my report of general operations already before you) relative to the loss of the steamship Evening Star, on the 3d ultimo, off the coast of Florida.

“It may be proper for me to state here that the object I had in view when making the inquiry was not so much to determine the degree of culpability which should attach to the owners of the Evening Star, should the examination prove the correctness of the common report and universal belief, that the ship had been sent to sea in an unseaworthy condition, as to decide a question which
more immediately concerns this office, to wit: whether or not the inspectors in New York had given a certificate of seaworthiness to a ship unsound in hull, engines, or boilers, and had thus rendered themselves directly responsible for the loss of some two hundred and fifty lives?

“In order to satisfactorily determine this, it was obviously necessary to examine into the general history of the ship, an important point in which would be to ascertain the way in which she was built. It appears from the testimony of J. A. Raynor, esq., the ex-superintendent of the New York Mail Steamship Company, to which the Evening Star belonged, and who held that office at the time the Evening Star was built, as well as from that of Isaac L. Waterbury, esq., her builder, that her keel was laid in 1862, and the ship launched in 1863, under contract with Messrs. Rosevelt. Joyce & Waterbury. She was built under the immediate supervision of Mr. Raynor, and the specifications called for a first-class ship in every particular.

“It should be known that Mr. Waterbury built, as a sub-contractor, the well-known steamships Marion, Pacific, Baltic, and Pioneer. He also constructed the other ships of the New York Mail Steamship Line, besides numerous large sailing ships, during his twenty eight years’ experience as a ship-builder; and it may be interesting to you to know, in this connection, that Mr. Waterbury stated under oath that the Evening Star was as strong a ship as any he ever built of her dimensions…

“….From this it will be seen that the ship was thoroughly well built, and that so much of current report to the contrary is manifestly erroneous….

“The ship was square-rigged forward, and fore-and-aft rigged on her main-mast. All her spars, sails, and rigging were new and in excellent condition. She was not provided, however, with any spare spars or sails.

“The ship’s company was composed of captain, first and second officers; boatswain, and ten seamen. The engine department was composed of one chief engineer, two assistants, three water-tenders, six firemen, and eight coal-passers.

“She was provided with all the life-boats required by law; six in number, besides one wooden 20-feet boat additional.

“It occurred to me that she may have been injured at some time by getting ashore, or by straining in a heavy sea-way when loaded deeply, and that, not being properly repaired, the disaster might have been in a measure attributable to weakness in her hull.

“On making inquiry I found that she had, in May last, got on Pickle reef, Florida. The former captain of the ship was then subpoenaed to give evidence on this point. The facts elicited by an examination of this gentleman and the chief engineer and purser show that she went on the reef on the 31st of May, 1866, when outward bound; that she remained on it over fifty hours; that the weather at the time was moderate, with a slight southeasterly swell; that she laid very easy while on the reef, being light; that she continued her voyage to New Orleans without further accident, and experienced no difficulty by reason of her going ashore on the reef; that she made another trip after that accident, in which she encountered a heavy gale of wind from the north in the Gulf of Mexico, and behaved well in it; that she made no more water after going on the reef than before, which was evidence that she had not been seriously damaged while ashore. It was, however, thought best to give her an overhauling, and she was put upon the ways on the 13th of July, when it was discovered that her garboard was very slightly scratched, and her keel split in places extending from about midships to thirty feet aft, but it was not started in any way in the seams This portion of her keel was removed and a new piece put on, and secured by 6-feet scarfs and fastened into the inner keelsons through with three hundred and thirty pounds of copper bolts one and one-eighth inch in diameter, one was then thoroughly caulked and payed with pitch and composition.

“Before leaving the ways she was examined to ascertain whether there was any evidence of damage by the opening of the butts in water-ways, plank-shear, or clamps. She was, also, completely overhauled by the local inspectors in New York, and it was found that she was in as good condition as ever.

“After this she was put under command of Captain Knapp, a gentleman of acknowledged ability and much experience afloat, under whose care she made successful voyages up to the time of the disaster to her on the 3d October.

“It appears that both after she got off the reef in May and left the ways in August, she had encountered some severe weather, in which, according to the evidence, the vessel behaved admirably, and was considered to be as good as when first launched in every respect. Indeed, the evidence seems to be conclusive on this point, and the testimony proves that up to the time of her sailing or the last time from New York, she was a good, serviceable, seaworthy vessel.

“She sailed on her last voyage oil the 29th of September last, with a general cargo and drawing sixteen feet of water mean draught; and from the time the vessel left Sandy Hook until Tuesday, the 2d of October, at two o’clock p. m., about thirty hours after passing Cape Hatteras, nothing of any importance occurred, the weather being fine, with easterly winds and swell prevailing, the ship’s course being about south-southwest, with all sail set, and making eleven knots At about 3 p. m. on that clay the wind began to freshen from the east, the barometer falling from 29.30 to 28. 80, and at 5 p. m. it blew a whole gale. Meanwhile, in the second officer’s watch, all the canvas had been taken off her, and the ship hauled head to sea, heading south-southeast, the vessel laboring heavily, but shipping no water save on one occasion, when she shipped a sea over her top gallant forecastle, which did no damage, however. Up to 7.30 p.m. the ship made, to borrow the language of the second officer, ‘splendid weather,’ and averaging from four to five knots. The wind was blowing about east by north, and continually increasing and hauling gradually round towards east-northeast; and still later, or rather early next a. m., until the ship went down, it was gradually backing round to the northward. So long as she was kept up she headed about southeast, head to sea.

“It appears that about 10 p.m. on the 2d she was struck by a very heavy sea on her port quarter, knocking one of the seamen over the quadrant, breaking his arm, and causing the rudder-chain to slip out of the groove. The ship immediately fell off into the trough of the sea, and commenced shipping very heavy water over midships. Much time seems to have been consumed in securing the rudder, which, after an hour had elapsed, was finally secured to windward, the helm hard down. This, however, failed to bring her up by reason-of the heavy sea which was then running. The engines, meanwhile, were in good condition, and making three or four revolutions per minute. No attempt was made to get the ship’s head to windward, at this or any subsequent time, either by means of a drag or otherwise. The heavy seas were by no means idle while the ship lay in its trough, but made a complete breach over her. She seems from this time to have been abandoned so far as any attempt to help her head to or before the wind is concerned, and it is difficult to account for the fact that none of the expedients known to seamen for helping a ship up to the wind were even tried. Notwithstanding the violent lee lurches which the ship made while in this condition, no evidence of leak through the ship’s hull appeared, and up to as late an hour as 10.30 p. m. not more than sixteen inches of water were reported in the vessel’s hold, the bilge injection keeping her free and frequently sucking; but she had not been laboring long in the trough of the sea before its violence began to tell upon her upper works, and before 11 o’clock the forward gangway on the starboard side of the ship had been stove in, and the water came pouring through in immense volumes.

“At this juncture all of the ship’s company who could be spared, and such of the passengers as could stand upon deck, under the lead of the purser and boatswain, did their utmost, with the means at their disposal, to stop the breach in the ship’s side. Pantry-room, bulkheads, doors, mattresses, and every available article were brought into requisition, but to no purpose, and their efforts to prevent the ingress of the sea were finally abandoned as futile, in order that their energies might be directed to bailing as the only effectual means left to keep the water under. Here is a painful evidence of the necessity for every sea-going ship being provided with a competent ship’s carpenter, and furnished with the proper stores of timber, lumber, &c.; for it is more than probable that, had the Evening Star been so equipped, a bulkhead of sufficient strength might have been erected to keep out the sea. Those who have had experience in such matters know thereby the value of such an adjunct to a ship’s complement as a carpenter and crew. Their efforts, directed by skill and experience, could accomplish more in thirty minutes in an emergency than those indefatigable but unskilled gentlemen could, had they battled with the storm as many hours.

“Opposite the port through which the sea was making, was a door leading to the engine-room, and also a ventilator, and the sea had uncontrollable access to the engine-room, into which it rushed in great quantities. Much of the water found its way below over the house combings, through the openings in the deck, and panels of the deck-houses, which had been broken by the sea. All hands
were at this time (about 2 a. m. of the 3d) bailing ship, a strong force being at work in the engine room and below endeavoring to keep its fires clear. In this they succeeded for a considerable time, but owing to the excessive rolling of the ship, increased no doubt by the weight of water in the ship and the shifting of the cargo, their efforts were destined to be unavailing. At about three o’clock the steam-pipe gave way, but the engines were kept working by the engineer for two hours after, and, indeed, until the fires were put out, about five a. m. This break of the steam-pipe was caused by the straining of the ship. The ship was provided with a donkey engine and boiler, but these unfortunately gave out at the same time that the steam-pipe broke. But the leak in the pipe increased to such an extent that the men were unable to go into the fire-room, save at intervals. In consequence of this accident the quantity of steam was necessarily; diminished, but the loss of the ship can in no wise be attributed to this circumstance, for she was certainly a doomed vessel before this occurred. The energy and perseverance of the engineer were most praiseworthy. He was at his post endeavoring to keep the machinery in motion with the bar and hand-gear until the engines stopped altogether. By this time the ship was given up for lost, and preparations were made to leave the ship, as she was discovered to be settling. Then followed the indescribably heart-rending scene which has so harrowed the public mind and demanded a thorough, impartial inquiry. At about 6 a. m. the vessel sunk, taking down with her at once over two hundred victims.

“No satisfactory evidence was adduced by which it could be determined whether or not all the boats of the ship were properly equipped, agreeably to an order given by the captain to that effect It is certain, however, that none were found by those who were saved, provided with anything in the shape of food or spars; but inasmuch as one or two of them were capsized, it is possible that if they had been provisioned, their stores had been washed out of them. It is also certain that while she had all the boats which the law requires, seven in all, she had not half enough to save the number of persons on board; nor were the boats fitted with the detaching apparatus required by law, which had they been, and the boats properly manned and promptly launched, it is my firm belief that at least one-half of the lives might have been saved.

“From the foregoing, which is little more than a digest of the testimony taken, I conceive it possible to arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to the cause or combination of causes which resulted in the loss of the Evening Star, and it occurs to me that the principal cause was an error of judgment on the part of the captain. It will be seen that until 2 p. m. of the 2d, when the ship was about abreast of Tybee island and on the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream, nothing of any moment transpired. About this time, however, the barometer began to fall, and in a short time fell from 29.30 to 23.8. The wind, which had been blowing steadily from about east or cast by south, began to freshen, and everything gave evidence of an approaching storm of unusual severity. The ship, however, was kept on her course, and, as may have been expected from the proximity to the edge of the stream, where the current runs at 2½ to 3 knots per hour, she soon encountered a very heavy swell from east-southeast at 7 o’clock in the evening. The wind then blowing a hard gale and gradually veering to northeast it was deemed necessary to haul her head to sea, in which position she continued laboring terribly, until she fell off into the trough of the sea. It will be seen that from first hour the settled course of the storm was northward, showing, under the law of storms, that the ship was on the northwest side of the gale; and it is Sieved that had the ship been headed west early in the afternoon of Tuesday, vessel might have been saved by escaping the full fury of the tempest and running into a moderate gale on the other side of the Gulf Stream. This it is believed would have been the part of wisdom if acted upon in season.

But it is likewise certain that to attempt to run his ship after the gale had culminated in the hurricane would have been a hazardous experiment, and his only chance for safety would have been to keep his ship’s head to sea, (or head to wind,) which it is believed might have been done by means of a drag, assisted by a little show of canvas on her mainmast. Nothing of the sort was even attempted, and from the time she fell off into the trough of the sea, no effort seems to have been made to haul her up, after the rudder was secured, and the only means of safety, in the judgment of the captain, seems to have been in keeping the ship free of the water which she shipped, by bailing, &c., in the
Hope that the storm might abate. It is a wonder that the vessel lived so long under these circumstances….

“It gives me much satisfaction in being able to state that I am thoroughly convinced that the inspectors in New York, who are sound practical men, discharged their whole duty in the inspection of the Evening Star in August last.

“The loss of this ship is not without its appropriate lesson to ship-owners; and, in the absence of any laws affecting the subject, I sincerely trust their attention will be directed to the necessity which exists for the more complete manning, equipping and furnishing the American merchant marine generally, to the end that the same may be elevated to that point of pre-eminence above that of all other nations to which it is invited by the unequalled resources of the country. A degree of positive security of life at sea, insomuch that the probability or possibility of the loss of life in ordinary voyages may be reduced to a minimum, is possible of attainment, and that without much outlay; and while some of the larger companies furnish exceptions, by the care shown in the equipment of their ships, to the necessity for legislation upon this subject, it is none the less certain that the enactment of stringent laws governing our merchant marine is an absolute necessity. I therefore beg respectfully to call your attention to this matter, in the hope that radical changes in the existing laws may be suggested to Congress….

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. M. Mew.”

(Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats (U.S.). Report of Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats. 10-24-1866. In: Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of The Finance for the Year 1866. 1866, pp. 295-300.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Evening Star…2,014 [tons]…foundered…10 3 1866…About 100 m. off Tybee I., Ga. …247 [lives lost].” (Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 264.)

Nash: “Evening Star. Marine Disaster. October 3, 1866. A $500,000 steam sidewheeler and sailing vessel, Evening Star, was the celebrated front-running liner of the Star Line, and it was considered one of the most luxurious ships of its day, an expensive favorite of high society in the antebellum South. The Star’s regular run was between New York and New Orleans, and its captain, William Knapp, usually kept the ship on a course that hugged the Atlantic coastline.

“On March 2, with 270 passengers and crew on board, the Evening Star sailed right into a full-fledged hurricane. For seventeen hours Knapp and his sailors fought the gale while their vessel slowly began to break up….” (Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. 1977, p. 183.)

Newspapers – Chronological

September 29, 1866 – the steamship Evening Star departs New York City for New Orleans.

Oct 8: “Savannah, Ga., Monday, Oct. 8. The steamer Evening Star, from New-York, bound to New-Orleans, foundered 180 miles east of Tybee, with 250 passengers and 50 crew. Five of the crew and…a passenger, were saved.”

“Second Dispatch. Savannah, Monday Oct. 8. The boat [lifeboat] from the steamer Evening Star arrived at Fernandina. It left the steamer with eighteen persons, including Capt. Knapp, one lady and a child. The boat capsized nine times. At the sixth time the Captain was lost. As the steamer Sylvan Shore left Fernandina a boat was reported to be coming in with the Purser and Engineer of the Evening Star.

“Four boats left the steamer as she sunk. The other two are supposed to have been swamped….

“The Waring brought the Chief-Engineer, the Purser, two passengers and six of the crew of the Evening Star, who were picked up at sea….” (NY Times. “Dreadful Disaster,” 9 Oct 1866.)

Oct 9: “Augusta, Ga., Oct. 9. The following additional particulars of the loss of the steamer Evening Star from the Savannah News of this morning, and embrace the latest details of the disaster: ‘The steamer Evening Star on the 2d inst., encountered a severe gale, which commenced at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, when she was 180 miles east of Tybee Island. After weathering the storm eleven hours, she foundered on the morning of the 3d, with 270 souls on board. Only seventeen persons are known to have been saved.” (Coshocton Age, OH. “Terrible Disaster… Steamer Evening Star.” 10-12-1866, p. 2.)

Oct 9: “Since the loss of the Arctic, of the Collins line by collision with the Vesta in mid ocean, no calamity at sea has so thrilled the hearts of the people of this City as the wreck of the steamer Evening Star….The fact that the majority of the ill-fated passengers were unprotected women intensifies the feeling throughout the City, not is the picture of the drowning people less harrowing, if it be true, as it is rumored, that many among them were the victims of a wicked life….

“Yesterday morning the Treasurer of the New-York Mail Steamship Company received the following telegram from the Purser of the unfortunate steamer Evening Star:

Savannah, GA., Tuesday, Oct. 9…The Evening Star went down on the morning of the 3rd inst. In a hurricane. Sixteen persons only are known to be saved. No women are among them. Ten in one party arrived here on board a schooner yesterday….

“Among the passengers by the ill-fated vessel were fifty-nine members of Paul Althazia’s French Opera troupe…Dr. Spaulding’s Circus company, thirty persons in number, was also on board.

“It is also known that there were on board from seventy-five to a hundred prostitutes, who annually migrate from New York to Southern cities, remaining in the North during the hot weather, and regularly returning to the warmer climates in the Winter. The great crowd of these women on the vessel accounts for the singularly large number of female names….

“From the Company we received a printed description of the Evening Star, which we condense as follows:

The hull was built by Messrs. Rosevelt, Joyce & Co., of New York, and was of the following dimensions: Length at the light load line, 266 feet; length on deck…273 feet; length over all, 283 feet; breadth of beam, 39 feet 4 inches; depth of hold, 23 feet; tonnage (Custom-house measure) 2,022 tons… The Engine was constructed by the Morgan Iron Works, was a single beam engine, with cylinder 80 inches in diameter and 12 feet stroke of piston. The water wheels were 33 feet in diameter….The boilers were constructed at the Allaire Works, and were of the kind known as tubular boilers…

“Having thus placed before our readers the Company’s statement as to the qualities of their vessel, we subjoin a communication which we have received on the subject, which differs materially in its description of the Evening Star:

To the Editor of the New-York Times:

In order that the public may be possessed of certain facts in connection with the ill-fated Evening Star, of whose foundering we read in to-day’s papers, that they would not be likely to get, at present, from official sources, and be thereby enabled to judge whether the lives of three hundred persons have been sacrificed to the fury of the elements without blame or collusion on the part of the ship’s owners or managers, I would thank you to reproduce a ‘card’ published last January in the New-Orleans Times…. I think that reasonable men will find in that statement sufficient evidence that nearly a year ago the Evening Star was not a fit vessel to freight with human lives, and that the managers of the Star Line Company were recklessly at fault in sending her on such a venture…. [a statement follows, signed by a number of passengers of a previous trip, including several Army officers, detailing a number of complaints with the ship and its managers and owners.]

“By Telegraph. Augusta, Ga., Tuesday, Oct. 9. The following additional particulars of the loss of the steamer Evening Star are from the Savannah News of this morning, and embrace the latest details of the disaster:

The steamer Evening Star on the 2d inst. encountered a severe gale, which commenced at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, when she was 189 miles east of Tybee Island. After weathering the storm some seventeen hours, she foundered at 6 o’clock on the morning of the 3d, with 270 souls on board. Only seventeen persons are known to have been saved.

It seems that there were only three or four life-boats on board, in one of which the Chief-Engineer, the Purser, six of the crew and two passengers succeeded, after capsizing several times, in keeping afloat until they were picked up by the Norwegian bark Fleetwing, from which they were transferred to the schooner S. J. Waring, and arrived here last evening….

A second boat took sixteen persons from the steamer, among whom were the Captain and Third Mate. This boat was capsized twelve or fifteen times. The Captain was lost on the fourth time. This boat arrived at Fernandina on Sunday morning with six persons and two dead bodies on board. Only one passenger was saved in the Third Mate’s boat….Among the passengers were the members of an Italian opera troupe, and a number of women and children, none of whom are reported saved.” (New York Times. “The Evening Star Disaster,” 10-10-1866.)

Oct 15: “Savannah, Monday, Oct. 15. A private letter from Mayport Mills, Fla., says that Gouldsby, the Second Mate of the Evening Star, had arrived there, having left the steam4r with a boat-load of ladies. All but two were lost before getting near shore. In landing the latter were lost; one named Annie, from Rhode Island, and the latter Rosa Howard, of New-York. Both became insane from want and starvation. The bodies were washed ashore. That of the latter was nearly devoured by sharks. The mate is barely alive.” (New York Times. “The Evening Star. The Second Mate Saved – A Boat-load of Lady Passengers, who started with him, all lost.” 10-16-1866, p. 1.)

Oct 15: “The propeller Virgo, from Savannah, Oct. 10, arrived here yesterday at 3 o’clock P.M., having been detained by the southeasterly gale. She had on board three of the survivors of the Evening Star, Ellery S. Allen, the purser, Robert Finger, the engineer, and a passenger, W. H. Harris….

“The following is a list of the only known survivors of the disaster:
[23: 16 crew, 7 passengers]
Arrived at Savannah in the Schooner S. J. Waring on Oct. 8.

Robert Finger, Chief-Engineer. [8 crew, 2 passengers]
Ellery S. Allen, Purser.
John Lang, water-tender.
Frederick Shaffer, coal-passer.
George Smyth, seamen.
John Powers, seaman.
Dennis Gannon, waiter.
Rowland Stephens, waiter.
Edward Larner, passenger.
W. H. Harris, passenger.

Arrived at Charleston, per Schooner Morning Star, Oct. 9.

James W. Lyon, Pilot. [3 crew, 4 passengers]
John Berry, Cook.
Andrew McMahon, Assistant-Engineer.
A. Sanza, passenger.
E. A. Van Sickles, passenger.
Minnie Taylor, passenger.
Mollie Wilson passenger.

Arrived at Fernandina on Sunday, Oct. 7, in ship’s boat.

Thomas Fitzpatrick, Third-Mate. [5 crew, 1 passenger]
John Dempsey, seaman.
John Campbell, seaman.
James Hose, seaman.
Chancellor Mason, Steerage-Steward.
Frank Gerrard, passenger.

(New York Times. “The Evening Star. Particulars of the Great Disaster….” 10-15-1866, p. 1.)

Oct 16: “Statement of the Chief Engineer – Details of the Sinking of the Vessel.

“The chief engineer of the lost steamer Evening Star has reached New York and makes the following statement:

When last leaving port the engines and boilers were in good working order and continued so until the night of the 2d of October. On this occasion a severe gale set in from east to east-southeast, which increased to a hurricane at midnight, then carrying away with the heavy sea both wheel-houses, leaving nothing but the A braces and guards — The steamer was continually shipping heavy seas, particularly flooding the engine-room, but not affecting at that hour the fires. At 3 o’clock a. m., Oct. 3, the struggling of the ship in the heavy seas caused the main steampipe to break which drove my men from the fire-room but still continued to work the engine, and so continued until 3 o’clock—within one hour of the sinking of the ship.

As soon as the steam pipe broke, I started the fire in the donkey engine, and set the steam pump in operation, which worked most efficiently. It had previously been in constant operation until the steam pipe broke. At 5:30 a. m. the steam pipe on the donkey boiler broke, the water gaining very fast, and the ship laying in a trough of sea, which was making a clean breach over her. At 5 A. M. the engine stopped working and all hands were set to bailing the ship. At about 6 A. M. the ship went down. Up to the time the engine stopped working, at 5 A. M., October 3d, no ship ever stood up better under such a tremendous hurricane and heavy sea. She behaved herself nobly. The cause of the stoppage of the engine was the shipping of the tremendous seas, which caused great volumes of water to reach the fire room extinguishing the fires, and thus preventing the making of steam. The engine hatchway had been broken in by the seas. Assistant engineers, water-tenders, firemen and coal passers, all stood to their posts bravely, and obeyed all orders from Ely and Cooley. They all proved themselves efficient and worthy men.

In justice to the owners of the steamer, I must here state that every facility in the way of supplies and material for repairs to the engine and pumps were furnished me with an unstinted liberality. Capt. Knapp and all the other officers of the steamer, as well as the crew were untiring in their efforts to avert disaster, and the passengers nobly seconded their exertions in such manner as they were requested; even the ladies assisted in bailing the ship.” (Dubuque Daily Herald, IA. “The Lost Steamer Evening Star.” 10-16-1866, 1.)

Oct 17: “The steamship Quaker City brings as one of passengers Mr. A. McMahon, Second Engineer of the ill-fated Evening Star. Mr. McMahon was rescued with seven others, two of whom were ladies, and taken to Charleston by the schooner Morning Star.” (New York Times. “Arrival of the Second Engineer of the Evening Star.” 10-17-1866, p. 8.)

Oct 21: “The surviving sailors of the ill-fated steamer Evening Star, which foundered at sea on the 3d inst., whereby 250 lives were lost, made some statements on Thursday regarding the unseaworthiness of that vessel. …[unclear] her unserviceable condition she went to sea with but little more than half a crew.” (Dubuque Daily Herald, IA. “Latest News.” Oct 21, 1866, p. 1.)

Oct 25: “The owners of the lost steamer Evening Star have tried hard to make it appear that their vessel was seaworthy and every way in good condition, and thus shift from their shoulders the responsibility of the disaster. But some of the rescued sailors who have armed at New York testify that the vessel was not only unseaworthy, but that in her unserviceable condition she went to sea with little more than half her crew.” (Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, IN. “News Summary.” Oct 25, 1866, 1.)

Oct 31: “An investigation of the Evening Star disaster is in progress in New York.” (Semi-Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Telegraphic Summary.” Oct 31, 1866, p. 1.)

Nov 4: “The inquiry into the causes of the loss of the steamer Evening Star confirms the judgment that the vessel was badly handled: Her entire crew numbered only ten men, four of whom were detailed as quartermasters, leaving the effective force only six. The evidence shows that she laid in the trough of the sea from ten o’clock at night until six the next morning, and that no effort was made to head her to the wind, though her rudder was intact for most of the time, and jury masts could have been rigged. The water was often breast high on her decks, and passed into the hold through the hatchways and other apertures on the deck and aides. There was no carpenter on board to repair damages. The hull of the ship was staunch and tight, the engines were in perfect order and properly manned [unclear], the vessel could have lived through the cyclone and carried her passengers into port in safety.

“That is to say, the ship and her passengers would have been saved, had the owners put into her the number of men required by law, and had the officers been capable seamen.” (Daily Milwaukee News, WI. “The Case of the Evening Star.” Nov 4, 1866, p. 4.)

Nov 21: “Captain Mew has made a report to the Secretary of the Treasury on the causes of the disaster of the Evening Star. He attributes the disaster to the mismanagement of the captain, and suggests radical changes in the existing law regulating the equipment of sea-going vessels.” (Piqua Democrat, OH. Nov 21, 1866, p. 2.)

Sources

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Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats (U.S.). Report of Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats. 10-24-1866. In: Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of The Finance for the Year 1866. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866. Accessed 9-18-2020 at: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/annual-report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-194/report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-year-1866-5510/report-board-supervising-inspectors-steamboats-238234

Coshocton Age, OH. “Terrible Disaster. Destruction of the Steamer Evening Star.” 10-12-1866, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=10698278

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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.

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New York Times. “The Evening Star. The Second Mate Saved – A Boat-load of Lady Passengers, who started with him, all lost.” 10-16-1866, p. 1. Accessed 10-9-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1866/10/16/83460939.html?pageNumber=1

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Piqua Democrat, OH. [Steamboat Evening Star founders]. Nov 21, 1866, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=13875456

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Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC

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Additional Resources

New York Times. “Georgia. More Disasters from the Late Storm – Baggage Belonging to Passengers of the Evening Star Picked Up at Sea.” 10-23-1866, p. 5. Accessed 10-9-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1866/10/23/83461581.html?pageNumber=5

New York Times. “The Evening Star. Further Details of the Disaster – What the Crew Say Regarding Her Seaworthiness – Sufferings of the Survivors…” 10-16-1866, p. 2. Accessed 10-9-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1866/10/16/83460947.html?pageNumber=2

New York Times. “The Evening Star Disaster. No Further News of the Calamity…” 10-11-1866, p. 1. Accessed 10-9-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1866/10/11/83460507.html?pageNumber=1