1919 — Sep 9, Steamboat Corydon sinks, hurricane, Bahama Channel off SE FL coast– 27

— 27 Berman. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 114.
— 27 Nash. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters 1977, p. 697.
— 27 New International Year Book. 1921, p. 607.
— 27 NYT. “Captain and 26 Dead In Sinking of Steamer Corydon In Hurricane,” Sep 12, 1919.
— 27 Singer, S. D. Shipwrecks of Florida: A Comprehensive Listing (2nd Ed.), 1998, p. 228.
— 27 U.S. Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States…1920, p. 447.
— 27 U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report…1920. 1920, p. 15.

Narrative Information

New International Yearbook 1921: “Sept. 9, 1919, at 11 A.M., en route from Antilla, Cuba, to New York, N.Y., the steamer Corydon sank during a hurricane in the Bahamas Channel, resulting in the loss of 27 lives.” (New International Year Book…for the Year 1920. “Safety At Sea.” 1921, p. 607.)

Singer: “Corydon – Steam freighter (steel), of Detroit, 2,351 tons, built in 1918 at Ecorse, Mich., 253.4’ x 43.7’ x 25.1’. Foundered off the Florida coast during a hurricane, Sept. 9, 1919. Twenty-seven lives lost.” (Singer 1998, 229; citing: Congressional Information Service. United States Serial Set Index, Part 1-11, and Records of the National Archives, Wash., D.C.)

US Steamboat Inspection Service: “On September 9, 1919, at 11 a.m., while en route from Antilla, Cuba, to New York, N.Y., the steamer Corydon sank during a hurricane in the Bahamas Channel, resulting in the loss of 27 lives.” (U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service, Annual Report 1920, p. 15.)

Newspaper

Sep 11: “Miami, Fla., Sept. 11. – Twenty-seven members of the crew of the Ward Line steamer Corydon lost their lives when the vessel foundered in the Bahama Channel in the hurricane, which passed over Florida Tuesday. Nine survivors, clinging to a lifeboat, were picked up by the schooner Island Home. They reported that all but one of the lifeboats was pulled under by the suction of the sinking vessel.

“Captain C. O. Christiansen and a number of the seamen went down with the ship. The Corydon was loaded with 23,850 bags of sugar, bound from Cuba for New York.

“The Corydon survivors drifted for two days without food or water and were in a pitiable condition. They include Third Mate B. L. Mellows of Chatham, Mass.; F. Addison, Superintendent of Cargo; M. M. Johnson, radio operator, and six men of the crew.

“….F. Addison, supercargo, the only survivor of the Corydon able to relate his experiences, said he was jerked overboard in a lifeboat and thrown into the sea, but managed to regain the boat and rescue ten men floundering in the water. John Condron, a seaman, Addison said, became crazed from privation Wednesday night and leaped overboard.

“During the second day out they attracted the attention of the keeper of the Fowey Rock lighthouse, who sent a message to Miami for help. The schooner Island Home went to their rescue and brought them to Miami.

“The Corydon…was a shipping Board steamer of 2,351 gross tons, and was built at Ecorse, Mich., in 1918.

“Captain Christiansen lived in Brooklyn, and, while an old member of the Ward Line’s staff of officers, had but recently been made a master.” (New York Times. “Captain and 26 Dead In Sinking of Steamer Corydon In Hurricane,” Sep 12, 1919.)

Sources

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

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 International Year Book…for the Year 1920. “Safety At Sea.” NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1921. Accessed 3-2-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=92UMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

New York Times. “Captain and 26 Dead in Sinking of Steamer Corydon in Hurricane.” 9-12-1919. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B04E0D71338EE32A25751C1A96F9C946896D6CF

Singer, Steven D. Shipwrecks of Florida: A Comprehensive Listing (2nd Ed.). Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, Inc., 1998. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed 2-16-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=6j6kjZQReqkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false

United States Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. Fifty-Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States…For the Year Ended June 30, 1920. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1920. Accessed 3-2-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=mF4uAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1920. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1920. Accessed 3-2-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=oafNAAAAMAAJ