1852 — Apr 26, steamers collide, Chickasaw sinks, OH River, French Islands, KY — 20

— 20 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 238.
— 20 Daily Free Democrat, Milwaukee. “News From All Quarters.” 4-29-1852, p. 3.
— 20 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 238.
— 20 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
— 20 Sailor’s Magazine/Naval Journal, V25, N1, Sep, 1852, “Steamboat Disasters…,” p. 20.
— 20 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 85.
— 14 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 289.

Narrative Information

Berman: “Chickasaw…Collided with W.B. Clifton. French Island, Evansville, Ind. 20 lives lost.” (Berman 1972, 238.)

Lloyd: “Collision of the Chickasaw and Clifton. – These boats came in collision on the 26th of March [sic. Apr], 1852, by which accident the Chickasaw immediately went down in forty feet of water. Her cabin parted from the hull, and floated down the river with the crew and passengers in it. The following is a list of those known to have been lost by this calamity; Thos. Todd, carpenter, Penna.’ Wm. Smith, Cincinnati; one cabin passenger, name unknown; j. McKee, deck hand; john Thompson, Covington, Ky.; Wm. Asher, and Samuel Beers, New Orleans; six firemen who were asleep at the time, were all drowned. One old man, deck passenger, from Pennsylvania, was lost.” (Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 289.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Chickasaw…309 [tons]…collided [with W. B. Clifton]…4 26 1852…French I., Evansville, Ind. …20 [lives lost].” (Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 238.)

Way: “Chickasaw. SW p wh b [sidewheel packet, wood hull, built] Cincinnati, Oh., 1851. 309 tons….She came in collision with the W.B. Clifton on Apr. 16, 1852, at French Islands, Ohio River, below Owensboro, Ky., went down in 40 feet, and the cabin parted from the hull. Twenty persons were drowned….” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 85.)

Newspaper

April 27: “Louisville, April 27. The steamers W.B. Clifton and Chickasaw came in collision above Evansville, Ohio river, last night. The latter sank immediately. – About 20 lives lost. The Chickasaw had on board a locomotive for the Memphis Railroad.” (Daily Free Democrat, Milwaukee. “News From All Quarters.” April 29, 1852, p. 3.)

Sources

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

Daily Free Democrat, Milwaukee. “News From All Quarters” [Chickasaw/Clifton collision]. 4-29-1852, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=35169227

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

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

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.

Sailor’s Magazine and Naval Journal. “Steam Boat Disasters and Loss of Life,” Vol. XXV (25), No. 1, Sep 1852, pp. 20-21. NY: American Seamen’s Friend Society. Accessed 8-16-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sailor_s_Magazine/rdcZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sailor%27s+Magazine+%26+Naval+Journal+vol.+XXV&pg=PP7&printsec=frontcover

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.