1859 — Mar 28, steamers Nathaniel Holmes & David Gibson collide/sink, OH Riv., Petersburg KY-35-50

–35-50 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

–35-50 Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors. Report on the Finances, 11-15-1859, p.281.
–40-50 Daily Constitutionalist, Augusta, GA. “Steamboat Collision.” 4-3-1859, p. 2, col. 1.
— >50 The Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Collision on the Ohio.” April 4, 1859, p. 2.
— 43 The Catholic, Pittsburgh, PA. “Another Terrible Disaster.” 4-2-1859, p. 5, col. 3.
–41-42 Banner of Liberty, Middletown, NY. “The Catastrophe on…Ohio River.” 4-6-1859, 10
— 42 Democratic Pharos, Logansport, IN. “Catastrophe on the Ohio River.” April 6, 1859, 2.
— >40 Erie Observer, Erie, PA. “Odds and Ends.” 4-2-1859, p. 2, col. 1.
— >40 M’Kean County Democrat, Smethport, PA. April 7, 1859, p. 2.
— 15 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 286.
— 15 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 251.
— 15 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]…1999, p.339.

* Blanchard estimated death toll: While we are of the opinion, from a reading of the sources below, that the low-end of the death toll was about 40, we choose not to ignore the reporting of the Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors, which noted a probable death toll of 35-50. In that none of the newspaper reports at the time that we could locate (and we have provided just a sampling), noted less than forty deaths, we cannot explain how the number fifteen came about. We speculate it first was reported in an early edition of Lytle and Holdcamper and picked up by Way and Berman, but this is just speculation. In any event, their reports of fifteen fatalities are so out of keeping with all other reporting, that we see no reason to give them recognition as the low-end of an estimated death toll.

Narrative Information

Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors, Seventh Supervising District: “The steamers ‘David Gibson’ and ‘Nathaniel Holmes’ came in collision on the Ohio river, near Petersburg, about 8 o’clock on the night of the 28th March last, by which both boats were immediately sunk, and, together with their cargoes, proved a total loss.

“By this sad calamity, as near as could be ascertained, from thirty-five to fifty lives were lost, including passengers and crew.

“This case was very thoroughly investigated by the local board at Cincinnati, and resulted in eliciting the following facts in relation to this disaster:

“The ‘Nathaniel Holmes’ was on her voyage from Pittsburg to St. Louis, heavily loaded, with a large number of emigrants on board. The ‘David Gibson’ was going to Cincinnati from New Orleans, also heavily loaded, with sugar and molasses. The river was high, there being some twenty-five feet in the channel. The night set in dark and stormy with the wind blowing up the river. The pilot of the ‘Holmes’ saw the lights of the ‘Gibson’ when a mile or more distant; when the boats had approached within about half a mile of each other, and no signal being received from the ‘Gibson,’ he stopped his engines and floated, keeping his boat about the middle of the river. Still receiving no signal, after a short time he gave one blast on his steam whistle, as the signal for passing to the right; this was answered by the ‘Gibson,’ but instead of obeying the signal, the ‘Gibson’s’ head was contrary to the signal give and answered, sheered to the left or larboard side of the ‘Holmes,’ which brought the boats immediately in contact. There were but few passengers on board the ‘Gibson,’ mostly females, none of whom were lost.

“The captain of the ‘Gibson’ was acting in the capacity of both master and pilot, and in both these capacities it was his watch either on deck or in the pilot-house at the time the collision took place. He was, however, at neither of these stations. The man at the wheel of the ‘Gibson’ rated himself as a steersman or assistant pilot, and was employed as such at that time, as well as having been so employed during the trip previous. The wind was blowing the smoke ahead of the ‘Gibson’ in such a manner as to prevent the man at the wheel from seeing the approaching boat, and there was no watch or lookout on deck to give him warning, and the ‘Holmes’ was not seen by him until after the signal for passing was made, and immediately before the boats came together, when, in his confusion, he turned his wheel in the opposite direction to that required by the signal.

“The ‘Holmes’ went down almost instantly, carrying with her the greater part of the deck passengers, and also the engineer, who was on duty. The cabin broke loose from the hull of the boat and floated down the river, and the lives of a large number of passengers and crew were saved thereby. The cabin was finally met by a steamboat and towed to shore.

“The ‘Gibson’ sunk before she could be run to the shore. Her cabin also floated off from the hull, and was the means of saving all the passengers and all the crew, with the exception of the steward and two or three firemen, who were lost. The pilot’s license held by the captain of the ‘Gibson’ has been revoked, and he was reported by the supervising inspector to the United States attorney for the district of Indiana for violation of section 12 of the steamboat act of 1838. The United States attorney brought the matter in due form before the grand jury at Indianapolis at their session in May last, and a bill was found against the captain for manslaughter. His trial has not yet taken place.” (Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors. Report on the Finances (No. 15). 11-15-1859, pp. 281-282.)

Way: Nathaniel Holmes. Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built in Belle Vernon, PA in 1856, at 215 tons. “Lost in collision with David Gibson at Petersburg, Ky., Mar. 28, 1859. Charles and Jim Hunter, brothers, of Williamstown V., were on her at the time. Fifteen lives were lost.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]…1999, p. 339.)

Newspapers

March 29: “Aurora, March 29. – The steamer Nathaniel Holmes sunk last night below Petersburg. The boat is a total loss. Insured in the Monongahela Insurance Company for $5,200, and in the Citizens’ Insurance Company.

“Second Dispatch. – The accident was occasioned by the Holmes and Gibson coming in collision. No lives ere lost on the Gibson. The Holmes had 86 passengers on board, 43 of whom were lost. The survivors lost their clothing, and $15,000 in money. The Holmes is a total loss. The boats and cargoes were valued at about $300,000, on which there is insurance for $175,000.” (The Catholic, Pittsburgh, PA. “Another Terrible Disaster.” 4-2-1859, p. 5, col. 3.)

March 29: “Cincinnati, March 29. – The steamers Nathaniel Holmes and David Gibson came in collision last night on the Ohio river, near the town of Aurora. Both boats were so badly damaged as to be rendered totally useless, and not less than fifty persons lost their lives by this catastrophe. Most of the unfortunates were emigrants on board the ‘Holmes,’ bound for the Pike’s Peak gold diggings. The cargoes of both vessels were totally destroyed, involving a loss of $100,000, on which there was an insurance of $50,000….” (The Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Collision on the Ohio.” April 4, 1859, p. 2.)

March 30: “Cincinnati Gazette, March 30…. The Holmes had a large number of passengers, most of whom were emigrants to Pike’s Peak. She went down in the middle of the river, and nearly every person between decks was drowned, while many of those in the cabin were also lost. The crew were all saved except Mr. Caldwell, the engineer, and a cabin boy.

“Names of the lost — From Mr. Lament, clerk of the Holmes, we obtained the following list of the lost from off that boat: [41 listed]

A Frenchman named Louis Dupon, wife and three children…
Henry Welch, wife and three children, of Wheeling, Va.;
a family of seven, shipped at Wheeling…a man, wife, two daughters and three sons;
David Gillen, of Alleghany, Pa.;
John Milligan, or Rush township, Tuscarawas county, Ohio;
John Vance, from Wheeling, Va.;
Samuel Owarth, wife and child, from Parkersburg to Madison, Indiana;
James Caldwell, engineer;
Hiram F. Griffith and sister, Emma Ann Griffith…Bridgeport, Ohio, for Burlington, Iowa Herman Nold, wife and three children, Pittsburg;
a Frenchman, shipped at Cincinnati, name unknown;
a child, name unknown, was found yesterday at the foot of Laughrey Island;
Thomas McDonald, — Logan, and John Evans, deck hands, and a colored fireman;
___Thompson and two daughters, from Cincinnati; and
___Williams, cabin boy.

“Four others are missing, but are supposed to have come up on the Kentucky to this city. The Holmes had fifty-six cabin and thirty deck passengers.

“The excitement on the two steamers when the collision occurred was immense. Men, women and children rushed to the deck of the steamer, screaming and begging assistance. The scene was heart-rending in the extreme, and cannot be described.

“One youth named Robert Welch, whose father, mother and three sisters were lost, sprang into the river, and seizing a fourth sister, aged five years, swam to the shore. Another lady, Mrs. Daniel Bishard, of Cambridge, Ohio, forgot her child until after she left the wreck. Capt. Kennedy found the little girl alive, laying between two mattresses, close up to the hurricane roof, yesterday morning about seven o’clock, being eleven hours after the accident took place.” (Banner of Liberty, Middletown, NY. “The Catastrophe on…Ohio River.” 4-6-1859, p. 10.)

April 2: “On Monday evening last a collision occurred on the Ohio River below Cincinnati, between the Steamers, Nathaniel Holmes and David Gibson. The former sunk almost immediately in 40 feet of water, and the latter sunk in a short time, in 25 feet of water. The cabins of both boats parted from the vessels and floated down the stream, and thus most of the passengers were saved from a watery grave. Over forth lives were lost. It was one of the most terrible disasters that has happened on the Ohio, for some time.” (Erie Observer, Erie, PA. “Odds and Ends.” 4-2-1859, p.2.)

April 3: “The steamboats Nathaniel Holmes and David Gibson collided on the Ohio river, near the town of Aurora, on Monday night last, the 28th ult. Many of the Holmes’ passengers were Pike’s Peak emigrants – and about forty or fifty lives were lost….As a party of emigrants from this State were on their way to Pike’s Peak, some fears may be entertained for their safety. To relieve the minds of their friends, however, we will state that the Georgia party left Memphis on Monday, on the Philadelphia, for St. Louis; and could not, therefore, be at the point where the collision took place, at the time it did.” (Daily Constitutionalist, Augusta, GA. “Steamboat Collision.” 4-3-1859, p. 2, col. 1.)

April 5: “We learn by passengers over the Ohio and Mississippi Railway last night, that the steamers Nathaniel Holmes, Capt. Kennedy, bound for St. Louis, and the David Gibson, bound up to this port from New Orleans, came in collision at Aurora about nine o’clock last evening, causing both to sink within five minutes after they struck.

“The boast came together, it is said, nearly at the same place where the Iowa and Madison came in collision a few weeks since, when the latter was sunk. Last night was dark and cloudy, and when the collision took place the greatest consternation prevailed among the crews and passengers. The Holmes had on board over 150 persons, a large number of whom are reported lost. As the steamer was going down they sprang into the river, seizing planks, barrels and boxes, by the aid of which many reached the shore. On the Gibson there were not many passengers, and only two or three of the crew are missing. Nearly all the passengers on the Holmes were emigrants destined for Pike’s Peak….

“The Gibson was owned in this city [Cincinnati] by Dr. Brown, Captain McKinley and David Gibson…The Holmes was owned in Pittsburg, by Capt. Kennedy and others….(Cincinnati Gazette).” (Weekly Hawk-Eye and Telegraph, Burlington, IA. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 4-5-1859, p. 1.)

April 6: “On Monday evening March 28, about 8 o’clock, the steamers Nathaniel Holmes, bound from Pittsburg for St. Louis, and the David Gibson, from New Orleans for Cincinnati, came in collision a short distance below Petersburg, Ky., and two miles above and in sight of Aurora, with such force as to sink the former instantly, and the latter in a few minutes. The Holmes had a heavy cargo of nails, iron, and general merchandise. The Gibson had over 600…[unclear] sugar for Cincinnati.

“The night was dark, and the wind was blowing violently when the collision occurred, and it is supposed that smoke obscured the lights so that neither pilot saw the approaching boat, until too near to prevent the accident. The Holmes was cut into pieces, and sunk instantly. The Gibson swung around and was run for the shore, but before reaching it she sunk, the cabin floating off.

“There was a small trading boat named Annie Laurie No. 5, nearby, but the owner refused to let anyone have the use of a skiff to go to the assistance of the sufferers. He armed himself with a hatchet, and his wife with a bowie knife, and the pair threatened to kill anyone who should touch the skiff. William Nicholson is the name of this man.

“As soon as the citizens of Aurora heard of the accident, they did everything in their power to render assistance. Every skiff within reach was brought into requisition. Men rowed with almost superhuman power, and load after load was landed upon the beach, among whom were many women who had lost their children, and children who had lost their parents, and others who had lost all they had.

“The steamers collided about one and a half miles above Aurora, Ind., very near the bend in the river, where the Iowa and Madison struck each other only a few weeks since. Mr. John L. Conoway was at the wheel of the Holmes, and a Striker at the wheel of the Gibson, the pilot we understand not being at his post. Pilot Conoway blew the whistle for the starboard, which was not answered by the Gibson until the boats were near each other. The Holmes was in the middle of the river, and the Gibson quartering from the point on the Kentucky side, towards the Indiana shore. The Gibson struck the Holmes on her larboard side, near her forward chalk, and she commenced sinking immediately, in about forty feet of water. The cabin separated from the hull, and floated down the river, with the passengers and crew hanging on to the wreck. The boat was not over three minutes doing down, and had not the hull separated from the cabin, the loss of life would have been far greater than it was.

“The Gibson swung round, and was run over to the Kentucky shore, where she also sunk in 25 feet water. Her cabin also parted and floated off and was met by the Caroline between the mouth of Log Lick, with a flat alongside and several men taking from the wreck boxes, etc. The cabin of the Holmes was caught about a mile above Rising Sun, and towed by the steamer Kentucky to the Kentucky shore. No lives were lost off the Gibson, but of the eighty-six passengers, cabin and deck, on the steamer Holmes, forty-two are lost! – Cin. Gazette.” (Democratic Pharos, Logansport, IN. “Catastrophe on the Ohio River.” April 6, 1859, p. 2.)

May 31: “On Tuesday last [May 24] the Grand Jury of the United States Court, now in session in Indianapolis, returned a true bill against Capt. William McKinley, of the steamer David Gibson, for manslaughter, by causing the collision between the David Gibson and Nathaniel Holmes, through negligence and inattention to his duties, as pilot of the David Gibson.

“The following is the section of the law of 1838, under which Capt. McKinley will be tried:

Section 12. That every Captain, Engineer, Pilot or other persons employed on board of any steamboat or vessel propelled in whole or in part by steam, by whose misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his or their respective duties, the life or lives of any person or persons on board said vessel may be destroyed, shall be deemed guilty of Manslaughter, and upon conviction thereof before any Circuit Court in the United States, shall be sentenced to confinement at hard labor for a period not more than ten years.

“Mr. Supervising Inspector Crawford, who has been attending to the proper presentation of this case to the Grand Jury, deserves credit for the manner in which he has fully collected the necessary testimony. The United States expects to prove on the trial of the case, that Capt. McKinley, who was commander of the boat, and assumed also a regular watch as Pilot, employed Mr. Irwin as Striker, the latter not claiming to be a regular Pilot hence to New Orleans; that Striker Irwin stood Capt. McKinley’s watch more than half the time, the latter passing his time playing cards, etc., in the cabin of the boat. – Cincinnati Gazette, Thursday, 26th.” (Portsmouth Times, OH. “Capt. McKinley indicted for Manslaughter.” 5-31-1859, p. 3, col. 2.)

Sources

Banner of Liberty, Middletown, NY. “The Catastrophe on the Ohio River.” 4-6-1859, 10. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=2778058

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

Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors. Report on the Finances (No. 15). 11-15-1859, pp. 263-286 in, Secretary of the Treasury. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances, for The Year Ending June 30, 1859. Washington: George W. Bowman, Printer, 1860. Accessed 10-10-2020 at: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/annual-report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-194/report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-year-ending-june-30-1859-5444

Daily Constitutionalist, Augusta, GA. “Steamboat Collision.” 4-3-1859, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 10-10-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/augusta-daily-constitutionalist-apr-03-1859-p-2/

Democratic Pharos, Logansport, IN. “Catastrophe on the Ohio River.” 4-6-1859, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83088887

Erie Observer, Erie, PA. “Odds and Ends.” 4-2-1859, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 10-10-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/erie-observer-apr-02-1859-p-2/

Gower, Calvin W. “The Pike’s Peak Gold Rush and the Smoky Hill Route, 1859-1860,” Kansas Collection: Kansas Historical Quarterlies. Summer 1959, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 158-171. Transcribed for digital posting by Jeannie Josephson. Accessed 10-10-2020 at: https://www.kancoll.org/khq/1959/59_2_gower.htm

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=8&size=125

M’Kean County Democrat, Smethport, PA. April 7, 1859, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=116819736

Portsmouth Times, Portsmouth, OH. “Capt. McKinley indicted for Manslaughter.” 5-31-1859, p. 3, col. 2. Accessed 10-10-2020: https://newspaperarchive.com/portsmouth-times-may-31-1859-p-3/

The Catholic, Pittsburgh, PA. “Another Terrible Disaster.” 4-2-1859, p. 5, col. 3. Accessed 10-10-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pittsburgh-catholic-apr-02-1859-p-5/

The Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Collision on the Ohio.” April 4, 1859, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5769710

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.

Weekly Hawk-Eye and Telegraph, Burlington, IA. “Another Steamboat Disaster.” 4-5-1859, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=838298