1845 — July 1, Steamboat Marquette Boiler Explosion, New Orleans, LA –17-30

–17-30 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

— ~50 Childs. A History of the U.S. In Chronological Order…1492…to…1885. 1886, p. 121.
— 50 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 98.
— 48 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 157.
— 30 Fisher/McCord. “Steamboat Explosions…Fifty-Five Years.” In Scharf 1883, p. 1108.
— 30 Gould. Fifty Years on the Mississippi. “Steamboat explosions for 50 years.” 1889, p437.
–25-30 Louisville Morning Courier…American Democrat. “Dreadful Steamboat Disaster.” 7-10-1845.
— 9 named as dead or missing.
— 17 Louisville Morning Courier…American Democrat. “Explosion of the Marquette.” 7-12-1845.*
–10-15 Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Steamboat Explosion!” July 14, 1845, p. 3.
— 13 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 180.
— 13 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 224.
— 13 US Patent Office. Report of the Commissioner…on…steam boiler explosions. 1848, 61.

* Blanchard estimated death toll. While the sources we note show a range of ten to fifty (not all sources reviewed are used, and thus not cited), we choose to show our own range of seventeen to thirty. For the low end of our range (17) we follow the two articles we cite in the Louisville Morning Courier, which, between the two, note seventeen deaths. For the high end of our estimated death-toll range we follow Fisher and McCord in Scharf, Gould and the high-end of the 25-30 noted as an estimated death toll (without details) in the Louisville Morning Courier (citing the New Orleans Picayune). While there may have been fewer deaths, such as the thirteen noted by Lytle and Holdcamper, we are doubtful. As some accounts have noted, some deck passengers had just boarded and their names not taken. It is possible for people to be blown overboard and their bodies carried downstream and either not discovered or not known to be connected to this event. Additionally, seventeen specific deaths are noted, along with the names of four other men whom were not expected to live.

We have seen other accounts, usually in tables, that note thirty deaths for this explosion, which we have not cited, thus there appears to be good reason to suppose there may have been up to thirty deaths. Given our inability to uncover the names of other fatalities, we are uncomfortable in using 48 or 50 deaths in our own estimate. We have not been able to verify, via detail, even the thirty deaths we show, much less more than that.

*17 Louisville Morning Courier. This number is ours. We counted the number of deaths newly reported from injured list and added to the nine noted in the July 10 edition, to derive seventeen.

Narrative Information

Childs: “As the steamboat Marquette was leaving her wharf at New Orleans, on the 1st of July, all her boilers exploded simultaneously, killing about fifty persons.” (Childs 1886, p. 121.)

Fisher and McCord in Scharf: “1845…Marquette…30 [lives lost].” (“Steamboat Explosions For Fifty-Five Years.”)

Lloyd: “Between four and five o’clock, in the afternoon of July 1st, 1846, the steamer Marquette, Capt. Turpin, was about leaving the wharf at New Orleans. Her last bell had rung, and the hands had begun to cast off the moorings, when it was ascertained that the cook was on shore. The boat waited for him about fifteen minutes, during which time no steam was blown off, or passed through the cylinders. The cook having arrived, the steamer began to back out from the wharf, and when the paddle-wheels had made three or four revolutions, all the boilers ex¬ploded simultaneously, producing a sound which was heard in the most distant parts of the city. The pilot, Mr. Frederick Ostrander, who was at the wheel, was blown to a considerable distance, and fell on the hur-ricane deck of the steamer Yazoo City. One of his thighs was dislo¬cated and his hip broken by the fall. It is mentioned as a remarkable circumstance, that Mr. Ostrander’s hat was blown in an opposite direc¬tion, and fell on another boat. The pilot house which this gentleman had occupied, after ascending to a great height, came down on the fore¬castle of the steamer James Pitcher, occasioning some damage to that vessel. The wheel, (or a part of the steering apparatus,) which Mr. Os-trander held at the time of the explosion, appears to have been anni¬hilated, as not the smallest fragment of it could be found afterwards. Mr. Powell, the second pilot, who was sitting on the boiler-deck, read¬ing a newspaper, was never seen after the explosion. The cook was cut in two by a piece of the boiler; one part of his body was blown for¬ward near the jack-staff, and the other part remained near the machinery. Capt. Turpin himself received an injury in the thighs but was still active in affording his assistance…

“B. M. Martin, of the Belle Poule, was wounded by a piece of the boiler, and died a few hours after. At least forty-five others were killed, and comparatively few of their names, (as usual in such cases,) are on record. The universal excitement and consternation which prevail on board of the vessel where an explosion takes place, renders an accurate statement of particulars almost impossible. After the explosion, the boat drifted a short distance down the stream and sunk. All the cargo was lost….” (Lloyd 1856, pp. 157-158.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Marquette…126 [tons]…exploded…7 1 1845 [built 1842]…New Orleans, La., 13 [lives lost].” (Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 224.)

US Patent Office Commissioner: “Marquette, July 1, 1845, burst her boiler while backing out, the wheels having made only one revolution. The force of the steam went directly up. Thirteen persons were killed and 7 wounded.” (United States Patent Office. Report of the Commissioner of Patents, to the Senate of the United States, on the subject of steam boiler explosions. 1848, p. 61.)

Newspaper

July 2: “We copy the following particulars of a dreadful steamboat explosion, from the New Orleans Bee of the 2d inst.:

“Yesterday afternoon, about 4 o’clock, as the steamer Marquette, Capt. E. A. Turpin, bound for Cincinnati, was leaving the Levee, at the foot of Gravier Street, both of her boilers bursted, with a tremendous report, tearing into fragments her boiler deck, and cabin as far aft as the wheel-house on the larboard(sic)side, and throwing her chimneys into the river, and blowing into the air her boilers and everything above them, and killing and wounding between 30 and 40 of the passengers and crew. Immediately after the explosion, the boat sunk to her guards at the bow, and over the floor of the ladies’ cabin at the stern. At the moment of the explosion, Capt. Turpin had just given the word to go-ahead, and was walking aft on the hurricane deck to see that her stern was clear, when after one or two revolutions of the wheels he was thrown about ten feet in the air, and fell on the deck about the same distance aft, escaping with a slight bruise on the leg.

“….The number of persons standing on the boiler deck is variously estimated at from 10 to 15, among whom were several cabin passengers – they were all blown to the height of 150 or 200 feet in the air, some with their limbs rent asunder, and all of them falling into the river without exhibiting any signs of life, and sinking to the bottom instantly. The clerk and bar-keeper were in their rooms, which were blown overboard – their bodies have not yet been discovered.

“The number of deck passengers and of the crew killed, wounded and missing, is, as near as we can ascertain, between 25 and 30….

“….The following, as far as we could learn, is a list of those dead, missing and wounded.

“Dead

Samuel Hays, first engineer, (died upon arrival at the Hospital)
James Coleman, deck hand, (both legs blown off)
a white man (name unknown) whose head was completely severed from his body
a man (name unknown) who died on his way to the Hospital
a deck hand, name unknown

“Missing
J. F. Lee, clerk and
John Orrick, bar-keeper, both from Greensborough, Alabama
______Powell, pilot and
______Hazzard, second engineer

“Scalded and Wounded

William B. Daniels, of Massachusetts, very badly scalded
John Hazet, Providence, (R.I.), leg broken and badly scalded
John L. Dornaus, ribs broken and badly scalded
Andrew Froy, (carpenter) New Orleans, wife and two children. Froy was wounded in the
head, though not dangerously; his wife wounded in the arm and slightly scalded, and both the children badly scalded.
Christopher Gueydan, of France, slightly scalded
Francois Laglaise, of France, wounded in the head, not dangerously
Bernard Osborne, (boy) of Indiana, badly scalded
John Grayham, (boy) leg broken and badly scalded – dangerous
John Milton, of New Albany, (IN) badly scalded
William Ramsey, of Alabama, wounded on head and slightly scalded
Neal Harkins, of Ireland, severely hurt on shoulder
Hannibal, third engineer (slave of Captain Turpin), severely scalded
three persons, names unknown, badly scalded

“The above wounded, were conveyed to the Charity Hospital – the greater portion of them are not expected to recover….

“The Marquette was a two boiler boat, and had been running during the past winter from Mobile up the Alabama River, in the cotton trade. She was about a year old…

“The wreck which, from its buoyancy floated, was towed across to the ship yard last evening, by the steamers South Western and Geneva.” (Louisville Morning Courier and American Democrat. “Dreadful Steamboat Disaster.” 7-10-1845.)

July 12: “Explosion of the Marquette.”

“New Orleans, La., Saturday 12 July 1845.

“We copy the following paragraphs from the N.O. Picayune of the dead:

“The Catastrophe of Tuesday — o the victims of Tuesday’s catastrophe, of which we made a report in our preceding number, we have to add the following, who died of their wounds on Thursday night and yesterday in the Charity Hospital:

John Hazzard, 2nd engineer [previously noted as missing]
Hannibal, black man, 3d engineer [previously noted as slave of captain severely scalded]
William Ramsey, of Alabama [previously listed as wounded]
John Melton, of New Albany, IN [not previously noted as among the injured]
two men, names unknown
Bernard Osborne, a boy about twelve years old [noted as severely scalded earlier]
Margaret Troy, five years old [two children of a Mr. “Froy” previously noted as scalded]
Mary Ann Troy.

“The following are in so dangerous a condition that it is feared they will be soon added to the morgue catalogue:

William B. Daniels
Neil Harkins
John Dearman and
John W. Lee.
“….
(Louisville Morning Courier and American Democrat. “Explosion of the Marquette.” 7-12-1845.

July 14: “On the 1st inst., as the steamboat Marquette was backing out from the wharf at New Orleans, both boilers burst with a tremendous explosion – scattering death and destruction around. The very foundations of the buildings were shaken for several squares. Her boiler deck and cabin were torn into fragments, and the boat completely destroyed. The number of persons on the boiler deck at the time was from 10 to 15. They were all blown to the height of 150 or 200 feet into the air, some with their limbs rent asunder, and all of them falling into the river, without exhibiting any signs of life, and sinking to the bottom instantly. The number of deck passengers and of the crew killed, wounded, and missing, is supposed to be between 25 and 30. The scene presented on the lower deck was of the most heart-rending description. In one place laid a body with the head severed from it; another with both legs torn off above the knees; some with frightful gashes upon their heads and limbs; others without scarcely a particle of skin upon their bodies, from the effects of the steam and the scalding water.

“The Captain of the steamboat was arrested and held to bail in the sum of $5,000, to answer to the charge of manslaughter. The first engineer was also arrested on a similar charge, and in default of bail was committed to prison. – This is the proper way to act towards men who are so reckless of the lives of passengers, as many are on the Western waters.” (Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Steamboat Explosion!” July 14, 1845, p. 3.)

Sources

Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Steamboat Explosion!” July 14, 1845, p. 3. Accessed 2-27-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/gettysburg-adams-sentinel-jul-14-1845-p-5/

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

Childs, Emery E. A History of the United States In Chronological Order From the Discovery of America in 1492 to the Year 1885. NY: Baker & Taylor, 1886. Google digitized. Accessed 9-4-2017: http://books.google.com/books?id=XLYbAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Fisher, Captain S.L., and Captain James McCord. “Steamboat Explosions for Fifty-Five Years.” In Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Saint Louis City and County, From the Earliest Periods to the Present Day: Including Biographical Sketches of Representative Men. In Two Volumes, Illustrated. Volume II (Chapter XXVII. Navigation on the Mississippi River). Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts & Co., 1883. Digitized by Northern Illinois University, NU Libraries Digitization Projects at: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.4487:4.lincoln

Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi; or, Gould’s History of River Navigation. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1889, 750 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 2008 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=udyywXOVBvsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed 2-27-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

Louisville Morning Courier and American Democrat. “Dreadful Steamboat Disaster.” 7-10-1845. Accessed 2-27-2021 at: http://www.gendisasters.com/louisiana/18489/new-orleans-la-steamer-marquette-explosion-july-1845

Louisville Morning Courier and American Democrat. “Explosion of the Marquette.” 7-12-1845. Accessed 2-27-2021 at: http://www.gendisasters.com/louisiana/18489/new-orleans-la-steamer-marquette-explosion-july-1845?page=0,2

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=7

Pittsburgh Daily Post, PA. “Terrible Disaster!” 7-2-1845, p. 2; from the New Orleans Picayune, July 2, 1845. Accessed 2-27-2021 at: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31721214/boiler-explosion-on-steamboat-marquette/

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

United States Patent Office. Report of the Commissioner of Patents, to the Senate of the United States, on the subject of steam boiler explosions. (30th Congress, 2d Session Executive Document No. 18). 12-30-1848. Accessed 2-21-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=chpLAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false