''Orion'' was a

G & J Burns G, or g, is the seventh Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Le ...

paddle steamer, built by Caird & Co in 1847, which struck a submerged rock and sank off Portpatrick Lighthouse, Wigtownshire, Scotland, on 18 June 1850 on her way from Liverpool to Glasgow, with the loss of 41 of the 200 passengers on board. The eminent surgeon John Burns was one of the passengers killed in the accident. Among the survivors were John McNeill, who would go on to reach the rank of Major General serving the British Army in India, also winning the Victoria Cross, and his brother Alexander, a future Independent Member of Parliament - though both their parents and two sister perished in the wreck. Some of the survivors were rescued by the Isle of Man vessel ''Fenella'', others by boats from Portpatrick. Her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

was found guilty of the "culpable bereavement of the lives of the passengers" and was imprisoned for 18 months. Her second mate was

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she wou ...

. The incident was described in the 1851 book ''The wreck of the Orion, a Tribute of Gratitude'' by Reverend Joseph Clarke, who was one of the survivors.

References

Ships built on the River Clyde Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom High Court of Justiciary cases Shipwrecks of Scotland History of Dumfries and Galloway Maritime incidents in June 1850 19th century in Scotland History of Liverpool History of Glasgow 1847 ships {{disaster-stub