SS ''Arctic'' was a 2,856-ton
paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...
, one of the
Collins Line
The Collins Line was the common name for the American shipping company started by Israel Collins and then built up by his son Edward Knight Collins, formally called the New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company. Under Edward Col ...
, which operated a transatlantic passenger and mail steamship service during the 1850s. It was the largest of a fleet of four, built with the aid of U.S. government subsidies to challenge the transatlantic supremacy of the British-backed
Cunard Line
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival United Kingdom, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its ...
. During its four-year period of service, the ship was renowned both for its speed and for the luxury of its accommodation.
On September 27, 1854, while on passage to New York from Liverpool, ''Arctic'' collided in fog with the French steamer off the coast of Newfoundland, and sank four hours later. ''Arctic's'' lifeboat capacity was around 180, enough for fewer than half those on board; the boats were launched in an atmosphere of panic and disorder, and the principle of "women and children first" was ignored. From around 400 on board (250 passengers, 150 crew), 24 male passengers and 61 crew survived; all the women and children died. No one was called to account for the disaster, and no official enquiry was held. Lifeboat provision on passenger-carrying ships remained inadequate until well into the 20th century.
Background
The first shipping line to begin regular transatlantic steamer services was the British-backed
Cunard Line
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival United Kingdom, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its ...
, which began operating on July 4, 1840, with the departure from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
of
RMS ''Britannia'', bound for
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. As the principal transatlantic mail carrier, the Cunard Line received subsidies from the British government and from the
United States Post Office Department
The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postmas ...
; many Americans, however, thought that an American line should benefit from these subsidies. Thus, in 1845, the
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
asked shipowners to tender for the right to operate a subsidized passenger and mail service between the U.S. to Europe. The successful bidder, announced on March 3, 1847, was
Edward Knight Collins
Edward Knight Collins I (5 August 1802 – 22 January 1878) was an American shipping magnate.
Early life
He was born on August 5, 1802 in Truro, Massachusetts to Israel Gross Collins (1776–1831) and Mary Ann Knight (c.1780-Jan 3, 1803). H ...
. On the basis of the mail contract Collins founded the New York and Liverpool United States' Mail Steamship Company, familiarly known as the
Collins Line
The Collins Line was the common name for the American shipping company started by Israel Collins and then built up by his son Edward Knight Collins, formally called the New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company. Under Edward Col ...
, and begin an ambitious steamship construction program.
[Flayhart, p. 20.]
Construction and launching
![Engines of SS Arctic (1850)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Engines_of_SS_Arctic_%281850%29.jpg)
The
William H. Brown and the Jacob Bell shipyards were each contracted to build two large wooden
paddle steamers
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...
, for use by Collins in a regular twice-monthly transatlantic mail service. The Collins line would receive an annual subsidy, initially of $385,000 a year, from the U.S. government.
[Shaw, p. 22.] Part of the government's interest in the project lay in the potential of these ships for use in times of war; they were constructed in a manner that facilitated rapid conversion to warships should the need arise. ''Arctic'', built at Brown's shipyard and designed by George Steers, was the third of the four ships to be launched, following SS ''Atlantic'' and , and was marginally the largest of the four. She was in length, and measured at 2,856
tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ref ...
by the U.S. Custom House measurement then in use. Her two
side-lever steam engines,
[ which accounted for $250,000 of the total construction cost of $700,000, were built and fitted by Stillman, Allan and Company. Each generated 1,000 horsepower,][Brown, p. 25.] turning the paddle wheels at 16 revolutions a minute at full speed. Like her sister ships, ''Arctic'' was built to a luxurious standard; a contemporary description refers to her furnishings and fittings as giving "an air of almost Oriental magnificence." The ladies' saloon was described as a "gorgeous yet beautiful apartment, brilliant with light resentingas cheerful a scene as the heart could crave."
''Arctic'' was launched on January 28, 1850, from Brown's yard on New York's East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
, before a large crowd. According to a press account, she was "the most stupendous vessel ever constructed in the United States, or the world, since the patriarchal days of Noah." The ''New York Herald''s reporter described the crowd's reaction as the ship slid into the water: "Men waved their hats, ladies their handkerchiefs, in admiration of the glad event ... the thousands who witnessed her launch toodfor nearly half an hour, contemplating the splendid vessel."
Service history
Under her captain, James F. Luce, ''Arctic'', now fully fitted out, underwent her sea trials during October 18–19, 1850, in preparation for entering regular transatlantic service on October 26. That first voyage, to Liverpool, passed without incident. In the years that followed, ''Arctic'' established a reputation as one of the fastest of ocean liners, regularly completing the crossing in ten days and sometimes less; in February 1852 she reached Liverpool in nine days, seventeen hours, considered an exceptional time for a winter crossing. She became the most celebrated of the Collins ships, and was known as the "clipper of the sea."[ On 23 November 1853, ''Arctic'' ran aground on the Burbo Bank, in ]Liverpool Bay
Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. Liverpool Bay has historically suffered from redu ...
whilst on a voyage from New York to Liverpool. She was refloated and taken in to Liverpool. On 18 May 1854, ''Arctic'' struck the Black Rock, off the coast of the Saltee Islands
The Saltee Islands (Irish: ''Oileán an tSalainn''; Old Norse: ''Salt ey'' ) are a pair of small islands lying 5 kilometres off the southern coast of County Wexford in Ireland. The two islands are Great Saltee (89 hectares) and Little Saltee (37 ...
, County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
whilst on a voyage from Liverpool to New York. She was refloated and put back to Liverpool. In July 1854, ''Arctic''s engines were adapted, in the hopes of reducing the heavy fuel costs that were helping to undermine the ship's profitability. The ''Baltimore Sun'' reported that the modifications were an invention of a Baltimore firm, Wethered Bros, and if successful, would reduce fuel costs by half. The powerful engines fitted to ''Arctic'' and her sisters strained their wooden hulls, and the line incurred large expenses in maintaining the vessels.[Baker, p. 57.]
Sinking
On September 27, 1854, while en route to New York from Liverpool, the ''Arctic'' collided with , a much smaller fishing vessel, 50 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. There were roughly 400 persons on board ''Arctic'' – approximately 250 passengers and 150 crew. Captain Luce's first thought was to give assistance to the stricken ''Vesta'', which appeared in danger of sinking, but when he was told that his own ship was holed beneath the waterline, he decided to make for the nearest land. As attempts to plug the leaks failed, ''Arctic''s hull steadily filled with sea water. The boiler fires were gradually extinguished and the engines slowed and stopped, still far from land.
In accordance with the maritime regulations then in force, ''Arctic'' carried six lifeboats, the total capacity of which was around 180. Luce ordered these launched, but a breakdown in discipline among the crew meant that most places in the boats were taken by members of the crew or by the more able-bodied passengers; one of which was the French ambassador, the duc de Gramont who was observed jumping from the ship into one of the last lifeboats.
The rest were left with makeshift rafts, or were unable to leave the ship and went down with her when she sank, four hours after the collision. Captain Luce, himself, unlike his crew, went down with his ship, although he survived. Meanwhile, ''Vesta'', which appeared to have sustained mortal damage, was saved from sinking by her watertight bulkheads, and was able to gain the harbour at St. Johns, Newfoundland
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland.
...
.
Two of the six lifeboats that left ''Arctic'' safely reached the Newfoundland shore, and another was picked by a passing steamer which also rescued a few survivors from improvised rafts. Among these was Captain Luce, who had regained the surface after initially going down with the ship. He was rescued after clinging to wreckage of the paddle-wheel box for two days. The other three boats disappeared without trace.
In all, more than 300 people died; the 85 survivors included 61 of the crew and 24 male passengers. All the women and children on board perished. Among those lost were the wife of Edward Collins and two of his children. Other victims included several members of the Brown family, whose bank, Brown Brothers, had helped to finance the Collins Line. Also lost was Frederick Catherwood
Frederick Catherwood (27 February 1799 – 27 September 1854) was an English artist, architect and explorer, best remembered for his meticulously detailed drawings of the ruins of the Maya civilization. He explored Mesoamerica in the mid 19th c ...
, the English architect and painter whose name was mysteriously left off the official casualty lists for weeks until a concerted effort by his friends and colleagues resulted in a belated inclusion by the authorities and newspapers. In addition to the tragic loss of human life, a rare copy of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's First Folio
''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
that New York lawyer and Shakespeare collector Aldon W. Griswold had purchased and shipped from Liverpool, was lost. Among the lost as well were Mahlon Day
Mahlon Day (August 27, 1790 - September 27, 1854) was an American children's book publisher, printer, and bookseller, based in New York City.
Biography
Mahlon Day was born on August 27, 1790, in Morristown, New Jersey.
Day, his wife and two da ...
, prominent New York publisher of children's books and business publications, with his wife and daughter.
Aftermath
The limited telegraph communications of the time meant that news of ''Arctic''s loss did not reach New York until two weeks after the sinking. As the full story emerged, initial public sorrow at the ship's loss quickly turned to condemnation of the perceived cowardice of the crew, and their failure of duty towards their passengers.[Shaw, pp. 183–190.] Although some newspapers demanded an inquiry into the disaster, none was held, and nobody was called to account for their actions. Proposals that lifeboat capacity on passenger-carrying vessels should be increased, to provide a place for every person on board, were not acted on. Captain Luce, who was generally exonerated from blame by the public, retired from the sea, and some of the surviving crew chose not to return to the US.[ The Collins Line continued its transatlantic service, until further maritime losses and insolvency led to its closure in 1858.
James Brown, president of both Brown Brothers bank and the Collins Line, erected a grand monument in ]Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...
, Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, to the six members of his family lost in the ''Arctic'' disaster. It incorporates a sculpture of the ship, half-submerged by the waves. The names of those who died are inscribed on the pedestal.[Shaw, p. 208.]
References
Citations
Sources
*Baker, W. A. (1965): ''The Engine Powered Vessel''. New York, Grosset & Dunlap
*Brown, Alexander Crosby (1962): ''Women and Children Last''. London, Frederick Muller Ltd
*Flayhart, William (2003): ''Perils of the Atlantic''. New York, W. W. Norton & Company.
*Shaw, David W. (2002): ''The Sea Shall Embrace Them''. New York, The Free Press.
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arctic
Steamships of the United States
Ships sunk in collisions
Maritime incidents in September 1854
1850 ships
Passenger ships of the United States
Ships built in New York City
Maritime incidents in November 1853
Maritime incidents in May 1854