SS ''Austria'' was a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

of the Hamburg America Line which sank on 13 September 1858, in one of the worst transatlantic

maritime disaster The list of maritime disasters is a link page for maritime disasters by century. For a unified list by death toll, see . Pre-18th century Peacetime disasters All ships are vulnerable to problems from weather conditions, faulty design or huma ...

s of the nineteenth century, claiming the lives of 449 passengers and crew. The ''Austria'' was built by Caird & Co. of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, Scotland and was launched on 23 June 1857. She was 318 ft and 2,684 BRT, with three masts and single screw propeller propulsion. After a cancelled British Government charter, she went into service with the Hamburg America Line on 1 May 1858 on the Hamburg- New York City route.

Tragedy at sea

Puttner - 1858 - Sinking of emigrant ship Austria

On 1 September 1858, SS ''Austria'' captained by

F. A. Heydtmann F.A. Heydtmann (died September 13, 1858) was captain of the Hamburg America Line’s ill-fated steamer ''Austria'' at the time of its sinking on September 13, 1858. As the Steamboat Austria disaster was caused by negligence of the crew, F.A. Heyd ...

sailed from Hamburg on her third voyage to New York City. At approximately 12:00, on 13 September, at coordinates , following a procedure to

fumigate Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful micro-organisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (s ...

steerage by dipping a red-hot chain into a bucket of tar; the chain became too hot for the boatswain to hold, and it was dropped onto the deck, which immediately burst into flames; although the ship was traveling at only

half speed One half ( : halves) is the irreducible fraction resulting from dividing one by two or the fraction resulting from dividing any number by its double. Multiplication by one half is equivalent to division by two, or "halving"; conversely, di ...

it was impossible to stop the engines as the engine crew had become asphyxiated. When the helmsman abandoned the wheel, the ship swung into the wind, spreading the flames down the length of the ship, racing through the mahogany veneer and varnished bulkheads, as passengers jumped into the sea. The passing barque, ''Maurice'' of France rescued most of the survivors (67), and the ''Catarina'' of Norway picked up more (22) the next morning. As the blackened hulk was left to sink, all but 89 of 542 passengers were lost.

Survivors

Amongst the survivors were: *

Theodore Eisfeld Theodore Eisfeld (April 11, 1816, Wolfenbüttel, Duchy of Brunswick – 16 September 1882, Wiesbaden) was a conductor, most notably of the New York Philharmonic Society, which became the New York Philharmonic. Biography Eisfeld's chief instructor ...

, New York Philharmonic music director * Charles Brew, British Columbia

Inspector of Police Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

* Charles Rosene

Drowned

Amongst those who drowned were: *

Henriette Wulff Henriette may refer to: * Princess Henriette of France * Henriette of Cleves * Henriette Willemina Crommelin (1870-1957), Dutch labor leader and temperance reformer * Henriette Dibon (1902–1989), French poet and short story writer. * Henriette H ...

, friend and frequent correspondent of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

Adolph Starmont Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

, merchant for S.F. White & Bro., Chicago, IL hicago Press and Tribune (1858-1860). Nov. 13, 1858; ProQuest Historical Newspaper Chicago Tribune (1849-1985)/ref>

Paintings of the disaster

The fire and subsequent sinking has featured in multiple paintings, including: * Josef Püttner, "Untergang der Austria",

Deutsches Historisches Museum The German Historical Museum (german: Deutsches Historisches Museum), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history o ...

, Berlin, Germany. *

Eugène Isabey Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (22 July 1803, in Paris – 25 April 1886, in Montévrain) was a French painter, lithographer and watercolorist in the Romantic style. Biography He was born to Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a well known painter who ...

, "L'incendie de l'Austria", Musée national de la Marine, Paris, France; "L'Incendie du steamer Austria", Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, France; * Anonymous, "Burning of the Austria",

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

, England. * Le duc Charles, "L'Incendie de l'Austria", Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, Musée d'Histoire de Nantes, Nantes, France.

References

External links

* *
Hulman Dynasty site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austria 1857 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Steamships of the Hanseatic League Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in September 1858 Ship fires Merchant ships of the Hanseatic League Ships of the Hamburg America Line