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

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which sank on 13 September 1858, in one of the worst

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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

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and was launched on 23 June 1857. She was 318 ft and 2,684

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, with three masts and single screw propeller propulsion. After a cancelled British Government charter, she went into service with the

on 1 May 1858 on the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

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route.

Tragedy at sea

Puttner - 1858 - Sinking of emigrant ship Austria

On 1 September 1858, SS ''Austria'' captained by F. A. Heydtmann sailed from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on her third voyage to

. At approximately 12:00, on 13 September, at coordinates , following a procedure to fumigate

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by dipping a red-hot chain into a bucket of tar; the chain became too hot for the

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to hold, and it was dropped onto the deck, which immediately burst into flames; although the ship was traveling at only half speed 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

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, ''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,

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music director * Charles Brew,

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Inspector of Police * Charles Rosene

Drowned

Amongst those who drowned were: * Henriette Wulff, 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, 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 The Musée national de la Marine (National Navy Museum) is a maritime museum located in the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It has annexes at Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort ( Musée National de la Marine de Roc ...

, 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