The steamboat ''Pennsylvania'' was a side wheeler steamboat which suffered a

boiler explosion A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. There are two types of boiler explosions. One type is a failure of the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. There can be many different causes, such as failure of the safety val ...

in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

and sank at Ship Island near

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, on June 13, 1858.

Construction and career

Built in 1854, the ''Pennsylvania'' was capable of carrying a full 486

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s of

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

. On November 26, 1857, she was struck by the steamer ''Vicksburg'' while 28 miles north of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. This collision put her out of service until February 17, 1858. Subsequently, she continued her service on the river until destroyed by a boiler explosion on June 13, 1858.

Employment of Samuel L. Clemens

Her most heralded crew member was Samuel L. Clemens (later known as Mark Twain) who served as a cub pilot from September 27, 1857 until June 5, 1858, with a two-month break during the repairs from the ''Vicksburg'' collision. The end of Twain's service on the ''Pennsylvania'' was brought about by his stormy relationship with its pilot, William Brown, which is described in his 1883 book '' Life on the Mississippi''. Just prior to his departure, he arranged a post for his brother, Henry on the steamship as " Mud Clerk".

Final voyage and sinking

On June 13, 1858, the ''Pennsylvania'' was steaming near Ship Island, just below

when its boiler exploded. Estimates at the time put the passenger manifest at 450 with an initial loss of life of 250. The first vessel on site was the ''Imperial'', which picked up several passengers and transported them to New Orleans. The ''Diana'' took many others to Memphis. Several of these were seriously injured and the death toll continued to climb. Among this group was Henry Clemens, younger brother of Mark Twain, whose skin and lungs were so badly scalded that he succumbed to his wounds on June 21. Another casualty of the explosion was Tennessee Supreme Court justice William R. Harris.Albert D. Marks, "The Supreme Court of Tennessee", Part II, ''The Green Bag'', Volume 5 (1893), p. 180. Eyewitness testimony was given to the fact that the engineer was not at his post in the engine room just prior to the explosion, instead being in the company of some women. Future Ohio politician Jeremiah A. Brown was another prominent crew member who was on the boat at the time of the accident.Hon. Jere A. Brown, Cleveland Gazette (Cleveland, Ohio), April 5, 1913, Page 3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania (Steamboat) Steamboats of the Mississippi River Paddle steamers Maritime boiler explosions Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River Mark Twain 1854 ships Maritime incidents in June 1858