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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.06.14 17:01l 66 Lines 3077 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 23482_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 15
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Sent: 140615/1555Z 23482@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Jun 15, 1904:
River excursion ends in tragedy
More than 1,000 people taking a pleasure trip on New York City's
East River are drowned or burned to death when a fire sweeps
through the boat. This was one of the United States' worst
maritime disasters.
The riverboat-style steamer General Slocum was built in 1890 and
used mostly as a vehicle for taking large groups on day outings.
On June 15, the St. Mark's German Lutheran Church assembled a
group of 1,360 people, mostly children and teachers, for their
annual Sunday School picnic. The picnic was to take place at
Locust Point in the Bronx after a cruise up the East River on the
General Slocum.
At about 9 a.m., the dangerously overcrowded boat left its dock
in Manhattan with Captain William Van Schaik in charge. As the
boat passed 83rd Street, accounts indicate that a child spotted a
fire in a storeroom and reported it to Captain Van Schaik.
Reportedly the captain responded, "Shut up and mind your own
business." But as the smoke became more obvious, crew members
were sent to investigate. By this time, the storeroom, filled
with a combination of oil and excelsior (wood shavings used for
packing), was blazing out of control. The onboard fire hose,
which had never been used, tested or inspected, did not work.
Captain Van Schaik made a fateful decision at this time. Instead
of directing the boat to the nearest dock where firefighters
could engage the fire, he pointed the boat toward a small island
in the East River. He later told investigators that he did not
want to risk spreading the fire to the dock and the rest of the
city, but the strategy proved deadly for the passengers. Instead
of grounding the boat on the sand, the boat crashed onto the
rocks of the island's shore.
At this point, other factors also combined to exacerbate the
situation. The lifeboats were so firmly tied to the steamer that
they could not be released. The life preservers had not been
filled with cork, but a non-buoyant material that made them
weighty. The children who used them sank to the bottom of the
river. Other children were trampled to death in the panic. More
people were killed when the raging fire collapsed some of the
decks, plunging them into the fire.
In all, 630 bodies were recovered and another 401 were missing
and presumed dead. A cannon was brought to the scene and fired
over the river the next day to loosen bodies from the river mud.
The boat's crew, and officers in the Knickerbocker Company, owner
and operator of the General Slocum, were charged with criminal
negligence. However, only Captain Van Schaik received a prison
sentence. He was supposed to serve 10 years, but was pardoned due
to old age in 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt fired the chief
inspector of the U. S. Steamboat Inspection Service in the
aftermath of the accident; wholesale changes in the industry
followed. A mass grave was set up in Queens for the victims and a
yearly memorial was held to honor their memory.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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