Worse that Titanic: the General Slocum Disaster June 15, 1904

New York Times ^ | June 15, 2004 | unknown

[Tanniker Smith]

One hundred years ago today, the steamboat General Slocum had ended its excursion up the East River on the way to Long Island Sound in a nightmarish blaze that killed more than 1,000 people. It was the City's first Titanic-size disaster, 8 years before that ill-fated North Atlantic vessel hit an iceberg.

1,000 Lives May Be Lost in Burning of the Excursion Boat Gen. Slocum

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St. Mark's Church Excursion Ends in Disaster in East River Close to Land and Safety

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693 Bodies Found--Hundreds Missing or Injured

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Flames Following Explosion Drive Scores to Death in the Water

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Fierce Struggles for Rotten Life Preservers

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The Captain, Instead of Making for the Nearest Landing, Runs the Doomed Vessel Ashore on North Brother Island in Deep Water -- Many Thrilling Rescues -- Few Men on Board to Stem the Panic of Women and Children

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An estimated total of a thousand dead, besides several hundred injured, is the record of the fire disaster which yesterday destroyed the big excursion steamer General Slocum, which was burned to the water's edge before her Captain succeeded in beaching her on North Brother Island. Nearly all the dead and missing are women and children and were members of an excursion party taken out by St. Mark's German Lutheran Church of 323 East Sixth Street.

The estimate that the number of lives lost will be found to reach 1,000 was given by Police Inspector Brooks at an early hour this morning. Fire Chief Croker shared his view, saying that at least 900 persons must have perished.

At 3:30 o'clock this morning the tug Franklin Edson took to the morgue 69 more bodies. Just previously another tug took six, which were burned beyond recognition. Twelve more bodies, also burned, were left at North Brother Island, bringing the total of bodies so far recovered up to 693.

[Tanniker Smith]

I admit that if I had heard about this years about at the South Street Seaport Museum or in any of my readings on disasters, I had forgotten about it until I started reading articles on it a week ago.

I did a search on FR and saw no mention of it, so I thought I'd add a little History lesson on how the little people can be entirely forgotten.

Other interesting links:

'Ship Ablaze': Remembering the General Slocum Last Survivor Recalls Church Outing Turned Nightmare

100 years ago, our own Titanic

100 year anniversary of Slocum Ferry Disaster

THE GENERAL SLOCUM & LITTLE GERMANY

There are people that have lived entire lives in NYC and never heard of "Little Germany", which doesn't exist anymore, or of the Gen. Slocum.

TS

[camle]

if you're innerested, look up the Sultana sinking in the mississippi after blowing up it's boiler. Toll is over 1500, IIRC. Mostly Andersonville survivors. 1865.

[2banana]

Back when NYC had a "Little Germany"

[DAPFE8900]

This is a sad story...But want to talk about worst then titanic look up the Wilhem Gustav...I think it was something like 8000 people killed...

[Graybeard58]

This link may be of interest to you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipwreck

[Jaded]

Very sad story.

[camle]

thanx. very inneresting.

[skyman]

I just saw an hour long special on the tragedy this weekend on the History or Discovery channel. They reenacted
much of it.

It makes it a lot more personal when you see so many little children and women burning, drowning, etc. Even though you know it's a reenactment, it makes it much more
real.

Sky

[Anglospheroid]

WILHELM GUSTLOFF, 9,300 - 10,146 victims

[Billthedrill]

I caught a bit of that one too - History Channel - and two things impressed me - first, that the life preservers had never been checked and instead of buoyant cork, they were powdered cork-dust. And who's the first people you're going to put a life preserver on? Right, the kids. The adults thought they were risking their own lives by giving the preservers to the children and ended up watching them sinking like stones.

The second thing that impressed me was how close the shore was, and how little good it did. The East River is pretty nasty in that location and as it was a church outing, everyone was dressed in their heavy, woollen Sunday best. You'd have to be a very strong swimmer to save only yourself, even. And most of them couldn't swim anyway.

I truly do not understand people who won't learn to swim but who will get on a boat anyway.

[mc5cents]

It makes it a lot more personal when you see so many little children and women burning, drowning, etc. Even though you know it's a reenactment, it makes it much more real.

Indeed it does. It was some bad guy, maybe Hitler or was it Stalin, can't remember, that said "When one person dies it is a tragedy. When 10,000 die it is a statistic."

[Tanniker Smith]

I saw the same special a day or two after reading about the 100th anniversary. The interviews with the two survivors were really something.

For those that missed the special, as of two years ago, there were two survivors, one woman who had been an infant of six months, and another who had been a young girl of 12. The latter passed away at 109, the other passed on earlier this year at 100.

TS