{"product_id":"americas-worst-maritime-disasters-charles-river-9798266668263","title":"America's Worst Maritime Disasters: The History of the Deadliest Shipwrecks in American History","description":"There have been countless numbers of shipwrecks over the course of history, but few have had as great an impact as the sinking of the SS \u003ci\u003eCentral America \u003c\/i\u003ein a hurricane in September 1857. The California Gold Rush was in full swing, state of the art steamer ships were used to transport the discovered gold back east, and the \u003ci\u003eCentral America \u003c\/i\u003ewas one of them. On its fateful voyage, the ship was carrying nearly 600 passengers and a huge haul of up to 20 tons of gold worth an estimated $2 million at the time. The loss of life was a big enough calamity, but the \u003ci\u003eCentral America \u003c\/i\u003ehad gone down with so much gold that it scared the American public, which was already beginning to deal with a financial downturn that culminated in the Panic of 1857. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUnder normal circumstances, a ship that sank with more than 2,000 passengers aboard - most of whom died - would be big news, yet today the sinking of the SS \u003ci\u003eSultana \u003c\/i\u003eis often overlooked if not entirely forgotten. While it might have generated the type of publicity and reaction of the Johnstown Flood of 1889 or the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 under normal circumstances, the explosion and sinking of the \u003ci\u003eSultana \u003c\/i\u003eon April 27, 1865 has become something of a historical footnote.\u003cbr\u003eThe irony is that the \u003ci\u003eSultana \u003c\/i\u003eis a historical footnote because of the Civil War, but it was also intimately tied to the war. Perhaps the cruelest irony of the disaster is that the \u003ci\u003eSultana \u003c\/i\u003ewas packed full of men who had survived every conceivable trial and tribulation of the war, from wounds and sicknesses to being prisoners. Having lost hundreds of thousands, America was almost numb to the loss of a couple of thousand more. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn June 15, 1904, an annual gala in New York City was held on the passenger ship \u003ci\u003eGeneral Slocum \u003c\/i\u003eas it steamed up the East River, with about 1,400 people from St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Consisting mostly of German immigrants, the boat was packed with women and children, and when a small fire started on the ship shortly after the trip began, faulty equipment was unable to put it out or stop it from spreading. On top of that, the lifeboats were tied up and the crew, which never conducted emergency drills, was unprepared for a potential disaster. When parents put life preservers on their children and then had them enter the water, they soon learned that the life preservers were also faulty and didn't float. As the disaster unfolded, over 1,000 passengers burned to death or drowned, many swept under the water by the East River's current and weighed down by heavy wool clothing. Few people on board knew how to swim, exacerbating the situation, and eventually the overcrowded decks began to collapse, crushing some unfortunate victims. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Great Lakes have claimed countless thousands of vessels over the course of history, including swallowing up gigantic freighters like the \u003ci\u003eEdmund Fitzgerald\u003c\/i\u003e, the largest ship of its day to sail the Great Lakes and still the largest to lie below Lake Superior's murky depths. Given the dangerous conditions and precarious history associated with America's largest freshwater lakes, it's somewhat ironic that the deadliest maritime disaster took place in Chicago aboard a ship that capsized while docked to a pier. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen people discuss deadly maritime disasters during the second decade of the 20th century in which more than 800 people were killed, they're often talking about the Titanic or Lusitania, not the \u003ci\u003eEastland\u003c\/i\u003e on the Chicago River. However, shockingly enough, on July 24, 1915, a ship full of sightseers out for a day on the Great Lakes capsized while still tied to a dock, sending more than 2,500 passengers into the frigid water. By the time the ship was righted and rescue efforts were completed, nearly 850 people had been killed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Charles River\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798266668263\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/22\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.73lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 11.00h x 8.50w x 0.29d","brand":"Charles River","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48623515402495,"sku":"9798266668263","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/americas-worst-maritime-disasters-charles-river-9798266668263","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}