Submitted and transcribed by Dee Gabler Deesroots@aol.com <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/deesroots/Index.html">Dee's Web Page</A> http://members.aol.com/deesroots/Index.html _________________________ The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland Friday Morning, April 15, 1842 AWFUL DISASTER! EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMBOAT MEDORA! Great Loss of Life!!! One of the most melancholy occurrences with which our city has for a long time been visited, took place yesterday afternoon, at about half past two o'clock - an occurrence which sent a thrill of horror through the general heart, and carried the woe consequent on violent and unexpected death, into the bosoms of many families. The steamboat Medora, recently built by the Virginia and Maryland Steam Navigation Company, and intended to ply between this City and Norfolk, was about to leave Cully's Wharf upon an excursion down the bay, for the purpose of testing its qualities. A number of respectable citizens were invited to witness her performance; but how many were actually on board when the heart-rending occurrence of her explosion took place, we have, as yet, no means of ascertaining. All things, however, being prepared for her departure, the bell rung and the wheels made three revolutions, when the boiler burst with a tremendous report, throwing up clouds of vapor, attended by fragments of the vessel and by the bodies of unfortunate human beings who were on board - the whole presenting to the spectators a scene of indescribable and terrific sublimity. As the smoke cleared away, the effects of the calamity became visible. The vessel was made, in an instant, an entire wreck - all her timbers, from the engine forward, being rent away. She sank immediately to her guards, and now lies "a sheer hulk" in the basin. Hundreds of persons on the wharf, at the time, displayed the utmost alacrity in rescuing from the water the dead and dying. News of the disaster soon brought a large number of persons to the spot, agitated by the dread of finding relatives or friends involved in the calamity, and among the rest, many mothers, who told, by their tears and cries, the fearful apprehensions they entertained for the safety of their children. Their fate was, from the circumstances of the case, a mystery, and this idea created, for a short time, a scene of unutterable agony and terror. Immediately after the occurrence, the mayor of the city, Solomon Hillen, Esq., and the high constable, together with the police of the city, arrived, and were actively engaged in the assisting, by every possible means, the wretched survivors, or in searching for those who had sunk into the water unnoticed, or were yet in the cabin of the boat. Simultaneously with their arrival, a large number of surgeons and physicians also arrived, ready to exert their professional skill. In addition to others whose names we have not learned, we noticed Doctors Miller, Smith, Whitridge, Hintze, Monkur, McGuire, Dunbar, Riley, Kinneman, Albers, Baker, the two Doctors Riche, and the two Doctors Roberts. Under the circumstances, and in the absence of any investigation, it is of course impossible to say what was the direct and immediate cause of this fatal calamity. It is generally supposed, however, that as the boat had been some time ready for departure and the steam up, that the boiler must have been nearly exhausted, and had become hot, and that in this state water was turned in; it is certain that at the moment of the explosion, steam was letting off with constant force. A gentleman who witnessed the event from the deck of the Georgia, directly opposite, remarks that, a dense smoke for an instant obscured the immediate part of the boat at which the explosion took place, and as the report which, though as loud as a small field piece, had a dull and heavy sound, reached the ear, the smoke stack was seen darting like an arrow out of the cloud a hundred feet into the air, and on each side were thrown the bodies of human beings with the arms and legs extended by their whirling motion through the air. The Medora, at the moment, was immediately abast [abreast?] of the Steamboat Constitution, and almost in contact with her, a fact which it is necessary to name as explanatory of several circumstances detailed below. We annex a list of the persons killed and wounded, the latter either suffering from contusion, fracture or scalding: John C, Moale, Esq., General Agent of the Company to whom the boat belonged suffered severe internal injury, attended with a dreadful fracture of the ribs; he was taken from a piece of the upper deck in the water, and conveyed home, where he died within the hour. William Moale, his son, a youth of about 14 years, was taken from the wreck, dead, the skull having been severely fractured. John Vickers, long known as the proprietor of a tavern in McClellan's Alley, was blown from the boat completely over the stern of the Constitution, and fell on the wharf; he was taken up dead, his head being awfully fractured. John Speedy, a ship joiner, of Bond Street, F.P., was thrown on board the Constitution, and fell upon a stout hand-rail, which was broken in two; the scalp of his head was cut in three or four directions from the crown, each cut being as many inches in length. He suffered, in a state of apparent insensibility for about an hour, when he was removed, but died before he reached his residence. He leaves a wife and two children. John Young, Alice Anna street, F.P., a millwright, was taken out of the water from a piece of the wreck, one or two of his limbs were fractured, and he was so much hurt internally, that he died at the house to which he was taken, within a couple of hours. He leaves a wife and child. John Lecount, of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, was a fireman on board; taken out of the wreck; with both thighs and one arm broken, and badly scalded; he was conveyed to a house adjacent and died about five o'clock. He leaves a wife and children. Benjamin French, a painter, of Fell's Point, was so much hurt and scalded that he died within an hour after the accident. John R. Boone, a fireman on board, was drawn up from amongst the floating remnants by the side of the boat, some two hours after the accident. The body of John Harper, the second mate, was dragged from the fore part of the Medora, which was gunwale down, a short time before night. The above completes the list of those known to have been killed, and who were discovered during yesterday evening. The following is, so far as it has been possible, in the midst of the most intense and painful excitement, to make it so, an accurate list of the condition of others who were unfortunately on board. Andrew F. Henderson, Esq., President of the Company, very badly scalded. Captain Sutton the commander of the boat, badly hurt and scalded. Jackson Reeder, a son of Charles Reeder, an extensive machinist on Federal Hill, badly hurt and scalded, very low last night. Joseph Craig, an engineer, very badly hurt and scarcely expected to survive; living in Light street, near Hill. John Mitchell, taken from the wreck with both thighs broken; his brother, James Mitchell, is missing. The following are all very much injured, by contusion or otherwise: - John Henderson, block maker, Pratt Street. Duncan Ferguson, the engineer of the Medora. Samuel Glenn, a painter. Richard Middleton, clerk. Richard Linthicum, merchant. John Kaylor, baker, Market Space. Samuel Smith, ship carpenter, near Canton. Lawrence Riegan. Henry Snyder, Moulder. George Enley, Albert Ramsay, James Clark, William Roberts, George Claisy, David Frazier, James Crawford, and Robert Doyle, machinists or workers in the building of steamboats. Wesley Culley and George Hyde, two boys of 12 or 14 years of age, badly hurt. Missing - Francis McClare and Geo. Gettys. William Binion, Louis Wagner, and William Tumblison, slightly injured. A man named Hoofnagle was thrown by the explosion on board the Constitution, but escaped uninjured. Thomas Wildey, Esq., was on board the Medora, but stood aft, his hat was blown off, but he sustained no injury. Capt. Chaytor, of the Constitution, who was standing on the larboard [starboard?] side of his boat, was thrown prostrate, and driven several yards upon the deck by the violence of the concussion; upon recovering his feet, he found the unfortunate Speedy, mentioned in the list of the killed, senseless and bleeding by his side. There were two of Mr. Moale's sons on board with him, one of whom, was either thrown into the water by the explosion, or leaped in, swam ashore and hurried home to announce the catastrophe, which was presently realized to its fullest extent by that afflicted family, the corpse of his brother and the dying father immediately following him. One man, a stranger, was carried along Light street on a litter, his features dreadfully distorted by the injury he had sustained; he was praying those who carried him to take him to the poor house. We are requested to state, that in disrobing the body of a young man genteely dressed in a black suit, fount at a later hour in the evening, a beautiful gold watch fell from his pocket, which the friends of the deceased can have by calling on Mr. A.W. Ennis, 55, foot of Light street wharf. It will be seen by the annexed advertisement that the Mayor has acted with commendable promptitude in providing such means as will be best adapted to relieve the weight of suspense which hangs heavy upon every heart. The uncertainty of the number of those on board, and the apparent few who seem to have escaped, leave us with no unsubstantial fears that the quiet surface of the water still conceals from our knowledge an additional havoc of human life. _____ Mayor's Office Baltimore, April 15th, 1842. One Hundred Men Wanted. - In consequence of the dreadful accident that happened to the steamboat Medora, on last evening, one hundred men are wanted, to clear away the wreck of said boat, and collect the bodies of our assemble at the Mayor's office, this morning, at 6 o'clock. The City Commissioners and Commissioners of Health, will meet the Mayor this morning, at the same hour. _____ The Latest - 11 1/2 P.M. - Our reporters have just returned from the scene of the disaster. A report gained currency during the evening that some eight or ten bodies had been taken from the forward cabin of the wreck - a close observation an enquiry assures us that there was no truth in the rumor At 11 o'clock there was no person in the vicinity of the wreck, and all persons, by common consent, had ceased operations until this morning, when they will again commence. ______ The Sun, Baltimore, Saturday Morning, April 16, 1842 CORRECTIONS John Speedy, reported as dead, was alive at a late hour yesterday evening. It should have been Henry, and not John Lecount, in the first list of the killed. Mr. Young's name, given in the first account, is Edmund, and not John. He is from Duchess county, New York.