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Death by Fire and Ice: The Steamboat Lexington Calamity
Death by Fire and Ice tells the little-known story of the sinking of the steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound in January 1840. Built in 1835 by Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Lexington left Manhattan bound for Stonington, Connecticut, at four o'clock in the afternoon on a bitterly cold day carrying an estimated one hundred forty-seven passengers and crew and a cargo of, among other things, baled cotton. After making her way up an ice-encrusted East River and into Long Island Sound, she caught fire off Eaton's Neck on Long Island's north shore at approximately seven o'clock. The fire quickly ignited the cotton stowed on board. With the crew unable to extinguish the fire, the blaze burned through the ship's wheel and tiller ropes, rendering the ship unmanageable. Soon after, the engine died, and the blazing ship drifted aimlessly in the Sound away from shore with the prevailing wind and current.
As the night wore on, the temperature plummeted, reaching nineteen degrees below zero. With no hope of rescue on the dark horizon, the forlorn passengers and crew faced a dreadful remain on board and perish in the searing flames or jump overboard and succumb within minutes to the Sound's icy waters. By three o'clock in the morning the grisly ordeal was over for all but one passenger and three members of the crew--the only ones who survived. The tragedy remains the worst maritime disaster in the history of Long Island Sound.
Within days, the New York City Coroner convened an inquest to determine the cause of the disaster. After two weeks of testimony, reported daily in the New York City press, the inquest jury concluded that the Lexington had been permitted to operate on the Sound "at the imminent risk of the lives and property" of its passengers, and that, had the crew acted appropriately, the fire could have been extinguished and a large portion, if not all, of the passengers saved.
The public's reaction to the verdict was the press charged that the members of the board of directors of the Transportation Company, which had purchased the Lexington from Commodore Vanderbilt in 1839, were guilty of murder and should be indicted. Calls were immediately made for Congress to enact legislation to improve passenger safety on steamboats. This book explores the ongoing debate in Congress during the nineteenth century over its power to regulate steamboat safety; and it examines the balance Congress struck between the need to insulate the nation's shipping industry from ruinous liability for lost cargo, while at the same time greatly enhancing passenger safety on the nation's steamboats.
As the night wore on, the temperature plummeted, reaching nineteen degrees below zero. With no hope of rescue on the dark horizon, the forlorn passengers and crew faced a dreadful remain on board and perish in the searing flames or jump overboard and succumb within minutes to the Sound's icy waters. By three o'clock in the morning the grisly ordeal was over for all but one passenger and three members of the crew--the only ones who survived. The tragedy remains the worst maritime disaster in the history of Long Island Sound.
Within days, the New York City Coroner convened an inquest to determine the cause of the disaster. After two weeks of testimony, reported daily in the New York City press, the inquest jury concluded that the Lexington had been permitted to operate on the Sound "at the imminent risk of the lives and property" of its passengers, and that, had the crew acted appropriately, the fire could have been extinguished and a large portion, if not all, of the passengers saved.
The public's reaction to the verdict was the press charged that the members of the board of directors of the Transportation Company, which had purchased the Lexington from Commodore Vanderbilt in 1839, were guilty of murder and should be indicted. Calls were immediately made for Congress to enact legislation to improve passenger safety on steamboats. This book explores the ongoing debate in Congress during the nineteenth century over its power to regulate steamboat safety; and it examines the balance Congress struck between the need to insulate the nation's shipping industry from ruinous liability for lost cargo, while at the same time greatly enhancing passenger safety on the nation's steamboats.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 10, 2022
Nearly every American child grew up hearing that Robert Fulton invented the steam engine. What is often left out of the conversation is that he created the first commercially successful steam engine. Also, the steam engine ended up killing a lot of people.
Brian E. O'Connor's Death by Fire and Ice focuses on one specific disaster, the sinking of the Lexington in Long Island Sound in 1840. Over 140 people would die with only 4 survivors when the ship caught fire and sunk in the icy January water.
Many books of the non-fiction disaster genre aim to be personal stories of the people on board and what happens as the disaster unfolds. O'Connor takes a much different tack. The narrative focuses mainly on the events both technological and legal surrounding the sinking. In fact, the actual sinking takes up a small portion of the book. This is not a bad thing as O'Connor adeptly walks the reader through the evolution of the steam engine and then the U.S. government's response as deaths piled up. Nautical nerds will find this to be a very enjoyable read.
Brian E. O'Connor's Death by Fire and Ice focuses on one specific disaster, the sinking of the Lexington in Long Island Sound in 1840. Over 140 people would die with only 4 survivors when the ship caught fire and sunk in the icy January water.
Many books of the non-fiction disaster genre aim to be personal stories of the people on board and what happens as the disaster unfolds. O'Connor takes a much different tack. The narrative focuses mainly on the events both technological and legal surrounding the sinking. In fact, the actual sinking takes up a small portion of the book. This is not a bad thing as O'Connor adeptly walks the reader through the evolution of the steam engine and then the U.S. government's response as deaths piled up. Nautical nerds will find this to be a very enjoyable read.
August 14, 2022
Death By Fire and Ice, by Brian O'Connor, may at first seem to be a book that would be dry or overly fictionalized in places and histrionic as some historical event books can be. It is neither! It is a first class historical look at the steam engine, framed by the tragic sinking of the Lexington in 1840. The book is a well crafted and incredibly well researched historical tour of steam travel and shipping that keep my interest throughout its entirety.
The book focuses on the tragedy of the sinking of the Lexington in the icy winter waters of Long Island Sound. 147 lives were lost between the passengers and crew, as well as the cargo. With only 4 survivors, whose miraculous tales are truly astounding, the Lexington was huge news in it's day (1840). For months the newspapers were full of accounts of the passengers, the survivors, the mistakes potentially made, the coroner's hearing and the shipping company's response. Happily, the author manages to work directly from source materials for quotes and doesn't make up imagined scenes to enhance any sensationalism. This is a scholarly, but eminently readable work. In point of fact, I actually learned more following the end of the book by reading the footnotes which were packed full of good information as well. Usually footnotes are dry citations, but not here! The book is kept to short chapters as the history of the steam engine from creation up to the Lexington's fiery tragedy, and beyond, is fully explored, especially in context to the legal ramifications and Congressional and state legal actions surrounding steam powered transport. The shorter chapters allowed me to easily digest all the information presented, and keep a good timeline running in my head. This book was no massive information dump.
Death by Fire and Ice was ultimately both enjoyable and informative. I would highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in law, especially early Constitutional and consumer laws, as well as anyone with any maritime interests.
I would like to thank #Netgalley and the Naval Institute Press for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.
The book focuses on the tragedy of the sinking of the Lexington in the icy winter waters of Long Island Sound. 147 lives were lost between the passengers and crew, as well as the cargo. With only 4 survivors, whose miraculous tales are truly astounding, the Lexington was huge news in it's day (1840). For months the newspapers were full of accounts of the passengers, the survivors, the mistakes potentially made, the coroner's hearing and the shipping company's response. Happily, the author manages to work directly from source materials for quotes and doesn't make up imagined scenes to enhance any sensationalism. This is a scholarly, but eminently readable work. In point of fact, I actually learned more following the end of the book by reading the footnotes which were packed full of good information as well. Usually footnotes are dry citations, but not here! The book is kept to short chapters as the history of the steam engine from creation up to the Lexington's fiery tragedy, and beyond, is fully explored, especially in context to the legal ramifications and Congressional and state legal actions surrounding steam powered transport. The shorter chapters allowed me to easily digest all the information presented, and keep a good timeline running in my head. This book was no massive information dump.
Death by Fire and Ice was ultimately both enjoyable and informative. I would highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in law, especially early Constitutional and consumer laws, as well as anyone with any maritime interests.
I would like to thank #Netgalley and the Naval Institute Press for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.
September 21, 2022
I would have been interested in this nonfiction book even if it was another dry Publish or Perish. BUT IT'S NOT! Certainly, there are numerous other steamboat disasters documented, but in a very human and compassionate way rather than in a dry academic way. Necessary to the development of what was to come is a review of the history of steam engines as they transitioned from wood to coal and from cargo to passengers (as well as the foibles of some captains). I think that this is a great book for anyone who geeks history, and I have several sons who are hinting for Christmas gifting for themselves or their local libraries after listening to me at Sunday family Zoom.
I requested and received a free temporary e-book from Naval Institute Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
also available from IndieBound
I requested and received a free temporary e-book from Naval Institute Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
also available from IndieBound
March 23, 2022
This book was jammed pack with a lot of interesting information about the steamship industry, Constitutional law, and maritime rules. I was particularly drawn to this book as the accident happened near my hometown on the north shore of Long Island and I had never heard of the accident or that so many steamships were used on the Sound.
March 23, 2022
A thoroughly enjoyable book regarding the history of the first steam powered ships. It was amazing the number of accidents that occurred and the horrible number of deaths. The story was well told and the investigations held was interesting. It was a shame the government was so slow to enact the needed laws to improve safety.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
August 31, 2024
Deals a lot with steamboat regulations before and afterwards of the Lexington disaster. Decent read.
July 19, 2024
I was highly anticipating this story, but I got completely bogged down with the technical terms and lengthy descriptions. I’m sure this story will appeal to naval fans but I was thinking it would be more written like a novel. I found it to be a history lesson. It does come in with 4 stars because the research is stellar.
Received an ARC from Naval Institute Press and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with 4 stars.
Received an ARC from Naval Institute Press and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews