View source for PS General Slocum

{{short description|Passenger steamboat; sank in New York City in 1904}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:PS General Slocum.jpg|300px|PS General Slocum]]
|Ship caption=
}} 
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name= ''General Slocum''
|Ship owner=Knickerbocker Steamship Company
|Ship registry=United States
|Ship namesake=[[Henry Warner Slocum]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= Divine Burtis, Jr., of [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down= December 23, 1890
|Ship launched= April 18, 1891
|Ship completed=
|Ship christened=
|Ship maiden voyage= June 25, 1891
|Ship fate=*Burned and sank June 15, 1904
*Salvaged and converted into [[barge]] ''Maryland''
*Foundered December 4, 1911
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Sidewheeler]] passenger ship
|Ship tonnage=1,284 [[Gross register tonnage|grt]]
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|264|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|37.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft={{convert|7.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} unloaded; {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}} - {{convert|8.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} loaded
|Ship depth={{convert|12.3|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=three decks
|Ship power= 1 × 53 in [[bore (engine)|bore]], 12 ft [[stroke (engine)|stroke]] single [[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] [[Walking beam|vertical beam]] [[steam engine]]
|Ship propulsion=[[sidewheeler|Sidewheel boat]]; each wheel had 26 paddles and was {{convert|31|ft|m|abbr=on}} in diameter.
|Ship speed={{convert|16|kn|km/h}}
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew= 22
}}
|}

The '''PS ''General Slocum'''''<ref group=note>"PS" stands for "[[Paddle Steamer]]"</ref> was an American [[sidewheeler|sidewheel]] passenger [[paddle steamer|steamboat]] built in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], in 1891. During her service history, she was involved in a number of mishaps, including multiple groundings and collisions.

On June 15, 1904, ''General Slocum'' caught fire and sank in the [[East River]] of [[New York City]].<ref name=unlucky>{{cite news |title=The General Slocum An Unlucky Craft. Has Had Collisions And Accidents by the Score. Has Run Ashore Many Times. She Was a Crack Harbor Boat Thirteen Years Ago. Capt. Van Schaick's Good Record |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D04EFDE113DE633A25755C1A9609C946597D6CF |quote=The General Slocum was one of the best known vessels about New York Harbor. Since the time of her launching, in 1891, she has been employed in so many different capacities, and on so many different runs, that possibly five out of every ten people in New York City have at some time been aboard of her, or have seen her at close range. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 16, 1904 |access-date=February 28, 2010 }}</ref> At the time of the disaster, she was on a chartered run carrying members of [[St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church (New York City)|St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church]] ([[German Americans]] from [[Little Germany, Manhattan]]) to a church picnic. An estimated 1,021 out of the 1,342 people on board died.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Low life: lures and snares of old New York|last=Sante|first=Luc|date=2003|publisher=Farrar, Straus Giroux|isbn=0374528993|edition=1st Farrar, Straus Giroux pbk.|location=New York|pages=16|oclc=53464289}}</ref> 

The ''General Slocum'' disaster was the worst [[List of maritime disasters|maritime disaster]] of the 20th century until the [[sinking of the RMS Titanic|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'']] surpassed it eight years later in 1912. It remains the worst maritime disaster in New York City history, and the second-worst on U.S. waterways, after the explosion and sinking of the [[Sultana (steamboat)|steamboat ''Sultana'']], and until the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001 was the [[List of disasters in New York City by death toll|deadliest manmade disaster of any sort in the New York area]].<ref>{{cite news |title=A Debate Rises: How Much 9/11 Tribute Is Enough?|first=N. R.|last=Kleinfield|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 2, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/nyregion/02fatigue.html?ex=1346385600&en=7c3b9a843ec42d62&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink|access-date=July 26, 2022}}</ref> 

The events surrounding the ''General Slocum'' fire have been explored in a number of books, plays, and movies.

==Construction and design==
[[File:PS General Slocum by Stanton - detinted.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Drawing by Samuel Ward Stanton]]
The hull of ''General Slocum'' was built by Divine Burtis, Jr., a [[Brooklyn]] boatbuilder who was awarded the contract on February 15, 1891;<ref name="Ogilvie">{{cite web| last = Ogilvie| first = J.S.| title = History of the General Slocum Disaster| date = June 21, 2007| url = http://www.garemaritime.com/features/general-slocum/| access-date = December 13, 2009}}</ref>  the superstructure was built by John E. Hoffmire & Son.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|3}} Her [[keel]] was {{convert|235|ft|m}} long and the [[hull (ship)|hull]] was {{convert|37.5|ft|m}} wide constructed of [[white oak]] and [[Pinus classification|yellow pine]]. ''General Slocum'' measured 1,284 [[gross register tonnage|tons gross]],<ref name=Cussler>Cussler, Clive, [http://www.numa.net/expeditions/general_slocum.html General Slocum], National Underwater and Marine Agency. Retrieved November 26, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109192634/http://www.numa.net/expeditions/general_slocum.html |date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref> and had a hull depth of {{convert|12.3|ft|m}}.<ref name="Ogilvie"/> She was constructed with three decks (main, promenade and hurricane), three watertight compartments and 250 electric lights.<ref name="Ogilvie"/> She drew {{cvt|7.5|ft|m}} unladen and was {{cvt|250|ft}} long overall.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|3–4}}

''General Slocum'' was powered by a single-[[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]], surface-condensing [[Walking beam|vertical-beam]] [[steam engine]] with a {{convert|53|in|m}} [[bore (engine)|bore]] and {{convert|12|foot}} [[stroke (engine)|stroke]], built by [[W. & A. Fletcher Company]] of [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]], [[New Jersey]].<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|3}} Steam was supplied by two [[boiler]]s at a working pressure of {{convert|52|psi|kPa|lk=on}}.<ref name=nyt_26jun1891>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/06/26/103316952.pdf "A Very Handsome Boat"], ''The New York Times'', June 26, 1891.</ref> ''General Slocum'' was a [[sidewheeler|sidewheel boat]]. Each wheel had 26 paddles and was {{convert|31|ft|m}} in diameter.  Her maximum speed was about  {{convert|16|kn|km/h}}.  The ship was usually crewed by a contingent of 22, including Captain William H. Van Schaick and two pilots. She had a legal capacity of 2,500 passengers.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|5}}

Cabins, storeroom, and machinery spaces were below the main deck. Crew quarters were the second compartment aft from the bow, with a hatch and ladder leading to the main deck. Aft of the quarters was the "forward cabin", also fitted with a companionway to the main deck; it was originally intended to be a cabin space, but had been used as a storeroom and lamp room. The forward cabin also housed the ship's steering engine and dynamo.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|4}} The forward cabin, measuring approximately {{cvt|30|×|28|ft|abbr=on}} (length × width), was used for general storage and to store and refuel the ship's lamps from oil barrels kept there. Oil had been spilled on the deck of the Lamp Room numerous times, and it was frequented by crew who habitually used open flames in the room.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|7–8}} Aft of the forward cabin was the machinery space for engines and boilers. The stern compartment below the main deck (aft of the machinery) was used as an aftersaloon.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|4}}

The forward part of the main deck was enclosed just forward of the companionway to the forward cabin. The promenade deck, above the main deck, was open except for a small section amidships. The hurricane deck, above the promenade, was where the lifeboats and life rafts were stowed. The pilot house was above the hurricane deck, with a small stateroom immediately aft.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|4–5}}{{clear left}}

==Service history==
''General Slocum'' was named for [[American Civil War|Civil War]] General<ref name=encnyc>Jackson, Kenneth T. "General Slocum" in {{cite enc-nyc2}}, p.499</ref> and New York [[United States Congress|Congressman]] [[Henry Warner Slocum]]. She was owned by the Knickerbocker Steamboat Company.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|3}} She operated in the New York City area as an excursion steamer for the next 13 years under the same ownership.

''General Slocum'' experienced a series of mishaps following her launch in 1891. Four months after her launching, she ran aground off [[Rockaway Inlet|Rockaway]]. [[Tugboat]]s had to pull her free.

A number of incidents occurred during 1894. On July 29, while returning from Rockaway with about 4,700 passengers, ''General Slocum'' struck a [[shoal|sandbar]] with enough force to knock out her [[electrical generator]]. The next month, ''General Slocum'' ran aground off [[Coney Island]] during a storm. Passengers had to be transferred to another ship. In September 1894, ''General Slocum'' collided with the tug ''R. T. Sayre'' in the [[East River]], causing substantial damage to ''General Slocum's'' steering.

In July 1898, ''General Slocum'' collided with the ''Amelia'' near [[Battery Park]]. On August 17, 1901, while carrying what was described as 900 intoxicated anarchists from [[Paterson, New Jersey]], some of the passengers started a riot on board and tried to take control of the vessel. The crew fought back and kept control of the ship. The captain docked the ship at the police pier, and police took 17 men into custody.

In June 1902, ''General Slocum'' ran aground with 400 passengers aboard. Passengers had to camp out overnight while the ship remained stuck.

==1904 disaster==
[[File:Community Synagogue St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, built in 1847 for the German immigrant community, was converted to a synagogue in 1940 due to demographic changes in the neighborhood]]
''General Slocum'' worked as a passenger ship, taking people on excursions around New York City. On Wednesday, June 15, 1904, the ship had been chartered for $350 by [[German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mark|St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church]] in the [[Little Germany, New York|Little Germany]] district of [[Manhattan]]. This was an annual rite for the group, which had made the trip for 17 consecutive years. Nearly 1,400&nbsp;passengers, mostly women and children, boarded ''General Slocum'', which was to sail up the East River and then eastward across the [[Long Island Sound]] to Locust Grove, a picnic site in [[Eatons Neck]], [[Long Island]]. The official post-disaster report stated there were 1,358 passengers and 30 officers and crew; fewer than 150 of the passengers were estimated to be adult males over 21. Of those on board, there were 957 deaths and 180 injuries.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|6;23}} Less than twenty minutes elapsed between the start of the fire and the collapse of the hurricane deck.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|58–59}}

===The fire===

The ship got underway from the recreation pier at Third Street on the East River at 9:30&nbsp;am; it passed west of Blackwell Island (now [[Roosevelt Island]]) and turned east, remaining south of [[Wards Island]].<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|6}} As it was passing East 90th Street, a fire started in the forward cabin or Lamp Room,<ref name=O'Donnell>{{cite book | last = O'Donnell | first = Edward | title = "Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat "General Slocum" | location = New York | publisher = Broadway Books | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-7679-0905-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/97 }}</ref>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/97 97–98]}} the third compartment aft from the bow under the main deck;<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|7}} the fire was possibly caused by a discarded cigarette or match. The disastrous fire was fueled by the straw, oily rags, and lamp oil strewn around the room.<ref name="O'Donnell"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/97 98–102]}} The first notice of a fire was at 10 a.m.; eyewitnesses claimed the initial blaze began in various locations, including a paint locker filled with flammable liquids and a cabin filled with gasoline. Passengers on the main deck were aware of the fire at the entrance to [[Hell Gate]].<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|12}} Captain Van Schaick was not notified until 10&nbsp;minutes after the fire was discovered. A 12-year-old boy had tried to warn him earlier, but was not believed. After he was notified of the fire, Van Schaick ordered full speed ahead; approximately 30 seconds later, he directed the pilot to beach the ship on North Brother Island. Following this last command, Van Schaick descended to the hurricane deck and remained there until he was able to jump into shallow water after the ship was beached.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|10–11}}

Although the captain was ultimately responsible for the safety of passengers, the owners had made no effort to maintain or replace the ship's safety equipment. The main deck was equipped with a [[Standpipe (firefighting)|standpipe]] connected to a steam pump, but the fire hose attached to the forward end of the standpipe, a {{cvt|100|ft}} length of "cheap unlined linen," had been allowed to rot and burst in several places. When the crew tried to put out the fire; they were unable to attach a rubber hose because the coupling of the linen hose remained attached to the standpipe. The ship was also equipped with hand pumps and buckets, but they were not used during the disaster; the crew gave up firefighting efforts after failing to attach the rubber hose.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|9–10}} The crew had not practiced a fire drill that year,<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|20}} and the [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] were tied up and inaccessible. Some claimed the lifeboats were wired and painted in place.<ref name="O'Donnell"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/107 108–113]}}

Survivors reported that the [[Lifebuoy|life preservers]] were useless and fell apart in their hands, while desperate mothers placed [[personal flotation device|life jacket]]s on their children and tossed them into the water, only to watch in horror as their children sank instead of floating. Most of those on board were women and children who, like most Americans of the time, could not swim; victims found that their heavy wool clothing absorbed water and weighed them down in the river.<ref name="O'Donnell"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/107 108–113]}}

It was discovered that Nonpareil Cork Works, supplier of cork materials to manufacturers of life preservers, placed {{cvt|8|oz}} iron bars inside the [[Cork (material)|cork]] materials to meet minimum content requirements ({{cvt|6|lb}} of "good cork") at the time. Nonpareil's deception was revealed by David Kahnweiler's Sons, who inspected a shipment of 300 cork blocks.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|71–72}} Many of the life preservers had been filled with cheap and less effective granulated cork and brought up to proper weight by the inclusion of the iron weights. Canvas covers, rotted with age, split and scattered the powdered cork. Managers of the company (Nonpareil Cork Works) were indicted but not convicted. The life preservers on the ''Slocum'' had been manufactured in 1891 and had hung above the deck, unprotected from the elements, for 13&nbsp;years.<ref name="O'Donnell"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/117 118–119]}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
File:EM NOVA-YORK. A grande catastrophe do vapor de passeio General Slocum. Morte horrível de 1.200 pessoas!.jpg|The great catastrophe of the passenger steamboat '''''General Slocum''''' ([[Angelo Agostini]], ''[[O Malho]]'', 1904).
File:Victims of the General Slocum (1904).jpg|Victims of ''General Slocum'' washed ashore at [[North Brother Island, East River|North Brother Island]].
File:Recovery of victims from the General Slocum.jpg|Carrying away a body from North Brother Island
</gallery>

===Beaching on North Brother Island===

Captain Van Schaick decided to continue his course rather than run the ship aground or stop at a nearby landing. By going into headwinds and failing to immediately ground the ship, he fanned the fire and promoted its spread from fore to aft; the investigating commission later faulted Van Schaick for passing up opportunities to beach the vessel in [[Little Hell Gate]] (west of the [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Sunken Meadows]]) or the Bronx Bills (east of the Sunken Meadows), which also would have put the prevailing winds astern, keeping flames from spreading along the length of the ship.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|18}} Van Schaick later argued he was trying to avoid having the fire spread to riverside buildings and oil tanks. Flammable paint also helped the fire spread out of control, driven aft mainly along the port side of the ship; passengers, who were on the upper promenade and hurricane decks, were forced into the aft starboard quarter.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|19}}

{{OSM Location map
 |coord={{Coord|40.827|-73.680}}
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  |shape-color1=#008
  |shape-outline1=#fff
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 |mark-coord1 ={{Coord|40.71914|-73.97388}}
 |mark-title1 =0930: departs 3rd St Recreation Pier
 |mark-coord2 ={{Coord|40.78170|-73.92352}}
 |mark-title2 =approx. 1000: fire breaks out near [[Hell Gate]]
 |mark-coord3 ={{Coord|40.80067|-73.89833}} |shape3=n-cross
 |mark-title3 =approx. 1010: ship grounded on [[North Brother Island, East River|North Brother Island]]
 |mark-coord4 ={{Coord|40.93498|-73.38617}} |shape4=n-square
 |mark-title4 =Intended destination: Locust Grove, [[Eatons Neck, New York|Eatons Neck]]
 |fullscreen-option=1
 |caption=''General Slocum'', June 15, 1904
 |auto-caption=1
}}

Ten minutes after the ship was beached, the fire had essentially engulfed the vessel; no more than twenty minutes had elapsed since the first flames came up from the Lamp Room.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|19}} Some passengers jumped into the river to escape the fire, but the heavy women's clothing of the day made swimming almost impossible and dragged them underwater to drown. An estimated 100 to 500 died when the overloaded starboard section of the hurricane deck collapsed, casting those passengers into deep water,<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|24}} and others were battered by the still-turning paddles as they tried to escape into the water or over the sides.<ref name=gentile>{{cite book |last=Gentile |first=Gary |title=Shipwrecks of New Jersey |date=2001 |publisher=G. Gentile Productions |isbn=978-1883056094}}</ref> The commission estimated that 400 to 600 people drowned after the ship was beached, as they jumped off the aft portion of the boat into deep water; those jumping off the bow landed in shallower water.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|18}}

''General Slocum'' remained beached on [[North Brother Island, East River|North Brother Island]] for approximately 90 minutes before breaking free and drifting east for approximately {{cvt|1|mi}}; by the time she sank in shallow water off the [[Bronx]] shore at Hunts Point,<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|25}}&nbsp;<ref name=SpliceToday2019-05-10>{{cite news|url = https://www.splicetoday.com/writing/the-burning-decks |title = The Burning Decks |work = [[Splice Today]] |first = Kevin | last = Walsh |date  = May 10, 2019|access-date = 10 May 2019}}</ref> an estimated 1,021&nbsp;people, including 2 of the 30 crew members, had either burned to death or drowned. There were 431&nbsp;survivors. The actions of two tugboats which arrived a few minutes after the ''Slocum'' was beached were credited with saving between 200 and 350 people.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|24–25}}

The 1904 [[Coast Guard]] Report estimated the following figures for casualties of a total of 1,388 persons involved in the disaster:<ref name=USCI-Slocum>{{cite report |url=https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/documents/Slocum.pdf |title=Report of the United States Commission of Investigation upon the Disaster to the Steamer "General Slocum" |date= October 8, 1904 |publisher=Government Printing Office}}</ref>{{rp|23}}

{| class= "wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
! '''Status''' !! '''Passengers''' !! '''Crew'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Total on board || 1,358 || 30
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Adults || 613 || –
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Children || 745 || –
|-
| style="font-size:20%;background:#ddd;" colspan=3 | &nbsp;
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Dead || 955 || 2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Identified dead || 893 || 2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Missing & unidentified dead || 62 || 0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Injured || 175 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Uninjured || 228 || 23
|}

The captain lost sight in one eye owing to the fire. Reports indicate that Captain Van Schaick deserted ''General Slocum'' as soon as it settled, jumping into a nearby [[tug]], along with several crew. He was hospitalized at [[Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center|Lebanon Hospital]].

Many acts of heroism were performed by the passengers, witnesses, and emergency personnel. Staff and patients from the hospital on North Brother Island participated in the rescue efforts, forming human chains and pulling victims from the water.

=== Aftermath ===
[[File:TAG Slocum Memorial 01.jpg|thumb|upright|The General Slocum Memorial in the Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens is home to the graves of many victims of the disaster.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bauman|first=Valerie|date=June 10, 2017|title=1904 steamboat disaster anniversary marked|url=https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/anniversary-of-1904-general-slocum-steamboat-disaster-marked-1.13727067|access-date=2021-08-20|website=Newsday|language=en}}{{dead link|url=https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/anniversary-of-1904-general-slocum-steamboat-disaster-marked-1.13727067|date=October 2023}}</ref>]]
{{quotebox |align=right |width=25em |text={{pad|0.5em}}The evidence before the Commission establishes the fact that the master made no attempt whatsoever to fight the fire, to examine its condition, or to control, assure, direct, or aid the passengers in any way whatever. ... An essential fact of negligence is the utter failure of the master to fight the fire or aid the passengers. In a less degree the pilots, in the same manner, after beaching the boat, and while there were still many passengers on board, failed in their duty to assist and rescue the said passengers. Very little assistance was given or control exercised by any of the officers or crew on behalf of the passengers. |source=''Slocum'' Report (1904)<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|11}}}}
Eight people were indicted by a federal [[grand jury]] after the disaster: the captain, two inspectors, and the president, secretary, treasurer, and commodore of the Knickerbocker Steamship Company. 

Most boatmen felt that Van Schaick "was unjustly made a scapegoat for the resulting tragedy, instead of the owners of the steamer or the effectiveness of the life saving and fire fighting equipment then required — and the inspections of it by government inspectors".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/captain-van-schaick-of-the-general-slocum | title=Captain van Schaick of the "General Slocum" }}</ref> He was the only person convicted. He was found guilty on one of three charges: [[criminal negligence]], for failing to maintain proper [[fire drill]]s and [[fire extinguisher]]s. The jury could not reach a verdict on the other two counts of manslaughter.  He was sentenced to 10&nbsp;years imprisonment. He spent three years and six months at [[Sing Sing Correctional Facility|Sing Sing]] prison before he was paroled.  President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] declined to pardon Van Schaick. Van Schaick was finally released when the federal parole board under the [[William Howard Taft]] administration voted to free him on August 26, 1911.<ref name=robinson>Robinson, Eric. [[New-York Historical Society]] Library</ref> He was [[presidential pardon#United States|pardoned]] by President Taft on December 19, 1912; the pardon became effective on Christmas Day.<ref>{{cite news|author=Staff| date=December 20, 1912| title = Van Schaick Pardoned. Captain of the Ill-Fated Slocum Is Restored to Full Citizenship.| work= [[The New York Times]] | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E0DA1E3AE633A25753C2A9649D946396D6CF| access-date=April 13, 2009}}</ref> After his death in 1927, Schaick was buried in [[Oakwood Cemetery (Troy, New York)]].

The Knickerbocker Steamship Company, which owned the ship, paid a relatively small fine despite evidence that they might have falsified inspection records. The disaster motivated federal and state regulation to improve the [[Boat safety#Safety|emergency equipment]] on passenger ships.

The neighborhood of Little Germany, which had been in decline for some time before the disaster as residents moved uptown,<ref name="O'Donnell"/>{{rp|[https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon/page/25 26–34]}} almost disappeared afterward. With the trauma and arguments that followed the tragedy and the loss of many prominent settlers, most of the Lutheran Germans remaining in the Lower East Side eventually moved uptown. The church whose congregation chartered the ship for the fateful voyage was converted to a synagogue in 1940 after the area was settled by Jewish residents.

The victims were interred in cemeteries around New York, with 58&nbsp;identified victims buried in the [[Cemetery of the Evergreens]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theevergreenscemetery.com/stories/shirtwaist-fire/the-general-slocum-disaster |title=The General Slocum Disaster |website=The Evergreens Cemetery |access-date=May 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214143757/http://www.theevergreenscemetery.com/stories/shirtwaist-fire/the-general-slocum-disaster/ |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and 46 identified victims buried in [[Green-Wood Cemetery]],<ref>[https://www.green-wood.com/2015/illustration-of-the-general-slocum-steamship-disaster-le-petit-parisien-july-3-1904/ Illustration of the General Slocum Steamship Disaster, Le Petit Parisien, July 3, 1904] Green-Wood Cemetery</ref> both in Brooklyn. Many victims were buried at Lutheran Cemetery in [[Middle Village, Queens]] (now [[Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery]]) where an annual memorial ceremony is held at the historical marker.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7177 Slocum Disaster] International Historic Marker Database</ref>

In 1906, a marble memorial fountain was erected in the north central part of [[Tompkins Square Park]] in Manhattan by the Sympathy Society of German Ladies, with the inscription: "They are Earth's purest children, young and fair."<ref name=NY-Library>{{cite web|last=Wingfield|first=Valerie|title=The General Slocum Disaster of June 15, 1904|url=http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/13/great-slocum-disaster-june-15-1904|work=NYC Neighborhoods : Manuscripts and Archives Division|publisher=The New York Public Library|access-date=February 10, 2013|date=June 13, 2011}}</ref>

The sunken remains of ''General Slocum'' were [[Marine salvage|salvaged]] and converted into a 625-[[gross register ton]] [[barge]] named ''Maryland'', which sank in the [[South River, New Jersey|South River]] in 1909<ref>{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=CR19090307.2.10 |title=Old Boat General Slocum Went Under |date=March 7, 1909 |newspaper=Chico Record |via=California Digital Newspaper Collection |access-date=21 May 2021}}</ref> and again in the Atlantic Ocean off the southeast coast of New Jersey near [[Strathmere, New Jersey|Strathmere]] and [[Sea Isle City, New Jersey|Sea Isle City]] during a storm on December 4, 1911, while carrying a cargo of coal. All four people aboard ''Maryland'' survived the sinking.<ref>Anonymous, ''Shipwrecks of the Mid-Atlantic: Maryland, Delaware & Southern New Jersey'' (poster), Sealake Products USA, undated.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://njscuba.net/sites/site_genl_slocum.php |website=New Jersey Scuba Diving |title=General Slocoum / Maryland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801040916/http://njscuba.net/sites/site_genl_slocum.php |archive-date=August 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3330075&view=1up&seq=430 Department of Commerce and Labor Bureau of Navigation ''Forty-Fourth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States for the Year Ending June 30, 1912'', Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1912, p. 421.]</ref><!--The preceding source has a typographical error indicating a date of 4 December 1912 instead of the correct 4 December 1911.-->

The victims included one Emily Ziegler, the girlfriend of a saloonkeeper named [[John Schrank|John Flammang Schrank]] who later suffered a mental breakdown culminating in an [[attempted assassination of Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref>Donovan, Robert J. (1962). "The First Pillar". The Assassins. New York: Popular Library. pp. 104</ref>

===Survivors===
On January 26, 2004, the last surviving passenger from ''General Slocum'', [[Adella Wotherspoon]] (née Liebenow), died at the age of 100. At the time of the disaster, she was a six-month-old infant. Wotherspoon was the youngest survivor of the tragedy that took the lives of her two older sisters. When she was one year old, she unveiled the Steamboat Fire Mass Memorial on June 15, 1905, at Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery, in [[Middle Village, Queens]].<ref name="Unveiling">
{{cite news
| title      = Thousands Sob as Baby Unveils Slocum Statue
| quote = Ten thousand persons saw through their tears a baby with a doll tucked under her arm unveil the monument to the unidentified dead of the Slocum disaster yesterday afternoon in the Lutheran Cemetery, Middle Village, L.I.
| work= [[The New York Times]]
| url        = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40714FC3B5E12738DDDAF0994DE405B858CF1D3
| date       = June 16, 1905
| access-date =June 26, 2007
}}
</ref> Before Wotherspoon's death, the previous oldest survivor was [[Catherine Uhlmyer|Catherine Connelly (née Uhlmyer)]] (1893–2002) who was 11 years old at the time of the disaster.

<gallery class="center" widths="187px" heights="187px">
File:Youngest Slocum Survivor crop.jpg|[[Adella Wotherspoon]]<br/>(June 16, 1905)
File:Catherine Uhlmyer.gif|[[Catherine Uhlmyer|Catherine Uhlmyer Connelly]]
</gallery>

==In popular culture==
[[File:General Slocum Memorial Tompkins Square Park NYC.JPG|thumb|upright=0.85|The ''General Slocum'' disaster memorial in [[Tompkins Square Park]], Manhattan, New York City, which was once part of the Little Germany neighborhood]]
[[File:"General Slocum" Disaster marker - Astoria Park, Queens.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Historical marker in [[Astoria Park]], [[Queens, New York|Queens]], overlooking the [[Hell Gate]] section of the East River, past where the burning ship began to sink]]
[[File:General Slocum token.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|''General Slocum'' token in the collection at the [[Mariners' Museum]] in [[Newport News, Virginia]]]]

'''Literature'''

* 1922 – A few references are made to the disaster in [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'', the events of which take place on the following day (June 16, 1904).<ref name="WNYC">{{cite web |last1=Mogul |first1=Fred |title=Remembering the General Slocum |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/85049-remembering-the-general-slocum/ |website=WNYC |publisher=[[WNYC]], [[New York Public Radio]] |access-date=19 August 2019 |language=en |date=15 June 2004}}</ref>
* 1925 – A few references to the disaster occur in [[John Dos Passos]]' novel ''[[Manhattan Transfer (novel)|Manhattan Transfer]]''.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 1939 – Journalist [[Nat Ferber]]'s autobiography, ''I Found Out: A Confidential Chronicle of the Twenties'', begins with his reporting on the ''General Slocum'' tragedy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferber |first1=Nat Joseph |title=I Found Out: A Confidential Chronicle of the Twenties |date=1939 |publisher=The Dial Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rn1tAAAAIAAJ&q=slocum |access-date=19 August 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
* 1975 – [[Robert Shea]] and [[Robert Anton Wilson|Robert Anton Wilson's]] satirical ''[[The Illuminatus! Trilogy]]'' briefly mentions the disaster as attributable to the [[23 enigma]], since 19+04=23. Cartwright alleges that the disaster was an [[Illuminati]] technique for "transcendental illumination" through human sacrifice.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Shea|first1=Robert|title=The Illuminatus! Trilogy|last2=Wilson|first2=Robert Anton|publisher=Dell Trade Paperback|year=1975|isbn=978-0-440-53981-0|location=New York, NY|pages=581–2}}</ref>
*1996 – [[Eric Blau]]'s novel ''The Hero of the Slocum Disaster'' is based on the disaster; it was later adapted by [[Patrick Tull]] and Emily King into a one-person play.<ref>[http://www.nytheatre.com/Review/lee-ramsey-2002-8-15-the-hero-of-the-slocum Review of the play "The Hero of the Slocum"]{{dead link|url=https://www.nytheatre.com/Review/lee-ramsey-2002-8-15-the-hero-of-the-slocum|date=October 2023}}, nytheatre.com archive, August 15, 2002. Retrieved July 16, 2016</ref>
* 2000 – The story of ''General Slocum'' was described as an "Avoidable Catastrophe" in [[Bob Fenster]]'s book, ''Duh! The Stupid History of the Human Race'', in Part One, which discusses stories involving stupidity.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2003 – ''Ship Ablaze'' by [[Edward O'Donnell (writer)|Edward O'Donnell]] is a detailed history of the event.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nonfiction Book Review: SHIP ABLAZE: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum by Edward T. O'Donnell, Author. ISBN 978-0-7679-0905-1 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7679-0905-1 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |publisher=[[Publishers Weekly]] |access-date=19 August 2019 |language=en |date=5 May 2003}}</ref>
* 2003 – The disaster is featured in one of the chapters of author [[Clive Cussler]]'s book ''The Sea Hunters 2'' when he finds the wreckage of the barge ''Maryland'', which was the converted ''Slocum'' after she was salvaged.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2003 – The protagonist of [[Pete Hamill]]'s ''Forever: A Novel'' describes the event both as the worst disaster in New York's history at its time, and the point at which Germans left [[Little Germany, Manhattan|Kleindeutschland]] for [[Yorkville, Manhattan|Yorkville]], effectively vacating the present-day [[Lower East Side]], which was then adopted by Central European Jews.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2004 – The 2005 [[Hugo Award]]-nominated novella ''Time Ablaze'' by [[Michael A. Burstein]] ([[Astounding magazine|''Analog'']], June 2004) concerns a time traveler who comes to record the disaster. The story was published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the disaster.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2006 – The ''General Slocum'' disaster is at the center of the novel ''Kiss Me, I'm Dead'', by [[J.G. Sandom]], also published as ''The Unresolved'' using the pen name of [[T.K. Welsh]].{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2008 – The ''General Slocum'' disaster plays a prominent role in [[Richard Crabbe]]'s novel ''Hell's Gate''.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2009 – The ''General Slocum'' tragedy is described in detail in [[Glenn Stout]]'s 2009 biography of [[Gertrude Ederle]], ''Young Woman and the Sea''. Stout uses the incident, in which many women and young children drowned, to help explain the history of how women, including Ederle, were afforded opportunities to learn to swim during the early part of the century.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2010–2012 – The disaster plays a prominent role in the novels ''In the Shadow of Gotham'' (2010) and ''Secret of the White Rose'' (2012) by [[Stefanie Pintoff]].{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2011 – The sinking and the spirits of the dead near the site of the sinking at the Hell Gate Bridge are a major plot line in the supernatural novel ''Dead Waters'' by [[Anton Strout]].{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2013 – In the [[Dean Koontz]] novel ''Innocence'', deaths caused by the sinking of ''General Slocum'' prompted the construction of secret rooms dedicated to the memory of a family lost.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

'''Film, television, music'''

* 1904 – ''The Slocum Disaster'' - This silent [[Biograph Company|American Mutoscope and Biograph Company]] (#2932) documentary short filmed by [[G. W. Bitzer]] features footage of the collecting of bodies on North Brother Island, the temporary morgue at the offices of Public Charites, and mourners at St. Marks German Evangelical Lutheran Church, taken on June 16 and 17, 1904 and released that same month on the 22nd.<ref>Wells, Howard Lamar (1952) [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/56966/56966-h/56966-h.htm ''Motion Pictures 1894–1912: Identified from the Records of the United States Copyright Office''] Copyright Office, [[Library of Congress]], via [[Project Gutenberg]]</ref><ref>{{AFI film|32943|The Slocum Disaster}}</ref><ref>[https://collections.new.oscars.org/Details/FilmWorks/1030137 "Academy Collections: The Slocum Disaster"] [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]</ref><ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/cinema-flourishes-within-its-existing-commercial-framework-1904-1905 "Cinema Flourishes Within Its Existing Commercial Framework: 1904–1905"] [[Encyclopedia.com]]</ref>
* 1904 – The American composer [[Charles Ives]] (1874–1954) wrote the [[tone poem]] "The General Slocum", a musical portrait of the disaster.<ref name="WNYC" />
* 1915 – ''[[Regeneration (1915 film)|Regeneration]]'' is an early gangster film directed by [[Raoul Walsh]] and produced by [[William Fox (producer)|William Fox]]. The film was [[lost film|lost]] until the 1970s. It has a lengthy scene in which an excursion picnic ship burns in dramatic fashion while passengers jump overboard, an obvious reference to the ''General Slocum'' disaster. Walsh shot the scene in New York, not far from where the real disaster occurred.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tracy |first1=Tony |title=The Pauper and the Prince: Transformative Masculinity in Raoul Walsh's Regeneration (1915) |url=https://www.academia.edu/20360289 |website=academia.edu |publisher=Indiana University Press |access-date=19 August 2019 |language=en |date=2011}}</ref>
* 1934 – The first scenes of the film ''[[Manhattan Melodrama]]'' recreated the disaster.<ref name="WNYC" />
* 1998 – German television produced and aired ''Die Slocum brennt!'' (''The Slocum is on Fire!''), an hour-long documentary by Christian Baudissin about the disaster and its impact on the German community of New York.<ref>{{cite web |title=Die Slocum brennt!: Eine Schiffskatastrophe löscht ein deutsches Viertel in New York aus - Dokumentation 21.06., 21:00 auf ARD-alpha- TV.de |url=https://tv.de/sendung/die-slocum-brennt/die-slocum-brennt,1095814130/ |website=TV Programm TV.de |access-date=19 August 2019 |language=de}}</ref>
* 2001 – A description of the disaster and the following events, in comparison with the September 11 attacks, is given by [[David Rakoff]] in an episode of the radio program ''[[This American Life]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/194/before-and-after?act=2 |title=Episode 194: Before and After: Act Two: Watching From The River's Edge.|publisher=[[This American Life]]|date=September 21, 2001|author=Rakoff, David|author-link=David Rakoff}}</ref>
* 2002 – The ''General Slocum'' disaster was featured in the documentary ''My Father's Gun''.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2004 – ''Ship Ablaze'' was a documentary made by [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]], with production help from [[NFL Films]], featuring a filmed reenactment of the disaster along with interviews of the two remaining ''General Slocum'' survivors. The documentary takes its name from the book by [[Edward O'Donnell (writer)|Edward O'Donnell]], who is interviewed in it.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2004 – ''Fearful Visitation, New York's Great Steamboat Fire of 1904'', produced by [[Philip Dray]] and [[Hank Linhart]], running time ''53 minutes'', premiered at the [[New-York Historical Society]] for the 100-year commemoration in 2004, and was broadcast on [[Public Broadcasting System|PBS]]. It features interviews with the last two living survivors and historians Ed O'Donnell, [[Kenneth T. Jackson]], and [[Lucy Sante]].{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2012 – The disaster was featured in Season 4, Episode 3 of the program ''[[Mysteries at the Museum]]''.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2017 – The ''[[American Housewife]]'' TV series episode on May 2 featured a child cast member who had a morbid fear of water which derived from reading about the sinking of ''General Slocum''. She cited several facts about the event.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2017 – ''History Retold: Fire at Sea'' is a documentary that describes the disaster among other disasters involving ships catching fire at sea.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
* 2022 – The folk music group [[The Longest Johns]] reference the sinking in their song "Downed and Drowned."{{cn|date=October 2022}}

==See also==
{{portal|New York City}}

* [[List of historic fires]]
* [[List of maritime disasters in the 20th century]]
* [[List of disasters in New York City by death toll]]
* [[SS Eastland|SS ''Eastland'']]
* [[Lexington (steamship)|SS ''Lexington'']]
* [[Sea Wing disaster|''Sea Wing'' disaster]]
* [[Sultana (steamboat)|''Sultana'' disaster]]
* [[Mary McCann]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{cite book |last1= Braatz |first1= Werner |last2= Starr |first2= Joseph |title= Fire on the River: The Story of the Burning of the General Slocum |publisher= Krokodiloplis Press |date= 2000 |isbn= 0-9749363-0-8 }}
* {{cite book |last= Nash |first= Jay |title= Darkest Hours |location= Chicago |publisher= Nelson-Hall |date= 1976 |isbn= 0-88229-140-8 }}
* {{cite book |last= O'Donnell |first= Ed |title= Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum |publisher= Broadway |date= 2003 |isbn= 0-7679-0905-4 |url= https://archive.org/details/shipablazetraged00odon }}

==External links==
{{commons category|General Slocum (ship, 1891)}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/documents/Slocum.pdf|year=1904|publisher=US Coast Guard|title=Report on the General Slocum}}
* {{cite web |url= http://forgotten-ny.com/2004/09/north-brother-island/ |url-status= live |date= September 11, 2004 |archive-date= October 10, 2004 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041010214833/http://forgotten-ny.com/YOU'D%20NEVER%20BELIEVE/brothers/brothers.html |title= Brothers: NYC's worst maritime tragedy |quote= Photos of the islands in 2004 and images of the ''General Slocum'' |website= Forgotten New York }}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Slocum Disaster|year=1920 |short=x}}
* {{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.newyorkhistory.info/Hell-Gate/General-Slocum.html |chapter= Chapter 7: The ''General Slocum'' Disaster |title= At Sea in the City: New York from the Water's Edge |first= William |last= Kornblum |website= New York History |date= 2002 |publisher= Algonquin Books |series= Excerpt |isbn= 978-1565122659 |url= https://archive.org/details/atseaincitynewyo00korn }}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.gendisasters.com/new-york/4051/new-york-ny-steamer-general-slocum-disaster-june-1904 |title= New York, NY Steamer General Slocum Disaster, June 1904 |website= Genealogy & Disasters |access-date= June 8, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140703170407/http://www3.gendisasters.com/new-york/4051/new-york-ny-steamer-general-slocum-disaster-june-1904 |archive-date= July 3, 2014 |url-status= dead }}
* {{youTube|ZU1QzU8tCnk|Fearful Visitation, The Steamship Fire of the General Slocum (1904) }}
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/pr400_wotherspoon/ Adella Liebenow Wotherspoon Photographs and Papers, 1860-2004, PR 400], at the [https://www.nyhistory.org/library New-York Historical Society].

{{1904 shipwrecks}}
{{1911 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Slocum}}
[[Category:PS General Slocum| ]]
[[Category:1891 ships]]
[[Category:1904 fires in the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents involving engineering failures]]
[[Category:Fires in New York City]]
[[Category:German-American history]]
[[Category:History of New York City]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1904]]
[[Category:Ships built in Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Paddle steamers of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Rockaway, Queens]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the East River]]
[[Category:Transportation accidents in New York City]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1911]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast]]
[[Category:December 1911 events]]
[[Category:June 1904 events]]
[[Category:1904 in New York City]]