Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. 127 pages : illustrations, map; 23 cm

Summary

1. For passengers of the steamboat Wawaset, August 8, 1873, began with a pleasant cruise from Washington, D.C., down the Potomac River. As the Wawaset came into sight of a small Virginia landing, fire broke out below decks, and frantic passengers leapt from the flames only to be pulled down by the swift waters. Author Alvin F. Oickle puts a human face to the tragedy as he profiles some of the seventy-five who perished, among them young mother Alethea Gray and six members of the Reed family. With a fast-paced style and firsthand accounts, Oickle masterfully narrates the last run of the Wawaset against the backdrop of a tense post Civil War society.

Subject

1. Wawaset (Steamboat)
2. 1800-1899
3. Fires > Potomac River > History > 19th century
4. Disasters > Potomac River > History > 19th century
5. Ships > Fires and fire prevention > History > Potomac River > 19th century
6. Steamboats > Potomac River > History > 19th century
7. Disasters
8. Fires
9. Ships > Fires and fire prevention
10. Steamboats
11. Potomac River > History > 19th century
12. Washington Region > History > 19th century
13. United States > Potomac River
14. Washington (D.C.) Region

Genre/Form

1. History.

Contents

1. Boarding for an excursion -- Down the Potomac -- Fire!!! -- Disaster on the Potomac -- The body count continues -- What went wrong? -- Who was at fault? -- The years after -- Appendix A: Passengers on the Wawaset -- Appendix B: The steamship inspection service report.

Owning institution

1. Princeton University Library

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references.