Part of the
Acorn Archive
Hearts of Oak
SS Amazon
Destruction of
the Steamship by Fire with Great Loss of Life
Plymouth
7th January 1852
Report based on interviews with those of the rescued crew
The Amazon was under steam from the time of her departure
to the period of the accident. As is usual with new machinery, water was kept
almost continually playing on the bearings of the engines. On account of the
heat of those bearings, the ship was stopped off the Bill of Portland on Friday
night, between the hours of 8 and 12, and about the same period on Saturday
night she was stopped for two hours and a half; however, the necessity for the
operation of wetting those parts was decreasing, as the main centre bearings
were getting more suant and the engine altogether in better order.
John Shearing, an intelligent fireman, states that in
playing the water on the cranks a quantity fell on the wood and felt of the
boilers, and he conceives that these substances, when the water was dried from
them, would ignite the quicker for the operation, and hence the accident.
The boats of the Amazon were fitted with iron cranes or
crutches on which their keels rested; these fittings obstructed their clearance
from the ship, and but for this fatal arrangement the serious loss of life
would have been lessened. Captain Symonds ordered no one was to get into the
boats. This order was obeyed until the people saw the flames overpowering the
ship. He was last seen with the man at the wheel, ordering the helm to be put
up, so as to keep the ship before the wind. His last words were—" It is
all over with her."
The officer of the watch, Mr. Treweeke (second officer),
was walking the bridge when the accident was discovered. Mr. Henry Roberts,
chief officer, in his shirt only, was actively assisting the captain; he was
last seen going through the companion down to the main deck, and is supposed to
have perished there, Mr Lewis (third officer), Mr. Goodridge (fourth officer),
and the two midshipmen, some of whose berths were forward, on the port side of
the main deck, were probably suffocated, as were also the chief engineer, Mr.
George Angus, and Mr. Allen, superintending engineer under Mr Seward, as they
were seen in the engine-room ten minutes before the fire broke out going
forward, there being no possibility of their return through the flames. The
second engineer, Mr William Angus, was on the spar deck, between the funnel and
the crank gratings, pulling oars, and throwing them out of the way of the fire
on the deck, near the boats. The two best boats were stowed on the top of the
sponsons, where the flames prevented approach. After the Amazon was put about
she went at the rate of 12 or 13 knots dead before the wind.
One boat on the starboard-side, the second cutter, was
full of people when the wash of the sea unhooked the foremost tackle; she held
on by the stern tackle, and her stem falling into the sea, all except two were
drowned in consequence of the ship's speed. The pinnace was observed on the
port side, towing by the fore-tackle, behind the burning ship, and as no one
cut the tow-rope the miserable passengers, who were all huddled together, were,
one after the other, washed into the sea. The mail-boat, which was also full of
people, having shipped a quantity of water, went down alongside.
The scene on deck is described as dreadful in the
extreme. When the flames had approached the after companion, two male
passengers came up from the saloon, all in flames, and running aft, fell on the
deck.
A tall lady, supposed to be Mrs Maclaren, entreated some
one to take care of her child, but she would not enter either of the
boats. Dineford, the quartermaster,
placed one lady passenger in a boat, but she, being extremely agitated, got out
again, and although Henry Williams and another used some force and begged her
to go in, she persisted in remaining on board.
The stewardess, Mrs-Scott, with her bonnet and shawl on,
and something in her hand, first asked Steer to put her into the dingy and then
left for a larger boat. At the time of leaving some of those who yet lived were
kneeling on the deck praying to God for mercy, while others, almost in a state
of nudity, were running about screaming with horror.
The survivors escaped in the after starboard second
lifeboat, in which was Mr. Neilson. One of her occupants (Maylin), in leaving,
pressed his foot through the burning deck and injured it; two others (Williams
and Passmore) had to climb the starboard paddle-box through the flames and
smoke. They succeeded after three attempts,
and then slid down hands and face over the paddle-box into the boat; several
went down, by the tackles. Two of the
watch below (Williams and Foster) had their hair burnt while coming on
deck.
When the life-boat left there were 16 on board; they
heard some one shouting in the water, and threw over a keg and some oars. They endeavoured to approach, but a sea
carried the boat off. They then took Mr. Vincent, Mr. Williamson, Mr. Sisley,
and two sailors from the dingy, and, making her fast to the stern, towed after
the burning wreck, thinking to save more lives, but the dingy having filled,
they were obliged to cut her adrift, and, fearing that they themselves should
be swamped, their boat's head was put to face the sea.
Twelve oars were at work, the wind was increasing, and
heavy squalls coming on. They saw the
ship's gig full of people, shouting as if for assistance, and at the same time
descried a sail standing apparently to the
southward. The vessel appeared
to pass between the two boats, and after this the gig was not seen; whether she
was swamped or was taken up by the stranger is unknown. The strange vessel came pretty close under the life-boat's stern,
when all shouted together, and thought they were answered on board; she was a
bark, under closeroofed topsails, foresail, and fore-topmost staysail; her
spanker was hanging in the brails as if she was in the act of wearing. Soon after her helm was put up, and she bore
right down towards the wreck, behind which she disappeared.
The masts of the steamer went over before 4 o'clock in
the morning, the foremast on the port and the mainmast on the starboard side.
One poor fellow appeared at the jib boom end; the jib was cut loose, and was
blowing away. Her mizenmast was still standing while she was in flames from
stem to stern. About 5 o'clock, when the lifeboat was passing the ship in a
leewardly direction, the gunpowder in her two magazines aft exploded, and in
about 20 minutes, the mizen having gone by the board, she made a heavy lurch
and went down, her funnels being red hot and still standing.
Those in the boat now pulled before the sea and wind,
thinking to make the French coast, which was, as they thought, the
nearest. Mr. Vincent's monkey jacket,
being mounted on an oar, was their only sail, and the boat was kept dry by
baling her with his boots.
At half-past 10 on Sunday morning they saw a brig, and,
taking down the jacket, they hoisted handkerchiefs, fore and aft, for signals
of distress; and at 12 o'clock, in lat. 48.5 N., long. 5.20 W, they boarded the
Marsden, of London, Captain Evans, from Cardiff, with railway iron, for North
Carolina.
The brig took the boat in tow with a new 7-inch hawser,
but this having got chafed, it broke at 4 pm
on Monday during half a gale of wind, and the boat was lost; On board
this brig every humane attention was exhibited, and after giving the
shipwrecked crew as much clothing and comfort as could be produced, Captain
Evans landed them safely at Plymouth, whence they were sent to their homes by
the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society.
Raymond Forward