Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-02-27
AWFUL STEAMBOAT DISASTER.
Burning of the Steamboat Winchester
Twenty or Th irty Lives Lost,

The Wheeling hteLligeacer contains the following
thrilling account of the recent burning Of the steam
| boat Winchester:
About nine o'clock Friday morning our citizens
were startled by telegram announcing that the new
and splendid PittsbuTg, Wheeling and Parkersburg
packet Winchester, had been burned to the waters
edge, near the head of Babs Island, about five miles
thirty lives
The excitement was intense, as number of thr
employees on board were citizens of town. Tn
able to gain any satisfactory intelligence our reporter
took the eleven o'clock train and repaired to the
OF disaster. Arrived at Liverpool ne found all the
men belonging to snis city safe and sound most If
themt 5owsSer. having barely escaped with their
Hyo:. They were 9. ". Dunbar and Charles Wincher
hngneerS; John Dulty, AsSistan. Engineer. and Jno
Dunn, First Mate. lie also lodnd there A. NJ Sheets
OF Matamoras, one o. the owners of the boat who
was almost frantic under the terrible bereavement
had sustained IN the loss OF his wife. an estmahlc
lady, to whom lie had been married but about 81
months. She was the daughter of a highly respec-
who resides near West Liberty. From these gentle,
men our reporter learned that at half-paSt tbrec
o'clock one OF the hremen threw shovel full of hot
ashes out In careless manner. Some of the liy.
emherS were blown into by,nttle of hay which was
part of lot that had Deen taken AT the mouth NJ
I euoW creek. Ihs hay lying rather loosely balef
lsnIted instantly. and although as quickly dis
covered, and every effort make by the iremen to
ShOtner IL, the lre darted through the bales like
lightning, and in a moment the whole was n mass ul
hamc, which, more rapidly than can be told, was
communicated to a lot OF OIL. Mr.. Dunbar, who was
on the watch at the time, informed the pilot that the
boat was on ire. Her heal quickly turned &
Shore, ana hir Dunbar letting on all steam, he
on shoEe WI! force when drove her head high W
on the beach, and secured her against all danger o.
floating out into the stream. The scene had now be
come terrific owing to the highly cOmDusfibe natrr
OF large portion of her cargo, and the boat herself
being new, her paint scarcely dry. the fire leaned
from point to point and ran as # upon a train Of
shore all her deck was n mass of raging frc
Inc passengers reused suddenly from suIG6er IN
their awful peril ran wildly about oiv to find cvor
avenue closed by fire and blerGlnp smoke ~. No
Jumped oYero2aTd some are thought to have Oeen un
boIs @ 70 GET gu. 8 their berhs and It is not known
many were lost, as all tle books and papers be-
longing to the boat wero destroyed Those known T.,
2e lost are !a'oAaei tragett of Sewickley Peur4:
James hiseo and wife, and Mrs. NJ A. Shee:, All gt
MatanoraS Ohio; John Eanmeter and r,ur children
ot woodland, West Virginia; George Young, of Ro-
neZer Martin, of SstorgtlIe brother-n- law Of O.
Johnson, OF the mouse of Delegates West Virginia.
aiso, nan T named Walters, with one child, wcfc
burned Inc chambermaid (colore2l and two fire.
men lc0lored) were also lost. TLe scene is described
by those who witnessed L as awfully grand The
i m%is9 roweFhg alo1t Illuminating the country for
lniles around. ana 'hrew light far up and down the
surface OF inc river bright as monday 1t was
shof-ttyed as II was grand aDi it only remained rr
uayHsht 70 reveal the kJlror Of that hour, There
was mother wa!IAg the loss Of a husband and four
children. wh4e by her side sat her remaining two
shiverlng with cold and fear, Another with he,
infant child rescued sroln the water but dead ".
Ing, pesde her, looked upon the deYourng fire.
ana, knew that her husband and her othos
chId were among its ashes. a young HUSBAND rao
dered almost frantic by the terrible ms to
whether his young wife had sunk il the waters ~ or
oeeu consumed III tHe ualneg. the officers nf tl,o
boat stood nobly to their ost till driven away hv III
intense neat Notwithstanding the intense coIHpas
OF the water lacy stayed in it as long as If ysS @ @
bic ~ render any assistance Mr. She5fs S,lo ~ pOSS SOL
three tunes into the river lured as Ia 60nobt b ~
voice OF ms wife, and each tue broueht some ~ 90 ,
shore. All the rescued spoke in the highest i " "
the people who lYed in the vicinity Of fbe asasfar
as quckIS aa possible all were clothed and made ~
comfortable as could be under tho observation-disclosures
CUR reporter visited the wreck it5sf and nnd II tbe
most complete he ever witnessed: NOT n yestice of
ti0n. N-N' VI nays oS'&f0O NN't'"0
=, The boat was owned by Andrew Ackley G. n.
moore, Danlel Moore and James Hamilton, of Pitts i
buit expressly GT the Pittsburg, Wheeling and Park
ersbprg trade. and just ten days old, and q;
nor hTsJ and last trip.
Her cargo consisted in part of 2l1 bnfreis of o;I
from LongmoOr X Co.. a hundred and i've bales of
hay, large lot of empty oil barrels in her hold Sb
also had on board four h1rseS yoke of oxen anG
one cow. @-'
Her officers were A. c. Shepherd, CAPTAIN. Wu;o,,
Abrams pilot: Daniel Moore, lst clerk; A. G. Bmnt
Charles Wincher, engineers. '"A ana
for $4,000. O'A4s ollceS
reward Of one thousand dollars is ofarod g., H.,
recovery OF the bodies of Mr. and Mrs AI%od M yn'
Sheets and Ebenezer Martin. 9e0 ME-
Rev, Richard s. StoTrs, D. D., pastor of
Sae orthodox Congregational Church of Braiptree.
Mass who is in the SOth year of his age and the
1oth OF his ministry received call from his people
Of 800.