SS Atlantic

## Steam Ship Atlantic

A Lithograph made of the Atlantic Sinking

### Fate

Struck rocks off the coast of Nova Scotia Canada and sunk over the course of multiple hours

## General Characteristics

### Installed Power

Singular Compound Steam Engine powering a central propeller producing 600 Hp

### Complement

1,166 Passengers

Steam Ship Atlantic was an oceanliner that operated from the 8th June 1871 to the 1st April 1873 when it struck rocks off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. At the time, it was the worst shipping disaster in North Atlantic history, causing the death of all 156 women on board, all but one of the 189 children and 10 crew members.

It was a shipwreck caused mostly by the incompetence of Chief Engineer John Foxley and 2nd Officer Henry Metcalf. Today it sits not that deep underwater off the coast of Marr's Island where it struck the rocks and sunk.

## Construction

SS Atlantic was ordered as the second ship of the Oceanic Class of White Star Line ships in early 1870. As for all but one White Star Line ship, the Atlantic was ordered to be constructed by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. Today, the slipway Atlantic was built on is now just a strip of grass beside the only remaining White Star Liner, SS Nomadic.

Atlantic was fitted as a four-masted Barque with a singular propeller (It's important to note that this was a sort of odd time when it came to deciding steam power or sails, as they both had an equal amount of perks and negatives, so most ships just used both).

She was launched on the 26th November 1870 most likely to a crowd of shipyard workers, people intending to be future passengers and people just there for the entertainment.

## Maiden Voyage

On the 8th June 1871, the Atlantic leaves Liverpool destined for New York. Basically nothing is known about Atlantic's maiden voyage as any documents of it have since been lost to time or the ocean.

## Sinking

### 19th Voyage

Atlantic crossed the sandbar on the River Mersey in Liverpool at 14:00 in the afternoon on the 20th March 1873 and set out across the North Atlantic Ocean. Weather conditions were excellent and passengers most likely spent the majority of this time out on the Hurricane (Top) Deck lounging on the deckchairs provided. At this time, 150 crew and 615 passengers were onboard.

The highest ranking officers onboard were: Captain James Williams, Chief/First (On the Atlantic Chief and First officer were the same thing) Officer John Firth, Second Officer Henry Metcalf and Chief Engineer Foxley. Metcalf has a had a shaky career, he was in command of the SS Explorer (Not a White Star Liner) in 1869 as 1st Officer when it collided with the French Liner Bretagne, sinking it and killing five crew. He had his commander's certificate taken away for six months but was allowed to return to work after that. Chief Engineer Foxley didn't have as bad a career as Metcalf but it wasn't perfect either, as he was fired from the Gion Line for drunkenness, but the company's director denied this forever.

The good weather onboard Atlantic continued through the night and early morning as the ship came to dock at Queenstown at 08:45 on the 21st March 1873. A small slightly unreliable tender ship called the Jackal ferried 175 Steerage passengers out to the ship. Harbour authorities conducted a quick inspection of the ship followed by a lifeboat drill and found it to be in perfect condition. Atlantic now set out across the North Atlantic, with weather conditions still remaining unusually good as the ship was last seen afloat sailing around the South-West coast of Ireland.

Life on Atlantic continued as normal for the next few days, a church service even being held on Sunday the 23rd March in the Grand Dining Saloon, alongside an at sea lifeboat inspection which went well. A light wind began to blow against the ship later that afternoon and it gradually grew as the day and night drew on. The decks cleared due to this and most everyone was now deep inside the cramped ship, for many it would be the last time they went indoors.

By Monday, rain began to fall and the wind only got worse. Atlantic could now not keep a steady pace and was forced to overexert its engine to progress at a fast enough speed. Chief Engineer Foxley was concerned about this, thinking that Atlantic was in danger from this, he began to underreport the amount of coal the ship had left, hoping that Captain Williams would sacrifice his speed to preserve it.

Passengers onboard were not faring well against the storm as seasickness struck down almost every person onboard. The cooks onboard could now only serve the most basic of foods such as gruel, as the stomachs of the people onboard were not able to digest the large meals served on regular days.

By day five of the voyage, Atlantic was barely crawling through what was undoubtedly a hurricane. Each wave seemed to batter the ship in every direction, an ordeal that was most definitely terrifying for all onboard, who were mostly bedbound by now. Vomit diluted with blood from injuries ran like a river from bow to stern every time the ship pitched and rolled. One of the particularly bad waves reduced a forward lifeboat to dust, leaving it dangling and smashing against the hull with each gust of wind. As this went on, Foxley continued to underreport the coal supply lower and lower each time he was asked. By the 28th March, he reported that only 319 tonnes of coal remained onboard, keep in mind that they left Liverpool with 1000 tonnes. Captain Williams was now scared they wouldn't make it to New York before they ran out of coal, something that in 1873 was almost a death sentence for your ship unless the wind allowed you to hoist the sails.

On March 31st (Day 12) Williams hosted a crew meeting to discuss what to do about the situation unfolding in front of them and their supposed lack of coal. Foxley yet again underreported the coal supply saying that only 129 Tonnes of coal remained onboard, which would NOT be enough to make it to New York and that was certain when in reality they had more than enough to complete the voyage. In a case like that, the only option left was to divert to a different port they could refuel at, the most popular of which was Halifax in Nova Scotia. Instead of beating around the bush, Williams directly asked Foxley if they should divert to Halifax or not. In this moment, Foxley had two choices; Dig deeper into his lie to save himself or tell the truth and jeopardize his career. Foxley decided to dig deeper and got the captain to divert the ship North.

### Diverting to Halifax

Atlantic changes course bound for Halifax later that day, now with a lot less wind resistance as the storm had calmed slightly. For the first time in days an actual meal was served on the ship and moods began to improve. A wave of excitement was spreading through the ship, as this was the first time a White Star Line ship had ever diverted to Halifax before and by this point passengers most likely wanted anything good to think about.

At around midnight on the 1st April, Chief Officer Firth and 3rd Officer Brady were relieved from duty by 2nd Officer Metcalf and 4th Officer Brown on the bridge. At 00:20 Captain Williams comes to the bridge and informs the crew to wake him at 03:00 when he assumed the Sambro Island Lighthouse would come into view, which would be their guide into the harbour, which was an extremely dangerous one that Williams felt he was most experienced with. Williams decided to have a brief nap in his cabin so he could be wary of his surroundings when the time came, arranging for a steward to bring him a cup of hot cocoa at 02:40 in case Metcalf failed to wake him. Before going to sleep he had a brief interview with a journalist from an illustrated magazine who planned to write an article on the voyage.

Back on the bridge, Quartermaster Robert Thomas is surveying the area around them. He's been to Halifax before and is calculating the distances in his head, realising they're getting dangerously close to land he informs Metcalf, who shut him down by telling him "It's not your duty to have these opinions". Metcalf further troubles things at 02:40 when Williams' steward requests entry to his cabin, but is denied by Metcalf in either an act of misguided kindness or an attempt to retain control of the ship for longer. When 03:00 roles around, Metcalf yet again does not wake the captain, instead deciding that he'll just keep sailing until the lighthouse does come into sight. He does not know that Atlantic is currently in the wake of the strongest tide in the world (The Bay of Fundy's) and has been washed 12 miles south of their intended destination. By 03:12, even Metcalf is concerned that he hasn't seen anything yet, so he goes to wake Williams, but then disaster strikes.

### Disaster

A lookout calls out "Breakers ahead! Breakers ahead!" to the bridge as only a few hundred metres from the ship, the silhouette of land begins to form. Metcalf orders the ship Hard to Starboard (Which actually means turn to port) but it's too late for the Atlantic. A deep rumble from the keel is heard as it tears open and lets seawater begin to gush in violently, but it doesn't even halt the ship as Atlantic keeps pushing on into shallower waters where it strikes a large above water rock. Instantaneously, almost every oil lamp onboard is snuffed out by the shifting air, leaving the ship in complete darkness. The bow then lifts up and out of the water as it continues to be pushed against the rock, plunging the stern section down at an angle and letting the waves wash straight over the superstructure. The propeller and rudder are still in the water however, so the ship is actually still turning to port, headed straight towards more rocks. When it strikes there's a deep groan from within as the propeller is shredded and the hull plates open up to flood the woman and children's section of the Steerage accommodation.

Captain Williams rushes to the bridge and quickly gives 3 orders:

-Quartermasters Roylance and Speakman are to fire the flares.

-Stewards are to wake all passengers and get them up on decks.

-The crew need to prepare all the lifeboats and get them swung out.

Right now the ship is just about remaining stable as the damage to the bow is lifted out of the water and the stern hasn't flooded enough to sink. The crew know that this will not last however, as the stern is not supported on anything and once it looses enough buoyancy, will start to sink. Below decks, seasick passengers are struggling to even get out of bed, let alone find their way through the darkness and out onto deck. Many of them don't understand the seriousness of the situation and are clambering around to find their scattered belongings. These are all Saloon Class passengers however, in Steerage there is no doubt about what is happening as water floods into the large dormitories and sweeps people off their feet. In the engine rooms, Chief Engineer Foxley barely has enough time to disengage the ship's engines before the rising water forces him to evacuate the engine rooms, he knows the ship extremely well so he has no problem finding his way around the dark interior, but the same cannot be said for the stokers. Staircases are swamped by people attempting to make their way to the upper decks, many of them are crushed beneath the feet of their fellow passengers and crew as they do so. On the Hurricane Deck, Roylance and Speakman launched the first rocket which created just enough light for them to be able to see their surroundings. Even then, they did not know if they'd struck in Halifax, the Canadian mainland or an island