CAMILLE BOHANNON

More than 1,000 people taking a pleasure trip on New York City’s
East River were drowned or burned to death when a fire swept
through the riverboat-style steamer General Slocum. This was
one of the United States’ worst maritime disasters.

The General Slocum was built in 1890 and used mostly for taking
large groups on day outings. On June 15, the St. Mark’s German Lutheran Church assembled a group of 1,360 people, mostly
children and teachers, for their annual Sunday School picnic.

The picnic was to take place at Locust Point in the Bronx after
a cruise up the East River on the General Slocum.

At about 9 a.m., the dangerously overcrowded boat left its dock
in Manhattan with Captain William Van Schaik in charge. As the
boat passed 83rd Street, accounts indicate that a child spotted
a fire in a storeroom and reported it to the Captain. The onboard
fire hose, which had never been used, tested or inspected, did
not work.

In all, 630 bodies were recovered and another 401 were missing
and presumed dead.

The boat’s crew, and officers in the Knickerbocker Company,
owner and operator of the General Slocum, were charged with
criminal negligence.