The North Carolina Observer September 1857. The S.S Central America capsized off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on September 12 on one of its many voyages to New York. The Central America, originally named the S.S George Law, was operated by

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The North Carolina     Observer

September 1857

S.S. Central America Capsizes Bad Economy to Follow

Charlestown, North Carolina…The S.S Central America capsized off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on September 12 on one of its many voyages to New York. The Central America, originally named the S.S George Law, was operated by the United States Postal Service. It was a three-masted, 272 foot long steamship that made 43 trips between San Francisco and New York before it sank.  The ship was carrying 476 passengers, 102 crew members, approximately 35,000 letters, and over 3 tons of gold. Of the 578 people on the ill-fated ship only 152 people, mostly women and children, survived.

        On September 3, the ship left Aspinwall, Panama. The cargo included roughly 5,200 freshly minted $20 gold denominations that were produced at the San Francisco Mint. There were also privately minted coins and ingots aboard the ship. The total amount of loot on the ship was valued at about 1.6 million dollars. A few days later on September 7th, the ship docked at the port of Havana, Cuba. Which is a popular stop for a voyage similar to this ship’s, where the passengers spent the day sight seeing and souvenir shopping. As the Central America pulled out of the harbor, “the skies continued to be sunny and warm, with only a few clouds overhead. It was quite nice,” said Mr. Easton, a surviving passenger.

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At 5:30 on the ninth of September, the second officer of the ship noted that the winds were picking up. “There were no worries though,” he reported “ the ship was fairly large and the crew could handle almost any storm.” After a few hours, the breeze intensified to a strong wind. The ship was tossed about the waves, but it continued on its course. The card playing, reading, and further jollity came to and end as many of the passengers became seasick. The conditions were tough, but most of the passengers and crew expected the rough seas to end ...

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