View source for Pennsylvania (steamboat)

{{Short description|American steamboat (1854–1858)}}
{{italic title}}
The steamboat '''''Pennsylvania''''' was a [[paddle steamer|side wheeler]] [[steamboat]] which suffered a [[boiler explosion]] in the [[Mississippi River]] and sank at Ship Island near [[Memphis, Tennessee]], on June 13, 1858.
==Construction and career==
Built in 1854, the ''Pennsylvania'' was capable of carrying a full 486 [[ton]]s of [[cargo]]. On November 26, 1857, she was struck by the steamer ''Vicksburg'' while 28 miles north of [[New Orleans, Louisiana]].  This collision put her out of service until February 17, 1858.  Subsequently, she continued her service on the river until destroyed by a boiler explosion on June 13, 1858.
==Employment of Samuel L. Clemens==
[[File:"Died" Daily Missouri Republican, July 18, 1858.jpg|thumb|Casualty list for the ''Pennsylvania'', including Henry Clemens, second clerk (''Daily Missouri Republican'', July 18, 1858)]]
Her most heralded crew member was Samuel L. Clemens (later known as [[Mark Twain]]) who served as a cub pilot from September 27, 1857 until June 5, 1858, with a two-month break during the repairs from the ''Vicksburg'' collision. The end of Twain's service on the ''Pennsylvania'' was brought about by his stormy relationship with its pilot, William Brown, which is described in his 1883 book ''[[Life on the Mississippi]]''.  Just prior to his departure, he arranged a post for his brother, Henry on the steamship as "[[Mud Clerk]]".
==Final voyage and sinking==
On June 13, 1858, the ''Pennsylvania'' was steaming near Ship Island, just below [[Memphis, Tennessee]] when its boiler exploded.  Estimates at the time put the passenger manifest at 450 with an initial loss of life of 250.<ref>{{Cite web
| title = THE EXPLOSION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA
| work = The New York Times
| date = 1858-06-16
| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E4D8153CEE34BC4E52DFB0668383649FDE
| accessdate = 2008-03-20 }}</ref>
The first vessel on site was the ''Imperial'', which picked up several passengers and transported them to New Orleans.  The ''Diana'' took many others to Memphis. Several of these were seriously injured and the death toll continued to climb.  Among this group was Henry Clemens, younger brother of [[Mark Twain]], whose skin and lungs were so badly scalded that he succumbed to his wounds on June 21. Another casualty of the explosion was Tennessee Supreme Court justice [[William R. Harris]].<ref name="TSCH">{{cite web|url=https://www.tschsociety.org/justices.html|author=Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society|title=Justices}}</ref><ref name="Green Bag">Albert D. Marks, "The Supreme Court of Tennessee", Part II, ''The Green Bag'', Volume 5 (1893), p. 180.</ref> Eyewitness testimony was given to the fact that the engineer was not at his post in the engine room just prior to the explosion, instead being in the company of some women.<ref>{{Cite web
| title = CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA
| work = The New York Times
| date = 1858-06-26
| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0DE6D91331EE34BC4E51DFB0668383649FDE
| accessdate = 2008-03-20 }}</ref> Future Ohio politician [[Jeremiah A. Brown]] was another prominent crew member who was on the boat at the time of the accident.<ref>Hon. Jere A. Brown, Cleveland Gazette (Cleveland, Ohio), April 5, 1913, Page 3</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
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{{1858 shipwrecks}}
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[[Category:Steamboats of the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Paddle steamers]]
[[Category:Maritime boiler explosions]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Mark Twain]]
[[Category:1854 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1858]]