The steamer SS Ercolano was a passenger steamship which plied the waters of the Mediterranean in the 1850s.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Italy | |
| Name | Ercolano |
| Stricken | 24 April 1854 |
| Homeport | Port of Naples |
| Fate | Sunk 1854 |
The vessel was operated by the Neapolitan Line, operating from Naples to destinations such as Genoa, Marseille and Malta.[1]
Sinking
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On April 24, 1854 the ship left Genoa at 2:00 PM on April 24, 1854 bound for Marseilles with eighty passengers. The steamship sank after a collision with Sicilia in the Gulf of Genoa, somewhere between Nice and Antibes.[2] The passengers included two British politicians: Thomas Plumer Halsey MP, who was drowned along with his wife, youngest son, and two servants; and Sir Robert Peel MP, who survived by swimming ashore.[3][4][5] In all, about thirty-six passengers and twelve crew members were lost. Two survivors were later plucked from the wreckage near Nice.[6]
The Sicilia was a newly built steam yacht, on a transfer voyage from the shipyard to Italy when it struck the Ercolano. Its maiden voyage to the United States was cancelled and the vessel was sold to Messageries Impériales. On 9 September 1854, the Sicilia sank in the Tyrrhenian Sea.[2]
The Household Narrative of Current Events of May 1854 reported:
A dreadful Shipwreck has taken place on the coast between Antibes and Nice. The vessel was the Ercolano, a Genoese steamer. On the night of the 24th of April, Mr. Sansom, a passenger, who had been supping with Sir Robert Peel, went upon deck to smoke a cigar; it was a dark night, and the ship rolled heavily: to his great surprise, he saw no man on deck but the man at the helm. Lights appeared in the distance, and he pointed them out to the steersman; who gave no reply. In a few minutes, the ship was struck on the larboard side, by a screw steamer, which proved to be the Sicilia. The masts of the Ercolano gave way; it was evident she would soon sink; all was horror and confusion on board. Mr. Sansom, seeing two sailors lowering a boat, jumped in and was saved. Sir Robert Peel ran to the bow, stripped, plunged into the sea, and swam until he was picked up.
— The Household Narrative of Current Events[7]
A survivor of the sinking stated that the captains of neither vessel were on deck at the time of the collision and that the event was due to their negligence.[7]
Citations
edit- ^ "Appendix to the First Part: Steam Navigation: Neapolitan Line". New Guide to Naples, Sicily, and the Environs Carefully Compiled and Enlarged According to Galanti and Mrs. Power: In Two Parts. Rome: L. Piale. 1853. p. 169. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Sicilia SS (1854~1854) Sicilia SS (+1854)". The Wrecksite. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Shipwreck of the Ercolano". Illustrated London News. 6 May 1854.
- ^ "Obituary - Thomas Plumer Halsey Esq". The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review. 195. Bradbury, Evans: 649–50. 1854. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Bradshaw, George (1865). "Route 9: Genoa". Bradshaw's illustrated hand-book to Italy. Vol. 10. p. 21. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Foreign Intelligence" The Times April 28, 1854
- ^ a b Dickens, Charles, ed. (May 1854). "Accident and Disaster". www.djo.org.uk. London: 113. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
References
edit- Robin and Terry Harris, eds. 'The Eldon House Diaries: Five Women's views of the 19th century' Toronto: Champlain Society, 1994
- "Lecture by Sir Robert Peel.- Most Interesting Account of His Shipwreck" Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle March 31, 1855
- "Foreign Intelligence" The Times April 28, 1854
- "The Loss of the Ercolano" The Times May 2, 1854
- "The Loss of the Ergolano -- M. Samson" The Times May 3, 1854