Ship Ablaze

On the morning of June 15, 1904, more than 1,300 residents of the Lower East Side boarded the General Slocum. The steamship was chartered for a languid excursion from Manhattan to Long Island Sound, but just a few minutes into the trip, fire erupted.

Ship Ablaze draws on firsthand accounts to examine one of the most deadly episodes in New York’s history. Masterfully capturing both the horror of the event and the heroism of men, women, and children who faced crumbling life jackets and inaccessible lifeboats as the inferno quickly spread, historian Edward T. O’Donnell brings to life a bygone community while honoring the victims of that forgotten day.

role: Researcher
publisher: Broadway Books
publication date: Spring 2003
category: History

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