SS Yankee Blade facts for kids
The SS Yankee Blade was a large steamship with three masts and side wheels. It belonged to the Independent Line, a company owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, a famous businessman. The Yankee Blade was built in 1854. Its job was to carry gold, people, and goods between Panama and San Francisco, California. This was a very busy route during the exciting time of the California Gold Rush. Sadly, the ship crashed in thick fog near Point Arguello in Southern California on October 1, 1854. About 30 to 40 people lost their lives in the shipwreck.
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Traveling to California During the Gold Rush
When gold was found at Sutter's Mill in 1848, many people wanted to go to California. They hoped to find gold and become rich! Back then, there were three main ways for people from the eastern United States to travel to California.
Long and Dangerous Journeys
One way was to travel overland using the California Trail. This journey was very expensive, dangerous, and took a long time, often more than six months. Another option was to sail about 14,000 miles around Cape Horn at the tip of South America. This sea route was faster and sometimes cheaper, but it was still very dangerous. The weather around Cape Horn was often stormy and harsh.
The Fastest Route by Sea
The third and fastest way to get to California involved a mix of sailing and walking. Travelers would first sail by steamship to Panama. Then, they would hike through the thick jungle across the Isthmus. After that, they would catch another ship from the Pacific coast of Panama to San Francisco. This route cut the travel time down to less than six weeks. However, there often weren't enough ships going from Panama to San Francisco. This meant passengers had to wait a long time in Panama. The Yankee Blade was built to help with this problem, offering more trips between Panama and California.
Building a Luxury Ship
The SS Yankee Blade was designed to carry gold, passengers, and cargo on the second part of the journey. This part went from San Francisco to New York, with a stop in Panama. The Yankee Blade was one of the most luxurious ships in its company's fleet. It had large, square windows, private bathrooms, and even a doctor on board whose services were free for passengers.
How the Ship Moved
The ship was also built to be one of the fastest of its time. It had a special side-lever engine. This type of engine was very powerful, even though it used a lot of fuel. It could push the ship to a speed of about 13 knots, which was quite fast back then. Captain Henry Randall was in charge of the Yankee Blade. He had worked for another shipping company before joining the Yankee Blade and stayed with the ship until its final voyage.
The Last Trip of the Yankee Blade
The Yankee Blade began its last journey from San Francisco to Panama on September 30, 1854. The ship was carrying a lot of valuable cargo. This included about $153,000 worth of gold and other precious items that passengers had given to the ship's purser for safekeeping. The official list of passengers, called the ship's manifest, showed 819 people. However, many people bought tickets at the last minute or were stowaways, so the real number of people on board was much higher, possibly up to 1,200.
An Unofficial Race
Another steamship called the Sonora also left San Francisco for Panama at the same time. It's believed that the captain of the Yankee Blade was trying to race the Sonora. The day before, a newspaper called the Daily Alta California even had an advertisement about a $5,000 bet that the Yankee Blade would win the race to Panama. Once both ships left the San Francisco Bay, the Sonora headed far out to sea. This route was longer but much safer, away from any dangerous rocks or shallow areas. But the Yankee Blade took a different path. It stayed close to the California coast, which was much more dangerous because of the high risk of hitting hidden hazards.
The Shipwreck
As the Yankee Blade sailed down the coast, it passed another ship, the Southerner. The captain of the Southerner was worried about the risky path the Yankee Blade was taking. He contacted Captain Haley of the steamship Goliah. He asked Captain Haley to keep an eye out for the Yankee Blade in case it ran aground and needed help. The Goliah started following the Yankee Blade's path. However, the Goliah soon ran into thick fog and slowed down for safety.
The Crash
The Yankee Blade also entered the thick fog. But unlike Captain Haley, Captain Randall did not slow down or change course. Shortly after 3 PM on Sunday, the Yankee Blade hit a sharp rock about a mile offshore. The crash tore a 12-foot hole in the ship's hull (the bottom part of the ship) near the back, below the water. The ship got stuck firmly on the rock. The front part of the ship was lifted almost 60 feet out of the water by the force of the crash. However, the back of the ship was underwater and constantly being hit by waves. This made the officers fear the ship might break in half.
Captain Randall's Actions
Soon, the ship's lifeboats were lowered to take passengers to shore. What happened next was very controversial. Captain Randall himself took command of one of the lifeboats. He left his teenage son, who was not qualified, in charge of the sinking ship. Captain Randall later said he was looking for a safe place for the passengers to land. But there are different stories about whether he returned to the wreck. It is known that he spent the night on shore while most passengers were still stuck on the ship.
Rescue Efforts
The next day, the Goliah was still slowly moving along the coast. It then found the front part of the Yankee Blade, where most of the passengers were still waiting. Captain Haley bravely brought the Goliah as close as possible to the damaged Yankee Blade, even though it was dangerous for his own ship. A rope was set up between the two ships. A lifeboat from the Goliah then began taking survivors from the wreck to the Goliah. This rescue process took most of the day.
The Final Moments of the Ship
Soon after the last person was rescued, the front part of the Yankee Blade's bow slipped from the rock and sank. Because there wasn't enough space on board the Goliah, about 300 survivors had to be left on shore. They joined the others who had already made it to land. The Goliah then dropped off its passengers in Santa Barbara, San Pedro, and San Diego. Two days later, after getting stuck on a sandbar near San Diego, the Goliah returned to pick up the remaining survivors and take them back to San Francisco.
