RECIPE FOR DISASTER

1838-1864: RECIPE FOR DISASTER

1838 - A boiler explosion on the steamboat Moselle kills 160 people. US Congress voted into law the Steamboat Act of 1838 which required that engineers be licensed, stipulated that captains and owners be responsible for disasters on their boats, and that boilers be regularly inspected. Unfortunately, corruption and bureaucratic incompetence prevented the law from being properly enforced and resulted in continued regular occurrence of collisions, boiler explosions, and on-board fires for many years.

Early 1852 - After several steamboat boiler explosions cause the deaths of 250 people, US Senator from Texas, Thomas Jefferson Rusk, pushed for passage of the Steamboat Act of 1852 which required pressure testing of boilers, limits on maximum steam pressure, and new regulations requiring steamboats to carry lifebelts and firehoses. The new law also required engineers and pilots pass a test to be licensed, with stipulations that engineers and pilots would have the authority to override the captain in matters of safety if necessary. Likewise, steamboat inspectors had to be federally licensed and trained and had authority to force a boat to remain docked until required repairs were made. Accidents and loss of life on steamboats declined between 1853 and 1860.

1861 - The start of the Civil War and the need of both Union and Confederate governments to move troops and war materials quickly from place to place forced legal carrying capacities and safety regulations out the window, often over the protest of federal inspectors and steamboat captains and their engineers. Accidents and deaths on steamboats increased significantly during the war. Military officials cited ‘necessity’ as cause to bypass normal regulations.

1862-63 - Under the government contract system, steamboat captains and owners were paid a set amount by the pound for freight or by the head for troops. In the case of troops, one third of one cent per man per mile was paid. It very quickly became a case of ‘cash & carry’. The more a boat carried, the more cash was made. Legal limits and safety regulations became secondary concerns. A riverboat under government contract was often overloaded with freight or crowded with troops three to four times its legal design. State and local passenger safety rules/freight regulations did not apply to federal shippers on inland waters, especially on rivers running through several states.

April, 1864 - US government changes rates for freight and passengers. St Louis to New Orleans for officers, horses, and cattle were now $10.25 per head. Enlisted men were $4.25 per head. Freight was set at a flat rate of 50¢ per hundred pounds.

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	1838-1864: RECIPE FOR DISASTER
	1838 - A boiler explosion on the steamboat Moselle kills 160 people. US Congress voted into law the Steamboat Act of 1838 which required that engineers be licensed, stipulated that captains and owners be responsible for disasters on their boats, and that boilers be regularly inspected. Unfortunately, corruption and bureaucratic incompetence prevented the law from being properly enforced and resulted in continued regular occurrence of collisions, boiler explosions, and on-board fires for many years. Early 1852 - After several steamboat boiler explosions cause the deaths of 250 people, US Senator from Texas, Thomas Jefferson Rusk, pushed for passage of the Steamboat Act of 1852 which required pressure testing of boilers, limits on maximum steam pressure, and new regulations requiring steamboats to carry lifebelts and firehoses. The new law also required engineers and pilots pass a test to be licensed, with stipulations that engineers and pilots would have the authority to override the captain in matters of safety if necessary. Likewise, steamboat inspectors had to be federally licensed and trained and had authority to force a boat to remain docked until required repairs were made. Accidents and loss of life on steamboats declined between 1853 and 1860. 1861 - The start of the Civil War and the need of both Union and Confederate governments to move troops and war materials quickly from place to place forced legal carrying capacities and safety regulations out the window, often over the protest of federal inspectors and steamboat captains and their engineers. Accidents and deaths on steamboats increased significantly during the war. Military officials cited ‘necessity’ as cause to bypass normal regulations. 1862-63 - Under the government contract system, steamboat captains and owners were paid a set amount by the pound for freight or by the head for troops. In the case of troops, one third of one cent per man per mile was paid. It very quickly became a case of ‘cash & carry’. The more a boat carried, the more cash was made. Legal limits and safety regulations became secondary concerns. A riverboat under government contract was often overloaded with freight or crowded with troops three to four times its legal design. State and local passenger safety rules/freight regulations did not apply to federal shippers on inland waters, especially on rivers running through several states. April, 1864 - US government changes rates for freight and passengers. St Louis to New Orleans for officers, horses, and cattle were now $10.25 per head. Enlisted men were $4.25 per head. Freight was set at a flat rate of 50¢ per hundred pounds.

		To include your stories and other information in this site, Email us at Webmaster.
Comments, suggestions, additional info are always welcomed., Please contact: Webmaster