1924 – July 5, Steamer Three Rivers Fire, Chesapeake Bay, off Cove Point, MD — 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-25-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 10 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 91.
— 10 U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1925, p. 15.
Narrative Information
Berman notes the loss as on July 4th.
U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service: “On July 5, 1924, the passenger steamer Three Rivers, of 1,110 gross tons, took fire from some unknown cause early in the morning, off Cove Point, Chesapeake Bay, and burned to the hull. The steamer carried a total of 139 persons, of whom 10 lost their lives…” (U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1925, p. 15.)
July 5, AP: “By the Associated Press. Baltimore, Md., July 5. – Two negroes and a negress are known to have lost their lives and a fourth negro, a deck hand, is thought to have perished in a fire which destroyed the steamer Three Rivers, while bound from Crisfield, Md. For Baltimore, off Cove Point, Chesapeake Bay, early today. Five youths, members of the Baltimore Evening Sun’s Newsboys Band, are missing and it is believed they were lost. They are:
Nelson A. Miles,
Lester S. Eligman,
Ashby Pilcher,
Vernon Jefferson and
Walter Mullizen.
“Their ages range from fourteen to seventeen years.
“The known dead (all negroes) are
James Mack and
Evelyn Parker, passengers, of Baltimore, and
Elijah Brogden, pantryman on the steamer.
“Brogden was alive when taken from the water, but died soon afterward. The body of Evelyn Parker was recovered.
“All the survivors, approximately ninety, of whom fifty-four were the remaining members of the newsboys’ band, were brought to Baltimore by the steamer Middlesex, which had gone to the assistance of the burning steamer, together with several other craft, attracted to the scene by the blaze.
….
“Almost from the beginning of the conflagration dense smoke filled the vessel and poured along the decks, threatening death from asphyxiation.
“Capt. Spence D. Hall said the first alarm of fire was brought by a passenger to the pilot house. He and his first officer, went around with axes smashing windows and getting people out on deck, as it was impossible to pass through the saloons.
“One of the unlaunched lifeboats began to burn and access was impossible because of the billows of fire near it. Then it was that Capt. Hall commanded the people to go to the lower deck, which was nearly free from fire. Here he set a man to work ripping off slats which held life preservers. There were probably forty or fifty persons in this group. Others had gone off in two boats, or already had secured life preservers and jumped into the water.
“A few hung back, hesitating for a minute, but a glance at the roaring furnace above an behind them decided them. All jumped and then sway or paddled to get some distance from the burning vessel. There were some yells from the water, but most of the fugitives struggled silently but not for long.
“Six miles away the steamer Middlesex had sighted the fire and rushed to the rescue. Other steamers had seen the flames and also were hurrying to the scene, but the Middlesex got there first and began dropping her boats. Within half an hour from the time the fire broke out the work of rescue was quickly and effectively completed.” (Associated Press. “Newsboys Trapped In Steamship Fire.” The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., 7-6-1924, pp. 1 & 2.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Newsboys Trapped In Steamship Fire.” The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., 7-6-1924, pp. 1 & 2. Accessed 3-26-2025 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-dc-washington-evening-star-jul-06-1924-p-1/
Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.
United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1925. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1925. Digitized by Google. Accessed 3-26-2025 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=oafNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false