The Sinking Of SS Atlantic In 1873

/THIS DAY IN HISTORY/
BRITISH WHITE STAR LINE STEAMSHIP ATLANTIC SINKS OFF
The disaster of SS Atlantic, on April 1, 1873, has been known as the biggest shipwreck in Nova Scotia History as well as its second-worst loss of life incident, after the Halifax Explosion. Drastically did she kill 550 people, whose majority is women and children, SS Atlantic Wreck became the largest marine sinking in North Atlantic, before the Titanic – the deadliest civilian maritime disaster causing millions of people to rock in the world.
SS Atlantic was built by the Harland and Wolff in 1871, under permission from the White Star Line (Oceanic Steam Navigation Company). On her 19th voyage, she departed from Liverpool to New York, then diverted to Halifax to refuel on coal. The officer in command, 26-year-old Second Officer Henry Metcalfe, has never been to Halifax, nor has the Captain, who was falling asleep, having left orders to be called not later than 3 am, but it’s actually 3:10 am while the position of the ship was off, given the current unnoticeably pushing the ship 12 miles to the west, sailing right for the rocky shores of the Lower Prospects, Nova Scotia.
Metcalfe searched in vain for the Sambro Light, which marked the entrance to the Halifax Harbor, and concluded that SS Atlantic was still many miles offshore. He decided to stop the steward from waking the Captain up. However, Metcalfe and the crew weren’t able to spot the light, which was determined to be visible. As the night wore on without any sight of the lighthouse, the helmsman - the only crew member familiar with Halifax -- became convinced that something was wrong, and relayed his concerns to the officers on duty, but was ultimately ignored by Metcalfe, who stubbornly insisted that the ship is going on a right track.
Mistake followed mistake, the ship speed was actually 12 knots while the captain believed it’s only 11, which brought them closer to the shore, faster than he expected. The ship soon reached the Meagher’s Island and unstoppably approached the Golden Rule Rock at nearly full steam, which scraped the ship’s bottom and stop her from being on an even keel. Thus, SS Atlantic darted at the rock, buffeted by the waves and stuck hard on the rocky coast. Many grounded bows were freed to send signals to the lighthouse crews, but unexpectedly, the residents of Lower Prospects came to be the heroic rescuers, who saved more than 400 people with the help of the quartermaster John Speakman, led a group of people ashore by swimming to a nearby rock, created a link from the vessel to land.
Overall, the sinking of SS Atlantic proved to be an extensive damage based on a misinformation and perfunctory preparation of a working system. Without conscientious work and great responsibility, every efforts may be scathingly made and impose restrictions on our development:
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future”
- George Bernard Shaw -