# Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579 "2003-06-04T13:17:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/1 "2003-06-04T13:17:38Z")
May I plug a book I _didn’t_ write, for a change? **Stuyguy** ’s friend Ed O’Donnell has written a [terrific new book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767909054/qid=1054732560/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-2060719-1337715) about the General Slocum fire—New York’s deadliest blaze till 9/11—which I have just read. And it is terrific—even picky little me couldn’t find a thing to complain about. O’Donnell will be speaking in NY next week, and I plan to see him at the NYPL on Weds. the 11th. **Stuyguy** , you wanna reprint his schedule here in case anyone else wants to see him? And please tell him how much I enjoyed the book! His author’s photo is _dashing_, too. Hubba hubba! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/2 "2003-06-04T14:01:24Z")
Gonna have to check it out! Not much better reading than a bunch of people (none of whom are me) dying grisly deaths. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/3 "2003-06-04T17:00:57Z")
I’ve driven over that spot in the river many times–think it’s near the Hell Gate Bridge. Fascinating story. Tell me when and I’ll be at the library! And oh yeah, which library. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/4 "2003-06-05T13:02:42Z")
. . . Just bumping this, for **Stuyguy**. . . My friend Michael and I plan to be at the NYPL (which building? 42nd & 5th or 40th & 5th?) on the 11th at 6:30. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/5 "2003-06-05T14:41:20Z")
First time I heard about the General Slocum disaster (years ago) was, believe it or not, from a Priest’s sermon (he would repeat roughly the same sermon about this for years around the anniversery of the event). Other than that, I 've seen only small write-ups (a few paragraphs) in other books [latest example - there’s a half page or so, with a picture of the burning ruins of the boat, in the book ‘So Others Might Live’, about the history of the FDNY]). Other than that, I’ve seen very little. It is amazing that over 1000 people died in the disaster, and it eventually led to the mass migration of German immigrants from their old lower East Side enclave to the new Yorkville area… ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/6 "2003-06-05T15:31:49Z")
Isn’t there a memorial in Tompkins Square Park? Two children with a fountain? There’s so many monuments in NY I lose track. 6:30 on the 11th, great. Just tell me where. They also give lectures at Donnell and the Business Library on 34th sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/7 "2003-06-05T16:50:56Z")
My late grandmother once told me that she remembered seeing the bodies from the disaster being brought ashore at a pier in the South Bronx, near where the family lived at the time. She would have been 4 years old then. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/8 "2003-06-06T13:25:59Z")
Since **Stuyguy** seems to be missing in action, I did a search and found the info: [pause] OK, godammit, I have done _three_ searches and can’t find the sonofabitch thread. **Stuyguy** , where _are_ you?! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/9 "2003-06-09T15:14:37Z")
Umm, **Stuguy** , you still out there? I have been searching and searching for that other thread, but the hamsters seem to have eaten it. Exactly where and when is O’Donnell’s talk on Weds.? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/10 "2003-06-09T19:01:10Z")
Wednesday, June 11 - 6:30 PM \_ Mid-Manhattan Library 455 Fifth Avenue (212) 340-0833 Edward T. O’Donnell, author of the forthcoming book Ship Ablaze, will discuss the General Slocum disaster of 1904. \_ Now, note—I think this is the circulating branch, on the corner of Fifth and 40th; _not_ the famous “lion” branch across the street! ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/11 "2003-06-10T00:39:41Z")
Hello. Hello. I’m here! Yeah, that other thread seems oddly unsearchable. What’s with that. Anyway, I copied this from the email Ed sent me. I intend to go to a bunch of these, so if you spot a 6’ tall, slenderish shave-headed guy with black glasses at the event it’s probably me. Oh and eve, sorry to break your heart, but Ed is an uber-hubby. Actually make that uber-daddy. Like the good Catholic son o’ Ireland he is, he’s got his wife poppin’ out little ones like a Pez dispenser. And of course they’re all named Kathleen and Patrick and such. Here’s Ed’s schedule: * * * Dear Friends, My new book, Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum (Random House\Broadway Books) goes on sale June 10. Below you will find a summary of my NYC book tour events. For more information on the book, including 50 photos, an excerpt, and published reviews, see [www.General-Slocum.com](http://www.General-Slocum.com). I hope you can make one of these events. Also: keep an eye out for an article I’ve written about the Slocum story for the Sunday New York Times (City Section) for June 15: BOOK TOUR DETAILS 1. Tuesday June 10, 2003 @ 11:30 am Interview WNYC Radio (AM 820) The Brian Lehrer Show 2. Tuesday June 10, 2003 @ 6:30 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing \*\* reception to follow slide talk \*\* New-York Historical Society (212) 873-3400 2 West 77th Street at Central Park West 3. Wednesday June 11, 2003 @ 6:30 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing - FREE New York Public Library Mid-Manhattan branch (212) 340-0833 455 Fifth Avenue (at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue) Note: it’s just south of the Main Research Library (the one with the lions) [http://www.nypl.org/branch/central\_units/mm/midman.html](http://www.nypl.org/branch/central_units/mm/midman.html) 4. Thursday June 12, 2003 @ 12 noon Slide Talk and Book Signing New York City Police Museum 100 Old Slip in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District 212-480-3100 or [http://www.nycpolicemuseum.org/](http://www.nycpolicemuseum.org/) 5. Fiday June 13, 2003 @ 7:00 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing South Street Seaport Museum 212 748 8600 207 Front Street New York, NY [http://www.southstseaport.org/](http://www.southstseaport.org/) 6. Saturday June 14, 2003 @ 11:00am-1:00pm Annual Slocum Memorial Service Open to the Public Post-ceremony book signing at the church Trinity Lutheran Church, Middle Village Queens 63-70 Dry Harbor Road – at the corner of Penelope Ave. 718 335-7300 7. Saturday June 14, 2003 @ 3:00 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing Museum of the City of New York (212) 534-1672 1220 Fifth Avenue @ 103rd St. New York, NY [www.mcny.org](http://www.mcny.org) 8. Sunday June 15, 2003 @ 11:00 am Annual Tompkins Square Park Slocum memorial ceremony at the Slocum memorial fountain (in northern end of the park) Open to the public. 9. Sunday June 15, 2003 @ 1:00 pm Walking Tour of Little Germany neighborhood led by author Edward T. O’Donnell Sponsored by Big Onion Walking Tours and N-YHS Full info at [www.bigonion.com](http://www.bigonion.com) 10. Tuesday June 17, 2003 @ 6:30 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing – FREE NOTE: this event requires a reservation - see below for phone # American Irish Historical Society 991 Fifth Avenue New York, NY (212) 288 2263 x31 11. Wednesday June 18, 2003 @ 6:00 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing – FREE Brooklyn Public Library, main branch at Grand Army Plaza Grand Army Plaza at NE corner of Prospect Park (Eastern Pkwy & Flatbush Ave) 718-780-7700 or [www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org](http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org) 12. Wednesday June 25 @ 6:30 pm Slide Talk and Book Signing Lower East Side Tenement Museum 97 Orchard Street, New York, NY (212) 431 0233 [http://www.tenement.org/](http://www.tenement.org/) 13. Wednesday July 23, 2003 @ 7:30 pm Reading and Book Signing Barnes & Noble - Upper West Side 2289 Broadway, New York, NY (212) 362 8835 Many thanks! EOD Edward T. O’Donnell Dept of History Holy Cross College Worcester, MA 01610 [www.General-Slocum.com](http://www.General-Slocum.com) ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/12 "2003-06-10T01:40:12Z")
In the recent Spider-Man movie, the General at Osborne Industries is named Slocum. Gave me a heck of a start. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/13 "2003-06-10T01:48:59Z")
Ewww–out of her _neck?!_ ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/14 "2003-06-10T02:12:49Z")
Gaw, what a schedule! I’ll be there on Wednesday night. Eve, should we establish a Doper meeting place before or after? Midtown itself a pretty generic library so maybe we could meet about ten minutes before or after next to one of the lions across the street. A tiny Dopefest. I’ve yet to meet another Doper and it would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/15 "2003-06-10T02:14:54Z")
psssst…I’ll bring a CD-ful of pictures of Woodlawn Cemetery! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/16 "2003-06-10T13:42:22Z")
OK, how 'bout we meet at 6:15 by the lefthand lion (lefthand when facing the library)? ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/17 "2003-06-10T14:52:36Z")
Sounds good! I’m a white gal with short straight black hair in a headband. Any other midtown Dopers can come, that would be cool. There was a big article in the City section of the NY Times this Sunday (8th); it didn’t mention the lecture but it did talk about the book. Should be fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/18 "2003-06-10T17:03:32Z")
Any Worcester County Dopers in Massachusetts might be interested to know that Ed O’Donnell will be in-studio at WTAG to discuss his book on Monday, 6/16, at 4:00 on ‘The Jordan Levy Show.’ ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/19 "2003-06-10T17:37:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E-Sabbath \* > \*\*In the recent Spider-Man movie, the General at Osborne Industries is named Slocum. Gave me a heck of a start. \*\* I noticed that too when I saw Spider-Man. Ever since that movie came out, I’ve been finding ways to bring this up in conversation - that a movie which pulled its trailers and posters out of sensitivity to a big NY disaster would put such a blatant reference to NY’s other big disaster right in there . . . not just a coincidence; they bothered to make him a General so that it would work: “General Slocum!” . . . and the character died in a fire! Since the day that movie came out, I’ve been mentioning this to every person I’ve met. Even people who I knew had seen the movie and who I knew were aware of the General Slocum tragedy didn’t catch it. I’ve been searching everywhere for someone else who caught this. Now I’ve found you. A celebration is in order. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579/20 "2003-06-10T19:57:25Z")
Hey, you’ve found me too. I noticed it. Surely it was intentional. But don’t forget, General Slocum was a real guy – not a bad Civil War general IIRC – so it’s not _exactly_ like naming your ski-do the Titanic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ablaze-the-tragedy-of-the-steamboat-general-slocum/179579.md?page=2)