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N 0 R p 0 . Vol: No~ 119 Issue No. 45 . . MAY 6,.1'994 . 5 ·~ 1hls lltftograph of the wreck of the Steamship Lexington was fash,oned by Nathaniel Currier and helped make the disaster at sea off the coast of Eaton's Neck on a cold January nJght In 1840. It also helped launch his career In art, as a partner In the firm Currier & lves. (photo courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiqult~es. Wreck Of The Steamship Lexington Off Eaton's Neck, A Great Disaster Rocked The Nation In The Year 1840 By George Wallace It has always been a danger to boats traversing Long Island waters. The waters off Eaton's Neck, principally because of its great reef of rocks, has proved a hazard to ships since European settlers .first started sailing back and forth along the north shore. So much of a hazard that when the U.S. government began establishing light- houses around Long Island, Eaton's Neck was to re- ceive its \saving light\ as early as 1799. But what the ingenious industrial hand of the human species can do, it can quickly undo as well. With every advance in technology we seem to \push the enve- lope\ of safety to the point that unfortunate tragedies · loom over our history: So it is with the maritime heritage of Long Island. Over the,centuries, there have bee~ numerous shipwrecks off our snores. Ahd though the misfortunes of the sea have spareq no era completely, wnat was arguably 'the great- est disaster of them alf' todk place over 150 years ago within sight of tbe people of Northport, Long Island. That disaster? It was the burning of the Steamship Lex- ington, two miles off Eaton~s Neck, on January 20, 1840. The disaster was to take over a hundred and fifty lives, and become one of the most well-known and longest re- membered shipwrecks of its day. Too much confidence in the capabilities of a great vessel, overloading of flammable cargo, and a lack of safety equipment proved to be the principal reason for the downfall of the steamship Lexington. The capability of shipside rescue procedures and onshore rescue op- erations, which proved insufficient to handle the mag- nitude of the disaster that struck off our shores on that icy evening in 1840, were called into question in the weeks subsequent to the wreck. \Few shipwrecks in Long Island waters have ap- proached in tragic horror that of the steamer Lexington,\ wrote H.P. Horton in Long Island Forum magazine in 1950. \Many of our old citizens well remember the terrible night,\ related a Northport correspondent in the \Monthly Messenger\ newspaper in 1877. In 1840, local accounts of the disaster dominated the headlines for weeks, and inspired numerous writ- ers to wax poetic. Across the entire nation, the news of that winter night of terror was reported . .And one young lithographer in New York City created a print of the dis- aster that was to sell nationwide in huge numbers and establish his company as a household name in popu· Jar printmaking. His name? Nathaniel Currier, later to be immortalized as partner in the firm Currier & lves. A Great Ship, A Great Disaster The Lexington was a side-wheeler paddle boat, 200- plus feet long ar1d known as the fastest vessel afloat of its time. It was commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, • founder of the Vanderbilt dynasty and the man they called \King Of The Sound\ because of the number of ships he had sailing through its waters. The Lexington was only five years old when she sank to the bottom of the Long Island Sound, and had been a regular sight on the passage from New York City to New England ports up t<l that point. With speeds of up to 14 knots - it was constructed, both bow and stern, in an arched fashi<ln for speed - it was used by Vanderbilt and partners not only for pas- senger travel. but for transport of cargo as well. On its last voyage, it carried l54 crew and passen- gers, a full load of bales of cotton, and a considerable reputation. Historians recount that while most other ves- sels stayed at harbor on that fateful day, the Lexington set out fearlessly on its journey through the cold Long Island waters. It was to be the steamboat's last trip. The Lexington departed New York City at about 3 p.m. on an icy January 13. By 7 p.rn .. the vessel had reached the waters off Eaton's Neck. At that point most of the passengers, we are told, were below in the din- ing room being entertained by two actors from Boston. \As floating ice barred her progress through the Sound, the boiler was being. pushed to the utmost to obtain the maximum of steam,\ writes H.P. Horton. ''It was later reasoned an overheated smoke stack ignited the vessel's woodwork, and before being discovered the flames had spread to a deckload of baled cotton.\ According to ·an account held in the files of the Northport Historical Society, cries of ''fire\ rang out in the dining room, and confusion reigned as pas- (Cc:>ntinued on page 15)
