AH-WR-0903

Isaac Newton

Sidewheel Passenger Steamboat · United States · Lost Early December 1863; sources differ between December 3 and December 5 as the date of the boiler explosion and fire. · Hudson River

A celebrated three-deck Hudson River night boat exploded a boiler and burned near Fort Lee on a run from New York to Albany.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Isaac Newton was built in 1846 for the People's Line and became one of the most lavishly furnished steamboats on the Hudson, later rebuilt with a third tier of staterooms. On a night run from New York toward Albany in early December 1863, one of her boilers exploded and fire quickly spread through the wooden hull. Passing vessels rescued most aboard, but about a dozen crew and passengers died from the blast, burns, and scalding. The wreck was a total loss.

Vessel

Built: 1846
Builder: William H. Brown
Yard: New York City, New York
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, walking-beam engine, sidewheel
Owners: People's Line (Hudson River Steamboat Association)

Loss

Date: Early December 1863; sources differ between December 3 and December 5 as the date of the boiler explosion and fire.
Cause: Fire
Location: Hudson River near Fort Lee, New Jersey
Water: Hudson River
Voyage: New York, New York → Albany, New York
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 100
Lives lost: 12
Master: Not established