Ship sailing to right in image, but now sinking. Boats of people in water surrounding side of ship
The sinking of the steamship Arctic in 1854 stunned people on both sides of the Atlantic, as the loss of 350 lives was staggering for the time. What made the disaster a shocking outrage was that not a single woman or child aboard the ship survived. Lurid tales of panic aboard the sinking ship were widely publicized in newspapers. Members of the crew had seized the lifeboats in order to save themselves, leaving helpless passengers, including 80 women and children, to perish in the icy North Atlantic.
