Ship wreck along coast. People still on deck awaiting turn to slide on safety rope off ship to shore. Duplicate of title (2004.D03.212 FAC #6787)
The wreck of the ocean steamer Atlantic is remembered as one of the most disastrous shipwrecks that ever occurred on the North American coast. The ship sank after colliding with rocks about 50 yards from Meagher’s Island, Nova Scotia, on April 1, 1873. The vessel and nearly all the cargo were a loss and 545 people of the 957 on board were swept into the sea. The vessel struck the rocks just after three o’clock on the morning. Several hundred passengers and the crew reached the deck, but were washed away by the rough seas. According to reports it was impossible to lower the lifeboats and help did not reach the ship quickly, resulting in the many lost lives. The Atlantic was part of the White Star Line that ran between Liverpool and New York, and was known as one of the finest ocean steamers that ever sailed from the United Kingdom.
