Ask anyone about the most horrific ocean disaster and they will probably refer to the Titanic. The RMS Titanic was an unsinkable luxury ship. But this would come to a test during the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. After striking an iceberg, the Titanic began to sink. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew, over 1,500 people went down with the ship. 
The Titanic’s sinking has been retold hundreds of times in books, movies, articles and documentaries. But there was another horrific shipwreck that occurred over seven decades before the Titanic. On March 13, 1841, the William Brown left Liverpool to Philadelphia. The large cargo ship carried 65 passengers and 17 crew members. Most of the Irish and Scottish passengers had prepared for a new life in America. Unfortunately, many of them would never live long enough to get their piece of the American dream.
After being out to sea for about a month, the William Brown had struck an iceberg near Newfoundland at 10 p.m. The ship immediately began taking in water. George Harris, the ship’s captain, knew they only had minutes to abandon ship. According to many disaster movies, there is a saying about the captain going down with the ship. Apparently, Harris wanted to make sure he saved himself. The ship only had two lifeboats. There was a large one and a smaller one. Captain Harris and several of his crew members climbed into the smaller lifeboat while 34 of the passengers filled the larger lifeboat. Unfortunately, this left 31 passengers stranded on the ship.
The passengers left on the William Brown begged for a seat aboard one of the lifeboats. The ship’s first mate, Francis Rhodes, replied, “Poor souls, you’re only going down a short time before we do.” Within an hour, the William Brown sank to the bottom of the ocean with 31 of its 65 passengers.
Captain Harris continued to only worry about himself. Harris and his crewman abandoned the other lifeboat. Before leaving, Harris told the survivors on the other boat to obey First Mate Rhodes. Shortly after Harris had left, Rhodes faced another problem. Not only did they not have any food or water, the lifeboat had a leak and began taking in water.
And to make matters even worse, it rained. Water now began pouring in from the rain and through the boat’s leak. Passengers had no choice but to bail water out. But the boat was too heavy. It was suggested to First Mate Rhodes that the only way to keep the boat from sinking was to reduce weight on the lifeboat. This meant some people would need to be thrown overboard to save the boat. At first, Rhodes refused. But after realizing he needed to take immediate action, he ordered people to be thrown overboard. Fourteen men and two women were cast into the sea. Afterward, a sailor named Alexander Holmes said no one else would be tossed overboard. He said any remaining survivors would just all perish together. Eventually, a ship called the Crescent located the stranded lifeboat and pulled the survivors aboard. Captain Harris and his group were also rescued.
Once the survivors reached port in Philadelphia, they filed a complaint with the District Attorney. The only person charged was sailor Alexander Holmes. He was prosecuted and found guilty of murder. After serving six months in jail, President John Tyler pardoned Holmes, who returned to sea duty after leaving prison. Authorities didn’t punish anyone else for the sinking of the William Brown. Apparently, whoever launched the Titanic learned nothing from this incident. There were some similarities. Both ships hit icebergs, and neither ship had enough lifeboats. The story of the William Brown is an example of how people react during trying times. Sometimes important sacrifices become necessary.
Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and an avid reader. Contact him through his website at www.themarcabe.com or through Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. Marc also has a podcast called Catch my Killer where he interviews family members seeking justice for their murdered loved ones. You can listen at www.catchmykiller.com.