Editing SS Central America (section)

==Sinking==
On September 3, 1857, 477 passengers and 101 crew left the City of Aspinwall, now the [[Panama]]nian port of [[Colón, Panama|Colón]], sailing for [[New York City]] under the command of [[William Lewis Herndon]]. The ship was laden with {{convert|10|ST}} of [[gold]] prospected during the [[California Gold Rush]]. The ship continued north after a stop in [[Havana]].

{{storm path|1857 North Carolina hurricane track.png|caption=Hurricane path}}
On September 9, 1857, the ship was caught up in [[1857 Atlantic hurricane season#Hurricane Two|a Category 2 hurricane]] while off the coast of the [[Carolinas]]. By September 11, the {{convert|105|mph|km/h|round=5|abbr=on}} winds, and heavy seas had shredded her sails, she was taking on water, and her boiler was threatening to fail. A leak in a seal between a paddle wheel shaft and the ship's side sealed its fate. At noon that day, her boiler could no longer maintain fire. Steam pressure dropped, shutting down both the bilge pumps. Also, the paddle wheels that kept her pointed into the wind failed as the ship settled by the stern. The passengers and crew flew the ship's flag inverted (a distress sign in the US) to signal a passing ship. No one came.

[[File:Wreck of the Central America.jpg|thumb|A depiction of the sinking]]
A bucket brigade was formed, and her passengers and crew spent the night fighting a losing battle against the rising water. During the [[Eye (cyclone)|calm]] of the hurricane, attempts were made to get the boiler running again, but these failed. The second half of the storm then struck. The ship was on the verge of foundering. The storm carried the powerless ship, and the strong winds would not abate. The next morning, September 12, two ships were spotted, including the brig ''Marine''. Only 100 passengers, primarily women and children, were transferred in lifeboats. The ship remained in an area of intense winds and heavy seas that pulled her and most of her company away from rescue. ''Central America'' sank at 8:00 that evening, with a loss of 425 lives. A Norwegian bark, ''Ellen'', rescued an additional 50 from the waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~dj114/SS_Central_America.pdf |title=COLUMBUS-AMERICA DISCOVERY GROUP and the SS CENTRAL AMERICA |last= |first= |date= |website=columbia.edu |publisher= |access-date=10 November 2024 |quote=}}</ref> Another three were picked up over a week later in a lifeboat.
[[File:CMDR-Wm Lewis Herndon.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Commander [[William Lewis Herndon]]. U.S.N.]]