Editing PS General Slocum (section)

===Beaching on North Brother Island===

Captain Van Schaick decided to continue his course rather than run the ship aground or stop at a nearby landing. By going into headwinds and failing to immediately ground the ship, he fanned the fire and promoted its spread from fore to aft; the investigating commission later faulted Van Schaick for passing up opportunities to beach the vessel in [[Little Hell Gate]] (west of the [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Sunken Meadows]]) or the Bronx Bills (east of the Sunken Meadows), which also would have put the prevailing winds astern, keeping flames from spreading along the length of the ship.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|18}} Van Schaick later argued he was trying to avoid having the fire spread to riverside buildings and oil tanks. Flammable paint also helped the fire spread out of control, driven aft mainly along the port side of the ship; passengers, who were on the upper promenade and hurricane decks, were forced into the aft starboard quarter.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|19}}

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 |mark-title1 =0930: departs 3rd St Recreation Pier
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Ten minutes after the ship was beached, the fire had essentially engulfed the vessel; no more than twenty minutes had elapsed since the first flames came up from the Lamp Room.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|19}} Some passengers jumped into the river to escape the fire, but the heavy women's clothing of the day made swimming almost impossible and dragged them underwater to drown. An estimated 100 to 500 died when the overloaded starboard section of the hurricane deck collapsed, casting those passengers into deep water,<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|24}} and others were battered by the still-turning paddles as they tried to escape into the water or over the sides.<ref name=gentile>{{cite book |last=Gentile |first=Gary |title=Shipwrecks of New Jersey |date=2001 |publisher=G. Gentile Productions |isbn=978-1883056094}}</ref> The commission estimated that 400 to 600 people drowned after the ship was beached, as they jumped off the aft portion of the boat into deep water; those jumping off the bow landed in shallower water.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|18}}

''General Slocum'' remained beached on [[North Brother Island, East River|North Brother Island]] for approximately 90 minutes before breaking free and drifting east for approximately {{cvt|1|mi}}; by the time she sank in shallow water off the [[Bronx]] shore at Hunts Point,<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|25}}&nbsp;<ref name=SpliceToday2019-05-10>{{cite news|url = https://www.splicetoday.com/writing/the-burning-decks |title = The Burning Decks |work = [[Splice Today]] |first = Kevin | last = Walsh |date  = May 10, 2019|access-date = 10 May 2019}}</ref> an estimated 1,021&nbsp;people, including 2 of the 30 crew members, had either burned to death or drowned. There were 431&nbsp;survivors. The actions of two tugboats which arrived a few minutes after the ''Slocum'' was beached were credited with saving between 200 and 350 people.<ref name=USCI-Slocum/>{{rp|24–25}}

The 1904 [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] Report estimated the following figures for casualties of a total of 1,388 persons involved in the disaster:<ref name=USCI-Slocum>{{cite report |url=https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/documents/Slocum.pdf |title=Report of the United States Commission of Investigation upon the Disaster to the Steamer "General Slocum" |date= October 8, 1904 |publisher=Government Printing Office}}</ref>{{rp|23}}

{| class= "wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
! '''Status''' !! '''Passengers''' !! '''Crew'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Total on board || 1,358 || 30
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Adults || 613 || –
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Children || 745 || –
|-
| style="font-size:20%;background:#ddd;" colspan=3 | &nbsp;
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Dead || 955 || 2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Identified dead || 893 || 2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{pad|2em}} Missing & unidentified dead || 62 || 0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Injured || 175 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Uninjured || 228 || 23
|}

The captain lost sight in one eye owing to the fire. Reports indicate that Captain Van Schaick deserted ''General Slocum'' as soon as it settled, jumping into a nearby [[tug]], along with several crew. He was hospitalized at [[Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center|Lebanon Hospital]].

Many acts of heroism were performed by the passengers, witnesses, and emergency personnel. Staff and patients from the hospital on North Brother Island participated in the rescue efforts, forming human chains and pulling victims from the water, and also used ladders that belonged to construction crews working on repairing the hospital building.