SS Arctic

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For similar USS ships, see USS Arctic

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The side-wheeler SS Arctic sank September 27, 1854, off Cape Race, Newfoundland, after colliding with the 250 ton French iron screw steamer SS Vesta. A sister-ship to the SS Pacific that went into service in 1852, the 3,000-ton SS Arctic was at the time the largest and most splendid of the Collins Line steamships. Casualties included 92 of her 153 officers and men, and all her women and children passengers, including the wife, the only daughter, and the youngest son of Collins Line manager Edward Knight Collins.

There is a large monument in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, dedicated to all who lost their lives.

After the collision, the captain of the Arctic thought it would be safer to leave the site and steam toward land. The captain of the French vessel was upset that the Arctic had left and not helped them. The French vessel started to sink. The captain had to think fast. "Take anything you can and dump it into the water" the captain orderd. The crew done as told. The French vessel then started to float.

When the French vessel reached land, the captain wondered what had happened to the Arctic. He was told that the Arctic did not make it back to land!