Atlantic's Last Stop

Courage, Folly, and Lies in the White Star Line's Worst Disaster Before Titanic

Bob Chaulk

• Publisher: Nimbus
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781774710104
• eBook ISBN:
  9781774710111
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

In the pre-dawn hours of April 1, 1873—as the lookouts looked, the steersman steered, and the captain slept—something was happening to the SS Atlantic. The tide had quietly carried the White Star Line ocean liner twelve miles off course, and land was closer than anybody realized—or was willing to believe. The wreck of the SS Atlantic would become the worst transatlantic passenger ship disaster before Titanic, and although it happened almost 150 years ago, there are still many unanswered questions. That is changing. Ten years after co-authoring the most celebrated book to date on Nova Scotia's worst shipwreck, author Bob Chaulk has uncovered never-reported information that answers the question historians have been grappling with for over a century: why a state-of-the-art steamship, with all equipment in perfect working order, in good weather, and commanded by officers of the world's leading seafaring nation, ended up striking rock outside Halifax and sinking, resulting in some 550 deaths. Over a five-year period, Chaulk tracked down many descendants of those on the scene and aboard the ship, patiently piecing their stories together to reveal a shocking conclusion. This richly illustrated work, featuring maps and colour photos, includes many firsthand accounts from passengers, crew, officers, and local rescue people.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Chapter 1: The Ismays
• Chapter 2: A First-Class Vessel
• Chapter 3: The Leaving of Liverpool
• Chapter 4: The Captain’s Cocoa
• Chapter 5: Angels in the Night
• Chapter 6: So Near and Yet So Far
• Chapter 7: I Was a Stranger and You Took Me In
• Chapter 8: The Kindness of Strangers
• Chapter 9: The Long Watch
• Chapter 10: The Last Survivor
• Chapter 11: Stop the Presses!
• Chapter 12: The Hill of Death
• Chapter 13: Farewell to Nova Scotia, Your Sea-Bound Coast
• Chapter 14: Lead Us Not into Temptation
• Chapter 15: Dust to Dust
• Chapter 16: The Five Hundred–Pound Promise
• Chapter 17: The Lawsuit
• Chapter 18: Medals, Money, and Watches
• Chapter 19: Cargo and Artifacts
• Chapter 20: The Halifax Inquiry
• Chapter 21: Coal
• Chapter 22: The Final Verdict
• Chapter 23: The Hero of Our Song
• Chapter 24: Driving the Atlantic
• Chapter 25: The Elusive Light
• Chapter 26: The Ancient Story
• Chapter 27: Myths, Lies, and Other Untruths
• Chapter 28: Diving the Atlantic
• Chapter 29: Memories
• Epilogue
• Appendix A: The People: Background and Follow-up
• Appendix B: Canadian Men Mentioned in the Records
• Appendix C: Details About the Ship
• Appendix D: Passengers
• Appendix E: Ship’s Company
• Appendix F: Vessels Involved in the Final Voyage of SS Atlantic
• Appendix G: Principal British-Registered Passenger Steamship Companies
• Appendix H: A Note About Sources
• Endnotes
• Photo Add
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables