January 13: Cortland Hempstead


Click image to expand

January 13

The Steamboat “Lexington” burns in Long Island Sound on January 13, 1840; 139 of the 143 people on board die. Cortland Hempstead, the ship’s chief engineer who died in the disaster, now lies beneath a gravestone decorated with a carving of the ship on fire.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.