The SS Eastland Disaster — Chicago, 1915

On the morning of July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland was moored in the Chicago River, preparing to carry passengers to a company picnic across Lake Michigan. It never got underway. As passengers boarded, the ship began to list, then rolled onto its side while still tied to the dock, in water barely twenty feet deep.

The disaster killed 844 people. Most victims were workers at the Western Electric Company's Hawthorne Works, many of them young, many of them immigrants, dressed for a day off.

My guest for this episode is Paul Durica from the Chicago History Museum.

This is a replay of Episode 10 of Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs from December 13, 2022.

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In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, one of the most powerful warships ever built, sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in a matter of minutes at the Battle of the Denmark Strait. What followed was one of the largest hunts in naval history. After three days of desperate pursuit across the North Atlantic, a crippling torpedo strike from a lone Swordfish biplane, and a final, brutal showdown that sent the pride of the German fleet to the bottom of the ocean. This episode traces the full story of the Bismarck's fateful voyage, from the loss of the Hood to the ship's last stand against the Royal Navy, in one of World War II's most dramatic naval battles.

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The Sinking and Discovery of the USCGC Tampa

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In the summer of 1813, American and British forces raced to build fleets on the shores of Lake Erie, each side betting that naval control would decide the fate of the western frontier. On September 10th, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry sailed his squadron out to meet the British fleet under Robert Barclay. Early in the battle, Perry's flagship Lawrence was battered into a wreck, forcing him to row through open water under fire to reach the Niagara and continue the fight. Turning the tables, Perry drove his second ship straight into the British line, breaking their formation and forcing a full surrender within hours. The victory gave the U.S. total command of Lake Erie, cut off British supply lines, and paved the way for General William Henry Harrison's recapture of Detroit and the Battle of the Thames. Perry's now famous "Don't Give Up The Ship" battle flag resides at the US Naval Academy as one of its most treasured artifacts.

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In this episode, Rich speaks with author Julie Gerstenblatt, author of Daughters of Nantucket, which won the New England Society Book Award for Fiction, to discuss her new historical novel, The Stargazer of Nantucket.

Set in 1851, the novel follows Winifred Starbuck, an eighteen-year-old who stows away on her parents' final merchant voyage from Nantucket Island to San Francisco and across the Pacific to the ports of China, only to uncover a long-buried secret that reveals the truth behind her parents' desperate fear. Gerstenblatt and Rich dig into the real maritime history behind the fiction, including the novel's connection to the record-setting maiden voyage of the clipper ship Flying Cloud, the golden age of sail, the dangers of 19th-century trade voyages, and what it took to bring this seafaring world to life on the page.

To purchase Stargazer of Nantucket, please visit https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=Julie+Gerstenblatt

For more information about Julie Gerstenblatt please visit https://www.juliegerstenblatt.com/.

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The Terror and the Franklin Expedition

Rich recently appeared as a guest on Based on a True Story Podcast with Dan Lefebvre to discuss fact versus fiction in AMC's The Terror, Season 1. This series is a sci-fi/horror adaptation of the novel by Dan Simmons called The Terror portraying the 1845 Franklin Expedition as they search for a passage through the Canadian Arctic on HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

Based on a True Story Podcast compares historical accuracy versus what was portrayed on screen, and delves into some of the biggest films and television shows of all time. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube.

For more information about Based on a True Story Podcast, please visit BasedonaTrueStoryPodcast.com.

All episodes, notes, and transcripts can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com.

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The Herald of Free Enterprise: How a Routine Ferry Crossing Became One of Britain's Deadliest Peacetime Disasters | Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs

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The Wreck of the Whaleship Mentor (1832) | Shipwreck, Captivity & Survival in Palau | Interview with Eric Jay Dolin

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This episode was written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. Original theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sean Sigfried⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is a maritime history podcast about shipwrecks, tragic loss, and incredible accomplishments on the world's oceans and waterways.

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In 1913, the fully-rigged British vessel Glenesslin strangely sailed straight into the rocks on the coast of Oregon, despite relatively calm weather. Locals reported the captain and crew were drunk, and rumors of insurance fraud swirled. Many questions still remain about why this beautiful ship was wrecked on the rocks.
All episodes and transcripts can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com.
For ad-free listening, access to exclusive bonus episodes, and free perks, please subscribe to the Officer's Club!

This episode was written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. Original theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sean Sigfried⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

**No AI was used during the production of this episode.**

Please leave a rating and review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podchaser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs tee shirts, hats, and other items are available at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is a maritime history podcast about shipwrecks, tragic loss, and incredible accomplishments on the world's oceans and waterways.

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In April 1942, sixteen American B-25 bombers lifted off from the deck of USS Hornet and struck the Japanese home islands in a raid that stunned the Empire of Japan. But for the Chinese people of Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, the Doolittle Raid triggered a catastrophe. In this episode of Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs, host Rich Napolitano examines the brutal Japanese military campaign that followed during a campaign of deliberate terror against civilian populations who had aided the American airmen. What unfolded was one of the most horrifying chapters of World War II in the Pacific: a systematic campaign of slaughter, rape, and the deliberate weaponization of disease against an unarmed population.

At the center of that horror was Unit 731, the Imperial Japanese Army's covert biological and chemical warfare research program. Operating under the cover of a public health unit, Unit 731 conducted lethal human experimentation on prisoners of war and civilians, developing plague, cholera, and typhoid as battlefield weapons. These weapons were deployed against Chinese towns and villages during the reprisal campaign.

Guest Jenny Chan of Pacific Atrocities education examines the documented record of these atrocities, the scale of the death toll, and the deeply troubling postwar decision by American authorities to grant Unit 731 scientists immunity from prosecution in exchange for their research data.

For ad-free listening, access to exclusive bonus episodes, and free perks, please subscribe to the Officer's Club!

This episode was written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. Original theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sean Sigfried⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

**No AI was used during the production of this episode.**

Please leave a rating and review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Podchaser⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs tee shirts, hats, and other items are available at ⁠⁠⁠⁠shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is a maritime history podcast about shipwrecks, tragic loss, and incredible accomplishments on the world's oceans and waterways.

Follow Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs

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