Tragedy At Sea March 31, 1865

Many of my Orrell and Banks families were living in Fayetteville, North Carolina during the Civil War. As General Sherman approached Fayetteville, North Carolina on 12 March 1865 on his March To The Sea, my great grand uncle Charles Banks decided to send his wife Martha, a northerner, back to Massachusetts to stay with her family until the fighting around Fayetteville was over. Also with Martha was her daughter Carrie and Charles' young sister Mary Jane Banks, who was just 14 years of age. Martha, because of her northern roots, was able to obtain a pass as a refugee to return to Massachusetts. Martha wasn't able to book passage until Wednesday, 29 March 1865 aboard the United States Troop Transport General Lyon which was headed for Fortress Monroe, Virginia then on to New York. The General Lyon, a screw steamer, was carrying a load of cotton, several hundred Union soldiers that had been discharged or paroled and over a hundred refugees. Among the refugees were 30 women and 25 small children, including Martha, Carrie and Mary Banks.

The steamer stopped at Smithfield, North Carolina on Thursday 30 March 1865 for the night. Smithfield is the last port before entering the ocean from the Cape Fear River. The weather was calm and beautiful when the steamer left port on Friday morning, 31 March 1865 but after two days ran into strong, almost hurricane force winds and mountainous seas as they approached Cape Hatteras. Crewmen closed the hatches to prevent flooding. With the steamer pitching in the rough seas, a lantern was knocked over into a barrel of kerosene, immediately engulfing the steamer in flames. Terrified crewmen and passengers rushed on deck only to driven back by the flames or washed overboard into the black seas. As the crewmen fought the blaze, those below were forgotten and many apparently suffocated because of the closed hatches. Several attempts were made to launch lifeboats but were not successful. The steamer's captain was killed when he tried to launch one lifeboat into the rough seas. The steamer was drifting towards the rough breakers of Cape Hatteras when the United States Troop Transport General Sedgwick came upon the General Lyon but was not able to approach because of the rough seas. The steamer burned to the waterline. Over five hundred lives were lost that day including Charles Banks' wife Martha, daughter Carrie and Charles' young sister Mary Jane. Only 29 persons were saved by the General Sedgwick.

Ironically, the Civil War would end just a few days later on 9 April 1865. The disaster was never investigated and received little print in the newspapers. The war was over and it seemed no one cared to read about the tragedy. Several newspapers carried stories of the tragedy. I could not find a photo of the General Lyon - not too many cameras around in 1865! I did find a photo of a sister ship.



NOTE: Even though her house was spared, my great great grandmother’s barn full of cotton was burned in this raid so General Sherman and his troops were not too popular in my family!

Here’s the New York Times headlines.

The New York Times, April 3, 1865

DREADFUL FIRE AT SEA - FIVE HUNDRED LIVES LOST
The U.S. Transport Steamer General Lyon Burned Off Cape Hatteras.
Invalid Troops, Refugees, and Women and Children on Board.