The Eliza Battle’s final resting place lies in the Tombigbee River near the tiny town of Pennington, Alabama. According to Rufus Ward in his book The Tombigbee River Steamboats: Rollodores, Deadheads and Side-Wheelers before the event that would lead to her demise she had been involved in numerous accidents and near misses, including fires and running aground. It would seem the tragedy of 1858 was destiny for the doomed steamer.
The Eliza Battle was built in 1852 in Indiana but would see most of her use carrying cargo between Mobile, Alabama and Columbus, Mississippi. Described by one observer, Charles Mackey, as “an elegant steamer, a floating palace.” She would even host a former President. According to an article in the New York Times, in 1854 Millard Fillmore was entertained on The Eliza Battle, parked in Mobile Bay by the Committee of Invitation.
According to an article in The Daily Chronicle and Sentinel from March 9, 1858, the tragedy took place four years after Millard Fillmore’s reception in the early morning hours of March 1, 1858. She was being captained by S. G. Stone and carrying 50 to 60 passengers aboard along with 1200 to 1300 bales of cotton which were being carried from Columbus to Mobile. In his book, Ward notes that around 1:00 AM The Eliza Battle passed another steamer, when smokestack sparks from The Warrior, landed among the cotton bales on The Eliza Battle. The fire spread with the help of a strong north wind and around 2:00 AM passengers were notified of the fire. The ensuing chaos of the night and the freezing, flooded river would claim the souls of at least thirty-three.
Pilot Daniel Epps tried to reach the shore at the outbreak of the fire, but the Tombigbee, having flooded to the bank, provided no place to land. With no other option he drove the steamer into the trees, which would be the salvation of some, as passengers in their nightclothes clung to them for safety. Cutting winds and a hailstorm made the night bitterly cold and many passengers had to make the choice between the flames of the ship and the frigid waters of the Tombigbee River.
Survivor Charles McCay said “. . . precious human lives ebbing away upon its dreary banks, where the only sounds audible except their own prayers and lamentations, and the wailing cry of a young child dying in its mother’s arms. After a couple of hours, one little baby, frozen to death, dropped from the hands of its young mother, too benumbed to hold it, and, falling into the swamp below, was lost from sight.” According to many, this is the worst maritime accident on the Tombigbee River.
Eventually a rescue steamer, The Magnolia, would come 36 hours later to collect the survivors and the dead to recommence their journey to Mobile. From there, the story of the fated ship and her passengers would be picked up by newspapers worldwide. According to Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey by Alabama author, Kathryn Windham Tucker, on certain dark, lonely nights, you can still see The Eliza Battle at night passing by consumed in ghostly flames. The Eliza Battle will go down in history, legend, and lore as Alabama’s very own ghostship.
Photo Caption: The T.J. Potter, a side-wheeler steamboat, is similar in design to the Eliza Battle.
Additional Information
- Ward, Rufus. The Tombigbee River Steamboats: Rollodores, Dead Heads and Side-Wheelers (pp. 83-84). The History Press. Kindle Edition.
- https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1854/04/14/76436322.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&i p=0
- https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82015215/1858-03-09/ed-/seq1/
About the author
Robin Raines is a senior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham majoring in General Studies. In her free time she likes going to the beach, fishing, hiking, playing music and reading a good history book.
