1865 print: HOUSATONIC RAILROAD DISASTER, Bridgeport Connecticut 30 dead/wounded

Description

vintage wood engraved sheet —
“The Housatonic Railroad Slaughter”
date of publication:
Sept. 2, 1865
source
:
Harper's Weekly
subject / title
:
This is a
Harper's
front page with two engravings of a fatal railway crash, along with an article about the disaster, under the paper's masthead decoration. The engravings are titled:
“HOUSATONIC RAILROAD SLAUGHTER —
House to which the Wounded were Conveyed.”
and,
“COLLISION ON THE HOUSATONIC RAILROAD,
NEAR BRIDGEPORT, CONN., August 14, 1865.”
The 1st engraving is 4x6" in size, and the second is nearly half-page, measuring 6x9 inches. This second scene is very dramatic, presenting a picture of women fleeing and collapsing from a burning rail car, which is marked
“Ladies Car.”
overall size of page
:
11 x 16 inches.
artist
:
both scenes were sketched by J. F. Huge.
condition
:
THIS PIECE IS DAMAGED
. It was torn the whole way across the main image sometime in the past, and tape-repaired on the back. The tear is scarcely noticeable (see photos) unless one is examining the scene closely, but it is still present.
Even with this flaw, the print would still be an attractive and historic display piece.
text
:
Along with the woodcuts is an article on the page, titled
“The Housatonic Railroad Slaughter.”
It is 50 lines of text, saying in part:
“Again we have to record a railroad accident, involving the wholesale slaughter of passengers and caused by the carelessness of the railroad officers.
“On the 14th of August the passenger train left Bridgeport about fifteen minutes after 10 o'clock . . . . An extra freight train had been sent out in the morning. This latter train broke down, and was overtaken by the passenger train about six miles from Bridgeport. The passenger train was backed down slowly. The conductor, H. L. Plumb . . . saw an engine approaching . . . . scarcely got off before the collision. The car struck by the engine was nearly annihilated. It was full, having forty or forty-five passengers on board. The conductor went . . . . in at the front-door of the rear car, but found the heat so intense that he could not remain. The engine had penetrated to about the centre of the car, and the escape of steam was so great as to suffocate and scald many of the unfortunate passengers.
“By this accident five persons were killed outright, and some others died soon after. . . . Over twenty passengers were wounded more or less seriously. The regulations of the road in regard to the use of red flags were not complied with, and hence the accident. Is it not worth while to save half a score of lives by taking the simplest precautions laid down for such case, even if it does require a little painstaking on the part of railroad officials?”
_gsrx_vers_856 (GS 7.0.20 (856))