Description
Disaster On The Potomac – The Last Run of the Steamboat Wawaset. By: Alvin F. Oickle. On August 8, 1873, the passengers of the steamboat Wawaset set out for a pleasant cruise from Washington, DC down the Potomac River. As the Wawaset came into sight of a small Virginia landing, fire broke out below decks and frantic passengers leapt from the flames only to be pulled down by the swift waters. Author Alvin F. Oickle puts a human face to the tragedy as he profiles some of the seventy-five who perished. With a fast-paced style and firsthand accounts, Oickle masterfully narrates the last run of the Wawaset against the backdrop of a tense post-Civil War society. Pgs. 128. Softbound. Over 40 B&W images. Book measures approximately 6 inches wide X 9 inches high.
