Sinking
On what was supposed to be one of her last runs to New York, Oregon sailed from Liverpool on 6 March 1886 with 852 people on board, 647 passengers (186 First Class, 66 Second Class and 395 Steerage) and a crew of 205, along with 1,835 tons of cargo and 598 bags of mail, under the command of Captain Phillip Cottier. At about 04:30am on 14 March – only a few hours from her scheduled arrival in New York City (about 15 miles to the west) – she collided with an unidentified schooner, most likely Charles H. Morse, which disappeared in those waters about the same time. The schooner evidently sank almost immediately upon impact with all hands.[7][8]
The hole in Oregon's side was described by one passenger as big enough for a horse and carriage. While the chief officer, who had been on duty on the bridge at the time of the collision and had scantly seen the lights of the schooner before she plowed into the liner's side, described the collision as being merely 'a glancing blow', several passengers who had been quartered in cabins close to the point of collision described it as being a terrible crash. An unsuccessful attempt was made by the crew to plug the hole with canvas. Two hours after the collision, the captain ordered Oregon to be abandoned, but the ten lifeboats and three emergency rafts aboard Oregon only had room for half of the 852 people on board.
A woman named Mrs W.H. Hurst, who had been travelling in First Class along with her husband, was one of several passengers who later claimed that during the evacuation, a group of stokers and trimmers from the boiler rooms had tried to push ahead of the women and children to get into the lifeboats, and noted to have seen the first boat launched to be completely filled with them. She then noted that the officers in charge of the evacuation and several male passengers managed to regain order on the boat deck over these men.[8] During the evacuation, the first-class cricketer Charles Waller fell overboard and drowned.[9]
Finally, at 8:30 AM, the pilot boat Phantom and the schooner Fannie A. Gorham responded to Oregon's emergency flares and boarded all passengers and crew. At 10:30 AM, SS Fulda of Norddeutscher Lloyd also arrived, and the passengers and crew were transferred again.[10] Eight hours after the collision, Oregon sank bow first in 125 feet of water. Her mast tops remained above water for several tides.[7][8]
Cunard sent divers to the wreck to determine if Oregon could be salvaged. However, the hull broke open when the ship hit the bottom. The loss amounted to $3,166,000 including $1.25 million for the ship, $700,000 for her cargo, $216,000 in passenger baggage, and $1 million for currency and other valuables carried in the mails. Oregon's purser managed to save a large shipment of diamonds in the ship's safe.[7]
Over the years, the ship's hull and iron decks have collapsed. However, the engine still stands 40 ft above the ocean floor near the ship's nine boilers.[3]
