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Bricks Of The Wreck
All the brick recovered from this site have been, reportedly recovered from the boiler area. It also appears that all the brick are fire brick and all appear to be manufactured by companies based in the St Louis Missouri area. Very few brick appear to be virtually new or in tact with nice clean edges. Most appear to be worn or used and have rounded edges and corners. One recovered brick appears to have metal imbedded in it as if to say it was placed against a part of the furnace that was metal. Black soot or a soot/burnt smell has been reported during the cleaning process of the bricks. While diving the site it is observed that most of the brick are in tact except in an area to the starboard and stern of the boiler area. This area appears to contain a higher concentration of shattered brick or brick chips. Unfortunately, know one has reported recovering any brick with dates on them. Assistance identifying, dating or answering the Questions listed below about any of these brick would be greatly appreciated. Statistics:
Brick Length
------------ 8.5 Inches Pictures:
Synopsis: The brick all appear to be fire brick and they appear to be used or worn. The brick are all found very near or under the boilers. This in conjunction with the reports and appearance of soot imbedded in the brick supports the assumption that the bricks were part of the ships furnace. The bricks themselves all appear to be from St Louis Missouri area manufactures including Laclede, Christy, Missouri Brick Company. and the Evens & Howard Brick Company. This would lead one to believe the ship was manufactured in that area or at least somewhere in the mid west as opposed to the northeast. However, the fire brick in those furnaces were sacrificial material and therefore were replaced on a regular bases. So it could be the the ship was only repaired in that area or that replacement brick were purchased from that area. To date, we have been unable to narrow down a date of manufacturer based on the bricks markings. It would be of great assistance if one could determine when some of these manufactures came into existence or when they may have changed their stamp design. Type Of Ship: Used fire brick support the idea that this ship had a furnace that was typically used in steam powered stern paddlewheel of that era. Cargo: The fact that all the brick are found below or under the boilers and that most appear to be used or worn supports the assumption that these brick were not part of the cargo as it has been suggested. Sinking Date: Nothing in this area has helped to determine the sinking date. The makings on the brick leads us to believe that the ships furnace may have been repaired as late as the early 1900s. The fire brick in those types of furnaces were sacrificial and needed replacement from time to time. If we could determine when a manufacturer went into business or started using a particular stamp design, we could, then, determine an earliest sinking date. Cause Of Sinking: Nothing about these brick has helped to determine the cause of sinking. The apparent high concentration of shattered brick to the starboard and stern of the boils may provide us a hint that a the ship suffered a possible boiler blow out which resulted from or in the ships demise. How It Sank: The fact that all the brick are found below or under the boilers and that no brick have been found on top or between the boilers supports the assumption that this area of the wreck is on the bottom in a upright orientation. We cannot come up with a upside-down scenario that results in the boilers being on top of the furnace's fire brick. We feel it would be highly unlikely to not find brick on top or between the boilers if the furnace were to have collapsed on top of the boilers. Even what we believe to be the furnace doors appear on top of the brick. 1. Can we determine if any of these brick were NOT of a fire brick type? 2. Can we determine the startup date of any of the manufactures of the bricks found? 3. Can we determine the date at which a manufacture of these bricks started using the stamp seen on the bricks? |
