Women And Children Last: The Infamous Sinking of La Bourgogne

The sinking of the French ocean liner SS La Bourgogne on the morning of 4 July 1898 was one of the most disgraceful of disasters in maritime history due to the cowardly and criminal behavior of the crew. Instead of the heroic sacrifice that has often been the shining moment in such a terrible tragedy, the crew of the steamer “fought like demons for the few lifeboats and rafts”, drawing out their knives and threatening passengers with it. Out went for a toss “Women and children first!”, famously established by the soldiers of the sinking Birkenhead , half a century earlier, and by the crew of the Titanic fourteen years later. Only one woman passenger from La Bourgogne was saved, and all children perished. The Transatlantic steamer La Bourgogne, entering the port of Le Havre, France. Photo: Library of Congress The La Bourgogne was built in 1885 by Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, in La Seyne-sur-Mer, France. She was a sleek-looking ocean liner, nearly five hundred feet in length with four masts and twin funnels. She was made of iron and steel, and was propelled by a single screw propeller giving her a maximum speed of 17 knots. In her short career of 12 years, the La Bourgogne was involved in at least three accidents. In 1896, she rammed an anchored British steamer at the entrance to New York harbor and sank her. She was also involved in a collision with the SS Toreador damaging her stern. On July 3, 1898, the La Bourgogne left New York City for Le Havre on what would be her final voyage. Early morning the next day, about 60 nautical miles south of Sable Island near Nova Scotia, the British sailing ship Cromartyshire rammed into the starboard side of La Bourgogne . Dense fog had reduced visibility to only about 20 yards, and the Cromartyshire was travelling at full speed. Cromartyshire’s damaged bow after the collision. Photo: 17qq.com La Bourgogne began to list immediately to starboard.