Nautical
Birch, Thomas
Painter (after)
Loss of the Packet Ship Albion
Description
Bound for England from New York, the packet ship 'Albion' struck the coast of Kinsale, Ireland on April 22, 1822 during a storm. The vessel crashed into rocks of a perpendicular cliff, and citizens from a nearby neighborhood could do little in their attempt to provide assistance. This was the first disaster by a North Atlantic packet line. 46 lives were lost. Survivors wrote harrowing accounts of their experiences; one of whom was William Everhart, who was pulled to safety after standing for hours at the foot of a rock exposed to the crashing sea. He described the event to the painter Thomas Birch, who painted the scene that was later made into a print.