Lot
264 
Steamer Eliza Battle (Alabama River), blue "Beehive" handstamp with negative lettering on 1854 folded letter from Warsaw (Ala.) to Mobile, Ala., franked with 1851 3¢ Dull Red and tied by "Steam 5" in oval, Extremely Fine, Illustrated in Milgram.Milgram No. 401 Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.
AN EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE STRIKE FOR THIS RARE HANDSTAMP OF WHICH THIS IS THE FINEST RECORDED EXAMPLE.
The "Eliza Battle" was a steamboat operating on the Tombigbee River between Columbus, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, during the 1850s. Launched in New Albany, Indiana, in 1852, this side-wheeled paddle steamer was constructed with a wooden hull and was 316 tons.
On March 1, 1858, the "Eliza Battle" was destroyed by fire near Pennington, Alabama, in what became the deadliest maritime disaster in the history of the Tombigbee River. The fire claimed the lives of approximately thirty-three people out of about sixty passengers and a crew of forty-five.
Around 2 a.m. on that fateful morning, about 32 miles downstream from Demopolis and near Beckley's Landing, flames were discovered engulfing cotton bales on the main deck. Fueled by strong winds, the fire quickly spiraled out of control. The passengers, trapped by the flames and unable to access the lifeboats, were forced to leap into the icy river in their nightclothes. Some managed to stay afloat by clinging to cotton bales. Rescued by the Magnolia and local residents, many survivors were retrieved from treetops along the flooded river. Tragically, all the casualties were due to drowning or exposure to the severe cold.
Current Opening Bid: $750