America's Worst Maritime Disasters: The History of the Deadliest Shipwrecks in American History

There have been countless numbers of shipwrecks over the course of history, but few have had as great an impact as the sinking of the SS Central America in a hurricane in September 1857. The California Gold Rush was in full swing, state of the art steamer ships were used to transport the discovered gold back east, and the Central America was one of them. On its fateful voyage, the ship was carrying nearly 600 passengers and a huge haul of up to 20 tons of gold worth an estimated $2 million ...