Brother Jonathan, a paddle steamer, crashes on…

Brother Jonathan, a paddle steamer, crashes on an uncharted rock near Point St. George, off the coast of Crescent City, California, on July 30, 1865.

The ship is carrying two hundred and forty-four passengers and crew with a large shipment of gold.

Only nineteen survive the wreck, making it the deadliest shipwreck up to this time on the Pacific Coast of the United States.

Although accounts vary, inspection of the passenger and crew list support the number of two hundred and forty-four passengers and crew lost with nineteen people surviving.

She had been named after Brother Jonathan, a character personifying the United States before the creation of Uncle Sam.