A fire breaks out in the buildings…
December 1853 CE
The fire quickly spreads to the packet ship Joseph Walker, and to the clippers White Squall, Whirlwind, and Red Rover, with sparks from the fire showering onto the deck of the Great Republic, whose crew is mustered shortly after midnight to unsuccessfully dowse the sails.
The first three ships are destroyed; Red Rover is damaged, and Great Republic burnt to near the waterline and is scuttled at dawn to save her hull at dock.
Bloated by grain that burst her seams, Great Republic will be declared a total loss, and Donald McKay, who was said never to have gotten over the tragic event, will be compensated by insurers.
The sunken hulk will be sold by the insurance underwriters to Captain Nathaniel Palmer, working on behalf of A. A. Low and Bro., who will salvage and rebuild it as a three-deck vessel with reduced masts.
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Northern North America
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