Correspondence from Gwendolen King Armstrong to Ella Rives King

Dated 30 May 1914

Correspondence from Gwendolen King Armstrong (Mrs. E. M. Armstrong) to her mother Ella Rives King (Mrs. David King). In her letter Gwendolen notes, "How horrible this latest sea tragedy is." This likely refers to the May 29, 1914 collision of the RMS Empress of Ireland with the Norwegian cargo ship SS Storstad after both ships became enveloped by fog shortly before 2 o'clock in the morning. The Empress of Ireland was severely damaged by the collision, the hole it caused causing her lower decks to flood too quickly for the crew to close her watertight doors. She sank less than fifteen minutes after the collision, resulting in the deaths of 1,012 passengers and crew members out of an initial 1,477.

American

paper

ink

5.25" X 6.75"

PSNCA.H.021.7