One hundred and six years ago today, June 15th, 1904, the  Paddle Steamer General Slocum caught fire in the East River and burned killing an estimated 1,021 of the 1,342 people on board.  The steamer was carrying members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church to a church picnic.  It was the greatest loss of life in one event in New York City prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum