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I was born with a special gift, the ability to mentally transform any situation into the worst

case scenario, in my own brain. My therapist calls my gift catastrophizing, and that's why I'm

uniquely qualified to scrutinize and analyze history's greatest disasters, and find out

who's to blame. They say history repeats itself, not on my watch. My name is Rebecca Delgado-Smith,

and I am, the alarmist.

Hey everyone, thanks for tuning into the alarmist, a comedy podcast where we talk about history's

greatest tragedies, and figure out who's to blame. Today we're discussing the sinking of general

slocom. Here's what you need to know. At the turn of the 20th century, New York City's

Lower East Side was home to many immigrant communities establishing a new life in America.

Nestled around Little Italy and Chinatown was Kleina Deutschland, an enclave of German immigrants

and their businesses, theaters and restaurants. For many, Kleina Deutschland felt like the

old country, and the heart of the community was St. Mark's Lutheran Church. Every year, the

Church held a steamboat excursion and picnic to Locust Point Long Island for their congregation

at the end of the Sunday school session. On June 15, 1904, Reverend George C. F. Haas

chartered the general slocom for the 17th annual celebration. Named after the Civil War

General, Henry Warner Slocom, the paddleboat was built by the Nickerbocker steamboat company

1891, and had been proudly captained by William Van Shaik since its first launch.

That Wednesday morning, a festive band played joyfully as over 1,300 people boarded the

gleaming white, three-decker ship at the third street pier. A majority of the passengers

...