Connecticut Disasters True Stories Of Tragedy

Dramatic retellings of twenty true events, including the Moodus earthquake of 1791, the Norwalk train wreck of 1853, the Great Hurricane of 1938, the Great Hartford Circus Fire of 1944, the Mianus Bridge collapse of 1983, and many others.

Ellsworth S. Grant has lived in Connecticut all his life. Born in Wethersfield, he attended Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford and graduated from Harvard College in 1939. After a career in manufacturing, he began writing articles and books on Connecticut history. He is best known for The Colt Armory, Yankee Dreamers & Doers, and The Miracle of Connecticut. His most recent book was A Connecticut Journey.

Acknowledgments

ix

Map

x

Preface

xi

CHAPTER 1 TRAITOROUS FIRE

The Burning of New London (1781)

1

(8)

CHAPTER 2 SHAKES AND MOANS

The Moodus Earthquake (1791)

9

(6)

CHAPTER 3 THE BRITISH ARE COMING!

The Raid on Essex (1814)

15

(6)

CHAPTER 4 SMOKE ON THE WATER

Deadly Steamboats (1833 and 1840)

21

(10)

CHAPTER 5 CURSED LITTLE DITCH

The Ill Fated Farmington Canal (1835)

31

(8)

CHAPTER 6 THE RESCUE OF KIDNAPPED AFRICANS

The Amistad Affair (1839)

39

(10)

CHAPTER 7 BRIDGE OUT!

The Norwalk Train Wreck (1853)

49

(6)

CHAPTER 8 THAT DEMON, STEAM!

The Fales & Gray Explosion (1854)

55

(16)

CHAPTER 9 GUNS BLAZING

The Colt Armory Fire (1864)

71

(8)

CHAPTER 10 AN ICY PLUNGE

The Tariffville Bridge Wreck (1878)

79

(8)

CHAPTER 11 LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW

The Great Blizzard (1888)

87

(8)

CHAPTER 12 THINGS THAT GO BANG! IN THE NIGHT

The Park Central Explosion (1889)

95

(4)

CHAPTER 13 WORSE THAN WORLD WAR I

The Influenza Epidemic (1918 1919)

99

(6)

CHAPTER 14 EVEN COLT GOT SOAKED

The Great Flood (1936)

105

(8)

CHAPTER 15 THE BIGGEST BLOW OF THEM ALL

The Great Hurricane (1938)

113

(10)

CHAPTER 16 A THREE RING HORROR

The Hartford Circus Fire (1944)

123

(10)

CHAPTER 17 THE SNEAKY SUPER STORM

Hurricanes Connie and Diane (1955)

133

(10)

CHAPTER 18 A NEW YEAR'S EVE NIGHTMARE

The Cathedral Fire (1956)

143

(6)

CHAPTER 19 MEDICAL CENTER MALADY

The Hartford Hospital Fire (1961)

149

(6)

CHAPTER 20 THE RESCUE OF A RIVER

Connecticut River Pollution (1965)

155

(10)

CHAPTER 21 HOUSES OF CARDS

Buildings Collapse (1978 and 1987)

165

(10)

CHAPTER 22 DRIVE SAFELY

Highway Tragedies (1983 and 2005)

175

(12)

Bibliography

187

(7)

About the Author

194

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Connecticut Disasters True Stories Of Tragedy And Survival

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials