Folk Figure. As the captain of a New York-based steamboat, "the General Slocum," Captain Van Schaick was tried and convicted for being responsible for the fire that destroyed the ship and killed more than 1,000 of its passengers, on June 15, 1904. He only served 3½ years in Sing Sing Prison until he was paroled and eventually pardoned by President Taft on December 19, 1912. Although vindicated of all charges, he was chastised for the disaster for the remainder of his life. In 1927, he was interred in an unmarked grave. The grave was marked many years later.
Folk Figure. As the captain of a New York-based steamboat, "the General Slocum," Captain Van Schaick was tried and convicted for being responsible for the fire that destroyed the ship and killed more than 1,000 of its passengers, on June 15, 1904. He only served 3½ years in Sing Sing Prison until he was paroled and eventually pardoned by President Taft on December 19, 1912. Although vindicated of all charges, he was chastised for the disaster for the remainder of his life. In 1927, he was interred in an unmarked grave. The grave was marked many years later.
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