However, the New York State Legislature soon passed a law prohibiting steamship racing on the Hudson, and Congress, previously reluctant to regulate steamboats, was forced by the public to push through aggressive new legislation.

All that is known about its specifications is that it was 198 feet long, had a walking beam engine, and a promenade deck running its entire length.

According to Allynne Lange, curator of the Hudson River Maritime Museum, steamboat racing was common between captains.

“[T]he idea was the fastest boat would attract the most passengers.”[3] As the Henry Clay passed Yonkers shortly before 3 p.m., the call of fire on board was heard.

The pilot, Edward Hubbard, an experienced forty-three-year-old seaman, quickly turned the burning ship eastward to travel the mile distance to reach shore.

The disaster gained notoriety in part due to the great number of prestigious passengers – politicians, attorneys, professors, wealthy - aboard.

However, because several of the bodies were discovered in other towns, additional inquests were held in Manhattanville, New York, and Fort Lee and Hoboken, New Jersey.

As the days passed and details of the disaster emerged unrest among citizens and politicians, fueled by newspaper editorials, rose.

The Inquest Panel charged the officers of the Henry Clay and its owner Thomas Collyer with murder.