On September 27, 1854, while on passage to New York from Liverpool, the Arctic collided in fog with the French steamer SS Vesta, a ship with little to no background, off the coast of Newfoundland, and sank four hours later.

The Arctic's lifeboat capacity was around 180, enough for fewer than half those on board; the boats were launched in an atmosphere of panic and disorder, and the principle of "women and children first" was ignored.

[2] Thus, in 1845, the United States Postmaster General asked shipowners to tender for the right to operate a subsidized passenger and mail service between the U.S. and Europe.

[3] The William H. Brown and the Jacob Bell shipyards were each contracted to build two large wooden paddle steamers, for use by Collins in a regular twice-monthly transatlantic mail service.

[4] Part of the government's interest in the project lay in the potential of these ships for use in times of war; they were constructed in a manner that facilitated rapid conversion to warships should the need arise.

[9] Like her sister ships, Arctic was built to a luxurious standard; a contemporary description refers to her furnishings and fittings as giving "an air of almost Oriental magnificence."

"[12] The New York Herald's reporter described the crowd's reaction as the ship slid into the water: "Men waved their hats, ladies their handkerchiefs, in admiration of the glad event ... the thousands who witnessed her launch [stood] for nearly half an hour, contemplating the splendid vessel.

[14] The powerful engines fitted to Arctic and her sisters strained their wooden hulls, and the line incurred large expenses in maintaining the vessels.

[7] On September 27, 1854, while en route to New York from Liverpool, Arctic collided with Vesta, a much smaller fishing vessel, 50 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

Captain Luce's first thought was to give assistance to the stricken Vesta, which appeared in danger of sinking, but when he was told that his own ship was holed beneath the waterline, he decided to make for the nearest land.

[21] Two of the six lifeboats that left Arctic safely reached the Newfoundland shore,[22] and another was picked by a passing steamer which also rescued a few survivors from improvised rafts.

[24][25] Also lost were Frederick Catherwood, the English architect and painter whose name was mysteriously left off the official casualty lists for weeks until a concerted effort by his friends and colleagues resulted in a belated inclusion by the authorities and newspapers, and Mahlon Day, a prominent New York publisher of children's books and business publications, with his wife and daughter.

[27] As the full story emerged, initial public sorrow at the ship's loss quickly turned to condemnation of the perceived cowardice of the crew, and their failure of duty towards their passengers.