View source for SS La Bourgogne

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{{Short description|French transatlantic liner that sank in 1898}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= La Bourgogne, ca. 1895.jpg
|Ship caption= [[Photochrom]] postcard of ''La Bourgogne''<br>entering Le Havre
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header= 
|Ship country= France
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|France}}
|Ship name= ''La Bourgogne''
|Ship namesake= [[Burgundy]]
|Ship owner= [[Compagnie Générale Transatlantique|Cie Gle Transatlantique]]
|Ship operator= 
|Ship registry= [[Port of Le Havre|Le Havre]]
|Ship route= Le Havre – [[Port of New York and New Jersey|New York]]
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship builder= [[Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée|F&C de la Méditerranée]], [[La Seyne-sur-Mer|La Seyne]]
|Ship original cost= [[French franc|FF]] 7,300,000
|Ship yard number= 
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship launched= 8 October 1885
|Ship completed= May 1886
|Ship maiden voyage= 19 June 1886
|Ship refit= 1897
|Ship identification= *[[Code letters]] HNLM
*{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Mike}}
|Ship fate= Sunk by collision, 1898
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header= 
|Header caption= 
|Ship type= [[Ocean liner]]
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|7395}}, {{NRT|2907}}
|Ship length= *{{cvt|508|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|overall]]
*{{cvt|494.4|ft|abbr=on}} registered
|Ship beam= {{cvt|52.2|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught= 
|Ship depth= {{cvt|34.8|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks= 3
|Ship power= *'''1886:''' 1,308 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
*'''1897:''' 1,048 NHP
|Ship propulsion= *1 × [[Propeller|screw]]
*'''1886:''' 2 × [[Marine steam engine#Compound|compound engines]]
*'''1897:''' 2 × [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|quadruple-expansion engines]]
|Ship sail plan= *'''1886:''' 4 masts; see text for details
*'''1897:''' 2 masts
|Ship speed= *'''1886:''' {{convert|17+1/2|kn|km/h|0}}
*'''1897:''' {{convert|18|kn|km/h}}
|Ship capacity= *passengers:
*'''1886:''' 225 × 1st class, 72 × 2nd class, 900 × 3rd class
*'''1897:''' 3rd class increased to 1,500
|Ship crew= 222
|Ship notes= [[sister ship]]s: ''La Champagne'', ''La Gascoigne'', {{SS|La Bretagne||2}}
}}
|}

'''SS ''La Bourgogne''''' was a [[Compagnie Générale Transatlantique]] (CGT) [[ocean liner]] and [[Packet boat#Mail steamer|mail ship]] that was launched in France in 1886 and sank in the North Atlantic in 1898, killing 562 of the 725 people aboard. When new, she set a record for the fastest westbound [[transatlantic crossing]] from [[Port of Le Havre|Le Havre]] to [[Port of New York and New Jersey|New York]].

''La Bourgogne'' was sunk by collision with the sailing ship {{ship||Cromartyshire|ship|2}}. The two ships were in thick fog off [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], and ''Cromartyshire'' had reduced speed, but ''La Bourgogne'' was steaming at high speed. It was alleged that after the collision, some of the steamship's officers failed to do their duty to minimise loss of life, and members of either her own crew or a group of seamen who were [[steerage]] passengers fought to save themselves to the exclusion of other passengers.

Only 13 percent of her passengers survived, compared with 48 percent of her crew. 200 of her passengers were women, but only one survived. Passengers included numerous children, none of whom survived.

''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s owners, and the relatives of dozens of the victims of the sinking, sued CGT for damages. The sailing ship's owners won, but CGT won limitation of liability against the other claimants. Some claimants won only a fraction of the amount they claimed, and others lost their cases altogether. Claims continued until 1908, when the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled that although ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s excessive speed caused the collision, CGT was not at fault.

==Building==
[[File:SS La Bretagne, 1890–1895.jpg|thumb|{{SS|La Bretagne||2}}, one of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s [[sister ship]]s, as built, with four masts, and [[Yard (sailing)|yards]] on her foremast]]
In 1885 and 1886 the CGT took delivery of a [[Ship class|class]] of four new ocean liners.They were for its transatlantic route between Le Havre and New York, which the French [[Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones|Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs]] subsidised to provide a mail service.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=3}} [[Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët]] in [[Saint-Nazaire]] built ''La Champagne'', ''La Gascoigne'', and {{SS|La Bretagne||2}}. ''La Bourgogne'' was unique, being the only member of the class built by [[Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée]] in [[La Seyne-sur-Mer]].{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|pp=45–46}}

''La Bourgogne'' was built partly of iron and partly of steel. She was launched on 8 October 1885 and completed in May 1886, at a cost of [[French franc|FF]] 7,300,000.{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|p=45}} Her lengths were {{cvt|508|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|overall]]<ref name=NYT-1886-0629>{{cite news |title=France has an ocean flyer. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 June 1886 |page=4 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/06/29/103125425.html?pageNumber=4}}</ref> and {{cvt|494.4|ft|abbr=on}} registered. Her [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] was {{cvt|52.2|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|34.8|ft|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|7395}} and {{NRT|2907}}.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1897|loc=L.}} Her hull had 10 or 11 transverse [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] (sources differ),<ref name=NYT-1898-0707f>{{cite news |title=At the company's offices. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=3 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117527.html?pageNumber=3}}</ref>{{sfn|''Marine Engineering'' 1898|p=24}} and a [[Double hull|double bottom]] with [[ballast tank]]s with a capacity of 650 tons.<ref name=NYT-1886-0629/>

As built, her first class accommodation had berths for 225 passengers in 85 state rooms. Second class had berths for 72 passengers in 12 cabins. Third class or [[steerage]] had berths for 900 people. Her public rooms included a first class grand parlour {{convert|49|ft}} square, lit by a [[skylight]]. She carried 12 [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]]. All four members of the class, including ''La Bourgogne'', were designed so that they could be armed with guns as [[Armed merchantman#Armed merchant cruisers|armed merchant cruisers]].<ref name=NYT-1886-0629/>

Like her three [[sister ship]]s, ''La Bourgogne'' had a single [[Propeller|screw]] driven by twin engines. The screw had a diameter of {{cvt|22|ft|8|in}}, was made partly of bronze, and weighed 26 tons.<ref name=NYT-1886-0629/> Her original machinery was a pair of three-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Compound|compound engines]]. Their combined power output was rated at 1,308 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1897|loc=L.}} It gave her a speed of {{convert|17+1/2|kn|km/h|0}} on her [[sea trial]]s, as the French government contract required.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=73}} As built, ''Bourgogne'' had four metal masts. Her foremast and mainmast were square-rigged with [[Yard (sailing)|yards]], but her mizzen and jigger-mizzen were rigged for fore-and-aft sails only.<ref name=NYT-1886-0629/>

CGT [[Ship registration|registered]] ''La Bourgogne'' at [[Port of Le Havre|Le Havre]]. Her [[code letters]] were HNLM.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1897|loc=L.}}

==Prestige==
[[File:Georgia Cayvan - Falk photographers c 1884.jpg|thumb|upright|Actress [[Georgia Cayvan]]]]
On her maiden voyage ''La Bourgogne'' left Le Havre on the morning of 19 June 1886, and arrived off [[Sandy Hook]], [[New Jersey]] on the morning of 26 June, having made the crossing in seven days, 15 hours, and 21 minutes,<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne's fast trip. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 June 1886 |page=8 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/06/28/103124894.html?pageNumber=8}}</ref> which set a record from Le Havre to New York.<ref name=NYT-1886-0629/>

''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s notable passengers included St. [[Frances Xavier Cabrini]] in 1889, [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Archbishop [[Michael Corrigan]] in 1890, organist [[Alexandre Guilmant]] and writer [[Aleko Konstantinov]] in 1893, and actress [[Georgia Cayvan]] in 1894.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Archbishop sails. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=19 January 1890 |page=16 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/01/19/106037522.html?pageNumber=16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Famous French organist here. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 August 1893 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/08/28/109704747.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Miss Cayvan going to Paris |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=4 December 1894 |page=5 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/12/04/106842255.html?pageNumber=5}}</ref> In 1889 the ship brought [[Jean-François Millet]]'s oil painting ''[[The Angelus (painting)|The Angelus]]'' across the Atlantic for the [[American Art Association]] to exhibit throughout the USA.<ref>{{cite news |title=Millet's "Angelus" |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=15 October 1889 |page=8 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/10/15/100975510.html?pageNumber=8}}</ref> In 1893 she took $1 million in gold from New York to Europe, including $782,000 for [[Lazard]] Frères.<ref>{{cite news |title=The prophets were wrong |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 February 1893 |page=9 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/02/18/106896785.html?pageNumber=9}}</ref>

==Collision with ''Torridon''==
On a westbound crossing in January 1890 ''La Bourgogne'' collided in a gale in the [[English Channel]] with the British [[Cargo ship|cargo]] steamship ''Torridon''. The liner badly damaged ''Torridon''{{'}}s stern, and flooded the forward [[Compartment (ship)|compartment]] in her own bow. ''La Bourgogne'' put in to [[St Mary's, Isles of Scilly]], to [[Electrical telegraph|telegraph]] for help to be sent to the cargo ship. The liner faced more heavy weather during her crossing, and reached New York on 14 January.<ref>{{cite news |title=In collision and cyclone |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=15 January 1890 |page=8 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/01/15/103224289.html?pageNumber=8}}</ref>

==Collisions with ''Tigre'' and ''Ailsa''==
On an eastbound crossing on 10 February 1896 ''La Bourgogne'' collided with the French steamship ''Tigre'' in Havre Roads in heavy fog. Neither ship was seriously damaged.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne in Harmless Collision. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 February 1896 |page=5 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/02/12/108223221.html?pageNumber=5}}</ref>

On 29 February 1896 there were four shipping incidents in fog in and around New York. The [[tugboat]] ''E. S. Atwood'' was damaged in collision with the ferry ''Arizona''. The [[Clyde Steamship Company]]'s ''George W. Clyde'' was beached at [[Fort Hamilton]] to prevent it from sinking after collision with [[Dominion Line]]'s ''Guyandotte''. [[American Line]]'s ''[[SS City of New York (1888)|New York]]'' grounded in [[Lower New York Bay]]. And Atlas Line's steamship ''Ailsa'' sank after ''La Bourgogne'' collided with her in [[The Narrows]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Four steamships in collision, one aground |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 March 1896 |page=1 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/03/01/104110998.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref>

''Atlas'' had left her pier in the [[North River (Hudson River)|North River]] at noon, but ran into fog, so at about 13:00 hrs she anchored off [[Fort Wadsworth]] to wait for it to clear. At about 14:10 or 14:20 hrs ''La Bourgogne'' struck ''Ailsa'' about {{convert|8|ft}} aft of the latter's bow, severing the latter's collision bulkhead. Each ship was under the command of a New York [[Maritime pilot|pilot]] at the time. ''Ailsa'' swiftly developed a [[Angle of list|list]]. A dozen of her crew launched one of her lifeboats. Her passengers and some of her crew climbed her rigging. ''Ailsa'' started to raise her anchor by its steam winch, and at the same time made for the shore of [[Long Island]], but sank in shallow water, with only her masts and the top of her [[Funnel (ship)|funnel]] above water. No lives were lost. The tugboat ''Harold'' rescued all of ''Ailsa''{{'}}s passengers and crew, and landed them at [[The Battery (Manhattan)|Battery Park]].<ref name=NYT-1896-0301>{{cite news |title=Sinking of the Ailsa. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 March 1896 |pages=1, 2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/03/01/104110999.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=711 |title=Ailsa |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref>

[[File:(R. M. S. "Campania" in the Mersey) (LOC) (16801704191) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Photochrom image of {{RMS|Campania}}]]
One plate of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s [[Port and starboard|starboard]] bow was damaged, about {{convert|15|ft}} above the waterline.<ref name=NYT-1896-0301/> After the collision she drifted into [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend]] Bay and anchored for the night. A boat transferred her mail to the [[Cunard Line]]r {{RMS|Campania}}, and three of passengers chose to transfer to the Cunarder as well. ''La Bourgogne'' returned to port the next morning, where a  plate about {{convert|4|by|5|ft}} was [[rivet]]ed to her bow as a temporary repair.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne comes back. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2 March 1896 |pages=1, 3 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/03/02/104111371.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref>

On 4 March the Atlas Line filed a lawsuit for $400,000 against ''La Bourgogne'' for sinking ''Ailsa''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Libel against La Bourgogne. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 March 1896 |page=1 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/03/05/104112146.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref> On 21 August a commercial maritime court at [[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin|Cherbourg]], [[French Third Republic|France]] exonerated ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s [[Master mariner|Master]], finding that the collision was a "peril of the sea".<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne not to blame. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 August 1896 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/08/22/103385167.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref>

==Rescue from ''Ernst''==
On 28 July 1896 ''La Bourgogne'' sighted a German-owned [[barque]], ''Ernst''.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1896|loc=ERI–ERR}} The barque was in ballast, sailing from [[Caernarfon]], [[Wales]] to [[Shediac]], [[New Brunswick]]. She was leaking, one of her three pumps had failed, and the other two had become blocked. The liner approached ''Ernst'' and launched two boats to rescue her crew, but the weather was windy, and there was a heavy sea. This up-ended the first boat, throwing the [[Chief mate|Chief Officer]] and two crewmen into the sea, but they were quickly rescued. The heavy sea also made it hazardous to approach the barque. ''Ernst'' lowered one of her own boats, from which seven of her crew transferred to ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s boats. The barque's other five crewmen jumped into the sea, from which the French boats rescued them. ''La Bourgogne'' landed the survivors at [[Ellis Island]] on 2 August.<ref>{{cite news |title=Twelve sailors saved |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 August 1896 |page=1 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/08/03/103380161.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref>

[[File:SS La Bretagne, 1900–1915.jpg|thumb|Sister ship ''La Bretagne'' after she was refitted in 1895. ''La Bourgogne'' would have looked similar after 1897, with her masts reduced from four to two.]]

==Refit==
''La Bourgogne'' was [[refit]]ted in 1897. Her obsolescent compound engines were replaced with a pair of [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|quadruple-expansion engines]], built by [[Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët]]. They were rated at a total of 1,048 NHP,{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1898|loc=L.}} and increased her speed to about {{convert|18|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707f/> She was also given a set of 12 new [[Scotch marine boiler|Scotch boilers]], with a working pressure of {{convert|160|psi}}. Two of her four masts were removed, and the yards were removed from her foremast. Her third class accommodation was increased to 1,500 berths.{{sfn|''Marine Engineering'' 1898|p=24}}{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|p=46}}

==Louis Deloncle==
[[File:Deloncle, Louis.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sea captain|Captain]] Louis Deloncle]]
By July 1898 ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s Master was Captain Louis Deloncle. He was 44, and had been with CGT for about five years. His previous command was the liner ''[[:fr:La Normandie (paquebot de 1883)|La Normandie]]''. In 1895 ''La Normandie'' suffered an explosion of gas from the coal in one of her [[Fuel bunker|bunkers]], which caused a fire in one of her cargo holds. Deloncle and his Second Captain, Dupont, were awarded gallantry medals for their "cool and couraegous" handling of the fire.<ref name=1898-0707g>{{cite news |title=The Bourgogne's Captain. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=3 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117527.html?pageNumber=3}}</ref>{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|p=44}} He commanded ''La Normandie'' at the [[fleet review]] at [[Spithead]] for the [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]] in June 1897.<ref name=1898-0724>{{cite news |last=Strong |first=Rowland |title=Our friends the French |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 July 1898 |page=15 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/24/102075349.html?pageNumber=15}}</ref>

Deloncle had been a ''[[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant de vaisseau]]'' in the [[French Navy]]. He wrote a handbook on marine manœuvres, which the Navy had adopted as a standard textbook. He taught tactics at the School of Gunnery. He was nicknamed ''Loup de Mer'' ("Sea Wolf"), due to his thorough knowledge of naval matters. He was a brother of the French politicians [[François Deloncle|François]] and [[:fr:Charles Deloncle|Charles Deloncle]], and of journalist [[:fr:Henri Deloncle|Henri Deloncle]]; his son [[Eugène Deloncle|Eugène]] was involved in the far-right terrorist group [[La Cagoule]].<ref name=1898-0707g/>

==Collision with ''Cromartyshire''==
On 2 July 1898 ''La Bourgogne'' left the North River in New York for Le Havre. She carried a total of 725 people: 83 passengers in first class, 123 in second, 297 in steerage, and 222 crew. She also carried cargo worth $300,000 to $400,000, and 170 bags of mail.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707f/><ref name=NYT-1898-0708a>{{cite news |title=The Bourgogne disaster |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 July 1898 |page=7 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/08/102525807.html?pageNumber=7}}</ref> Her passengers included a party of [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] seamen,<ref name=NYT-1898-0710>{{cite news |title=To sue the French line |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=10 July 1898 |pages=9 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/10/102089149.html?pageNumber=9}}</ref> and a party of about 75 [[Armenians]], including a priest, and 13 [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]].<ref name=NYT-1898-0707g>{{cite news |title=How foreigners fared |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117505.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref>

Two days later ''La Bourgogne'' ran into dense fog off the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]], reducing visibility to about {{convert|20|yard|abbr=off}}, but maintained high speed. Also, she was {{convert|160|nmi|km}} off the eastbound transatlantic shipping lane on which she should have been.{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|p=46}}<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a/>

[[File:StateLibQld 1 148951 Cromartyshire (ship).jpg|thumb|{{ship||Cromartyshire|ship|2}}]]
On 8 June the three-masted, iron-hulled sailing ship ''Cromartyshire'' had left [[Dunkirk]] with a cargo of coal for [[Port of Philadelphia|Philadelphia]]. Early on the morning of 4 July she was sailing through fog, about {{convert|60|nmi|km}} off [[Cape Sable Island]], Newfoundland, sounding her foghorn every minute. She was under reduced sail and was making only about {{convert|4|to|5|kn|km/h|0}}. ''La Bourgogne'' heard ''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s [[foghorn]], and answered with her [[steam whistle]], but neither ship's lookouts could see the other ship. At 05:00 hrs ''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s bow struck the [[Port and starboard|starboard]] side of ''La Bourgogne'' at an oblique angle. The sailing ship's Master, [[Sea captain|Captain]] Oscar Henderson, said the steamship was going at "terrific speed".<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne sinks at sea |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |pages=1, 2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117503.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref><ref name=NYT-1898-0707e>{{cite news |title=The news in Paris. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117507.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref>

The impact was just abaft ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s bridge.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707e/> The sailing ship's bow penetrated the steamship's [[engine room]] below the waterline and raked her starboard side, smashing ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s starboard lifeboat number 1, and damaging lifeboats numbers 3 and 5.<ref name=NYT-1898-0709a>{{cite news |title=An official statement. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 July 1898 |page=12 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/09/102088891.html?pageNumber=12}}</ref> Captain Deloncle set course for Cape Sable Island, but ''La Bourgogne'' lost steam, rendering her unable to work her main pumps.{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|p=46}} ''La Bourgogne'' fired a [[Flare#Maritime distress signal|distress rocket and flare]], and raised lights to indicate she was in danger.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707b>{{cite news |title=The only woman saved. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117500.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref><ref name=NYT-1898-0707c>{{cite news |title=A New Yorker's escape. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117501.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref>

==Sinking==
Most of the passengers were in bed and asleep until the two ships collided. ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s starboard lifeboats and some [[Lifeboat (shipboard)#Liferaft versus lifeboat|liferafts]] were launched, but survivors alleged that the liner's officers were ineffective, and the [[Naval rating|ratings]] sought to save themselves rather than the passengers.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707b/><ref name=NYT-1898-0707c/> Some passengers resorted to trying to launch boats and rafts themselves, and alleged afterward that some members of the crew "chased them away" and took the boats and rafts for themselves.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707d>{{cite news |title=One who was on deck. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/102117502.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref> One passenger alleged that a crewman on deck used an oar to beat a passenger to prevent him from reaching a liferaft. He and other passengers alleged that occupants of lifeboats used [[boat hook]]s and oars to stop passengers in the water from boarding their boat. One passenger alleged that he and his elderly mother were thrown out of a lifeboat into the sea. One survivor alleged that some passengers were threatened with knives. Survivors said that the only member of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s crew who made a professional effort to launch lifeboats was the [[Second mate|Second Officer]], Delinge.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a/>

Captain Deloncle, all of the deck officers, and most of the [[Engine officer|engineer officers]] died in the sinking. The [[Purser]] and the [[Fourth engineer|Fourth Engineer]] were the only officers who survived.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne's officers. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/issue.html}}</ref>

[[File:Cromartyshire, crushed bow 1898.jpg|thumb|{{ship||Cromartyshire|ship|2}}'s damaged bow after the collision]]
Captain Henderson ordered ''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s crew to prepare her boats to be lowered, and went forward to inspect her bow. He found extensive damage, but the sailing ship was not in immediate danger of sinking. The two ships lost each other in the fog, but Henderson saw the rocket and flare that ''La Bourgogne'' fired, and he had several distress rockets and flares fired from ''Cromartyshire''. At about 05:30 hrs the fog thinned enough for Henderson to see two of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s lifeboats being rowed toward his ship. This was the first he knew that the steamship had sunk.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a/>

''Cromartyshire'' rescued the occupants of the two boats, stood to, and launched its own three boats to rescue other survivors, many of them on life rafts or clinging to wreckage. At about 15:00 hrs she sighted a westbound steamship, [[Allan Line]]'s ''Grecian'', and signalled to her. Survivors were transferred to ''Grecian'', which towed the sailing ship to [[Port of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], where they arrived on 6 July.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a/>{{sfn|''Marine Engineering'' 1898|p=24}}

Only 163 people survived.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a/> ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s passengers included about 200 women, but only one was saved.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707b/> The survivors included 104 of 222 crew, but only 61 of 503 passengers.{{sfn|Middlemiss|2007|p=46}} Most of the first class passengers were also killed.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707a/>

CGT was quick to deny the allegations against its officers and ratings. It claimed they had acted correctly, and that the seamen who assaulted passengers had been travelling in steerage, and were not members of the ship's crew. CGT claimed that the Chief Officer commanded starboard boat number 7, which was full of women and children, and was successfully launched, but was then crushed by one of the ship's two funnels falling upon it.<ref name=NYT-1898-0708a/><ref name=NYT-1898-0709a/> The French Consul-General in New York, Edmond Bruwaert, reported that starboard boat number 9 had conveyed 53 survivors to ''Cromartyshire'', and its crew had then done all they could to rescue other survivors.<ref name=NYT-1898-0710/>

CGT said that ten or a dozen sailors from among the steerage passengers commandeered starboard boat number 11, refused to come to the aid of anyone else, and fought off anyone else who tried to board their boat.<ref name=NYT-1898-0709a/> One passenger said that the sailors in the boat were "Austrian".<ref name=NYT-1898-0709b>{{cite news |title=Horrors of La Bourgogne. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 July 1898 |page=12 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/09/102088893.html?pageNumber=12}}</ref> It was later clarified that they were from [[Dalmatia]] and [[Central Croatia|Croatia]], which then were provinces of [[Austria-Hungary]].<ref name=NYT-1898-0710/>

Survivors of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s crew were returned to New York, where Bruwaert questioned them. On 9 July the crew, along with about a dozen of the surviving steerage passengers, were sent to France aboard the CGT liner {{SS|La Touraine||2}}. On arrival in France they were to be surrendered to the French Admiralty for further questioning.<ref name=NYT-1898-0710/> They reached Le Havre aboard ''La Touraine'' on 17 July.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne's crew at Havre. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 July 1898 |page=10 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/18/102564884.html?pageNumber=10}}</ref>

Survivors described the conduct of Deloncle and his officers. One of ''Le Bourgogne''{{'}}s [[Fireman (steam engine)|stokers]] claimed that they all acted correctly, but were impeded by some of the passengers. However, Charles Liebra, from Philadelphia, said that Deloncle told the "saloon passengers" (i.e. first class) that there was no danger.<ref name=NYT-1898-0709b/> An Austro-Hungarian passenger, Matteo Turich, was on deck and saw the collision as it happened. He alleged "No commands were being given and no system prevailed".<ref name=NYT-1898-0707d/> A Swiss passenger, Fred Nyffeler, also alleged that just after the collision, an officer told him "nothing" was wrong. Nyffeler alleged that as the ship listed, and passengers and crew made for the lifeboats, Deloncle "had evidently lost his head, and was walking up and down the bridge screaming and swearing".<ref name=NYT-1898-0709b/>

==Notable passengers==
[[File:Kocayusuf.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Yusuf İsmail]]]]
Victims of the sinking included the artists and sculptors [[De Scott Evans]], [[Léon Pourtau]], and Emil Wuertz; Turkish wrestler [[Yusuf İsmail]]; the wife and child of George Deslions; and the wife and daughter of Judge [[John Forrest Dillon]]. Porteau was principal [[clarinet]]ist of the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]], and two other BSO musicians were also killed in the sinking.<ref name=NYT-1898-0709a/>

Two clergy were also killed:<ref name=NYT-1898-0709a/> the Roman Catholic Father Anthony Kesseler of New York,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sketches of passengers. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |pages=2, 3 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/issue.html}}</ref> and the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] priest Stepan Der Stepanian with his wife and three children.{{sfn|Ashjian|1999|p=30}} Only eight of the 75 Armenian passengers survived, and only one of the 13 Assyrians.<ref name=NYT-1898-0707g/>

==Aftermath==
On 17 July 1898 the Master of the ship ''E. J. Spicer'' recovered one of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s liferafts at position {{coord|42|05|N|57|12|W}}. On it were three or four [[Lifebuoy|life preservers]] and a number of oars.<ref>{{cite news |title=Raft from La Bourgogne Picked Up. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=27 July 1898 |page=7 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/27/102118215.html?pageNumber=7}}</ref>

Before the end of July a funeral for the victims of the sinking was held at [[La Madeleine, Paris]]. The congregation included the French foreign minister, minister of commerce, numerous senators and deputies, and Admiral [[Jules de Cuverville]], who had been Deloncle's commanding officer when he was in the French Navy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Strong |first=Rowland |title=A blow at Emile Zola |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=31 July 1898 |page=17 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/31/102118810.html?pageNumber=17}}</ref>

Days before the funeral, Rowland Strong, ''[[The New York Times]]'' correspondent in Paris, attacked the whole Deloncle family. He called them "a hysterical, half-witted set, and personally I should never have cared to trust my life or property to any one of them. Louis Deloncle... used to boast of his skill in manoeuvring a ship, which, to judge from the accounts of his own friends and his surviving brother, principally consisted in threatening to run down any vessel that came in his way. ''"Je pass ou je tire dessus".'' In other words, "I mean to pass or I will fire," was the remark he made when navigating the Normandie through the crush of vessels at the great naval review held last year at [[Portsmouth]] in honor of the Queen's jubilee. Only a madman could have given expression to such an intention."<ref name=1898-0724/>

[[File:Le naufrage de La Bourgogne-partition-page 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Cover of a song, ''Le Naufrage de La Bourgogne'', published after the sinking]]
Seafarers reported seeing bodies, apparently from ''La Bourgogne'', floating in the area up to two months after the sinking. On 6 August the Master of the [[schooner]] ''Florence'' reported finding the body of a man floating at position {{coord|43|28|N|59|55|W}}. In its clothing was the passport of one of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s cabin passengers, Dr Candido Diaz, and a [[Banker's draft|draft]] for [[French franc|FF]] 215,000.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne victim found. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 August 1898 |page=20 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/08/07/102119708.html?pageNumber=20}}</ref> On 22 August the Master of the [[Hamburg America Line]] steamship ''Christiania'' reported passing two bloated bodies floating face down at position {{coord|43|N|60|W}}. One was a man wearing a [[Lifebuoy|life belt]], and the other was apparently a woman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Two Bodies from La Bourgogne. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 August 1898 |page=9 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/08/23/102527002.html?pageNumber=9}}</ref> On 2 September the Master of the fishing schooner ''William H. Cross'' reported that he and his crew picked up the body of a man. They recovered money, drafts, and other papers of value from the body, and then weighted it and [[Burial at sea|buried it at sea]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Another La Bourgogne Victim Found. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 September 1898 |page=7 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/09/03/102122240.html?pageNumber=7}}</ref>

==Legal cases==
A panel comprising the Wreck Commissioner at Halifax and two other sea captains investigated the collision on behalf of the Canadian government. Their report, published by 29 July, exonerated ''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s Master and officers. They found that ''La Bourgogne'' was not following the [[sea lane]] indicated on the [[nautical chart]] for that part of the North Atlantic, and was steaming at great speed. They found that had Captain Deloncle "adopted the rules laid down... his vessel could not have been in the position indicated by the disaster". Further, the panel reported that "many of the principal steamship companies do not follow the routes laid down and assented to by all the parties in interest and apparent good faith."<ref>{{cite news |title=The route of La Bourgogne. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=29 July 1898 |page=6 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/29/102089458.html?pageNumber=6}}</ref>

''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s owner sued CGT in the Admiralty Division of the [[High Court of Justice]] in London for the damage to his ship. CGT sought to quash the writ on the grounds that it was a foreign corporation. On 9 August 1898 [[Francis Jeune, 1st Baron St Helier|Francis Jeune]], President of the Admiralty Division, ruled that the English court has jurisdiction, and he rejected CGT's plea.<ref>{{cite news |title=Suit against La Bourgogne. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=10 August 1898 |page=10 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/08/10/102566210.html?pageNumber=10}}</ref> On 12 January 1899 the Admiralty Division found in ''Cromartyshire''{{'}}s favour and awarded her owners damages and costs. The court found that ''La Bourgogne'' was sailing at excessive speed, which was why the sailing ship's bow raked so far along the steamship's side. This ruptured more than one of her bulkheads, causing her to list and then sink relatively quickly. It also damaged her starboard lifeboats, and the list so far to starboard prevented her port boats from being lowered.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne to blame. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 January 1899 |page=7 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/01/13/117910517.html?pageNumber=7}}</ref>

Relatives of the dead also sued CGT. 15 lawsuits were begun in New York, and by 24 August claimants were considering whether to transfer proceedings to London, or to Paris.<ref>{{cite news |title=La Bourgogne's victims. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=25 August 1898 |page=5 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/08/25/102121511.html?pageNumber=5}}</ref> One New York widower sued CGT for $30,000 for the death of his wife.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sues the French line |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 September 1898 |page=12 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/09/24/102123429.html?pageNumber=12}}</ref>

On 5 October 1898 one of ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s survivors, Eugene Eggenschewiler, was charged with embezzlement. He had worked for a factory in [[New Jersey]] that processed leather. He had stolen the formula for one of the company's secret processes, defrauded the company of $65 to $70, and persuaded the company to pay his fare to Europe for a holiday. In fact he embarked on ''La Bourgogne'' carrying $6,000, and planned to start a business in France using the secret formula that he had stolen. His plan was thwarted by the ship being sunk.<ref>{{cite news |title=Says he stole firm's secret. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=6 October 1898 |page=4 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/10/06/105964640.html?pageNumber=4}}</ref>

On 29 December 1898 the owners of the schooner ''William H. Cross'' brought a lawsuit in the [[United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts]] in [[Boston]] against the dead body that they had found and buried three months earlier (see above). In the body's clothing they found US and French money to the value of $1,050. Efforts to find his relatives, to whom to return the money, had failed, so the owners were suing the body as a [[Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict#Derelict|derelict]].<ref>{{cite news |title=A peculiar Admiralty case. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=30 December 1898 |page=1 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/12/30/102530099.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref>

On 28 June 1899 a court in Paris awarded FF 100,000 damages to a Madame Resal for the death of her husband aboard ''La Bourgogne''. The court found Captain Deloncle at fault, and CGT responsible for his actions.<ref>{{cite news |title=French line to pay $20,000. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=29 June 1899 |page=4 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/29/102082738.html?pageNumber=4}}</ref> However, on 18 January 1900 a court of appeal in Paris overturned the verdict, finding that neither Captain Deloncle nor CGT to be at fault.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Bourgogne disaster. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=19 January 1900 |page=6 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/01/19/102576849.html?pageNumber=6}}</ref>

On 22 March 1900, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] in [[Chicago]] dismissed the lawsuit of Charles Rundell against CGT. He was administrator of the estate of Edwin Rundell, who had been killed in the sinking. Judges [[William Allen Woods|Woods]], Allen, and Bunn found that it was not shown that Rundell had died on ''La Bourgogne'', and that a US District Court cannot enforce the law of France. Rundell had claimed $55,000. Six other suits, also each claiming $55,000, were also to be dismissed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Favours Bourgogne's owners. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 March 1900 |page=1 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/03/23/108274691.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref>

[[File:William Kneeland Townsend.png|thumb|upright|District Judge [[William Kneeland Townsend|William Townsend]]]]
On 22 August 1900, 36 parties filed claims against CGT in the a US District Court. Their claims totalled more than $1 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Suing the French line. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 August 1900 |page=12 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/08/22/102612141.html?pageNumber=12}}</ref> However, on 15 May 1900 CGT had filed a petition for limitation of liability with the [[United States District Court for the District of Connecticut]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]].<ref name=NYT-1902-0323>{{cite news |title=French line wins suit |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 March 1902 |page=8 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/03/23/118466821.html?pageNumber=8}}</ref>

In April 1901, claimants asked the District Court to order CGT to provide as evidence ''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s [[Logbook (nautical)|logbooks]] for the two years prior to the sinking, and of any other log books from that period for ships on the same route of which Deloncle was Master at the time. On 15 May the District Court granted the order. In October 1901 Judge [[William Kneeland Townsend|Townsend]] heard the case. CGT had not complied with the order, and claimed that it could not produce the logbooks as they "had not been preserved". The District Court rejected CGT's submission as "hearsay". However, the claimants did not pursue the matter further in the case.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=44–46}}

On 22 March 1902 Judge Townsend ruled in CGT's favour, finding that the company had properly equipped ''La Bourgogne'' with lifeboats and other safety equipment. Townsend found that CGT had provided the correct regulations for its ships to reduce speed in fog, and it was not the company's fault that ''La Bourgogne'' had failed to do so. Hence he ruled that claimants could not recover damages for negligence causing loss of life on the high seas.<ref name=NYT-1902-0323/> Townsend also granted CGT's petitions to appoint a trustee to whom to transfer CGT's interests in the ship and its pending freight, and a commissioner to receive proof from claimants making claims against CGT.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=2}}

[[File:Annals of Iowa (1909) John Forrest Dillon.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John Forrest Dillon]]]]
Judge Dillon, whose wife and daughter were killed in the sinking, told ''The New York Times'' that "he did not understand that this decision absolved the company for responsibility for the accident, but that it merely established that the company was not liable under the limited liability statute". He had given up litigation in the case "in disgust long ago. No matter if a hundred courts or men should say that there was no culpability attaching to the company for the loss of that ship, I should know that there was."<ref name=NYT-1902-0323/>

''La Bourgogne''{{'}}s victims included a US millionaire, T Straus, with his wife and two daughters.<ref>{{cite news |title=The cabin passengers. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 July 1898 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/07/07/issue.html}}</ref> He left an estate valued at $4 million, which the US authorities held for want of claimants. On 29 March 1901 his German relatives in Stalluponen, [[East Prussia]] (now [[Nesterov]] in the [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] of [[Russia]]), retained counsel to claim his estate.<ref>{{cite news |title=To claim American estate. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=30 March 1901 |page=2 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/03/30/117958930.html?pageNumber=2}}</ref>

On 9 May 1904 the commissioner appointed by Judge Townsend submitted his report. He recommended compensation payments to five claimants for the value of money and personal effects that were lost when relatives of theirs were killed in the sinking.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=13–21}}

On 27 June 1905 the [[United States courts of appeals|United States Circuit Court of Appeals]] fixed CGT's liability at FF 113,419, equivalent to about $35,000. Claimants had been seeking nearly $3 million, and indicated their intention to appeal to the US Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite news |title=Against Bourgogne owners. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 June 1905 |page=3 |access-date=1 February 2024 |via=Times Machine |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/06/28/101415351.html?pageNumber=3}}</ref>

==US Supreme Court ruling==
On 18 May 1908 the US Supreme Court found that ''La Bourgogne'' was steaming at at least {{convert|10|kn|km/h}}, and probably faster; and that this was the [[proximate cause]] of the collision.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=35}} CGT's regulations required that when in fog, its ships must reduce speed, sound fog signals, have a lookout aloft on the foremast, and be ready, if necessary, immediately to further reduce speed or even go astern.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=60–64}} The Supreme Court therefore upheld Judge Townsend's ruling that CGT had done all it could to require its captains and deck officers to navigate safely.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=65–66}}

The Supreme Court considered whether, despite its published regulations, CGT in fact encouraged or tolerated its ships steaming at excessive speed in fog. It ruled that there was no evidence for this.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=69–71}} The French government mail contract required CGT mail ships to maintain an average speed of {{convert|15|kn|km/h}}. The government paid CGT a premium for fulfilling the contract, and CGT passed on a small part of that premium to each ship that maintained its contracted average speed. The Supreme Court considered at length whether the contract encouraged masters and officers to maintain excessive speed in fog, and if so, whether CGT knew about it, and was therefore liable. The court refused to believe that a company would take such a risk with its passengers, customers' property, and its own valuable steamships.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=72–82}}

US law required ''La Bourgogne'' to carry {{convert|5670|cuft|0}} of lifeboats, plus life rafts, life preservers and other safety devices. She was licensed to carry 1,019 passengers as well as her crew. She in fact carried {{convert|6600|cuft|0}} of lifeboats, and was carrying only 725 people when she sank.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=89}} The Supreme Court was therefore satisfied that the ship had enough lifeboats.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=90}}

The Supreme Court upheld the District Court's decision to grant limitation of liability to CGT, which therefore limited how much money could be awarded to each of the claimants against CGT. It ordered each side in the case to pay their own costs.{{sfn|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908|loc=102}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Ashjian |first=Arten |year=1999 |title=19th Century Pioneer Armenian Churchmen in America: Profiles of the First Ten (1889–1899) |place= |publisher=Diocese of the Armenian Church of America |isbn=}}
*{{cite book |last=Bowen |first=Frank |year=1930 |title=A century of Atlantic travel, 1830–1930 |place=Boston |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]}}
*{{cite journal |url= https://openjurist.org/210/us/95/george-deslions-v-la-compagnie-generale-transatlantique |title=George Deslions v. La Compagnie Generale Transatlantique |journal=210 U.S. 95 |date=18 May 1908 |volume=US |issue=210 |page=95 |via=OpenJurist |ref={{harvid|''Deslions et al vs CGT'', 1908}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1896 |title=Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping |volume=II.–Sailing Vessels. |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1897SV/page/n210/mode/1up |via=[[Internet Archive]] |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1896}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1897 |title=Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping |volume=I.–Steamers |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1898ST/page/n393/mode/1up |via=Internet Archive |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1897}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1898 |title=Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping |volume=I.–Steamers |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1899ST/page/n518/mode/1up |via=Internet Archive |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1898}} }}
*{{cite book |last=Looker |first=Janet |year=2000 |chapter=Disgrace |title=Disaster Canada |place= |publisher=Lynx Images |isbn=1894073134}}
*{{cite journal |title=Loss of the French Liner ''La Bourgogne'' With 550 Lives |journal=Marine Engineering |place=New York |publisher=Marine Publishing Company |volume=2 |issue=August |pages=24–25 |year=1898 |via=[[Google Books]] |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=otg2AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA6-PA24 |access-date=2 May 2015 |ref={{harvid|''Marine Engineering'' 1898}} }}
*{{cite book |last=Middlemiss |first=Norman |year=2007 |title=French Line |series=Merchant Fleets |volume=30 |place=Gateshead |publisher=Shield Publications Ltd |isbn=978-1-871128-27-7}}

==External links==
*{{cite news |url= https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/XJ115884/The-collision-between-the-SS-Toreador-and-La-Bourgogne-view-of-the-Toreador-in-dock-at-Liverpool |title=The collision between the SS Toreador and La Bourgogne; view of the Toreador in dock at Liverpool |newspaper=[[The Graphic]] |date=8 March 1890 |via=Look and Learn |access-date=1 February 2024}} — engraving of damage to the stern of ''Torridon''. ''The Graphic'' calls her "''Toreador''", but no steamship of that name was registered at the time.
*{{cite news |url= https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/M277301/A-victim-of-duty-Captain-Deloncle-commander-of-the-Bourgogne |title=Victime du Devoir: le Capitaine Deloncle, Commandant de "La Bourgogne" |newspaper=[[Le Petit Journal (newspaper)|Le Petit Journal]] |date=24 July 1898 |via=Look and Learn}} — portrait engraving of Louis Deloncle

{{French Line ships}}
{{1890 shipwrecks}}
{{1896 shipwrecks}}
{{1898 shipwrecks}}

{{coord|43|00|N|65|36|W|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:CA|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Bourgogne}}
[[Category:1885 ships]]
[[Category:1898 in Canada]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1890]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1896]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1898]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in Canada]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of France]]
[[Category:Ships built in France]]
[[Category:Ships of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Steamships of France]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Canada]]

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