Ville du Havre–Loch Earn Collision (November 22, 1873)

The French transatlantic liner Ville du Havre was crossing from New York toward France when, in the darkness of the North Atlantic, she was struck by the iron sailing ship Loch Earn. The blow opened the liner to the sea, and she sank within minutes, leaving little time for organized evacuation. Hundreds were lost, and the disaster became one of the era’s most sobering reminders of how swiftly human strength can be undone.

Survivors testified to scenes of sudden terror and costly courage—crewmen attempting to lower boats, passengers sharing planks, and rescuers from the Loch Earn working amid their own ship’s damage and danger. In such moments, heroism often appears as ordinary people choosing neighbor-love over self-preservation.

The Spafford Family and “Saved alone”

Among the dead were four American sisters: Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta Spafford, daughters of Chicago lawyer Horatio Gates Spafford. Their father had already been chastened by prior sorrow: the Great Chicago Fire had consumed much of his property, and a young son had died earlier. The daughters’ voyage was meant for rest and recovery, but it ended in unthinkable loss.

Their mother, Anna Spafford, was rescued from wreckage and later wired her husband with two stark words: “Saved alone.” Grief compressed into a sentence, it communicated both devastation and providence—life preserved for a purpose she could not yet see.

A Hymn Written Over Deep Waters

Horatio Spafford sailed to meet Anna. As his ship passed over the place of sinking, he put into words what faith clings to when sight fails. Those lines became the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul,” not denying pain, but confessing that God’s mercy is sovereign even when waves are not.

Scripture gives language for such endurance: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… For I am the LORD your God” (Isaiah 43:2–3). And it steadies the heart with hope: “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).