SS Central America

History
United States
Name	Central America
Operator	United States Mail Steamship Company
Builder	Webb yard[1]
Launched	October 1852[1]
Fate	Sank September 12, 1857
General characteristics
Tonnage	2,141 long tons (2,175 t)
Length	278 ft (85 m)
Beam	40 ft (12 m)
Crew	Captain William Lewis Herndon First Officer Charles W. van Rensselaer

SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot (85 m) sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the East Coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS George Law, after George Law of New York. The ship sank in a hurricane in September 1857, along with 425 of her 578 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857.