Harry Lee: A Ballad

In 1855, Sandusky resident George J. Anderson wrote and composed a piece of sheet music called Harry Lee: A Ballad for voice and the piano. The publisher was Millet’s Music Saloon on Broadway.  The sheet music was dedicated to Miss Kate Peck, and was written in memory of Stewart Holland, “who went down by the ill-fated Artic [sic] firing the Minute Gun.” This composition is housed in the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library, and is also a part of the Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection of the John Hopkins University Library’s Special Collections. While the ballad recounts the bravery of Stewart Holland, it is not clear as to why the title of the piece was “Harry Lee.”

On September 27, 1854, the S.S. Arctic sank off the coast of Newfoundland, after colliding with the S.S. Vesta in the fog. The total loss was nearly 400, including all women and children on board. The public was shocked to hear of the cowardly acts of the crew, which included crew members boarding the life boats before women and children. Bravely facing the sinking ship was Stewart Holland, who stood on the sinking ship's deck firing the distress cannon, until the ship went under water. He did not survive.

The November 1, 1854 issue of the New York Times carried an article in which an officer from the S. S. Arctic gives a firsthand account of the bravery of Stewart Holland. The book, The Sea Shall Embrace Them, by David W. Shaw, (available via CLEVNET) tells the tragic story of the S.S. Arctic. A Currier and Ives print also pays tribute.

George J. Anderson was the son of Sandusky’s first physician, Dr. George Anderson. The son of George J. Anderson, George F. Anderson, had musical interests as well: he formed the Sandusky Philharmonic Orchestra and acted as its conductor.