Horse drawn hearses await more human remains from the Titanic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Virtually everyone knows the story of the RMS Titanic and its sinking in the north Atlantic Ocean late on the night of April 12, 1912.  Most of us even know the story of the RMS Carpathia, the rescue ship that arrived on the scene of the Titanic disaster in only about four hours and was able to load all 705 survivors onto the ship and steam for New York City.

The RMS Titanic carried more than 2200 souls when the abandon ship call came on that April 12 evening.  What most of us don’t know is the story of the CS Mackay-Bennet, a ship that was dispatched from Halifax, Nova Scotia – about 800 statute miles from the Titanic disaster – to collect the remains of those that perished on that night.

According to this article from Mental Floss, the Mackay-Bennett became a “mortuary ship” that was loaded with approximately 100 wooden coffins, 100 tons of ice, and 12 tons of iron bars to weigh down bodies that would be buried at sea.

This article tells of the story of the Mackay-Bennett and the recovery attempts amid a very difficult situation.  It is a story that I did not know about but enjoyed reading.

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