Robert Whyte's Famine Ship Diary 1847

In May of 1847, vessels constituting what has aptly been called the coffin fleet transported over 100,000 Irish immigrants to America in panic flight from famine, fever, and conditions involving deprivation of all human rights. The diary of Robert Whyte, which first appeared in print in 1848, gives a vivid account of the suffering aboard an Irish coffin ship.