The Remarkable Evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11

The seldom-told tale of an impromptu fleet that rescued hundreds of thousands

A 9/11 memorial mural found in Detroit. (Credit: Library of Congress)

This is the story of the largest sea evacuation in recorded history. It is a tale that has rarely been told. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 evoke many emotions, stories, and memories. The sheer scale of the tragedy has largely drowned out one of the greatest shows of human empathy and heroism in American history.

It is a story of how tug boats, ferries, and fishermen came together to sail to the dusty banks of the unknown to rescue thousands of terrified and desperate people. No one asked them to; it just seemed like the right thing to do. In a moment of abject confusion and terror, those captains, who saw their fellow humans in need, leaped into action and helped in the only way they could — by getting people off Manhattan.

Utter confusion

Morning of September 11, 2001 (Credit: Library of Congress)

The moments after the first tower fell on September 11th, 2001 introduced complete and utter chaos to one of the most densely populated places in the world. Once it became apparent that the World Trade Center was the subject of an attack and not a…