Field’s finances were precarious by the 1860s, for he had continued to fail three times after the first attempt to lay down the cable. He realized this was his last shot, and now was the time to act.
Last Shot
Testing the final cable, The Illustrated London News, Oct 13, 1866
“Now is the time to act, with energy and decision” - Cyrus Field
Cableship workers on The Great Eastern, The Atlantic Telegraph by W.H. Russell, 1865. Ebook 40948/Project Gutenberg
July 15th, 1866, Field’s new crew and cable set off for the final attempt of laying down the cable. The ship was called the Great Eastern and it carried over 21,000 tons. They set sail for Ireland, for that was the new landing spot. By the 23rd things were still running smoothly, and everyone was on edge, terrified that any second their hard work would be for nothing. They set up a galvanometer to measure if the cable was still getting signal. At any sign of a break in the signal, they were to alert the whole crew.
The Issue
An issue arose when the cable slipped and started sinking.
“It’s over, it’s all gone!”
- A Cableship Worker's response to the tragedy
Grapple hook used to retrieve cable, IET Archives, 1865
Field did not panic, instead he immediately started to brainstorm ways to retrieve the lost cable. He settled on the idea that they should attempt to grapple for the line. Lucky for him it was a clear day and the cable had not sunk more than half a mile. At last, the team successfully spliced the cable and completed their tasks.