the paddle frame—about $1,000 damage in all, which was expected to take four or five days to repair. On November 28, in dense fog, Commonwealth collided with two Williamsburg ferries in succession—Warren and Nebraska. Again, the vessels involved appear to have escaped serious damage. In December 1863, Commonwealths proprietors, the Stonington Line, merged with the Neptune Line to form a new entity, the Merchants' Steamship Company. Commonwealth and the other Stonington Line boats were subsequently sold by private auction to the newly formed company. Since the Stonington Line's partner, the Boston and Providence Railroad, had by this time extended its service to Groton, Connecticut and built a large new terminus there, Commonwealths regular destination was around the same time relocated from Stonington to Groton. Loss Following her acquisition by the Merchants Steamship Company in December 1863, Commonwealth appears to have continued working the New York to Groton route almost without incident for the next two years, the one exception being another minor scrape with a New York ferry on November 22, 1864. thumb|Stern view of Commonwealth; illustration by Stanton Commonwealth departed New York on her usual run on December 28, 1865. Shortly after arriving at Groton, at about 1:30am on the morning of the 29th, a fire broke out at the Groton depot which could not be contained. An attempt to tow Commonwealth to safety was made by a local ferry, but an unusually low tide, combined with the weight of Commonwealths freight which was still aboard, had grounded the vessel on a sandbar, and Commonwealth caught fire at the bows and was burned to the water's edge. Fortunately, most of Commonwealths passengers had already disembarked and departed by train, but a young medical student named J. Dickson Ripley, a nephew of Connecticut Governor William A. Buckingham, could not be aroused despite repeated poundings on his cabin door and was presumed to have suffocated from smoke inhalation in his sleep. In addition to the loss of Commonwealth, the entire depot at Groton was destroyed, so thoroughly that the Railroad was forced to move its terminus back to its former location of Stonington for a time. Total damage from the fire was estimated at $1,500,000. Because of Commonwealths well maintained firefighting facilities, her proprietors had only insured the vessel for $80,000, with replacement value estimated at $600,000. Salvage of Commonwealth continued well into 1866, with the steamer's safe, containing about $500