On July 9, 1868, disaster struck as the steamship Milwaukee was crossing Lake Michigan en route to the lakeside town of Muskegon, Michigan, to pick up a large cargo of lumber.
It was almost midnight. The water was calm, but smoke rose to the surface from wildfires near Wisconsin. The Milwaukee steered her toward a similar timber ship, the C. Hickox, bound for Chicago.
Suddenly, a thick fog rolled in. The Hickox crashed into the side of the Milwaukee River. Hours later, the Milwaukee sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan.
The wreck was discovered last June by a team of researchers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, who used contemporary news clippings, historical weather data and remote sensing equipment to help pinpoint the shipwreck's location. It remained undiscovered until June last year. They then spent the summer photographing the wreckage. The researchers announced the discovery on Saturday.
Valerie Van Heest, director of the association, said in an interview that the Milwaukee is one of an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. Approximately 2,000 pieces have been discovered.
A team led by Van Heest and her husband, Jack Van Heest, learned about the Milwaukee's sinking by looking through a database of missing ships compiled by local historians.
“Discovery is about learning something about these missing ships and sharing that with the public,” Van Heest said. “And primarily, it's a reminder of how the Great Lakes region was developed and settled.””
To locate the Milwaukee, Van Heest's team searched for newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Daily News, the Muskegon Chronicle, and the Inner Ocean, which reported on shipping accidents on the Great Lakes. I found a contemporary newspaper article about the sinking.
Ms van Heest and other researchers were able to determine the ship's course from news clippings and a description of where the crash occurred from the captain's testimony.
These reports also provided a harrowing account of what happened to Milwaukee.
Dennis Harrington, a lookout on the Milwaukee, was the first to spot the Hickox's lights and immediately alerted the Milwaukee's captain. Standard operating procedure required both ships to slow down, steer to starboard and sound their whistles. However, the captains of both ships did none of those things, thinking that visibility was good.
Then a thick fog developed, and by the time the fog cleared it was too late for either ship to turn around. The Hickox rammed into the Milwaukee, sending Harrington overboard. He would be the only victim of the accident.
According to the Shipwreck Research Association, chaos arose on the Milwaukee when the captain went below deck to see that the ship was taking on water. He sent out a distress signal to alert the Hickox, and the crew strung canvas sails over the ship's damaged sides to slow the flow of the lake's waters.
During the investigation, the team discovered that at least one other ship, a steamer called the City of New York, had come to try to save the Milwaukee. They partnered with Hickox, with Milwaukee in between. The crews of both ships used ropes to try to keep the Milwaukee afloat, but to no avail.
Nearly two hours after the collision, the Milwaukee's stern sank below the surface and the ship sank to the bottom of the lake. Everyone on board the doomed ship, except Harrington, arrived safely aboard the Hickox, and both crews were taken to Chicago.
Researchers were able to pinpoint Milwaukee's more precise location using historical weather data. The Michigan Shipwreck Research Association said in a statement that researchers searched the lakebed with a remote-controlled vehicle and found the ship “remarkably intact.”
The Milwaukee was in service for almost 20 years before sinking. In 1868, it was commissioned by the Northern Herr Transportation Company of Ohio to transport passengers and goods. Originally she was 135 feet long and had two decks, one for passengers and one for cargo. In 1881, she was sold and modified to be able to transport more supplies and fewer passengers.
Two years later, Lyman Gates Mason purchased Milwaukee to transport the company's lumber to Chicago. In the video collected from a remote vehicle, researchers discovered something: Mr. Mason was modifying the ship. By shrinking the aft cabin and cockpit to create more space for cargo, Mason rebuilt the ship to look very different from the photos of the only surviving ship, the Milwaukee.
This is the 19th discovery by the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association since its founding nearly 20 years ago.
Ms. Van Heest, who is also the museum's exhibition designer, said that although it took two days to discover Milwaukee, it was “the quickest discovery we have ever made.” The search could take years, she said, depending on how calm the seas are and how far offshore teams have to travel.
While the Milwaukee itself was an ordinary ship for the time, the wreck shows how dependent the Great Lakes region was on timber at the time, Ms. Van Heest said.
““These are museum artifacts that lie at the bottom of the lake, with stories to tell,” she said.
