Everything about Lady Elgin Steamship totally explained
The
Lady Elgin was a
steamship wrecked in
Lake Michigan off
Chicago,
Illinois in 1860.
On
September 8 1860 the
Lady Elgin left
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin for Chicago, carrying members of
Milwaukee's
Union Guard to hear a campaign speech by
Stephen A. Douglas. That night, on the return trip, the
Lady Elgin was steaming through
Lake Michigan in
gale force winds when she was rammed by the schooner
Augusta, which was trying to pull alongside the
Lady Elgin in search of assistance in the rough water. The collision knocked out the lights on the
Lady Elgin.
Concerned that she was damaged and believing the
Lady Elgin had gotten safely away, the
Augusta made for Chicago. Aboard the
Lady Elgin,
cattle and cargo were being thrown overboard to lighten the load and raise the gaping hole in the
Lady Elgin's port side above water level. The
lifeboat which was lowered drifted away before anyone could board it. Within twenty minutes, the
Lady Elgin had broken apart.
When day broke, between 350 and 500 passengers and crew were floating in the water, holding on to anything they could. Over 400 people are believed to have died in the sinking. Most of those lost were from Milwaukee's
Third Ward Irish community and is the second greatest loss of life seen on the Great Lakes. A Wisconsin Historical Marker in the Third Ward commemorates the tragedy, and a monument dedicated at
Calvary Cemetery serves as a
cenotaph.
Following the wreck, the ship's owner,
Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard received a $12,000 payment from his
insurance company, but neither Hubbard nor the insurance company accepted abandonment of the ship.
The wreck of the
Lady Elgin was discovered in 1989 off
Highland Park, Illinois by
Harry Zych, who was awarded ownership in 1999 after a protracted legal battle.
Further Information
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