1855.

Sault Canal Completed. - The Sault canal was completed this year, opening up communication with the Lake Superior region. The steamer Illinois, 927 tons, Capt. Jack Wilson, was the first boat to pass through the canal, the passage occurring June 18, 1855. She was followed by the steamer Baltimore, Capt. John Shook, the Sam Ward, Capt. B.G. Sweet, respectively, the same month. The Baltimore continued plying there, changing eventually between Chicago and Lake Superior, until the fall of the same year, when she was wrecked at Sheboygan, on Lake Michigan, freighted with supplies.

The Improvement of St. Clair Flats. - A convention was held early in the season of 1855, at Buffalo, by commercial men and vessel owners, to take measures for the improvement of St. Clair flats, which was attended from all the principal United States lake ports, also from Canada. The plan proposed was to dredge a channel 900 yards long and 100 yards wide, at a probable cost of $36,000; driving 1,000 piles, costing $2,000, making a total outlay of $38,000. This improvement was to be carried out in the south channel which was the main line of St. Clair river, the boundary line between Canada and Michigan, and about nine miles shorter than the northern route. Nothing was accomplished, however, until the improvement was undertaken by the United States Government.

Wreck of the Oregon. - The most lamentable accident of the season occurred at or near Belle Isle, opposite the upper end of Detroit. The propeller Oregon left Detroit early in April for the St. Clair river, carrying in addition to her own crew the crews of the brig U.M. Standart and schooner Flying Cloud, which vessels wintered above.

When near the head of Belle Isle, and close to the Canada shore, her boiler exploded, scattering death and destruction all around. The after part of the propeller was blown completely off, and sank almost immediately. Nine men were killed instantly, and several others were badly wounded. Those who were saved clung to the bow of the boat, and were taken off by small boats. The Oregon was in command of Capt. John Stewart, who at the time of the explosion, was leaning against the pilot house. He was thrown high in the air, and as he came down fell through the deck, breaking one of his legs. The captain of the brig U.M. Standart was also leaning against the pilot house at the time, and was thrown some distance, but escaped with a sprained ankle. In all there was a loss of ten lives. The propeller was owned by G. W. Jones, and was valued at $8,000, with no insurance on her, and being in such a shattered condition nothing of value was saved. The engine was blown completely out of the boat. The Oregon was built at Cleveland in 1846, and was 346 tons burden.

Wrecks at Chicago. -- The season for navigation for 1855 was disastrous, the storms raging with unusual fierceness during September and November. Among the casualties of concern at Chicago were the wrecking of the brig Tuscarora and the explosion of the steam tug Seneca. The Tuscarora went to pieces in the storm of September 18, just outside the harbor, but all the crew were saved. The Seneca blew up while passing Randolph street bridge, October 16, 1855. The explosion tore the upper works of the boat to pieces, and killed the captain and engineer. The Seneca was an old boat, having been in use since 1847. During October the schooner Mark H. Sibley and the bark Pathfinder were sunk in the outer harbor.

Shipbuilding Active. -- Shipbuilders were by no means idle at this period of lake commerce, there being no less than 170 craft of all classes, launched at various lake ports, stimulated by good freights, which prevailed throughout the season.

The Queen Charlotte burned at Toronto. -- On January 22, the steamer Queen Charlotte, formerly the Lady of the Lake, was discovered to be on fire at the Queen's wharf in Toronto. She was taken out into the bay by two other steamers, in order to save other shipping, and in an hour and a half not a particle of her wood work was to be seen.

Hull of the Erie Raised. -- The emigrants aboard the ill-fated steamer Erie, burned in 1841, had a large amount of specie with them, and this fact led to attempts to raise the hull, which was eventually done about 1855. The hull was towed into Buffalo harbor, and large amounts of specie, mostly in form of five-franc pieces, were recovered, paying the operators well for their enterprise.

Other Events of 1855. -- April 18: In a great storm on Lake Ontario, the schooner Defiance was lost with all on board, eleven lives; steamer Emerald sunk at the Flats by collision with an anchor. May: Propeller Buckeye State collides with the Belle Sheridan near Long Point; schooner Visitor sunk near West Sister Island; Canadian steamer Huron sunk near Oswego; schooner Hurricane and brig Tuscarora, collide on Lake Huron. June: Schooner J.W. Blake capsized near Sturgeon Point; schooners C.P. Williams, Australia, and Orient ashore on the west side of Lake Michigan; schooner E.M. Lyon sunk by collision with the propeller Delaware on Lake Erie; propeller Cataract sunk near the Foxes, on Lake Michigan. July: Schooner Palmetto ashore at White Fish Bay; schooner Dawn sunk off Madison Dock, Lake Erie; afterwards raised and towed to Buffalo: schooner Lewis C. Irwin capsized on Lake Michigan; schooner Clifton struck by lightning near Monroe; schooner Octavia ashore at the mouth of Grand river, Canada; steamer Ottawa sunk near Brookville by collision with the steamer Tibbett; scow Oak capsized off Avon Point; schooner Home ashore at Grand Haven. August; Schooner Agnes Barton sunk on Lake Erie; schooner Mary Williams capsized near Buffalo; brig Paragon and schooner Robinson collide at Chicago; steamer Baltimore aground on the rocks in the Nevish channel; schooner Pacific sunk near the mouth of Chippewa creek; scow Elmina sunk at Erie; bark L.M. Hubly capsized on Lake Michigan; ten lives lost. September: Schooner Augustus Handy damaged by lightning near Port Huron; steamer Sebastopol lost on Lake Michigan during a storm and seven lives lost; schooner Young America sunk by collision with the schooner Black Hawk, near Racine. October: Schooner Ivanhoe wrecked on Lake Erie, by collision; propeller Allegheny ashore near Milwaukee, during a gale; brig Racine capsized and lost near Milwaukee; crew rescued by the brig Hutchinson; schooner Antares severely damaged during a storm off Cleveland, steamer Minnesota sustains injuries from collision with the piers at Cleveland; scow Leo capsized on Lake Erie; propeller Charter Oak lost near Erie; ten lives lost; schooner Jacob Stranoch capsized at Milwaukee; schooner H. Wheaton sunk at Long Point; schooner Sam Strong ashore at Pere Marquette; Schooner Kitty Grant capsized on Lake Michigan; four lives lost; schooner Steinhart capsized on Lake Michigan; the Liverpool totally wrecked at Grand Haven; at the same place the schooner Falcon, William Tell, Francis, Lady Jane, and Two Charlies are ashore; brig Sebastopol and schooners Spencer and North Cape are ashore, and the Speed sunk at Muskegon. November: Brig Hessian ashore at Mackinaw; schooner Pride sunk at Sandusky; schooner Emblem sunk at Long Point; propeller Delaware completely wrecked near Sheboygan; the Omar Pacha, Rocky Mountain and Queen of the Lakes ashore near the same place; schooner Mary Jane sunk at Toronto; schooner Pearl totally wrecked at East Sister reef; schooner Conquest ashore near Rondeau; schooner Herald sunk in Oswego harbor; schooner J.M. Hughes ashore at Point Water; schooner Traveler sunk at Port Burwell; schooner Crescent City ashore at North Fox; schooner Arkansas ashore at Sheboygan; schooner Mary Watson ashore at Gravelly Bay; schooner Hope ashore at Beaver island.

Other Vessels Passed Out of Existence in 1855. -- The following craft also passed out of existence during the season of 1855: Steamer Baltimore wrecked at Sheboygan; steamer Queen City burned at Toronto dock; steamer Porcupine burned at Prescott, Lake Ontario; steamer Sebastapol lost at Milwaukee, seven lives lost; propeller Oregon exploded above Detroit; ten lives lost; propeller Rossiter wrecked on Lake Michigan; propeller Charter Oak foundered in Lake Erie, ten lives lost; propeller Delaware wrecked at Sheboygan, 11 lives lost; propeller Fintry exploded and sunk in Lake Erie, and eight lives lost; bark L.M. Hulby lost on Lake Michigan, eleven lives lost; bark North Star wrecked on Long Point; bark Pathfinder lost near Chicago; bark Black Maria wrecked near Chicago; bark Halliwell wrecked at Long Point cut; brig Josephine wrecked at Port Burwell; brig Allegheny sunk by brig Young America in Lake Erie; brig Tuscarora wrecked at Chicago; brig Baltic, wrecked at Port Stanley; brig Julia Dean wrecked on Skillagalee; brig H. Wheaton wrecked at Long Point cut; brig John Irwin wrecked at Two Rivers, Lake Michigan; brig Virginia lost off Long Point, Lake Erie. The following named were all schooners: Sylph lost near Oswego; Saratoga lost near Chicago; Defiance foundered in Lake Ontario, ten lives lost; Visitor sunk near West Sister, one life lost; Cygnet sunk by steamer Western World on Lake Erie, and one life lost; E.M. Lyons sunk by propeller Delaware in Lake Erie; Mansfield sunk by schooner Telegraph in Lake Michigan; Napoleon sunk off Erie; Julia burned; Asia sunk by propeller Forest City in Lake Michigan; Sparrow wrecked near Buffalo; Britain lost on Long Point; Ivanhoe sunk by schooner Arab in Lake Erie; Wiman lost at Point aux Barques; G. W. Weeks lost at Pere Marquette, Lake Michigan; H. David sunk in Lake Ontario; St Clair sunk off Point aux Barques; Dean Richmond wrecked near Racine; Sam Strong wrecked at Pere Marquette; Liverpool lost at Grand Haven; Koefer wrecked at Erie; Reindeer lost near Chicago; Belle sunk off Sodus, Lake Ontario; Pearl wrecked on East Sister; Lodi lost at Grand Haven; Hope lost at Beaver island; James Hughes wrecked near Muskegon; Crescent wrecked on North Fox island; DeWitt Clinton lost near Kalamazoo; J.B. Skinner lost on east shore of Lake Michigan; Vermont lost at Grand Haven; Rockwell wrecked near Muskegon; Steinhart foundered in Lake Michigan; Knickerbocker lost on Lake Michigan, and one life lost.

Total loss of property during the season of 1855, $2,797,830. Number of lives lost, 118. Steamers 4, propellers 6, barks 5, brigs 8, schooners 31. The machinery and other parts of the steamer Mayflower, which was wrecked at Point Pelee in the fall of 1854, were recovered by the steamer Huron during the season of 1855, which came near being also wrecked while engaged in the undertaking.

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Volume II

Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.