PS Lady Elgin

The PS ''Lady Elgin'' was a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that sank in Lake Michigan off the fledgling town of Port Clinton, Illinois, whose geography is now divided between Highland Park and Highwood, Illinois, after she was rammed in a gale by the schooner ''Augusta'' in the early hours of September 8, 1860. The passenger manifest was lost with the collision, but the sinking of ''Lady Elgin'' resulted in the loss of about 300 livesJournal of Board of Supervising Inspectors, Vol 1, page 43, National Archives Record Group 41 in what was called "one of the greatest marine horrors on record". Four years after the disaster, a new rule required sailing vessels to carry running lights. The ''Lady Elgin'' disaster remains the greatest loss of life on open water in the history of the Great Lakes.

In 1994, a process began to list the shipwreck on the National Register of Historic Places. After it was determined to be eligible for listing in 1999, the process ended after an objection by the owner, so the shipwreck is not listed on the Register.

Career

''Lady Elgin'' was built in 1851 in Buffalo, New York, at a cost of $95,000. She was named after the wife of Lord Elgin, Canada's Governor General from 1847 to 1854. During her time, the wooden-hulled sidewheeler was one of the most elegantly appointed passenger ships plying the Great Lakes. Rated a first-class steamer, she was a favorite with the traveling public. Early in her career she ran between Buffalo and Chicago, then later between Chicago and Collingwood, Ontario. For many of her later seasons, she plied the route between Chicago and other Lake Michigan ports and Lake Superior.

During ''Lady Elgin''s career she was involved in numerous accidents. She sank and was repaired in 1854 after striking a rock at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In 1855, she was towed to Chicago after an accident to her machinery. In 1857, she was damaged by fire. In June 1858, she struck a reef at Copper Harbor, Michigan. In August 1858, she was stranded on Au Sable Point Reef in Lake Superior. In October 1859, she was towed to Marquette, Michigan after breaking her crossbeam. In November 1859, she was towed again when her crank pin broke near Point Iroquois, Michigan. Her final blow came in 1860 when she was rammed by the wooden schooner ''Augusta'' ten miles from shore. In 1899, Great Lakes historian J.B. Mansfield called ''Lady Elgin''s sinking "one of the greatest marine horrors on record".

Final voyage

On the morning of September 6, 1860 ''Lady Elgin'' left Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from the Dooley, Martin, Dousman, and Company Dock, for Chicago, carrying members of Milwaukee's Union Guard to hear a campaign speech by Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln's opponent, although there is no clear historical evidence that Douglas actually appeared. The passengers spent the day of September 7 listening to political speeches followed by an evening of entertainment by a German brass band on board ''Lady Elgin''. On the return trip to Milwaukee that night, the brightly lit ''Lady of Elgin'' was steaming through Lake Michigan against gale force winds when she was rammed by the schooner ''Augusta of Oswego''. ''Augusta'' was sailing using only a single white light, mounted on a five-foot Samson on the bow, and did not attempt, or was unable, to turn to avoid the collision in the gale. On the morning of the collision (September 8) at 2:30 am, ''Augusta'' rammed the port side of ''Lady Elgin'', damaging her own bowsprit and headgear, while holing the latter ship below the waterline.

Concerned that she was damaged and believing ''Lady Elgin'' had got safely away, ''Augusta'' made for Chicago. Aboard ''Lady Elgin'', Captain Wilson ordered that cattle and cargo be thrown overboard to lighten the load and raise the gaping hole in ''Lady Elgin's'' port side above water level while the steward was down in the coal bunker trying to stop the leak with mattresses. Captain Wilson ordered a lifeboat lowered on the starboard side to check the extent of the damage but it never regained the steamer. Within twenty minutes, ''Lady Elgin'' broke apart, and all but the bow section rapidly sank. The night was lit up at intervals by flashes of lightning showing the scattered wreckage.

The life preservers, hardwood planks, long and wide, were never used. Two boats with a total of 18 persons reached shore. In addition, fourteen people were saved on a large raft and many others on parts of the wreckage. Over 300 people died and 98 saved. The drummer of the German band, Charles Beverung, saved himself by using his large bass drum as a life preserver. Survivors reported the heroic efforts of Captain Wilson to save about 300 persons collected on a raft. When day broke, between 350 and 400 passengers and crew were drifting in stormy waters, holding on to anything they could, many only to be pulled under by breakers near shore.

Students from Northwestern University and Garrett Biblical Institute were watching the shore on the morning of September 8, looking for survivors. One of the students, Edward Spencer, is credited with rescuing 17 passengers over the course of six hours. He sustained injuries during his rescue efforts that left him an invalid for the rest of his life. A plaque in his honor was first placed in the Northwestern University Gymnasium, and is now housed in the Northwestern University Library.

About 300 people died in the sinking, including Captain Wilson, who was lost trying to save two women when he was caught by the surf and forced into the rocks. Most were from Milwaukee with the majority of those from the Irish communities, including nearly all of Milwaukee's Irish Union Guard. So many Irish-American political operatives died that day that the disaster has been credited with transferring the balance of political power in Milwaukee "from the Irish to the Germans". It is said that more than 1000 children were orphaned by the tragedy, however research shows that there were fewer than 40 children orphaned. The ''Lady Elgin'' disaster remains the greatest loss of life on open water in the history of the Great Lakes.

Among the 300 victims was Herbert Ingram, the founder and owner of the Illustrated London news and a Member of Parliament, who with his son, were the only foreigners on the ship. Herbert Ingram was the most wealthy and prominent individual to perish on a shipwreck in the Great Lakes.

Memorials

A Wisconsin historical marker in the historic third ward in Milwaukee commemorates the tragedy. Calvary Cemetery in Milwaukee has a monument dedicated to the ''Lady Elgin'' disaster and the many lost in the tragedy who are buried there.

A statue of Herbert Ingram, politician and owner of the Illustrated London News, the Lady Elgin's most notable victim, stands in the city center in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, since erected in 1862. The monument honours Boston-born, 3-term Member of Parliament, who helped bring fresh water, education, and the railroad to the city.

Songwriter Henry Clay Work penned the memorial son
"Lost on the 'Lady Elgin'"
in 1861. For many years in central Canada this song was sung at family gatherings and social occasions.

In 2009, the Milwaukee Irish Heritage and Cultural Center launched a $200,000 fundraising campaign for a mammoth, two-story bronze memorial statue for the ''Lady Elgin'' disaster.

Maritime rulings

Following the sinking, ''Lady Elgin's'' owner, Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, received a $12,000 payment from his insurance company, but neither he nor the insurance company accepted abandonment of the ship. The captain of ''Augusta'', Darius Malott, was arrested and tried in Chicago, but found not guilty of navigational negligence. A coroner's jury declared his second-mate, Mr. Budge, to be incompetent, and his crew to be of principal blame. However, Professor Mason and Lieutenant Bartlett asserted that a principal cause of the collision was the lack of a $15 lantern on the Augusta. Steamboat historian Peter Charlebois noted that, after the investigation, Captain Malott and ''Lady Elgin's'' crew and owners were absolved of any blame. He reported:

The judgement was based on a law that not only gave sail the right of way over steam, but did not require sailing vessels to carry running lights. Apparently ''Augusta'' had sighted the passenger steamer twenty minutes before the collision but in the rain had misjudged the distance between them. Four years after the disaster, in 1864, a new ruling was made requiring sailing vessels to carry running lights. Since there were still nearly 1,900 ships under sail by 1870 the regulations were long overdue.

Wreck

The wreck of ''Lady Elgin'' was discovered in 1989 off Highland Park, Illinois by Harry Zych. Zych claimed ownership of the wreck in a legal action begun in 1989 and provided a list to the court of the 130+/- artifacts that he had recovered. In addition, he testified that he had located the ships safely lying on the bottom and inside found two gold pocket watches and 70 gold and silver coins (currency at the time) that had been entrusted to the purser for safekeeping. (book) He was awarded ownership in 1999 after a protracted legal battle.

While the case was ongoing, the State of Illinois sought the pro-bono services The Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago, which under the leadership of archaeological diver Valerie van Heest, undertook a reconnaissance survey of the wreck site in 1992. The wreck, consisting of four main debris fields (bow, boilers, paddlewheels, debris field) lying in of water. During their survey, the dive team recorded evidence that other divers had been stripping the wreck of loose artifacts left behind by Zych. Zych never donated his artifacts to any museum/museums. However, in 2023, it became known that Zych had given another diver permission to recover artifacts. In 2023 that person donated some 160 artifacts to th
Chicago Maritime Museum
for an exhibit, designed by Valerie van Heest, based upon her book Lost on the Lady Elgin.

In 2025, it was learned that a trio of divers had recovered a gold pocket watch from the debris field in 1992. Engraving on the watchcase and a wax seal fob with the initials H. I. provided evidence that the watch belonged to Herbert Ingram, the most prominent individual among the victims. Valerie van Heest acquired the watch, chain, and fob from the divers. After unsuccessful attempts to find Ingram’s surviving ancestor, she donated the watch to the Boston Guildhall Museum, the city run museum in Ingram’s birth city, Boston, England, that maintains the statue of Herbert Ingram. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pocket-watch-recovered-from-lake-michigans-deadliest-shipwreck-returns-to-owners-hometown-after-165-years-180986728/

See also

* List of maritime disasters in the 19th century

Notes

References

External links

The Great Lakes Shipwreck File

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Elgin
Great Lakes ships
History of Chicago
History of Wisconsin
Maritime incidents in September 1860
Transportation in Milwaukee
Ships sunk in collisions
1851 ships
Passenger ships of the United States
Paddle steamers of the United States
Highwood, Illinois
Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan
Ships built in Buffalo, New York
Wreck diving sites