The SS ''Appomattox'' was a wooden-hulled, American

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

that ran aground on Lake Michigan, off Atwater Beach off the coast of Shorewood, Wisconsin in

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

, United States in 1905. On January 20, 2005 the remnants of the ''Appomattox'' were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. With .

History

The ''Appomattox'' (Official number 116682) was built in 1896 in West Bay City, Michigan by the shipyard owned by master shipbuilder James Davidson who was known for his innovative wooden hulled ships. It was the largest steam powered bulk carrier ever to sail on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

. It was built for the Davidson Steamship Company which was also owned by Captain Davidson; it was also one of the last ships he built. At an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of the ''Appomattox'' was one of the largest wooden ships ever built. Its hull was between its perpendiculars. Its beam was wide, and its hull was deep. It had a gross register tonnage of 2643 tons, and a net register tonnage of 2082 tons. It was equipped with a 1,100 horsepower

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

which was built by the Frontier Iron Works Company of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Its engine was fueled by two

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a squat horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

s that were built by the Wickes Brothers of

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. They measured by Due to the vessels length, the ''Appomattox'' used metallic cross bracing, a metallic

keelson The keelson or kelson is a reinforcing structural member on top of the keel in the hull of a wooden vessel. In part V of “ Song of Myself”, American poet Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an Am ...

, metallic plates, and multiple metallic arches. Several siphons, pumps were required to keep the ''Appomattox'' afloat. ''Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks: Appomattox''

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Sea Grant Institute and

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

, 2003 The ''Appomattox'' operated mainly on the

, carrying iron ore on its eastward voyages, and then returning westward with

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

. The ship usually towed the steamer barge ''Santiago'', which had a length of 324 feet (98.8 m), to increase the amount of cargo carried each trip. The ''Appomattox'' alone could carry more than 3,000 tons of bulk cargo, and it and the ''Santiago'' had a combined capacity approaching 8,000 tons. On August 3, 1900 the ''Appomattox'' was towing the schooner-barge ''Santiago'' in the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...

. Meanwhile, the schooner ''Fontana'' was under tow of the steamer ''Kaliyuga''. Then as the four ships approached each other, the ''Santiago'' veered off course and collided with the ''Fontana'', which sank almost immediately with one fatality.

Final voyage

On the day of November 2, 1905 the coal-laden ''Appomattox'' was bound southward with the ''Santiago'' which was also full of coal. They were sailing on the west shore of Lake Michigan. The pair came upon a thick bank of fog which severely impaired their visibility. The two vessels came too close to the shoreline and ran aground. Another vessel named ''Iowa'' was nearby, and she also ran aground. With the use of wrecking tugs, a Revenue Service cutter and the crew of the U.S. Lifesaving Service Station were able to free the ''Santiago'' and the ''Iowa'' in no time at all. Unfortunately the ''Appomattox'' had run aground so hard that it sustained severe bottom damage, the crews worked but were unable to refloat the hull. As the weather deteriorated, and the waves continued to pound the hulk of the ''Appomattox'', the crew of the wrecking tugs and the U.S. Lifesaving Service continued in their effort to salvage her. But the bottom of the ''Appomattox'' had cracked in several places, and even though multiple pumps were used, they could not keep the water from entering her hull. The wrecking crews abandoned her on November 15, 1905. In 1907, or 1919, the Reid (or Reed) Wrecking Company of Sarnia, Ontario removed all of her machinery.

The ''Appomattox'' today

The remains of the ''Appomattox'' rest in to of water 150 yards off Atwater Beach. The remains consist of the ''Appomattox'' intact lower bilge which measures , her port side which measures in length, her starboard side, the remains of her engine beds are also located within the wreck. The wreck is popular with divers due to its close proximity to shore and shallow depth.

References

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appomattox 1896 ships Maritime incidents in 1905 Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Steamships of the United States Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin Ships built by James Davidson Great Lakes freighters Wreck diving sites