The ''Wisconsin'' was an iron-hulled package steamer built in 1881 that sank in 1929 in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

off the coast of

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

, United States. In 2009 the shipwreck site was added to 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 v ...

Career

The ''Wisconsin'' was built for the Goodrich Line at the Detroit Dry Dock Complex in 1881, a steamer long with a beam of and a depth of . With . Her design was progressive in several ways. She had an iron hull in an era when most ships were still built of wood. That hull was a double hull, with a max 3.8-foot space between the iron outer hull and the iron floor of the hold. This 3.8-foot space between the hulls was divided into five watertight compartments, which could be independently filled or emptied with

ballast water Ballast is used in ships to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the hull. Insufficiently ballasted boats tend to tip or heel excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the vessel capsizing. If a sailing vessel needs to vo ...

, to adjust for light loads or top-heavy loads. Her front was clad with a rounded iron forefoot which could be pushed up onto ice floes so the ship's weight could break through. The ''Wisconsin'' and her sister ship ''Michigan'' were the first double-hulled iron steamers on the Great Lakes. In 1885, the ''Wisconsin'' caught fire off

Grand Haven, Michigan Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Ha ...

and was nearly destroyed. The ''Wisconsin'' was renamed the ''Naomi'' in 1899. On May 27, 1907, the ship caught fire again; the steamers ''Kansas'', ''E. G. Kerr'', and ''Saxona'' rescued most of the people on board, but four crew members and one passenger perished. By 1910 the ship was known as the ''E. G. Crosby''. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the ''Crosby'' was commandeered by the United States Navy and served in New York harbor as a convalescent hospital ship named the ''General Robert M. O'Reilly'' after

Robert Maitland O'Reilly Robert Maitland O'Reilly (January 14, 1845 – November 3, 1912) was the 20th Surgeon General of the United States Army, serving from September 7, 1902 to January 14, 1909. O'Reilly was born in Philadelphia to John and Ellen (Maitland) O'Reilly. ...

, a former

Surgeon General of the United States Army The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the ...

. The ''General Robert M. O'Reilly'' was renamed the ''Pilgrim'' in 1920 before returning to her original owners and name in 1924.

Sinking and legacy

On 29 October 1929, the ''Wisconsin'' left Chicago bound for Milwaukee. Under the command of Captain Dougal Morrison, the freighter was carrying passengers, automobiles, and machine tools. The ship ran into a storm and began taking on water, sinking around 7:10 pm. Rescue craft arrived 20 minutes later. Estimates of the number saved and lost vary widely, from 18 lost out of 26 aboard to 18 lost of 76 aboard. Estimates given around the time of the sinking give numbers of around 63-66 saved, 8-10 dead or missing. Sources agree the captain went down with the ship. The wreck site is a popular location for historians, archaeologists and divers. It lies in of water, south-southeast of

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisconsin Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Shipwrecks of the Wisconsin coast Hospital ships of the United States Navy World War I auxiliary ships of the United States 1881 ships Maritime incidents in 1929 Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan Ships built in Detroit National Register of Historic Places in Kenosha County, Wisconsin Wreck diving sites