1913 — Nov 7-10, Great Lakes storm, esp. Lake Huron, 12 crews lost–US 172-192 of 254-277
Also referred to as “The Big Blow,” “The Freshwater Fury,” and “The White Hurricane”
–250-300 Hemming. Ships Gone Missing: The Great Lakes Storm of 1913. 1992, pp. 5, 138.
–250-300 Oleszewski. Stormy Disasters: Great Lakes Shipwrecks. 2001, p. 58.[1]
–254-277 Blanchard range of U.S. and Canadian maritime and land (US 8-9) losses.[2]
— 270 Lake Huron and 10 boats lost. Ludlum. The American Weather Book. 1982, p. 61.[3]
–246-268 Blanchard range of U.S. and Canadian maritime losses based on breakouts below.
— 260 Simpson in Cong., House Merchant Marine Committee. The Seamen’s Bill. 1914, p.303.
— 256 Brown, 2002, p203. (253 maritime deaths from 12 craft, plus 3 from Nottingham.)
— >250 Barcus. Freshwater Fury… the Greatest Storm in Inland Navigation. 1986, p. xv.
— 250 Catton. “The Ultimate Storm.” American Heritage, Vol. 35, Issue 6, Oct/Nov 1984.
— 250 Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. “Report News” (November 2008).
— ~250 Maritime historian Frederick Stonehouse of Marquette, quoted in Krueger, 6-8-2013.[4]
— >250 NOAA, Great Lakes Region. Shipwrecks. Accessed 7-7-2018.
— >250 Schaefer. “Man discovers Lake Huron shipwreck missing since 1913.” 11-19-2015.[5]
— >248 Brown. White Hurricane: A Great Lakes November Gale…. 2002, inside dust jacket.[6]
— 248 Detroit News. “The night 12 ships vanished on the Great Lakes.” 2-11-1996.[7]
— 235 Lake Carriers Association. Annual Report for 1913; cited in Brown 2007, p. 203.
— 235 Deedler/NOAA 2005.
— 235 Michigan Historical Markers.[8]
— 235 Ohio Historical Society, Nov 9, 1913.
— >200 National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
–172-193 Blanchard tally of US maritime and land fatalities based on breakouts below.
–166-184 Blanchard tally of US maritime fatalities based on breakouts below.
— 161 [Great Lakes maritime fatalities.] US Steamboat-Inspection Ser. An. Rpt. 1914, 14.
— 80 – 84 Blanchard tally of Canadian maritime fatalities based on breakouts below.
— 8-9 US land losses (2 in Chicago, 1 in Akron, OH, and 5-6 in Cleveland, OH).
United States Maritime Losses: 166-184
–24-28 SS Argus,[9] Nov 9 Blanchard range based on sources below.
— 28 “ Off Point Aux Barques, MI, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 25 “ Lake Huron, off Kincardine, Ontario Swayze. Shipwrecks A
— 24 “ Lake Huron Berman 1972, 235.
— 24 “ Lake Huron, 13 mi. n. Point Aux Barques. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[10]
–28 SS Charles S. Price, Nov 9. Lake Huron, upbound with coal from Toledo. Berry. “Price”[11]
–28 “ Off Port Huron, MI, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
–28 “ (all) Lake Huron, off “the Thumb.” NOAA. Shipwrecks.[12]
–28 “ (all) 18° north of Port Gratiot Light, MI Swayze. Shipwrecks P
–23-26 SS Henry B. Smith, Nov 9-10. Blanchard range based on sources below.
— 26 “ Lake Superior Berman 1972, 246.
— 26 “ Found 535 ft down 2013 off Marquette, MI NOAA. Shipwrecks.
— 25 “ Found 525 ft down 2013 off Marquette, MI. Krueger. 6-8-2013.[13]
— 25 “ Lake Superior north of Marquette, MI Swayze. Shipwrecks S
— 25 “ Lake Superior near Marquette, MI Wikipedia, 4-30-2018
— 23 “ Off Marquette, MI, Lake Superior. Brown 2002, p. 203.
–24-28 SS Hydrus, Nov 9[14] Blanchard range based on sources below.
— 28 Hydrus (all) Lake Huron NOAA. Shipwrecks.[15]
— 28 “ Lake Huron, off Lexington, MI Swayze, Shipwrecks H
— 25 “ Off Goderich, Ont., Canada, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 24 “ Reportedly off Lexington, MI, Lake Huron Berman 1972, p. 247.
— 22 “ Lake Huron Schaefer 11-9-2015.
–28 SS Isaac M. Scott, Nov 10.[16] Off Sturgeon Pt., MI, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
–28 “ (all) Last seen off Tawas, MI, so. of Thunder Bay. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[17]
–28 “ (all) 7 miles NE of Thunder Bay Island, MI Swayze. Shipwrecks S
–28 “ Last seen Nov 9 off Tawas Point, MI. Wikipedia. 3-3-2018.
–23-28 SS John A. McGean Blanchard range from sources below.
— 28 “ Off Sturgeon Pt., MI, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 28 “ Lake Huron, midlake off the Tawasses.[18] Swayze. Shipwrecks M
— 24 “ Lake Huron, 10 miles off Port Hope. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[19]
— 23 “ Off Port Sanilac, MI, Lake Huron. Berman 1972, p. 249.
— 23 “ Nov 8 (all) Off Tawas Point Light. Wikipedia 4-20-2018
–6 Lightship #82 Off Buffalo, NY, Lake Erie. Brown 2002, p. 203.
–6 “ (all) Lake Erie, Waverly Shoal off Buffalo, NY Swayze Shipwrecks L
–6 Light Vessel 82, Nov 10 Missing btw. Buffalo Harbor & Pt. Abino. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[20]
–7-9 Plymouth, Nov 8.[21] Blanchard range based on sources below.
— 9 [22] “ Cut loose from tow near St. Martin’s Isl. Shelak 2003, p. 179.
— 9 “ schooner barge. Near St. Martin’s Isl. off tip of Garden Pen. Swayze Shipwrecks P
— 8 [23] “ barge Top of Lake Mich., near St. Martin’s Island. Ratigan 1969, p. 250.
— 7 “ barge Off Gull Island, MI, Lake Michigan. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 7 “ schooner barge Foundered near Gull Island, Lake Michigan Maritime History…
— 7 “ schooner barge Had anchored in lee of St. Martin’s Island. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[24]
–3 William Nottingham Hit shoal; began breaking into pieces. Ratigan 1969, p246.[25]
–3 William Nottingham, Nov 11. Lake Superior, Sand Island shoals, WI Swayze. Shipwrecks N[26]
U.S. Land Losses: 8-9
Illinois (2)
–2 Chicago. Drowning; men thrown by gale winds into Chicago River. Hemming 1992, p. 59
Ohio (6-7 land) (>3 sailors lost on boats built in Ohio)
–1 Akron. Lima Daily News, OH. “Ohio is Storm Swept.” 11-10-1913, p. 1.[27]
–5 Cleveland. Sandusky Register, OH. “Shores of Great Lakes are Littered…” 11-12-1913, p. 1.
–5 Cleveland. Norwalk Reflector-Herald, OH. “Cleveland Now Faces Hardship.” 11-12-1913, 1
–5 Cleveland. Hemming 1992, p. 63
–6 Cleveland. Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.
–1 Electrocution from downed power line; male, 17.[28] Hemming 1992, p. 63 –1 Snow-laden roof of house collapsed; male, 58.[29] Hemming 1992, p. 63
–1 Man found dead in snowbank.[30] Hemming 1992, p. 63
–1 Blunt force trauma; man blown from boxcar.[31] Sandusky Register, OH. 11-11-1913, 1.
–1 Train conductor checking track in front of his engine hit by oncoming train.[32]
–1 Apparent hypothermia; homeless man, 78, found frozen in “skid row” alley.[33]
—>3 Ohio Maritime Losses Subset
Six of the twelve lost ships were built in Lorain, OH: Argus, Hydrus, John A. McGean, Charles S. Price, Isaac M. Scott, and Henry B. Smith. Several were owned by Cleveland owners.[34] At least one was homeported at a Ohio port, and several of the lost seamen were Ohio men.
Canadian maritime losses: 80-84
–22-25 James Carruthers Blanchard range from sources below.
— 25 (all) “ Lake Huron off Kincardine, Ontario. Swayze. Shipwrecks C
— 22 “ Off Goderich, Ont., Canada, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 22 “ steel freighter. Lake Huron, apparently near Kincardine. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[35]
— 18 Leafield steel bulk freighter. Lake Superior near Angus Isl. ON Berry. “Leafield.”[36]
— 18 “ Off Angus Island, Canada, Lake Superior. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 18 “ (all) Lake Superior, near Angus Island. NOAA. Shipwrecks.
— 18 “ (all) Lake Superior, near Angus Island, Ontario Swayze Shipwrecks L
— 20 Regina Off Harbor Beach, MI, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
— 20 “ (all) Lake Huron, Harbor Beach shoal. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[37]
–20-21 Blanchard range from sources below.
— 21 Wexford (all) Lake Huron, near Goderich. NOAA. Shipwrecks.[38]
— 20 Wexford. Off Port Franks, Ont., Canada, Lake Huron. Brown 2002, p. 203.
Michigan “waters” US Vessels: 157-175
–24-28 Argus Off Point Aux Barques, MI, Lake Huron. See breakouts above.
— 28 Charles S. Price. Off Port Huron, MI, Lake Huron. See breakouts above.
–23-26 Henry B. Smith. Off Marquette, MI, Lake Superior. See breakouts above.
–24-28 Hydrus Off Lexington, MI Lake Huron (Swayze) See breakouts above.
— 28 Isaac M. Scott. Off Sturgeon Pt., MI, Lake Huron. See breakouts above.
–23-28 John A. McGean. Off Sturgeon Pt., MI, Lake Huron. See breakouts above.
— 7-9 Plymouth Off Gull Island, MI, Lake Michigan. See breakouts above.
New York ( 6)
–6 Lightship 82. Off Buffalo, NY, Lake Erie. (Brown 2002, 203.)
Narrative Information
Barcus: “….Lest any reader think that this Storm was a tempest in a freshwater teapot, I give fair warning here and now that this book is about one of the grimmest storms on record. With its nightmare tragedies, it was the greatest disaster in the history of the Great Lakes….” (p. xiii)
“….Twelve ships disappeared with their entire crews, leaving nothing behind to tell of their last battle with wind and sea. Eight of these were lost in the deadly pocket of Lake Huron, within a hundred miles of Port Huron, Michigan…The Argus, Hydrus, Regina, Wexford, James Carruthers, John A. McGean, Isaac M. Scott, and the Charles S. Price. The most appalling tribute to the Storm’s power was the toll it took in human life — over two hundred and fifty men.” (pp. xiv-xv.)
“The storm first made its presence known on Friday, November 7, 1913, as it centered over Minnesota….the United States Weather Bureau telegraphed a storm warning to all stations on the Great Lakes….” (p. 2.)
“Lake Huron claimed the heaviest toll of human life. Its west shore (the State of Michigan), usually its weather shore, harbored scores of ships when the storm broke. This was a fatal mistake for many skippers. Unexpectedly, the wind shifted and the west shore received the full force of the mighty gale. The sailors’ have became the Great Lakes’ biggest graveyard.
“Next to Lake Huron, Lake Superior claimed the biggest toll of life and property. The storm on Superior was as severe as that on Huron but the wind did not shift, blowing steadily from the northwest. Here the force of the wind snapped two-inch steel mooring cables as if they were pieces of string.
“On Lake Erie, the steamer Calcite was swept by a mighty black wall of water rising skyward. On its top rode a rumbling white crest that smashed the ship’s rigging, skylight, lifeboats, and all the windows in the pilot house…
“On Lake Michigan, scores of ships were wrecked. The steamer Black, while moored at her dock in Gary, had every one of her windows torn out by the gale and was pounded into the concrete pier until she was a complete wreck….” (pp. 5-6.)
“The city of Cleveland and the Cleveland ship-owners bore the brunt of the damage; the loss in the city itself amounted to more than five million dollars. Telephone and telegraph lines for a hundred miles around the city were destroyed. Whoever coined the phrase ‘any port in a storm’ could not have visualized the destruction to all the ships in the Cleveland harbor when the stork struck….’The snow drifts were eight feet deep in the streets. Wires were down everywhere and people wouldn’t cross the street for fear of being electrocuted.’….” (p. 6-7.)
“…Twenty of the freighters that had disappeared or were stranded or pounded to pieces on the rocks were owned in Cleveland, and 186 men on those ships lost their lives.” (p. 7.)
(Barcus. Freshwater Fury: Yarns and Reminiscences of the Greatest Storm in Inland Navigation. 1960 and 1986.)
Catton: “….On Friday, November 7…the weather bureau ordered storm warnings hoisted at all its stations on the lakes….
“…This was not just another Western snowstorm; it was an outright hurricane, born freakishly in the north country instead of the tropics, and it spun into that densely traveled stretch of water like nothing the lake people ever saw before or since. To this day it is remembered as the Great Storm of 1913, the worst the lakes ever had. It destroyed nineteen ships—a dozen of them were lost with all hands, and no one will ever know just how and when they sank—and it drove twenty more onto the rocks. It drowned two hundred and fifty sailors, and it caused millions of dollars in property damage to various shoreside cities and towns. As far as the lakers are concerned, this was the ultimate storm….
“…the L. C. Waldo sailed from Two Harbors with iron ore and got the worst of it—towering following seas that smashed pilothouse, steering wheel, and compass and drove the blinded vessel onto a reef off the tip of Keweenaw Point. The Waldo was broken in half; by some prodigy of good luck and rugged self-help, her crew survived for ninety hours in the forward end until shore people were able to come out and take them off.
“On Lake Michigan the barge Plymouth anchored near St. Martin’s Island to ride out the storm, icy waves breaking over her but never quite able to take her down. When rescuers finally reached the barge, they found an eerie scene: the crew of seven had lashed themselves to rail and rigging to keep from going overboard—and all of them had frozen to death….
“…The Louisiana , bound for Alpena to get ore, steamed head on into the storm and found herself borne straight backward and broken on the beach of Washington Island. Not far away the Halsted went hard aground on an offshore reef—to be picked up, when she was on the verge of coming to pieces, by an extra-big wave, lifted clear over the reef, and put high on the beach so that her crew could clamber down from her bow to dry land and perfect safety.
“On Lake Superior the Leafield, carrying steel rails to Port Arthur, went missing with all hands. The Turret Chief got to the middle of Lake Superior before the storm took final charge; it drove her far off course and finally put her on the rocks off the Keweenaw Peninsula. She was close ashore, and the crew managed to scramble to solid ground, but they had no idea where they were and there was a howling snowstorm. They spent Saturday night and Sunday in a driftwood hut they built. On Monday they plodded grimly off through the wilderness. They finally reached a small town, with shelter and warmth and food—fifty chilly, hungry hours after their boat was wrecked.
“….the J. H. Sheadle… went out into Lake Huron early on Sunday morning, November 9. There was a light breeze from the north-northeast and everything seemed peaceful. Ahead of him was the James Carruthers , followed by the Hydrus, and the three steamed out on what looked like a routine cruise down to Lake Erie. The Sheadle eventually made it; nobody ever saw the other two boats again….
“Many ships did not make it: in addition to the Hydrus and James Carruthers, the John A. McGean, Isaac M. Scott, Argus, Andrus, Wexford, Regina, and Charles S. Price were all lost. Nobody ever knew just where, when, and how they sank; they simply disappeared, and there were no survivors….” (Catton, Bruce. “The Ultimate Storm.” American Heritage, Vol. 35, Issue 6, Oct/Nov 1984.)
Hemming: “Storms on the Great Lakes erupt with a vicious suddenness that, prior to the introduction of radio communication and modern weather forecasting, frequently caught mariners unprepared, seizing their fragile vessels in a fatal grip, wrenching and twisting them in mountainous waves striking more swiftly and more frequently than any ocean crest.” (Hemming 1992, p. 10) Such storms are one weighty factor in understanding why “more than six thousand ships litter the bottoms of these lakes.” (Hemming 1992, back cover)
“The costliest single storm in terms of ships and crews lost occurred in November 1913 and is arguably the worst storm ever to strike the Great Lakes. It began on November 7, continued for four full days, and before it had blown itself out had swallowed up twelve ships, seriously damaged twenty-five others, and taken the lives of between 250 and 300 men and women” (Hemming , p. 5)
“Singly and by twos and threes they drifted in, as if coming to be present at some ghastly muster, shrouded in life jackets bearing the names of ships gone missing. The Wexford, Argus, McGean, Hydrus, Scott[39], Regina, Carruthers and Price[40] had all sent representatives to shore to announce to everyone that they foundered, that their crews were all dead. Stiff, bloated and battered, their heads capped in ice, they floated in, rolled and pitched by the combers crashing on the beach. They came draped over life preservers, they came wrapped in each others arms, they came frozen together in clusters. All week long they came, to be collected by area farmers who sometimes had to dig half-buried bodies out of the sand that was trying to cover them.” (Hemming 1992, p. 119)
Not all the deaths were “at sea.” In Chicago “Two men were literally picked up by the gale and thrown to their deaths in the Chicago River.” Hemming notes that “considerable havoc” was visited upon parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, and much of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.” (Hemming 1992, p. 59)
“All up and down Lake Michigan the scene was the same as docks and piers disappeared and hundreds of pleasure craft were demolished. Buildings of every type were damaged or destroyed and the injuries were uncountable. (p. 60)
Cleveland received two feet of snow. “The community was almost completely cut off from the outside world” due to roads blocked by down poles and the snow (p. 62). One of five fatalities in Cleveland was due to electrocution from a downed power line, one when a snow-laden roof collapsed, and another found dead in a snowbank, many of which were up to five feet. (p. 63)
“To the east, from Cleveland to the Pennsylvania line and beyond, and to the west from Cleveland to Toledo, numerous trains were trapped in snowbanks, the passengers struggling to keep from freezing to death” (p.63).
“Of the twelve vessels to sink in the storm of November 7-11, 1913, six have never been found.”
(Hemming 1992, 137)
Great Latke Shipwrecks “S”: Added to the list of downed ships above is the bulk freighter Henry B. Smith, with all 25 hands.
Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News: “Wind gusts on lakes hit 144 km/h. Waves peaked at 10.5 metres. The tragedy highlighted the inadequacies of weather forecasting. At the time, storm warnings consisted of flags at strategic points along the lake. ‘What a four days they were,’ says White Hurricane author David Brown. ‘A dozen modern steamships were sunk, another score were battered into submission or cast ashore. Perhaps 250 or more sailors died in those hurricane-force winds; we don’t really know.’” (Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Report News (November 2008).”
NOAA: “1913 was a year of extremes for Great Lakes Mariners. That year saw more ore, coal, and grain shipped than ever before. But prosperity came with a price. When the November storm season arrived two major storm fronts collided over the Great Lakes producing blinding snow, 35 foot-high-waves and 90 mile-per-hour winds. 12 ships were lost completely and an estimated 31 were driven ashore by wind and waves. Before it ended, the “White Hurricane” had claimed more than 250 lives. The most losses occurred in Lake Huron where 8 ships sank and 200 sailors died.” (NOAA, Great Lakes Region. Shipwrecks. Accessed 7-7-2018.)
Schmidlin: “Twenty of the freighters lost or stranded were owned in Cleveland and many of the crew were Ohioans. These were large boats – among them the Charles S. Price, a 524-foot, 6,300-ton steel freighter loaded with coal from Cleveland that sank with 28 men in Lake Huron.”
(Schmidlin 1996, p. 20.)
Simpson: “Capt. Simpson: …during this great storm, our last storm — by the way, we lost seven members of our association — that all our boats that were being operated at that time were equipped 100 per cent [life boats] and those boats that we lost were equipped with about 140 per cent lifeboats.
“Mr. Hardy. On those boats that were lost, how much loss of life was there?
“Capt. Simpson: I believe, Mr. Chairman, that there were two hundred and sixty-some odd. People who were not there at that time can not have any conception of the violence of the storm. I do not believe there is a building that is made that would have stood it. They build buildings to stand storms, but I do not believe that one of our great warships, even, would have stood that storm.
“Mr. Hardy. What lake was that on?
“Capt. Simpson. It was general, but it was worse up where they were lost. I think possibly there were more boats there. They came down in the storm, down in the snow, turned around to the lower section of the lake, and we do not know what became of them.
“Mr. Hardy. Was that Lake Erie?
“Capt. Simpson. No; Lake Huron.
“Mr. Hardy. When was it?
“Capt. Simpson. It was in November, about the 9th.
“Mr. Hardy. Of this year?
“Capt. Simpson. Yes; this year. It was like a tornado, or a cyclone, or something like that, that lifeboats or the steamboats themselves, the most modern ships, could not live in; and they were the most modern ships we had, I think.
“Mr. Hardy. Were there some of those crews or passengers saved?
“Capt. Simpson. There were not any saved.
“Mr. Hardy. How many passengers do you say those boats had ?
“Capt. Simpson. They were all freight boats.
“Mr. Hardy. And you had how many that were lost?
“Capt. Simpson. I think there were in the neighborhood of 12 lost.”
(Simpson in U.S. Cong., House Merchant Marine Committee. The Seamen’s Bill. 1914, 303.)
U.S. SIS: “During an extremely severe storm, which raged with uncommon fury on all the Great Lakes, particularly on Lake Huron, November 9 to 10, 1913, the following steamers with their entire crews foundered, resulting in the loss of 161 lives:
Henry B. Smith [US]
Argus [US]
Hydrus [US]
Charles S. Price [US]
John A McGean [US]
Isaac M. Scott [US]
Wm. Nottingham [US], and
James H. Martin.” (U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1914, p. 14.)
Nov 10: “Cleveland, O., Nov 10. — The most severe early winter storm in many years gripped Cleveland Sunday and today forenoon. All communication with the outside world was cut off for thirty hours. Railroad trains are from twelve to eighteen hours late. Hundreds of telephone poles in the city were blown down and not only was th street car traffic tied up but entangling wires kept pedestrians in. Not for several days will communication wit all parts be restored. The damage amounts to many thousands.
“Driven by winds which reached 75-miles an hour snow was from six inches to six feet in drifts. Gas pressure held firm, preventing much suffering.
“No trains left for the south until late today….
“One man was killed by being blown from a box car. Many street car passengers had narrow escapes when poles fell on the cars and the windows were blown in by the wind. Many big plate glass windows were pushed in by the enormous pressure which the wind attained in the narrower streets….” (Sandusky Register, OH. “Cleveland Hit Hard.” 11-11-1913, p. 1.)
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Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks A.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/a.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks C.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/c.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks H.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/h.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks L.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/l.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks M.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/m.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks N.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/n.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks P.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/p.htm
Swayze, David D. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-1999. “Great lakes Shipwrecks S.” Lake Isabella, MI, 2001. Accessed 7-7-2018 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/s.htm
United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1914. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1914. 55 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=_KbNAAAAMAAJ
Wikipedia. “SS Henry B. Smith.” 4-30-2018 edit. Accessed 7-8-2018 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Henry_B._Smith
Wikipedia. “SS Isaac M. Scott (1909).” 3-3-2018 edit. Accessed 7-8-2018 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Isaac_M._Scott_(1909)
Wikipedia. “SS John A. McGean.” 4-20-2018 edit. Accessed 7-8-2018 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_John_A._McGean#cite_note-book-1
Suggested Additional Sources
Carroll, Paul. The Wexford: Elusive Shipwreck of the Great Storm, 1913. Dundurn, 2010.
Catton, Bruce. “The Ultimate Storm: The Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913.” Weatherwise, Vol. 38, Issue 5, 1985, pp. 348-253.
Reardon, Kelly. “Remembering the ‘Great Storm of 1913:’ The deadliest storm to hit the Great Lakes,” Cleveland.com, 11-8-2016. Accessed 9-5-2018 at: https://www.cleveland.com/weather/blog/index.ssf/2016/11/remembering_the_great_storm_of.html
Schmidlin, Thomas W. and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. Kent State University Press, 1996, 362 pages. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=QANPLARGXFMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Schumacher, Michael. November’s Fury: The Deadly Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913. University of Minnesota Press, 2013.
[1] “Because of the inaccurate records kept in those days, the exact number of sailors killed will never be known, It was common practice in this era to hire on unskilled crewmen for as little time as a single trip. Many of these men were little more than vagrants who could coil a rope or swing a coal shovel. These men were consumed by the lakes and will never be missed or accounted for. Estimates of lives lost range from 250 to over 300. More than 50 human existences were blotted out anonymously.” Perhaps so; however, our attempt is to determine a number or a range are based on breakouts of lives lost on identified craft, or, if on land, in the locality — then to add.
[2] We accept the points by Brown and Oleszewski that there were probably additional deaths on the lakes in small craft, as well as on land (such as hunters or anglers). However, we try to limit what we show to what can be counted.
[3] “Ten large ore-carriers were lost along with 270 sailors in the storm-tossed waters of Lake Huron.”
[4] This, however, is an estimate without a breakout which would allow one to see how the estimate came together.
[5] No citation, thus no way to know how this number was derived.
[6] “At least 248 sailors lost their lives.” On page 202 Brown writes: “Officially 248 sailors were killed by the storm, but the actual toll was much greater. Putting exact numbers to the carnage is difficult because no single agency in 1913 kept track of vessels lost or sailors killed. The Lake Carriers Association numbers [235] appear to be the most accurate, but they focus almost entirely on the damage to large steel vessels. The association’s year-end report for 1913 virtually ignores sailing vessels, tugs, and powered barges. No official tally of the dead includes the commercial fishermen, hunters, or anglers who also lost their lives.”
[7] Attributes estimate of 248 lives lost to the U.S. Life-Saving Service.
[8] Marker is for 235 seamen who drowned when ten ships sank.
[9] SS originally was a designation for sea-worthy sailing ship, then became used for steam ship.
[10] Notes the steel bulk freighter was built and launched in 1905 at Lorain, OH, originally as the Lewis Woodruff. Sold and renamed in 1913 as the Argus. At time of loss was hauling coal. Not discovered until 1972, 250 feet down.
[11] Notes that this bulk freighter was build in Lorain, OH and home-ported out of Fairport, OH.
[12] “The 504-foot, 6,322-ton steel bulk freighter Charles S. Price was built by the American Shipbuilding Company of Lorain, Ohio. It was hauling coal northbound into Lake Huron when it disappeared somewhere off the Thumb with Captain William A. Black and 27 of his crew.”
[13] Notes the steel freighter was launched in 1906 at Lorain, OH. Was carrying load of iron ore bound for Cleveland.
[14] Date is from Jim Schaefer of Detroit Free Press, 11-9-2015.
[15] Notes that this steel bulk freighter was built in Lorain, OH in 1903 as the Lewis Woodruff. “On November 9, 1913 while carrying a load of iron ore through the locks at Sault Ste. Marie immediately behind the James Carruthers, Hydrus encountered the start of the great storm. Heading southbound towards the St. Clair River and not far into Lake Huron, the ship foundered and sank with Captain John H. Lowe and a crew of 27 on board….”
[16] Date of loss is from National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. “Isaac M. Scott Bulk Freighter.” 7-31-2017 revision.
[17] “The 504-foot steel bulk freighterIsaac M. Scott…was built in 1909 by American Shipbuilding of Lorain, Ohio… Commanded by Capt. A. McArthur, theScottwas up bound from Cleveland to Milwaukee carrying coal….”
[18] Not sure of the reference. Tawas City and Tawas Point, MI are on west shore of Lake Huron, above Saginaw Bay.
[19] “The John A. McGean sailed out of Lake Erie with a load of coal bound for Lake Superior. At 2:10 Sunday morning the ship cleared Port Huron and headed into Lake Huron….The steel freighter was only five years old, having between built by the A.M. Shipbuilders Company of Lorain, Ohio, in 1908. It was 432 feet in length and 5,100 tons. Tem miles off Port Hope, the McGean suddenly went to pieces and quickly sank with Captain Chauncey R. Ney and 23 of his crew…”
[20] “The 95 foot long steel lightship was built in Muskegon, MI, and delivered to Buffalo for lighthouse service during the summer of 1912…LV 82 was to temporarily mark the approaches to Buffalo Harbor, which was one of the busiest ports in the world during this era. While most of the shipping in Buffalo heeded the storm warning issued by the fledgling Weather Bureau, LV 82 was anchored well offshore between Buffalo Harbor and Point Abino when it went missing during the height of the storm, on Monday, Nov 10. The lightship was the only vessel lost on Lake Erie. Captain Hugh Williams and his crew of five were lost with the ship….”
[21] Date from Maritime History of the Great Lakes (Walter Lewis). “Plymouth (Schooner), U19621, sunk, 8 Nov 1913.
[22] Writes that on-board were Cpt. Axel Larsen, a crew of seven men, and federal marshal Christ Keenan, who was aboard because “Ownership of the Plymouth was being contested by several parties, and Keenan was on board to prevent possible theft of the boat.” Thus nine men in all.
[23] This may be a matter of interpreting the language: “…the captain and her crew of seven men had been frozen to statues of ice while the Plymouth sailed on to survive the 1913 disaster alone.” (Ratigan 1969, p. 250.
[24] Notes the Plymouth was built as a steamer at Ohio City, OH in 1854, but converted 30 years later to 3-masted schooner barge “used primarily in the lumber trade.” During the storm the Plymouthwas being towed by the tugJames H. Martinfrom Menominee bound for Lake Huron. The tug and barge could not make headway against the building storm so the Plymouth anchored in the lee of St. Martins Island at the mouth of Green Bay. When theMartinreturned thePlymouthand its crew of seven were nowhere to be found.”
[25] Notes that “Three of the crew drowned in a desperate attempt to launch a lifeboat and reach help. All the rest were brought safely off the wreck by the Coast Guard within a few hours.”
[26] Notes that the William Nottingham was a propeller-driven steel bulk freighter build at Buffalo, NY in 1902. Lost on Nov 11.
[27] “Akron, O., Nov. 10.–One man is dead, twenty derailed street cars tie up the entire city and interurban system, trains are stalled here, business is paralyzed, manufacturers are running half force, and the city faces a coal shortage in the heaviest storm in the history of the city.”
[28] The age and gender are from Brown (2002, p. 146), who writes that “Seventeen-year-old Carl Bourgeois…was shoveling snow from the walk in front of his family’s home on Monday. He bent over to move a downed wire and was electrocuted.”
[29] Identified by Sandusky Register, Nov 12, p. 1, as John Richmond.
[30] Sandusky Register, Nov 12, p. 1, notes: “…Wm. Combert [or Combore] was frozen in a snow drift.”
[31] Brown (2002, p. 146), writes the railroad work was blown by high winds from the top of a boxcar.
[32] Brown 2002, p. 146.
[33] Brown 2002, p. 146.
[34] “Cleveland Vessel Owners Hard Hit.” Norwalk Reflector-Herald, OH, 11-13-1913, p. 1.
[35] I note “apparently” in that the Carruthers has not been located. However, “On…November 10, wreckage from the James Carruthers began coming ashore near Kincardine and Point Clark. Several bodies of the crew washed ashore as well. Most of the bodies wore life jackets and heavy coats, indicating that they had time to prepare…”
[36] “Sold 1900 to Algoma Central Steamship Co., Sault Ste Marie ON and entered Great Lakes service. Foundered Nov 9, 1913 (in the ‘Great Storm’)…All 18 aboard lost. Enroute from Sault Ste. Marie ON to Fort William ON with cargo of steel rails.”
[37] “Built inDumbarton, Scotland…theReginawas a steel package freighter built for theCanada Steamship Linesand home ported inMontreal. Named afterRegina, Saskatchewan, the ship was 269 feet long and registered 1,956tons. On November 9ththeReginawas heading north ofSombra, Ontarioon Lake Huron when the storm hit. The ship made it to Point Aux Barques but strong head winds forced the ship to turn south. At Harbor Beach theReginahit a shoal and the crew anchored the distressed vessel east of Lexington. A half hour later the ship capsized and sank, taking CaptainEdward H. McConkey and 19 of his crewto the bottom ofLake Huron.”
[38] “The 250-foot, 2,104-tonWexfordwas one of several steel package freighters built in Sunderland, England…While carrying a load of 96,000 bushels of wheat from Lake Superior,Wexfordentered Lake Huron and was nearly to Goderich when it succumbed to the storm.Wexfordwent down with Captain Bruce Cameron and the entire crew of 20 men.” [Blanchard: This note seems to state that the Captain and a crew of 20 other men drowned.]
[39] The bulk freighter Isaac M. Scott lost all 28 hands. (Great Lakes Shipwrecks, “S”)
[40] The bulk freighter Charles S. Price lost all 28 hands. (Great Lakes Shipwrecks, “P”)
