Great Storms of the Great Lakes

Ever since people have traveled the Great Lakes storms have taken lives and vessels. The first sailing vessel the Le Griffin was lost on its return from Green Bay in 1679. Since that time, memorable storms have swept the lakes, often in November taking men and ships to their death. With the advent of modern technology and sturdier vessels, few such losses have occurred.

Storm in the age of canoes (1825)

It was September 1825 that Henry Rowe Schoolcraft recorded a late fall storm on Lake Huron. He was returning from an Indian ‘Congress’ at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It had been an uneventful six-day trip from the Mississippi River to Michilimackinac. From Mackinac, Schoolcraft was headed towards Detour Pass and up the St. Mary's River to Sault Ste. Marie. On the morning of 5 September, he arose, had breakfast and prepared to strike out in their canoes. The day was cloudy and threatening, so he decided to wait until the next day. Arising at three in the morning, he found the island lost in a fog. They waited until it began to clear at 6:30 a.m. and made their way to Goose Island, ten miles (16 km) distance after three hours. From there, they made their way to Outard Point. Here, the head wind had increased so they hove to about noon. Here, they were able to pull into an inlet out of the wind and make camp. Eight hours later, the canoe party was still waiting for the wind to let up. The night brought a heavy rain, piercing the fabric of the tents, soaking everyone and everything. The morning of the 7th found the storm continuing. The increasing violence caused Schoolcraft to have his tent moved back into the trees for more protection. Around three, the sky seemed to be brightening and expectations were that the weather was clearing. But the rains and the wind came with renewed fury from the west and continued late into the night. As the morning of the 8th arrived, Schoolcraft determined to get on with his journey. As the wind was directly out of the west, he was headed east, he ordered the canoes readied and the sails. With sails reefed against the storm, the brigade set out into the lake at 10:00 a.m. Just under three and a half hours brought them 20 miles to the Isle St. Vital, behind which they took refuge from the wind. After a break, they once again set into the gale force winds, driving for De Tour and the St. Mary’s Strait. Here they found the Schooner Harriet, down bound, waiting for the winds to subside. It was but another day and they were once again at Sault Ste. Marie.

Terrific Storm of November, 1835.

The season of 1835, wound up with one of the most terrific gales that ever visited the lake region, and, in proportion to the number of vessels employed, caused a greater destruction of life and property than ever before. It occurred November 11. The wind was west-southwest and, it is said, announced its approach like the sound of an immense train of cars. At Buffalo the creek rose to a height of 20 feet, floating steamers and vessels into some of the main streets, crushing canal boats under bridges, while on the west side of the harbor dwellings were swept away and the occupants drowned.

A vessel called the Free Trader, with 13 passengers on board beside the crew, took her departure from Fort Burwell, Canada, for Cleveland, and was struck by the gale and twice capsized, righting each time. After the storm she was discovered drifting off Dunkirk, and was taken into that port with one sailor still alive and clinging to the tiller. Among the passengers was Mr. Richardson, owner of the cargo.

The schooner Comet, of Buffalo, left Madison dock, below Fairport, with fifteen tons of iron and five tons of ashes. The crew consisted of six sailors, and there was one passenger. She is supposed to have foundered off Dunkirk as two topmasts were afterward seen in that locality, and several articles, recognized as belonging to them, floated ashore.

The steamboat North America was driven on the beach at Erie. She was commanded by Capt. G. Appleby. The steamers Sandusky, Henry Clay and Sheldon Thompson were floated on the bank in Buffalo harbor and seriously damaged. The North America, prior to going ashore, had let go her anchors and attempted to ride out the gale at Erie, but the wind, increasing in its fury, soon parted her cables, while the passengers and crew gave themselves up as lost, but it was suggested to scuttle the boat to prevent her jumping over the pier, and to this action the salvation of the boat may be ascribed. The schooner Two Brothers was landed on top of the Buffalo pier and became a total loss.

Vessels which were outside, as soon as the cyclone set in, tried to reach the nearest port, and when forced to Buffalo, on entering the harbor an immense amount of damage was done, as the creek at that time was crowded with vessels. Boats were run into and sunk, while the whole extent of the loss of life ranged far into the hundreds. Among the schooners ashore at Buffalo were the Tecumseh and the Col. Benton. The flood was the highest known since 1816 and the most destructive. Wharves and piers at various lake ports were demolished, and scarcely a vestige left. At Portland harbor two persons were drowned from the pier on account of the sudden approach of high water. The schooner Godolphin, freighted with salt, was wrecked at Fairport and crew lost.

The schooner Lagrange, a fine vessel, commanded by Captain Chanchois, with a full cargo of merchandise from Buffalo for Detroit, was capsized near Point Pelee and sunk about seven miles from shore. All perished except a man and boy, who were taken off the mast next morning, nearly frozen to death. The vessel was never recovered.

The storm on Lake Ontario was very severe, and the casualties large. On that lake the schooner Robert Bruce, which left Kingston, Canada, for some port up the Bay of Quinte, in ballast, was wrecked and all on board were lost. The wreck, after the storm, drifted ashore on Henderson Point, and the coat of a passenger, Elias Everett, was found hanging to a nail, and his wallet, containing $719, was recovered. The schooner Medora, owned in Oswego, from up the lake, laden with wheat and walnuts, went ashore at the mouth of Big Sandy creek, and all hands were lost.

Among the vessels lost on Lake Michigan during that storm were the schooners Chance, Bridget, Sloan and Delaware. On the Chance seven lives were lost; on the Bridget, 16; on the Sloan, six. The Bridget was wrecked near St. Joseph.

Schoolcraft bears testimony to the skill of the old-time captain during this storm. He embarked November 2, 1835, at Mackinac for Detroit, "on board a schooner under command of an experienced navi- gator (Captain Ward) just on the eve, unknown to us, of a great tempest, which rendered that season memorable in the history of wrecks on the Great Lakes. We had scarcely well cleared the lighthouse, when the wind increased to a gale. We soon went on furiously. Sails were reefed and every preparation made to keep on our way, but the wind did not admit of it. The captain made every effort to hug the shore, and finally came to anchor in great peril, under the highlands of Sauble. Here we pitched terribly, and were momently in peril of being cast on shore. In the effort to work the ship, one of the men fell from the bowsprit, passed under the vessel and was lost. It was thought that our poor little craft must go to the bottom, but owing to the skill of the old lake mariner we eventually triumphed. He never faltered in the darkest exigency. For a day and night he struggled against the elements, and finally entered the strait at Fort Gratiot, and he brought us safely into the port of our destination."

The 1905 Blow

The storm started out as a one-day blow. The last of the season shipping was trying for one last load. The storm signals were hoisted and most ships were still in port when the rain began, becoming heavy. Turning to snow, it was driven by 60 mile per hour (96 km/h) winds at Duluth. Only the Charlemagne Tower had been out on the lake and ran for Portage, Michigan. Over the next two days, the weather moderated and by November 25 (Saturday), it had cleared and ships once again moved out onto the lake.

Wrecks of November 23

Charlemagne Tower (steamer)

It was Saturday, November 25, 1905 when the Joseph G. Butler, Jr. set sail for the first time from the American Ship Building Company’s Lorain yards. It was the newest vessel on the lakes. Through the night, the vessel continues northward, up the Detroit River entering Lake St. Clair as dawn breaks. By noon, November 26, the Butler is emerging from the St. Clair River into Lake Huron. The sky is gray and overcast. For the rest of Sunday, the Butler steams north across Lake Huron. Monday morning, November 27, the Butler is passing Detour Reef Light and entering the Saint Mary's River.Monday afternoon, the Butler cleared the Soo locks, just behind the Bransford. That afternoon, the temperature was 28 degrees (-2 degrees C). As the two steamers head across Whitefish Bay. The barometer starts downward and they move westward, then the bottom falls out and the snow thickens. By dusk, the lookouts can barely make out the light at Whitefish Point as they clear the bay into the body of Lake Superior. Here the Bransford turns northward to follow the Canadian shore to stay north of the storm. The Butler turns southwestward to take the shorter distance and presses through the storm.

As the Butler sights the Caribou Island Light, the shuttering of the ship changes. The continuous pounding of the waves on the side of the ship have become interspersed with a violent shacking. Down in the engine room, the Chief Engineer knows that the vibration is from the props rising out of the water as a trough between waves running up to 10 and 2 feet. First the propeller rises out of the water and then the spinning blades crash back into the water. This kind of pounding can open every seam in the vessel. It becomes his job to stop the blades every time the rise out of the water and get them going again once they're below the surface. If the ship looses headway, it will be at the mercy of the storm, but if the vibrations aren’t stopped, the ship will come apart on its own. The next obstacle will be Keweenaw Point jutting out into the open lake. The Steward reports that the windows are out in the mess and there is 2 feet of water rushing back and forth.

All day Tuesday the 28th, the Butler fights the boiling seas. At one point, with land not seen and fear of approaching a point of land, the Butler turns to run with the storm, hoping to clear any unseen shoreline. Late that day, the storm begins to abate and when the Captain could once again see across the lake, the light at Outer Island in the Apostles was spotted. Now a new course was set to make for Duluth. the seas were still high, but the wind had let up and the snow had stopped. Some fifty hours out of Lorain, the Butler was once again on a steady course for Duluth. As they came abreast of Two Harbor, the Bransford was spotted making for Duluth. Further ahead another steamer was spotted. This turned out to be the Perry G. Walker, which had sailed from Duluth, just two days earlier.

Approaching Duluth, more freighters are spotted. The James Nasmyth is anchored out from Minnesota Point, sitting low in the water with a load of iron ore and a thick coating of ice. Then the bulk freighter Mataafa is spotted, sitting in the shallows of Minnesota Point. Split into several parts. It's noon as the Butler steams through the canal into St. Louis Bay, the R.W. England lies beached on the backside of Minnesota Point, a victim of 75 mile per hour winds the day before.

The weekend looked ominous across the breadth of Lake Superior. But seldom did big storms follow on the tail of another big storm, so the Captains finished loading and headed out onto the lake. As darkness settled over the lake on Monday evening, November 27, weather changed abruptly. At 7:00 p.m., a northeast gale slammed across the lake. Starting with 44 mph winds (70 km/h), they quickly rose to 60 and 70 mph (86-112 km/h). For nearly 12 hours, the winds stayed above 60 miles per hour. Before the storm ended on the 28th, 17 ships were stranded, a dozen damaged and 32 men gone. [19]

The Wrecks of November 28

Isaac Ellwood (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Duluth aground
Mataafa (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Duluth aground
R.W. England (stmr) Tomlinson Duluth
Crescent City (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Lakewood (7 m NE of Duluth) aground against cliffs
Lafayette (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Encampment Island (7 m NE of Two Harbors) ‘broken up’
Manila (barge) of Lafayette Pittsburgh Steamship Encampment Island (7 m NE of Two Harbors) aground
William Edenborn Pittsburgh Steamship nr Split Rock River hard ashore & broken in two
Madeira (barge) of Edenborn Pittsburgh Steamship Gold Rock (3 mi NE) sunk and broken in two
George Herbert (scow) Two Island, nr Schroeder smashed to pieces
George Spencer (stmr-wooden) Thomasville (nr Tofte) hard aground
Amboy (barge) of Spencer hard aground
Monkshaven (stmr) Pie Island, Port Arthur on the rocks
W.E. Corey (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Gull Island (Apostles) stranded
Western Star (stmr) Fourteen-Mile Point nr Ontonagon stranded tight
Coralia (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Point Isabelle (east side Keweenaw) ‘hung-up’
Maia (barge) of Coralia Pittsburgh Steamship Point Isabelle (east side Keweenaw) ‘hung-up’
Ira Owen (stmr) NE of Outer Island (Apostles) foundered

Photo postcard of Pittsburgh Steamship Company steamboat MATAAFA lying wrecked at the entrance to Duluth Harbour after the storm of 28 November 1905

Postcard showing the wreck of the Pittsburg Steamship Company laker, CRESCENT CITY after she was driven ashore two miles east of Lester Park, Duluth, MN, Lake Superior, on November 28, 1905.

STORM OF 1913