Resurrection of Milwaukee's Fleet
The story of how a fleet of lake steamers "came back" after nearly a decade of idleness, which rendered them sunken and rotting derelicts, is destined to be told over and over again wherever marine men congregate. The reappearance of almost forgotten victims of circumstance, rusty and unkempt and covered with the grimy increment of wind and weather, their cabins bleached and windowless and their cargo holds foul and reeking, savored of the supernatural and suggested ghosts and the charnel. It was as if the graveyard of ships had yawned and given up its dead.
Almost every large port on the Great Lakes furnished its chapter of incidents in connection with the remarkable resurgence, but Milwaukee's contribution was particularly interesting because of the number and character of its share of the spectral fleet.
It all came about this way:
For a number of years prior to the breaking out of World War I, business on the Great Lakes was extremely dull, so much so that few vessels made anything like adequate return upon the investments they represented, and in some seasons many of the best carriers did not leave their moorings. This state of things forced the smaller class of vessels out of business entirely, and consigned to permanent retirement, as the sun and weather soon rendered the neglected craft unfit for service unless large expenditures were made upon them. In some cases, shipkeepers were maintained on board the idle steamers, but many were left a prey to river thieves who soon deprived them of metal fittings and other things of value.
The year 1913 found so many docks and slips at Milwaukee occupied by partially sunken hulks that the Harbor Commission called the attention of the Common Council to the fact and recommended that steps be taken to clear the harbor of derelicts, inasmuch as it was possible that the city might be put to the expense of towing the wrecks out into the lake and sinking or beaching them. The case was cited where one craft, the steamer Volunteer, had been sold to an unknown party for one dollar in order to escape responsibility for the future care of the vessel, which had become an obstruction to navigation. The city subsequently had to incur the expense of putting the abandoned hulk on the beach near St. Francis. Strange as it may seem, the Volunteer was the only one of Milwaukee's fleet of derelicts that did not return to some form of usefulness. It transpired that the hulk had been allowed to rest undisturbed for another year it could have been sold for several times the amount exceeding in raising and beaching it.
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There were fifteen or more old wooden steamers in Milwaukee harbor, in various stages of decay, when the war broke out. Most of the discarded craft belonged to the fleet of the defunct Gilchrist Transportation Company. The list of derelicts included the:
- C.A. Eddy
- Vermillion
- C.C. Hand
- Colonial
- Cumberland
- Neosha
- City of Naples
- Lansing
- Charlemagne Tower, Jr.
- Volunteer
- Wallula
- Mecosta
- John Duncan
- Pueblo
- Thomas Davidson
All of these steamers at one time ranked in the best class of lake carriers and were the pride of ship lovers. Some boasted of mahogany-finished cabins ad luxurious furnishings, others possessed extra-powerful engines and still others bore special ornamentation as evidence of the favor in which they were held by their owners.
When it became apparent that the exigencies of war demanded increasing carrying capacity both on salt water and on the Great Lakes, and that almost "any old thing" would pass muster if it would float and carry a cargo, speculators and others began buying up the rotting hulks in the various harbors and put them in shape for resale or service. Craft purchased for hundreds of dollars were snapped up for tens of thousands. Many moderate fortunes were thus made in the sale and resale of floating property which a year or two previous could not be given away because of the responsibility attached to ownership of the same. Extensive repairs were made upon some of the best of the steamers, but others were simply recalked and given a coat of paint before being put into service. The Thomas Davidson, a Milwaukee-built craft, was almost completely reconstructed, but this was an exceptional case.
It would be extremely difficult to trace the fortunes of each individual derelict following its return to usefulness, as many of the steamers received new names and thus lost their former identity. Some reached the ocean only to meet with disaster, while others suffered similarly on the Great Lakes, and still others are now doing duty as fully-equipped steamers or as humble barges. On the whole, from the standpoint of the value of human life, it would have been better if the resurrection had never occurred, as the passing of some of the rejuvenated derelicts was accompanied by suffering and death.
Milwaukee harbor is now clear of derelicts.
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Wisconsin
Marine Historical Society
814
West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233-2385
phone 414.286.3074
email info@wmhs.org
