AH-WR-1776

A.V. Knickerbocker

Schooner · Lost Capsized August 26, 1855; subsequent shore grounding and abandonment not separately dated · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

A.V. Knickerbocker capsized off Port Washington in 1855 and drifted ashore; four sailors escaped, but her captain drowned.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

A.V. Knickerbocker was a two-masted wooden schooner enrolled at Detroit in 1840. She carried Great Lakes freight and, under J. Van de Luyster, brought goods and Dutch immigrants to Holland, Michigan. On August 26, 1855, she capsized in a gale off Port Washington and drifted ashore after the foremast was cut away. Four sailors escaped, while Captain Richards drowned trying to reach shore. The vessel was abandoned in the surf; remains were reportedly visible until 1920, but their present location is unknown.

Vessel

Built: 1840
Builder: Not established
Yard: Detroit, Michigan
Material: Wood
Length: 66.67 ft
Beam: 17.33 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: O. Newberry and W.H. Barse; J. Van de Luyster; subsequently Guido Pfister, Jacob Sunenmacher and Hy Hanson

Loss

Date: Capsized August 26, 1855; subsequent shore grounding and abandonment not separately dated
Cause: Storm
Location: About six miles north of Port Washington, Wisconsin, after capsizing about ten miles offshore
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Bark from Sandy Bay, Michigan
Aboard: 5
Lives lost: 1
Master: Captain Richards

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Abandoned in the surf; remains reportedly visible on the beach until 1920. Present location and survival unknown.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Port Washington, Wisconsin
Region: Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Institutional narrative explicitly says exact location is no longer known; displayed inventory point is omitted.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (87/100)

The final abandonment day, current position, depth and survival of remains are not established. Casualty totals derive from the five people accounted for in the narrative; artwork is interpretive.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks
Full construction, service and final-voyage narrative, dated initial casualty and completed abandonment; dimensions, rig, actual home port, uncertainties in present site and remains. Zero-valued summary counters disregarded.