AH-WR-0917

Louisa Downs

Sailing Schooner · United States · Lost 1867 · The Inside Passage & Alaska

An 1867 American schooner wreck in Lynn Canal that gave two nearby landmarks, Sullivan Island and Rescue Harbor, their names.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The American schooner Louisa Downs wrecked on Sullivan Island in Lynn Canal in 1867, the same year the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. Six of her crew survived and were rescued from the island by the U.S. Navy warship Saginaw, under Commander Richard W. Meade, whose 1868-69 survey named the anchorage Rescue Harbor and the island for the schooner's master, Sullivan. The wreck itself left few further historical traces beyond these place names.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: 1867
Cause: Grounding
Location: Sullivan Island, Lynn Canal, near Eldred Rock
Water: Lynn Canal
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Six crew members were rescued; whether all hands were accounted for is not established in the sources reviewed.
Master: Sullivan (master, namesake of nearby Sullivan Island)