AH-WR-1970

Major Anderson

Barkentine · Lost 1871 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

The coal barkentine Major Anderson ran ashore near Two Rivers in October 1871, lost in smoke from the Peshtigo and Chicago fires.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in 1861, the three-masted barkentine Major Anderson was carrying 750 tons of coal from Erie to the Chicago Gas Company in October 1871, when smoke from the great regional forest fires hung over Lake Michigan. At 2 a.m. on October 7, in a heavy gale, Captain John C. Sullivan lost his bearings and ran her ashore near Molash Creek, north of Two Rivers. Her boats were stove in, so the crew swam ashore. A tug from Chicago could not get close, and within a week she had gone to pieces.

Vessel

Built: 1861
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 7, 1871
Cause: Grounding
Location: Near the mouth of Molash Creek, about four miles north of Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Erie, Pennsylvania → Chicago, Illinois
Cargo: 750 tons of coal
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: The source reports the crew swam ashore and does not report any deaths.
Master: Capt. John C. Sullivan