AH-WR-1972

Mojave

Canal Barkentine · Lost 1864 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

The wheat barkentine Mojave was swamped and vanished in a November gale in 1864, seen going down by a ship four miles ahead.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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 1863, the three-masted canal barkentine Mojave loaded 18,460 bushels of wheat at Chicago for Buffalo in early November 1864. On November 8, northbound on Lake Michigan, she was sailing four miles astern of the Canadian barkentine Monarch when heavy gales struck. Monarch's crew last saw her low in the water and rolling heavily before she dropped into the trough of the waves, swamped and sank. A sailor sent to Monarch's masthead could find no sign of her.

Vessel

Built: 1863
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: November 8, 1864
Cause: Storm
Location: Open Lake Michigan, northbound off the Wisconsin shore (exact position unknown)
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Chicago, Illinois → Buffalo, New York
Cargo: 18,460 bushels of wheat
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: She went down with her crew; the source does not give the number aboard.
Master: Not established