AH-WR-1965

Thomas A. Scott

Schooner-Barge · Lost 1880 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

The grain barge Thomas A. Scott was rammed by the steamer Avon at anchor off Milwaukee in 1880 and sank within 25 minutes.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in 1869, the four-masted schooner-barge Thomas A. Scott was in tow of the propeller Conemaugh from Chicago with 44,000 bushels of corn in October 1880. She anchored in the bay off Milwaukee while the steamer took on freight. There the steamer Avon crashed into her starboard side just forward of the main rigging, opening a gap through which her cargo poured out. Within 25 minutes she sank bow first, about a mile east of the harbor piers in some 50 feet of water.

Vessel

Built: 1869
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Towed (sail-rigged)
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 29, 1880
Cause: Collision
Location: About a mile due east of the harbor piers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in about 50 feet of water
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Chicago, Illinois
Cargo: 44,000 bushels of corn
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: The source does not report any loss of life.
Master: Not established