AH-WR-0263

Uganda

Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost 1913 · The Straits of Mackinac

A wooden grain freighter cut open by spring pack ice in the Straits of Mackinac, her entire crew saved by a passing steamer.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Uganda was a large wooden propeller freighter built in 1892, already considered outdated among steel-hulled competitors by 1913. While carrying corn from Milwaukee to Buffalo that April, she struck heavy pack ice in the Straits of Mackinac and sank. All 22 aboard were rescued by the steamer Donaldson.

Vessel

Built: 1892
Registry: US 25289
Builder: F.W. Wheeler & Co.
Yard: West Bay City, Michigan
Material: Wood
Length: 291 ft
Beam: 41 ft
Tonnage: 2053
Propulsion: Steam, propeller
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: April 19, 1913
Cause: Ice
Location: Near White Shoals, western Straits of Mackinac
Water: Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan
Voyage: Milwaukee, Wisconsin → Buffalo, New York
Cargo: Corn
Aboard: 22
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 185-207
Condition: Upright and intact, engine, boiler and anchors still present
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 45.85° N 85.03° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: White Shoals, Straits of Mackinac, Michigan
Region: The Straits of Mackinac

Vessel-history sources (Historical Collections of the Great Lakes and greatlakeships.org) describe the loss location as a few miles east/northeast of White Shoals in the western Straits of Mackinac; this is a described approximate position, not a surveyed GPS fix.