Steamer Appomattox

Steamer Appomattox (HMSDG)

Location: Shorewood, WI 53211 Milwaukee County
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Country: United States of America
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N 43° 5.432', W 87° 52.463'

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Historic Shipwreck

— Wisconsin's Maritime Trails —

Type: Wooden bulk carrier
Built: 1896, Davidson Shipyard, West Bay City, Mich.
Sank: November 2, 1905, stranded
Length: 319' Beam: 42'
Cargo: Iron ore, coal
Propulsion: Triple-expansion steam engine, propeller
Depth of Wreckage: 20'
Listed on National Register of Historic Places
Just 150 yards from here, in 20 feet of water, lies the Appomattox, the largest wooden steamer ever to sail the Great Lakes, possibly the world. Her builder, Captain James Davidson, pushed the limits of wooden shipbuilding techniques to 320 feet well after steel ships had become the norm, and "Davidson's Goliaths" competed successfully with their steel counterparts. Powered by a triple-expansion steam engine, the Appomattox could carry 3,000 tons of ore herself and could tow a barge with another 5,000 tons.

On November 2, 1905, the Appomattox and her barge Santiago were loaded with coal and approaching Milwaukee. A blinding mixture of fog and industrial smoke from the city engulfed the vessels, and they ran aground off present-day Atwater Beach. Tugboats quickly pulled the Santiago free, but wrecking crews worked for 13 days to release the Appomattox. Even after jettisoning her cargo, however, they failed to free her. Storms and heavy seas pounded the ship on the bottom, and finally the crew removed everything of value.

Today, large sections of the ship's bilge, keel, and port-side hull remain intact. Seasonally marked by a Wisconsin Historical Society mooring buoy, the Appomattox is often visible from the surface.
Details
HM NumberHMSDG
Series This marker is part of the Wisconsin: Wisconsin's Maritime Trails series
Tags
,
Placed ByWisconsin Historical Society, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 11th, 2014 at 4:05am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16T E 428834 N 4771239
Decimal Degrees43.09053333, -87.87438333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 43° 5.432', W 87° 52.463'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds43° 5' 25.92" N, 87° 52' 27.78" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)414
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 4060 N Lake Dr, Shorewood WI 53211, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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