1846 — Nov 19, Schooner Lexington sinks, Lake Erie storm, off Point Mouillee, MI — 13

— 13 Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Huron Shipwrecks.
— 13 Historical Great Lakes Vessel Accident Database, 1846.
— 13 Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.
— 13 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 133.
— 6 Mansfield, J.B. Great Lakes Maritime History, Chapter XXXVI, 1831-1850 (V. 1), 1899.

Narrative Information

Alchem Incorporated: “Lexington: Schooner of 53 tons sank 11/19/1846 four miles off either Point Mouillee or the Western islands. Thirteen lives were lost in the wreck. The Lexington supposedly carried a cargo of barreled whiskey.” (Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Huron Shipwrecks.)

Federal Writers’ Project: “Just below the mouth of the Detroit River in Lake Erie…lies the schooner Lexington of Algonac [MI], lost in 1846 with a large cargo of whiskey.” (Federal Writers’ Project. Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State, 1942, p. 122.)

Historical Great Lakes Vessel Accident Database, 1846: “Schooner Lexington foundered in a gale off Huron, Ohio, LE with a cargo of barreled whiskey and 13 crew, a total loss.”

Mansfield: “In the above fearful night [Nov 20, 1856] the schooner Lexington, Captain Peer, cleared from the port of Cleveland for Port Huron, freighted with 110 barrels of whiskey, 53 tons of coal and two boilers. The schooner foundered in the vicinity of the islands, when portions of the wreck were discovered. The crew, including the captain, consisted of six persons, all of whom found watery graves.” (Mansfield, J.B. Great Lakes Maritime History – History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1).)

Swayze: “Type at loss : (scow-)schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info (1836, Manchester, MI or 1835, Sacket’s Harbor)
Specs : (70x17x6, 54 t….
Date of loss : 1846, Nov 19
Place of loss : 4 miles off Pt. Mouillee, MI*
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 13 [all]
Carrying : barreled whiskey, coal, 2 new boilers
Detail : She foundered in a gale. Of 110 barrels of whiskey aboard, 100 washed ashore within the following few days. Sorry. Master: Capt. James L. Pier(d). Out of Algonac, MI
*Newspaper articles also give “Lake Erie Isls.” And “5 to 10 miles off Huron (OH)” as locations of loss.” (Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L. )

Newspaper

Dec 23: “The schooner Lexington is reported to have been sunk in a gale on Lake Erie, on the 19th ult. [last], with all persons on board! The same sad disaster has happened the schr. Com. Perry, on the coast of Maine. All perished!” (Wabash Express, Terre Haute, IN. [The Schooner Lexington] 12-23-1846, p. 2, col. 5.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Huron Shipwrecks. Accessed 1-28-2009 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/huron.html

Federal Writers’ Project. Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State (American Guide Series). New York: Oxford University Press, 1941. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=-V6KxeFbTS0C

Historical Great Lakes Vessel Accident Database, 1846. Broken link.

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. and Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. http://www.linkstothepast.com/marine/chapt36.html — Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=iHXhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Swayze, David D. “Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.” Accessed 9-11-2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/l.htm

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

Wabash Express, Terre Haute, IN. [The Schooner Lexington] 12-23-1846, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed 12-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/terre-haute-wabash-express-dec-23-1846-p-2/